Volume 293 Biographies 52: Tian Xi, Wang Yucheng, Zhang Yong

田錫，字表聖，嘉州洪雅人。幼聰悟，好讀書屬文。楊徽之宰峨眉，宋白宰玉津，皆厚遇之，為之延譽，繇是聲稱翕然。太平興國三年，進士高等，釋褐將作監丞、通判宣州。遷著作郎、京西北路轉運判官。改左拾遺、直史館，賜緋魚。錫好言時務，既居諫官，即上疏獻軍國要機者一、朝廷大體者四。其略曰：

Tian Xi, whose style was Biaosheng, came from Hongya in Jiazhou. As a boy he was quick-witted and devoted to reading and literary composition. Yang Huizhi, as magistrate of Emei, and Song Bai, as magistrate of Yujin, both treated him warmly and spoke well of him abroad, and his reputation spread swiftly. In 978 he passed the jinshi examination with high honors, entered office as an associate director in the Directorate of Works, and was appointed vice commissioner of Xuanzhou. He was promoted to academician in the Writings Office and transport intendant for the Jingxi North circuit. He was reassigned as a left reminder with a concurrent post in the Historiography Institute and was granted the scarlet fish tally of rank. Xi liked to speak out on affairs of the day; as soon as he took up his remonstrance post, he memorialized the throne with one critical military point and four broad principles for court governance. The gist of it ran as follows:

「頃歲王師平太原，未賞軍功，迄今二載。幽燕竊據，固當用兵，雖稟宸謀，必資武力。願陛下因郊禋、耕籍之禮，議平戩之功，則駕馭戎臣，莫茲為重，此要機也。

"When the imperial forces pacified Taiyuan not long ago, no rewards were given for military merit, and two years have already passed. Youyan still lies in rebel hands and force must be used; even with the Son of Heaven's strategy in hand, arms remain indispensable. I ask that Your Majesty, at the suburban sacrifices and the plowing rites, take up the question of rewards for pacification; nothing would do more to command the loyalty of military officers—this is the critical point.

今交州未下，戰士無功，《春秋》所謂『老師費財』者是也。臣聞聖人不務廣疆士，惟務廣德業，聲教遠被，自當來賓。周成王時，越裳九譯來貢，且曰：『天無迅風疾雨、海不揚波三年矣。意者中國其有聖人乎？盍往朝之。』交州瘴海，得之如獲石田，臣願陛下務修德以來遠，無鈍兵以挫銳，又何必以蕞爾蠻夷，上勞震怒乎？此大體之一也。

Jiaozhou has still not fallen and the troops have won no credit—exactly what the Spring and Autumn Annals means by 'a long-stationed army that wastes wealth.' I have heard that a sage ruler does not labor to widen his borders but to enlarge his virtue; when his civilizing influence reaches far, distant peoples come as guests of their own accord. In the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, envoys from Yue came through nine relays of interpreters to offer tribute, saying: 'For three years heaven has sent no sudden gales or driving rains, and the sea has raised no waves. Perhaps the Middle Kingdom has produced a sage? Why not go and pay court to him?' Jiaozhou lies in malarial seas; to take it would be like winning a field of stones. I beg Your Majesty to cultivate virtue to draw the distant near, not to blunt your armies and dull their edge—why trouble Your Majesty's august anger over so petty a barbarian people? This is the first of the four broad principles.

今諫官不聞廷爭，給事中不聞封駁，左右史不聞升陛軒、記言動，豈聖朝美事乎？又御史不敢彈奏，中書舍人未嘗訪以政事，集賢院雖有書籍而無職官，秘書省雖有職官而無圖籍。臣願陛下擇才任人，使各司其局，苟職業修舉，則威儀自嚴。此大體之二也。

Today remonstrance officials are not heard debating at court, supervising secretaries are not heard returning memorials for revision, and court historians are not heard mounting the hall steps to record the ruler's words and deeds—is this worthy of a sage dynasty? Censors no longer dare to impeach; secretariat drafters are never asked about policy; the Hall of Assembled Worthies holds books but lacks staff; the Secretariat has staff but lacks maps and archives. I ask Your Majesty to choose able men and put each in his proper post; if every office does its work, court dignity will enforce itself. This is the second broad principle.

爾者寓縣平寧，京師富庶。軍營馬監，靡不恢崇；佛寺道宮，悉皆輪奐。加又辟西苑，廣御池，雖周之靈囿，漢之昆明，未足為比。而尚書省湫隘尤甚，郎曹無本局，尚書無廳事。九寺三監，寓天街之兩廊，貢院就武成王廟，是豈太平之制度邪？臣願陛下別修省寺，用列職官。此大體之三也。

Of late the realm has been tranquil and the capital affluent. Army barracks and horse studs have all been lavishly expanded; Buddhist temples and Daoist monasteries have all been made resplendent. The Western Park has been opened and the imperial lake enlarged—even Zhou's royal park and Han's Kunming Pool pale beside them. Yet the Department of State Affairs is more cramped than ever: section chiefs have no proper offices, and ministers have no halls in which to conduct affairs. The nine directorates and three commissions are housed in corridors along the imperial avenue, and the examination grounds sit beside the Temple of the Martial Completion King—is this how institutions should look in an age of peace? I ask Your Majesty to rebuild the ministries and directorates properly so that each office may stand in its rightful place. This is the third broad principle.

案獄官令，枷杻有短長，鉗鎖有輕重，尺寸斤兩，並載刑書，未聞以鐵為枷者也。昔唐太宗觀《明堂圖》，見人之五藏皆麗於背，遂減徒刑。況隆平之時，將措刑不用，於法所無，去之可矣。此大體之四也。」

Prison regulations prescribe the length of cangues and the weight of fetters; every measure is set down in the penal code—nowhere does the law authorize iron cangues. Once when Emperor Taizong of Tang studied the Hall of Brightness diagram and saw that the five viscera lie against the back, he lightened the penalty of penal servitude. In an age as peaceful as this, when punishments are soon to fall into disuse altogether, what the law never authorized should simply be abolished. This is the fourth broad principle."

疏奏，優詔褒答，賜錢五十萬。僚友謂錫曰：「今日之事鮮矣，宜少晦以遠讒忌。」錫曰：「事君之誠，惟恐不竭，矧天植其性，豈為一賞奪邪？」時趙普為相，令有司受群臣章奏，必先白錫。錫貽書於普，以為失至公之體，普引咎謝之。

The memorial was presented; the emperor replied with a gracious edict of praise and granted fifty thousand strings of cash. His colleagues told him, "What you did today was extraordinary; you ought to tone yourself down a little to keep slander and envy at bay." Xi replied, "In serving one's sovereign, sincerity means fearing only that one has not given one's all; Heaven planted this nature in me—how could a single reward make me abandon it?" At the time Zhao Pu was chief councilor and ordered that all officials' memorials be shown to Xi before they were received. Xi wrote to Zhao Pu that this violated the principle of perfect impartiality; Zhao Pu acknowledged his fault and apologized.

六年，為河北轉運副使，驛書言邊事曰：

In the sixth year he was made vice transport commissioner for Hebei and sent a courier report on frontier affairs that read:

「臣聞動靜之機，不可妄舉；安危之理，不可輕言。利害相生，變易不定；取舍無惑，思慮必精。夫動靜之機，不可妄舉者，動謂用兵，靜謂持重。應動而靜，則養寇以生姦；應靜而動，則失時以敗事。動靜中節，乃得其宜。今北鄙繹騷，蓋亦有以居邊任者，規羊馬細利為捷，矜捕斬小勝為功，賈怨結仇，興戎致寇，職此之由。前歲邊陲俶擾，親迂革輅，戎騎既退，萬乘方歸。是皆失我機先，落其術內，勞煩耗斁，可勝言哉？伏願申飭將帥，慎固封守，勿尚小功。許通互市，俘獲蕃口，撫而還之。如此不出五載，河朔之民，得務農業，亭障之地，可積軍諸。然後待其亂而取之則克，乘其衰而兵之則降，既心服而忘歸，則力省而功倍。

"I have learned that the timing of action and restraint must never be set in motion rashly; and the logic of security and peril must not be spoken of lightly. Benefit and harm arise from each other and shift without fixed pattern; in choosing and rejecting there must be no doubt, and in deliberation there must be precision. As for the timing of movement and stillness that must not be rashly disturbed: movement means taking up arms, stillness means holding steady. If one should act yet holds back, one nourishes enemies and breeds treachery; if one should hold firm yet stirs, one misses the moment and ruins the enterprise. Only when movement and stillness strike the right measure does one achieve what is fitting. The northern frontier is in constant turmoil largely because border commanders treat petty profits in sheep and horses as clever policy, boast of minor captures and killings as great victories, buy resentment and forge vendettas, and thereby stir war and invite raids—that is where the trouble begins. Two years ago the frontier flared up and the emperor himself took the field; only after the enemy horsemen withdrew did the imperial procession return. In every case we lost the initiative, fell into their schemes, and paid in toil, trouble, and wasted resources—words can scarcely compass the cost. I beg that generals and commanders be sharply warned to hold the frontier defenses with care and not to chase petty victories. Allow border trade, and when frontier peoples are taken captive, treat them kindly and send them home. Within five years the people north of the Yellow River could return to farming, and the frontier posts could stockpile supplies for the army. Then, when they fall into disorder, you may take them and prevail; when they weaken, you may strike and they will submit; once their hearts are won and they cease to think of returning home, effort will be halved and success doubled.

