1
Zhao Pu, whose style name was Zeping, came from Ji in Youzhou. Under the Later Tang, Zhao Dejun, military governor of You, fought year after year until the people were worn down and impoverished. Pu's father Hui relocated the entire clan first to Changshan and then to Luoyang in Henan. Pu was grave, steady, and taciturn; the prominent Wei clan of Zhenyang married a daughter to him.
2
In the early Xiande era of Zhou, Liu Ci, military commissioner of Yongxing Circuit, took him on as a staff officer; when Liu Ci died, his death memorial recommended Pu to the throne. While Emperor Shizong was campaigning on the Huai, Taizu took Chuzhou, and Grand Councillor Fan Zhi recommended Pu for the post of military affairs adjudicator. When Xuanzu fell ill at Chuzhou, Pu brought him medicines morning and evening; Xuanzu thereafter treated him as one of the family. Taizu once conversed with him and was struck by his ability. When more than a hundred captured robbers were about to be executed in the marketplace, Pu suspected that some were innocent; he appealed to Taizu to have them questioned, and many lives were saved. After the Huainan region was pacified, he was reassigned as military affairs adjudicator at Weizhou. When Taizu served as military commissioner of Tongzhou, he recruited Pu as investigating officer; when Taizu transferred his command to Songzhou, he recommended Pu as chief secretary.
3
When Taizu marched north to Chen Bridge and lay drunk in his tent while the army proclaimed him emperor, Pu and Taizong pushed open the tent flap to tell him. Taizu stretched, rose slowly, and found the soldiers already in armor with naked blades, shouting and crowding beneath his standard. After Taizu accepted the throne, Pu was made Right Remonstrance Grandee and Academician of the Privy Council for his founding service.
4
When the emperor marched against Li Jun, he left Pu and Lü Yuqing in the capital; Pu asked to accompany the campaign, and Taizu smiled and said, "Are you going to put on armor?" After Shangdang was pacified, he was promoted to Vice Minister of War and Vice Commissioner of the Privy Council and granted a residence. In the third year of Jianlong, he was made Commissioner of the Privy Council and Acting Grand Guardian.
5
In the second year of Qiande, Fan Zhi and the other three chief ministers all resigned on the same day, and Pu was appointed Vice Director of the Chancellery, Grand Councillor, and Grand Academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies. Because the Secretariat had no chancellor's seal for issuing edicts, Pu raised the issue; the emperor said, "You need only draft the edict. Shall I sign it for you?" Pu replied, "That is the work of the proper office, not the business of an emperor." The emperor ordered Hanlin academicians to investigate precedent; Dou Yi said, "Your Majesty's younger brother, who governs Kaifeng as Grand Councillor, already holds the chancellor's role." The emperor ordered the seal signed and granted to Pu. Once appointed chancellor, he was treated by the emperor as indispensable; on matters large and small the emperor consulted him and deferred to his judgment. That same day Pu was also made concurrent supervisor of the national history. Xue Juzheng and Lü Yuqing were appointed Vice Grand Councillors to assist him without public proclamation; they ranked after the chancellors, held no seal, took no part in memorials or court assembly, and merely executed imperial orders. Formerly, chancellors who concurrently issued edicts had always used internal drafts; Pu as chancellor used only edicts, which was not the old practice.
6
Taizu often visited his meritorious followers in disguise; after each court session Pu dared not change out of his official robes at once. One day, as heavy snow fell toward evening, Pu assumed the emperor would not venture out. After a long wait he heard a knock at the gate; he rushed out and found the emperor standing in the wind and snow; Pu, alarmed, hurried forward to receive him. The emperor said, "I have already arranged to meet the Prince of Jin." Before long Taizong arrived; they laid down layered mats and sat on the floor in the hall while charcoal fire roasted meat. Pu's wife poured wine, and the emperor called her sister-in-law. Then they discussed with Pu the plan to capture Taiyuan. Pu said, "Taiyuan guards our northwest; if we take it now we alone must bear the frontier burden. Better to wait until the other states are subdued; then that tiny enclave will have nowhere to flee." The emperor laughed and said, "That is exactly what I think; I was only testing you."
7
In the spring of the fifth year he was promoted to Right Vice Director and Grand Academician of the Zhaowen Hall. Soon afterward, when he entered mourning for his mother, an edict ordered him to leave mourning and return to duty. He then urged the emperor to send envoys to every circuit to register strong young men and send them to the capital for guard service; and to establish supervisory commissioners in the prefectures to manage revenue and grain. As a result the army was well equipped and the treasury well stocked.
8
In the winter of the second year of Kaibao, when Pu fell ill, the emperor visited the Secretariat in person. In the spring of the third year the emperor again visited his home to inquire after him. Imperial gifts and rewards were increased by one grade. In the sixth year the emperor visited his residence again. At the time King Qian Chu of Wuyue had sent an envoy with a letter to Pu and ten jars of maritime goods, set beneath the corridor. When the emperor arrived unexpectedly, there was no time to hide them; asked what they were, Pu told the truth. The emperor said, "Sea goods must be excellent." He immediately ordered them opened. Inside were melon-seed gold nuggets. Pu, terrified, kowtowed and said, "I had not yet opened the letter and truly did not know." The emperor sighed and said, "There is no harm in accepting it; they think all affairs of state are decided by you, a mere scholar!"
