1
吳育，字春卿，建安人也。 父待問，與楊億同州里，每造億，億厚禮之。 門下少年多易之，億曰：「彼他日所享，非若曹可望也。」 累官光祿卿，以禮部侍郎致仕。
Wu Yu, courtesy name Chunqing, was a native of Jian'an. His father Daiwen was a fellow townsman of Yang Yi. Whenever Daiwen called on him, Yi received him with marked respect. Many of the young men in Yi's household treated Daiwen lightly, but Yi said, "The honors that man will one day enjoy are not within your reach." Daiwen rose through the ranks to Grandee of Splendid Happiness and retired as Vice Minister of Rites.
2
育少奇穎博學，舉進士，試禮部第一，中甲科。 除大理評事，遷寺丞。 歷知臨安、諸暨、襄城三縣。 自秦悼王葬汝後，子孫從葬，皆出宦官典護，歲時上塚者，往來呼索擾州縣。 育在襄城，請凡官所須，具成數，毋容使者妄索，羊豕悉出大官，由是民省供費殆半。 宦官過者銜之，或中夜叩縣門，索牛駕車，育拒不應。 異時宗子所過，縱鷹犬暴民田，入襄城境，輒相戒約，毋敢縱者。
As a youth Yu was unusually gifted and widely read. He took the jinshi degree, placed first in the Ministry of Rites examination, and was graded in the highest cohort. He was appointed reviewing clerk in the Court of Judicial Review and later promoted to vice director of that court. He served in turn as magistrate of Lin'an, Zhuji, and Xiangcheng. Ever since Prince Daowang of Qin was interred in Ru, the collateral burials of his descendants had been managed by eunuchs, and the annual tomb visits brought envoys who shouted for supplies and harassed local governments along the route. While magistrate of Xiangcheng, Yu required that every item owed to visiting officials be listed at fixed quantities, forbade envoys to levy arbitrary demands, and had all sheep and pigs supplied by the imperial kitchen. The people thereby cut their hospitality costs by nearly half. The eunuchs who passed through nursed a grudge against him. Some would pound on the county gate at midnight demanding oxen and carts; Yu would not oblige them. Elsewhere, when imperial clansmen traveled through they would loose hawks and hounds to trample the people's fields, but once they entered Xiangcheng they warned one another not to dare do so.
3
舉賢良方正，擢著作郎、直集賢院、通判蘇州。 還知太常禮院，奏定禮文，名《太常新禮慶曆祀儀》。 改右正言，歷三司鹽鐵、戶部二判官。 尋以本官供諫職。
Recommended as worthy and upright, he was promoted to drafting secretary, assigned to the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and appointed vice prefect of Suzhou. He returned to head the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Ritual Regulations, drafted revised ritual codes, and presented them under the title New Rites of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Qingli Sacrificial Protocols. He was made Right Remonstrator and served in turn as controller of the Salt and Iron Commission and of the Revenue Commission. Soon afterward he retained his title while serving in a remonstrance capacity.
4
元昊僭號，議出兵討之。 群臣曰：「元昊，小醜也，旋即誅滅矣。」 育獨建言：「元昊雖稱蕃臣，其尺賦斗租，不入縣官，且服叛不常，請置之，示不足責。 且已僭輿服，勢必不能自削，宜援國初江南故事，稍易其名，可以順拊而收之。」 不報。 復上言：「宜先以文誥告諭之，尚不賓，姑嚴守禦，不足同中國叛臣亟加征討。 且征討者，貴在神速； 守禦者，利於持重。 羌人剽悍多詐，出沒不時，我師乘銳，見小利小勝，必貪功輕進，往往墮賊計中。 第嚴約束，明烽候，堅壁清野，以挫其鋒。」 時方銳意討之，既而諸將多覆軍者，久之無功，卒封元昊為夏國主，如育所議。
When Yuanhao assumed a royal title, the court debated dispatching an army against him. The ministers said, "Yuanhao is a petty rebel who will be wiped out in no time." Yu alone argued: "Though Yuanhao styles himself a frontier vassal, his levies never reach the imperial treasury, and his loyalty shifts with every season. Let him be ignored—show that he is beneath our reproach. He has already assumed forbidden regalia and will not willingly strip them away. We should follow the early-Song precedent used in Jiangnan—alter his title slightly so that he can be pacified and brought back into the fold." The throne did not respond. He submitted again: "Send written proclamations first. If he still refuses allegiance, tighten the defenses for now; there is no need to treat him like a domestic rebel and rush into a punitive war. Punitive campaigns depend on speed; defensive warfare profits from steadiness. The Qiang are fierce and treacherous, striking when least expected. Our troops, flush with confidence, will chase petty gains and rush ahead—only to walk into their traps. Tighten discipline, keep the beacon lines clear, fortify the walls and clear the countryside—that is how to blunt their momentum." The court was then bent on war. Generals soon lost whole armies, and after years of failure Yuanhao was enfeoffed as ruler of Xia—just as Yu had urged from the start.
5
育又上言：「天下久安，務因循而厭生事，政令紀綱，邊防機要，置不復修，一有邊警，則倉皇莫知所為，殆稍安靜，則又無敢輒言者。 若政令修，紀綱肅，財用富，恩信給，賞罰明，將帥練習，士卒精銳，則四夷望風，自無他志。 若一不備，則乘間而起矣。」
Yu submitted again: "After so long a peace the court clings to routine and shuns trouble. Edicts, discipline, frontier defenses—all lie neglected. At the first alarm on the border everyone panics; once things quiet down, no one dares speak again. If the laws are sound, discipline firm, the treasury full, grace and trust abundant, rewards and punishments clear, commanders well drilled, and troops sharp, the frontier peoples will submit at a glance and harbor no other ambitions. Let any one of these fail, and they will seize the moment to rise."
6
又曰：「漢通西域諸國，斷匈奴右臂。 諸戎內附，雖有桀黠，不敢獨叛。 唐太宗嘗賜回鶻可汗並其相手書，納其貢奉，厚以金帛。 真宗命潘羅支攻殺李繼遷，而德明乃降。 元昊第見朝廷比年與西域諸戎不通朝貢，乃得以利啗鄰境，固其巢穴，無肘腋之患。 跳梁猖獗，彼得以肆而不顧矣。 請募士諭唃廝囉及他蕃部，離散其黨與，使並力以攻，而均其恩賜，此伐謀之要也。」 因錄上真宗時通西域諸蕃事跡。 除同修起居注，遂知制誥，進翰林學士，累遷禮部郎中。
He also said: "When the Han opened the Western Regions, they cut off the Xiongnu's right arm. With the tribes submitted to the court, even the fiercest among them dared not rebel on their own. Emperor Taizong of Tang once sent personal letters to the Uyghur khan and his chancellor, accepted their tribute, and lavished gold and silk upon them. Emperor Zhenzong had Pan Luozhi strike down Li Jiqian, and only then did Deming surrender. Yuanhao has watched the court neglect the Western Regions for years, bribe neighboring tribes, fortify his base, and face no threat at his flanks. Rioting unchecked, he has been free to run wild without fear of reprisal. Recruit envoys to win over Gusiluo and other tribes, break up his alliances, and have them attack him together while sharing our rewards evenly—that is the heart of defeating him by strategy." He then compiled and submitted a record of how the court had dealt with the Western Regions under Emperor Zhenzong. He was made associate compiler of the imperial diary, then controller of drafts, promoted to Hanlin academician, and eventually director in the Ministry of Rites.
7
契丹與元昊構兵，元昊求納款。 契丹使來請勿納元昊，朝廷未知所答。 育因上疏曰：「契丹受恩，為日已久。 不可納一叛羌，失繼世兄弟之歡。 今二蕃自鬥，鬥久不解，可觀形勢，乘機立功。 萬一過計，亟納元昊，臣恐契丹窺兵趙、魏，朝廷不得元昊毫髮之助，而太行東西，且有煙塵之警矣。 宜使人諭元昊曰：『契丹汝世姻，一旦自絕，力屈而歸我，我所疑也，若無他者，當順契丹如故，然後許汝歸款。』 告契丹曰：『已詔元昊，如能投謝轅門，即聽內附； 若猶堅拒，當為討之。』 如此，則彼皆不能歸罪我矣。」 於是召兩制，出契丹書，令兩制同上對，不易育議。
The Khitan and Yuanhao went to war, and Yuanhao asked to submit to the Song. A Khitan envoy arrived asking the court not to accept Yuanhao, and the court was at a loss for a reply. Yu submitted a memorial: "The Khitan have enjoyed our favor for generations. We must not welcome a rebellious Qiang chieftain and forfeit the goodwill of our hereditary allies. With the two frontier powers locked in combat, we should watch how the struggle unfolds and seize the moment to our advantage. If we rashly accept Yuanhao, the Khitan may march on Zhao and Wei, Yuanhao will give us no help at all, and war smoke will rise on both sides of the Taihang range. Send an envoy to Yuanhao: 'The Khitan are your hereditary kin by marriage. If you break with them and come to us only because you are beaten, I will be suspicious. If you have no hidden aim, restore your ties with the Khitan as before—only then will I accept your submission.' Tell the Khitan: 'I have already told Yuanhao that if he comes to our camp to surrender, he may submit; if he still refuses, I will punish him.' In this way neither side can blame us." The emperor then summoned the drafters of the Two Institutes, produced the Khitan letter, and ordered them to frame a joint reply without changing Yu's plan.
8
尋知開封府。 居數日，發大奸吏一人，流嶺外。 又得巨盜，積贓萬九千緡，獄具而輒再變，帝遣他吏按之，卒伏法。 時歲饑多盜，育嚴賞功之法，嘗得盜而未賞者，一切賞之，以明不欺。
He was soon appointed prefect of Kaifeng. Within days he exposed a major corrupt official and exiled him beyond the Lingnan passes. He also caught a major thief who had amassed nineteen thousand strings in stolen goods. After the case was closed the verdict kept being overturned, so the emperor sent another investigator—and the man was finally executed. Famine had bred many thieves. Yu enforced reward rules strictly and paid every officer who had caught a thief but never received a bounty, proving that no merit would go unrecognized.
9
慶曆五年，拜右諫議大夫、樞密副使。 居數月，改參知政事。 山東盜起，帝遣中使按視，還奏：「盜不足慮。 兗州杜衍、鄆州富弼，山東人尊愛之，此可憂也。」 帝欲徙二人於淮南，育曰：「盜誠無足慮者，小人乘時以傾大臣，禍幾不可禦矣。」 事遂寢。 章獻、章懿太后升祔真宗廟，議者請覃恩，且優賜軍士。 育曰：「無事而啟僥幸，誰為陛下建此議者，請治之。」 已而外人多怨執政者，帝以語輔臣，育曰：「此必建議者欲動搖上聽，臣以身許國，何憚此耶？」
In Qingli 5 he was made Right Remonstrance Grandee and vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Several months later he was made participant in governance. Bandits rose in Shandong. The emperor sent a palace envoy to investigate, who reported: "The bandits are no real threat. Du Yan in Yanzhou and Fu Bi in Yunzhou are deeply beloved in Shandong—that is what should worry us." The emperor wanted to move both men to Huainan. Yu said, "The bandits are nothing—but petty men are using the moment to bring down great ministers. The harm would be nearly impossible to stop." The plan was abandoned. When Empresses Zhangxian and Zhangyi were installed in Emperor Zhenzong's temple, some proposed a general amnesty and extra payments to the troops. Yu said, "To encourage vain hopes when there is no cause—whoever proposed this to Your Majesty should be punished." Soon outsiders were blaming the chief ministers. When the emperor mentioned it, Yu said, "Those who made the proposal are surely trying to sway Your Majesty. I have given my life to the state—why should I fear their talk?"
10
向綬知永靜軍，為不法，疑通判江中立發其陰事，因構獄以危法中之，中立自經死。 綬宰相子，大臣有營助，欲傅輕法，育曰：「不殺綬，無以示天下。」 卒減死一等，流南方。 御史唐詢請罷制科，帝刊其名付中書，育奏疏駁議，帝因諭輔臣曰：「彼上言者，乞從內批行下，今乃知欺罔也。」 育曰：「非睿聽昭察，則挾邪蠹國，靡所不為。 願出姓名按劾，以明國法。」
Xiang Shou, military commissioner of Yongjing, broke the law. Suspecting that Vice Prefect Jiang Zhongli had exposed his misdeeds, he framed a capital case against him, and Zhongli hanged himself. Shou was a prime minister's son, and powerful ministers lobbied for a lighter sentence. Yu said, "Unless Shou is executed, we cannot make an example to the realm." In the end the death penalty was commuted one degree and he was exiled to the south. Censor Tang Xun petitioned to abolish the decree examinations. The emperor struck his name from the rolls and sent the matter to the Secretariat. Yu memorialized against it. The emperor told his chief ministers, "That man asked for an inner draft to carry this out—now we see he was deceiving us." Yu said, "Without Your Majesty's keen discernment, men who harbor evil and poison the state would stop at nothing. Publish their names and investigate them under the law, so that the statutes of the realm are made clear."
