Volume 305 Biographies 64: Yang Yi, Chao Jiong, Liu Yun, Xue Ying

楊億，字大年，建州浦城人。祖文逸，南唐玉山令。億將生，文逸夢一道士，自稱懷玉山人來謁，未幾，億生，有毛被體，長尺餘，經月乃落。能言，母以小經口授，隨即成誦。七歲，能屬文，對客談論，有老成風。雍熙初，年十一，太宗聞其名，詔江南轉運使張去華就試詞藝，送闕下。連三日得對，試詩賦五篇，下筆立成。太宗深加賞異，命內侍都知王仁睿送至中書，又賦詩一章，宰相驚其俊異，削章為賀。翌日，下制曰：「汝方髫齔，不由師訓，精爽神助，文字生知。越景絕塵，一日千里，予有望於汝也。」即授秘書省正字，特賜袍笏。俄丁外艱，服除，會從祖徽之知許州，億往依焉。務學，晝夜不息，徽之間與語，歎曰：「興吾門者在汝矣。」

Yang Yi, styled Danian, came from Pucheng in Jianzhou. His grandfather Yang Wenyi had served as magistrate of Yushan under the Southern Tang. Shortly before Yi's birth, Wenyi dreamed of a Daoist who introduced himself as the Hermit of Mount Huaiyu coming to call. Soon afterward Yi was born with hair covering his body, more than a foot in length, which did not fall away until a month had passed. Once he could speak, his mother taught him the Minor Classics by recitation, and he mastered each passage as soon as he heard it. At seven he could already draft compositions, and when he conversed with guests he carried himself with uncanny maturity. Early in the Yongxi era, when he was eleven, Emperor Taizong heard of him and ordered the Jiangnan transport commissioner Zhang Quhua to examine his literary gifts locally and escort him to court. He was granted audience three days running and asked to produce five poems and fu compositions, each finished the moment he set brush to paper. Taizong was deeply impressed and had the chief eunuch Wang Renrui escort him to the Secretariat. Yi also composed a poem of his own, and the chief ministers, astonished at his brilliance, reshaped their memorials into letters of congratulation. The next day an edict declared: "You are still a child, yet without formal schooling your mind is keen—as if heaven itself assisted you—and you know the written word as if born to it. You leave the common herd far behind, advancing a thousand li in a single day. I place great hope in you." He was immediately appointed corrector in the Secretariat and was specially granted court robe and tablet. Soon afterward he entered mourning for his father. When the mourning period ended, his father's cousin Yang Huizhi was serving as prefect of Xuzhou, and Yi went to stay with him. He applied himself to study without pause by day or night. When Huizhi spoke with him privately he sighed and said, "You are the one who will restore our family's fortunes."

淳化中，詣闕獻文，改太常寺奉禮郎，仍令讀書秘閣。獻《二京賦》，命試翰林，賜進士第，遷光祿寺丞。屬後苑賞花曲宴，太宗召命賦詩於坐側；又上《金明池頌》，太宗誦其警句於宰相。明年三月，苑中曲宴，億復以詩獻。太宗訝有司不時召，宰相言：「舊制，未貼職者不預。」即以億直集賢院。表求歸鄉里，賜錢十五萬。至道初，太宗親製九弦琴、五弦阮，文士奏頌者眾，獨稱億為優，賜緋魚。二年春，遷著作佐郎，帝知其貧，屢有沾賚，嘗命為越王生辰使。時公卿表疏，多假文於億，名稱益著。

During the Chunhua era he went to court and presented his writings. He was promoted to ceremonial attendant in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and was permitted to continue his studies in the Imperial Library. He presented his "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals," was examined by the Hanlin Academy, was granted jinshi standing, and was promoted to vice-director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. During a musical banquet for flower-viewing in the rear garden, Taizong summoned him and ordered him to compose a poem at his side; he also submitted his "Ode to the Golden Bright Pool," and Taizong recited its most striking lines to the chief ministers. The following year, in the third month, at another musical banquet in the imperial garden, Yi again presented a poem. Taizong was surprised that the authorities had not summoned him promptly. The chief ministers explained, "By longstanding rule, those without a formal posting were not included." Yi was immediately assigned to duty at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. He petitioned to return to his home district and was granted one hundred fifty thousand cash. Early in the Zhidao era Taizong personally crafted a nine-string zither and a five-string ruan. Many scholars submitted praise pieces, but only Yi's was judged outstanding, and he was granted the crimson robe and fish tally of higher rank. In the spring of the second year he was promoted to assistant compiler. The emperor knew he was poor and repeatedly bestowed gifts upon him, and once appointed him birthday envoy to the Prince of Yue. At that time many memorials from high officials were drafted with his help, and his reputation grew ever greater.