9
Pu governed with considerable autocracy, and many at court resented him. Private sale of timber from Qin and Long was forbidden; Pu sent a trusted clerk to buy building timber, and linked great rafts to bring it to the capital for his mansion; the clerk smuggled timber on the side, falsely claiming it was Pu's purchase, and sold it in the capital; Zhao Pin, acting commissioner of the three departments, investigated and reported it. Taizu was furious and urgently ordered Pu recalled to court, intending to issue an edict removing him; Wang Pu's memorial interceded and saved him.
10
By custom, whenever the chancellor and the Privy Council commissioner waited for audience at the Hall of Everlasting Spring, they lodged together; when the emperor learned that Pu's son Chengzong had married Privy Council Commissioner Li Chongju's daughter, he ordered them separated at once. Pu also privately traded vacant land for the Imperial Kitchen's vegetable garden to expand his home, and built inns and shops for profit. Lu Duosun, a Hanlin academician, seized every audience to attack Pu's failings. At the same time Lei Youlin struck the grievance drum, accusing rear-hall officials Hu Zan and Li Kedu of bribery and perversion of law, Liu Wei of forging an acting appointment, Wang Dong of once bribing Kedu, and Zhao Fu of taking a Sichuan post yet claiming illness and not reporting—all under Pu's protection. Taizu was enraged and ordered the censorate to investigate; all were found guilty, and Youlin was made Correcting Editor in the Secretariat. Pu's influence waned further; only then was it decreed that the Vice Grand Councillors should share with Pu the seal, court assembly, and memorials, dividing his authority. Soon he was posted out as military commissioner of Heyang Three Cities, Acting Grand Tutor, and Grand Councillor.
11
At the opening of the Taiping Xingguo era he came to court and was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, then promoted to Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. Lu Duosun slandered him heavily; for years he held only court attendance without office, frustrated and unfulfilled. Then Chai Yuxi, Zhao Rong, and others reported that Prince Qin Tingmei was arrogant and was plotting a secret uprising. The emperor questioned him; Pu said he wished to return to the center of power to detect treachery, then withdrew and submitted a memorial declaring he had long known of the deathbed entrustments of Taizu and Empress Dowager Zhaoxian—his words were deeply earnest. Taizong was deeply moved and summoned him to comfort and reassure him. Soon he was made Minister of Education and Palace Attendant and enfeoffed as Duke of Liang. Formerly Prince Qin Tingmei had ranked above the chancellor; now, because Pu was an old founding minister restored to chief minister, Tingmei submitted a memorial asking to rank below him, and the request was granted. When the Fuling affair collapsed, Duosun was exiled south—all owing to Pu's handiwork.
12
In the eighth year he was posted out as military commissioner of Wusheng Circuit, Acting Grand Commandant, and Palace Attendant. The emperor wrote a farewell poem; Pu received it weeping and said, "Your Majesty's poem should be carved in stone and buried with my bones in the grave." The emperor was visibly moved. The next day he told the chancellor, "Pu has merited the state; I once kept his company, and now he is old; I cannot burden him with central affairs, so I found him a good post and used a poem to express my meaning. Pu wept in gratitude, and I wept with him." Song Qi replied, "Yesterday Pu came to the Secretariat, clutching the imperial poem in tears, and told me, 'In what years remain I cannot repay Your Majesty in this life; I can only hope in the next to serve with the loyalty of dog and horse. Yesterday I heard Pu; today I hear Your Majesty's words. The full arc of loyalty between ruler and minister is truly fulfilled on both sides."
13
14
「伏睹今春出師，將以收復關外，屢聞克捷，深快輿情。 然晦朔屢更，薦臻炎夏，飛輓日繁，戰鬥未息，老師費財，誠無益也。
"I humbly note that this spring's campaign was meant to recover the territory beyond the passes; repeated reports of victory have greatly heartened the people. Yet month after month has passed and midsummer has arrived; supply wagons multiply daily and battle continues unabated—the army grows weary and the treasury drained, to no real gain.
15
I recall that since Your Majesty subdued Taiyuan, won over Min and Zhe, and unified the central lands, your fame has thundered abroad; within a decade you have brought wide relief to the realm. That distant peoples refuse submission is something sage kings since antiquity have placed beyond concern; it is not worth fretting over. I fear flatterers have clouded Your Majesty's judgment, provoking an unjust war and leading us deep into uncertain territory. I have studied the classics and know the precedents: the memorials of Zhufu Yan, Xu Yue, and Yan An in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, and the ten counsels Chancellor Yao Yuanchong offered Emperor Ming of Tang—loyal, penetrating arguments fit to be enacted. I beg that amid the myriad affairs of state Your Majesty will read them once; the mistake is not yet beyond repair, and repentance can still avail.
