Volume 23: Book of Wei 23 - Biographies of He, Chang, Yang, Du, Zhao, and Pei

和洽常林楊俊杜襲趙俨裴潜

This volume records He Qia, Chang Lin, Yang Jun, Du Xi, Zhao Yan, and Pei Qian.

和洽字陽士，汝南西平人也。舉孝廉，大將軍辟，皆不就。袁紹在冀州，遣使迎汝南士大夫。洽獨以「冀州土平民强，英桀所利，四战之地。本初乘资，虽能强大，然雄豪方起，全未可必也。荆州刘表无他远志，爱人乐士，土地险阻，山夷民弱，易依倚也」。遂与亲旧俱南从表，表以上客待之。洽曰：「所以不从本初，辟争地也。昏世之主，不可黩近，久而阽危，〈臣松之案《汉书文纪》曰「阽於死亡」，《食货志》曰「阽危若是」，注曰「阽音盐，如屋檐，近边欲堕之意也。」一曰「临危曰阽」。〉必有谗慝间其中者。」遂南度武陵。

He Qia, whose courtesy name was Yangshi, came from Xiping in Runan commandery. Recommended as filial and incorrupt, and summoned by the general-in-chief, he declined both appointments. While Yuan Shao held Jizhou, he sent envoys to invite Runan literati and officials to join him. He Qia alone argued that "Jizhou is flat, its people are strong, it attracts every ambitious leader, and it is ground fought over from all four directions. Yuan Benchu may ride his advantages and grow powerful, but rival warlords are springing up everywhere, and no one can be sure he will come through intact. Liu Biao in Jingzhou has no grand designs beyond his borders; he cherishes talent and welcomes scholars; his territory is rugged and defensible, the hill peoples are weak, and the common folk are tractable—a ruler you can actually lean on." He therefore traveled south with kinsmen and old friends to serve Liu Biao, who treated him as a guest of the highest rank. He Qia explained, "I refused Yuan Benchu because I would not throw myself into a cockpit of contention. A sovereign in a dark age is not someone you should court too closely; linger long enough and you court disaster, 〈Pei Songzhi observes: the Hanshu "Basic Annals of Emperor Wen" speaks of being "on the brink of death," and the "Treatise on Food and Wealth" of "peril such as this"; the commentary glosses dian with the sound yan, comparing it to the eaves of a roof—standing on the verge of collapse. Another reading simply defines dian as facing mortal danger.〉 Sooner or later slanderers and intriguers will worm their way between you." With that, he crossed the boundary south into Wuling.

太祖定荆州，辟为丞相掾属。时毛玠、崔琰并以忠清幹事，其选用先尚俭节。洽言曰：「天下大器，在位与人，不可以一节（俭）也。俭素过中，自以处身则可，以此节格物，所失或多。今朝廷之议，吏有著新衣、乘好车者，谓之不清；长吏过营，形容不饰，衣裘敝坏者，谓之廉洁。至令士大夫故汙辱其衣，藏其舆服；朝府大吏，或自挈壶餐以入官寺。夫立教观俗，贵处中庸，为可继也。今崇一概难堪之行以检殊涂，勉而为之，必有疲瘁。古之大教，务在通人情而已。凡激诡之行，则容隐伪矣。」〈孫盛曰：昔先王御世，观民设教，虽质文因时，损益代用，至於车服礼秩，贵贱等差，其归一揆。魏承汉乱，风俗侈泰，诚宜仰思古制，训以约简，使奢不陵肆，俭足中礼，进无蜉蝣之刺，退免采莫之讥；如此则治道隆而颂声作矣。夫矫枉过正则巧伪滋生，以克训下则民志险隘，非圣王所以陶化民物，闲邪存诚之道。和洽之言，於是允矣。〉

After Cao Cao pacified Jingzhou, he appointed He Qia to the chancellor's secretariat. Mao Jie and Cui Yan were then famed for loyal, incorrupt service, and in appointments they prized austerity above all else. He Qia remonstrated: "The empire is a great trust; who holds office and whom you employ cannot be judged by a single rule (namely, frugality alone) by itself. Austerity carried past the mean may discipline your own conduct, yet if you wield it as a universal yardstick, you will often do more harm than good. Court opinion now holds that any clerk in new clothes or a handsome carriage must be corrupt; while a magistrate who tours camp unkempt, in threadbare furs, is hailed as spotlessly honest. Gentry now smear their robes on purpose and hide their better carriages and wardrobe even high secretariat officers bring their own simple kettle suppers into the yamen to keep up appearances. When you set policy and read the temper of the age, the golden mean is what can actually be sustained. To exalt one harsh, unnatural standard and apply it to every path people walk will only exhaust them if you press it hard enough. The great teaching of antiquity aimed at nothing more than meeting human feeling halfway. Whenever you push people into theatrical extremes, hypocrisy finds a place to hide." 〈Sun Sheng remarks: The ancient kings watched the people and framed their teaching; substance and ornament shifted with the age, waxing and waning in turn, yet carriages, robes, ritual grades, and the ladder of noble and base all still pointed to a single measure. Wei inherited Han's chaos and manners grown wildly extravagant; it was right to look back to older norms and school the realm in restraint, curbing excess without starving ritual, so the court neither invited the barb about mayflies nor the mockery about gathering mallows; that is how good government rises and praise begins to spread. Straighten the bow past true and cunning deceit sprouts; drill inferiors with harshness and their hearts turn narrow—this is not how sage kings shaped customs, barred wrongdoing, and kept faith alive. On this score He Qia spoke truly.〉

魏国既建，为侍中，后有白毛玠谤毁太祖，太祖见近臣，怒甚。洽陈玠素行有本，求案实其事。罢朝，太祖令曰：「今言事者白玠不但谤吾也。乃复为崔琰觖望。此损君臣恩义，妄为死友怨叹，殆不可忍也。昔萧、曹与高祖并起微贱，致功立勋。高祖每在屈笮，二相恭顺，臣道益彰，所以祚及后世也。和侍中比求实之，所以不听，欲重参之耳。」洽对曰：「如言事者言，玠罪过深重，非天地所覆载。臣非敢曲理玠以枉大伦也，以玠出群吏之中，特见拔擢，显在首职，历年荷宠，刚直忠公，为众所惮，不宜有此。然人情难保，要宜考覈，两验其实。今圣恩垂含垢之仁，不忍致之于理，更使曲直之分不明，疑自近始。」太祖曰：「所以不考，欲两全玠及言事者耳。」洽对曰：「玠信有谤上之言，当肆之巿朝；若玠无此，言事者加诬大臣以误主听；二者不加检覈，臣窃不安。」太祖曰：「方有軍事，安可受人言便考之邪？狐射姑刺陽处父於朝，此为君之诫也。」

After the Wei kingdom was founded, He Qia served as palace attendant. Later an informer accused Mao Jie of defaming Cao Cao; when Cao Cao met his intimate advisers, his rage was fierce. He Qia argued that Mao Jie's long-standing conduct gave him a solid reputation and begged that the charges be checked against the facts. After court, Cao Cao issued instructions: "The informant now claims Mao Jie did not merely slander me. He also nursed a private grievance for Cui Yan's sake. That erodes the bond between lord and minister; to indulge a dead friend's grudge in public is intolerable. Long ago Xiao He and Cao Shen rose with Gaozu from humble stations and piled up achievement after achievement. Whenever Gaozu was cornered, those two ministers bowed to circumstance, which only threw their loyalty into sharper relief—one reason his house lasted. Attendant-in-ordinary He has been digging for the facts; I set the report aside because I wanted your counsel again." He Qia answered, "If Mao Jie is everything the informant says, his guilt is too vast for heaven and earth to cover. I would never twist justice to shield Mao Jie and violate the great norm—yet he was plucked from the ranks of petty clerks, thrust into the highest posts, favored year after year, and feared by all for his blunt integrity; it hardly fits that he should have done such a thing. Still, hearts are hard to read; the right course is a thorough inquest that tests both stories against reality. Your Majesty's gracious willingness to swallow the insult and spare him a trial may blur the line between guilt and innocence, and suspicion will start at the center of power." Cao Cao said, "I held off an inquest because I hoped to preserve both Mao Jie and the informant." He Qia replied, "If Mao Jie truly slandered his sovereign, expose him in the public square; if he did not, then the accuser has slandered a pillar of state and misled your ears; to investigate neither leaves me privately uneasy." Cao Cao answered, "We are in the middle of a campaign; am I to launch an inquest on the strength of one man's word? When Hu Yan's archer struck Yang Chufu down in open court, it became a warning every ruler should heed."

太祖克张鲁，洽陈便宜以时拔軍徙民，可省置守之费。太祖未纳，其后竟徙民弃汉中。出为郎中令。文帝践阼，为光禄勋，封安城亭侯。明帝即位，进封西陵乡侯，邑二百户。

After Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu, He Qia urged him to pull the army out in good time and resettle the population, which would spare the cost of a permanent garrison. Cao Cao did not take the advice; in the end he evacuated the people and gave up Hanzhong anyway. He was then posted out as prefect of the gentlemen of the palace (langzhong ling). When Emperor Wen took the throne, He Qia became superintendant of the palace attendants and was enfeoffed as village marquis of Ancheng. Under Emperor Ming his fief rose to township marquis of Xiling with a revenue of two hundred households.

太和中，散骑常侍高堂隆奏：「时风不至，而有休废之气，必有司不勤职事以失天常也。」诏书谦虚引咎，博谘异同。洽以为「民稀耕少，浮食者多。国以民为本，民以谷为命。故费一时之农，则失育命之本。是以先王务蠲烦费，以专耕农。自春夏以来，民穷於役，农业有废，百姓嚣然，时风不至，未必不由此也。消复之术，莫大於节俭。太祖建立洪业，奉师徒之费，供軍赏之用，吏士丰於资食，仓府衍於谷帛，由不饰无用之宫，绝浮华之费，方今之要，固在息省劳烦之役，损除他餘之务，以为軍戎之储。三边守御，宜在备豫。料贼虚实，蓄士养众，算庙胜之策，明攻取之谋，详询众庶以求厥中。若谋不素定，轻弱小敌，軍人数舉，舉而无庸，所谓‘悦武无震’，古人之诫也。」

During the Taihe years, Gao Tanglong, a regular attendant at the palace gate, memorialized: "The seasonal winds have failed to come, yet an air of idleness and decay hangs over the realm—some ministry must be neglecting its charge and disturbing heaven's regular pattern." An edict went out in modest tones, shouldering blame and inviting every shade of opinion. He Qia argued that "too few people are behind the plow and too many live off others' labor. The state stands on the people; the people live on grain. Waste a single season in the fields and you cut the root that keeps the people alive. That is why the ancient kings strove to strip away vexing levies and keep farmers at their plows. Since spring the commoners have been bled white by corvée; tillage has slipped, murmurs run everywhere, and the winds stay away—very likely this is the reason. Nothing restores balance like austerity in spending. When Cao Cao laid the foundations of this realm, he fed armies and instructors from the war chest, kept officers and men well supplied, and filled granaries and treasuries—because he refused to gild idle halls or bankroll hollow display. What matters now is to ease crushing corvée, cut every nonessential chore, and bank the savings for the armies. The three frontiers must be held by forethought, not panic. Gauge where the enemy is strong or weak, build up men and supplies, settle strategy in council before you march, spell out how you will strike, and sound out the people until you hit the mean. If you never fix a plan beforehand, despise the foe as weak, and send the army out again and again to no purpose, you fall under the old reproach of "loving war yet inspiring no dread"—the very warning the classics give."

