1
韓子曰：「儒以文亂法，而俠以武犯禁。」 二者皆譏，而學士多稱於世云。 至如以術取宰相卿大夫，輔翼其世主，功名俱著於春秋，固無可言者。 及若季次、原憲，閭巷人也，讀書懷獨行君子之德，義不茍合當世，當世亦笑之。 故季次、原憲終身空室蓬戶，褐衣疏食不厭。 死而已四百餘年，而弟子志之不倦。 今游俠，其行雖不軌於正義，然其言必信，其行必果，已諾必誠，不愛其軀，赴士之阸困，既已存亡死生矣，而不矜其能，羞伐其德，蓋亦有足多者焉。
Han Feizi once wrote: "Confucian scholars subvert the law with their writings, and wandering knights defy authority with their swords." Both were censured, yet scholars have always found admirers in the world. Those who rose to become chancellors and ministers through political craft, who served as their lord's right hand, whose deeds and reputations fill the histories — they need no further comment. Then there were men like Ji Ci and Yuan Xian — common folk of the lanes and alleys who cherished their books and upheld the solitary virtues of the true gentleman. They refused on principle to bend to the age, and the age laughed at them in return. So Ji Ci and Yuan Xian lived out their days in bare rooms behind wattle doors, clad in rough cloth and eating thin gruel, yet never once complained. More than four hundred years after their deaths, their disciples still honor their memory without flagging. Now consider the wandering knights. Their conduct may not conform to orthodox morality, yet when they give their word they keep it, when they commit to action they see it through, and when they make a promise they honor it with their lives. They throw themselves into the perils of others without sparing their own bodies, having stared down life and death without flinching — and yet they never boast of their abilities or trumpet their virtue. Surely there is much in them to admire.
2
且緩急，人之所時有也。 太史公曰：昔者虞舜窘於井廩，伊尹負於鼎俎，傅說匿於傅險，呂尚困於棘津，夷吾桎梏，百里飯牛，仲尼畏匡，菜色陳、蔡。 此皆學士所謂有道仁人也，猶然遭此菑，況以中材而涉亂世之末流乎？ 其遇害何可勝道哉！
After all, desperate need is something that comes to every person sooner or later. The Grand Historian remarks: In the old days, Emperor Shun was nearly killed in a well and a granary. Yi Yin labored among the pots and cutting boards. Fu Yue hid himself at the cliffs of Fu. Lu Shang was reduced to desperate straits at Jijin. Guan Zhong wore fetters. Baili Xi fed cattle for a living. Confucius was besieged at Kuang and went hungry until his face turned sallow between Chen and Cai. All of these were the very paragons that scholars call men of virtue and benevolence — yet even they suffered such calamities. How much worse, then, for ordinary people struggling through the dregs of a disordered age? The hardships people endure are beyond all telling!
3
鄙人有言曰：「何知仁義，已饗其利者為有德。」 故伯夷丑周，餓死首陽山，而文武不以其故貶王； 跖、蹻暴戾，其徒誦義無窮。 由此觀之，「竊鉤者誅，竊國者侯，侯之門仁義存」，非虛言也。
Common folk have a saying: "What does anyone know about benevolence and righteousness? Whoever reaps the profits is the one called virtuous." Bo Yi despised the Zhou conquest and starved himself to death on Mount Shouyang, yet Kings Wen and Wu were none the less regarded as kings on that account. Robber Zhi and Zhuang Qiao were violent and cruel, yet their followers sang praises to their righteousness without end. Seen in this light, the old saying is no empty proverb: "Steal a belt buckle and you are executed; steal a kingdom and you are made a lord — and at the lord's gate, benevolence and righteousness take up residence."
4
今拘學或抱咫尺之義，久孤於世，豈若卑論儕俗，與世沈浮而取榮名哉！ 而布衣之徒，設取予然諾，千里誦義，為死不顧世，此亦有所長，非茍而已也。 故士窮窘而得委命，此豈非人之所謂賢豪閒者邪？ 誠使鄉曲之俠，予季次、原憲比權量力，效功於當世，不同日而論矣。 要以功見言信，俠客之義又曷可少哉！
Today's pedantic scholars may cling to their narrow slice of righteousness and remain alone in the world for a lifetime — but can that compare with those who lower their standards to the common level and ride the currents of the age to win glory and renown? Yet among the common people there are those whose dealings are governed by honor, whose word is celebrated a thousand li away, who face death without a second thought for worldly consequence — there is something admirable in this that should not be dismissed. When a gentleman is cornered and desperate and finds someone willing to stake their life on his behalf — is this not the very thing people mean when they speak of a worthy hero? If one were to weigh the local knights against Ji Ci and Yuan Xian in terms of power and achievement, measuring their service to the age — they simply cannot be spoken of in the same breath. In the end, when we judge by deeds accomplished and promises kept, how can anyone dismiss the code of the wandering knights?