11
育在政府，遇事敢言，與宰相賈昌朝數爭議上前，左右皆失色，育論辨不已，乃請曰：「臣所辨者，職也； 顧力不勝，願罷臣職。」 乃復以為樞密副使。 明年大旱，御史中丞高若訥曰：「大臣喧爭為不肅，故雨不時若。」 遂罷昌朝，而育歸給事中班。 未幾，出知許州，徙蔡州。 設伍保法，以檢制盜賊。 時京師有告妖人千數聚確山者，詔遣中使往召捕者十人。 至，則以巡檢兵往索之，育曰：「使者欲得妖人還報邪？」 曰：「然。」 曰：「育在此，雖不敏，聚千人境內，毋容不知。 此特鄉民用浮圖法相聚，以利錢財爾，一弓手召之，可致也。 今以兵往，人相驚疑，請留毋往。」 中使以為然。 頃之，召十人者至，械送闕下，皆無罪釋之。 而告者伏辜。
In office Yu spoke boldly on every issue. He repeatedly argued with Chief Minister Jia Changchao before the throne until the attendants turned pale. Yu would not yield and finally said, "What I dispute is my duty; but since I cannot prevail, I ask to be relieved of my post." He was then reappointed vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. The next year a severe drought struck. Censor-in-chief Gao Ruone said, "The chief ministers' loud disputes have offended decorum, and so the rains do not come in season." Changchao was dismissed, and Yu was returned to the supervising secretaries' roster. Before long he was sent out as prefect of Xuzhou and then transferred to Caizhou. He instituted the mutual-security groups of five households to control banditry. Someone in the capital reported that a thousand sorcerers had gathered on Mount Que, and the court sent a palace envoy to summon ten men for arrest. When they arrived they prepared to send patrol troops to seize the men. Yu asked, "Does the envoy simply need sorcerers to bring back in his report?" He said, "Yes." Yu said, "While I am here, however dull I may be, a thousand men could not gather in my jurisdiction without my knowing it. These are only villagers meeting in Buddhist fashion to raise money. One constable could summon them—they would come at once. Send troops now and you will only spread panic. Please stay your hand." The envoy agreed. Soon the ten men were brought in chains to the capital, found innocent, and released. The accuser was punished in turn.
12
尋以資政殿學士知河南府，徙陝州。 上書論詔獄曰：「先王凝旒黈纊，不欲聞見人之過失也。 設有罪，即屬之有司。 楊儀嘗為三司判官，近自御史臺移劾都亭驛，械縛過市，人人不測為何等大獄。 及聞案具，乃止請求常事。 使道路眾口紛紛竊議，朝廷之士，人皆自危，豈養廉恥、示敦厚之道哉？」
He was soon made academician of the Hall for Aid in Governance and prefect of Henan, then transferred to Shaanzhou. He memorialized on imperially ordered prosecutions: "The ancient kings veiled their eyes with their cap tassels because they did not wish to hear or see the faults of others. When guilt existed, they left it to the proper offices. Yang Yi, once a controller in the fiscal commissions, was recently impeached by the Censorate and tried at the Metropolitan Post Station. Led through the streets in chains, no one could guess what grave crime was involved. When the case closed, it proved to be nothing more than the usual charge of improper solicitation. The streets buzzed with rumor, and every official at court felt endangered. How does this nurture integrity or display a generous and honest government?"
13
遷禮部侍郎、知永興軍，召兼翰林侍讀學士。 以疾辭，且請便郡。 帝語大臣曰：「吳育剛正可用，第嫉惡太過耳。」 因命知汝州，遣內侍賜以禁中良藥。 會疾不已，又請居散地，以集賢院學士判西京留司御史臺。 外臺舊不領民事，時張堯佐知河陽，民訟久不決，多詣育訴。 育為辨曲直，判書狀尾，堯佐畏懼奉行。 復為資政殿學士兼翰林侍讀學士、知陝州，進資政殿大學士。 召還，判尚書都省。
He was promoted to vice minister of rites and military commissioner of Yongxing, and recalled as Hanlin attendant reader. He declined on grounds of illness and asked for a less demanding prefecture. The emperor told his ministers, "Wu Yu is upright and capable, though he hates evil with excessive zeal." He then appointed Yu prefect of Ruzhou and sent a palace attendant with fine medicines from the imperial pharmacy. When his illness persisted he asked for a lighter post and was made academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies with concurrent charge of the Western Capital's retained censorate. The outer censorate had not traditionally handled civil suits, but Zhang Yaozuo was prefect of Heyang and left cases unresolved for so long that many plaintiffs came to Yu instead. Yu decided their cases and signed the judgments at the foot of each petition; Yaozuo, intimidated, enforced them. He was again made academician of the Hall for Aid in Governance and Hanlin attendant reader, with appointment as prefect of Shaanzhou, and was promoted to grand academician of that hall. He was recalled to serve concurrently as chief of the Secretariat of the Department of State Affairs.
14
一日，侍讀禁中，帝因語及「臣下毀譽，多出愛憎，卿所當慎也。」 育曰：「知而形之言，不若察而行之事。 聖主之行，如日月之明。 進一人，使人皆知其善，出一人，使人皆曉其惡，則陰邪不能構害，公正可以自立，百王之要道也。」 帝數欲大用，為諫官劉元瑜誣奏育在河南嘗貸民出息錢。 久之，除宣徽南院使、鄜延路經略安撫使、判延州。
One day, while reading with the emperor in the palace, the emperor remarked, "Praise and blame of ministers usually spring from personal liking and dislike—you must be careful of that." Wu Yu said, "Knowing a thing and putting it into words is inferior to discerning it and embodying it in action. A sagely sovereign's conduct shines like the sun and moon. When promoting someone, let all know his merit; when removing someone, let all see his fault—then covert malice cannot plot harm and fairness stands firm: the cardinal principle of kings since antiquity." The emperor repeatedly meant to give him major responsibilities, but censor Liu Yuanyu falsely charged that Yu had in Henan lent money to commoners at interest. Eventually he was made Commissioner of the Southern Xuanhui Bureau, frontier commissioner for Zhenyan, and prefect of Yan.
15
夏人既稱臣，而幷邊種落數侵耕為患。 龐籍守幷州，欲築堡備之，育謂：「要契未明而亟城，則羌人必爭，爭而受患者必麟府也。」 移文河東，又遺籍手書及疏於朝，不報。 既而夏人果犯河外，陷驍將郭恩，而太原將佐皆得罪去。 疾復作，辭不任邊事，求解宣徽使，復以為資政殿大學士、尚書左丞、知河中府，徙河南。 病革，視事如平日，因閱囚辨非罪，竄舞文吏二人。 已而卒，年五十五。 贈吏部尚書，諡「正肅」。
Though the Western Xia had submitted, border tribes kept raiding farms and causing trouble. Pang Ji, holding Bingzhou, wanted to build forts; Yu said, "If we rush to fortify before agreements are settled, the Qiang will resist—and Lin and Fu prefectures will bear the cost." He wrote officially to Hedong and sent Pang Ji a personal letter plus a memorial to the throne, all unanswered. Soon the Xia attacked west of the river, defeated the crack general Guo En, and Taiyuan's command staff were all dismissed in disgrace. Illness returned; he refused frontier service, resigned the Xuanhui post, and was reassigned as Zizheng academician, vice minister of Personnel, and prefect of Hezhong, later Henan. Near death he still governed as usual, reviewed prisoners, freed the innocent, and banished two corrupt clerks. He soon died, at fifty-five. He was posthumously made Minister of Personnel with the temple name Zhengsu (Upright and Solemn).
16
育性明果，所至作條教，簡疏易行而不可犯。 遇事不妄發，發即人不能撓。 辨論明白，使人聽之不疑。
Yu was sharp and resolute; everywhere he posted concise rules that were easy to follow yet never breached. He never moved without cause; once he moved, no one could sway him. He argued with such clarity that listeners were left without doubt.
17
初尹開封，范仲淹在政府，因事與仲淹忤。 既而仲淹安撫河東，有奏請，多為任事者所沮，育取可行者固行之。 其在二府，待問以列卿奉朝請，育不自安，請罷去，不聽。 及出帥永興，時待問尚亡恙，肩輿迎侍，時人榮之。 晚年在西臺，與宋庠相唱酬，追裴、白遺事至數百篇。 體素羸，少時力學，得心疾。 後得古方，和丹砂餌之，大醉，一夕而愈。 後數發，每發數十日乃已。 有集五十卷。 弟充，為宰相，自有傳。
Early as Kaifeng intendant he clashed with Fan Zhongyan in the cabinet over policy. When Fan later pacified Hedong, many of his proposals were blocked—Yu implemented those he found workable anyway. In the Two Departments he treated Dai Wen with full ministerial courtesies—uneasy, Yu asked to resign but was refused. When he took command at Yongxing, Dai Wen was still hale; Yu received him in a sedan chair—a point of pride among contemporaries. In later years on the Western Terrace he and Song Qi exchanged hundreds of poems in the vein of Pei Xingjian and Bai Juyi. Naturally slight of build, he drove himself in youth and developed heart trouble. He later took a cinnabar remedy from an old formula, fell into a deep stupor, and awoke cured overnight. The malady recurred repeatedly, each bout lasting weeks. His collected writings ran to fifty fascicles. His brother Wu Chong, who became chief minister, has a separate biography.
18
宋綬，字公垂，趙州平棘人。 父皋，尚書度支員外郎、直集賢院。 綬幼聰警，額有奇骨，為外祖楊徽之所器愛。 徽之無子，家藏書悉與綬。 綬母亦知書，每躬自訓教，以故博通經史百家，文章為一時所尚。
Song Shou (courtesy name Gongchui) was from Pingji in Zhaozhou. His father Song Gao served as vice director of revenue and Jixian academician. As a child Shou was precocious, with striking features, and was cherished by his maternal grandfather Yang Huizhi. Childless, Huizhi bequeathed his entire library to Shou. His literate mother tutored him herself; he mastered the classics and all learning, and his prose was the age's standard.
19
擢知制誥、判吏部流內銓兼史館修撰、玉清昭應宮判官。 累遷戶部郎中、權直學士院，同修《真宗實錄》，進左司郎中，遂為翰林學士兼侍讀學士、勾當三班院。 始詔讀唐史，固求解三班以顓進講。 同修國史，遷中書舍人。 昭應宮災，罷二學士。 逾年，復翰林學士。 史成，遷尚書工部侍郎兼侍讀學士。
He was promoted to drafter of edicts, head of personnel selection, historiographer, and commissioner of the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace. He rose through the Ministry of Revenue to acting head of the Hanlin Academy, helped compile the Veritable Records of Zhenzong, and became Hanlin academician, lecturer to the heir, and head of the Third Class Bureau. When ordered to lecture on Tang history, he insisted on resigning the Third Class post to focus on teaching. He helped compile the national history and was promoted to Secretariat drafter. After fire destroyed the Zhaoying Palace, both Hanlin posts were abolished. A year later he was reappointed Hanlin academician. When the history was finished, he became vice minister of Works and lecturer to the throne.