转为太常，清贫守约，至卖田宅以自给。明帝闻之，加赐谷帛。薨，谥曰简侯。子（禽）嗣。〈（禽）音离。〉（禽）弟（適），才爽开济，官至廷尉、吏部尚书。〈晋诸公赞曰：和峤字长舆，（適）之子也。少知名，以雅重称。常慕其舅夏侯玄之为人，厚自封植，嶷然不群。於黄门郎迁中书令，转尚书。愍怀太子初立，以峤为少保，加散骑常侍。家产丰富，拟於王公，而性至俭吝。峤同母弟郁，素无名，峤轻侮之，以此为损。卒於官，赠光禄大夫。郁以公强当世，致位尚书令。〉

Promoted to minister of rites, he lived in stark poverty, kept his pledges, and even sold land and houses to get by. When Emperor Ming heard of it, he sent extra grain and silk. He died and received the posthumous title Marquis Jian. His son (Qin) succeeded him. (Qin) is glossed with the reading li.〉 (Qin) A younger brother, (Shi) named Shi, was able, clear-minded, and resourceful, rising to commandant of justice and supervisor of the masters of writing. 〈The Jin Zhugong zan records: He Qiao, courtesy name Changyu, (Shi) was his son. He was famous while still young for his poise and gravity. He modeled himself on his uncle Xiahou Xuan, cultivated his own talents with care, and stood aloof from the common run. He rose from gentleman at the yellow gates to palace secretary, then to supervisor of the masters of writing. When Crown Prince Minhuai was first installed, He Qiao was named junior tutor and given the additional title of regular attendant at the palace gate. His estate rivaled a prince's, yet he was famously tight-fisted. His full brother Yu had never made a name for himself, and He Qiao treated him with contempt—a stain on his own reputation. He died in office and was posthumously honored as grandee of brilliant splendor. Yu, however, won influence through his integrity and rose to supervisor of the masters of writing.〉

洽同郡许混者，许劭子也。清醇有鉴识，明帝时为尚书。〈劭字子將。汝南先贤傳曰：召陵谢子微，高才远识，见劭年十八时，乃叹息曰：「此则希世出众之伟人也。」劭始发明樊子昭於鬻帻之肆，出虞永贤於牧竖，召李淑才乡闾之间，擢郭子瑜鞍马之吏，援楊孝祖，舉和陽士，兹六贤者，皆当世之令懿也。其餘中流之士，或舉之於淹滞，或显之乎童齿，莫不赖劭顾叹之荣。凡所拔育，显成令德者，不可殚记。其探擿伪行，抑损虚名，则周之单襄，无以尚也。劭宗人许栩，沉没荣利，致位司徒。舉宗莫不匍匐栩门，承风而驱，官以贿成，惟劭不过其门。广陵徐孟玉来临汝南，闻劭高名，请为功曹。饕餮放流，絜士盈朝。袁紹公族好名，为濮陽长，弃官来还，有副车从骑，將入郡界，紹乃叹曰：「吾之舆服，岂可使许子將见之乎？」遂单车而归。辟公府掾，拜鄢陵令，方正徵，皆不就。避乱江南，所历之国，必翔而后集。终于豫章，时年四十六。有子曰混，显名魏世。〉

Xu Hun, from the same commandery as He Qia, was Xu Shao's son. Clear-minded and discerning, he served as supervisor of the masters of writing under Emperor Ming. 〈Xu Shao's courtesy name was Zijiang. The Runan Xianxian zhuan relates that Xie Ziwei of Shaoling, a man of towering talent and insight, met Xu Shao at eighteen and sighed, "Here is a paragon seldom matched in any generation." Xu Shao first spotted Fan Zizhao peddling kerchiefs in a stall, pulled Yu Yongxian out of a herd-boy's life, called Li Shucai from a country lane, lifted Guo Ziyu from the stable yard, backed Yang Xiaozu, and put forward He Yangshi—six paragons of the day. Solid men of middling rank, whether rescued from obscurity or acclaimed in their youth, all owed their luster to Xu Shao's appraising glance. The roll of those he raised to fame and fine conduct would fill more pages than one can count. When it came to exposing sham virtue and puncturing hollow reputations, not even Dan Xiang of Zhou could surpass him. A kinsman of Xu Shao named Xu Xu drowned in rank and emolument and rose all the way to minister of education. The whole clan groveled at Xu Xu's door and rushed wherever the wind blew; posts went to the highest bidder, but Xu Shao never set foot there. When Xu Mengyu of Guangling arrived in Runan and heard Xu Shao's fame, he invited him to serve as merit assessor. The rapacious were banished and the court filled with incorrupt officials. A Yuan clansman who loved a good name had been magistrate of Puyang; he quit his post and rode home with outriders and a second chariot. On the border of the commandery he sighed, "I cannot let Xu Zijiang lay eyes on this equipage." So he sent the retinue away and drove back in a lone cart. Summoned to the duke's secretariat, named magistrate of Yanling, and recommended as a candidate for high office, he refused every appointment. While avoiding chaos in the south, he circled each kingdom like a bird on the wing before he would alight. He died in Yuzhang at forty-six. He left a son, Hun, who won fame under the Wei.〉

常林字伯槐，河内温人也。年七岁，有父党造门，问林：「伯先在否？汝何不拜！」林曰：「虽当下客，临子字父，何拜之有？」於是咸共嘉之。〈魏略曰：林少单贫。虽贫，自非手力，不取之於人。性好学，汉末为诸生，带经耕鉏。其妻常自餽饷之，林虽在田野，其相敬如宾。〉太守王匡起兵讨董卓，遣诸生於属县微伺吏民罪负，便收之，考责钱谷赎罪，稽迟则夷灭宗族，以崇威严。林叔父挝客，为诸生所白，匡怒收治。舉宗惶怖，不知所责多少，惧系者不救。林往见匡同县胡母彪曰：「王府君以文武高才，临吾鄙郡。鄙郡表里山河，土广民殷，又多贤能，惟所择用。今主上幼冲，贼臣虎据，华夏震栗，雄才奋用之秋也。若欲诛天下之贼，扶王室之微，智者望风，应之若响，克乱在和，何征不捷。苟无恩德，任失其人，覆亡將至，何暇匡翼朝廷，崇立功名乎？君其藏之！」因说叔父见拘之意。彪即书责匡，匡原林叔父。林乃避地上党，耕种山阿。当时旱蝗，林獨丰收，尽呼比邻，升斗分之。，依故河间太守陈延壁。陈、冯二姓，旧族冠冕。张楊利其妇女，贪其资货。林率其宗族，为之策谋。见围六十餘日，卒全堡壁。

Chang Lin, courtesy name Bohuai, came from Wen in Henei commandery. When he was seven, a friend of his father's visited and asked, "Is your father Bozai in? Why do you not bow to your elder!" Lin answered, "I am the younger man, but you stand before the son and use my father's style—where is the bow you expect?" Everyone present praised him. 〈The Wei lue records that Chang Lin grew up poor and on his own. Even in want he would accept nothing he had not earned himself. He loved books; in the last years of Han he studied as a licentiate, shouldering his texts to the field as he hoed. His wife would carry meals to him in the fields, yet they kept the courtesy of host and guest even in the mud.〉 Prefect Wang Kuang mobilized against Dong Zhuo and sent students through his counties to sniff out offenses; anyone seized was ransomed for grain and coin, and delay meant extermination of the lineage—all to cow the people. Chang Lin's uncle had thrashed a guest; the students denounced him, and Wang Kuang threw him in jail in a rage. The clan panicked, unsure what sum would buy him free, and despaired of saving him. Chang Lin called on Huwu Biao, a townsman of Prefect Wang, and said, "Your lord Wang brings civil and military gifts to our poor border commandery. We are ringed by river and hill, our soil is wide and our folk numerous, and talent is thick on the ground—take whom you will. The boy emperor sits the throne while rebels squat like tigers and the realm shudders; now is the hour to rally great ability. If you mean to strike the realm's traitors and steady the royal house, wise men will answer your call like an echo; peace wins wars—what foe could stand? Without mercy and the right appointments, collapse follows; how then will you aid the throne or win a name? Bear that in mind!" He went on to explain his uncle's plight. Huwu Biao wrote Wang Kuang a sharp letter, and Wang released Chang Lin's uncle. Chang Lin withdrew to Shangdang and tilled a fold in the hills. When drought and locusts wasted the land, only his fields ripened; he summoned every neighbor and meted out grain by the measure. He then sheltered on the fort of Chen Yan, once prefect of Hejian. The Chens and Fengs were great houses of long standing. Zhang Yang eyed their women and their wealth. Chang Lin led his kinsmen and planned their defense. The siege lasted over sixty days, yet the rampart held.

并州刺史高幹表为骑都尉，林辞不受。后刺史梁习荐州界名士林及楊俊、王凌、王象、荀纬，太祖皆以为县长。林宰南和，治化有成，超迁博陵太守、幽州刺史，所在有绩。文帝为五官將，林为功曹。太祖西征，田银、苏伯反，幽、冀扇动。文帝欲亲自讨之，林曰：「昔忝博陵，又在幽州，贼之形势，可料度也。北方吏民，乐安厌乱，服化已久，守善者多。银、伯犬羊相聚，智小谋大，不能为害。方今大軍在远，外有强敌，將軍为天下之镇也，轻动远舉，虽克不武。」文帝从之，遣將往伐，应时克灭。

Gao Gan, inspector of Bingzhou, nominated him chief of cavalry; Chang Lin refused the post. Later Liang Xi, as inspector, recommended Chang Lin, Yang Jun, Wang Ling, Wang Xiang, and Xun Wei; Cao Cao named each of them county magistrate. As magistrate of Nanhe he governed so well that he skipped grades to prefect of Boling and inspector of Youzhou, leaving a record of achievement at every post. While still heir as general of the five offices, Cao Pi kept Chang Lin as merit assessor. During Cao Cao's western campaign, Tian Yin and Su Bo rose, and Youzhou and Jizhou stirred. The heir wanted to take the field in person; Chang Lin said, "I have served at Boling and in Youzhou; I can read this revolt. Northerners love quiet and loathe chaos; they have long accepted your sway, and most stay honest. Tian Yin and Su Bo are a flock of strays—too clever by half and no real threat. Now the great army is far away and a strong foe presses without; the general is the empire's bulwark. A light move on a distant campaign, even if victorious, is not martial." The heir listened, dispatched a commander, and the rebels were crushed in short order.

出为平原太守、魏郡东部都尉，入为丞相东曹属。魏国既建，拜尚书。文帝践阼，迁少府，封乐陽亭侯，〈《魏略》曰：林性既清白，当官又严。少府寺与鸿胪对门，时崔林为鸿胪。崔性阔达，不与林同，数数闻林挝吏声，不以为可。林夜挝吏，不胜痛，叫呼敖敖彻曙。明日，崔出门，与林车相遇，乃啁林曰：「闻卿为廷尉，尔邪？」林不觉答曰：「不也。」崔曰：「卿不为廷尉，昨夜何故考囚乎？」林大惭，然不能自止。〉转大司农。明帝即位，进封高陽乡侯，徙光禄勋太常。晋宣王以林乡邑耆德，每为之拜。或谓林曰：「司马公贵重，君宜止之。」林曰：「司马公自欲敦长幼之叙，为后生之法。贵非吾之所畏，拜非吾之所制也。」言者踧踖而退。〈《魏略》曰：初，林少与司马京兆善。太傅每见林，辄欲跪。林止之曰：「公尊贵矣，止也！」及司徒缺，太傅有意欲以林补之。案魏略此语，与本傳反。臣松之以为林之为人，不畏权贵者也。论其然否，谓本傳为是。〉时论以林节操清峻，欲致之公辅，而林遂称疾笃。拜光禄大夫。年八十三，薨，追赠骠骑將軍，葬如公礼，谥曰贞侯。

He left court for prefect of Pingyuan and eastern division chief commandant of Wei, then returned as a clerk in the chancellor's eastern bureau. When Wei was founded he became supervisor of the masters of writing. Under Emperor Wen he rose to privy treasurer and village marquis of Leyang, 〈The Wei lue notes that Chang Lin was incorrupt by nature and stern in office. His bureau faced the chamberlain for dependencies; Cui Lin held that post. Cui Lin was easygoing and unlike him; again and again he heard Chang Lin thrashing clerks and thought it wrong. Chang Lin flogged clerks deep into the night; they howled in agony until daybreak. Next morning Cui Lin stepped out, met Chang Lin's cart, and called, "So you are commandant of justice now?" No," Chang Lin answered before he thought." Then why," Cui shot back, "were you examining prisoners all night?" Chang Lin flushed with shame yet could not break the habit.〉 He moved on to grand minister of agriculture. Emperor Ming raised his fief to township marquis of Gaoyang and moved him to superintendant of the palace attendants and minister of rites. Sima Yi, as the elder statesman of their native place, bowed to him on every meeting. Friends told him, "Lord Sima is too exalted; you should forbid the obeisance." Chang Lin replied, "Lord Sima chooses to stress seniority and teach the young by example. His rank does not frighten me, and I cannot command his courtesy." The adviser withdrew, abashed. 〈The Wei lue adds that in youth Chang Lin was close to Sima Lang of Jingzhao. Whenever the grand tutor met him he started to kneel. Chang Lin checked him: "Your station is far too high for that—enough!" When the ministry of education fell empty, the grand tutor meant to name him. The Wei lue passage contradicts the main text. Pei Songzhi holds that Chang Lin was a man who did not quail before the mighty. On balance the standard biography should be trusted.〉 The court admired his stern integrity and meant to promote him to the top ranks, but he pleaded sudden serious illness. He received the title grandee of brilliant splendor. He died at eighty-three, was posthumously named general of agile cavalry, buried with honors due a duke, and titled Marquis Zhen.