真宗在京府，徽之為首僚，邸中書疏，悉億草定。即位初，超拜左正言。詔錢若水修《太宗實錄》，奏億參預，凡八十卷，而億獨草五十六卷。書成，乞外補就養，知處州。真宗稱其才長於史學，留不遣，固請，乃許之任。郡人周啟明篤學有文，深加禮待。召還，拜左司諫、知制誥，賜金紫。

While Zhenzong was still heir apparent in the Eastern Palace, Huizhi served as his chief staff officer, and Yi drafted all the residence's official correspondence. Soon after Zhenzong's accession, Yi was promoted by exception to Left Remonstrator. The court ordered Qian Ruoshui to compile the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong. He recommended Yi as a participant. The work ran to eighty juan in all, and Yi alone drafted fifty-six of them. When the compilation was finished he asked for a provincial post so he could care for his parents and was appointed prefect of Chuzhou. Zhenzong praised his exceptional gift for historical scholarship and refused to let him leave. Yi pressed his request repeatedly, and only then was he permitted to take up the appointment. Zhou Qiming, a scholar of the prefecture renowned for learning and literary skill, received Yi’s deepest courtesy and respect. He was recalled to court, appointed Left Secretariat Remonstrator and drafter of edicts, and granted the gold seal and purple robe of high ministerial rank.

咸平中，西鄙未寧，詔近臣議靈州棄守之事。億上疏曰：

During the Xianping era, while the western frontier remained unsettled, the emperor ordered his close ministers to debate whether Lingzhou should be abandoned. Yi submitted a memorial that read:

「臣嘗讀史，見漢武北築朔方之郡，平津侯諫，以為罷敝中國，以奉無用之地，願罷之。上使辯士朱買臣等發十策以難平津，平津不能對。臣以為平津為賢相，非不能折買臣之舌，蓋所以將順人君之意爾。舊稱朔方，地在要荒之外，聲教不及。元朔中，大將軍衛青奮兵掠地，列置郡縣。今靈州蓋朔方之故墟，僻介西鄙，數百里間無有水草，烽火亭障不相望。當其道路不壅，饢饋無虞，猶足以張大國之威聲，為中原之扞蔽。自邊境屢驚，凶黨猖熾，爵賞之而不恭，討罰之而無獲。自曹光實、白守榮、馬紹忠及王榮之敗，資糧屝屨，所失至多，將士丁夫，相枕而死。以至募商人輸帛入穀，償價數倍；孤壤築城，邊民繹騷，國帑匱乏，不能制邊人之命，及濟靈武之急。數年之間，凶黨逾盛。靈武危堞，巋然僅存，河外五城，繼聞陷沒。但堅壁清野，坐食糗糧，閉壘枕戈，苟度朝夕，未粕出一兵，馳一騎，敢與之角。此靈武之存無益，明矣。平津所言罷敝中國以奉無用之地，正今日謂也。

"I have read in the histories that when Emperor Wu of Han established the northern commandery of Shuofang, the Marquis of Pingjin remonstrated, arguing that it would exhaust the empire to sustain a worthless region and urging that the project be abandoned. The emperor had the debater Zhu Maichen and others raise ten counterarguments to confound the marquis, and he could not answer them. I believe Pingjin was a worthy minister. It was not that he could not refute Zhu Maichen's arguments, but that he chose to align himself with the emperor's wishes. Shuofang, as it was known in antiquity, lay beyond the outer marches, where the court's civilizing influence did not reach. During the Yuanshuo reign period the Grand General Wei Qing campaigned vigorously, seized territory, and established a network of commanderies and counties. Lingzhou today occupies roughly the old ground of Shuofang. It stands remote on the western frontier, and for hundreds of li there is neither water nor pasture; beacon towers and frontier posts cannot even see one another. When its roads were open and supply lines secure, it could still magnify the empire's prestige and serve as a bulwark for the heartland. Since the frontier has been repeatedly alarmed, the hostile bands have grown ever bolder. Honors and rewards win no deference from them, and punitive campaigns yield no captives. Since the defeats suffered by Cao Guangshi, Bai Shourong, Ma Shaozhong, and Wang Rong, supplies and transport have been lost on a vast scale, and soldiers and corvée laborers have died in heaps upon the roads. Matters have reached the point where merchants are recruited to deliver grain in exchange for silk, with reimbursement several times the market price; fortresses are raised on barren ground, frontier populations are in constant uproar, the national treasury is exhausted, and the court can neither command the border peoples nor relieve the crisis at Lingwu. Within a few years the hostile bands have grown stronger still. Lingwu's perilous walls stand alone, barely intact, while the five cities beyond the river have fallen one after another. The garrison merely fortifies its walls and clears the countryside, consumes stored grain, closes the forts and sleeps on its weapons, barely surviving from day to day, never venturing forth with a single soldier or rider to contest the enemy. It is plain that holding Lingwu serves no purpose. What the Marquis of Pingjin said about exhausting the empire to sustain a worthless region applies exactly to our situation today.

臣以為存有大害，棄有大利，國家免粟之勞，士卒流離之苦，悉皆免焉。堯、舜、禹，聖之盛者也，地不過數千里，而明德格天，四門穆穆。武丁、成王，商、周之明主也，然地東不過江、黃，西不過氐、羌，南不過蠻荊，北不過太原，而頌聲並作，號為至治。及秦、漢窮兵拓土，肝腦塗地，校其功德，豈可同年而語哉！昔西漢賈捐之建議棄朱崖，當時公卿，亦有異論，元帝力排眾說，奮乎獨見，下詔廢之，人頌其德。故其詔曰：「議者以棄朱崖羞威不行，夫通於時變，即憂萬民之饑鋨，危孰大焉。且宗廟之祭，凶年不備，況乎避不嫌之辱哉？」臣以為類於靈武也，必以失地為言，即燕、薊八州，河湟五郡，所失多矣，何必此為？