16
臣竊念大發驍雄，動搖百萬之眾，所得者少，所喪者多。 又聞戰者危事，難保其必勝； 兵者兇器，深戒於不虞。 所繫甚大，不可不思。 臣又聞上古聖人，心無固必，事不凝滯，理貴變通。 前書有「兵久生變」之言，深為可慮，苟或更圖稽緩，轉失機宜。 旬朔之間，時涉秋序，邊庭早涼，弓勁馬肥，我軍久困，切慮此際，或誤指蹤。 臣方冒寵以守藩，曷敢興言而沮眾。 蓋臣已日薄西山，餘光無幾，酬恩報國，正在斯時。 伏望速詔班師，無容玩敵。
I reflect further that to mobilize elite troops and shake a million men brings little gain at great cost. War is perilous, and victory cannot be guaranteed; arms are instruments of violence, and one must guard deeply against the unexpected. The stakes are immense; this cannot go unconsidered. The sage rulers of antiquity held no fixed obstinacy, let no affair stagnate, and prized flexible adaptation. The classics warn that prolonged war breeds mutiny—deeply alarming; if we hesitate and delay further, we will miss the moment. Within weeks autumn will come; on the frontier the air turns cool early, bows are taut and horses strong, while our troops are long exhausted—I fear our commands may go astray at just such a moment. I now hold favor yet guard a frontier post—how dare I speak out and discourage the troops? Yet my sun already sets over the western hills and little light remains; to repay grace and serve the state—the moment is now. I beg Your Majesty to order withdrawal at once and not underestimate the foe.
17
I have further a full strategy and wish it to reach Your Majesty's ear. I hope Your Majesty will tend your health, care for your sacred person, lift the weary people, and turn them toward prosperity. Then frontier alarms will fall silent, outer gates need no bolt, the realm will turn to benevolent rule, and distant peoples will one after another accept civilization—where then can the Khitan alone flee? If Your Majesty's plan is not this, then you trust deceivers who say the Khitan ruler is young and burdened with affairs, and therefore resort to war to gratify Your Majesty's wishes. Your Majesty takes pleasure in inviting disaster while seeking glory, believing all is secure—I cannot agree. I beg Your Majesty to sift truth from falsehood, expose delusion and error, punish the treacherous ministers who misled the state, and withdraw the army campaigning against Yan. Not only do tribulations test and temper a ruler—he who heeds remonstrance proves himself sage. Men of old would remonstrate even unto death; though I am old, I am not yet dead. How could I resort to flattery to save myself and keep silent?"
18
帝賜手詔曰：
The Emperor sent a personal edict in reply:
19
"When I recently raised troops and chose commanders, I had Cao Bin, Mi Xin, and others encamp at Xiongzhou and Bazhou with rations packed and armor donned, simply to display our military presence. Once the region beyond the mountains was pacified in a month or two, Pan Mei, Tian Chongjin, and others were to unite their forces, march straight to Youzhou, seize the strategic passes, and recover our lost territory—that was my plan. Yet the commanders ignored the settled plan, each following his own judgment, leading a hundred thousand armored troops beyond the frontier in reckless advance, seizing towns and counties in haste, then doubling back to protect the supply train—exhausted by the to-and-fro, they were ambushed by the Liao. The blame rests with the chief commanders. Moreover, I reign at the end of an age of kings and have roughly restored peace. I act only because those people suffer on the frontier—I mean to rescue the burning and save the drowning, not to indulge in belligerence. You should understand this. The frontier is already guarded; you need not worry. You are a pillar of the state. Your loyal counsel, however bitter, has reached me three times. I am deeply moved and deeply shamed."
21
"Yesterday, seeing the imperial army long encamped beyond the frontier without recovering our territory, as the torrid season drew near and the crisis pressed, I rashly spoke my stubborn mind, prepared to accept whatever punishment the law might impose. Your Majesty saw my sincere intent, personally wrote in your own hand, and confided your sacred strategy to me. I now see that dispatching troops to punish the enemy was indeed the right strategy. Had the commanders followed the settled plan, success was assured. Only because they did not accord with Heaven's intent did the campaign fail. Now that the frontier is guarded, what is there to fear? Moreover, Your Majesty has reigned ten years and presided over a flourishing empire—nothing lost from its place, all lands at peace. You need only govern with quiet dignity, conserve your spirit and inner composure, and you may emulate the ancient Nine Emperors and the Five Thearchs below them. Must you exhaust yourself on the frontier and measure strength against the Khitan? I have long lacked strength of purpose, and now in my declining years I can offer no military service; yet I wish to devote what loyalty remains."