子时嗣，为泰山太守，坐法诛。时弟静紹封。〈案晋书，诸葛诞反，大將軍东征，时坐称疾，为司马文王所法。

His son Shi inherited the fief, served as prefect of Taishan, and was put to death for a legal offense. His brother Jing received the succession. 〈The Jinshu states that during Zhuge Dan's rebellion Shi claimed illness on the eastern campaign and was executed by Sima Zhao.

《魏略》以林及吉茂、沐并、时苗四人为《清介傳》。 ◎吉茂字叔暢，冯翊池陽人也，世为著姓。好书，不耻恶衣恶食，而耻一物之不知。建安初，关中始平，茂与扶风苏则共入武功南山，隐处精思数岁。州舉茂才，除临汾令，居官清静，吏民不忍欺。转为武德侯庶子。二十二年，坐其宗人吉本等起事被收。先是科禁内学及兵书，而茂皆有，匿不送官。及其被收，不知当坐本等，顾谓其左右曰：「我坐书也。」会锺相国证茂、本服第已绝，故得不坐。后以茂为武陵太守，不之官。转酂相，以国省，拜议郎。景初中病亡。自茂修行，从少至长，冬则被裘，夏则裋褐，行则步涉，食则茨藿，臣役妻子，室如悬磬。其或馈遗，一不肯受。虽不以此高人，亦心疾不义而贵且富者。先时国家始制九品，各使诸郡选置中正，差叙自公卿以下，至于郎吏，功德材行所任。茂同郡护羌校尉王琰，前数为郡守，不名为清白。而琰子嘉仕历诸县，亦复为通人。嘉时还为散骑郎，冯翊郡移嘉为中正。嘉叙茂虽在上第，而状甚下，云：「德优能少。」茂愠曰：「痛乎，我效汝父子冠帻劫人邪！」初，茂同产兄黄，以十二年中从公府掾为长陵令。是时科禁长吏擅去官，而黄闻司徒趙温薨，自以为故吏，违科奔丧，为司隶锺繇所收，遂伏法。茂时为白衣，始有清名於三辅，以为兄坐追义而死，怨怒不肯哭。至岁终，繇舉茂。议者以为茂必不就，及舉既到而茂就之，故时人或以茂为畏繇，或以茂为髦士也。 ◎沐并字德信，河间人也。少孤苦，袁紹父子时，始为名吏。有志介，尝过姊，姊为杀鸡炊黍而不留也。然为人公果，不畏强御，丞相召署軍谋掾。黄初中，为成皋令。校事刘肇出过县，遣人呼县吏，求索□谷。是时蝗旱，官无有见。未办之间，肇人从入并之閤下，呴呼骂吏。并怒，因鵕履提刀而出，多从吏卒，欲收肇。肇觉知驱走，具以状闻。有诏：「肇为牧司爪牙吏，而并欲收缚，无所忌惮，自恃清名邪？」遂收欲杀之。（肇）髡决减死，刑竟复吏，由是放散十餘年。至正始中，为三府长史。时吴使硃然、诸葛瑾攻围樊城，遣船兵於岘山东斫材，牂牁人兵作食，有先熟者呼后熟者，言：「共食来。」后熟者答言：「不也。」呼者曰：「汝欲作沐德信邪？」其名流布，播於异域如此。虽自华夏，不知者以为前世人也。为长史八年，晚出为济阴太守，召还，拜议郎。年六十餘，自虑身无常，豫作终制，戒其子以俭葬，曰：〉

The Wei lue grouped Chang Lin with Ji Mao, Mu Bing, and Shi Miao in its "Pure and Upright" section. ◎Ji Mao, courtesy name Shuchang, came from Chiyang in Fengyi; his family had long been eminent. He loved learning; poor clothes and plain fare did not shame him, but ignorance did. Early in Jian'an, when the Guanzhong had just been settled, he and Su Ze of Fufeng withdrew to the southern Wugong hills and spent years in solitary study. The province put him forward as flourishing talent; as magistrate of Linfen he ruled with such quiet integrity that neither clerk nor commoner would cheat him. He became a major to the heir of the Marquis of Wude. In the twenty-second year he was arrested when his kinsman Ji Ben mutinied. Edicts had banned occult texts and books of war; Ji Mao owned both and had concealed them instead of surrendering them. At his arrest he thought it was about the books, and told his attendants, "They have me for my library." Minister Zhong then proved that Ji Mao's line had been cut off from Ji Ben's, so he went free. Later he was named prefect of Wuling but never took up the office. He became magistrate of Zan; when that state was folded he was made gentleman consultant. He died of illness during the Jingchu years. All his life he dressed in furs in winter and homespun in summer, walked everywhere, ate coarse greens, treated wife and children like hired hands, and kept a bare hall like an empty lute. He would not take a single gift. He did not parade his austerity, yet he inwardly scorned the rich and titled who lacked principle. When the nine-rank system began and each commandery named a rectifier to grade everyone from grandees to petty clerks by merit and character, Wang Yan, protector of the Qiang in Ji Mao's commandery, had served as prefect more than once without a name for honesty. Yet Wang Jia, his son, had held many county posts and passed as a capable man. When Wang Jia came back as gentleman of esoteric attendance, Fengyi named him rectifier. Wang Jia ranked Ji Mao highest but wrote a scathing appraisal: "Much virtue, little talent." Ji Mao fumed, "So I am aping you and your father, hat and scarf, shaking people down?" Earlier, Ji Mao's full brother Huang had risen in the twelfth year from a clerk in the duke's office to magistrate of Changling. Statutes then barred magistrates from quitting their posts; Huang heard Zhao Wen had died, styled himself an old client, bolted to mourn in defiance of the law, was arrested by Zhong Yao, and paid with his life. Ji Mao was still a private scholar building a clean reputation in the capital region; he thought his brother had died for a scruple of duty, and in anger he would not mourn him. At year's end Zhong Yao nominated Ji Mao. Onlookers assumed Ji Mao would refuse; when the summons came he took the post, so some called him afraid of Zhong Yao and others hailed him as a true gentleman. ◎Mu Bing, courtesy name Dexin, came from Hejian. He grew up poor and fatherless and first made his name as an official in Yuan Shao's day. He was stiff-backed in principle: visiting his sister, she fed him but would not keep him the night—an insult he never forgot. Still he was blunt and brave before power, and the chancellor named him to the army planning staff. Under Huangchu he governed Chenggao. Inspector Liu Zhao traveled through the district and had his men call in the yamen staff to requisition grain. Drought and locusts had emptied the public stores. While the clerks were still scrambling, Zhao's men burst under Mu Bing's quarters and screamed at the staff. Mu Bing snapped, threw on his shoes, drew a blade, and marched out with a file of soldiers to seize Liu Zhao. Liu Zhao saw trouble coming, fled at a gallop, and memorialized the whole affair. The court answered: "Liu Zhao is the shepherds' enforcer, yet Mu Bing tried to clap him in irons—reckless beyond measure. Does he lean on a spotless name?" Mu Bing was arrested and nearly put to death. (Liu Zhao) He was shorn and spared execution; after serving his term he was reinstated as a clerk, yet spent over a decade in the wilderness. In Zhengshi he rose to chief clerk of the Three Offices. When Wu's Zhu Ran and Zhuge Jin ringed Fan, their sailors cut timber east of Xian Mountain while Zangke troops made dinner; men whose rice was done shouted to slower cooks, "Bring your bowls over here." Not yet," the laggards called back." Trying to act Mu Dexin, are you?" they jeered. His fame crossed the border in just that fashion. Chinese who did not know him supposed he belonged to an earlier age. Eight years as chief clerk were followed by a belated posting as prefect of Jiyin, recall, and appointment as gentleman consultant. After his sixtieth year he expected death at any moment, wrote his own burial testament, and told his sons he wanted the simplest rites:〉

告云、仪等：夫礼者，生民之始教，而百世之中庸也。故力行者则为君子，不务者终为小人，然非圣人莫能履其从容也。是以富贵者有骄奢之过，而贫贱者讥於固陋，於是养生送死，苟窃非礼。由斯观之，陽虎玙璠，甚於暴骨，桓魋石椁，不如速朽。此言儒学拨乱反正、鸣鼓矫俗之大义也，未是夫穷理尽性、陶冶变化之实论也。若能原始要终，以天地为一区，万物为刍狗，该览玄通，求形景之宗，同祸福之素，一死生之命，吾有慕於道矣。夫道之为物，惟恍惟忽，寿为欺魄，夭为凫没，身沦有无，与神消息，含悦阴陽，甘梦太极。奚以棺椁为牢，衣裳为缠？尸系地下，长幽桎梏，岂不哀哉！昔庄周阔达，无所適莫；又楊王孫裸体，贵不久容耳。至夫末世，缘生怨死之徒，乃有含珠鳞柙，玉床象衽，杀人以狥；壙穴之内，锢以纻絮，藉以蜃炭，千载僵燥，讬类神仙。於是大教陵迟，竞於厚葬，谓庄子为放荡，以王孫为戮尸，岂复识古有衣薪之鬼，而野有狐狸之胔乎哉？吾以材质滓浊，汙於清流。昔忝国恩，历试宰守，所在无效，代匠伤指，狼跋首尾，无以雪耻。如不可求，从吾所好。今年过耳顺，奄忽无常，苟得获没，即以吾身襲於王孫矣。上冀以赎巿朝之逋罪，下以亲道化之灵祖。顾尔幼昏，未知臧否，若將逐俗，抑废吾志，私称从令，未必为孝；而犯魏颗听治之贤，尔为弃父之命，谁或矜之！使死而有知，吾將尸视。

He wrote, For my sons Yun and Yi: ceremony is humanity's first teacher and the steady path through the ages. Diligence makes a gentleman; slackness makes a knave—only a sage can tread that middle way without strain. So the great grow proud and extravagant, the humble are scorned as mean, and both sides smuggle their burials past the rites. Seen clearly, Yang Hu's mouth-gems shame exposed bone, and Huan Tui's stone vault is worse than prompt decay. That is Confucius's high call to set the world right—not the subtle teaching that refines nature to the limit. Trace origin to end, treat cosmos as one yard and creatures as chaff, fathom the silent pivot, trace form and shadow to their root, level blessing and woe, and weld life to death—I would bow to such a Way. The Way itself is hazy: long years mock the ghost, a short span is a splash in the pond; flesh flickers between is and is-not while spirit waxes and wanes; it cradles yin-yang's delight and dreams the supreme pivot. Why make coffins a jail and winding-sheets chains? To pin a corpse underground forever is pitiful beyond words! Zhuangzi ranged free, bound to no side; Yang Wangsun went to the grave unclad, scorning a long tenancy in the flesh. Decadent ages hoard pearls, scale-lined coffins, jade beds, ivory mats, and even human victims; they pad the pit with hemp and clam ash until the corpse mummifies and they fancy themselves immortals. Teaching collapses while men compete in tombs, jeering Zhuangzi as wild and Wangsun as defiling the dead—have they forgotten the shroud of brushwood or the fields strewn with bones? I know my clay frame is sludge that stains the clear current. I once wasted the throne's trust, served term after term, and left no mark—like a bungling apprentice who cuts the master's hand, lurching from blunder to blunder with shame unspent. If you cannot reach that height, honor what I love. I am past sixty; the end may strike at any hour. When I die, let my corpse go the way Yang Wangsun chose. Above I may atone for public failings; below I may join the enlightened dead who guard the teaching. You are still boys: if you chase fashion, smother my will, and call it duty, you are not truly filial; you would shame Wei Ke's wisdom and disobey a father's charge—who would pity you then? If the shades have sight, I will haunt the choice you make.