I hold that retaining it brings great harm while abandoning it brings great benefit. The state would be spared the labor of grain transport and the soldiers the misery of exile—all of which would cease at once. Yao, Shun, and Yu were the greatest of sages. Their domains extended no more than a few thousand li, yet their luminous virtue reached heaven and peace reigned at the four gates. King Wuding of Shang and King Cheng of Zhou were enlightened rulers, yet their domains eastward did not extend beyond the Yangzi and Yellow River, westward not beyond the Di and Qiang, southward not beyond the southern barbarians and Jing, and northward not beyond Taiyuan—yet songs of praise arose everywhere, and their reigns were hailed as the age of perfect governance. When Qin and Han exhausted their armies in ceaseless expansion until men lay dead across the land, can their merit and virtue be mentioned in the same breath as those sage rulers? In Western Han, Jia Yizhi once proposed abandoning Zhuya. Many high officials disagreed, but Emperor Yuan forcefully rejected the majority, boldly upheld his own judgment, issued an edict to abandon the commandery, and the people praised his wisdom. His edict declared: "Critics say that abandoning Zhuya shames us because our authority will not prevail. Yet to grasp the demands of the age is to worry for the people's hunger—what peril could be greater? Moreover, in years of famine even the ancestral sacrifices cannot be fully provided—how much less should we court the far greater shame of exhausting the realm for a distant outpost?" I believe this case parallels Lingwu. If the argument is loss of territory, the eight prefectures of Yan and Ji and the five commanderies of Hehuang have already been lost in far greater measure—why fix on this one post alone?

臣竊惟太祖命姚內斌領慶州，董遵誨領環州，統兵才五六千，悉付以閫外之事，士卒效命，疆埸晏然，朝廷無旰食之憂，疆埸無羽書之警。臣乞選將臨邊，賜給廩賦，資以策略，許以便宜而行。儻寇擾內屬，撓之以勁兵，示之以大信，懷荒振遠，諭以賞格，彼則奔潰眾叛，安能與大邦為敵哉？若欲謀成廟堂，功在漏刻，臣以為彼眾方黠，積財猶豐，未可以歲月破也。直須棄靈州，保環慶，然後以計困之爾。如臣之策，得驍將數人，提銳兵一二萬，給數縣賦以資所用，令分守邊城，則寇可就擒，而朝廷得以無虞矣。」

I recall that Taizu appointed Yao Neibin to command Qingzhou and Dong Zunhui to command Huanzhou, each with only five or six thousand men, yet entrusted them with full authority beyond the passes. The troops gave loyal service, the frontier remained calm, the court had no need to dine late in anxiety, and the border saw no urgent dispatches. I ask that able generals be chosen to command the frontier, granted rations and local revenue, furnished with strategy, and permitted to act on their own discretion as circumstances require. If the raiders harass those tribes that have submitted, strike them with strong forces, show them the court's good faith, win over the distant peoples, and proclaim rewards—then they will break and flee, their followers will desert them, and how could they stand against a great power? If one hopes to achieve instant success at court, I believe their forces are cunning and their accumulated wealth still ample—they cannot be broken in a matter of months. We need only abandon Lingzhou, secure Huan and Qing, and then wear them down by strategy. By my plan, with several able generals leading ten or twenty thousand elite troops, grants of revenue from several counties to supply their needs, and orders to divide forces and hold the frontier cities, the raiders could be brought to bay and the court would be free of concern."

景德初，以家貧，乞典郡江左，詔令知通進銀司兼門下封駁事。時以吏部銓主事前宜黃簿王太沖為大理評事，億以丞吏之賤，不宜任清秩，即封詔還。未幾，太沖補外。俄判史館，會修《冊府元龜》，億與王欽若同總其事。其序次體制，皆億所定，群僚分撰篇序，詔經億竄定方用之。三年，召為翰林學士，又同修國史，凡變例多出億手。大中祥符初，加兵部員外郎、戶部郎中。

Early in the Jingde era, citing poverty at home, he asked to administer a prefecture south of the Yangzi. Instead he was ordered to direct the Office for Forwarding Memorials and concurrently handle rebuttal of edicts at the Gate. At the time the Ministry of Personnel had appointed Wang Taichong, formerly a clerk in the yellow-register office, as reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. Yi held that a man of such low clerical origin was unfit for a pure office and sealed the edict to return it. Before long Wang was given an appointment outside the capital. Soon he was appointed vice-director of the History Office. When the court undertook the compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror of the Imperial Archives, Yi and Wang Qinruo jointly directed the work. He determined its overall arrangement and editorial structure. Other officials drafted individual sections, but an edict required that each pass through Yi's revision before it could be adopted. In the third year he was summoned as Hanlin academician and also appointed to compile the national history. Most revisions of precedent came from his pen. Early in the Dazhong Xiangfu era he received the additional titles of vice director in the Ministry of War and director in the Ministry of Revenue.