誠願考古道，務遠圖，示綏懷萬國之心，用駕馭四夷之策，事戒輒發，理貴深謀，所謂安危之理，不可輕言者。國家務大體，求至治則安；舍近謀遠，勞而無功則危。為君有常道，為臣有常職，是務大體也。上不拒諫，下不隱情，是求至治也。漢武帝躬秉武節，登單于之台；唐太宗手結雨衣，伐遼東之國：則是舍近謀遠也。沙漠窮荒，得之無用，則是勞而無功也。在位之臣，敢言者少，言而見聽，未必蒙福，言而不從，方且虞禍，欲下不隱情得乎？惡在其務大體而求至治也。

I earnestly ask Your Majesty to study the ancient Way, pursue far-sighted plans, show a heart that embraces all nations in peace, and apply the art of governing the four frontier peoples—let affairs be undertaken only after grave warning against rash action and let principle be honored through deep counsel; this is what I mean by the logic of security and peril that must not be spoken of lightly. When the state attends to great principles and pursues perfect governance, it is secure; when it abandons what is near to scheme for what is far, toiling without result, it falls into peril. The ruler has his constant Way and the minister his constant duty—that is what it means to attend to great principles. Above, not rejecting remonstrance; below, not concealing the truth—that is how one pursues perfect governance. Emperor Wu of Han personally took up arms and climbed the Chanyu's terrace; Emperor Taizong of Tang tied his own rain cloak and marched against Liaodong—examples of abandoning the near for the distant. Desert wastes and barren frontiers are useless even when taken—that is toil without gain. Few ministers in office dare to speak out; even when heard, they may not be rewarded, and when ignored they fear punishment—how can subordinates fail to hide the truth? How then can the state attend to great principles or pursue perfect governance?

臣又謂利害相生，變易不定者，《兵書》曰：『不能盡知用兵之害者，則不能盡知用兵之利。』蓋事有可進而退，則害成之事至焉；可退而進，則利用之事去焉。可速而緩，則利必從之而失；可緩而速，則害必由之而致。可誅而赦，則姦宄之心，或有時而生害；可赦而誅，則患勇之人，或無心於利國。可賞而罰，則有以害勤勞之功；可罰而賞，則有以利僭逾之幸。能審利害，則為聰明。以天下之耳聽之則聰，以天下之目視之則明。故《書》曰：『明四目、達四聰』，此之謂也。臣又謂取舍不可以有惑者，故曰：『孟賁之狐疑，不如童子之必至。』思慮不可以不精者，故曰『差若毫厘，繆以千里』。自國家圖燕以來，連兵未解，財用不得不耗，人心不得不憂，願陛下精思慮，決取舍，無使曠日持久，窮兵極武焉。」

I further say that benefit and harm arise from each other and shift without fixed pattern. The Art of War states: 'He who does not fully understand the harm of war cannot fully understand its benefit.' When one should advance yet holds back, the harm is already done; when one should retreat yet presses forward, the chance for gain is lost. When speed is required yet one tarries, benefit slips away; when deliberation is needed yet one rushes, harm follows inevitably. When criminals ought to be executed yet are pardoned, treacherous hearts may someday breed disaster; when men who should be spared are put to death, the brave may lose all heart to serve the state. When merit ought to be rewarded yet is punished, diligent service is undermined; when punishment is due yet reward is given, presumption and excess are encouraged. To weigh benefit and harm carefully is to be truly wise. Listen with the ears of the empire and you will be perceptive; look with the eyes of the empire and you will see clearly. Hence the Documents says, 'Make the four eyes clear and the four hearings penetrating'—that is the idea. I further say that in choosing and rejecting there must be no hesitation; as the saying runs, 'Meng Ben's wavering is worth less than a child's certainty of reaching the mark.' Deliberation must be exact; hence the saying, 'A miss as small as a hair's breadth leads a thousand leagues astray.' Since the court set its sights on Yan, war has not ceased, resources have been drained, and the people are anxious. I beg Your Majesty to deliberate with precision, decide firmly, and not let the campaign drag on in endless, exhaustive warfare."

書奏，上嘉之。七年，徙知相州，改右補闕。復上章論事。

The report was presented and the emperor commended it. In the seventh year he was transferred to serve as prefect of Xiangzhou and promoted to right reminder. He again memorialized the throne on public affairs.

明年，移睦州。睦州人舊阻禮教，錫建孔子廟，表請以經籍給諸生，詔賜《九經》，自是人知向學。會文明殿災，又拜章極言時政，上嘉納焉。轉起居舍人，還判登聞鼓院，上書請封禪。以本官知制誥，尋加兵部員外郎。

The following year he was transferred to Muzhou. The people of Muzhou had long resisted ritual and learning; Xi built a temple to Confucius and petitioned that the classics be supplied to students. The court granted the Nine Classics, and from that time the people turned toward study. When the Hall of Civilizing Brilliance burned, he again memorialized the throne at length on current policy, and the emperor praised and accepted his counsel. He was made attendant of the imperial diary, resumed duty at the Petition-by-Drum Office, and memorialized requesting the Feng and Shan sacrifices. He was appointed drafter of edicts in his existing rank and soon after was given the additional title of vice director in the Ministry of War.

端拱二年，京畿大旱，錫上章，有「調變倒置」語，忤宰相，罷為戶部郎中，出知陳州。坐稽留殺人獄，責授海州團練副使，後徙單州。召為工部員外郎，復論時政闕失，俄詔直集賢院。至道中，復舊官。

In 989 a severe drought struck the capital region; Xi memorialized the throne with wording about 'reversed measures of relief,' offended the chief minister, was demoted to director in the Ministry of Revenue, and sent out as prefect of Chenzhou. For delaying a murder trial he was punished with appointment as vice commissioner of militia training at Haizhou, and later transferred to Shanzhou. He was recalled as vice director in the Ministry of Works, again criticized current policy failures, and soon received orders to serve in the Hall of Assembled Worthies. During the Zhidao reign he was restored to his former rank.

真宗嗣位，遷吏部。出使秦、隴，還，連上章言，陝西數十州苦於靈、夏之役，生民重困，上為之戚然。同知審官院兼通進、銀臺、封駁司，賜金紫；與魏廷式聯職，以議論不協求罷，出知泰州。會彗星見，拜疏請責躬以答天戒，再召見便殿。及行，降中使撫諭，仍加優賜。

When Emperor Zhenzong came to the throne, Xi was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. On a mission to Qin and Long, he returned and submitted repeated memorials reporting that dozens of prefectures in Shaanxi were worn down by the wars against Lingzhou and Xia, the people were in deep distress, and the emperor was moved to sorrow. He was made associate director of the Bureau for Reviewing Appointments, with concurrent posts in the memorial, Silver Terrace, and sealed-rebuttal offices, and was granted the gold-and-purple insignia; He served alongside Wei Tingshi; when their views clashed he asked to be relieved and was sent out as prefect of Taizhou. When a comet appeared, he memorialized asking the emperor to examine his own conduct in answer to heaven's warning and was again received in the informal audience hall. As he set out, the court dispatched an imperial messenger to comfort him and added further generous rewards.

《御覽序》曰：「聖人之道，布在方冊。六經則言高旨遠，非講求討論，不可測其淵深。諸史則跡異事殊，非參會異同，豈易記其繁雜。子書則異端之說勝，文集則宗經之辭寡。非獵精義以為鑒戒，舉綱要以觀會通，為日覽之書，資日新之德，則雖白首，未能窮經，矧王者乎？臣每讀書，思以所得上補聖聰，可以銘於座隅者，書於御屏；可以用於常道者，錄為《御覽》。冀以涓埃之微，上裨天地之德，俾功業與堯、舜比崇，而生靈亦躋仁壽之域矣。」

The preface to the Imperial Overview reads: "The Way of the sages is preserved in the written classics. The Six Classics speak from heights and aim at distances beyond ordinary reach; without study and sustained discussion, their depths cannot be sounded. Histories trace different paths and record different events; without comparing and reconciling them, who could easily master their tangle of detail? Philosophical works abound in unorthodox doctrines, while literary collections offer little that returns to the classics. Without distilling essential principles as warnings and raising key themes to grasp the whole, and without books for daily reading to nourish daily renewal of virtue, even a white-haired scholar cannot exhaust the classics—how much less a ruler? Whenever I read, I seek to offer what I learn to sharpen Your Majesty's understanding; passages fit to be inscribed beside the throne I set down on the imperial screen; and passages useful for daily governance I compiled as the Imperial Overview. I hoped that this tiny offering might in some small measure aid the virtue of Heaven and Earth, lift Your Majesty's achievements to the level of Yao and Shun, and bring the people into a realm of benevolence and long life."