〈至嘉平中，病甚。临困，又敕豫掘埳。戒气绝，令二人舉尸即埳，绝哭泣之声，止妇女之送，禁吊祭之宾，无设抟治粟米之奠。又戒后亡者不得入藏，不得封树。妻子皆遵之。 ◎时苗字德胄，钜鹿人也。少清白，为人疾恶。建安中，入丞相府。出为寿春令，令行风靡。扬州治在其县，时蒋济为治中。苗以初至往谒济，济素嗜酒，適会其醉，不能见苗。苗恚恨还，刻木为人，署曰「酒徒蒋济」，置之墙下，旦夕射之。州郡虽知其所为不恪，然以其履行过人，无若之何。又其始之官，乘薄軬車，黄牸牛，布被囊。居官岁餘，牛生一犊。及其去，留其犊，谓主簿曰：「令来时本无此犊，犊是淮南所生有也。」群吏曰：「六畜不识父，自当随母。」苗不听，时人皆以为激，然由此名闻天下。还为太官令，领其郡中正，定九品，於叙人才不能宽，然纪人之短，虽在久远，衔之不置。如所忿蒋济者，仕进至太尉，济不以苗前毁己为嫌，苗亦不以济贵更屈意。为令数岁，不肃而治。迁典农中郎將。年七十餘，以正始中病亡也。〉

〈In Jiaping his illness turned mortal. On his deathbed he ordered a trench opened ahead of time. When breath failed, two bearers were to drop him into the trench at once, with no wailing, no female escort, no guests of condolence, and no kneaded rice at the bier. Later kin were not to join his tomb or raise a mound or plant markers. His household carried out every clause. ◎Shi Miao, courtesy name Dezhou, hailed from Julu. Young Shi Miao was incorrupt and fierce against wrong. In the Jian'an years he joined the chancellor's staff. As magistrate of Shouchun his commands ran before him like a gale. The Yangzhou headquarters stood in his town while Jiang Ji was assistant administrator. Shi Miao called on Jiang Ji the day he arrived; Jiang was a drunkard, was deep in his cups, and refused him an audience. Shi Miao went home in a rage, carved a dummy inscribed "drunkard Jiang Ji," propped it by his wall, and riddled it with arrows day and night. Authorities knew it was eccentric, yet his character awed them into silence. He came to his post in a ramshackle cart behind a yellow cow, bedding rolled in sackcloth. A year on, the cow dropped a calf. On leaving he left the calf, telling the registrar, "I brought no calf; this beast was born on Huainan soil." Stock never knows its sire," the staff answered; "let it stay with its mother." Shi Miao refused—and though men called him fanatical, the story made him famous from end to end of the empire. Recalled as grand provisioner and rectifier for his home commandery, he ranked candidates without lenience and never forgave a slight, however old. Jiang Ji, whom he had mocked, climbed to grand commandant yet bore no malice, and Shi Miao did not crawl because Jiang grew great. Years as magistrate taught the county order without terror. He ended as general of agriculture. He died of illness in Zhengshi, aged over seventy.〉

楊俊字季才，河内获嘉人也。受学陈留边让，让器异之。俊以兵乱方起，而河内处四达之衢，必为战场，乃扶持老弱诣京、密山间，同行者百餘家。俊振济贫乏，通共有无。宗族知故为人所略作奴仆者凡六家，俊皆倾财赎之。司马宣王年十六七，与俊相遇，俊曰：「此非常之人也。」又司马朗早有声名，其族兄芝，众未之知，惟俊言曰：「芝虽夙望不及朗，实理但有优耳。」俊转避地并州。本郡王象，少孤特，为人仆隶，年十七八，见使牧羊而私读书，因被箠楚。俊嘉其才质，即赎象著家，聘娶立屋，然后与别。

Yang Jun, courtesy name Jicai, came from Huojia in Henei. He studied with Bian Rang of Chenliu, who singled him out as exceptional. Seeing war spread and Henei doomed to be a killing ground, he shepherded the aged and feeble into the mountains between Jing and Mi, a hundred households strong. He fed the hungry and pooled every scrap the refugees owned. Six families of kin and friends had been dragged off as bondsmen; Yang Jun emptied his purse to buy them free. When Sima Yi was still a youth, Yang Jun met him and said, "This boy is no common mortal." Also Sima Lang had long enjoyed fame; his cousin Zhi was still unknown to the crowd, yet only Jun said, "Zhi may not match Lang's early renown, but in solid substance he is actually the stronger." He next withdrew to Bingzhou. Wang Xiang of the same commandery was a bondsman, orphaned and despised; set to tend sheep at seventeen, he stole time for books and was whipped. Yang Jun admired him, bought his freedom, housed and married him, then let him go to make his own fortune.

太祖除俊曲梁长，入为丞相掾属，舉茂才，安陵令，迁南陽太守。宣德教，立学校，吏民称之。徙为征南軍师。魏国既建，迁中尉。太祖征汉中，魏讽反於鄴。俊自劾诣行在所。俊以身方罪免，笺辞太子。太子不悦，曰：「楊中尉便去，何太高远邪！」遂被书左迁平原太守。文帝践阼，复在南陽。时王象为散骑常侍，荐俊曰：「伏见南陽太守楊俊，秉纯粹之茂质，履忠肃之弘量，体仁足以育物，笃实足以动众，克长后进，惠训不倦，外宽内直，仁而有断。自初弹冠，所历垂化，再守南陽，恩德流著，殊邻异党，襁负而至。今境守清静，无所展其智能，宜还本朝，宣力辇毂，熙帝之载。」

Cao Cao named him magistrate of Quliang, then clerk in the chancellor's office, flourishing talent, magistrate of Anling, and finally prefect of Nanyang. He preached virtue, opened schools, and won praise from every rank. He moved to staff director on the southern campaign. When the Wei kingdom was formed he became commandant of the capital. During Cao Cao's Hanzhong campaign Wei Feng mutinied at Ye. Yang Jun denounced his own oversight and rode to the field headquarters. He accepted blame, was stripped of office, and wrote the heir to quit his post. The heir fumed, "The commandant of the capital just walks away—how proud he must be!" An edict busted him down to prefect of Pingyuan. Emperor Wen restored him to Nanyang. Wang Xiang, as palace attendant, memorialized: "Prefect Yang Jun combines flawless character with grave loyalty; his humanity nurtures all, his constancy moves the people; he trains the young without wearying, seems gentle yet cuts clean when needed. Since his first office his virtue has touched every place he served; twice he has held Nanyang and migrants flock in swaddling cloth from afar. Today his frontier lies calm and his gifts idle—call him to court to labor at the axle-tree and magnify the throne's work."

俊自少及长，以人伦自任。同郡审固、陈留卫恂本皆出自兵伍，俊资拔奖致，咸作佳士；后固历位郡守，恂御史、县令，其明鉴行义多此类也。初，临菑侯与俊善，太祖適嗣未定，密访群司。俊虽并论文帝、临菑才分所长，不適有所据当，然称临菑犹美，文帝常以恨之。黄初三年，车驾至宛，以巿不丰乐，发怒收俊。尚书仆射司马宣王、常侍王象、荀纬请俊，叩头流血，帝不许。俊曰：「吾知罪矣。」遂自杀。众冤痛之。〈《世语》曰：俊二孫：览字公质，汝阴太守；猗字公彦，尚书：晋东海王越舅也。览子沈，字宣弘，散骑常侍。〉

All his life Yang Jun made judging men his calling. Shen Gu of his commandery and Wei Xun of Chenliu were common soldiers until Yang Jun backed them into respectability; Shen Gu became a prefect and Wei Xun an imperial clerk and magistrate—such was his eye for quality. Early on the heir of Linzi befriended him while Cao Cao had not picked a successor and sounded his ministers in secret. Yang Jun compared Cao Pi and the Linzi heir without picking sides, yet he still favored the younger prince—and Cao Pi never forgave him. In Huangchu 3 the emperor reached Wan, found the market too quiet for his taste, and had Yang Jun arrested in a fury. Sima Yi, Wang Xiang, and Xun Wei begged for Yang Jun until their foreheads bled; the emperor refused. Yang Jun said, "I know I am guilty." Then he took his own life. The public held it a gross injustice and mourned him. 〈The Shiyu records two grandsons: Lan (Gongzhi), prefect of Ruyin; Yi (Gongyan), supervisor of the masters of writing and maternal uncle of Sima Yue, Prince of Donghai. Shen (Xuanhong), Lan's son, served as regular attendant at the palace gate.〉

〈《魏略》曰：王象字羲伯。既为俊所知拔，果有才志。建安中，与同郡荀纬等俱为魏太子所礼待。及王粲、陈琳、阮瑀、路粹等亡后，新出之中，惟象才最高。魏有天下，拜象散骑侍郎，迁为常侍，封列侯。受诏撰皇览，使象领秘书监。象从延康元年始撰集，数岁成，藏於秘府，合四十餘部，部有数十篇，通合八百餘万字。象既性器和厚，又文采温雅，用是京师归美，称为儒宗。车驾南巡，未到宛，有诏百官不得干豫郡县。及车驾到，而宛令不解诏旨，闭巿门。帝闻之，忿然曰：「吾是寇邪？」乃收宛令及太守楊俊。诏问尚书：「汉明帝杀几二千石？」时象见诏文，知俊必不免。乃当帝前叩头，流血竟面，请俊减死一等。帝不答，欲释入禁中。象引帝衣，帝顾谓象曰：「我知楊俊与卿本末耳。今听卿，是无我也。卿宁无俊邪？无我邪？」象以帝言切，乃缩手。帝遂入，决俊法，然后乃出。象自恨不能济俊，遂发病死。〉

〈The Wei lue gives Wang Xiang, courtesy Xibo. After Yang Jun discovered and sponsored him, he showed real ability and drive. In the Jian'an years he and fellow townsman Xun Wei were both favored by the Wei heir. When Wang Can, Chen Lin, Ruan Yu, and Lu Cui were gone, he alone among the new men had the sharpest gifts. Wei ennobled him as gentleman of esoteric attendance, then regular attendant, with a full marquisate. An edict commissioned the Huang Lan and made him director of the palace library. He began the work in Yankang 1; years later it filled the secret vault—forty-odd sections, dozens of chapters each, some eight hundred thousand graphs. His disposition was gentle, his prose refined, and the capital hailed him as the dean of letters. Before Wan came in sight, an edict barred capital officials from interfering in local government. The magistrate of Wan misread the order and locked the bazaar. The emperor snarled, "Do I look like a raider?" He jailed both the magistrate and Prefect Yang Jun. He demanded of the ministry, "How many salaried ministers did Han Mingdi put to death?" Wang Xiang read the text and saw Yang Jun was doomed. He threw himself at the throne and begged to spare Yang Jun one step short of death. The emperor stayed silent and started toward the private apartments. Wang Xiang caught his sleeve; the emperor wheeled and said, "I know how you and Yang Jun are tied. If I yield to you now, I erase my own authority. Would you rather lose Yang Jun? Or lose your sovereign?" The rebuke cut so deep that Wang Xiang let go. He went in, executed the sentence on Yang Jun, and emerged afterward. Wang Xiang died of grief and shame for not saving him.〉

杜襲字子绪，颍川定陵人也。曾祖父安，祖父根，著名前世。〈先贤行状曰：安年十岁，名称乡党。至十三，入太学，号曰神童。既名知人，清高绝俗。洛陽令周纡数候安，安常逃避不见。时贵戚慕安高行，多有与书者，辄不发，以虑后患，常凿壁藏书。后诸与书者果有大罪，推捕所与交通者，吏至门，安乃发壁出书，印封如故，当时皆嘉其虑远。三府并辟，公车特徵，拜宛令。先是宛有报雠者，其令不忍致理，將与俱亡。县中豪强有告其处者，致捕得。安深疾恶之，到官治戮，肆之於巿。惧有司绳弹，遂自免。后徵拜巴郡太守，率身正下，以礼化俗。以病卒官，时服薄敛，素器不漆，子自將车。州郡贤之，表章坟墓。根舉孝廉，除郎中。时和熹邓后临朝，外戚横恣，安帝长大，犹未归政。根乃与同时郎上书直谏，邓后怒，收根等伏诛。诛者皆绢囊盛，於殿上扑地。执法者以根德重事公，默语行事人，使不加力。诛讫，车载城外，根以扑轻得苏息，遂闭目不动摇。经三日，乃密起逃窜，为宜城山中酒家客，积十五年，酒家知其贤，常厚敬待。邓后崩，安帝谓根久死。以根等忠直，普下天下，录见诛者子孫。根乃自出，徵诣公车，拜符节令。或问根：「往日遭难，天下同类知故不少，何至自苦历年如此？」根答曰：「周旋人间，非绝迹之处。邂逅发露，祸及亲知，故不为也。」迁济阴太守，以德让为政，风移俗改。年七十八以寿终，棺不加漆，敛以时服。长吏下车，常先诣安、根墓致祠。〉襲避乱荆州，刘表待以宾礼。同郡繁钦数见奇於表，襲喻之曰：「吾所以与子俱来者，徒欲龙蟠幽薮，待时凤翔。岂谓刘牧当为拨乱之主，而规长者委身哉？子若见能不已，非吾徒也。吾其与子绝矣！」钦慨然曰：「请敬受命。」襲遂南適长沙。