五年，以疾在告，遣中使致太醫視之，億拜章謝，上作詩批紙尾，有「副予前席待名賢」之句。以久疾，求解近職，優詔不許，但權免朝直。億剛介寡合，在書局，唯與李維、路振、刁衎、陳越、劉筠輩厚善。當時文士，咸賴其題品，或被貶議者，退多怨誹。王欽若驟貴，億素薄其人，欽若銜之，屢抉其失；陳彭年方以文史售進，忌億名出其右，相與毀訾。上素重億，皆不惑其說。億有別墅在陽翟，億母往視之，因得疾，請歸省，不待報而行。上親緘藥劑，加金帛以賜。億素體羸，至是，以病聞，請解官。有嗾憲官劾億不俟命而去，授太常少卿，分司西京，許就所居養療。嘗作《君可思賦》，以抒忠憤。《冊府元龜》成，進秩秘書監。

In the fifth year, while on sick leave, the emperor sent a palace envoy with the imperial physician to attend him. Yi submitted a memorial of thanks, and the emperor wrote a poem at the foot of the paper with the line, "You match my hope of seating worthy men before me." Because of prolonged illness he asked to be relieved of his duties at court. A gracious edict refused, but temporarily excused him from morning attendance. Yi was upright and aloof, ill suited to easy sociability. In the book office he was close only with Li Wei, Lu Zhen, Diao Kan, Chen Yue, Liu Yun, and their circle. Literati of the day all sought his judgment of their work, and those he criticized often nursed private resentment afterward. Wang Qinruo rose rapidly in rank. Yi had always held him in low regard, and Wang bore a grudge, repeatedly exposing Yi's faults; Chen Pengnian was then advancing through literary and historical work and resented that Yi's reputation outshone his own. Together they slandered him. The emperor had always held Yi in high regard and was not swayed by their accusations. Yi owned a villa at Yangdi. His mother went to visit it and fell ill. He asked permission to return home to see her and set out without waiting for a reply. The emperor personally sealed medicines for her and added gifts of gold and silk. Yi had always been frail. Now word came of his own illness, and he asked to resign his office. Someone prompted a censor to impeach Yi for leaving without awaiting permission. He was appointed Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with duty at the Western Capital and permitted to convalesce at home. He once composed the "Rhapsody on Whether the Lord May Be Pondered" to give voice to loyal indignation. When the Comprehensive Mirror of the Imperial Archives was completed, he was promoted to Director of the Secretariat.

七年，病愈，起知汝州。會加上玉皇聖號，表求陪預，即代還，以為參詳儀制副使，知禮儀院，判秘閣、太常寺。天禧二年冬，拜工部侍郎。明年，權同知貢舉，坐考較差謬，降授秘書監。丁內艱，屬行郊禮，以億典司禮樂，未卒哭，起復工部侍郎，令視事。四年，復為翰林學士，受詔注釋御集，又兼史館修撰、判館事，權景靈宮副使。十二月，卒，年四十七。錄其子紘為太常寺奉禮郎。

In the seventh year, after recovering from illness, he was recalled to serve as prefect of Ruzhou. When the court was to add the sacred title of the Jade Emperor, he petitioned to take part in the ceremony. He was recalled at once, appointed deputy commissioner for deliberating ritual regulations, director of the Court of Ritual, and concurrently placed in charge of the Imperial Library and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the winter of the second year of Tianxi he was appointed Vice Minister of Works. The following year he served concurrently as co-director of the civil examinations. Because of errors in grading he was demoted to Director of the Secretariat. He entered mourning for his mother. When the suburban sacrifice was due, the court recalled him before the mourning period had ended because he directed ritual and music, restored him as Vice Minister of Works, and ordered him to resume his duties. In the fourth year he was again appointed Hanlin academician, received orders to annotate the imperial literary collection, and also served as compiler of the History Office and director of its affairs, with concurrent duty as deputy commissioner of the Jingling Palace. In the twelfth month he died at the age of forty-seven. His son Yang Hong was granted appointment as ceremonial attendant in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

億天性穎悟，自幼及終，不離翰墨。文格雄健，才思敏捷，略不凝滯，對客談笑，揮翰不輟。精密有規裁，善細字起草，一幅數千言，不加點竄，當時學者，翕然宗之。而博覽強記，尤長典章制度，時多取正。喜誨誘後進，以成名者甚眾。人有片辭可紀，必為諷誦。手集當世之述作，為《筆苑時文錄》數十篇。重交遊，性耿介，尚名節。多周給親友，故廩祿亦隨而盡。留心釋典禪觀之學，所著《括蒼》、《武夷》、《潁陰》、《韓城》、《退居》、《汝陽》、《蓬山》、《冠鼇》等集、《內外制》、《刀筆》，共一百九十四卷。弟倚，景德中舉進士，得第三等及第；以億故，升為第二等。億無子，以從子紘為後。弟偉。

Yi was keen-witted by nature. From childhood to his last day he never set brush and ink aside. His prose was vigorous, his thought swift and rarely halting. Even while conversing and laughing with guests he wrote without pause. He was precise and disciplined in composition, skilled at drafting in fine script. A single sheet of several thousand characters needed no revision, and scholars of the day took him as their model. He read widely and remembered with exceptional strength, especially in statutes and institutions, on which contemporaries often sought his judgment. He delighted in guiding younger scholars, and many achieved fame through his patronage. If someone produced even a single line worth remembering, he would recite it in praise. He personally collected contemporary writings into the Record of Brush-Garden Current Literature, several tens of chapters in all. He valued friendship, was upright and unyielding by nature, and held reputation and integrity in high regard. He often gave generously to relatives and friends, and so his salary and emoluments were spent as fast as they arrived. He devoted himself to Buddhist scriptures and Chan meditation. Among his writings were the collected volumes Kuocang, Wuyi, Yingyin, Hancheng, Tuiju, Ruyang, Pengshan, and Guan'ao, along with Inner and Outer Drafts and Records of the Brush—one hundred ninety-four juan in all. His younger brother Yi passed the jinshi examination during the Jingde era and placed in the third tier of graduates; On account of Yang Yi, he was elevated to the second tier. Yi had no son and adopted his nephew Hong as his heir. His younger brother Wei.