5
古布衣之俠，靡得而聞已。 近世延陵、孟嘗、春申、平原、信陵之徒，皆因王者親屬，藉於有土卿相之富厚，招天下賢者，顯名諸侯，不可謂不賢者矣。 比如順風而呼，聲非加疾，其埶激也。 至如閭巷之俠，修行砥名，聲施於天下，莫不稱賢，是為難耳。 然儒、墨皆排擯不載。 自秦以前，匹夫之俠，湮滅不見，余甚恨之。 以余所聞，漢興有朱家、田仲、王公、劇孟、郭解之徒，雖時捍當世之文罔，然其私義廉絜退讓，有足稱者。 名不虛立，士不虛附。 至如朋黨宗彊比周，設財役貧，豪暴侵淩孤弱，恣欲自快，游俠亦丑之。 余悲世俗不察其意，而猥以朱家、郭解等令與暴豪之徒同類而共笑之也。
Of the ancient knights-errant who rose from the common people, nothing survives to tell their tales. In more recent times, the Lord of Yanling, Lord Mengchang, Lord Chunshen, Lord Pingyuan, and Lord Xinling all drew on royal kinship and the vast wealth of their fiefs to attract the worthiest men under heaven and win renown among the feudal lords — they were, by any measure, men of worth. It is like shouting downwind — the voice itself is no louder, but the force of circumstance carries it far. But the knights of the lanes and alleys who cultivated their conduct and burnished their reputations until their fame spread across the realm and all people praised them as worthy — that is the truly difficult thing. Yet both the Confucian and the Mohist schools rejected and excluded them, leaving them unrecorded. Before the Qin dynasty, the knights-errant who rose from humble origins were lost to oblivion. I find this deeply regrettable. From what I have heard, since the founding of the Han there have been men like Zhu Jia, Tian Zhong, Wang Gong, Ju Meng, and Guo Jie. Though they sometimes clashed with the laws of their day, their personal honor, integrity, and modesty were deserving of the highest praise. Their reputations were not built on nothing, and the men who rallied to them did not do so without reason. As for those who formed factions and built up their clans through collusion, who used their wealth to exploit the poor, who bullied the helpless and the weak, who indulged their desires for their own pleasure — the wandering knights despised such people as much as anyone. It grieves me that the world fails to understand their true motives and carelessly lumps men like Zhu Jia and Guo Jie together with violent strongmen, deriding them all as one.
6
魯朱家者，與高祖同時。 魯人皆以儒教，而朱家用俠聞。 所藏活豪士以百數，其餘庸人不可勝言。 然終不伐其能，歆其德，諸所嘗施，唯恐見之。 振人不贍，先從貧賤始。 家無餘財，衣不完采，食不重味，乘不過軥牛。 專趨人之急，甚己之私。 既陰脫季布將軍之阸，及布尊貴，終身不見也。 自關以東，莫不延頸願交焉。
Zhu Jia of Lu lived in the same era as Emperor Gaozu. The people of Lu were all devoted to Confucian learning, but Zhu Jia won his fame through knight-errantry. The fugitives and heroes he sheltered and saved numbered in the hundreds; the ordinary folk he helped were too many to count. Yet he never boasted of his abilities or took pride in his virtuous deeds, and of all the people he had once helped, he dreaded nothing more than running into them again. When he gave aid to those in need, he always started with the poorest and most humble. His household had no spare wealth. His clothes bore no fine colors. His meals had no second course. His only conveyance was an ox-drawn cart. He devoted himself entirely to the urgent needs of others, putting them above his own private concerns. After he had secretly rescued General Ji Bu from peril, once Ji Bu rose to a position of honor, Zhu Jia never sought him out again for the rest of his life. From the Pass eastward, there was no one who did not crane their neck, hoping for the chance to befriend him.