Du Xi, courtesy name Zixu, came from Dingling in Yingchuan. His great-grandfather Du An and grandfather Du Gen were celebrated in an earlier generation. 〈The Xianxian xingzhuang says Du An was famous in his township at ten. At thirteen he entered the academy and was hailed as a wonder child. He won repute for reading men and lived aloof from the crowd. Magistrate Zhou Yu of Luoyang called repeatedly; Du An hid and would not receive him. Great families sent letters admiring his virtue; he sealed them inside his walls unread, dreading future guilt by association. When those writers fell, police traced their contacts; Du An broke open the niche, produced every letter unbroken, and won praise for his prudence. The Three Offices and the special summons named him magistrate of Wan. A blood avenger hid in Wan; the sitting magistrate meant to run away with him rather than hand him over. Local magnates tipped off the authorities and both were taken. Du An took office, executed both men, and displayed the corpses in the marketplace. Fearing impeachment, he quit. Recall made him prefect of Ba; he taught by example and turned the people with ritual. He died in post with a plain coffin, undyed vessels, and his son hauling the bier. Local officials marked the graves in tribute. Du Gen rose as filial and incorrupt to gentleman of the interior. The Deng empress regent let her kin rampage while the grown emperor remained a figurehead. Du Gen joined other gentlemen in a blunt remonstrance; the empress had them seized and executed. Each corpse was bagged in silk and flung down in court. Because Du Gen was revered, the headsman told the clubbers to pull their blows. The cart hauled them out; the light fall revived Du Gen, who played dead. Three nights later he fled and spent fifteen years as a potman in the hills of Yicheng; the innkeeper honored his quality. When the regent died, the court thought Du Gen long gone. An edict called the sons and grandsons of the loyal victims to register for office. Du Gen presented himself, answered the summons, and became master of tallies. Someone asked Gen: "When you suffered disaster, many of your kind across the realm knew you; why torment yourself for so many years?" He answered, "Hiding in the crowd is not the same as vanishing. One slip would doom everyone I know; that is why I stayed away." As prefect of Jiyin he ruled with deference until manners changed. He died at seventy-eight with an unvarnished coffin and ordinary grave clothes. New magistrates began their terms with offerings at the graves of Du An and Du Gen.〉 Du Xi took refuge with Liu Biao, who treated him as an honored guest. When Liu Biao favored fellow townsman Fan Qin, Du Xi warned him, "We came south only to lie low like dragons in a marsh until the phoenix hour strikes. Surely you do not mistake Liu Biao for a restorer of order and mean to sell your elders into his service? If you keep showing off, you are no companion of mine. I will cut you off!" Fan Qin bowed and said, "I obey." Du Xi went on to Changsha.

建安初，太祖迎天子都许。襲逃还乡里，太祖以为西鄂长。县滨南境，寇贼纵横。时长吏皆敛民保城郭，不得农业。野荒民困，仓庾空虚。襲自知恩结於民，乃遣老弱各分散就田业，留丁强备守，吏民欢悦。会荆州出步骑万人来攻城，襲乃悉召县吏民任拒守者五十餘人，与之要誓。其亲戚在外欲自营护者，恣听遣出；皆叩头原致死。於是身执矢石，率与戮力。吏民感恩，咸为用命。临陈斩数百级，而襲众死者三十餘人，其餘十八人尽被创，贼得入城。襲帅伤痍吏民决围得出，死丧略尽，而无反背者。遂收散民，徙至摩陂营，吏民慕而从之如归。〈《九州春秋》曰：建安六年，刘表攻西鄂，西鄂长杜子绪帅县男女婴城而守。时南陽功曹柏孝长亦在城中，闻兵攻声，恐惧，入室闭户，牵被覆头。相攻半日，稍敢出面。其明，侧立而听。二日，往出户问消息。至四五日，乃更负楯亲斗，语子绪曰：「勇可习也。」〉

Early in Jian'an Cao Cao brought the emperor to Xu. Du Xi slipped home and was named magistrate of Xi'e. The district lay on the southern border amid roaming raiders. Other magistrates drove every soul behind the ramparts and let the fields go wild. Fields lay fallow, people starved, bins stood bare. Du Xi knew he lived by the people's trust: he sent elders to the plots, kept fit men on the walls, and the county cheered. When Liu Biao hurled ten thousand men at the town, Du Xi rallied fifty defenders and bound them with an oath. Anyone who needed to slip out to protect family outside was free to go; the rest kowtowed and swore to die at their posts. He took his place on the parapet beside them. Grateful for his trust, they obeyed to the last man. They cut down hundreds but lost thirty dead and left eighteen wounded, and the foe poured through the breach. Du Xi cut his way out with the wounded; almost none survived, yet no one deserted. He regrouped the survivors and marched them to Mobo; the people followed as though coming home. 〈The Jiuzhou chunqiu records Jian'an 6: Liu Biao besieged Xi'e, and Du Zixu held the walls with every man, woman, and child. Nanyang merit clerk Bo Xiazhang cowered indoors under his quilt at the first clash. Only after half a day did he peek out. Next day he listened from the doorway. By the third he ventured into the street for news. By the fifth he shouldered a shield, joined the melee, and told Du Zixu, "Bravery is a thing you can learn."〉

司隶锺繇表拜议郎参軍事。荀彧又荐襲，太祖以为丞相軍祭酒。魏国既建，为侍中，与王粲、和洽并用。粲强识博闻，故太祖游观出入，多得骖乘，至其见敬不及洽、襲。襲尝獨见，至于夜半。粲性躁竞，起坐曰：「不知公对杜襲道何等也？」洽笑答曰：「天下事岂有尽邪？卿昼侍可矣，悒悒於此，欲兼之乎！」后襲领丞相长史，随太祖到汉中讨张鲁。太祖还，拜襲驸马都尉，留督汉中軍事。绥怀开导，百姓自乐出徙洛、鄴者，八万餘口。夏侯渊为刘备所没，軍丧元帅，將士失色。襲与张郃、郭淮纠摄诸軍事，权宜以郃为督，以一众心，三軍遂定。太祖东还，当选留府长史，镇守长安，主者所选多不当，太祖令曰：「释骐骥而不乘，焉皇皇而更索？」遂以襲为留府长史，驻关中。

Zhong Yao nominated him gentleman consultant with military duties. Xun Yu recommended him again, and Cao Cao made him army libationer. When Wei was founded he joined Wang Can and He Qia as palace attendant. Wang Can rode at Cao Cao's wheel for his encyclopedic memory, yet he never won the esteem He Qia and Du Xi enjoyed. Du Xi alone was kept in audience past midnight. Wang Can, restless, sprang up and asked He Qia, "What is the lord whispering to Du Xi?" He Qia smiled, "Can any man exhaust the business of the realm? You have him by daylight; must you envy him the night too?" Later, as chief clerk, Du Xi followed Cao Cao to Hanzhong against Zhang Lu. On the return march Cao Cao named him commandant of household cavalry and left him to direct the Hanzhong garrison. He won hearts with patient policy until over eighty thousand people volunteered to resettle in Luoyang and Ye. Xiahou Yuan fell to Liu Bei; the host lost its marshal and the ranks went pale. Du Xi joined Zhang He and Guo Huai to steady the command; they named Zhang He temporary commander to steady the ranks, and the army found its feet again. On the eastward march Cao Cao needed a chief clerk to hold Chang'an; the nominations were poor, so he quoted the old saying: "Why loose a good horse and go hunting another?" He named Du Xi chief clerk of the western headquarters and left him in Guanzhong.

时將軍许攸拥部曲，不附太祖而有慢言。太祖大怒，先欲伐之。群臣多谏：「可招怀攸，共讨强敌。」太祖横刀於膝，作色不听。襲入欲谏，太祖逆谓之曰：「吾计以定，卿勿复言。」襲曰：「若殿下计是邪，臣方助殿下成之；若殿下计非邪，虽成宜改之。殿下逆臣，令勿言之，何待下之不阐乎？」太祖曰：「许攸慢吾，如何可置乎？」襲曰：「殿下谓许攸何如人邪？」太祖曰：「凡人也。」襲曰：「夫惟贤知贤，惟圣知圣，凡人安能知非凡人邪？方今豺狼当路而狐狸是先，人將谓殿下避强攻弱，进不为勇，退不为仁。臣闻千钧之弩不为鼷鼠发机，万石之锺不以莛撞起音，今区区之许攸，何足以劳神武哉？」太祖曰：「善。」遂厚抚攸，攸即归服。时夏侯尚暱於太子，情好至密。襲谓尚非益友，不足殊待，以闻太祖。文帝初甚不悦，后乃追思。语在《尚傳》。其柔而不犯，皆此类也。

General Xu You kept a private corps, refused allegiance, and insulted Cao Cao. Cao Cao's first impulse was to crush him. Many ministers remonstrated: "You should summon You and win him over, then strike the strong foe together." Cao Cao laid a blade on his knee and scowled away every plea. Du Xi came to argue; Cao Cao cut him off: "My mind is made up—silence." Du Xi answered, "If the plan is sound, I will help you finish it; if it is wrong, it must be changed even at the last moment. You cut off your own adviser and forbid speech—do you think I will stay dumb?" Du Xi pressed." Cao Cao snapped, "Xu You insulted me—how can I ignore it?" What manner of man is Xu You in your eyes?" Du Xi asked." A mediocrity," said Cao Cao." The worthy recognize worth," Du Xi replied; "how can a mediocrity judge an uncommon man? Wolves bar your path while you chase a fox—people will say you fear the strong and beat the weak; neither advance nor retreat would look honorable. A thousand-jun crossbow is not sprung for a mouse, nor a ten-thousand-dan bell struck with a straw—why waste your majesty on Xu You?" Well said," Cao Cao answered. He showered favors on Xu You, who thereupon yielded. Xiahou Shang was the heir's confidant, closer than brothers. Du Xi warned Cao Cao that Shang was a bad influence on the heir and deserved no special favor. Cao Pi resented it at first, then saw the point. The story is told in the biography of Xiahou Shang. His blend of gentleness and steel ran in this vein throughout.

趙俨字伯然，颍川陽翟人也。避乱荆州，与杜襲、繁钦通财同计，合为一家。太祖始迎献帝都许，俨谓钦曰：「曹镇东应期命世，必能匡济华夏，吾知归矣。」建安二年，年二十七，遂扶持老弱诣太祖，太祖以俨为朗陵长。县多豪猾，无所畏忌。俨取其尤甚者，收缚案验，皆得死罪。俨既囚之，乃表府解放，自是威恩并著。时袁紹舉兵南侵，遣使招诱豫州诸郡，诸郡多受其命。惟陽安郡不动，而都尉李通急录户调。俨见通曰：「方今天下未集，诸郡并叛，怀附者复收其绵绢，小人乐乱，能无遗恨！且远近多虞，不可不详也。」通曰：「紹与大將軍相持甚急，左右郡县背叛乃尔。若绵绢不调送，观听者必谓我顾望，有所须待也。」俨曰：「诚亦如君虑；然当权其轻重，小缓调，当为君释此患。」乃书与荀彧曰：「今陽安郡当送绵绢，道路艰阻，必致寇害。百姓困穷，邻城并叛，易用倾荡，乃一方安危之机也。且此郡人执守忠节，在险不贰。微善必赏，则为义者劝。善为国者，藏之於民。以为国家宜垂慰抚，所敛绵绢，皆俾还之。」彧报曰：「辄白曹公，公文下郡，绵绢悉以还民。」上下欢喜，郡内遂安。

Zhao Yan, courtesy name Boran, came from Yangdi in Yingchuan. In Jingzhou he shared purse and counsel with Du Xi and Fan Qin until the three lived as one family. When Cao Cao brought the emperor to Xu, Zhao Yan told Fan Qin, "Cao Cao is the man of the hour; he will save the realm—I am going to him." In Jian'an 2, at twenty-seven, he shepherded his people to Cao Cao and was named magistrate of Langling. The district swarmed with brazen magnates. Zhao Yan arrested the worst, tried them, and won death sentences for all. Then he petitioned for clemency; awe and mercy became his twin tools. Yuan Shao marched south and bought off most of Yuzhou. Yang'an alone held firm, yet Li Tong squeezed the silk tax without mercy. Zhao Yan warned Li Tong, "The land is still split; to strip silk from loyal towns invites every malcontent to turn coat. Near and far are fragile—think this through." Li Tong answered, "Yuan Shao and our general are deadlocked; the counties all around have gone over. If we fail to send the levy, everyone will say we are sitting on the fence." Zhao Yan conceded, "Your fear is sound; still we must weigh costs—ease the levy a little and I will lift this burden." He wrote Xun Yu: "The silk convoy from Yang'an crosses bandit country. The people are broke, neighbors have mutinied, and one push could topple us—the commandery's fate hangs on this. Yang'an has stayed loyal under fire. Reward small loyalty and you encourage every steadfast town. A wise state banks its strength in the people. I urge you to soothe them and give back every bolt taken." Xun Yu answered, "I have told Cao Cao; the silk will go back to the people." The county cheered and the crisis passed.