弟偉

Younger Brother Wei

偉，字子奇，幼學於億。天禧元年獻頌，召試學士院，賜進士及第。以試秘書省校書郎知衢州龍遊縣，再補蘄州錄事參軍，國子監薦為直講。駙馬都尉李遵勖守澶州，辟簽書鎮寧軍節度判官事。遷大理寺丞、知河間縣，再遷太常博士。用近臣薦，為集賢校理、通判單州。會巡檢部卒李素合州卒二百餘人，謀殺巡檢使，入鼓角門，州將不敢出。偉挺身往問曰：「若屬何為而反？」俱曰：「將有訴於州，非反也。」偉曰：「持兵來，非反而何？若屬皆有父母妻子，以一朝忿而欲魚肉之乎？」悉令投兵，坐籍首惡得十餘人，斬之。徙知祥符縣、提點開封府界諸縣鎮公事，權開封府判官，又判三司開拆司，累遷尚書兵部員外郎、同修起居注。

Wei, courtesy name Ziqi, studied under Yang Yi from childhood. In the first year of Tianxi he submitted a laudatory verse, was summoned for examination at the Academy of Scholarly Worthies, and was granted jinshi standing. After a probationary appointment as collator in the Secretariat, he served as magistrate of Longyou County in Qu Prefecture; he was later appointed registrar in Qi Prefecture, and the Directorate of Education recommended him as lecturer. When the honorary commander Li Zunxu was prefect of Cao Prefecture, he recruited Wei as signing secretary and adjutant on the staff of the Zhenning military commission. He was promoted to vice director of the Court of Judicial Review and appointed magistrate of Hejian County, and later promoted again to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. On the recommendation of a close court official, he was appointed collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies and concurrent prefect of Shan Prefecture. At this time Li Su, a soldier under the patrol inspector, joined more than two hundred garrison troops in a plot to kill the patrol inspector. They burst through the drum-and-horn gate, and the prefectural commander did not dare come out. Wei stepped forward and demanded, "What are you people doing in rebellion? They all replied, "We only wish to lodge a complaint with the prefecture—it is not a rebellion. Wei said, "You come bearing arms—what is that if not rebellion? Every one of you has parents, wives, and children—would you because of a single fit of anger throw them to slaughter? He ordered them all to drop their weapons, identified more than ten ringleaders, and had them beheaded. He was transferred to magistrate of Xiangfu County and commissioner overseeing counties and towns within the Kaifeng jurisdiction, acted as vice prefect of Kaifeng, and also served in the Receiving and Disbursement Bureau of the Three Departments. In time he was promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of War and co-compiler of the Veritable Records.

偉清慎，無治劇才，常秉小笏以朝，知制誥缺，中書以偉名進，仁宗曰：「此非秉小笏者邪？」遂命知制誥。權諫院，嘗曰：「諫臣宜陳列大事，細故何足論。」然當時譏其亡補。遷刑部郎中，為翰林學士。祀明堂，遷右司郎中、判太常寺，為群牧使兼侍讀學士，進中書舍人。卒，贈尚書禮部侍郎。

Wei was pure and cautious and lacked talent for demanding assignments; he was known for attending court with a small tablet in hand. When the post of drafter of edicts fell vacant, the Secretariat submitted his name. Emperor Renzong said, "Is this not the man who always carries the small tablet? He was accordingly appointed drafter of edicts. While acting in the Remonstrance Bureau, he once said, "Remonstrating officials should address great affairs of state; petty matters are hardly worth mentioning. Yet people at the time mocked him as being of no practical use. He was promoted to director in the Ministry of Justice and appointed Hanlin academician. At the Bright Hall sacrifice he was promoted to director of the Right Bureau and placed in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, appointed herd commissioner concurrently with attendant reader, and advanced to vice grand secretary of the Secretariat. He died and was posthumously awarded the title of vice minister of the Ministry of Rites.

子紘

Son: Hong

紘，字望之，以蔭歷官知鄞縣，鄞濱海，惡少販魚鹽者，群居洲島，或掠商人財物入海，吏不能禁，紘至，設方略，使識者質惡少船，及歸，始給還，且戒諭之，由是不敢為盜。以億文獻，賜進士出身。通判越州，知筠州，提點江東刑獄，除轉運、按察使。江東饑，紘開義倉振之，吏持不可，紘曰：「義倉，為民也，稍稽，人將殍矣。」

Hong, courtesy name Wangzhi, entered office through inherited privilege and served as magistrate of Yin County. Yin lay on the coast, where young ruffians who dealt in illicit fish and salt gathered on offshore islets and sometimes robbed merchants before fleeing to sea; local officials could not stop them. Hong devised a scheme in which trusted men held the ruffians' boats in pledge until they returned, and only then restored them—with a warning. After that they no longer dared turn to piracy. In recognition of Yang Yi's literary contributions, he was granted jinshi standing. He served as vice prefect of Yue Prefecture, prefect of Jun Prefecture, and judicial commissioner of Jiangdong, and was appointed transport and surveillance commissioner. When Jiangdong suffered famine, Hong opened the charity granaries for relief. An official objected that this was not allowed. Hong said, "Charity granaries are meant for the people—delay even briefly, and people will starve to death."