22
Those who witnessed it all praised his loyalty. In the fourth year, he was made military governor of Shannan East Circuit, his title changing from Duke of Liang to Duke of Xu. When an edict summoned the emperor to plow the sacred field, Pu submitted a memorial begging to attend court; his words were deeply earnest. Moved, the emperor said to the chief ministers, "Pu is a founding minister of the dynasty, whom I honor and esteem. His request should be granted." When Pu arrived, the Emperor comforted him again and again; Pu sobbed with streaming tears. Prince Yuanxi of Chen submitted a memorial, saying:
23
「臣伏見唐太宗有魏玄成、房玄齡、杜如晦，明皇有姚崇、宋璟、魏知古，皆任以輔弼，委之心膂，財成帝道，康濟九區，宗祀延洪，史策昭煥，良由登用得其人也。 今陛下君臨萬方，焦勞庶政，宵衣旰食，以民為心。 歷考前王，誠無所讓，而輔相之重，未偕曩賢。 況為邦在於任人，任人在乎公正，公正之道莫先於賞罰，斯為政之大柄也。 茍賞罰匪當，淑慝莫分，朝廷紀綱，漸致隳紊。 必須公正之人典衡軸，直躬敢言，以辨得失，然後彝倫式序，庶務用康。 伏見山南東道節度使趙普，開國元老，參謀締構，厚重有識，不妄希求恩顧以全祿位，不私徇人情以邀名望，此真聖朝之良臣也。 竊聞憸巧之輩，朋黨比周，眾口嗷嗷，惡直醜正，恨不斥逐遐徼，以快其心。 何者？ 蓋慮陛下之再用普也。 然公讜之人，咸願陛下復委以政，啟沃君心，羽翼聖化。 國有大事，使之謀之； 朝有宏綱，使之舉之； 四目未察，使之明之； 四聰未至，使之達之。 官人以材，則無竊祿，致君以道，則無苟容。 賢愚洞分，玉石殊致，當使結朋黨以馳驁聲勢者氣索，縱巧佞以援引儕類者道消。 沈冥廢滯得以進，名儒懿行得以顯，大政何患乎不舉，生民何患乎不康，匪窬期月之間，可臻清靜之治。 臣知慮庸淺，發言魯直。 伏望陛下旁采群議，俯察物情，苟用不失，實邦國大幸。」
"I observe that Emperor Taizong of Tang had Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui; Emperor Xuanzong had Yao Chong, Song Jing, and Wei Zhigu. Each entrusted his ministers as true counselors, relying on them as his very heart and sinew. They perfected the imperial Way, brought peace to the realm, ensured enduring ancestral rites, and left histories that shine, all because the right men were appointed. Your Majesty now rules all under Heaven, laboring over every affair, rising before dawn and dining after dusk, with the people's welfare always at heart. Compared with the kings of old, Your Majesty yields to none—yet the weight borne by your chief ministers falls short of those former worthies. Governing a state depends on appointing the right men; appointing men depends on fairness—and fairness begins with rewards and punishments. This is the sovereign lever of rule. When rewards and punishments miscarry, good and evil blur, and the court's discipline gradually unravels. Fair-minded men must hold the levers of power, stand upright, and speak boldly to distinguish right from wrong—only then will moral order prevail and all affairs prosper. I see Zhao Pu, military governor of Shannan East Circuit—a founding elder who helped shape the dynasty, stolid and wise. He does not seek favor to preserve his salary, nor indulge private ties to chase reputation. He is a true minister of this court. I hear that the crafty and cunning band together in factions, their voices raised in clamor, hating the upright and reviling the honest—they long to banish such men to distant frontiers to satisfy themselves. Why is this? Because they fear Your Majesty will restore Pu to power. Yet honorable men everywhere wish Your Majesty would restore him to office—to nourish your judgment and strengthen your sage rule. When the state faces great affairs, let him plan them; when the court has great principles, let him uphold them; where your four eyes have not seen, let him make clear; where your four ears have not reached, let him convey it. Appoint men by talent and none will hold office undeserved; guide the ruler by the Way and none will gain favor unworthily. When worthy and unworthy are clearly told apart, jade from common stone, those who parade in factions will lose their swagger, and the crafty flatterers who pull in their own kind will find their path blocked. The obscure and overlooked may rise, eminent scholars and exemplary conduct may shine forth—then why fear that great affairs will not succeed, or that the people will not prosper? Within a month, tranquil order may be achieved. My understanding is shallow and my words blunt. I beg Your Majesty to heed counsel from every quarter and discern the people's wishes. If you appoint him, the state will be greatly fortunate."
24
When the plowing rites concluded, Taizong wished to appoint Lü Mengzheng chief minister. Because Lü was newly risen, he drew on Pu's established stature as a model and invested Pu as Grand Guardian and concurrently Palace Secretariat Director. The emperor said to him, "You are an old servant of merit on whom I rely. The ancients were shamed if their ruler fell short of Yao and Shun; bear this in mind." Zhao Pu kowtowed in thanks.
25
At the time Deputy Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs Zhao Changyan was on close terms with Hu Dan, Chen Xiangyu, Dong Yan, and Liang Hao. When Hu Dan had Zhai Mazhou submit a sealed memorial denouncing current policy, Pu deeply resented it. He memorialized to exile Mazhou and demote Changyan and the others. Hou Mochen Liyong, regimental trainer of Zhengzhou, was arrogant, extravagant, and lawless. Pu investigated and reported every detail; Liyong was exiled to Shangzhou for his crimes, and Pu pressed for his execution. His hatred of evil and his firm uprightness were all of this kind.
26
When Li Jiqian troubled the frontier, Pu proposed restoring Zhao Baozhong to his old Xia lands and ordered a plot to that end. Baozhong instead conspired with Jiqian to trouble the frontier. Public opinion blamed Pu, and his colleagues looked on him with suspicion; he could no longer decide affairs alone.