20
時太后猶稱制，五日一御承明殿，垂簾決事，而仁宗未嘗獨對群臣也。 綬奏言：「唐先天中，睿宗為太上皇，五日一受朝，處分軍國重務，除三品以下官，決徒刑。 宜約先天制度，令群臣對前殿，非軍國大事，除拜皆前殿取旨。」 書上，忤太后意，改龍圖閣學士，出知應天府。 太后崩，帝思綬言，召還，將大用，而宰相張士遜沮止之，復加翰林侍讀學士。 詔定章獻明肅、章懿太后祔廟禮，綬援《春秋》考仲子之宮、唐坤儀廟故事，請別築宮曰奉慈廟以安神主，事多采用。
The empress dowager still ruled; every five days she held court behind a screen at Chenming Hall, and Renzong had never yet met his ministers alone. Shou submitted: "Under Tang Xiantian, Ruizong as retired emperor held audience every five days, handled state and military affairs, appointed officials below third rank, and adjudicated penal cases. He urged adopting the Xiantian precedent: ministers should attend the front hall, and all appointments short of major state matters should receive the emperor's approval there." The memorial angered the dowager; he was demoted to Dragon Diagram academician and sent to govern Ying Prefecture. After the dowager's death the emperor recalled Shou's advice and summoned him back for high office, but chief minister Zhang Shixun blocked it; Shou was reappointed Hanlin lecturer instead. Ordered to set rites for the two dowager empresses' enshrinement, Shou cited Spring and Autumn and Tang Kunyi Temple precedents and proposed a separate Filial Devotion Temple for their tablets—largely adopted.
21
始置端明殿學士，以命綬，綬固辭。 又言：「帝王御天下，在總攬威柄。 而一紀以來，令出簾帷。 自陛下躬親萬務，內外延首，思見聖政，宜懲違革弊，以新百姓之耳目。 而賞罰號令，未能有過於前日，豈非三事大臣不能推心悉力，以輔陛下之治耶？ 頃太后朝多吝除拜，而邪幸或徑取升擢，議者謂恩出太后。 今恩賞雖行，又謂自大臣出，非大臣朋黨罔上，何以得此。 朋黨之為朝廷患，古今同之。 或窺測帝旨，密令陳奏； 或附會己意，以進退人。 大官市恩以招權，小人趨利以售進，此風寖長，有蠹邦政。 太宗嘗曰：『國家無外憂必有內患。 外憂不過邊事，皆可預防； 奸邪共濟為內患，深可懼也。』 真宗亦曰：『唐朋黨尤盛，王室遂卑。』 願陛下思祖宗之訓，念王業艱難，整齊綱紀，正在今日。」 張士遜罷，乃拜綬參知政事。
When the new Duanming Hall academician post was created, Shou was offered it but firmly declined. He also said, "A ruler governs the realm by holding authority firmly in his own hands. Yet for twelve years orders had issued from behind the screen. Since Your Majesty took the reins, court and country alike await true governance; punish abuses and reform old ills to show the people a new order. Yet rewards and orders have not improved on the regency era—can the chief ministers not give their full hearts to assist Your Majesty's rule? Under the dowager appointments had been scarce while favorites rose by back channels—critics said patronage came from her. Now favors flow again, yet critics say they come from the ministers—unless ministerial factions deceive the throne, how else could this happen? Factionalism has plagued courts in every age. Some probe the emperor's mind and secretly direct memorials; others twist appointments to suit their own designs. Great officials trade favors for power; petty men buy advancement for profit—this trend grows and poisons government. Taizong once said, "When a state faces no external threat, internal trouble is sure to follow." External threats are only border troubles, all preventable; but wicked men acting in concert within—deeply to be feared. Zhenzong also said, "Tang factionalism ran rampant, and the throne was brought low." May Your Majesty heed the founders' teaching, remember how hard the throne was won, and restore discipline—there is no time but now." After Zhang Shixun was removed, Shou was appointed vice grand councilor.
22
初，有詔罷修寺觀，而章惠太后以舊宅為道觀，諫官、御史言之。 帝曰：「此太后奩中物也，諫官、御史欲邀名邪？」 綬進曰：「彼豈知太后所為哉。 第見興土木違近詔，即論奏之。 且事有疑似，彼猶指為過，或陛下有大闕失，近臣雖不言，然傳聞四方，為聖政之累，何可忽也。 太祖嘗謂唐太宗為諫官所詆，不以為愧。 何若動無過舉，使無得而言哉？」
An edict had halted temple construction, but Empress Dowager Zhanghui turned her old residence into a Daoist abbey—censors protested. The emperor said, "This was the dowager's own property—are the censors just seeking fame?" Shou replied, "How would they know what the dowager intended? They saw construction violating the recent edict and reported it—that is all. When matters look questionable they still criticize them; if Your Majesty errs gravely and close advisers stay silent, rumor spreads everywhere and mars your rule—how can that be ignored? Taizu noted that Taizong took no shame when censors criticized him. Better still to act without fault so they have nothing to say."
23
郭皇后廢，帝命綬作詔曰：「當求德閥，以稱坤儀。」 既而左右引富人陳氏女入宮，綬曰：「陛下乃欲以賤者正位中宮，不亦與前日詔語戾乎？」 後數日，王曾入對，又論奏之。 帝曰：「宋綬亦如此言。」 時大臣繼有論者，卒罷之。
When Empress Guo was deposed, the emperor had Shou draft an edict: "Seek virtue and noble lineage worthy of the empress's station." Soon attendants brought a merchant's daughter, Chen, into the palace; Shou said, "Your Majesty would seat a woman of low birth in the inner palace—does that not contradict your own edict?" Days later Wang Zeng remonstrated on the same matter. The emperor said, "Song Shou said the same." Other ministers joined in, and the plan was abandoned.
24
帝春秋富，天下久無事，綬慮宴樂有漸，乃言：「人心逸於久安，而患害生於所忽。 故立防於無事，銷變於未萌。 事至而應，不亦殆歟？ 臣願飭勵群司，不以承平自怠。」 又上：「馭下之道有三：臨事尚乎守，當機貴乎斷，兆謀先乎密。 能守則奸不能移，能斷則邪不能惑，能密則事不能撓。 願陛下念之！ 至若深居燕間，聲味以調六氣，節宣以順四時，保養聖躬，宗社之休也。」 再遷吏部侍郎。
The emperor was in his prime and the realm had known peace for years; Shou feared growing indulgence and said, "Men grow lax in long peace, yet disaster springs from what is overlooked. Therefore set guards in quiet times and quell trouble before it sprouts. To react only when crisis strikes—is that not perilous? I urge every office not to slacken in this era of peace." He also submitted: "Governing men requires three things: steadfastness in routine affairs, decisiveness at the critical moment, and secrecy at the first sign of planning. Steadfastness keeps treachery from swaying you; decisiveness keeps wickedness from confusing you; secrecy keeps affairs from being thwarted. May Your Majesty keep these in mind! As for resting in quiet, using music and diet to balance the body's energies and the seasons to preserve Your Majesty's health—that is the blessing of throne and state." He was again promoted to vice minister of Personnel.
25
時宰相呂夷簡、王曾論議數不同。 綬多是夷簡，而參知政事蔡齊間有所異，政事繇此依違不決，於是四人者皆罷。 綬以尚書左丞、資政殿學士留侍講筵，權判尚書都省。 歲餘，加資政殿大學士，以禮部尚書知河南府。
Chief ministers Lü Yijian and Wang Zeng often disagreed in council. Shou usually sided with Lü, while vice councilor Cai Qi sometimes dissented; policy stalled, and all four were dismissed. Shou stayed on as left vice director and Zizheng academician to lecture the throne, with acting charge of the Ministry headquarters. A year later he was made grand Zizheng academician and minister of Rites governing Henan.
26
元昊反，劉平、石元孫敗沒，帝以手詔賜大臣居外者，詢攻守之策。 綬畫十事以獻。 復召知樞密院事，遷兵部尚書、參知政事。 時綬母尚在，綬既得疾，不視事，猶起居自力，區處後事。 尋卒，贈司徒兼侍中，諡「宣獻」。
When Yuan Hao rebelled and Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun were defeated, the emperor sent handwritten edicts to ministers in the provinces asking for offensive and defensive plans. Shou submitted a ten-point plan. He was recalled to the Bureau of Military Affairs, promoted to minister of War, and made vice grand councilor. His mother was still alive; though ill and unable to attend court, he still rose each day and put his affairs in order. He soon died and was posthumously made Grand Mentor and palace attendant, with the temple name Xuanxian (Proclaiming and Offering).
27
綬性孝謹清介，言動有常。 為兒童時，手不執錢。 家藏書萬餘卷，親自校讎，博通經史百家，其筆劄尤精妙。 朝廷大議論，多綬所裁定。 楊億稱其文沈壯淳麗，曰：「吾殆不及也。」 及卒，帝多取所書字藏禁中。 初，郊祀，綬攝太僕卿。 帝問儀物典故，占對辨洽，因上所撰《鹵簿圖》十卷。 子敏求。
Shou was filial, prudent, upright, and consistent in word and deed. As a child he would not touch money. His family library held over ten thousand volumes, which he collated himself; he mastered the classics and all learning, and his calligraphy was exceptionally fine. Major court debates were largely settled by Shou. Yang Yi praised his prose as deep, powerful, and elegant, saying, "I can scarcely match him." After his death the emperor collected many of his calligraphic works for the imperial collection. Early on, at a suburban sacrifice, Shou served as acting Master of the Stud. The emperor asked about ritual regalia and precedent; Shou answered fluently and presented his ten-fascicle Illustrated Imperial Escort. His son was Song Minqiu.
28
子敏求
Song Minqiu
29
敏求，字次道，賜進士及第，為館閣校勘。 預蘇舜欽進奏院會，出簽書集慶軍判官。 王堯臣修《唐書》，以敏求習唐事，奏為編修官。 持祖母喪，詔令居家修書。 卒喪，同知太常禮院。
Song Minqiu, courtesy name Cidao, received the jinshi degree with highest honors and was appointed collator in the Imperial Library. He took part in Su Shunqin's ill-fated Memorial Court gathering and was sent out as acting secretary and military affairs judge of the Jiqing Army. While Wang Yaochen was editing the Tang History, Minqiu was recommended as a compilation officer because of his expertise in Tang affairs. While mourning his grandmother, he was ordered to continue compiling books at home. After mourning ended, he served as deputy director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
30
英宗在殯，有言宗室服疏者可嫁娶，敏求以為大行未發引，不可。 逾年，又有言者。 敏求言宗室義服，服降而練，可嫁娶矣。 坐前後議異，貶秩知絳州。 王珪、范鎮乞留之，使成《實錄》。 神宗曰：「典禮，國之所重，而誤謬如是，安得無責。」 然敏求議初不誤，曾公亮惡禮院劉瑾附敏求為說，故因是去之。 是歲，即詔還。
While Emperor Yingzong lay in state, some argued that imperial clansmen in lighter mourning might marry; Minqiu held that the great funeral procession had not yet departed and that this was impermissible. A year later the question was raised again. Minqiu argued that for imperial clansmen in ceremonial mourning, once the mourning grade was reduced to the lian stage, marriage was permissible. Because his views before and after had differed, he was demoted and sent out as prefect of Jiangzhou. Wang Gui and Fan Zhen petitioned to keep him so he could finish the Veritable Records. Emperor Shenzong said, "Rites are among the state's greatest concerns; with errors such as these, how can there be no accountability?" Yet Minqiu's initial opinion had not been wrong; Zeng Gongliang resented Liu Jin of the ritual court, who had sided with Minqiu, and used this as the pretext for his removal. That same year he was recalled by imperial order.
31
徐國公主以夫兄為侄奏官，敏求疏其亂天倫，執正之。 王安石惡呂公著，誣其言韓琦欲因人心，如趙鞅興晉陽之甲，以逐君側之惡，出之潁州。 敏求當草制，安石諭旨使明著罪狀，敏求但言敷陳失實，安石怒白於帝，命陳升之改其語，敏求請解職，未聽。
Princess Xu Guo petitioned to grant office to her husband's elder brother as though he were a nephew; Minqiu memorialized against this violation of proper kinship and upheld the correct standard. Wang Anshi hated Lü Gongzhu and slandered him, alleging that Han Qi wished to exploit popular sentiment—as Zhao Yang had raised the arms of Jinyang to expel evil at the ruler's side—and had him transferred to Yingzhou. When Minqiu was assigned to draft the edict, Anshi instructed him to state the charges explicitly; Minqiu wrote only that the allegations were false. Anshi angrily reported this to the emperor and had Chen Shengzhi revise the text. Minqiu asked to resign, but his request was denied.