紘御下急，常曰：「不法之人不可貸，去之，止不利一家爾，豈可使郡邑千萬家俱受害邪？」聞者望風解去，或過期不敢之官。與王鼎、王綽號「江東三虎」。坐降知衡州，徙越州。為荊南轉運使，徙福建，不赴，知湖州，復為江東轉運使。官至太常少卿，卒。紘性嚴，雖家居，兒女不敢妄言笑。聚書數萬卷，手抄事實，名《窺豹篇》。

Hong was stern with subordinates and often said, "Lawless men must not be indulged. Remove them, and only one household suffers—how can one let millions of households across the prefecture and counties suffer together? Those who heard of his reputation fled at the first rumor, and some did not dare report to their posts even after their terms had expired. Together with Wang Ding and Wang Chuo he was known as one of the "Three Tigers of Jiangdong." After an offense he was demoted to prefect of Heng Prefecture and later transferred to Yue Prefecture. He served as transport commissioner of Jingnan, was transferred to Fujian but declined to go, was appointed prefect of Hu Prefecture, and again served as transport commissioner of Jiangdong. He rose to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and died in office. Hong was stern by nature; even at home his children did not dare speak or laugh without cause. He amassed tens of thousands of volumes, copied out factual records by hand, and titled the work Glimpsing the Leopard.

晁迥，字明遠，世為澶州清豐人，自其父佺，始徙家彭門。迥舉進士，為大理評事，歷知岳州錄事參軍，改將作監丞，稍遷殿中丞。坐失入囚死罪，奪二官。復將作丞，監徐、婺二州稅，遷太常丞。真宗即位，用宰相呂端、參知政事李沆薦，擢右正言、直史館。獻《咸平新書》五十篇，又獻《理樞》一篇。召試，除右司諫、知制誥，判尚書刑部。

Chao Jiong, courtesy name Mingyuan, came from a Qingfeng family in Cao Prefecture; from his father Quan onward the family moved its residence to Pengmen. Jiong passed the jinshi examination and served as judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. He successively held the post of registrar in Yue Prefecture, was appointed vice director of the Directorate of Palace Buildings, and was gradually promoted to palace aide. He was punished for a judicial error that caused a prisoner to die and was stripped of two ranks. He was restored as vice director of the Directorate of Palace Buildings, supervised tax collection in Xu and Wu Prefectures, and was promoted to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When Emperor Zhenzong took the throne, on the recommendation of Chief Councilor Lü Duan and Vice Grand Councilor Li Hang he was promoted to remonstrance official of the Right and compiler in the History Office. He submitted fifty chapters of the New Book of the Xianping Era and also one chapter of The Pivot of Governance. Summoned for examination, he was appointed remonstrance official of the Right Bureau and drafter of edicts, and was placed in charge of the Ministry of Justice.

帝北征，雍王元份留守京師，加右諫議大夫，為判官，進翰林學士。未幾，知審官院，為明德、章穆二園陵禮儀使，同修國史。知大中祥符元年貢舉。封泰山，祀汾陰，同太常詳定儀注，累遷尚書工部侍郎。使契丹，還，奏《北庭記》，加史館修撰、知通進銀臺司。獻《玉清昭應宮頌》，其子宗操繼上《景靈宮慶成歌》。帝曰：「迥父子同獻歌頌，搢紳間美事也。」

When the emperor marched north, Prince Yong Yuan Fen remained to guard the capital. Jiong was given the additional title of grand remonstrance official of the Right, served as his adjutant, and was advanced to Hanlin academician. Before long he was placed in charge of the Bureau of Appointments, served as ritual commissioner for the Mingde and Zhangmu imperial tombs, and helped compile the national history. He oversaw the civil examinations in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu. At the feng sacrifice on Mount Tai and the si sacrifice at Fenyin he joined the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in drafting ritual regulations, and was promoted in succession to vice minister of the Ministry of Works. Sent as envoy to the Khitan, he submitted the Record of the Northern Court on his return and was given the additional posts of history compiler and director of the Office for Transmission and Presentation. He submitted the Eulogy of the Yujing Zhaoying Palace, and his son Zongcao followed with the Song of Completion for the Jingling Palace. The emperor said, "For father and son Jiong to present songs of praise together is a fine thing among the gentry."

史成，擢刑部侍郎，進承旨。時朝廷方修禮文之事，詔令多出迥手。嘗夜召對，帝令內侍持燭送歸院。方盛暑，為蠲宿直，令三五日一至院；迥辭以非故事，乃聽俟秋還直。遷兵部侍郎，請分司西京，特拜工部尚書、集賢院學士、判西京留司御史臺。賜一子官河南，以就養。

When the history was completed he was promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of Justice and advanced to chief academician. At the time the court was undertaking ritual and textual reforms, and many edicts issued from Jiong's hand. Once he was summoned for a night audience; the emperor ordered a palace attendant to escort him back to the academy with a candle. In the height of summer the emperor exempted him from overnight duty and ordered him to come to the academy only once every three to five days; Jiong declined on the grounds that this was not established precedent, and was permitted to resume regular duty after autumn. He was promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of War, requested a detached post in the Western Capital, and was specially appointed minister of the Ministry of Works, academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and supervisor of the Western Capital branch of the Censorate. One of his sons was granted an office in Henan so that he could remain nearby to care for him.