27
By custom, chief ministers returned home at the wei hour; that year was fiercely hot, and Pu was specially permitted to leave for home by noon in midsummer. The next year he was exempted from court audiences, attending the Secretariat daily to transact business; for major affairs he was summoned for private audience. That winter he fell ill and requested leave. The Emperor repeatedly visited his home to inquire after him, granting gifts of extra rank. Pu declared his illness grave and thrice memorialized to retire. The Emperor reluctantly agreed, appointing him Administrator of the Western Capital and Intendant of Henan while retaining his titles of Grand Guardian and Director of the Secretariat. Pu thrice memorialized earnestly to decline. A personal edict was sent: "Among the founding ministers, you alone stand apart. Do not persist in declining. When the day of your final journey comes, I shall visit your home to bid you farewell." Pu received the edict with streaming tears and, despite his illness, requested audience. Granted a seat until the sundial moved, he spoke at length of state affairs, and the Emperor praised and accepted his counsel. When Pu was about to depart, the Emperor visited his home.
28
In spring of the third year of Chunhua, aged and long ill, he had Liu Changyan, vice-prefect attached to the Western Capital administration, submit a memorial requesting retirement. Imperial emissaries raced by relay to inquire after him. In all he thrice begged to retire. He was invested Grand Preceptor and enfeoffed Duke of Wei, granted a chief minister's salary, and ordered to nurse his illness and come to court when recovered. His younger brother Anyi, Vice-Director of the Court of the Imperial Clan, was dispatched to deliver the edict. A special emissary was again dispatched with an edict for Pu: "You recently fell ill and earnestly sought to retire. Given the weight of remaining as capital guardian, I feared to burden you in your old age. The title of Grand Preceptor was meant to honor your worth. I look forward to your recovery and our meeting again. Now I send sheep and wine as listed separately. Cherish your spirit, keep close to your physicians, and eat well, to honor my regard for you." In the seventh month he died, at the age of seventy-one.
29
One year before his death, on Pu's birthday the Emperor sent his son Chengzong with ritual gifts, silks, and saddle horses. Chengzong returned to report—and soon after died. The following year Pu had already left the office of Director of the Secretariat; by precedent no birthday gifts were given—but the Emperor specially dispatched Zhang Bing, Pu's nephew-in-law, Left Remonstrator and Academician of the Zhaowen Hall, with birthday gifts. On hearing this, Pu mourned Chengzong again; before Zhang Bing arrived, Pu's illness had turned grave. Earlier Pu had sent his personal clerk Zhen Qian to the Shangqing Taiping Palace to pray. The spirit spoke: "Zhao Pu, loyal minister of the Song, has long been stricken with illness and burdened by wrongs as well." When Qian returned, Pu, forcing himself despite his illness, dressed in full regalia and went to the central courtyard to receive the spirit's message, weeping with choked emotion. That evening he died.
30
The Emperor was deeply shaken by the news. He told his close ministers: "Pu served the Previous Emperor and was my old friend. He could decide great affairs. It is well known that he and I had our differences in the past. Since my accession I have always honored him, and he has served with every ounce of devotion and exhausted his loyalty to the state. He was truly a pillar of the state, and I deeply mourn his loss." He wept aloud, and all present were moved. Court was suspended for five days, and the Emperor went out to the mourning pavilion to express his grief. He was posthumously appointed Director of the Department of State Affairs, posthumously enfeoffed King of Zhending, and granted the posthumous name Loyal and Distinguished. The Emperor composed an inscription for his spirit-way stele and personally wrote it in clerical script as a gift. The Emperor dispatched Fan Gao, Right Remonstrating Censor, acting as Director of the Court of State Ceremonial, to oversee the funeral. Funeral gifts were granted: five hundred bolts each of silk and cloth, and five hundred piculs each of rice and flour. On the day of burial, the proper offices arranged the imperial escort and ceremonial music according to regulation. Both daughters had come of age. Pu's wife, Lady He, declared she wished to become a nun. Taizong repeatedly urged her to reconsider but could not dissuade her. The elder daughter was given the name Zhiyuan and the title Great Master Zhiguo; The younger was named Zhiying and titled Great Master Zhiyuan.
31
In the beginning, when Taizu was still obscure, Pu kept company with him. Once Taizu had the realm, Pu repeatedly spoke of slights from their early days. Taizu was magnanimous. He said to Pu, "If one could pick out the Son of Heaven and chief minister from the dust, everyone would be searching for them." After that Pu never spoke of it again. Pu had trained in clerkly work from youth and had little scholarly learning. Once he became chief minister, Taizu often urged him to read. In his later years he never put down his books. Each time he returned home, he shut his door, opened a chest, took out a book, and read all day. The next day at court he disposed of affairs with effortless fluency. After his death the family opened the chest—they found only the twenty chapters of the Analects.
32
Pu was deep and reserved, steep as a riverbank—though prone to jealousy, he took the affairs of the realm as his personal charge. In the early Song, most chief ministers were timid and obsequious; Pu alone was firm and decisive—none matched him. Once he recommended a certain man for office; Taizu refused. The next day Pu recommended him again—again refused. The next day Pu recommended him once more. Taizu flew into a rage, tore the memorial to shreds, and threw it to the floor. Pu's expression never changed. He knelt, gathered the pieces, and went home. Later he patched the torn paper and submitted the memorial again unchanged. Taizu at last understood and appointed the man. On another occasion a minister was due for promotion; Taizu had long disliked the man and refused. Pu pressed the matter firmly. Taizu angrily said: "I will not grant this promotion. What can you do about it?" Pu said: "Punishment chastises evil and reward repays merit—that is the universal Way from antiquity to the present. Moreover, punishments and rewards belong to the realm, not to Your Majesty alone. How can you wield them purely at the whim of your moods?" Taizu flew into a rage and stood up; Pu followed right after him. Taizu went into the palace. Pu stood at the gate and refused to leave. In the end he won his point.