《御屏風序》曰：「古之帝王，盤盂皆銘，几杖有戒，蓋起居必睹，而夙夜不忘也。湯之《盤銘》曰：『苟日新，日日新，又日新。』武王銘於几杖曰：『安不忘危，存不忘亡，熟惟二者，後必無凶。』唐黃門侍郎趙智為高宗講《孝經》，舉其要切者言之曰：『天子有爭臣七人，雖無道不失其天下。』憲宗采《史》、《漢》、《三國》已來經濟之要，號《前代君臣事跡》，書於屏間。臣每覽經、史、子、集，因取其語要，輒用進獻，題之御屏，置之座右，日夕觀省，則聖德日新，與湯、武比隆矣。」

The preface to the Imperial Screen reads: "Ancient rulers inscribed their bowls and dishes and placed warnings on tables and staffs, so that in every moment of daily life they would see them and never forget them from dawn to dusk. The Basin Inscription of King Tang says, 'If you can renew yourself in a day, renew yourself day by day, and again day by day.' King Wu inscribed on his table and staff: 'In peace do not forget peril; in survival do not forget ruin; ponder these two constantly, and you will know no calamity thereafter.' Zhao Zhi of the Tang, vice director of the Yellow Gate, lectured Emperor Gaozong on the Classic of Filial Piety and quoted its essential passage: 'A Son of Heaven who has seven ministers willing to dispute him will not lose the realm even if he lacks the Way.' Emperor Xianzong culled the essentials of statecraft from the histories through Han and the Three Kingdoms, entitled the collection Former Monarchs and Ministers, and had it written on the screens. Whenever I read the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, I select their essential passages and present them, inscribe them on the imperial screen, and set them beside the throne; viewed day and night, Your Majesty's virtue will renew daily and rise to the stature of Tang and Wu."

五年，再掌銀臺，覽天下奏章，有言民饑盜起及詔敕不便者，悉條奏其事。上對宰相稱錫「得爭臣之體」，即日以本官兼侍御史知雜事，擢右諫議大夫、史館修撰。連上八疏，皆直言時政得失。六年冬，病卒，年六十四。遺表勸上以慈儉守位，以清淨化人，居安思危，在治思亂。上覽之惻然，謂宰相李沆曰：「田錫，直臣也。朝廷少有闕失，方在思慮，錫之章奏已至矣。若此諫官，亦不可得。」嗟惜久之，特贈工部侍郎。錄其二子，並為大理評事，給奉終喪。

In the fifth year he again headed the Silver Terrace, reviewed memorials from across the empire, and whenever reports spoke of famine, rising banditry, or impractical edicts, he laid out each case in memorials to the throne. The emperor told the chief minister that Xi 'embodied the true remonstrating minister,' and that same day added to his rank the concurrent post of attending censor in charge of miscellaneous business, promoting him to right remonstrance grandee and historiography compiler. He submitted eight memorials in succession, each speaking plainly about the strengths and failures of current policy. In the winter of the sixth year he died of illness at the age of sixty-four. In his final memorial he urged the emperor to hold the throne through kindness and frugality, transform the people through purity and restraint, think of danger in times of peace, and think of disorder in times of order. The emperor read it with deep sorrow and said to Chief Minister Li Hang, "Tian Xi was a forthright minister. Whenever the court had the slightest lapse and was still weighing its response, Xi's memorials had already arrived. A remonstrance official like this cannot be found again." He mourned him at length and specially granted him the posthumous title of vice director of the Ministry of Works. Both his sons were given office as reviewers in the Court of Judicial Review, with salaries provided through the mourning period.

錫耿介寡合，未嘗趨權貴之門，居公庭，危坐終日，無懈容。慕魏徵、李絳之為人，以盡規獻替為己任。嘗曰：「吾立朝以來，章疏五十有二，皆諫臣任職之常言。苟獲從，幸也，豈可藏副示後，謗時賣直邪？」悉命焚之。然性凝執，治郡無稱。所著有《咸平集》五十卷。

Xi was upright and solitary, never courting the powerful; in court he sat rigidly upright all day without a trace of ease. He admired Wei Zheng and Li Jiang and made full remonstrance and candid counsel his personal mission. He once said, "Since I entered court service I have submitted fifty-two memorials, all merely what a remonstrance official is expected to say. If the court heeds me, that is fortune enough—how could I keep copies to show posterity, as if I were slandering my own age to peddle my integrity?" He had them all burned. Yet his nature was rigid and obstinate, and he won no reputation as a prefectural administrator. His collected works, the Xianping Collection, comprise fifty juan.

王禹偁

Wang Yucheng

王禹偁，字元之，濟州鉅野人。世為農家，九歲能文，畢士安見而器之。太平興國八年擢進士，授成武主簿。徙知長洲縣，就改大理評事。同年生羅處約時宰吳縣，日相與賦詠，人多傳誦。端拱初，太宗聞其名，召試，擢右拾遺、直史館，賜緋。故事，賜緋者給塗金銀帶，上特命以文犀帶寵之。即日獻《端拱箴》以寓規諷。

Wang Yucheng, whose style was Yuanzhi, came from Juye in Jizhou. His family had been farmers for generations; at nine he could compose essays, and Bi Shian recognized his talent and took him seriously. In 983 he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed chief clerk of Chengwu. He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Changzhou County and soon after made a reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. His examination-year companion Luo Chuyue was then magistrate of Wu County; they composed poetry together daily, and their verses were widely circulated. Early in the Duangong era Emperor Taizong heard of him, summoned him for a trial, and appointed him right reminder with a post in the Historiography Institute, granting the scarlet rank. By precedent scarlet rank brought a gilded silver belt, but the emperor specially honored him with a patterned rhinoceros-horn belt. That same day he presented his Admonition for the Duangong Era, embedding counsel in measured rebuke.

時北庭未寧，訪群臣以邊事。禹偁獻《禦戎十策》，大略假漢事以明之：「漢十二君，言賢明者，文、景也；言昏亂者，哀、平也。然而文、景之世，軍臣單于最為強盛，肆行侵掠，候騎至雍，火照甘泉。哀、平之時，呼韓邪單于每歲來朝，委質稱臣，邊烽罷警。何邪？蓋漢文當軍臣強盛之時，而外任人、內修政，使不能為深患者，由乎德也。哀、平當呼韓衰弱之際，雖外無良將，內無賢臣，而致其來朝者，繫於時也。今國家之廣大，不下漢朝，陛下之聖明，豈讓文帝。契丹之強盛，不及軍臣單于，至如撓邊侵塞，豈有候騎至雍，而火照甘泉之患乎？亦在乎外任人、內修德爾。臣愚以為：外則合兵勢而重將權，罷小臣詗邏邊事，行間諜離其黨，遣趙保忠、折禦卿率所部以掎角。下詔感勵邊人，使知取燕薊舊疆，非貪其土地；內則省官以寬經費，抑文士以激武夫，信用大臣以資其謀，不貴虛名以戒無益，禁遊惰以厚民力。」帝深嘉之。又與夏侯嘉正、羅處約、杜鎬表請同校《三史書》，多所釐正。

The northern frontier was still unsettled, and the emperor asked his ministers about border policy. Yucheng submitted the Ten Policies for Frontier Defense, drawing chiefly on Han history to make his case: "Of the twelve Han emperors, those called wise were Wen and Jing; those called benighted and chaotic were Ai and Ping. Yet in the reigns of Wen and Jing the Chanyu Junchen was at his strongest, raiding at will until patrol riders reached Yong and fires lit the Sweet Springs Palace. In the reigns of Ai and Ping the Chanyu Huhanye came to court every year, submitted tribute, declared himself a subject, and frontier alarms fell silent. Why was this? Because when Emperor Wen faced Junchen at his height, he entrusted men abroad and cultivated government at home, so the nomads could not inflict deep harm—this came from virtue. Ai and Ping ruled when Huhanye was weak; though they had no good generals abroad and no worthy ministers at home, his coming to court depended on the times. Our realm is no smaller than the Han empire, and Your Majesty's sagacity is surely no less than Emperor Wen's. The Khitan are not as strong as the Chanyu Junchen was; even if they harass the border, could they bring patrol riders to Yong and set fires at Sweet Springs? That too depends on trusting the right men abroad and cultivating virtue at home. I believe that externally we should concentrate military force and empower generals, stop petty officials from meddling in frontier intelligence, use spies to split their factions, and send Zhao Baozhong and Zhe Yuqing to lead their troops in coordinated pressure. Issue an edict to stir the border peoples, making clear that recovering the old Yan and Ji territories is not greed for land; internally reduce offices to ease expenditures, restrain literati to rouse warriors, trust great ministers for counsel, spurn empty reputation, and forbid idleness to strengthen the people's resources." The emperor praised it highly. Together with Xiahou Jiazheng, Luo Chuyue, and Du Hao he petitioned to collate the Three Histories jointly, correcting numerous passages.