仁宗即位，遷禮部尚書。居臺六年，累章請老，以太子少保致仕，給全俸，歲時賜賚如學士。天聖中，迥年八十一，召宴太清樓，免舞蹈。子宗愨為知制誥，侍從同預宴。迥坐御史中丞之南，與宰臣同賜御飛白大字。既罷，所以寵賚者甚厚，進太子少傅。後復召對延和殿，帝訪以《洪範》雨暘之應。對曰：「比年變災薦臻，此天所以警陛下。願陛下修飭王事，以當天心，庶幾轉亂而為祥也。」既而獻《斧扆》、《慎刑箴》，《大順》、《審刑》、《無盡燈頌》，凡五篇。及感疾，絕人事，屏醫藥，具冠服而卒，年八十四。罷朝一日，贈太子太保，諡文元。

When Emperor Renzong took the throne, Jiong was promoted to minister of the Ministry of Rites. After six years on the Censorate he repeatedly memorialized to request retirement. He retired as Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent with full salary and received seasonal gifts like a Hanlin academician. During the Tiansheng era, when Jiong was eighty-one, he was summoned to a banquet in the Taqing Pavilion and exempted from the court dance of obeisance. His son Zongque, then drafter of edicts, attended the banquet together with the other court attendants. Jiong was seated south of the vice censor-in-chief and, together with the chief ministers, was granted imperial feibai large-character calligraphy. When the banquet ended the gifts bestowed in his honor were very generous, and he was advanced to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent. Later he was again summoned for audience in the Yanhe Hall, and the emperor questioned him about the correspondence of rain and drought in the Hong Fan. He replied, "In recent years calamities and disasters have come one after another—this is Heaven's way of warning Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will rectify royal affairs to accord with Heaven's will, so that disorder may yet be turned into good fortune. Thereafter he submitted the Axe-and-Screen, the Admonition on Careful Punishment, the Great Accord, the Examination of Punishment, and the Eulogy of the Endless Lamp—five works in all. When he fell ill he cut off all human contact, refused medicine, put on his cap and robes, and died at the age of eighty-four. Court was suspended for one day. He was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Wenyuan.

迥善吐納養生之術，通釋、老書，以經傳傅致，為一家之說。性樂易寬簡，服道履正，雖貴勢無所屈，歷官臨事，未嘗挾情害物。真宗數稱其好學長者。楊億嘗謂迥所作書命無過褒，得代言之體。喜質正經史疑義，摽括字類。有以術命語迥，迥曰：「自然之分，天命也。樂天不憂，知命也。推理安常，委命也。何必逆計未然乎？」所著《翰林集》三十卷，《道院集》十五卷，《法藏碎金錄》十卷，《耆智餘書》、《隨因紀述》、《昭德新編》各三卷。子宗愨。

Jiong was skilled in breath-regulation and the arts of nurturing life. He was versed in Buddhist and Daoist writings and, by applying the classics and commentaries, formed a doctrine of his own. By nature he was easygoing, generous, and unpretentious. He followed the Way and walked uprightly, never yielding even to the powerful, and in every office he held he never let personal feeling harm others. Emperor Zhenzong repeatedly praised him as a learned elder. Yang Yi once said that the edicts Jiong drafted never exceeded due praise and captured the proper style of imperial drafting. He delighted in resolving doubtful points in the classics and histories and in compiling categories of characters. When someone spoke to Jiong of fate by divination, Jiong said, "One's natural allotment is the mandate of Heaven. To rejoice in Heaven and not worry is to know one's fate. To reason calmly and rest in the ordinary is to entrust oneself to fate. Why must one calculate in advance what has not yet happened? His works included the Hanlin Collection in thirty juan, the Daoist Academy Collection in fifteen juan, the Record of Fragmented Gold from the Dharma Storehouse in ten juan, and the Remaining Writings of Elder Wisdom, Records Following Causes, and the New Compilation of Manifest Virtue, each in three juan. His son Zongque.

子宗愨

Son: Zongque

元昊反，關中久宿師，以宗愨安撫陝西，與夏竦議攻守策。未還，道拜右諫議大夫、參知政事。會朝廷以金飾胡床及金汲器賜唃廝羅，宗愨曰：「仲叔於奚辭邑請繁纓，孔子曰：『不如多與之邑。』繁纓，諸侯之馬飾，猶不可與陪臣，況以乘輿之器賜外臣乎？必欲優其禮，不若加賜金帛。」後從帝郊祠感疾，數求罷，除資政殿學士、給事中。數日，卒。贈工部尚書，諡文莊。

When Yuan Hao rebelled, troops had long been stationed in Guanzhong. Zongque was sent to pacify Shaanxi and discussed offensive and defensive strategy with Xia Song. Before he returned he was appointed on the road grand remonstrance official of the Right and vice grand councilor. It happened that the court was about to bestow on Gusiluo a gold-inlaid folding chair and gold vessels for drawing water. Zongque said, "Zhongshu and Shuxiang declined a fief from Xi and asked instead for the tasselled bridle ornaments. Confucius said, 'It would be better to give them more fiefs. The tasselled bridle ornaments are horse trappings of feudal lords and still may not be given to a minister of another state—how much less may one bestow the vessels of the imperial carriage on a foreign subject? If the court wishes to honor him with special treatment, it would be better to add gifts of gold and silk. Later, while accompanying the emperor on a suburban sacrifice he fell ill, repeatedly requested dismissal, and was appointed academician of the Hall of Assembled Governance and recipient of edicts. Within several days he died. He was posthumously awarded the title of minister of the Ministry of Works and given the posthumous name Wenzhuang.