32
會李定自秀州判官除御史，敏求封還詞頭，遂以本官右諫議大夫奉朝請。 策試賢良方正，孔文仲對語切直，擢置優等，安石愈怒，罷文仲。 人為敏求懼，帝獨全護之，除史館修撰、集賢院學士。 鄧潤甫為帝言：「比群臣多尚告訐，非國家之美，宜登用敦厚之士，以變薄俗。」 乃加敏求龍圖閣直學士，命修《兩朝正史》，掌均國公箋奏。 元豐二年，卒，年六十一。 特贈禮部侍郎。
When Li Ding was promoted from Xiuzhou judge to censor, Minqiu sealed and returned the appointment draft; he was then kept at his original rank as Right Remonstrator with attendance at court only. In the examination for worthy and upright candidates, Kong Wenzho's answers were blunt and forthright; he was placed in the top grade. Anshi was further enraged and had Wenzho dismissed. Others feared for Minqiu, but the emperor alone protected him and appointed him historiographer of the History Office and academician of the Academy. Deng Runpu told the emperor, "Lately many ministers have favored informing against one another, which is no credit to the state. Sincere and generous men should be promoted to change these shallow ways." Minqiu was then made a direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, charged with compiling the Standard History of Two Reigns and with handling memorials for Duke Junguo. He died in the second year of Yuanfeng, at the age of sixty-one. He was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites.
33
敏求家藏書三萬卷，皆略誦習，熟於朝廷典故，士大夫疑議，必就正焉。 補唐武宗以下《六世實錄》百四十八卷，它所著書甚多，學者多諮之。 嘗建言：「河北、陝西、河東舉子，性樸茂，而辭藻不工，故登第者少。 請令轉運使擇薦有行藝材武者，特官之，使人材參用，而士有可進之路。 又州郡有學舍而無學官，故士輕去鄉里以求師，請置學官。」 後頗施行之。 族弟昌言。
His family library held thirty thousand volumes, all of which he had read in outline; he was expert in court precedent, and officials with doubts invariably sought him out. He supplemented the Veritable Records of Six Reigns from Emperor Wuzong of Tang in one hundred forty-eight fascicles; he wrote many other works, and scholars often sought his counsel. He once memorialized, "Candidates from Hebei, Shaanxi, and Hedong are plain and solid by nature, but their literary polish is weak, and few therefore pass the examinations. He asked that transport commissioners recommend men of character, learning, and martial skill for special appointment, so that diverse talent might be used and scholars have a path to advancement. He also noted that many prefectures had school buildings but no instructors, so scholars readily left home to seek teachers, and he asked that school officers be appointed." These proposals were later largely implemented. His younger clansman was Song Changyan.
34
族子昌言
Song Changyan
35
昌言，字仲謨，以蔭為澤州司理參軍。 州有殺人獄，昌言疑其冤，堅請跡捕，果得真犯者。 稍遷河陰發運判官。 自濟源之官，見道上棄屍若剮剝狀者甚眾，竊歎郡縣之不治。 既至河陰，得凶盜六輩，殺人而鬻之，如是十餘年，掩其家，猶得執縛未殺者七人。 縣吏與市井少年共為胠橐，昌言窮治其淵藪，皆法外行之，而流其家人。 擢都水監丞。
Changyan, courtesy name Zhongmo, entered office by yin privilege as judicial aide of Ze Prefecture. When the prefecture had a murder case, Changyan suspected a wrongful conviction and insisted on pursuing the trail until the real culprit was found. He was soon promoted to transport intendant judge at Heyin. On his way from Jiyuan to his new post, he saw many abandoned corpses along the road that looked as if they had been flayed and butchered, and he lamented the failure of local government. At Heyin he captured six vicious bandits who had killed people and sold the flesh for more than ten years; raiding their homes, he found seven victims still bound and not yet killed. County clerks and market youths had joined in the plunder; Changyan thoroughly rooted out their dens, executed them all extra-legally, and exiled their families. He was promoted to supervisor of the Directorate of Waterways.
36
熙寧初，河決棗彊而北。 昌言建議，欲於二股河口西岸新灘，立土約障水，使之東流。 候稍深，即斷北流，縱出葫盧下流，以除恩、冀、深、瀛水患。 詔從之。 提舉河渠王亞以為不可成，不如修生堤。 朝廷遣翰林學士司馬光往視，如昌言策。 不兩月，決口塞。 光奏昌言獨有功，若與同列均受賞，恐不足以勸。 詔理提點刑獄資序，遷開封府推官、同判都水監。 汴水漲，昌言請塞訾家口。 已而汴流絕，監丞侯叔獻唱為昌言罪，昌言懼，求知陝州。 歷濮、冀二州。 河決曹村，召判都水監，往護河堤。 靈平埽成，轉少府監。 卒，贈絹二百匹。
Early in the Xining era, the Yellow River broke through at Zaojiang and turned north. Changyan proposed building an earthen dike on the new bar at the west bank of the two-channel mouth to block the river and force it eastward. Once the channel had deepened, the north flow would be cut off and diverted through the lower Hulu channel to relieve flooding in En, Ji, Shen, and Ying. The court approved his plan. Wang Ya, commissioner of river works, argued that the plan could not succeed and that building living dikes would be better. The court sent Hanlin academician Sima Guang to inspect the site; he endorsed Changyan's plan. Within two months the breach was sealed. Guang memorialized that Changyan alone deserved credit; if he received the same reward as his colleagues, it would scarcely encourage merit. His seniority in the circuit judicial commission was regularized by edict, and he was promoted to investigator of Kaifeng Prefecture and co-administrator of the Directorate of Waterways. When the Bian River rose, Changyan requested that Zijia Kou be sealed. Soon afterward the Bian River dried up; supervisor Hou Shuxian led the charge to blame Changyan. Fearing reprisal, Changyan asked to be made prefect of Shanzhou. He served in succession as prefect of Pu and Ji. When the river broke at Caocun, he was recalled to administer the Directorate of Waterways and sent to protect the dikes. When the Lingping embankment was completed, he was transferred to the Minor Treasury. He died and was posthumously granted two hundred bolts of silk.
37
李若谷
Li Ruogu
38
李若谷，字子淵，徐州豐人。 少孤遊學，依姻家趙況於洛下，遂葬父母緱氏。 舉進士，補長社縣尉。 州葺兵營，課民輸木，檄尉受之，而吏以不中程，多退斥，欲苛苦輸者，因以取賕； 若谷度財，別其長短、大小為程，置庭中，使民自輸。
Li Ruogu, courtesy name Ziyuan, was a native of Feng in Xu Prefecture. Orphaned in youth, he traveled to study and lived with his in-law Zhao Kuang in Luoyang, where he buried his parents at Goushi. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed aide of Changshe County. When the prefecture repaired military barracks and levied timber from the people, the aide was ordered to receive deliveries; clerks rejected much of it as substandard, harassing contributors so they could extort bribes. Ruogu assessed fair value, set standards by length and size, placed sample timbers in the courtyard, and let the people deliver their own loads.
39
改大理寺丞、知宜興縣。 官市湖洑茶，歲約戶稅為多少，率取足貧下，若谷始置籍備勾檢。 茶惡者舊沒官，若谷使歸之民，許轉貿以償其數。 知連州。 真宗將朝謁太清宮，選通判亳州。 累遷度支員外郎、權三司戶部判官，出為京東轉運使。 會河決白馬，調取芻楗，同列盧士倫協三司意，趣刻擾州縣，而若谷寬之。 士倫不悅，構於朝，徙知陝州。 盜聚青灰山久不散，遣牙吏持榜招諭之，盜殺其黨與自歸。 改梓州。
He was made aide of the Court of Judicial Review and magistrate of Yixing County. The government purchased Hufu tea yearly according to household tax assessments and routinely took the full quota from the poorest households; Ruogu first established registers for audit and inspection. Inferior tea had formerly been confiscated by the state; Ruogu returned it to the people and allowed them to trade it to meet their quota. He was made prefect of Lian Prefecture. When Emperor Zhenzong was to attend the Grand Pure Palace, Ruogu was selected as vice prefect of Bo Prefecture. He rose to outer aide of the Revenue Section and acting judge of the Household Section of the Three Departments, then was sent out as transport commissioner of Jingdong. When the river broke at Baima and fodder and timbers were levied, his colleague Lu Shilun cooperated with the Three Departments and pressed the prefectures harshly, while Ruogu was lenient. Shilun was displeased, slandered him at court, and Ruogu was transferred to Shan Prefecture. Bandits had gathered at Qinghui Mountain for a long time; he sent a clerk with a proclamation to summon them, and the bandits killed several of their own men and surrendered. He was transferred to Zi Prefecture.
40
天聖初，判三司戶部勾院。 使契丹，陛辭，不俟垂簾請對，乃遽詣長春殿奏事，罷知荊南。 士族元甲恃蔭屢犯法，若谷杖之，曰：「吾代若父兄訓之爾。」 王蒙正為駐泊都監，挾太后姻橫肆，若谷繩以法。 監司右蒙正，奏徙若谷潭州。
Early in the Tiansheng era he served as administrator of the Audit Office of the Household Section of the Three Departments. On an embassy to the Khitan, at his farewell audience he did not wait for the regent to grant an audience but went straight to the Hall of Everlasting Spring to report; he was dismissed from Jingnan. The gentry clansman Yuan Jia, relying on yin privilege, repeatedly broke the law; Ruogu had him caned, saying, "I am disciplining you in your father's place." Wang Mengzheng was garrison commander and, relying on his tie to the empress dowager, acted arrogantly; Ruogu restrained him by law. The supervisory officials sided with Mengzheng and had Ruogu transferred to Tan Prefecture.
41
洞庭賊數邀商人船，殺人輒投屍水中。 嘗捕獲，以屍無驗，每貸死，隸他州。 既而逃歸，復功劫，若谷擒致之，磔於市。 自是寇稍息。 累遷太常少卿、集賢殿修撰、知滑州。 河齧韓村堤，夜馳往，督兵為大埽，至旦堤完。 以右諫議大夫知延州。 州有東西兩城夾河，秋、夏水溢，岸輒圮，役費不可勝紀。 若谷乃製石版為岸，押以巨木，後雖暴水，不復壞。 官倉依山而貯穀少，若谷使作露囤，囤可貯二萬斛，他郡多取法焉。 遷給事中、知壽州。 豪右多分占芍陂，陂皆美田，夏雨溢壞田，輒盜決。 若谷摘冒占田者逐之，每決，輒調瀕陂諸豪，使塞堤，盜決乃止。
Bandits on Dongting Lake repeatedly waylaid merchant vessels; when they killed someone they threw the body into the water. When captured, the lack of a corpse as evidence meant they were usually spared execution and registered in other prefectures. After they escaped and returned to their raids, Ruogu captured them and had them dismembered in the marketplace. After that the banditry gradually subsided. He rose to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, compiler of the Academy, and prefect of Hua Prefecture. When the river breached the dike at Hancun, he rode there by night, supervised troops in building a great embankment, and by dawn the dike was restored. As Right Remonstrator he was made prefect of Yan Prefecture. The prefecture had eastern and western cities on either side of the river; in autumn and summer floods repeatedly collapsed the banks, at incalculable cost in labor. Ruogu had stone slabs made for the banks and pinned them with great timbers; afterward, even in violent floods, the banks held. The government granary, built against a hillside, held little grain; Ruogu had open-air bins built that could store twenty thousand hu each, and many other prefectures followed his example. He was promoted to supervising censor and made prefect of Shou Prefecture. Powerful families had largely encroached on Shao Marsh, whose shores were prime farmland; when summer rains flooded and damaged crops, they would secretly breach the dikes. Ruogu expelled those who had encroached illegally; whenever a breach occurred, he summoned the powerful families along the marsh to repair the dikes, and secret breaches ceased.
42
加集賢院學士、知江寧府。 卒挽舟過境，寒瘠甚者，留養視之，須春溫遣去。 民丐於道者，以分隸諸僧寺，助給舂爨。 還，勾當三班院，進龍圖閣直學士、知河南府。 貴人多葬洛陽，敕使須索煩擾，若谷奏令鴻臚預約所調移府，逆為營辦。 改樞密直學士、知并州。 民貧失婚姻者，若谷出私錢助其嫁娶。 贅婿、亡賴委妻去，為立期，不還，許更嫁。 并多降人，喜盜竊，籍累犯者，以三人為保，有犯，並坐之，悛者削去籍名。
He was made academician of the Academy and prefect of Jiangning. Boat haulers passing through who were severely cold and emaciated he kept and cared for until spring warmth allowed them to go on. Beggars along the roads he assigned to various Buddhist temples, which helped provide food and lodging. On his return he managed the Three-Rank Court, was promoted to direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, and made prefect of Henan. Many nobles were buried at Luoyang, and imperial envoys' demands were a constant nuisance; Ruogu memorialized that the Court of Imperial Entertainments should arrange requisitions in advance so the prefecture could prepare everything beforehand. He was made direct academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs and prefect of Bing Prefecture. For the poor who could not afford marriage, Ruogu paid from his own funds to help them wed. When wastrel sons-in-law abandoned their wives, he set a deadline; if they did not return, the women were allowed to remarry. Bing had many surrendered peoples prone to theft; he registered repeat offenders and required groups of three as guarantors—if one offended, all were punished; those who reformed were struck from the register.