二年，親試貢士，召禹偁，賦詩立就。上悅曰：「此不逾月遍天下矣。」即拜左司諫、知制誥。是冬，京城旱，禹偁疏云：「一穀不收謂之饉，五穀不收謂之饑。饉則大夫以下，皆損其祿；饑則盡無祿，廩食而已。今旱雲未霑，宿麥未茁，既無積蓄，民饑可憂。望下詔直云：『君臣之間，政教有闕，自乘輿服御，下至百官奉料，非宿衛軍士、邊庭將帥，悉第減之，上答天譴，下厭人心，俟雨足復故。』臣朝行中家最貧，奉最薄，亦願首減奉，以贖耗蠹之咎。外則停歲市之物；內則罷工巧之伎。近城掘土，侵塚墓者瘞之；外州配隸之眾，非贓盜者釋之。然後以古者猛虎渡河、飛蝗越境之事，戒敕州縣官吏。其餘軍民刑政之弊，非臣所知者，望委宰臣裁議頒行，但感人心，必召和氣。」

In the second year, at the imperial examination of tribute scholars, Yucheng was summoned and composed a poem immediately. The emperor said with delight, "Within a month this will be known throughout the realm." He was immediately made left secretariat remonstrator and drafter of edicts. That winter drought struck the capital; Yucheng memorialized: "When one crop fails it is called scarcity; when all five grains fail it is famine. In scarcity, officials from grandee down should reduce their salaries; in famine they should receive no salary at all, only granary rations. Now the drought clouds have not brought rain, the winter wheat has not sprouted, reserves are gone, and the people's hunger is deeply worrying. I ask that Your Majesty issue a plain edict: 'Between ruler and ministers there are failings in government and teaching; from the imperial carriage and wardrobe down to officials' salaries—except palace guards and frontier commanders—reduce all by degrees, to answer heaven's reproof above and satisfy the people below, restoring former levels when rain returns.' Among my colleagues at court my family is the poorest and my salary the smallest; I too ask to be the first to cut my pay, to atone for having consumed the state's resources. Externally suspend the annual tribute markets; internally halt artisan crafts and displays of luxury. Where earth is dug near the city and graves are disturbed, see that they are properly reburied; release from penal service in the outer prefectures all who are not guilty of theft or corruption. Then warn prefectural and county officials with the ancient examples of tigers crossing rivers and locusts crossing borders without restraint. As for other abuses in military and civil administration beyond my knowledge, I ask that the chief ministers deliberate and issue orders; if the people's hearts are touched, harmonious qi will surely follow."

未幾，判大理寺，廬州妖尼道安誣訟徐鉉，道安當反坐，有詔勿治。禹偁抗疏雪鉉，請論道安罪，坐貶商州團練副使，歲餘移解州。四年，召拜左正言，上以其性剛直不容物，命宰相戒之。直昭文館，丐外任以便奉養，得知單州，賜錢三十萬。至郡十五日，召為禮部員外郎，再知制誥。屢獻討李繼遷便宜，以為繼遷不必勞力而誅，自可用計而取。謂宜明數繼遷罪惡，曉諭蕃漢，垂立賞賜，高與官資，則繼遷身首，不梟即擒矣。其後潘羅支射死繼遷，夏人款附，卒如禹偁策。

Soon afterward he was assigned to the Court of Judicial Review; the sorceress nun Dao'an of Luzhou brought a false suit against Xu Xuan, and though Dao'an should have been punished in turn, an edict forbade prosecution. Yucheng submitted a forceful memorial to vindicate Xu Xuan and demanded that Dao'an be punished; he was demoted to vice commissioner of militia training at Shangzhou and, after a year, transferred to Xiezhou. In the fourth year he was recalled as left rectifier; because his nature was blunt and uncompromising, the emperor told the chief minister to warn him. Attached to the Zhaowen Hall, he asked for an outside post to support his parents, was made prefect of Shanzhou, and granted three hundred thousand cash. Fifteen days after reaching his post he was recalled as vice director in the Ministry of Rites and again made drafter of edicts. He repeatedly submitted plans for dealing with Li Jiqian, arguing that Jiqian need not be destroyed by force but could be taken by strategy. He urged that Jiqian's crimes be proclaimed openly, that both Tangut and Han be informed, that rich rewards and high office be promised—then Jiqian's head would either be displayed or he would be captured alive. Later Pan Luozhi shot and killed Jiqian, the Xia submitted, and events unfolded exactly as Yucheng had predicted.

「一曰謹邊防，通盟好，使輦運之民有所休息。方今北有契丹，西有繼遷。契丹雖不侵邊，戍兵豈能減削？繼遷既未歸命，饋餉固難寢停。關輔之民，倒懸尤甚。臣愚以為宜敕封疆之吏，致書遼臣，俾達其主，請尋舊好。下詔赦繼遷罪，復與夏臺。彼必感恩內附，且使天下知陛下屈己而為民也。

"First: guard the frontier carefully, restore friendly relations, and give the transport-corvee people a chance to rest. Today we face the Khitan in the north and Jiqian in the west. Even if the Khitan do not raid the border, how can frontier garrisons be cut? As long as Jiqian has not submitted, supply convoys cannot cease. The people of the capital region suffer most grievously under this burden. I believe border officials should be ordered to write to Liao ministers, have them convey the message to their ruler, and seek restoration of the old friendship. Issue an edict pardoning Jiqian's crimes and restore his Xia title. They will surely submit in gratitude, and all the realm will see that Your Majesty humbles himself for the people's sake.

二曰減冗兵，併冗吏，使山澤之饒，稍流於下。當乾德、開寶之時，土地未廣，財賦未豐，然而擊河東，備北鄙，國用未足，兵威亦強，其義安在？由所蓄之兵銳而不眾，所用之將專而不疑故也。自後盡取東南數國，又平河東，土地財賦，可謂廣且豐矣，而兵威不振，國用轉急，其義安在？由所蓄之兵冗而不盡銳，所用之將眾而不自專故也。臣愚以為宜經制兵賦，如開寶中，則可高枕而治矣。且開寶中設官至少。臣本魯人，占籍濟上，未及第時，一州止有刺史一人、司戶一人，當時未嘗闕事。自後有團練推官一人，太平興國中，增置通判、副使、判官、推官，而監酒、榷稅算又增四員。曹官之外，更益司理。問其租稅，減於曩日也；問其人民，逃於昔時也。一州既爾，天下可知。冗吏耗於上，冗兵耗於下，此所以盡取山澤之利，而不能足也。夫山澤之利，與民共之。自漢以來，取為國用，不可棄也；然亦不可盡也。只如茶法，從古無稅，唐元和中，以用兵齊、蔡，始稅茶。《唐史》稱是歲得錢四十萬貫，今則數百萬矣，民何以堪？臣故曰減冗兵，併冗吏，使山澤之饒，稍流於下者此也。

Second: cut redundant troops, consolidate redundant officials, and let the wealth of mountains and marshes reach the people below. In the Qiande and Kaibao eras territory was smaller and revenues thinner, yet they struck Hedong and guarded the north; state funds were tight yet military power was strong—why? Because the troops kept were few but sharp, and the generals employed were given full trust without suspicion. Later the court conquered the southeastern states and pacified Hedong; territory and revenue are now broad and rich, yet military power has not revived and state funds grow tighter—why? Because the troops kept are numerous but not all elite, and the generals employed are many but not given independent authority. I believe troops and tax levies should be reorganized as in the Kaibao era, and then the throne could rule with ease. In the Kaibao era the fewest offices were established. I am a native of Lu, registered in Jizhou; before I passed the examinations our prefecture had only one inspector and one revenue registrar, yet nothing was left undone. Later a militia-training investigating officer was added; in the Taiping Xingguo era came the vice commissioner, deputy, judge, and investigating officer, and wine supervision and tax monopoly offices added four more posts. Beyond the bureau staff, a judicial reviewer was added as well. Ask about its tax revenue—it is less than before; ask about its people—they have fled compared with earlier times. If one prefecture is like this, the whole realm may be inferred. Redundant officials drain resources above and redundant troops below—that is why even exhausting the wealth of mountains and marshes cannot make ends meet. The wealth of mountains and marshes ought to be shared with the people. Since Han times, these revenues have been drawn for state use, and they cannot simply be abandoned; yet neither should they be exhausted to the last drop. Consider the tea tax alone: from antiquity tea went untaxed, but in the Yuanhe era of the Tang, when troops were sent against Qi and Cai, taxation on tea was introduced for the first time. The History of Tang records that the levy brought in four hundred thousand strings of cash that year; today it runs to several million. How can the people endure it? That is why I again urge reducing redundant troops and consolidating redundant officials, so that some of the wealth of mountains and marshes may flow down to the people.