33
Taizong gave ear to De Chao's slander and suspected Cao Bin of disloyalty. When Pu was again chief minister, he spoke in Bin's defense and cleared his name—the facts spoke for themselves. Taizong sighed: "My judgment was clouded—I nearly let state affairs go wrong." That same day he banished De Chao and treated Bin exactly as before.
34
Zu Ji had profited corruptly while governing a prefecture. When the scheme was uncovered he was thrown in prison, though the case and indictment were not yet complete. With the suburban sacrifice approaching, Taizong, disgusted by his graft, sent a palace envoy to tell the chief ministers: "At the suburban amnesty, make a special exception—do not pardon Zu Ji." Pu memorialized: "An official who betrays his office deserves proper punishment under the law. Yet the state is preparing the suburban sacrifice and grand rites, facing Heaven and Earth and making report to the spirits—how can we let one man's case wreck Your Majesty's amnesty?" Taizong agreed and dropped the matter.
35
Early in the Xianping era under Zhenzong, Pu was posthumously enfeoffed as Prince of Han. In the second year an edict declared: "The late Grand Preceptor Zhao Pu, posthumously granted Minister of the Masters of Writing and enfeoffed as Prince of Han, surpassed all others in wisdom and stood among the greatest of royal counselors. He supported the dynasty at its founding and helped open its grand design. The achievements of Lü Wang on campaign and Xiao He in directing strategy scarcely exceed his. He had served two reigns as chief counselor across three decades, filling the halls of state with his stature and bearing the heavy burden of frontier command. Upright and unyielding, he remained unstained from first to last; his counsel can still be read, and his spirit seems alive. Let him share in the great autumn sacrifice and forever partake of blessings in the ancestral temple. This abundant rite honors his old service—let Pu be paired in sacrifice in Taizu's temple courtyard."
36
38
Anyi, whose style name was Jihe, Early in the Jianlong era he served as acting registrar of Fuzhou. Military Commissioner Zhe Deyi praised his integrity and capability, and he was confirmed in the post. He was twice promoted, ending as investigating officer of Henan Prefecture. While Pu served as chief minister, Anyi went ten years without requesting a new posting. During the Taiping Xingguo era he served in turn as chief secretary at the Hua and Xing garrisons. After delivering fodder to the foot of Taiyuan's walls, he was appointed censor and made prefect of Xingyuan; he was transferred to the palace censorate and granted the red fish pouch of rank. Previously taxpayers in the Two Shu regions had to exchange iron cash for copper cash when paying taxes. Anyi argued that this was impractical and asked that iron cash be accepted instead; the throne agreed. In the ninth year he was raised to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Clan and made prefect of Dingzhou. When Cao Can was appointed prefect, Anyi was transferred to vice prefect; shortly afterward he was relieved and recalled. He again petitioned for an outside appointment and was assigned to govern Yaozhou, but was kept at court and instead ordered to inspect affairs on the northern frontier.
39
During the Chunhua era he proposed that because Shu used iron cash at several times the value of copper cash, petty traders found commerce burdensome. He asked that Western Shu, as under Liu Bei, cast large coins valued at ten for one hundred. The proposal went to the Imperial Secretariat for debate. Minister of Personnel Song Qi and others argued: "Under Liu Bei the problem was too little coin—that is why the system was changed. Anyi's proposal would address too much coin. It is no lasting solution." Anyi would not let the matter drop. He hired workers to cast more than a hundred large coins and presented them—they were exquisitely wrought, but when they were dropped on the palace steps they all shattered at once, the alloy having lost whatever fine metal it held. Taizong did not reprimand him. He still praised his dedication, granted him gold and purple rank, and put him in charge of the mint. Before long the project bled money. In a full year it yielded barely three thousand strings. Public outcry grew loud and the scheme was abandoned—the affair is recorded in full in the Treatise on Food and Commodities.
40
He governed Xiang and Lu in turn, was promoted to director of the Court of the Imperial Clan, and after returning to court resumed that office. The imperial clan registers were incomplete. He petitioned for them to be compiled. Early in Xianping, Liang Zhouhan and Anyi were ordered to edit them together. Anyi had only a shallow grasp of the classics. He was fierce and obstinate, loved to hold forth on public affairs, and was too crude and impractical to be of use. Early on Taizong once asked about agricultural policy. Anyi proposed restoring the well-field system. Because his family came from Yan and Ji, Taizong also often consulted him on frontier matters.