43
進尚書工部侍郎、龍圖閣直學士、知開封府，拜參知政事。 建言：「風俗惡，媺在上之人作而新之。 君子小人，各有其類，今一目以朋黨，恐正人無以自立矣。」 帝悟，為下詔諭中外。 以耳疾，累上章辭位，罷為資政殿大學士、吏部侍郎、提舉會靈觀事。 以太子少傅致仕，卒，年八十。 贈太子太傅，諡康靖。
He was promoted to Vice Minister of Works, direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, and prefect of Kaifeng, and appointed vice grand councilor. He memorialized, "When customs are corrupt, it is for those in authority to reform and renew them. Gentlemen and petty men each have their kind; to label all alike as faction now will leave upright men no room to stand on their own." The emperor took the point and issued an edict to the court and the realm. Because of an ear ailment he repeatedly asked to resign; he was relieved as grand academician of the Hall of Assistance in Governance, vice minister of personnel, and superintendent of Huiling Temple. He retired as junior tutor to the crown prince and died at eighty. He was posthumously made grand tutor to the crown prince, with the posthumous name Kangjing (Peaceful and Serene).
44
若谷性資端重，在政府，論議常近寬厚。 治民多智慮，愷悌愛人，其去，多見思。 少時與韓億為友，及貴顯，婚姻不絕焉。 子淑。
Ruogu was upright and grave in character; in council his counsel tended toward lenience. In governing the people he was thoughtful and kindly; when he left office, many missed him. In youth he was friends with Han Yi; once both had risen to eminence, marriage ties between their families never ceased. His son was Shu.
45
子淑
Son: Shu
46
淑，字獻臣，年十二，真宗幸亳，獻文行在所。 真宗奇之，命賦詩，賜童子出身。 試秘書省校書郎，寇準薦之，授校書郎、館閣校勘。
Shu, courtesy name Xianchen, at twelve when Emperor Zhenzong visited Bo, presented a literary work at the imperial encampment. Zhenzong was astonished, ordered him to compose a poem, and granted him the degree of student-of-talent initiation. He was examined for collator of the Secretariat; Kou Zhun recommended him, and he was appointed collator and Hanlin collation reviewer.
47
乾興初，遷大理評事。 修《真宗實錄》，為檢討官。 書成，改光祿寺丞、集賢校理，為國史院編修官。 召試，賜進士及第，改秘書郎，進太常丞、直集賢院、同判太常寺，擢史館修撰，再遷尚書禮部員外郎，上時政十議。 改知制誥、勾當三班院，為翰林學士，進吏部員外郎。 會若谷參知政事，改侍讀學士，加端明殿學士。 若谷罷，進本曹郎中，典豫王府章奏。
At the beginning of the Qianxing era, he was transferred to reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. He helped compile the Veritable Records of Zhenzong as an investigating compiler. When the work was finished, he was made aide of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and collation reviewer of the Assembled Worthies Hall, and a compiler in the Institute of National History. Summoned for examination, he was granted jinshi with highest honors and made a secretary; he rose to aide of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, direct academician of the Assembled Worthies Hall, and concurrent judge of that court, was promoted to historiographer of the History Office, then to outer director of the Ministry of Rites, and submitted Ten Discourses on Current Policy. He was made drafter of edicts and superintendent of the Three-Rank Bureau, appointed Hanlin academician, and promoted to outer director of the Ministry of Personnel. When Ruogu became vice grand councilor, Shu was made attendant reader academician and also academician of the Duanming Hall. When Ruogu left office, Shu was promoted to director of his bureau and managed memorials for the Prince of Yu's household.
48
以右諫議大夫知許州。 歲饑，取民所食五種上之，帝惻然，為蠲其賦。 權知開封府，復為翰林學士、中書舍人。 言者指其在開封多褻近吏人，改給事中、知鄭州。 徙河陽，轉尚書禮部侍郎，復為翰林學士。 罷端明殿學士，判流內銓，復加端明殿學士。
As right remonstrance commissioner he served as prefect of Xu Prefecture. In a famine year he presented the five kinds of food the people were eating; the emperor was moved to pity and remitted their taxes. He acted as prefect of Kaifeng, then again became Hanlin academician and Secretariat drafter. Critics charged that in Kaifeng he was improperly familiar with clerks and runners; he was made supervising editor and prefect of Zheng Prefecture. He was transferred to Heyang, promoted to vice minister of rites, and again made Hanlin academician. He was removed as academician of the Duanming Hall, placed in charge of internal circulation selection, and later restored as Duanming academician.
49
初，在鄭州，作《周陵詩》。 國子博士陳求古以私隙訟其議訕朝廷，除龍圖閣學士，出知應天府。 累表論辨，不報，乃請侍養。 明年，復端明、侍讀二學士，判太常寺。 父喪免官，終喪起復，再為翰林學士。 諫官包拯、吳奎等言淑性奸邪，又嘗請侍養父而不及其母，罷翰林學士，以端明、龍圖閣學士奉朝請。 丁母憂，服除，為端明、侍讀二學士。 遷戶部侍郎，復為翰林學士，而御史中丞張昇等又論奏之，不拜，除兼龍圖閣學士。 由是壹鬱不得志，出知河中府，暴感風眩，卒。 贈尚書右丞。
Earlier, while at Zheng Prefecture, he composed the "Zhou Tomb Poetry." Guozi doctor Chen Qiugu, nursing a private grudge, accused him of mocking the court; he was made academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and sent out as prefect of Yingtian. He repeatedly memorialized in his own defense without reply, then asked for leave to care for his parents. The next year he was restored as Duanming and attendant reader academician and placed in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He left office for his father's mourning; when the mourning period ended he was reappointed and again made Hanlin academician. Remonstrance officials Bao Zheng, Wu Kui, and others said Shu was treacherous by nature and had once asked to care for his father in retirement but not his mother; he was removed as Hanlin academician and made Duanming and Dragon Diagram academicians on stipend attendance. After his mother's mourning period ended, he was again made Duanming and attendant reader academician. He was promoted to vice minister of revenue and again made Hanlin academician, but supervising censor Zhang Sheng and others attacked him again; he declined the appointment and was made concurrent academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion. Thereafter deeply frustrated and unfulfilled, he was sent out as prefect of Hezhong; he was suddenly stricken with vertigo and died. He was posthumously made right vice director of the Secretariat.
50
淑警慧過人，博習諸書，詳練朝廷典故，凡有沿革，帝多諮訪。 制作誥命，為時所稱。 其他文多裁取古語，務為奇險，時人不許也。
Shu was exceptionally clever, widely read, and thoroughly versed in court precedent; whenever institutions changed, the emperor often consulted him. His drafting of edicts was praised in his day. His other writings mostly culled archaic phrases and strove for strangeness and difficulty; contemporaries did not approve.
51
初，宋郊有學行，淑恐其先用，因密言曰：「『宋』，國姓； 而『郊』者交，非善應也。」 又宋祁作《張貴妃制》，故事，妃當冊命，祁疑進告身非是，以淑明典故問之，淑心知其誤，謂祁曰：「君第進，何疑邪？」 祁遂得罪去，其傾側險陂類此。 嘗修《國朝會要》、《三朝訓鑒圖》、《閣門儀制》、《康定行軍賞罰格》，又獻《繫訓》三篇，所著別集百餘卷。 子壽朋、復圭。
Earlier, when Song Jiao had learning and conduct, Shu feared Jiao would be promoted first and secretly said, "'Song' is the surname of the state; and 'jiao' means 'exchange'—an inauspicious omen." Song Qi also drafted the edict for Consort Zhang; by precedent a consort was to receive formal investiture, and Qi doubted that submitting the notification of appointment was correct, so he asked Shu, who knew court precedent. Shu knew it was wrong but told Qi, "Just submit it—why hesitate?" Qi thereupon gave offense and left office; his devious partisanship was of this kind. He compiled the State Court Essentials, the Three Reigns Training Mirror, Gate Protocols, and the Kangding Military Rewards and Punishments Regulations; he also presented three essays on the System of Instruction; his collected works ran to more than a hundred juan. His sons were Shoupeng and Fugui.
52
孫壽朋
Grandson: Shoupeng
53
壽朋，字延老。 慶曆初，與弟復圭同試學士院，賜進士出身，判吏部南曹。 使行諸陵，奏言：「昭憲皇后誕育二聖，為國文母，獨以合葬安陵，不及時祭，請更其禮。」 從之。 遷群牧判官，擊斷敏甚。 皇城卒邏其縱遊無度，出知汝州。 盡推職田之入歸前守楊畋； 畋死，又經理其家。 以饑歲，營州廨勞民，降為荊門軍。
Shoupeng, courtesy name Yanlao. At the beginning of the Qingli era, he and his younger brother Fugui were examined together at the Hanlin Academy, granted jinshi initiation, and appointed to judge the southern bureau of the Ministry of Personnel. On a tour of the imperial tombs he memorialized, "Empress Zhao Xian bore the two sage emperors and was the civil mother of the state, yet she alone was buried at Anling without regular sacrifices—I ask that the rites be revised." The court approved. He was promoted to reviewer of the Imperial Herds Office, where his decisions were swift and sharp. Imperial City guards reported his unrestrained travels; he was sent out as prefect of Ru Prefecture. He turned over all income from office fields to his predecessor Yang Tian; when Tian died, he again managed his household affairs. In a famine year he pressed the people to work on the prefectural offices and was demoted to Jingmen Army.
54
歷開封府推官、戶部判官、知鳳翔府滄州。 滄地震，壞城郭帑庾。 壽朋以席為屋，督吏寀繕葺，未數月，復其舊。 括蕪田三萬頃，縱民耕，擇其壯者使習兵。 河方北湧，隨塞之，故道狹，壽朋度必東潰，諭居人徙避，後三縣四鎮果墊焉。 司馬光出使，薦其能，加直史館。 入直舍人院、同修起居注，進戶部、鹽鐵副使。 性疏雋任俠，奉祠西太一宮，飲酒食肉如常時，暴得疾卒。 詔中使撫其孥，賜白金三百兩。
He served as push official of Kaifeng, revenue bureau judge, and prefect of Fengxiang and Cang Prefectures. An earthquake at Cang Prefecture destroyed the walls and granaries. Shoupeng roofed buildings with mats, supervised clerks in gathering materials and repairs, and within months restored everything. He reclaimed thirty thousand qing of waste land, let the people farm it, and chose the able-bodied among them to train in arms. The Yellow River was surging north; he blocked it as it came, but the old channel was narrow. Shoupeng judged it would burst eastward and urged residents to move; later three counties and four towns were indeed inundated. When Sima Guang went on a mission he recommended his ability, and Shoupeng was made direct historiographer of the History Office. He entered the Drafting Academy on duty, served concurrently as recorder of the emperor's acts, and was promoted to vice commissioner of revenue and salt and iron. He was free-spirited and chivalrous by nature; while holding sacrifice at the Western Supreme Unity Temple he ate and drank as usual, then was suddenly stricken and died. An edict ordered a palace attendant to comfort his family and granted three hundred taels of silver.
55
孫復圭
Grandson: Fugui
56
復圭，字審言。 通判澶州。 北使道澶，民主驛率困憊。 豪杜氏十八家，詭言唐相如晦後，每賕吏脫免，復圭按籍役之。 知滑州。 兵匠相忿鬩，揮所執鐵椎，椎殺爭者於廳事，立斬之。 徙知相州。
Fugui, courtesy name Shenyan. He served as concurrent prefect of Duan Prefecture. Northern envoys passed through Duan, and the prefect and postal stations were mostly worn out. Eighteen powerful Du clans falsely claimed descent from the Tang minister Du Xiangruhui and routinely bribed clerks to escape corvée; Fugui checked the registers and conscripted them. He was prefect of Hua Prefecture. Artisan soldiers quarreled; one swung the iron mallet he held and killed a disputant in the hall; Fugui had him beheaded on the spot. He was transferred to prefect of Xiang Prefecture.