三曰艱難選舉，使入官不濫。古者鄉舉里選，為官擇人，士君子學行修於家，然後薦之朝廷，歷代雖有沿革，未嘗遠去其道。隋、唐始有科試，太祖之世，每歲進士不過三十人，經學五十人。重以諸侯不得奏辟，士大夫罕有資蔭，故有終身不獲一第，沒齒不獲一官者。太宗毓德王藩，睹其如此。臨御之後，不求備以取人，舍短用長，拔十得五。在位將逾二紀，登第殆近萬人，雖有俊傑之才，亦有容易而得。臣愚以為數百年之艱難，故先帝濟之以泛取，二十載之霈澤，陛下宜糾之以舊章，望以舉場還有司，如故事。至於吏部銓官，亦非帝王躬親之事，自來五品已下，謂之旨授官，今幕職、州縣而已，京官雖有選限，多不施行。臣愚以為宜以吏部還有司，依格敕注擬可也。

Third, make the path to office difficult, so that appointment to office is not promiscuous. In antiquity men were chosen through village recommendation and neighborhood selection: gentlemen cultivated learning and character at home before being recommended to the court. Though successive dynasties changed the system in detail, none ever strayed far from this principle. The Sui and Tang introduced civil examinations; in Taizu's reign only about thirty jinshi and fifty classics graduates passed each year. Added to this, feudal lords could no longer recommend candidates by memorial, and few scholar-officials enjoyed hereditary privilege; some went their whole lives without passing an examination, or died without ever holding office. While Taizong was still a prince cultivating virtue in his fief, he saw this state of affairs. After he took the throne, he did not demand perfection in those he chose; he overlooked minor faults to use men's strengths, and of every ten candidates he raised, five proved worthy. In nearly two decades on the throne, almost ten thousand men passed the examinations—among them were outstanding talents, but also many who had obtained degrees too easily. I humbly believe that centuries of scarcity were remedied by the former emperor's policy of broad recruitment; after twenty years of that generous indulgence, Your Majesty ought to restore the old rules and return control of the examinations to the proper agencies, as precedent dictates. The Ministry of Personnel's appointment of officials is likewise no business for the emperor to handle personally. From of old, posts of fifth rank and below were known as appointments by imperial order; today that means only secretarial and local posts. Though metropolitan officials have term limits on paper, they are seldom enforced. I believe the Ministry of Personnel should likewise be left to the proper agencies, with appointments made according to the regulations and edicts.

四曰沙汰僧尼，使疲民無耗。夫古者惟有四民，兵不在其數。蓋古者井田之法，農即兵也。自秦以來，戰士不服農業，是四民之外，又生一民，故農益困。然執干戈衛社稷，理不可去。漢明之後，佛法流入中國，度人修寺，歷代增加。不蠶而衣，不耕而食，是五民之外，又益一而為六矣。假使天下有萬僧，日食米一升，歲用絹一匹，是至儉也，猶月費三千斛，歲用萬縑，何況五七萬輩哉。不曰民蠹得乎？臣愚以為國家度人眾矣，造寺多矣，計其費耗，何啻億萬。先朝不豫，舍施又多，佛若有靈，豈不蒙福？事佛無效，斷可知矣。願陛下深鑒治本，亟行沙汰，如以嗣位之初，未欲驚駭此輩，且可以二十載，不度人修寺，使自銷鑠，亦救弊之一端也

Fourth, cull monks and nuns, so that the burdened populace is not further drained. In antiquity there were only four classes of people; the military was not counted as a separate class. Under the ancient well-field system, the farmer was also the soldier. Since the Qin, warriors no longer worked the land—a fifth class arose beyond the four, and the burden on farmers grew heavier. Yet those who bear arms to defend the realm cannot in principle be dispensed with. After Emperor Ming of Han, Buddhism entered China; ordinations and temple-building multiplied with each dynasty. They wove no silk yet wore robes, tilled no fields yet ate grain—a sixth class beyond the five. Suppose the realm held ten thousand monks, each consuming a sheng of rice a day and a bolt of silk a year—the most Spartan allowance imaginable—still three thousand hu of grain per month and ten thousand bolts of silk per year would be consumed. What of fifty or seventy thousand monks? Is this not plainly a drain upon the people? I believe the state has ordained too many monks and built too many temples; their cost runs to hundreds of millions. When the late emperor fell ill, still more donations were made; if the Buddha possessed spiritual power, would he not already have bestowed his blessing? That worship of Buddha avails nothing is plainly evident. I pray Your Majesty will look to the root of the problem and act swiftly to cull their numbers. If you do not yet wish to alarm them at the start of your reign, forbid ordinations and new temples for twenty years and let the order dwindle on its own—that alone would be one remedy for this ill.

五曰親大臣，遠小人，使忠良蹇諤之士，知進而不疑，姦憸傾巧之徒，知退而有懼。夫君為元首，臣為股肱，言同體也。得其人則勿疑，非其人則不用。凡議帝王之盛者，豈不曰堯、舜之時，契作司徒，咎繇作士，伯夷典禮，后夔典樂，禹平水土，益作虞官。委任責成，而堯有知人任賢之德。雖然，堯之道遠矣，臣請以近事言之。唐元和中，憲宗嘗命裴垍銓品庶官，垍曰：『天子擇宰相，宰相擇諸司長官，長官自擇僚屬，則上下不疑，而政成矣。』識者以垍為知言。願陛下遠取帝堯，近鑒唐室，既得宰相，用而不疑。使宰相擇諸司長官，長官自取僚屬，則垂拱而治矣。古者刑人不在君側，《語》曰：『放鄭聲，遠佞人。』是以周文王左右，無可結襪者，言皆賢也。夫小人巧言令色，先意希旨，事必害正，心惟忌賢，非聖明不能深察。舊制，南班三品，尚書方得升殿；比來三班奉職，或因遣使，亦許升殿，惑亂天聽，無甚於此。願陛下振舉紀綱，尊嚴視聽，在此時矣。

Fifth, keep close to great ministers and hold petty men at arm's length, so that loyal and upright men know they may advance without fear, and the wicked, fawning, and scheming know they must retreat in dread. The ruler is the head and ministers the limbs—they form one body. When the right man is found, do not doubt him; when the wrong man appears, do not employ him. Whoever speaks of an emperor's greatness invokes the age of Yao and Shun—when Qi served as Minister of Education, Gao Yao as Minister of Crime, Bo Yi overseer of rites, Hou Kui of music, Yu who tamed the floods, and Yi superintendent of forestry. Each was entrusted with responsibility and held accountable—and thus Yao earned his renown for discerning talent and putting the worthy to use. Yet the way of Yao lies far in the past; let me speak from more recent history. In the Yuanhe era, Emperor Xianzong once charged Pei Ji with rating officials of all ranks. Pei Ji said: "Let the Son of Heaven choose the chancellor; let the chancellor choose the bureau heads; let the heads choose their own staff—then there will be no suspicion between high and low, and governance will succeed." Men of judgment regarded Pei Ji as one who spoke wisely. I pray Your Majesty will look back to Emperor Yao and take recent Tang history as a mirror: once you have found your chancellor, use him without hesitation. Let the chancellor pick the bureau heads and the heads pick their own staff, and you may govern with hands folded in repose. In antiquity, men who had suffered punishment did not serve at the ruler's side. The Analects says: "Banish the licentious music of Zheng; keep sycophants at a distance." Hence at King Wen of Zhou's side there was no one whose talents ran only to tying socks—every man near him was worthy. Petty men speak cleverly and look pleasant; they anticipate the ruler's wishes and seek to flatter. Their deeds inevitably harm the upright, and their hearts are consumed with envy of the worthy—only a sage ruler can see through them. By old custom, among officials of the Southern Rank, only those of Director rank and above were permitted to ascend to the imperial hall; Recently even attendants of the third rank of the three classes, merely because they had been sent on errands, have been allowed into the hall—nothing confuses the imperial ear more than this. I pray Your Majesty will restore discipline and dignity to what reaches your eyes and ears—now is the moment.