41
Early in the Jingde era ritual officials worked out the funeral procession for Empress Dowager Mingde—that at the temporary encoffinment site at the ren compass point in the capital, the suspended weight would be buried by ritual and her spirit tablet elevated and enshrined in the temple. Anyi submitted a memorial:
42
「《禮》云：『既虞作主』，虞者，已葬設吉祭也。 明未葬則未立虞主及神主。 所以周制但鑿木為懸重，以主神靈。 王后七月而葬，則埋懸重，掩玄堂，凶仗、轀輬車、龍輴之屬焚于柏城訖，始可立虞主。 吉仗還京，備九祭，復埋虞主，然後立神主，升廟室。 自曠古至皇朝，上奉祖宗陵廟行此禮，何以今日乃違典章，苟且升祔，方權攢妄立神主，未大葬輒埋懸重？ 且棺柩未歸園陵，則神靈豈入太廟？ 奈柏城未焚凶仗，則凶穢唐突祖宗。 望約孝章近例，但於壬地權攢，未立神主升祔，凶儀一切祗奉。 俟丙午年靈駕西去園陵，東回祔廟。 如此則免於顛倒，不利國家。」
"The Rites states: 'Once the yu rites are performed, make the main tablet.' Yu refers to the auspicious sacrifice held after burial. This makes clear that before burial neither the yu tablet nor the spirit tablet should be installed. That is why Zhou practice used only a carved wooden suspended weight to hold the spirit. When a queen consort is buried after seven months, they bury the suspended weight and seal the burial chamber. Only after the mourning gear, enclosed hearse, dragon carriage, and the like are burned at Cypress City may the yu tablet be installed. When the funeral procession returns to the capital in state, the nine sacrifices are held, the yu tablet is buried again, and only then is the spirit tablet made and installed in the temple. From remote antiquity through our dynasty, the imperial ancestors' tombs and temples have followed this rite—why violate the canonical regulations today? Why perfunctorily enshrine the tablet, rashly install a spirit tablet at a temporary encoffinment, and bury the suspended weight before the full burial? If the coffin has not yet reached the imperial mausoleum, how can the spirit enter the Grand Temple? And if the mourning gear at Cypress City has not yet been burned, its impurity would offend the imperial ancestors. I ask that we follow the recent precedent of Empress Xiaozhang—temporary encoffinment at the ren site only, no spirit tablet installed or enshrined, and every mourning rite observed scrupulously. Wait until the bingwu year, when the spirit carriage goes west to the mausoleum and returns east for enshrinement in the temple. Only then will we avoid reversing proper order. Otherwise the realm will suffer harm."
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44
「按《晉書》羊太后崩，廢一時之祀，天地明堂，去樂不作。 又按《禮》，王后崩，五祀之祭不行既殯而祭。 所言五祀不行，則天地之祭不廢，遂議以園陵年月不便，須至變禮從宜。 又緣先准禮文，候神主升祔畢，方行享祀。 若俟丙午歲，則三年不祭宗廟，禮文有闕。 況明德皇太后德配先朝，禮合升祔。 遂與史館檢討同共參詳，以為廟未祔則神靈不至，伏恐祭祀難行。 攢既畢則梓宮在郊，可以葬禮比附。 遂按《禮》云『葬者藏也，欲人不得而見也。』 既不欲穿壙動土，則龍輴、攢木、題湊，蒙槨上四柱如屋以覆，盡塗之。 所合埋重，一依近例，便可升祔神主。 安易妄言，以凶仗為凶穢，目群官為顛倒，指梓宮為棺柩，令百司分析園陵，浼瀆聖聽，誣罔臣下。
"The Book of Jin records that when Empress Dowager Yang died, sacrifices were suspended for a time; at the altars of Heaven and Earth and the Bright Hall, music was omitted. The Rites also state that when a queen consort dies, the five seasonal sacrifices cease until after encoffinment, when sacrifices resume. The suspension of the five sacrifices does not mean the rites to Heaven and Earth are abolished. Because the mausoleum schedule was inconvenient, they debated adapting the rites as circumstances required. Prior ritual rulings also required waiting until the spirit tablet was enshrined before regular temple offerings could resume. If we wait until the bingwu year, the ancestral temple would go three years without sacrifice—a breach of ritual propriety. Moreover, Empress Dowager Mingde's virtue matched that of the prior reign—enshrinement is ritually proper. They consulted with Historical Archives reviewers and concluded that without enshrinement the spirit would not be present—sacrifice would be impossible. Once the temporary encoffinment is complete the imperial coffin rests in the suburbs—burial rites can be applied by analogy. The Rites define burial as concealment—keeping the deceased from sight. Since we do not wish to open a tomb and disturb the earth, the dragon hearse, encoffinment frame, inscribed panels, and outer coffin are roofed over with four pillars like a house and sealed with plaster. The suspended weight should be buried according to recent precedent, and the spirit tablet may then be enshrined. Anyi spoke recklessly. He called the mourning gear impure, accused the officials of reversing proper order, treated the imperial coffin as an ordinary coffin, and burdened every office with analyzing the mausoleum schedule—polluting the emperor's attention and deceiving his ministers.
45
Anyi also said: 'Before, I saw officials handle things properly: for the two emperors and empresses, the mountain tomb came first and temple enshrinement second; today I see officials reversed: for Empress Dowager Mingde, temple enshrinement comes first and the mausoleum second.' On review, tomb before temple in those cases simply reflected convenient dates—nothing to do with yin-yang taboos. Now the dates are inconvenient—it is right to adapt the rites accordingly. Without burying the suspended weight the rites remain incomplete; without enshrinement temple sacrifice cannot proceed. The rites must be adapted to match the emperor's intent. Moreover, as Empress Dowager Mingde prepares for temporary encoffinment, Anyi's claim that 'unburned mourning gear at Cypress City would impiously offend the ancestors' runs against the Tan Gong: 'The morning procession of mourning follows the deceased's filial devotion.' Zheng Xuan's commentary explains: 'This means moving the coffin to the temple.' It adds: 'Mourners grieve to leave the chamber, so the procession goes first to the ancestral temple—the Shang held morning rites and encoffined at the ancestor; the Zhou held morning rites and proceeded straight to burial.' We too take leave of the ancestral temple before proceeding—how can ritual prescribed in the Canon be called inverted, or a procession with both mourning and honoring rites be called impious?