7
楚田仲以俠聞，喜劍，父事朱家，自以為行弗及。 田仲已死，而雒陽有劇孟。 周人以商賈為資，而劇孟以任俠顯諸侯。 吳楚反時，條侯為太尉，乘傳車將至河南，得劇孟，喜曰：「吳楚舉大事而不求孟，吾知其無能為已矣。」 天下騷動，宰相得之若得一敵國云。 劇孟行大類朱家，而好博，多少年之戲。 然劇孟母死，自遠方送喪蓋千乘。 及劇孟死，家無餘十金之財。 而符離人王孟亦以俠稱江淮之閒。
Tian Zhong of Chu was known for his chivalry and loved swordsmanship. He served Zhu Jia with the respect due a father and considered his own conduct inferior to the master's. After Tian Zhong passed away, there arose in Luoyang a man named Ju Meng. The people of the Zhou region made their living by trade, but Ju Meng won his fame among the lords through knight-errantry. When the kingdoms of Wu and Chu rose in rebellion, the Marquis of Tiao was serving as Grand Commandant. On his way to Henan by relay carriage, he secured the allegiance of Ju Meng and exclaimed with delight: "Wu and Chu have launched their great revolt without enlisting Meng — I know now they are doomed to fail." When the empire was in turmoil, winning Ju Meng to one's side was said to be worth as much as conquering an enemy state. In conduct, Ju Meng closely resembled Zhu Jia, though he had a fondness for gambling and the diversions of young men. When Ju Meng's mother died, mourners came from distant places to attend the funeral — the carriages numbered close to a thousand. When Ju Meng himself died, his household had not so much as ten pieces of gold to its name. Wang Meng of Fuli was likewise celebrated as a knight-errant throughout the region between the Yangtze and the Huai.
8
是時濟南瞷氏、陳周庸亦以豪聞，景帝聞之，使使盡誅此屬。 其後代諸白、梁韓無辟、陽翟薛兄、陜韓孺紛紛復出焉。
Around this time, the Jian clan of Jinan and Zhou Yong of Chen were also renowned as local strongmen. Emperor Jing heard of them and dispatched agents to have them all put to death. After them, new figures emerged one after another: Zhu Bai of Dai, Han Wubi of Liang, Xue Xiong of Yangzhai, and Han Ru of Shan.
9
郭解，軹人也，字翁伯，善相人者許負外孫也。 解父以任俠，孝文時誅死。 解為人短小精悍，不飲酒。 少時陰賊，慨不快意，身所殺甚眾。 以軀借交報仇，藏命作姦剽攻，（不）休（及）［乃］鑄錢掘冢，固不可勝數。 適有天幸，窘急常得脫，若遇赦。 及解年長，更折節為儉，以德報怨，厚施而薄望。 然其自喜為俠益甚。 既已振人之命，不矜其功，其陰賊著於心，卒發於睚金故云。 而少年慕其行，亦輒為報仇，不使知也。 解姊子負解之勢，與人飲，使之嚼。 非其任，彊必灌之。 人怒，拔刀刺殺解姊子，亡去。 解姊怒曰：「以翁伯之義，人殺吾子，賊不得。」 棄其尸於道，弗葬，欲以辱解。 解使人微知賊處。 賊窘自歸，具以實告解。 解曰：「公殺之固當，吾兒不直。」 遂去其賊，罪其姊子，乃收而葬之。 諸公聞之，皆多解之義，益附焉。
Guo Jie was a native of Zhi, with the courtesy name Wengbo. He was the maternal grandson of the famous physiognomist Xu Fu. His father had practiced knight-errantry and was executed for it during the reign of Emperor Wen. Guo Jie was short and slight in build, but tough and sharp, and he did not drink. In his youth he was secretive and ruthless; whenever something displeased him, the men he personally killed were very many. He risked his life to avenge his friends, harbored fugitives, committed robberies and raids, counterfeited coins, and plundered tombs — his crimes were beyond counting. Yet as if blessed by heaven, whenever he was cornered he always managed to slip free, or happened to fall under an amnesty. As Guo Jie grew older, he reformed himself and became frugal. He repaid grudges with kindness, gave generously, and expected little in return. Yet his relish for the role of knight-errant only deepened with time. Though he saved men's lives without taking any credit, the old ruthless instinct was etched deep in his heart and would still flare up at the slightest provocation. The young men who admired him would avenge perceived slights on his behalf, without even letting him know. Guo Jie's nephew, trading on his uncle's power, was once drinking with a man and tried to force him to drain his cup. When the man could not handle any more, the nephew insisted on forcing the wine down his throat. The man flew into a rage, drew his sword, and stabbed the nephew to death, then fled. Guo Jie's sister was furious and cried: "With all of Wengbo's vaunted sense of justice, someone has killed my son and the murderer goes free!" She left her son's corpse lying in the road and refused to bury him, hoping to shame Guo Jie into action. Guo Jie sent agents to quietly discover the killer's whereabouts. The killer, finding himself cornered, came and surrendered to Guo Jie of his own accord, telling him the whole truth. Guo Jie said: "You were right to kill him. My nephew was in the wrong." He let the killer go, laid the blame on his own nephew, and then collected the body and gave it a proper burial. When people heard this story, they all praised Guo Jie's sense of justice, and even more men rallied to his side.