臣愚又以為今之所急，在先議兵，使眾寡得其宜，措置得其道。然後議吏，使清濁殊塗，品流不雜，然後艱選舉以塞其源，禁僧尼以去其耗，自然國用足而王道行矣。」

I further believe that what is most urgent today is to address the military first—so that force is sized appropriately and deployed rightly. Then address officialdom, so that the worthy and the unworthy travel separate paths and ranks are kept pure; then tighten examinations to choke off abuse at the source and restrict monks and nuns to remove the drain. State revenue will naturally suffice and the royal way will prevail."

疏奏，召還，復知制誥。

When the memorial was submitted, he was recalled and restored to his post as Drafting Officer for Edicts.

咸平初，預修《太祖實錄》，直書其事。時宰相張齊賢、李沆不協，意禹偁議論輕重其間。出知黃州，嘗作《三黜賦》以見志。其卒章云：「屈於身而不屈於道兮，雖百謫而何虧！」

Early in the Xianping era he helped compile the Veritable Records of Taizu, recording events without evasion. The chancellors Zhang Qixian and Li Hang were then at odds, and they suspected Yucheng's judgments in the record had tipped the balance between them. He was posted out as prefect of Huangzhou, where he wrote the "Rhapsody on Three Dismissals" to declare his convictions. Its closing lines read: "The body may bow, but the Way will not—though banished a hundred times, what have I lost?"

三年，濮州盜夜入城，略知州王守信、監軍王昭度，禹偁聞而奏疏，略曰：「伏以體國經野，王者保邦之制也。《易》曰：『王公設險，以守其國。』自五季亂離，各據城壘，豆分瓜剖，七十餘年。太祖、太宗，削平僭偽，天下一家。當時議者，乃令江淮諸郡毀城隍、收兵甲、徹武備者，二十餘年。書生領州，大郡給二十人，小郡減五人，以充常從。號曰長吏，實同旅人；名為郡城，蕩若平地。雖則尊京師而抑郡縣，為強幹弱枝之術，亦匪得其中道也。臣比在滁州，值發兵挽漕，關城無人守禦，止以白直代主開閉，城池頹圮，鎧仗不完。及徙維揚，稱為重鎮，乃與滁州無異。嘗出鎧甲三十副，與巡警使臣，彀弩張弓，十損四五，蓋不敢擅有修治，上下因循，遂至於此。今黃州城雉器甲，復不及滁、揚。萬一水旱為災，盜賊竊發，雖思禦備，何以枝梧。蓋太祖削諸侯跋扈之勢，太宗杜僭偽覬望之心，不得不爾。其如設法救世，久則弊生，救弊之道，在乎從宜。疾若轉規，固不可膠柱而鼓瑟也。今江、淮諸州，大患有三：城池墮圮，一也；兵仗不完，二也；軍不服習，三也；濮賊之興，慢防可見。望陛下特紆宸斷，許江、淮諸郡，酌民戶眾寡，城池大小，並置守捉。軍士多不過五百人，閱習弓劍，然後漸葺城壁，繕完甲胄，則郡國有禦侮之備，長吏免剽略之虞矣。」疏奏，上嘉納之。

In his third year there, bandits broke into Puzhou by night and carried off Prefect Wang Shouxin and Army Supervisor Wang Zhaodu. On hearing this, Yucheng submitted a memorial that began: "Your subject submits that organizing the state and governing the realm is the sovereign's means of securing the country. The Book of Changes says: "Kings and dukes establish defenses to guard their domains." Since the chaos of the Five Dynasties, when each warlord held his own fortress and the land was carved up like beans in a dish, more than seventy years have passed. Taizu and Taizong suppressed the usurpers and reunified the realm. The policy advisers of that day ordered the Jiang and Huai prefectures to dismantle city walls, collect weapons, and strip defenses—a policy pursued for more than twenty years. Scholar-officials governed the prefectures; large ones received twenty retainers, smaller ones fifteen, to serve as regular attendants. In name they were prefectural magistrates; in fact they were little more than passers-through; in name they were walled cities; in truth they lay open as flat fields. Though this elevated the capital at the expense of the prefectures—the classic "strong trunk, weak branches" strategy—it missed the middle path. When I was at Chuzhou, troops were conscripted for grain transport, leaving the city gates unmanned; raw recruits merely opened and closed them. The walls crumbled and armor and weapons lay in disrepair. When I was transferred to Yangzhou, though it was considered a major stronghold, conditions were no different from Chuzhou. I once issued thirty suits of armor to a patrol commissioner; when his men tried to cock crossbows and draw bows, four or five in ten failed. No one dared repair equipment without authorization, and complacency at every level had brought things to this pass. Today at Huangzhou, walls and armor are in even worse shape than at Chuzhou or Yangzhou. Should flood or drought strike, or bandits rise, even the will to defend would avail nothing—what could be done to resist? Taizu had to curb the overweening power of regional lords; Taizong had to suppress the lingering ambitions of the old usurpers. Circumstances left them no choice. Yet laws made to save the age, maintained too long, breed new abuses; the remedy lies in adapting to circumstance. Change must come as swiftly as a wheel's turn; one cannot play the zither with pegs glued in place. The Jiang and Huai prefectures suffer three grave ills: first, crumbling walls and moats; second, deficient weapons and armor; third, troops untrained for war. The Puzhou incident shows plainly where lax defense leads. I pray Your Majesty will deign to authorize each Jiang and Huai prefecture, according to its population and the size of its walls, to establish garrison forces. Garrisons need be no larger than five hundred men, trained in bow and sword; walls can then be gradually repaired and armor restored—giving the prefectures the means to repel attack and sparing their magistrates the fear of abduction." The memorial was submitted and the emperor approved it with praise.

四年，州境二虎鬥，其一死，食之殆半。群雞夜鳴，經月不止。冬雷暴作。禹偁手疏引《洪範傳》陳戒，且自劾；上遣內侍乘驛勞問，醮禳之，詢日官，云：「守土者當其咎。」上惜禹偁才，是日，命徙蘄州。禹偁上表謝，有「宣室鬼神之問，不望生還；茂陵封禪之書，止期身後」之語。上異之，果至郡未逾月而卒，年四十八。訃聞，甚悼之，厚賻其家。賜一子出身。

In his fourth year there, two tigers fought within the prefecture; one was killed and nearly half its body consumed. Flocks of roosters crowed through the night, unabated for a full month. Winter brought violent thunderstorms. Yucheng submitted a personal memorial citing the Commentary on the Hong Fan to set forth omens as warnings, and impeached himself as well; the emperor sent a palace attendant by express relay to inquire after him and ordered exorcistic rites. When he consulted the calendar officials, they said: "The blame falls on the official who holds the land." The emperor valued Yucheng's talent, and that same day ordered his transfer to Qizhou. Yucheng submitted a memorial of thanks containing the lines "Like the questioning of ghost and spirit in the Xuan Room, I expect no return to life; Like the fengshan memorial at Maoling, destined only for after my death." The emperor was struck by this, and indeed Yucheng died less than a month after reaching his new post, at the age of forty-eight. When word of his death arrived, the emperor mourned him deeply and granted his family a generous award. He granted one of his sons qualification for office.

禹偁詞學敏贍，遇事敢言，喜臧否人物，以直躬行道為己任。嘗云：「吾若生元和時，從事於李絳、崔群間，斯無愧矣。」其為文著書，多涉規諷，以是頗為流俗所不容，故屢見擯斥。所與遊必儒雅，後進有詞藝者，極意稱揚之。如孫何、丁謂輩，多遊其門。有《小畜集》二十卷、《承明集》十卷、《集議》十卷、詩三卷。子嘉祐、嘉言俱知名。

Yucheng was a fluent and prolific writer who spoke boldly when occasion demanded, delighted in appraising the character of others, and held integrity and moral rectitude as his personal duty. He once said: "Had I lived in the Yuanhe era and served alongside Li Jiang and Cui Qun, I would have nothing to regret." His essays and books were largely satirical and admonitory; conventional society could not abide him, and he was repeatedly cast aside. He associated only with learned and cultivated men, and praised aspiring writers to the utmost. Sun He, Ding Wei, and others of that generation often gathered at his door. He left behind the Collection of Small Accumulations in twenty scrolls, the Chenming Collection in ten, the Collected Discussions in ten, and three scrolls of poetry. His sons Jiayou and Jiayan both achieved renown.