46
They also noted: 'Empress Xiaozhang died in the first year of Zhidao. Because of taboo constraints she had not yet reached the mausoleum. When her coffin left the capital for temporary encoffinment, no spirit tablet was installed in the temple.' Not until the third year of Zhidao, after the western journey to the mausoleum and the completion of rites, was the yu tablet brought back to the capital, the spirit tablet installed, and enshrinement completed—exactly as canonical ritual required.' The records show that because Xiaozhang was Taizong's sister-in-law, when she died only five days of court were suspended and officials never donned full mourning—quite unlike the present case. From the outset no edict had suspended temple offerings either. Empress Dowager Mingde was mother to the realm. The emperor's filial piety equals that of Zengzi and Yan Hui. At her death an edict already suspended temple offerings temporarily. By the ritual texts, this is entirely proper. Anyi is absurd and ignorant, citing precedents at random, comparing a relative in the da-gong grade of mourning to the three-year mourning regulation, and deceiving his sovereign to this extent.
47
Anyi prides himself on blunt honesty—yet those he attacks are always the good and upright; he poses as refined and principled—yet what he esteems is always the vulgar. His hunger for rank and office only grew stronger with age; while the classics of Poetry and Documents he barely knew at all. Our deliberations cite canonical precedents and weigh present circumstances. Though we adapt the rites, we have still examined antiquity. We ask that the plan proceed without further debate."
48
The proposal was adopted. Anyi continued to speak repeatedly on tomb and temple affairs, his language crude and vulgar. In his later years he never stopped angling for promotion, and public opinion scorned him. In the second year he died, at seventy-six. He was posthumously granted the title Minister of Works. His son Chengqing was enrolled as an erudite of the Directorate of Education; his grandson Congzheng as a gentleman for ceremonies in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
49
論曰：自古創業之君，其居潛舊臣，定策佐命，樹事建功，一代有一代之才，未嘗乏也。 求其始終一心，休戚同體，貴為國卿，親若家相，若宋太祖之于趙普，可謂難矣。 陳橋之事，人謂普及太宗先知其謀，理勢或然。 事定之後，普以一樞密直學士立于新朝數年，范、王、魏三人罷相，始繼其位，太祖不亟于酬功，普不亟於得政。 及其當揆，獻可替否，惟義之從，未嘗以勳舊自伐。 偃武而修文，慎罰而薄斂，三百餘年之宏規，若平昔素定，一旦舉而措之。 太原、幽州之役，終身以輕動為戒，後皆如其言。 家人見其斷國大議，閉門觀書，取決方冊，他日竊視，乃《魯論》耳。 昔傅說告商高宗曰：「學於古訓乃有獲，事不師古，以克永世，匪說攸聞。」 普為謀國元臣，乃能矜式往哲，蓍龜聖模，宋之為治，氣象醇正，茲豈無助乎。 晚年廷美、多遜之獄，大為太宗盛德之累，而普與有力焉。 豈其學力之有限而猶有患失之心歟？ 君子惜之。
The commentator writes: Founding emperors and the veteran ministers who served them before the throne, who shaped policy and helped secure the mandate, who built institutions and won achievements—in every age such talent has appeared; it has never been absent. To find one who served with a single heart from first to last, who shared triumph and trouble as one body, who was honored as a state minister yet trusted like a household counselor—as Taizu did with Zhao Pu—that is rare indeed. Of the Chen Bridge coup, many said both Pu and Taizong knew the plan in advance—a plausible reading of the logic and momentum. After the coup Pu served for years as a direct academy scholar of the Bureau of Military Affairs while Fan, Wang, and Wei in turn left the chief ministership—only then did he succeed them. Taizu did not rush to reward him; Pu did not rush to seize power. Once he became chief minister, he offered assent and dissent alike, following righteousness alone. He never traded on his founding merit. He laid down arms and cultivated culture, kept punishments sparing and taxes light—the grand design that would sustain the dynasty for three centuries seemed already settled in his mind, ready to enact at once. After the Taiyuan and Youzhou campaigns he spent his life warning against rash military action—and later events proved him right. His family watched him decide weighty affairs of state, then shut his door to read for guidance from his books—one day they peeked and found only the Analects. Fu Yue once told King Gaozong of Shang: "Only by learning from the ancients can one gain wisdom. To govern for generations without heeding the past—of that I know nothing." As the dynasty's founding strategist, Pu took the ancient sages as his model and divined the pattern of sage rule. The pure, upright cast of Song governance—surely he helped shape that. In his later years the cases of Tingmei and Duoxun became a stain on Taizong's otherwise luminous reign—and Pu bore no small part in them. Was his learning too shallow, and did fear of losing what he had still move him? Men of judgment lament it.