10
解出入，人皆避之。 有一人獨箕倨視之，解遣人問其名姓。 客欲殺之。 解曰：「居邑屋至不見敬，是吾德不修也，彼何罪！」 乃陰屬尉史曰：「是人，吾所急也，至踐更時脫之。」 每至踐更，數過，吏弗求。 怪之，問其故，乃解使脫之。 箕踞者乃肉袒謝罪。 少年聞之，愈益慕解之行。
Whenever Guo Jie passed through the streets, everyone made way for him. One man alone sat sprawled with his legs outstretched and stared at him. Guo Jie sent someone to ask the man's name. His followers wanted to kill the man on the spot. Guo Jie said: "If I live in my own neighborhood and cannot even command respect, that is a failing of my own virtue. What crime has the man committed?" He then secretly instructed the local constable: "This man is under my protection. When his turn comes for conscript labor, exempt him." Each time the conscript labor rotation came around, his turn was passed over again and again, and the officials never called on him. The man found this puzzling and asked why, only to discover that Guo Jie had arranged his exemption. The man who had sat sprawling came to Guo Jie, bared his shoulders, and begged forgiveness. When the young men heard this story, their admiration for Guo Jie's conduct only grew.
11
雒陽人有相仇者，邑中賢豪居閒者以十數，終不聽。 客乃見郭解。 解夜見仇家，仇家曲聽解。 解乃謂仇家曰：「吾聞雒陽諸公在此閒，多不聽者。 今子幸而聽解，解柰何乃從他縣奪人邑中賢大夫權乎！」 乃夜去，不使人知，曰：「且無用，（待我）待我去，令雒陽豪居其閒，乃聽之。」
There were people in Luoyang locked in a bitter feud. More than ten of the town's leading men had tried to mediate, but neither side would listen. At last someone went to Guo Jie for help. Guo Jie visited the feuding party by night, and the man yielded and agreed to accept his mediation. Guo Jie then said to the man: "I hear that many of the Luoyang worthies have tried to settle this dispute and you have refused them all." "Now you are willing to listen to me, but how can I, an outsider from another county, presume to usurp the authority of the worthy men of your own town?" He then slipped away in the night without letting anyone know, saying: "Do not settle this yet. Wait until I am gone, then let one of the Luoyang worthies mediate, and accept his terms."
12
解執恭敬，不敢乘車入其縣廷。 之旁郡國，為人請求事，事可出，出之； 不可者，各厭其意，然後乃敢嘗酒食。 諸公以故嚴重之，爭為用。 邑中少年及旁近縣賢豪，夜半過門常十餘車，請得解客舍養之。
Guo Jie was scrupulously respectful and never presumed to ride in a carriage when visiting the county offices. When he traveled to neighboring commanderies and kingdoms to intercede on someone's behalf, he would see the matter through if it could be resolved. If the matter could not be resolved, he made sure each party felt they had been heard, and only then would he allow himself to accept food or drink. For this reason, the local worthies held him in deep respect and vied with one another to be of service. The young men of the town and the leading men of neighboring counties would arrive at his door at midnight, often with more than ten carriages, begging for the privilege of hosting his guests and providing for them.
13
及徙豪富茂陵也，解家貧，不中訾，吏恐，不敢不徙。 衛將軍為言：「郭解家貧不中徙。」 上曰：「布衣權至使將軍為言，此其家不貧。」 解家遂徙。 諸公送者出千餘萬。 軹人楊季主子為縣掾，舉徙解。 解兄子斷楊掾頭。 由此楊氏與郭氏為仇。
When the government ordered the relocation of wealthy and powerful families to Maoling, Guo Jie's family was too poor to meet the property threshold, but the officials were afraid of him and did not dare leave him behind. General Wei Qing spoke on his behalf to the emperor: "The Guo Jie household is poor and does not qualify for relocation." The emperor replied: "A commoner whose influence is great enough to make a general speak on his behalf — his household is not poor." And so the Guo Jie household was relocated after all. The farewell gifts from the worthies who saw him off totaled more than ten million cash. It was the son of Yang Jizhu, a fellow native of Zhi who served as a county clerk, who had nominated Guo Jie for the relocation. Guo Jie's nephew cut off the head of the young clerk Yang. From this point on, the Yang and Guo clans became bitter enemies.