嘉祐為館職，寇準曰：「吾尹京，外議云何？」對曰：「人言丈人且入相。」準曰：「於吾子意何如？」嘉祐曰：「以愚觀之，不若不為相之善也，相則譽望損矣。自古賢相，所以能建功業、澤生民者，其君臣相得，如魚之有水，故言聽計從，而臣主俱榮。今丈人負天下重望，中外有太平之責焉，丈人於明主，能若魚之有水乎？」準大喜，執其手曰：「元之雖文章冠天下，至於深識遠慮，或不逮吾子也。」嘉祐官不顯。

Jiayou held a post in the Hanlin Academy. Kou Zhun asked him: "I am governing the capital—what are people saying outside?" He replied: "People say you are about to become chancellor." Kou Zhun asked: "What is your view of that?" Jiayou said: "In my humble judgment, it would be better if you did not take the post. Chancellor would diminish your standing. Throughout history great chancellors have achieved lasting work and served the people because ruler and minister harmonized like fish and water—counsel was heeded, plans followed, and both prospered. You bear the highest reputation in the realm, and both court and country look to you for peace. With this enlightened sovereign, can you truly be like fish in water?" Kou Zhun was delighted and took his hand. "Though Yuanzhi's prose tops the realm, in depth of insight and breadth of vision he may not match you." Jiayou's official career never rose to prominence.

嘉言以進士第為江都簿，真宗嘗觀禹偁奏章，嗟美切直，因訪其後，宰相以嘉言聞。即召對，擢大理評事，至殿中侍御史。曾孫汾舉進士甲科，仕至工部侍郎，入元祐黨籍。

Jiayan, a jinshi graduate, served as clerk of Jiangdu. When Zhenzong read Wang Yucheng's memorials and admired their forthright candor, he asked who had succeeded him; the chancellor named Jiayan. He was immediately called to court, made Assistant Administrator of the Court of Judicial Review, and eventually Attendant Censor within the Palace. A great-grandson, Fen, earned top honors on the jinshi examination, rose to Vice Minister of Works, and was later listed among the Yuanyou partisans.

張詠，字復之，濮州鄄城人。少任氣，不拘小節，雖貧賤客遊，未嘗下人。太平興國五年，郡舉進士，議以詠首薦。有夙儒張覃者未第，詠與寇準致書郡將，薦覃為首，眾許其能讓。是歲，詠登進士乙科，大理評事、知鄂州崇陽縣。再遷著作佐郎。以蘇易簡薦，入為太子中允，遷秘書丞、通判麟相二州，乞掌濮州市征以便養。俄召還，賜緋魚，知浚儀縣。會李沆、宋湜、寇準連薦其才，以為荊湖北路轉運使，奏罷歸、峽二州水遞夫，就轉太常博士。

Zhang Yong, courtesy name Fuzhi, was a native of Juancheng in Pu Prefecture. As a young man he was spirited and scorned small proprieties; even when poor and traveling far from home, he never humbled himself before others. In the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo, when the prefecture put forward jinshi candidates, the plan was to recommend Yong at the head of the list. An elderly scholar, Zhang Tan, had repeatedly failed the examinations; Yong and Kou Zhun wrote the prefectural commander urging that Tan be placed first, and everyone admired Yong's willingness to stand aside. That year Yong passed the jinshi examination in the second tier and was appointed Assistant Administrator of the Court of Judicial Review and magistrate of Chongyang County in E Prefecture. He was later promoted to Assistant Academician of Writings. Recommended by Su Yijian, he was summoned to court as Palace Companion to the Heir Apparent, then made Secretariat Director and Vice-Prefect of Lin and Xiang Prefectures; he asked to administer the market taxes of Pu Prefecture so he could care for his parents nearby. Before long he was recalled to the capital, granted the scarlet fish tally of a higher-ranking official, and appointed magistrate of Junyi County. Li Hang, Song Mo, and Kou Zhun then recommended him in succession, and he was appointed Transport Intendant of the Jinghu North Circuit. He memorialized to abolish the water courier corvée in Gui and Xia Prefectures and was soon transferred to Academician Expositor of the Five Classics.

太宗聞其強幹，召還，超拜虞部郎中，賜金紫。旬日，與向敏中並擢為樞密直學士、同知銀臺台通進封駁司兼掌三班院。張永德為幷代部署，有小校犯法，笞之至死，詔案其罪。詠封還詔書，且言：「陛下方委永德邊任，若以一部校故，推辱主帥，臣恐下有輕上之心。」太宗不從。未幾，果有營兵脅訴軍校者，詠引前事為言，太宗改容勞之。

Taizong, hearing of his exceptional competence, recalled him and skipped the usual steps to appoint him Director of the Bureau of Revenues, granting him the gold seal and purple robes. Within ten days he and Xiang Minzhong were both elevated to Hanlin Academicians of the Privy Council, made Associate Directors of the Silver Terrace Office for Memorial Transmission and Review, and put jointly in charge of the Three Classes Court. Zhang Yongde held command over Bing and Dai; a junior officer broke the law and was beaten to death, and the throne ordered an inquiry into the offense. Yong sealed the edict and sent it back, writing: "Your Majesty has only just entrusted Yongde with frontier command. To disgrace the commanding general over one junior officer, I fear, will teach the ranks below to hold their sovereign cheaply." Taizong would not be persuaded. Not long afterward, garrison troops did in fact band together to bring suits against their officers. Yong invoked the earlier case, and Taizong's face softened as he praised him.

出知益州，時李順構亂，王繼恩、上官正總兵攻討，頓師不進。詠以言激正，勉其親行，仍盛為供帳餞之。酒酣，舉爵屬軍校曰：「汝曹蒙國厚恩，無以塞責，此行當直抵寇壘，平蕩醜類。若老師曠日，即此地還為爾死所矣。」正由是決行深入，大致克捷。繼恩帳下卒縋城夜遁，吏執以告。詠不欲與繼恩失歡，即命縶投眢井，人無知者。時寇略之際，民多脅從，詠移文諭以朝廷恩信，使各歸田里。且曰：「前日李順脅民為賊，今日吾化賊為民，不亦可乎？」時民間訛言，有白頭翁午後食人兒女，一郡囂然。至暮，路無行人，既而得造訛者戮之，民遂帖息。詠曰：「妖訛之興，沴氣乘之，妖則有形，訛則有聲，止訛之術，在乎識斷，不在乎厭勝也。」

He was sent out to govern Yizhou. Li Shun had risen in rebellion, and though Wang Jien and Shangguan Zheng commanded the punitive force, the army stalled and would not advance. Yong goaded Zheng with sharp words, pressed him to lead the advance in person, and staged an elaborate farewell banquet in his honor. When the wine was flowing, he raised his cup to the officers and said: "You owe the state a heavy debt of grace and have yet to repay it. This campaign must carry you straight to the rebel camps and wipe the enemy out. If you drag the campaign out day after day, this very ground will become the place where you die." Zheng took this to heart, marched deep into enemy territory, and won a decisive victory. One of Jien's men lowered himself over the wall and fled by night; the local officers caught him and reported the escape. Unwilling to offend Jien, Yong had the man bound and thrown down an abandoned well, and no one was the wiser. While rebels were marauding, many people had been forced to join them; Yong issued a proclamation invoking the court's mercy and trustworthiness and sent them back to their farms and homes. He added: "Yesterday Li Shun forced the people into rebellion; today I am turning rebels back into subjects. Is that not fitting?" A wild rumor then swept the countryside that a white-haired old man was devouring children in the afternoon, and the whole prefecture erupted in panic. By evening the roads were empty; once the rumor-monger was found and executed, the people calmed down. Yong said: "When strange rumors arise, they feed on the mood of the times. Omens take visible form; rumors take audible shape. The way to stop them is clear judgment, not charms and exorcisms."

初，蜀士知向學，而不樂仕宦。詠察郡人張及、李畋、張逵者皆有學行，為鄉里所稱；遂敦勉就舉，而三人者悉登科，士由是知勸。民有諜訴者，詠灼見情偽，立為判決，人皆厭服。好事者編集其辭，鏤板傳布。詠嘗曰：「詢君子得君子，詢小人得小人，各就其黨詢之，則無不審矣。」其為政，恩威並用，蜀民畏而愛之。丁外艱，起復，改兵部郎中。會詔川、陝諸州參用銅鐵錢，每銅錢一當鐵錢十。詠上言：「昨經利州，以銅錢一換鐵錢五，綿州銅錢一換鐵錢六，益州銅錢一換鐵錢八。若一其法，公私非便。望依旬估折納銅錢。」

At first the scholars of Shu valued learning but had little taste for public office. Yong noticed that three local men—Zhang Ji, Li Tian, and Zhang Kui—were learned and upright and widely respected in their communities; he earnestly urged them to sit for the examinations, and all three passed; from then on local scholars took the cue. When people brought accusations of espionage, Yong saw through the truth at once, ruled on the spot, and left everyone convinced. Admirers collected his rulings, had them carved on printing blocks, and circulated them widely. Yong once said: "Ask gentlemen and you hear from gentlemen; ask petty men and you hear from petty men. Question each side among its own kind, and the truth will out every time." In governing he combined mercy with force, and the people of Shu feared him even as they loved him. When his father died he entered mourning, but was recalled before it ended and made Director of the Bureau of Military Appointments. An edict then ordered the Sichuan and Shaanxi prefectures to use copper and iron coin side by side, fixing the rate at one copper coin to ten iron coins. Yong memorialized the throne: "On my recent route through Lizhou, one copper coin fetched five iron coins; in Mianzhou, six; in Yizhou, eight. A single fixed rate would work hardship on both the government and the people. I ask that copper payments be assessed according to the prevailing ten-day market rate."