57
自太宗時，聚夏人降者五指揮，號「廳子馬」，子弟相承，百年無它役。 復圭斥不如格者，選能騎射士補之。 為度支判官、知涇州。 始時二稅之入，三司移折已重，轉運使又覆折之，復圭為奏免，民立生祠。 歷湖北、兩浙、淮南、河東、陝西、成都六轉運使。 浙民以給衙前役，多破產，復圭悉罷遣歸農，令出錢助長名人承募，民便之。 瀕海人賴蛤沙地以生，豪家量受稅於官而占為己有，復圭奏蠲其稅，分以予民。
Since Taizong's time, surrendered Xia people had been gathered in five finger commands called "hall-son horses," passed from sons to younger brothers for a century without other service. Fugui expelled those who did not meet standards and selected able archers and riders to replace them. He served as revenue bureau judge and prefect of Jing Prefecture. At first the two-tax intake was already heavily discounted in Three Departments transfers, and transport commissioners discounted it again; Fugui memorialized for exemption, and the people erected living shrines to him. He served as transport commissioner for six circuits: Hubei, Liang-Zhe, Huainan, Hedong, Shaanxi, and Chengdu. Zhe people were often ruined supplying yamen-runner corvée; Fugui dismissed them all back to farming and let them pay money to help leading households take contracts, which the people welcomed. Coastal people lived on clam and sand flats; powerful families paid measured tax to the state and seized the land; Fugui memorialized to remit the tax and divide the flats among the people.
58
熙寧初，進直龍圖閣、知慶州。 夏人築壘於其境，不犯漢地。 復圭貪邊功，遣大將李信帥兵三千，授信以陳圖，使自荔原堡夜出襲擊，敗還，復圭斬信自解。 又欲澡前恥，遣別將破其金湯、白豹、西和市，斬首數千級。 後七日，秉常舉國入寇。 御史謝景溫劾復圭擅興，致士卒死傷，邊民流離，謫保靜軍節度副使。 歲餘，知光化軍。 張商英言：「夏人謀犯塞之日久矣，與破金湯適相值，非復圭生事。」 乃召判吏部流內銓，知曹、蔡、滄州，還為鹽鐵副使，以集賢殿修撰知荊南，卒。
At the beginning of the Xining era, he was promoted to direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and prefect of Qing Prefecture. The Xia built fortifications within their own territory and did not violate Song territory. Greedy for border glory, Fugui sent General Li Xin with three thousand men, gave him a battle plan, and ordered a night raid from Liyuan Fort; defeated, Xin returned, and Fugui beheaded him to clear himself. Wishing also to wash away his earlier shame, he sent other generals to smash Jintang, Baibao, and Xihe markets, taking several thousand heads. Seven days later Li Bingchang led a full-scale invasion. Censor Xie Jingwen impeached Fugui for unauthorized warfare that killed and wounded soldiers and displaced border people; he was demoted to deputy military commissioner of Baojing Army. After more than a year he was made prefect of Guanghua Army. Zhang Shangying said, "The Xia had long been plotting a border raid; the attack on Jintang merely coincided with that—it was not Fugui who provoked the trouble." He was then recalled to judge internal circulation selection in the Ministry of Personnel, served as prefect of Cao, Cai, and Cang Prefectures, returned as vice commissioner of salt and iron, and as academician of the Assembled Worthies Hall was prefect of Jingnan, where he died.
59
復圭臨事敏決，稱健吏，與人交不以利害避。 然輕率躁急，無威重，喜以語侵人，獨為王安石所知，故既廢即起。
Fugui was quick and decisive in affairs and was called a capable official; in dealings with others he did not shun them for gain or loss. Yet he was rash and impatient, lacked dignified bearing, and liked to insult people verbally; only Wang Anshi valued him, so once dismissed he was soon restored.
60
王博文
Wang Bowen
61
王博文，字仲明，曹州濟陰人。 祖諫，給事太宗藩邸，為西京作坊副使。 博文年十六，善屬文，舉進士開封府，以回文詩百篇為公卷，人謂之「王回文」。 淳化三年，太宗親試進士，以年少罷歸。 後諫卒官廬州，州守劉蒙叟為言，召試舍人院，為安豐主簿，歷南豐尉，有能名。 調南劍州軍事推官，改大理寺丞，監荊南榷貨務，遷殿中丞。 陳堯諮薦之，試中書，賜進士第，擢知濠州，歷真州。 真宗幸亳，權江淮制置司事。 改監察御史、梓州路轉運使。 以疾，請出知海州，徙密州。 負海有鹽場，歲饑，民多盜鬻，吏捕之輒抵死。 博文請弛鹽禁，候歲豐乃復，從之。 除殿中侍御史。
Wang Bowen, courtesy name Zhongming, was a native of Jiyin in Cao Prefecture. His grandfather Jian had served in Taizong's princely household and became vice commissioner of the Western Capital workshops. At sixteen Bowen was skilled at composition; he took the jinshi examination at Kaifeng and submitted a hundred palindrome poems as his public portfolio, earning the nickname "Wang Palindrome." In the third year of Chunhua, Taizong personally examined jinshi candidates; because Bowen was young, he was sent home. Later Jian died in office at Lu Prefecture; the prefect Liu Mengsou spoke for him; Bowen was summoned to test at the Drafting Academy, made registrar of Anfeng, and served as warden of Nanfeng, earning a reputation for ability. He was transferred to military judicial officer of Nanjian, made aide of the Court of Judicial Review, supervised the Jingnan monopoly bureau, and was promoted to palace aide. Chen Yaozi recommended him; he was examined at the Secretariat, granted the jinshi degree, appointed prefect of Hao Prefecture, and later served at Zhen Prefecture. When Emperor Zhenzong visited Bo, he acted as commissioner of the Huai-Hai circuit commission. He was made investigating censor and transport commissioner of the Zizhou circuit. Because of illness he asked for an outside post as prefect of Hai Prefecture and was transferred to Mi Prefecture. Along the coast there were salt works; when famine struck, many people stole salt to sell, and officials who arrested them invariably sent them to their deaths. Bowen asked that the salt monopoly be eased until the harvest improved; the court agreed. He was appointed a palace censor in the Secretariat.
62
天禧中，朱能、王先在長安偽為《乾祐天書》，事覺，能既敗死，先與其徒就禽，詔博文乘驛按劾。 博文唯治首惡，脅從者七人，得以減論。 還為開封府判官，丁母憂。
During the Tianxi years Zhu Neng and Wang Xian forged a "Qianyou Heavenly Book" at Chang'an. When the plot was exposed Neng had already been defeated and killed; Xian and his followers were seized. Bowen was ordered to travel by express post to investigate and prosecute the case. Bowen prosecuted only the ringleaders; seven coerced followers received lighter sentences. He returned as a judge of Kaifeng Prefecture and then went into mourning for his mother.
63
始，博文幼喪父，其母張氏改適韓氏。 及博文在朝，謂子無絕母禮，請得以恩封之。 母死，又謂古之為父後者不為出母服，以廢宗廟祭也。 今喪者皆祭，無害於行服。 乃請解官持服，然議者以喪而祭為非禮。 服除，為三司戶部判官。 出為河北轉運使，遷侍御史、陝西轉運使。
Bowen had lost his father in childhood; his mother, née Zhang, had remarried into the Han family. Once Bowen held court office, he held that no son may formally sever ties with his mother and asked that she be ennobled through his own favor. When she died, he further argued that in antiquity an heir who had succeeded his father's line did not mourn an estranged mother, lest ancestral sacrifices be neglected. In his day mourners still performed sacrifices, he said, so observing mourning would not interfere with rites. He asked to resign and observe the mourning period, but critics held that conducting sacrifices during mourning was unorthodox. After the mourning period he was made revenue judge of the State Finance Commission. He was sent out as Hebei transport commissioner, then promoted to attendant censor and Shaanxi transport commissioner.
64
屬羌撒逋渴以族落數千帳叛，既又寇原州柳泉鎮、環州鵓鴿泉砦，梧州刺史杜澄、內殿崇班趙世隆戰沒。 博文劾奏內侍都知周文質、押班王懷信為涇原、環慶兩路鈐轄，提重兵駐大拔砦，玩寇逗留，耗用邊費，請用曹瑋、田敏代。 既而文質、懷信坐法，遂以瑋知永興軍，使節制邊事。 會瑋病不行，又用敏為涇原路總管，寇遂平。
About then the Qiang leader Sa'bo Ke rebelled with several thousand clan tents. He raided Liuchuan in Yuan Prefecture and the Bogu Spring stockade in Huan Prefecture; Du Cheng, prefect of Wu, and Inner Hall officer Zhao Shilong were killed in battle. Bowen memorialized against Inner Service director Zhou Wenzhi and escort commissioner Wang Huaixin, joint controllers of the Jingyuan and Huanqing circuits, who kept a large force at Daba stockade yet dallied with the enemy and wasted frontier funds. He asked that Cao Wei and Tian Min replace them. Wenzhi and Huaixin were soon punished by law; Wei was appointed prefect of Yongxing and given overall charge of frontier affairs. Wei fell ill and could not take up the post; Min was made overall commander of Jingyuan, and the raids subsided.
65
遷尚書兵部員外郎，為三司戶部副使，再遷戶部郎中、龍圖閣待制、判吏部流內銓、權發遣三司使事。 與監察御史崔暨、內侍羅崇勳同鞫真定府曹汭獄。 及還，權知開封府，進龍圖閣直學士、知秦州。 為走馬承受賈德昌所毀，徙鳳翔府，又徙永興軍。 明年，德昌以贓敗，改樞密直學士，復知秦州。
He was promoted to vice director in the Ministry of War, made vice commissioner of the State Finance revenue department, then advanced to revenue director, Dragon Diagram attendant academician, registrar of the Personnel Registry, and acting commissioner of the State Finance Commission. Together with investigating censor Cui Ji and inner attendant Luo Chongxun he jointly investigated the Cao Rui case in Zhending Prefecture. On his return he acted as prefect of Kaifeng, then was promoted to Dragon Diagram direct academician and made prefect of Qin. Slandered by mobile inspector Jia Dechang, he was transferred to Fengxiang and then to Yongxing. The next year Dechang was brought down on corruption charges; Bowen was made a direct academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs and restored to Qin.
66
初，沿邊軍民之逃者必為熟戶畜牧，又或以遺遠羌易羊馬，故常沒者數百人。 其禽生羌，則以錦袍、銀帶、茶絹賞之。 間有自歸，而中道為夏人所得，亦不能辨，坐法皆斬。 博文乃遣習知邊事者，密持信紙往招，至則悉貸其罪，由是歲減殊死甚眾。 朝廷下其法旁路。
Formerly fugitives from the border armies and populace were routinely sheltered by affiliated tribal households as herdsmen, or traded off to distant Qiang for sheep and horses, so several hundred people were regularly lost. Those who captured unsubdued Qiang were rewarded with brocade robes, silver belts, tea, and silk. Some tried to return on their own, but if Tanguts seized them en route they could not be distinguished from enemies and were beheaded under the law. Bowen sent men skilled in frontier affairs to carry letters of assurance in secret; when fugitives arrived he pardoned them all. Thereafter executions for capital offenses fell sharply year by year. The court extended his policy to neighboring frontier circuits.
67
又言河西回鶻多緣互市家秦、隴間，請悉遣出境，戒守臣使譏察之。 再遷右諫議大夫，以龍圖閣學士復知開封府。 都城豪右邸舍侵通衢，博文製表木按籍，命左右判官分徹之，月餘畢。 出知大名府，遷給事中。 召權三司使，遂同知樞密院事，逾月而卒。 帝臨奠，贈尚書吏部侍郎。
He also reported that many Hexi Uighurs were lodging with border traders in Qin and Long and asked that they all be sent beyond the frontier, with local officials ordered to watch and intercept them. He was promoted again to right remonstrance official and, as a Dragon Diagram academician, again took charge of Kaifeng. In the capital the mansions of powerful families encroached on the main roads. Bowen set up marker posts from the registry and ordered his deputy judges to clear them section by section; the work was finished in a little over a month. He was sent out as prefect of Daming and promoted to presenting academician. He was recalled to act as finance commissioner and then as vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs; a month later he died. The emperor came in person to mourn him and posthumously made him vice director of the Ministry of Personnel.