14
解入關，關中賢豪知與不知，聞其聲，爭交驩解。 解為人短小，不飲酒，出未嘗有騎。 已又殺楊季主。 楊季主家上書，人又殺之闕下。 上聞，乃下吏捕解。 解亡，置其母家室夏陽，身至臨晉。 臨晉籍少公素不知解，解冒，因求出關。 籍少公已出解，解轉入太原，所過輒告主人家。 吏逐之，跡至籍少公。 少公自殺，口絕。 久之，乃得解。 窮治所犯，為解所殺，皆在赦前。 軹有儒生侍使者坐，客譽郭解，生曰：「郭解專以姦犯公法，何謂賢！」 解客聞，殺此生，斷其舌。 吏以此責解，解實不知殺者。 殺者亦竟絕，莫知為誰。 吏奏解無罪。 御史大夫公孫弘議曰：「解布衣為任俠行權，以睚眥殺人，解雖弗知，此罪甚於解殺之。 當大逆無道。」 遂族郭解翁伯。
When Guo Jie arrived in the Guanzhong region, the local worthies and strongmen — whether they knew him personally or not — had all heard his name and competed to befriend him. Guo Jie was short in stature and did not drink. When he went out, he never rode with a mounted escort. Before long, someone also killed Yang Jizhu himself. The Yang family submitted a memorial to the throne, but the person who delivered it was murdered right at the palace gates. When the emperor heard of this, he ordered the authorities to arrest Guo Jie. Guo Jie fled, settling his mother and household at Xiayang while he himself made for Linjin. Ji Shaogong of Linjin had never met Guo Jie. Guo Jie approached him under a false name and through him arranged to slip past the border checkpoint. After Ji Shaogong had helped him through the checkpoint, Guo Jie traveled on into Taiyuan, revealing his identity to his hosts at each stop along the way. The authorities pursued him and traced his trail back to Ji Shaogong. Ji Shaogong killed himself, sealing the secret with his death. After a long search, Guo Jie was finally captured. When the authorities exhaustively investigated his crimes, they found that all the killings attributed to Guo Jie had occurred before the most recent amnesty. In Zhi, a Confucian scholar was seated in the company of the imperial envoy. When a guest began praising Guo Jie, the scholar spoke up: "Guo Jie does nothing but use cunning to break the law — what is worthy about that!" When Guo Jie's followers heard what the scholar had said, they killed him and cut out his tongue. The authorities charged Guo Jie with the crime, but in truth he did not know who had done the killing. The killer vanished completely, and no one ever discovered who it was. The officials submitted their finding that Guo Jie was not guilty. The Imperial Counselor Gongsun Hong argued: "Guo Jie is a commoner who practices knight-errantry and wields unauthorized power. Men are killed over the slightest grudge on his account. Even if he did not know of it, this crime is greater than if he had killed them with his own hand." "He should be condemned for the crime of high treason." And so the entire clan of Guo Jie was exterminated.
15
自是之後，為俠者極眾，敖而無足數者。 然關中長安樊仲子，槐裏趙王孫，長陵高公子，西河郭公仲，太原鹵公孺，臨淮兒長卿，東陽田君孺，雖為俠而逡逡有退讓君子之風。 至若北道姚氏，西道諸杜，南道仇景，東道趙他、羽公子，南陽趙調之徒，此盜跖居民閒者耳，曷足道哉！ 此乃鄉者朱家之羞也。
From this time onward, those who styled themselves knights-errant were extremely numerous, but they were arrogant and of no account. Among them, Fan Zhongzi of Chang'an in the Guanzhong region, Zhao Wangsun of Huaili, Gao Gongzi of Changling, Guo Gongzhong of Xihe, Lu Gongru of Taiyuan, Er Changqing of Linhuai, and Tian Junru of Dongyang — though all knights-errant — carried themselves with the modesty and restraint of true gentlemen. As for the Yao clan of the northern road, the Du family of the western road, Qiu Jing of the southern road, Zhao Ta and Lord Yu of the eastern road, and Zhao Diao of Nanyang and their kind — they were nothing more than Robber Zhis lurking among the common folk, and hardly worth discussing! They would have been a disgrace in the eyes of the great Zhu Jia.
16
太史公曰：吾視郭解，狀貌不及中人，言語不足採者。 然天下無賢與不肖，知與不知，皆慕其聲，言俠者皆引以為名。 諺曰：「人貌榮名，豈有既乎！」 於戲，惜哉！
The Grand Historian remarks: I have looked upon Guo Jie myself. In appearance he was less than ordinary, and in speech there was nothing remarkable about him. Yet throughout the empire, whether worthy or base, whether they had met him or not, all people admired his name, and whenever anyone spoke of knight-errantry, they invoked Guo Jie as the standard. As the proverb says: "When a man's renown so far outstrips his appearance, will the world's fascination ever end?" Alas — how tragic!