入为司空掾属主簿。〈《魏略》曰：太祖北拒袁紹，时远近无不私遗笺记，通意於紹者。俨与领陽安太守李通同治，通亦欲遣使。俨为陈紹必败意，通乃止。及紹破走，太祖使人搜阅紹记室，惟不见通书疏，阴知俨必为之计，乃曰：「此必趙伯然也。」臣松之案魏武纪：破紹后，得许下軍中人书，皆焚之。若故使人搜阅，知其有无，则非所以安人情也。疑此语为不然。〉时于禁屯颍阴，乐进屯陽翟，张辽屯长社，诸將任气，多共不协；使俨并参三軍，每事训喻，遂相亲睦。太祖征荆州，以俨领章陵太守，徙都督护軍，护于禁、张辽、张郃、硃灵、李典、路招、冯楷七軍。复为丞相主簿，迁扶风太守。太祖徙出故韩遂、马超等兵五千餘人，使平难將軍殷署等督领，以俨为关中护軍，尽统诸軍。羌虏数来寇害，俨率署等追到新平，大破之。屯田客吕并自称將軍，聚党据陈仓，俨复率署等攻之，贼即破灭。

He was called to the ministry of works as chief clerk. 〈The Wei lue notes that during the northern standoff everyone secretly wrote to Yuan Shao. Zhao Yan worked beside Li Tong, acting prefect of Yang'an, who also meant to send a messenger. Zhao Yan proved Yuan Shao would lose, and Li Tong dropped the plan. After Yuan Shao's rout Cao Cao combed his archives, found no letters from Li Tong, guessed Zhao Yan had steered him, and said, "That was Zhao Boran." Pei Songzhi notes that Cao Cao burned letters from Xu after beating Yuan Shao. A deliberate search would not have calmed minds. This tale is probably unreliable.〉 Yu Jin, Yue Jin, and Zhang Liao camped apart, each proud and prickly; Zhao Yan was attached to all three camps until he talked them into harmony. On the Jingzhou campaign he made Zhao Yan prefect of Zhangling, then protector of seven armies under Yu Jin, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao, and Feng Kai. He returned as chief clerk, then became prefect of Fufeng. Cao Cao transferred five thousand surrendered troops of Han Sui and Ma Chao under Yin Shu, putting Zhao Yan in charge of every unit in Guanzhong. Qiang horsemen raided until Zhao Yan chased them to Xinping and broke them. Lu Bing the colonist declared himself general, took Chencang, and fell when Zhao Yan struck again.

时被书差千二百兵往助汉中守，署督送之。行者卒与室家别，皆有忧色。署发后一日，俨虑其有变，乃自追至斜谷口，人人慰劳，又深戒署。还宿雍州刺史张既舍。署軍复前四十里，兵果叛乱，未知署吉凶。而俨自随步骑百五十人，皆与叛者同部曲，或婚姻，得此问，各惊，被甲持兵，不复自安。俨欲还，既等以为「今本营党已扰乱，一身赴之无益，可须定问」。俨曰：「虽疑本营与叛者同谋，要当闻行者变，乃发之。又有欲善不能自定，宜及犹豫，促抚宁之。且为之元帅，既不能安辑，身受祸难，命也。」遂去。行三十里止，放马息，尽呼所从人，喻以成败，慰励恳切。皆慷慨曰：「死生当随护軍，不敢有二。」前到诸营，各召料简诸奸结叛者八百餘人，散在原野，惟取其造谋魁率治之，餘一不问。郡县所收送，皆放遣，乃即相率还降。俨密白：「宜遣將诣大营，请旧兵镇守关中。」太祖遣將軍刘柱將二千人，当须到乃发遣，而事露，诸营大骇，不可安喻。俨谓诸將曰：「旧兵既少，东兵未到，是以诸营图为邪谋。若或成变，为难不测。因其狐疑，当令早决。」遂宣言当差留新兵之温厚者千人镇守关中，其餘悉遣东。便见主者，内诸营兵名籍，案累重，立差别之。留者意定，与俨同心。其当去者亦不敢动，俨一日尽遣上道，因使所留千人，分布罗落之。东兵寻至，乃复胁喻，并徙千人，令相及共东，凡所全致二万餘口。〈孫盛曰：盛闻为国以礼，民非信不立。周成不弃桐叶之言，晋文不违伐原之誓，故能隆刑措之道，建一匡之功。俨既诈留千人，使效心力，始虽权也。宜以信终。兵威既集，而又逼徙。信义丧矣，何以临民？〉

Twelve hundred men were ordered to Hanzhong under Yin Shu's escort. They left families in tears. Next day Zhao Yan raced to Xie Valley, spoke to every soldier, and warned Yin Shu sharply. He spent the night with Zhang Ji, inspector of Yongzhou. Forty li on, the column mutinied; no one knew if Yin Shu lived. Zhao Yan had only one hundred fifty escorts from the same companies and affines as the rebels; they armed in panic. Yan wished to return; Ji and the others thought, "Now the men of our own camps are in revolt; for you alone to go is useless—wait until we know the outcome." Zhao Yan said, "Even if our men were in the plot, we must move as soon as we hear. Many waver between duty and fear—reach them while they still waver. If their commander cannot steady them, he should share their fate." He rode on. Thirty li out he halted, rested the horses, gathered his escort, and spoke to each man's heart. They swore to follow the protector of the army to the death." At each camp he singled out eight hundred plotters in the hills but executed only the chiefs. He freed everyone the counties had jailed, and they came back in arms open. Yan secretly reported: "We ought to send a general to the main camp and request the old troops to hold Guanzhong." Cao Cao sent Liu Zhu with two thousand men, but the plan leaked, panic spread, and talk could not quiet the camps. Zhao Yan told the generals, "You are few and reinforcements are late—that is why they plot. Let them mutiny and the harm is incalculable. Strike while they still doubt." He announced that a thousand steady recruits would stay while the rest marched east. He seized the rolls, traced kin ties, and sorted every name. The men picked to stay calmed down and trusted him. The "eastern" contingent marched in one day while the thousand he kept fanned out as a cordon. When real eastern reinforcements arrived, he marched even the thousand decoys east and saved over twenty thousand lives. 〈Sun Sheng says states need ritual and trust. Zhou King Cheng kept a boy's pledge; Jin Wen honored his Yuan oath—thus they won the world. Zhao Yan lied to a thousand men at first—that was expediency. It should have ended in honesty. Yet he drove them east after the army came. Faith was broken—how could he govern men?〉

关羽围征南將軍曹仁於樊。俨以议郎参仁軍事南行，（迁）平寇將軍徐晃俱前。既到，羽围仁遂坚，餘救兵未到。晃所督不足解围，而诸將呵责晃促救。俨谓诸將曰：「今贼围素固，水潦犹盛。我徒卒单少，而仁隔绝不得同力，此舉適所以弊内外耳。当今不若前軍偪围，遣谍通仁，使知外救，以励將士。计北軍不过十日，尚足坚守。然后表里俱发，破贼必矣。如有缓救之戮，余为诸軍当之。」诸將皆喜，便作地道，箭飞书与仁，消息数通，北軍亦至，并势大战。羽軍既退，舟船犹据沔水，襄陽隔绝不通，而孫权襲取羽辎重，羽闻之，即走南还。仁会诸將议，咸曰：「今因羽危惧，必可追禽也。」俨曰：「权邀羽连兵之难，欲掩制其后，顾羽还救，恐我承其两疲，故顺辞求效，乘衅因变，以观利钝耳。今羽已孤迸，更宜存之以为权害。若深入追北，权则改虞於彼，將生患於我矣。王必以此为深虑。」仁乃解严。太祖闻羽走，恐诸將追之，果疾敕仁，如俨所策。

Guan Yu pinned Cao Ren at Fan. Zhao Yan, as gentleman consultant, joined Cao Ren's staff heading south, (promoted) with Xu Huang, general who pacifies the bandits. They arrived to find the ring around Cao Ren tighter than ever and no other relief yet in sight. Xu Huang had too few men to break the ring, yet the other generals hectored him to charge in at once. Zhao Yan told them, "The siege is iron-hard and the rivers still in spate. We are thin on the ground while Cao Ren is sealed off—one rash push would bleed the city and the relief column alike. Better push the van against the wall, slip word to Cao Ren that help is near, and hearten the defenders. The northern reinforcements need at most ten days—Ren can still hold that long. Then hit them from both sides and the ring will shatter. If the court calls it tardiness, I will answer for every general here." They dug tunnels, shot messages to Cao Ren, linked up with the northern column, and fought as one. Guan Yu pulled back but still blocked the Han; Sun Quan snapped up his train; at the news Guan Yu bolted south. Ren called the generals to council; all said: "Now that Yu is in peril and fear, we can surely pursue and capture him." Zhao Yan said, "Sun Quan struck at Guan Yu's alliance trouble from behind, yet counted on him to wheel about and dreaded our catching both spent—so he played the friend while waiting to see who weakened first. Guan Yu is broken and running—leave him alive to bite Sun Quan. Drive him into the ground and Sun Quan will eye us instead. The throne will think long and hard about that." Cao Ren stood down. Cao Cao heard Guan Yu was running and feared a hot pursuit; he flashed orders to Cao Ren exactly as Zhao Yan had foretold.

文帝即王位，为侍中。顷之，拜驸马都尉，领河东太守，典农中郎將。黄初三年，赐爵关内侯。孫权寇边，征东大將軍曹休统五州軍御之，徵俨为軍师。权众退，軍还，封宜土亭侯，转为度支中郎將，迁尚书。从征吴，到广陵，复留为征东軍师。明帝即位，进封都乡侯，邑六百户，监荆州诸軍事，假节。会疾，不行，复为尚书，出监豫州诸軍事，转大司马軍师，入为大司农。齐王即位，以俨监雍、凉诸軍事，假节，转征蜀將軍，又迁征西將軍，都督雍、凉。正始四年，老疾求还，徵为骠骑將軍，〈《魏略》曰：旧故四征有官厨财籍，迁转之际，无不因缘。而俨叉手上车，发到霸上，忘持其常所服药。雍州闻之，乃追送杂药材数箱，俨笑曰：「人言语殊不易，我偶问所服药耳，何用是为邪？」遂不取。〉迁司空。薨，谥曰穆侯。子亭嗣。初，俨与同郡辛毗、陈群、杜襲并知名，号曰辛、陈、杜、趙云。

Cao Pi as king made Zhao Yan palace attendant. Soon he added commandant of household cavalry, governor of Hedong, and general of agriculture. Huangchu 3 brought him rank within the passes. Sun Quan probed the border; Cao Xiu took five provinces while Zhao Yan served as his strategist. After Sun Quan withdrew he was enfeoffed at Yitu, ran the exchequer, then joined the ministry. He marched on Wu, stopped again as eastern expedition strategist at Guangling. Emperor Ming raised his fief, gave him six hundred households, Jingzhou command, and the baton. Illness blocked the Jingzhou post; he returned as minister, then overseer in Yuzhou, strategist to the grand marshal, and grand minister of agriculture. Under the Prince of Qi he commanded Yong-Liang, took the staff, became general against Shu, then western commander-in-chief. Zhengshi 4 he begged leave for age and illness and was recalled as general of agile cavalry, 〈The Wei lue notes the four expedition posts came with kitchens and slush funds everyone milked on rotation. Zhao Yan boarded empty-handed and left his usual physic at Ba. Yongzhou sent chests of herbs; he laughed, "I only asked after a prescription—why this fuss?" He sent them back.〉 He rose to minister of works. He died as Marquis Mu. His son Ting inherited the title. In youth he ranked with Xin Pi, Chen Qun, and Du Xi as the "Xin, Chen, Du, Zhao" set.