68
博文以吏事進，多任劇繁，為政務平恕，常語諸子曰：「吾平生決罪，至流刑，未嘗不陰擇善水土處，汝曹志之。」 然治曹汭獄，議者多謂博文希太后旨，縱崇勳傅致其罪。 子疇。
Bowen had risen through administrative service and often held demanding posts; in office he was evenhanded and lenient. He often told his sons, "Whenever I passed sentence, even to exile, I always chose in private a place with good land and water. Remember that. Yet in the Cao Rui trial many said Bowen had courted the empress dowager's favor and let Chongxun manufacture charges against him. His son Chou.
69
子疇
Son: Chou
70
疇，字景彝，以父蔭補將作監主簿。 中進士第，累遷太常博士。 翰林學士宋祁提舉諸司庫務，薦疇勾當公事。 時有宦官同提舉者，疇辭於中書曰：「翰林先進，疇恐不得事也。 然以朝士大夫而為閹人指使，則疇實恥之。」
Chou, courtesy name Jingyi, entered office through his father's privilege as principal clerk of the Directorate of Works. He passed the jinshi examination and rose to Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Hanlin academician Song Qi, who oversaw the various warehouse bureaus, recommended Chou to handle their affairs. A eunuch was appointed joint supervisor. Chou declined at the Secretariat, saying, "The Hanlin academician takes precedence; I fear I could not be of use. But for a court scholar-official to take orders from a eunuch—that, Chou said, he would truly find shameful."
71
用賈昌朝薦，改編修《唐書》。 仁宗獵近郊，疇引十事以諫。 皇祐中，手詔禁貴戚近習私謁者，疇獻《聖政惟公頌》。 召試，直秘閣，為開封府推官。 宦者李允良訴其叔父死，疑為仇家所毒，請發棺驗視，眾欲許之，疇獨不可。 曰：「苟無實，是無故而暴屍，且安知非允良有奸？」 窮治，果與其叔父家有怨。 歷三司度支判官、修起居注、知制誥、權判吏部流內銓，以右諫議大夫權御史中丞。
On Jia Changchao's recommendation he was reassigned to help compile the Book of Tang. When Emperor Renzong hunted near the capital, Chou offered ten points of remonstrance. During Huangyou, after an imperial autograph forbade private audiences by noble kin and intimates, Chou presented "An Ode to Sagely Governance and Sole Fairness." He passed a summons examination, was made a direct attache of the Secret Repository, and appointed investigating officer of Kaifeng. The eunuch Li Yunliang claimed his uncle had died, suspecting enemy kin of poisoning him, and asked to open the coffin for examination. Most officials were ready to agree; Chou alone refused. He said, "Without evidence this would mean exposing a corpse for no reason—and how do we know the accuser himself has no ulterior motive? A full investigation showed he did indeed hold a grudge against his uncle's family. He served as expenditure judge of the finance commission, edited the Veritable Records, drafted edicts, acted as registrar of the Personnel Registry, and as right remonstrance official served as acting vice censor-in-chief.
72
時陳升之拜樞密副使，諫官、御史唐介等奏彈升之不當大用，朝廷持不行，介等爭數月不已，乃兩罷之。 而論者謂介等為眾人遊談所誤。 疇疏言：「浮華險薄之徒，往來諫官、御史家，掎摭人罪，寖以成俗，請出詔戒勵。」 從之。 遷給事中。
When Chen Shengzhi was appointed vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, remonstrators and censors including Tang Jie memorialized that he was unfit for high office. The court held the appointment in abeyance; Jie and others protested for months until both men were dismissed. Commentators, however, said Jie and his allies had been led astray by rumor-mongers. Chou memorialized, "Frivolous and vicious men haunt the homes of remonstrators and censors, picking at people's faults until it has become custom. I ask that an edict be issued to warn and correct this." The court agreed. He was promoted to presenting academician.
73
英宗既即位，感疾，皇太后垂簾聽政。 其後帝疾平，猶未御正殿，疇上疏請御朝聽政。 及永昭陵復土，祭仁宗虞主於集英殿，以宗正卿攝事。 疇奏曰：「人子之葬其親，送形而往，迎神而返，故虞祭所以安神也。 位尊者禮重，禮重者祭多，故天子之虞數至於九。 今山陵，嗣君不得親往，則道路五虞，理可命宗正攝事。 若神主既至，則四虞之祭，雖或聖躬未寧，亦宜勉彊。 況陛下在藩邸，以好古知禮、仁孝聰明聞於中外，此先帝所以託天下也。 臣願始終令德，以全美名。」
After Emperor Yingzong took the throne he fell ill, and the empress dowager ruled from behind the curtain. When the emperor recovered he still did not attend court in the main hall; Chou memorialized asking him to preside and hear affairs. When earth was returned at Yongzhao Mausoleum, the spirit tablet of Renzong was honored with a yu sacrifice in Jiying Hall, with the director of the imperial clan presiding on his behalf. Chou submitted, "When a son buries his parent he sends the body forth and welcomes the spirit home; the yu sacrifice exists to settle the spirit. The loftier the rank, the weightier the rites—and the weightier the rites, the more sacrifices—so a Son of Heaven may perform as many as nine yu rites. At the mausoleum today the heir cannot go in person; the five yu rites along the route may reasonably be entrusted to the director of the imperial clan. Once the spirit tablet has arrived, the four remaining yu sacrifices ought to be performed even if Your Majesty's health is still unsettled. In your princely days you were renowned within and without for learning antiquity, mastering ritual, and filial wisdom—this is why the late emperor entrusted you with All under Heaven. I pray that you preserve this excellence to the end and perfect your good name."
74
帝既視朝前後殿，而於聽事猶持謙抑。 疇復上疏曰：「廟社擁佑陛下，起居安平，臨朝以時，僅逾半載，而未聞開發聽斷，德音遏塞，人情缺然。 伏望思太祖、太宗艱難取天下之勞，真宗、仁宗憂勤守太平之力，勉於聽決大政，以慰母后之慈。 勿為疑貳謙抑，自使盛德闇然不光。」
The emperor had begun holding court in the front and rear halls, yet in conducting affairs he remained markedly modest and reserved. Chou submitted another memorial: "The altars of state protect Your Majesty; you rise and rest in peace and attend court on schedule—yet in more than half a year we have not heard you open deliberation and decide affairs. Your gracious words are stifled and the people's hearts are left wanting. I beg you to recall the toil of Taizu and Taizong in winning the realm through hardship, and the anxious diligence of Zhenzong and Renzong in keeping the peace; exert yourself in deciding great affairs of state, to comfort the empress dowager's loving heart. Do not let doubt and excessive modesty dim the brightness of your great virtue."
75
未幾，又上疏曰：
Before long he submitted another memorial:
76
「董仲舒為武帝言天人之際曰：『事在勉彊而已。 勉彊學問，則聞見廣而智益明； 勉彊行道，則德日起而大有功』，陛下起自列邸，光有天命，然而祖宗基業之重，天人顧享之際，所以操心治身、正家保國者，尤在於勉強力行也。 陛下昔在宗藩，已能務德好學，語言舉動未嘗越禮，是天性有聖賢之資。 自疾平以來，於茲半歲，而臨朝高拱，無所可否。 群臣關白軍國之政者日益至，其請人主裁決者日益多，然猶聖心盤桓，無所是非者，何也？ 得非以初繼大統，或慮未究朝廷之事，故謙抑而未皇耶？ 或者聖躬尚未寧，而不欲自煩耶？ 抑有所畏忌而不言耶？ 苟為謙抑而未皇，則國家萬務，日曠月廢，其勢將趨於禍亂無疑也。 若聖躬未能寧，則天下之名醫良工，日可召於前。 而方技不試，藥石不進，養疾於身，坐俟歲月，非求全之道也。 苟有所畏忌而不言，則又過計之甚也。
"Dong Zhongshu told Emperor Wu of the relation between Heaven and man: 'The matter lies in striving—that is all. Strive in learning and inquiry, and what you hear and see will broaden while your wisdom grows clearer; strive in practicing the Way, and virtue will rise day by day until great deeds are achieved.' Your Majesty rose from the ranks of princes, radiant with Heaven's mandate; yet given the weight of the ancestral foundation and the moment when Heaven and man look to you for blessing, the care of heart and person, the ordering of family and state, depend above all on striving and resolute action. In your days in the imperial clan you already pursued virtue and loved learning; in speech and conduct you never overstepped ritual—your nature bears the makings of a sage. Since your recovery half a year has passed, yet at court you sit with folded hands, affirming or denying nothing. Ministers reporting on military and civil affairs grow more numerous by the day; petitions for your judgment multiply—yet your sacred heart still hesitates, deciding nothing. Why? Is it because you have newly succeeded to the throne and fear you have not yet mastered court affairs, and so hold back out of modesty? Or is Your Majesty's health still unsettled and you do not wish to burden yourself? Or is there something you fear and therefore hold back from speaking? If modest restraint keeps you from acting, the myriad affairs of state will daily lie idle and monthly waste away, and the momentum will surely trend toward calamity and disorder. If Your Majesty's health is still unsettled, the realm's finest physicians and healers may be summoned before you every day. Yet no healing arts are tried and no medicines applied; to nurse illness in the body and sit awaiting time is not the way to seek full recovery. If you hold back from speaking out of fear, that is excessive caution indeed.
77
今中外之事，無可疑畏，臣嘗為陛下力言之矣。 陛下何不坦心布誠、廓開大明以照天下，外則與執政大臣講求治體，內則於母后請所未至。 延禮賢俊，諮訪忠直，廣所未見，達所未聞。 若陛下朝行之，則眾心夕安矣。 況陛下向居藩邸，日夕於側者，惟一二講學之師，與左右給使之人耳。 修身行己，德業日新，而知者無幾，則是為善多而得名常少也； 然而終能德成行尊，美名遠聞，此先帝之所以屬心也。 今處億兆之上，有一言動則天下知之，簡冊書之，比之於昔，是善行易顯而美名易成也。 然而尚莫之聞者，是不為爾，非不能也。 有始有終者，聖賢之能事，在陛下勉彊而已。」
Today there is nothing within or without the court that warrants such fear; I have already spoken to Your Majesty on this at length. Why not open your heart in sincerity and let great clarity shine upon the realm—outwardly discuss the principles of governance with chief ministers, inwardly ask the empress dowager what you have not yet understood? Honor worthy men, consult the loyal and upright, broaden what you have not seen and reach what you have not heard. If Your Majesty acts on this in the morning, the people's hearts will be at peace by evening. When you lived in the princely residence, those at your side day and night were only one or two tutors and a handful of attendants. You cultivated yourself and your virtue grew day by day, yet few knew of it—doing much good while winning little renown; yet in the end your virtue was complete and your conduct honored, your fine name heard far and wide—this is why the late emperor set his heart on you. Now you stand above the hundred millions; every word and act is known to the realm and recorded in the annals—compared with the past, good deeds are easy to display and a fine name easy to achieve. Yet still nothing is heard of this—not because you cannot, but because you do not act. To see a matter through from beginning to end is the mark of sages and worthies; it lies in Your Majesty's striving—that is all."
78
疇又上疏欲車駕行幸，以安人心。 時大臣亦有請，帝乃出禱雨，都人瞻望歡呼。 數日，皇太后還政，疇又上疏：「請詔二府大臣講求所以尊崇母后之禮。 若朝廷嚴奉之體，與歲時朔望之儀，車服承衛之等威，百司拱擬之制度，它時尊稱之美號，外家延賞之恩典，凡可以稱奉親之意者，皆宜優異章大，以發揚母后之功烈，則孝德昭於天下矣。」
Chou submitted another memorial asking that the emperor travel in state to reassure the people's hearts. Senior ministers had also urged it; the emperor then went out to pray for rain, and the people of the capital looked on and cheered. Several days later the empress dowager returned the regency; Chou submitted another memorial: "I ask that the chief ministers of the two councils be ordered to devise rites for honoring the empress dowager. Whether in the court's solemn observances, the rites of the seasons and new and full moons, the majesty of carriages, robes, escort and guard, the regulations drafted by all offices, future honorific titles, or favors for the maternal kin—all that can express devotion to a parent should be made exceptionally grand, to display the empress dowager's achievements, and filial virtue will shine throughout the realm."