五年，馬知節自益徙延州，朝議擇可代者。真宗以詠前在蜀治行優異，復命知益州，仍加刑部侍郎、樞密直學士，就遷吏部侍郎。轉運使黃觀上其治狀，有詔褒美。會遣謝濤巡撫西蜀，上因令傳諭詠曰：「得卿在蜀，朕無西顧之憂矣。」歸朝，復掌三班，領登聞檢院。

In the fifth year Ma Zhijie was moved from Yizhou to Yanzhou, and the court debated who should succeed him. Zhenzong, remembering Yong's distinguished record in Shu, sent him back to govern Yizhou, added the titles Vice Minister of Justice and Hanlin Academician of the Privy Council, and promoted him to Vice Minister of Personnel. Transport Intendant Huang Guan reported on his administration, and the throne issued a decree of commendation. When Xie Tao was sent to inspect western Shu, the emperor asked him to tell Yong: "With you in Shu, I need not look over my shoulder to the west." Back at court, he again managed the Three Classes Court and headed the Dengwen Inspection Court.

詠中歲瘍生腦，頗妨巾櫛，求知潁州。真宗以其公直，有時望，再任益部，皆以政績聞，不當蒞小郡。令中書召問，將委以青杜或真定，令其自擇。詠辭不就，遂命知昇州。大中祥符初，加左丞。三年春，州民以詠秩滿借留，就轉工部尚書，令再任。是秋，以江左旱歉，命充昇、宣等十州安撫使，進禮部。上聞詠腦瘍甚，憫之，令薛映馳驛代還。以疾未見，恨不得面陳所蘊，乃抗論言：「近年虛國帑藏，竭生民膏血，以奉無用之土木，皆賊臣丁謂、王欽若啟上侈心之為也。不誅死，無以謝天下”」章三上，出知陳州。

In middle age a festering sore on his head made grooming painful, and he asked to be sent to Ying Prefecture. Zhenzong considered him upright, widely respected, and proven in two terms governing Shu; a minor prefecture was beneath him. He ordered the Secretariat to summon Yong and offer him either Qingzhou or Zhending, letting him choose. Yong declined both posts, and was instead appointed prefect of Shengzhou. Early in the Dazhong Xiangfu era he was made Left Assistant Minister of the Secretariat. In the spring of the third year the people petitioned to keep him when his term expired; he was promoted to Minister of Works and asked to stay on. That autumn, drought and famine struck the lower Yangtze region, and he was made Pacification Commissioner for Sheng, Xuan, and eight other prefectures while being promoted to the Ministry of Rites. When the emperor learned how badly Yong's head ailment had worsened, he took pity on him and sent Xue Ying by express relay to relieve him and bring him home. Too ill to appear at court, he lamented that he could not speak his mind in person and submitted a blunt memorial: "In recent years the treasury has been drained and the people bled dry to pay for useless temples and palaces—all because the traitorous ministers Ding Wei and Wang Qinruo fed the emperor's taste for extravagance. Unless they are put to death, there is no answering to the realm." He submitted the memorial three times and was sent out to govern Chen Prefecture."

初，詠與青州傅霖少同學。霖隱不仕。詠既顯，求霖者三十年不可得，至是來謁。閽吏白傅霖請見，詠責之曰：「傅先生天下賢士，吾尚不得為友，汝何人，敢名之！」霖笑曰：「別子一世尚爾邪，是豈知世間有傅霖者乎？」詠問：「昔何隱，今何出？」霖曰：「子將去矣，來報子爾。」詠曰：「詠亦自知之。」霖曰：「知復何言。」翌日別去。後一月而詠卒，年七十。贈左僕射，諡忠定。

Yong had studied with Fu Lin of Qingzhou when they were young. Fu Lin lived in seclusion and never entered official life. Once Yong had risen to fame he searched for Fu Lin for thirty years without success; now Fu Lin came to see him. When the gatekeeper announced that Fu Lin wished to see him, Yong scolded him: "Master Fu is a sage of the realm; I am not worthy to call him friend—who are you to speak his given name so casually!" Fu Lin laughed. "We have been apart a lifetime and you are still like this—do you even know there is such a person as Fu Lin in the world?" Yong asked: "Why did you hide yourself before, and why have you come out now?" Fu Lin said: "You are about to go; I came to tell you so." Yong said: "I know that already." Fu Lin said: "If you know, what more is there to say?" The next day they said farewell and Fu Lin left. A month later Yong died, aged seventy. He was posthumously made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and given the posthumous name Zhongding, Loyal and Settled.

詠剛方自任，為治尚嚴猛，嘗有小吏忤詠，詠械其頸。吏恚曰：「非斬某，此枷終不脫。」詠怒其悖，即斬之。少學擊劍，慷慨好大言，樂為奇節。有士人遊宦遠郡，為僕夫所持，且欲得其女為妻，士人者不能制。詠遇於傳舍，知其事，即陽假此僕為馭，單騎出近郊，至林麓中，斬之而還。嘗謂其友人曰：「張詠幸生明時，讀典墳以自律，不爾，則為何人邪？」故其言曰：「事君者廉不言貧，勤不言苦，忠不言己效，公不言己能，斯可以事君矣。」性躁果卞急，病創甚，飲食則痛楚增劇，御下益峻，尤不喜人拜跪，命典客預戒止。有違者，詠即連拜不止，或倨坐罵之。真宗嘗稱其材任將帥，以疾不盡其用。自號「乖崖」，以為「乖」則違眾，「崖」不利物。有集十卷。弟詵，為虞部員外郎。

Yong was unyielding and self-willed, and his rule leaned toward severity. Once a junior clerk crossed him, and Yong clapped a cangue around his neck. The clerk snarled: "Unless you cut off my head, this cangue will never come off." Enraged by the insolence, Yong had him beheaded on the spot. In youth he trained in swordsmanship, spoke boldly and grandly, and loved striking deeds out of the ordinary. A scholar serving in a distant prefecture fell under the thumb of his servant, who also demanded the man's daughter in marriage, and the scholar could not stop him. Yong met them at a relay inn, learned what had happened, borrowed the servant on the pretext of needing a driver, rode alone into the nearby hills, cut off his head, and came back. He once told a friend: "Zhang Yong is lucky to live in an enlightened age and holds himself in check by reading the classics—otherwise, what sort of man would he become?" Hence his maxim: "In serving a ruler, be upright but do not speak of your poverty; be diligent but do not speak of your toil; be loyal but do not speak of your merit; be fair but do not speak of your talent—only then can you truly serve." He was by nature quick-tempered, fierce, and impatient; his wound grew worse whenever he ate, and he grew harsher with his staff. He particularly hated being bowed and knelt to, and ordered his protocol officer to warn visitors in advance. If anyone disobeyed, Yong would bow back at them without pause, or sit haughtily and berate them. Zhenzong once said his talents were equal to a general's command, but illness kept him from full use. He took the sobriquet "Perverse Cliff," explaining that to be perverse is to stand apart from the crowd, and a cliff is a place that benefits nothing. His collected writings ran to ten juan. His younger brother Shen was Vice Director in the Bureau of Revenues.

論曰：《傳》云：「邦有道，危言危行。」三人者，躬骨鯁蹇諤之節，蔚為名臣，所遇之時然也。禹偁製戎之策，厥後果符其言，而醇文奧學，為世宗仰。錫身沒之後，特降褒命，以賁直操，與夫容容嘿嘿，以持祿固位者異矣。詠所至以政績聞。天子嘗曰：「詠在蜀，吾無西顧之憂。」其被獎與如此。然皆骯髒自信，道不諧偶，故不極於用云。

The historians comment: The Classic says, "When the state is governed well, speak blunt truths and live by stern principles." These three embodied unyielding integrity and fearless remonstrance and rose to fame as great ministers—such was the age they lived in. Wang Yucheng's frontier policy later proved exactly as he had foretold, and with his polished prose and deep learning the age looked up to him. After Wang Xi's death a special decree honored his upright character—quite unlike those who murmur assent and cling to office for the salary. Wherever Yong served, his administrative record made his name. The emperor once said: "With Yong in Shu, I need not fear for the west." Such was the esteem in which he was held. Yet all were proud and uncompromising, ill suited to easy alliance with others, and so none was used to the full—such is the historians' verdict.

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