裴潜字文行，河东闻喜人也。〈《魏略》曰：潜世为著姓。父茂，仕灵帝时，历县令、郡守、尚书。建安初，以奉使率导关中诸將讨李傕有功，封列侯。潜少不脩细行，由此为父所不礼。〉避乱荆州，刘表待以宾礼。潜私谓所亲王粲、司马芝曰：「刘牧非霸王之才，乃欲西伯自处，其败无日矣。」遂南適长沙。太祖定荆州，以潜参丞相軍事，出历三县令，入为仓曹属。太祖问潜曰：「卿前与刘备俱在荆州，卿以备才略何如？」潜曰：「使居中国，能乱人而不能为治也。若乘间守险，足以为一方主。」

Pei Qian, courtesy name Wenxing, came from Wenxi in Hedong. 〈The Wei lue calls the Peis an old house. His father Mao rose through county, prefecture, and the ministry under Emperor Ling. Early in Jian'an he led Guanzhong lords against Li Jue and won a full marquisate. Young Pei Qian scorned small decorum and earned his father's cold shoulder.〉 He took refuge with Liu Biao as an honored guest. He told Wang Can and Sima Zhi in private, "Liu Biao is no hegemon playing at King Wen—his end is near." He moved on to Changsha. Cao Cao made him army adviser, three county posts, then granary clerk. The Grand Progenitor asked Qian: "You were formerly with Liu Bei in Jingzhou—what do you make of Bei's talent and strategy?" Pei Qian answered, "In the heartland he would sow disorder, not rule. Let him wedge into mountains and he becomes a regional king."

时代郡大乱，以潜为代郡太守。乌丸王及其大人，凡三人，各自称单于，专制郡事。前太守莫能治正，太祖欲授潜精兵以镇讨之。潜辞曰：「代郡户口殷众，士马控弦，动有万数。单于自知放横日久，内不自安。今多將兵往，必惧而拒境，少將则不见惮。宜以计谋图之，不可以兵威迫也。」遂单车之郡。单于惊喜。潜抚之以静。单于以下脱帽稽颡，悉还前后所掠妇女、器械、财物。潜案诛郡中大吏与单于为表里者郝温、郭端等十餘人，北边大震，百姓归心。在代三年，还为丞相理曹掾，太祖褒称治代之功，潜曰：「潜於百姓虽宽，於诸胡为峻。今计者必以潜为理过严，而事加宽惠；彼素骄恣，过宽必弛，既弛又將摄之以法，此讼争所由生也。以势料之，代必复叛。」於是太祖深悔还潜之速。后数十日，三单于反问至，乃遣鄢陵侯彰为骁骑將軍征之。

Dai commandery exploded in revolt; Pei Qian was sent as prefect. Three Wuhuan chiefs each called himself chanyu and ran the district. Past magistrates failed; Cao Cao meant to give him an elite column. Pei Qian refused: "Dai is populous and can field ten thousand archers. The chanyus know they have abused power too long and dread judgment. A big army will make them bar the passes; a handful they will despise. Take them with craft, not shock." He drove in alone. The chanyus were amazed and relieved. He calmed them with a steady hand. They kowtowed and returned every captive, blade, and bolt of plunder. Pei Qian executed a dozen local magnates who had connived with the tribes; the frontier shook and the people rallied. Back at court Cao Cao praised his Dai years; Pei Qian said, "I was easy on farmers, hard on the Hu. The next man will call me cruel and pile on indulgence, they are spoiled; loosen the rein and they bolt, then you tighten law again—that breeds endless quarrels. Mark my word—Dai will revolt again." Cao Cao rued recalling him too fast. Within weeks the three chanyus mutinied; Cao Zhang marched as swift cavalry general.

潜出为沛国相，迁兗州刺史。太祖次摩陂，叹其軍陈齐整，特加赏赐。文帝践阼，入为散骑常侍。出为魏郡、颍川典农中郎將，奏通贡舉，比之郡国，由是农官进仕路泰。迁荆州刺史，赐爵关内侯。明帝即位，入为尚书。出为河南尹，转太尉軍师、大司农，封清陽亭侯，邑二百户。入为尚书令，奏正分职，料简名实，出事使断官府者百五十餘条。丧父去官，拜光禄大夫。正始五年薨，追赠太常，谥曰贞侯。〈《魏略》曰：时远近皆云当为公，会病亡。始潜自感所生微贱，无舅氏，又为父所不礼，即折节仕进，虽多所更历，清省恪然。每之官，不將妻子。妻子贫乏，织藜芘以自供。又潜为兗州时，尝作一胡床，及其去也，留以挂柱。又以父在京师，出入薄軬車；群弟之田庐，常步行；家人小大或并日而食；其家教上下相奉，事有似於石奋。其履检校度，自魏兴少能及者。潜为人材博，有雅（要）容，然但如此而已，终无所推进，故世归其絜而不宗其餘。〉子秀嗣。遗令俭葬，墓中惟置一坐，瓦器数枚，其餘一无所设。

He governed Pei, then became inspector of Yanzhou. At Mobo Cao Cao admired his drill and heaped gifts on him. Emperor Wen brought him to court as palace attendant. As agriculture general for Wei and Yingchuan he opened exams for farm officials like any county—suddenly tillers could win posts. He moved to Jingzhou inspector with rank within the passes. Emperor Ming made him minister. He ran Henan, then strategist to the grand commandant and grand minister of agriculture, village marquis of Qingyang at two hundred households. As chief minister he reformed portfolios, matched titles to jobs, and issued over a hundred fifty dispatch rules. Mourning his father he quit, then took the title grandee of brilliant splendor. He died in Zhengshi 5, posthumously minister of rites, Marquis Zhen. 〈Rumor had him marked for the dukedom; illness cut him short. Ashamed of low birth, no mother's family, and a cold father, he climbed by discipline and stayed spare and honest every step. He never took family to a post. They wove rush mats to live. In Yanzhou he built one camp stool and left it pegged to a pillar when he left. While his father lived in the capital he used a threadbare cart; he walked to his brothers' farms; the household often ate alternate days; their discipline echoed the Shi family's reverence. Few in Wei matched his self-command. Pei Qian was learned and carried himself with grace (yao) yet he never lifted protégés—so the world praised his purity and little else.〉 His son Xiu inherited. His will demanded a bare tomb—one seat, a few pots, nothing more.

子秀

His son Xiu

秀，咸熙中为尚书仆射。〈《文章叙录》曰：秀字季彦。弘通博济，八岁能属文，遂知名。大將軍曹爽辟。丧父服终，推财与兄弟。年二十五，迁黄门侍郎。爽诛，以故吏免。迁卫国相，累迁散骑常侍、尚书仆射令、光禄大夫。咸熙中，晋文王始建五等，命秀典为制度，封广川侯。晋室受禅，进左光禄大夫，改封钜鹿公，迁司空。著易及乐论，又画地域图十八篇，傳行於世。盟会图及典治官制皆未成。年四十八，泰始七年薨，谥元公，配食宗庙。少子頠，字逸民，襲封。荀绰《冀州记》曰：頠为人弘雅有远识，博学稽古，履行高整，自少知名。历位太子中庶子、侍中尚书。元康末，为尚书左仆射。趙王伦以其望重，畏而恶之，知其不与贾氏同心，犹被枉害。臣松之案陆机《惠帝起居注》称「頠雅有远量，当朝名士也」，又曰「民之望也」。頠理具渊博，赡於论难，著崇有、贵无二论，以矫虚诞之弊，文辞精富，为世名论。子嵩，字道文。荀绰称嵩有父祖风。为中书郎，早卒。頠从父弟邈，字景声，有隽才，为太傅司马越从事中郎，假节监中外营诸軍事。潜少弟徽，字文季，冀州刺史。有高才远度，善言玄妙。事见荀粲、傅嘏、王弼、管辂诸傳。徽长子黎，字伯宗，一名演，游击將軍。次康，字仲豫，太子左卫率。次楷，字叔则，侍中中书令、光禄大夫、开府。次绰，字季舒，黄门侍郎，早卒，追赠长水校尉。康、楷、绰皆为名士，而楷才望最重。《晋诸公赞》曰：康有弘量，绰以明达为称，楷少与琅邪王戎俱为掾发名，锺会致之大將軍司马文王曰：「裴楷清通，王戎简要。」文王即辟为掾，进历显位。谢鲲为乐广傳，称楷隽朗有识具，当时獨步。黎子苞，秦州刺史。康子纯，黄门侍郎。次盾，徐州刺史。次郃，有器望。晋元帝为安东將軍，郃为长史，侍中王旷与司马越书曰：「裴郃在此，虽不治事，然识量弘淹，此下人士大敬附之。」次廓，中垒將軍。楷子瓚，中书郎。次宪，豫州刺史。绰子遐，太傅主簿。瓚、遐并有盛名，早卒。《晋诸公赞》称宪有清识。

Pei Xiu under Xianxi was vice-director of the masters of writing. 〈The Wenzhang xulu gives his style as Jiyan. He was prodigious at eight and famed for prose. Cao Shuang summoned him. After mourning he split the estate with his brothers. At twenty-five he became gentleman at the yellow gates. Shuang's fall dismissed him as an old client. He rose through Wei chancellor to palace attendant, vice-director and director of the masters of writing, and grandee of brilliant splendor. In Xianxi Sima Zhao created the five ranks and had Pei Xiu draft the rules, enfeoffing him at Guangchuan. At the Jin accession he became left grandee of brilliant splendor, duke of Julu, and minister of works. He wrote commentaries on the Book of Changes and on music, and compiled eighteen chapters of regional maps that long remained in circulation. His maps of alliances and drafts on bureaucracy were left unfinished. He died at forty-eight in the seventh year of Taishi, was canonized as Duke Yuan, and was given a place in the imperial temple. His younger son Pei Wei (Yimin) inherited the title. Xun Chuo's Jizhou ji calls Pei Wei broad-minded and farsighted, erudite, upright, and famous while still young. He rose from junior tutor to the crown prince to palace attendant and minister. Late in Yuankang he became vice-director of the masters of writing. Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao, envied his standing, knew he would not side with the Jias, and had him murdered on a false charge. Your servant Songzhi checks Lu Ji's Huandi qiju zhu, which calls Wei "elegant and far-seeing, a leading gentleman of the court," and also "the people's hope." He argued the Chong you and Gui wu er lun against hollow Dark Learning and his prose became a model of the day. His son Pei Song (Daowen). Xun Chuo says Pei Song took after his forebears. He served as palace secretary and died young. Pei Miao, a cousin, was a brilliant aide to Sima Yue with a baton over inner and outer camps. Pei Qian's brother Pei Hui (Wenji) became inspector of Jizhou. He was famed for depth in abstruse philosophy. See the biographies of Xun Can, Fu Gu, Wang Bi, and Guan Lu. Pei Hui's eldest Pei Li (Bozong, also Yan) was general of roving attack. Next Pei Kang, left commander of the heir's guard. Next Pei Kai—attendant, palace secretary, grandee, and independent commander. Next Pei Chuo, gentleman at the yellow gates, died young and was honored as colonel of the Changshui. All three were luminaries; Pei Kai stood tallest. The Jin Zhugong zan says: Kang had a large capacity; Chuo was famed for clarity; Kai in youth with Wang Rong of Langya as clerks first won a name; Zhong Hui wrote the Prince of Jin, Sima Zhao: "Pei Kai is lucid and penetrating; Wang Rong is concise." Sima Zhao took them on and both rose fast. Xie Kun's life of Yue Guang calls Pei Kai the unmatched wit of the age. Pei Li's son Bao governed Qinzhou. Pei Kang's son Chun held the yellow gates. Next Dun, inspector of Xuzhou. Next He carried weight and repute. When Jin Yuan-di was general who secures the east, He was his chief clerk; attendant within the palace Wang Kuang wrote Sima Yue: "Pei He is here; though he does not handle affairs, his insight is vast and deep, and gentlemen here greatly respect and attach themselves to him." Next Kuo, general of the central rampart. Pei Kai's son Zan was palace secretary. Next Xian, inspector of Yuzhou. Pei Chuo's son Xia served the grand tutor. Zan and Xia were both celebrated and died young. The Jin Zhugong zan praises Xian's clarity.