79
時詔近臣議仁宗配祭。 故事，冬、夏至，祀昊天上帝、皇地祇，以太祖配； 正月上辛祈穀，孟夏雩祀，孟冬祀神州地祇，以太宗配； 正月上辛祀感生帝，以宣祖配； 季秋大饗明堂、祀昊天上帝，以真宗配。 而學士王珪等與禮官上議，以謂季秋大饗，宜以仁宗配，為嚴父之道。 知制誥錢公輔獨謂仁宗不當配祭。 疇以謂珪等議遺真宗不得配，公輔議遺宣祖、真宗、仁宗俱不得配，於禮意未安。 乃獻議曰：「請依王珪等議，奉仁宗配饗明堂，以符《大易》配考之說、《孝經》嚴父之禮。 奉遷真宗配孟夏雩祀，以仿唐貞觀、顯慶故事。 太宗依舊配正月上辛祈穀、孟冬祀神州祇，餘依本朝故事。 如此，則列聖並侑； 對越昊穹，厚澤流光，垂裕萬祀。 必如公輔之議，則陷四聖為失禮，導陛下為不孝，違經戾古，莫此為甚。」 自此公輔不悅，而朝廷以疇論事有補，帝與執政大臣皆器異之。
At that time the court ordered close ministers to debate Renzong's associated sacrifice at the altars. By precedent, at the winter and summer solstices August Heaven and August Earth were sacrificed to, with Taizu as associate; on the first xin day of the first month the prayer for grain, in early summer the rain sacrifice, in early winter sacrifice to the Spirit Land of the Divine Continent, with Taizong as associate; on the first xin day of the first month sacrifice to the Emperor of Felt Life, with Xuanzu as associate; In late autumn the court held the great feast at the Bright Hall, sacrificing to August Heaven with Emperor Zhenzong as associate. Meanwhile Academician Wang Gui and the ritual officials submitted a proposal holding that at the late-autumn great feast Renzong should serve as associate, in keeping with the rite of honoring one's stern father. Document drafting commissioner Qian Gongfu alone held that Renzong should not serve as associated sacrifice. Chou held that Gui's proposal would leave Zhenzong without an associate, while Gongfu's would leave Xuanzu, Zhenzong, and Renzong all without associates—neither sat well with ritual intent. He then submitted a proposal: "I ask that we follow Wang Gui and the others, installing Renzong as associate at the Bright Hall feast, in accord with the Classic of Changes' pairing with the father and the Classic of Filial Piety's rite of the stern father. Transfer Zhenzong to serve as associate at the early-summer rain sacrifice, following the Tang precedents of Zhenguan and Xianqing. Let Taizong continue as associate at the first-xin-day prayer for grain in the first month and the early-winter sacrifice to the Spirit Land of the Divine Continent; let the rest follow our dynasty's precedents. Thus all the successive emperors would share the altar; facing August Heaven, with generous blessings flowing forth and abundant grace for ten thousand generations. If we must follow Gongfu's proposal, we would cast the four sage emperors into breach of ritual, lead Your Majesty into unfilial conduct, and violate the classics and ancient practice—nothing could be worse. From this Gongfu was displeased, but the court regarded Chou's arguments as useful; the emperor and the chief ministers all held him in exceptional regard.
80
遷翰林學士、尚書禮部侍郎、同提舉諸司庫務。 數月，拜樞密副使。 於是公輔言疇望輕資淺，在臺素餐，不可大用，又頗薦引近臣可為輔弼者。 公輔坐貶。 疇在位五十五日，卒。 帝甚悼惜之，臨哭，賜白金三千兩，贈兵部尚書，諡「忠簡」。
He was promoted to Hanlin academician, Vice Minister of Rites, and joint supervisor of the various warehouse bureaus. Several months later he was appointed Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Thereupon Gongfu said Chou's reputation was slight and his seniority shallow, that at the censorate he had drawn salary without earning it and was unfit for high office, and he also recommended several close ministers who might serve as chief counselors. Gongfu was demoted for it. Chou held office fifty-five days and died. The emperor mourned him deeply, came in person to weep, granted three thousand taels of white silver, posthumously appointed him Minister of War, and gave the posthumous title "Loyal and Simple."
81
疇名臣子，性介特，厲風操，喜言朝廷事。 好治容服，坐立嶷然，言必文，未嘗慢戲，吏治審密，文辭嚴麗。 其執政未久、終於位及所享壽，類其父云。
Chou was the son of a renowned minister; by nature upright and unyielding, strict in conduct, and fond of speaking on court affairs. He cared for his dress and appearance, sat and stood with imposing bearing, always spoke in polished language, never engaged in coarse jesting, administered affairs with tight precision, and wrote in a strict, elegant style. His brief tenure in power, his death in office, and the span of years he enjoyed were all like his father's, it is said.
82
王鬷，字總之，趙州臨城人。 七歲喪父，哀毀過人。 既長，狀貌奇偉。 舉進士，授婺州觀察推官。 代還，真宗見而異之，特遷秘書省著作佐郎、知祁縣，通判湖州。 再遷太常博士、提點梓州路刑獄，權三司戶部判官。 使契丹還，判都磨勘司。 以尚書度支員外郎兼侍御史知雜事。 上言：「方調兵塞決河，而近郡災歉，民力雕敝，請罷土木之不急者。」 改三司戶部副使。 樞密使曹利用得罪，鬷以同里為利用所厚，出知湖州，徙蘇州。 還為三司鹽鐵副使。
Wang Zong, courtesy name Zongzhi, was a native of Lincheng in Zhao Prefecture. At seven he lost his father and mourned with a grief beyond the ordinary. When grown his form and bearing were singularly imposing. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed investigating and prosecuting officer of Wu Prefecture. When he returned from his term, Emperor Zhenzong saw him and was struck; he was specially promoted to assistant secretary in the Secretariat for Compilation, made magistrate of Qi County, and vice prefect of Hu. He was again promoted to Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, judicial intendant of the Zizhou Circuit, and acting revenue-section judge of the Three Commissions. After his mission to the Khitan he was made controller of the Directorate of Merit Evaluation. He served as vice director of the revenue section of the Secretariat while also holding the post of censor-in-chief of miscellaneous affairs. He memorialized: "Troops are being mobilized to block the breached Yellow River, yet nearby prefectures suffer drought and famine and the people's strength is exhausted. I ask that non-urgent construction be halted. He was transferred to vice commissioner of the revenue section. When Bureau commissioner Cao Liyong fell from favor, Zong, being a fellow townsman whom Liyong had favored, was sent out as prefect of Hu and then transferred to Suzhou. On his return he became vice commissioner of the Salt and Iron Monopoly.
83
時龍圖閣待制馬季良方用事，建言京師賈人常以賤價居茶鹽交引，請官置務收市之。 季良挾章獻姻家，眾莫敢迕其意，鬷獨不可，曰：「與民競利，豈國體耶！」 擢天章閣待制、判大理寺、提舉在京諸司庫務，安撫淮南，權判吏部流內銓，累遷刑部。
At the time Ma Jiliang of the Dragon Diagram Hall was in power and proposed that capital merchants often held tea-and-salt exchange notes at low prices; he asked that the state establish offices to buy them up. Jiliang relied on kinship with Empress Dowager Zhangxian; none dared oppose him, but Zong alone refused, saying, "To compete with the people for profit—what kind of state conduct is that!" He was promoted to attendant of the Hall of Heavenly Patterns, judge of the Court of Judicial Review, supervisor of capital warehouse bureaus, pacification commissioner of Huainan, acting director of the Ministry of Personnel's roster office, and rose through the Ministry of Punishments.
84
益、利路旱饑，為安撫使，以左司郎中、樞密直學士知益州。 戍卒有夜焚營、殺馬、脅軍校為亂者，鬷潛遣兵環營，下令曰：「不亂者斂手出門，無所問。」 於是眾皆出，命軍校指亂者，得十餘人，即戮之。 及旦，人莫知也。 其為政有大體，不為苛察，蜀人愛之。 拜右諫議大夫、同知樞密院事。 景祐五年，參知政事。 明年，遷尚書工部侍郎、知樞密院事。
When the Yi and Li circuits suffered drought and famine, he served as pacification commissioner, with the titles of left division director and academician ex officio of the Bureau of Military Affairs, governing Yi Prefecture. Some garrison soldiers burned the camp by night, killed horses, and coerced officers into mutiny; Zong secretly sent troops to surround the camp and ordered: "Those who did not join the mutiny, fold your hands and come out the gate—you will not be questioned. Thereupon all came out; he ordered the officers to point out the mutineers, seized more than ten men, and executed them at once. By dawn no one knew what had happened. His governance grasped the great pattern and avoided petty scrutiny; the people of Shu loved him. He was appointed right remonstrator and associate commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In the fifth year of Jingyou he became vice grand councilor. The following year he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works and made commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs.
85
天聖中，鬷嘗使河北，過真定，見曹瑋，謂曰：「君異日當柄用，願留意邊防。」 鬷曰：「何以教之？」 瑋曰：「吾聞趙德明嘗使人以馬榷易漢物，不如意，欲殺之。 少子元昊方十餘歲，諫曰：『我戎人，本從事鞍馬，而以資鄰國易不急之物，已非策，又從而斬之，失眾心矣。』 德明從之。 吾嘗使人覘元昊，狀貌異常，他日必為邊患。」 鬷殊未以為然也。 比再入樞密，元昊反，帝數問邊事，鬷不能對。 及西征失利，議刺鄉兵，又久未決。 帝怒，鬷與陳執中、張觀同日罷，鬷出知河南府，始歎瑋之明識。 未幾，得暴疾卒。 贈戶部尚書，諡忠穆。
During Tiansheng, Zong had been sent to Hebei; passing through Zhending he met Cao Wei and said to him: "You will one day wield great power—please keep the frontier defenses in mind. Zong said, "What would you teach me? Wei said, "I have heard that Zhao Deming once sent men to trade horses at the frontier market for Han goods; when the bargain displeased him he wished to kill them. His younger son Yuanhao was just over ten and remonstrated: 'We Rong people live by saddle and horse; to spend our substance trading with a neighboring state for things we do not urgently need is already poor policy, and to kill men for it besides would lose the people's hearts.' Deming followed his advice. I once sent men to observe Yuanhao; his form and bearing were extraordinary—one day he will surely become a frontier menace. Zong was far from convinced. When he again entered the Bureau of Military Affairs, Yuanhao rebelled; the emperor repeatedly asked about frontier affairs, and Zong could not answer. When the western campaign met defeat, the court debated tattooing militia recruits, and for a long time could not decide. The emperor was angry; Zong, Chen Zhizhong, and Zhang Guan were dismissed on the same day; Zong was sent out as prefect of Henan, and only then sighed over Wei's foresight. Before long he took a sudden illness and died. He was posthumously appointed Minister of the Household and given the posthumous title Loyal and Solemn.
86
鬷少時，館禮部尚書王化基之門，樞密副使宋湜見而以女妻之。 宋氏親族或侮易之，化基曰：「後三十年，鬷富貴矣。」 果如所言。
In youth Zong lodged in the household of Minister of Rites Wang Huaji; Vice Bureau commissioner Song Shen saw him and gave him his daughter in marriage. Some of the Song clan's kin would slight him; Huaji said, "In thirty years Zong will be rich and honored. It came to pass as he said.
87
論曰：吳育剛毅不撓，而設施無聞，其才不逮志者與？ 宋綬博洽明敏，若谷務長厚，博文習吏事，當仁宗時，先後與政，僅能恭慎寡過，保有祿位，施及後嗣。 敏求、淑俱練達典故，傅以文采，而淑以傾險敗德，視疇之介特，數建忠謀，則賢不肖之相去遠矣。 王鬷不留意曹瑋之言，卒以昧於邊事見黜，宜哉！
Commentary: Wu Yu was firm and unyielding, yet his accomplishments went unheard—was his talent unequal to his ambitions? Song Shou was broadly learned and keen, Ruogu devoted himself to forbearance and generosity, Bowen mastered administrative affairs; under Renzong they successively held power, managing only to be respectful and cautious with few faults, preserving their stipends and extending benefit to their descendants. Minqiu and Shu were both versed in court precedents and adorned with literary grace, yet Shu ruined his virtue through treacherous conduct; compared with Chou's upright character and his repeated loyal counsels, the distance between the worthy and the unworthy could hardly be greater. Wang Zong paid no heed to Cao Wei's words and was finally dismissed for his ignorance of frontier affairs—as he deserved!