《魏略列傳》以徐福、严幹、李义、张既、游楚、梁习、趙俨、裴潜、韩宣、黄朗十人共卷，其既、习、俨、潜四人自有傳，徐福事在《诸葛亮傳》，游楚事在《张既傳》。餘韩等四人载之於后。 ◎严幹字公仲，李义字孝懿，皆冯翊东县人也。冯翊东县旧无冠族，故二人并单家，其器性皆重厚。当中平末，同年二十餘，幹好击剑，义好办护丧事。冯翊甲族桓、田、吉、郭及故侍中郑文信等，颇以其各有器实，共纪识之。会三辅乱，人多流宕，而幹、义不去，与诸知故相浮沈，采樵自活。逮建安初，关中始开。诏分冯翊西数县为左内史郡，治高陵；以东数县为本郡，治临晋。义於县分当西属，义谓幹曰：「西县兒曹，不可与争坐席，今当共作方床耳。」遂相附结，皆仕东郡为右职。司隶辟幹，不至。岁终，郡舉幹孝廉，义上计掾。义留京师，为平陵令，迁冗从仆射，遂历显职。逮魏封十郡，请义以为軍祭酒，又为魏尚书左仆射。及文帝即位，拜谏议大夫、执金吾卫尉，卒官。义子丰，字宣国，见《夏侯玄傳》。幹以孝廉拜蒲阪令，病，去官。复舉至孝，为公车司马令。为州所请，诏拜议郎，还参州事。会以建策捕高幹，又追录前讨郭援功，封武乡侯，迁弘农太守。及马超反，幹郡近超，民人分散。超破，为汉陽太守。迁益州刺史，以道不通，黄初中，转为五官中郎將。明帝时，迁永安太仆，数岁卒。始李义以直道推诚於人，故于时陈群等与之齐好。虽无他材力，而终仕进不顿踬。幹从破乱之后，更折节学问，特善春秋公羊。司隶锺繇不好公羊而好左氏，谓左氏为太官，而谓公羊为卖饼家，故数与幹共辩析长短。繇为人机捷，善持论，而幹讷口，临时屈无以应。繇谓幹曰：「公羊高竟为左丘明服矣。」幹曰：「直故吏为明使君服耳，公羊未肯也。」 ◎韩宣字景然，勃海人也。为人短小。建安中，丞相召署軍谋掾，冗散在鄴。尝於鄴出入宫，於东掖门内与临菑侯植相遇。时天新雨，地有泥潦。宣欲避之，阂潦不得去。乃以扇自障，住於道边。植嫌宣既不去，又不为礼，乃驻车，使其常从问宣何官？宣云：「丞相軍谋掾也。」植又问曰：「应得唐突列侯否？」宣曰：「春秋之义，王人虽微，列于诸侯之上，未闻宰士而为下士诸侯礼也。」植又曰：「即如所言，为人父吏，见其子应有礼否？」宣又曰：「於礼，臣、子一例也，而宣年又长。」植知其枝柱难穷，乃释去，具为太子言，以为辩。黄初中，为尚书郎，尝以职事当受罚於殿前，已缚，束杖未行。文帝辇过，问：「此为谁？」左右对曰：「尚书郎勃海韩宣也。」帝追念前临菑侯所说，乃寤曰：「是子建所道韩宣邪！」特原之，遂解其缚。时天大寒，宣前以当受杖，豫脱袴，缠裈面缚；及其原，裈腰不下，乃趋而去。帝目而送之，笑曰：「此家有瞻谛之士也。」后出为清河、东郡太守。明帝时，为尚书大鸿胪，数岁卒。宣前后当官，在能否之间，然善以己恕人。始南陽韩暨以宿德在宣前为大鸿胪，暨为人贤，及宣在后亦称职，故鸿胪中为之语曰：「大鸿胪，小鸿胪，前后治行曷相如。」案本志，宣名都不见，惟《魏略》有此傳，而《世语》列於名臣之流。 ◎黄朗字文达，沛郡人也。为人弘通有性实。父为本县卒，朗感其如此，抗志游学，由是为方国及其郡士大夫所礼异。特与东平右姓王惠陽为硕交，惠陽亲拜朗母於床下。朗始仕黄初中，为长吏，迁长安令，会丧母不赴，复为魏令，迁襄城典农中郎將、涿郡太守。以明帝时疾病卒。始朗为君长，自以父故，常忌不呼铃下伍伯，而呼其姓字，至於忿怒，亦终不言。朗既仕至二千石，而惠陽亦历长安令、酒泉太守。故时人谓惠陽外似粗疏而内坚密，能不顾朗之本末，事朗母如己母，为通度也。

The Wei lue grouped ten minor figures in one scroll; four already have chapters here; Xu Fu appears with Zhuge Liang and You Chu with Zhang Ji. Han Xuan and the rest follow below. ◎Yan Gan (Gongzhong) and Li Yi (Xiaoyi) came from eastern Fengyi. No great clans lived in that corner, yet both men were grave and dependable. In Zhongping's last years, past twenty, Yan Gan fenced while Li Yi staged burials. Local magnates marked them as men of parts. When Guanzhong collapsed they stayed, foraged with friends, and survived. Early in Jian'an the passes reopened. The west became a left interior command at Gaoling; the east stayed Fengyi with its seat at Linjin. Li Yi would have been assigned west; he told Yan Gan, "We cannot elbow the western crowd for a mat—let us stick together." They took senior posts in the eastern command. Yan Gan refused the metropolitan summons. The county named Yan Gan filial and incorrupt and Li Yi capital clerk. Li Yi stayed north as magistrate of Pingling, then rose through the court. Wei named him army libationer and vice-minister. Cao Pi made him remonstrant, bearer of the golden mace, and guard commandant; he died in post. His son Li Feng appears in the biography of Xiahou Xuan. Yan Gan became magistrate of Puban, fell ill, and quit. Renominated for supreme filial piety, he became master of the state carriage gate. The province called him back as gentleman consultant. He earned the Wuxiang marquisate for trapping Gao Gan and old merit against Guo Yuan, then governed Hongnong. Ma Chao's revolt emptied his border county. After Ma Chao fell he ruled Hanyang. Named inspector of Yi but unable to reach it, he became general of the five offices under Huangchu. Emperor Ming made him grand coachman of Yongan; he died a few years later. Li Yi won friends like Chen Qun through plain dealing. Without flashy gifts he never stalled in office. After the wars Yan Gan turned scholar and mastered the Gongyang. Zhong Yao favored Zuo over Gongyang and needled Yan Gan in debate. Zhong Yao was glib; Yan Gan tongue-tied under fire. Zhong Yao teased, "Gongyang has bowed to Zuo." Yan Gan shot back, "Only your old clerk yields to a sharp prefect—not Gongyang." ◎Han Xuan (Jingran) of Bohai. He was a small man physically. Cao Cao named him army planner and kept him at Ye. Entering the palace he met Cao Zhi inside the eastern gate. Fresh rain had turned the path to mud. Han Xuan tried to dodge but could not cross the mire. He hid his face behind a fan at the roadside. Cao Zhi halted, offended that Han Xuan neither fled nor bowed, and asked his rank. Han Xuan said, "Army planner to the chancellor." Zhi asked again: "Does that office allow you to affront a full marquis?" Xuan said: "By the meaning of the Spring and Autumn, a king's envoy, though humble, ranks above the feudal lords; I have never heard that a minister's clerk performs the rites of a petty knight toward a feudal lord." Zhi said: "If it is as you say, when a clerk who is his father's subordinate sees the son, ought there to be courtesy?" Xuan said again: "By ritual, minister and son follow the same rule—and Xuan is moreover the elder in years." Cao Zhi gave up, praised him to the heir as a debater. As ministry gentleman he faced a flogging in court—bound, rods ready. Emperor Wen passed in his palanquin and asked: "Who is this?" Those at his side answered: "Han Xuan of Bohai, gentleman of the masters of writing." The emperor recalled what the former marquis of Linzi had said, woke with a start, and said: "Is this the Han Xuan Zijian spoke of?" He ordered him freed. Han Xuan had stripped for the rods and tied his drawers up; pardoned, his belt snagged and he scuttled away. The emperor watched him go with his eyes, laughed, and said: "This family has a man who looks ahead." He later governed Qinghe and Dong. Emperor Ming made him minister and grand herald; he died in office. Han Xuan was middling as an official but generous in judging others. At first Han Ji of Nanyang, because of long-standing virtue, preceded Xuan as grand herald; Ji was a worthy man, and when Xuan followed him he too was adequate to the post, so the chamberlain's office coined a rhyme: "Grand herald great, grand herald small—front and rear, how alike their rule." The standard text omits him; the Wei lue and Shiyu preserve his name. ◎Huang Lang (Wenda) of Pei. He was openhanded and solid. Ashamed that his father was a constable, he studied until regional gentry honored him. Wang Huiyang of Dongping kowtowed to Huang Lang's mother as a pledge of friendship. Huang Lang began his career as a senior clerk, was named magistrate of Chang'an but stayed home to mourn his mother, then served as magistrate of Wei, rose to agriculture general at Xiangcheng, and ended as prefect of Zhuo. He died of illness under Emperor Ming. Once in authority, Huang Lang never barked orders at runners or bailiffs—he always used their names—and kept that habit even in a rage, mindful of his father's low station. Huang Lang rose to salaried ministerial rank while Wang Huiyang in turn governed Chang'an and Jiuquan. Contemporaries said Wang Huiyang looked blunt but was steadfast within: he ignored Huang Lang's humble roots and honored Lang's mother as his own—a rare breadth of character.

鱼豢曰：世称君子之德其犹龙乎，盖以其善变也。昔长安巿侩有刘仲始者，一为巿吏所辱，乃感激，蹋其尺折之，遂行学问，经门行脩，流名海内。后以有道徵，不肯就，众人归其高。余以为前世偶有此耳，而今徐、严复参之，若皆非似龙之志也，其何能至於此哉？李推至道，张工度主，韩见识异，黄能拔萃，各著根於石上，而垂阴乎千里，亦未为易也。游翁慷慨，展布腹心，全躯保郡，见延帝王，又放陆生，优游宴戏，亦一实也。梁、趙及裴，虽张、楊不足，至於检己，老而益明，亦难能也。〉

Yu Huan writes: Men compare the gentleman's virtue to a dragon because it adapts. Long ago Liu Zhongshi, a Chang'an huckster, broke his yardstick in fury after a market clerk insulted him, then devoted himself to scholarship until his name crossed the empire. When the court summoned him as a man of the Way he refused, and the world praised his elevation. I thought such cases were rare in antiquity; now Xu Fu and Yan Gan are added—if they lacked a dragon's adaptability, how could they have risen so far? Li Yi cleaved to the highest principle, Zhang Ji mastered statecraft, Han Xuan saw what others missed, Huang Lang stood above the crowd—each struck root in rock and cast shade for a thousand leagues, yet none of that came easily. You Chu laid his heart bare, saved his skin and his commandery, won audience with the throne, then sent Lu Ji home to idle in peace—another kind of achievement. Liang Xi, Zhao Yan, and Pei Qian may not match Zhang Ji and Yang Jun in sheer stature, yet their self-scrutiny only sharpened with age—no small feat either.〉

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The Book of Jin (Jinshu, 晉書) contains a detailed biography of Chen Shou, who authored the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Zhi, 三國志). He was said to love books from a young age, becoming a clerk in the imperial library of Shu-Han. His early career was mired in controversy. When the eunuch Huang Hao dominated the Shu-Han court, Chen Shou refused to ingratiate himself with him, and was repeatedly demoted and censured. Later, when Chen Shou's father died, he himself fell ill, and he violated ritual by having a servant girl prepare his medicine. Others found out about this, and Chen Shou was disgraced. His reputation would not recover for several years, even outliving the Shu-Han dynasty, which was invaded and toppled by Wei dynasty forces.

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