宗愨性敦厚，事父母孝，篤於故舊，凡任子恩皆先其族人。在翰林，一夕草將相五制，褒揚訓戒，人得所宜。嘗密詔訪邊策，陳七事，頗施用之。

Zongque was generous and sincere by nature, filial toward his parents, and devoted to old friends. Whenever offices were granted by hereditary privilege he always put his clansmen first. While in the Hanlin Academy, in one night he drafted five edicts for ministers and chief councilors, each with praise, instruction, and admonition suited to the recipient. Once by secret edict he was consulted on frontier strategy. He set forth seven points, many of which were put into practice.

劉筠，字子儀，大名人。舉進士，為館陶縣尉。還，會詔知制誥楊億試選人校太清樓書，擢筠第一，以大理評事為秘閣校理。真宗北巡，命知大名府觀察判官事。自邊鄙罷兵，國家閑暇，帝垂意篇籍，始集諸儒考論文章，為一代之典。筠預修圖經及《冊府元龜》，推為精敏。真宗將祀汾睢，屢得嘉雪，召筠及監察御史陳從易崇和殿賦歌詩，帝數稱善。車駕西巡，又命筠纂土訓。是時四方獻符瑞，天子方興禮文之事，筠數上賦頌。及《冊府元龜》成，進左正言、直史館、修起居注。嘗屬疾，予告滿，輒再予，積二百日，每詔續其奉。

Liu Yun, courtesy name Ziyi, was a native of Daming. He passed the jinshi examination and served as magistrate of Guantao County. On his return an edict ordered the drafter of edicts Yang Yi to test candidates in collating books in the Taqing Pavilion. Yun was ranked first and was appointed collator in the Secret Archive with the rank of judicial reviewer. When Emperor Zhenzong toured the north he was ordered to serve as surveillance adjutant of Daming Prefecture. After military operations on the frontier ceased and the state enjoyed a period of peace, the emperor turned his attention to books and records. He first gathered scholars to examine and discuss literature, forming the canon of an age. Yun helped compile local gazetteers and the Comprehensive Mirror of the Imperial Archives and was regarded as exceptionally sharp and diligent. As Emperor Zhenzong prepared to perform sacrifices at Fen and Sui, timely snows fell again and again. He summoned Yun and Supervising Censor Chen Congyi to compose celebratory songs and poems in Chonghe Hall, and repeatedly praised their work. During the emperor's western tour, he again ordered Yun to compile territorial gazetteers. At that time the regions sent in auspicious omens, and the emperor was promoting ritual and literary projects. Yun submitted many fu compositions and eulogies. When the Comprehensive Mirror of the Imperial Archives was finished, he was promoted to Left Rectifier with direct appointment in the History Office and charged with compiling the Daily Record. When he fell ill on one occasion, each time his medical leave expired he was granted another, until the total reached two hundred days; each extension was accompanied by an edict continuing his salary.

遷左司諫、知制誥，加史館修撰，出知鄧州，徙陳州。還，糾察在京刑獄，知貢舉，遷尚書兵部員外郎。復請鄧州，未行，進翰林學士。初，筠嘗草丁謂與李迪罷相制，既而謂復留，令別草制，筠不奉詔，乃更召晏殊。筠自院出，遇殊樞密院南門，殊側面而過，不敢揖，蓋內有所愧也。帝久疾，謂浸擅權，筠曰：「奸人用事，安可一日居此。」請補外，以右諫議大夫知廬州。

He was promoted to Left Secretariat Remonstrator and drafter of edicts, given an additional post as History Office compiler, then sent out as prefect of Dengzhou before being transferred to Chenzhou. Recalled to court, he inspected criminal cases in the capital and supervised the civil examinations, then was promoted to Vice Director of the Ministry of War in the Secretariat. He again asked to be sent to Dengzhou, but before he could leave he was promoted to Hanlin Academician. Earlier Yun had drafted the edicts dismissing Ding Wei and Li Di from the chancellorship. When Wei was retained afterward and Yun was ordered to draft a new edict to that effect, he refused. Yan Shu was summoned to take his place. Leaving the Hanlin Academy, Yun met Shu at the south gate of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Shu passed with his face turned aside and did not dare bow, evidently ashamed within. The emperor had been ill for a long time, and Wei was steadily encroaching on power. Yun said, "With wicked men running the government, how can one stay here even one more day?" He asked for a post outside the capital and was appointed Right Remonstrating Grand Counselor and prefect of Luzhou.

仁宗即位，遷給事中，復召為翰林學士。逾月，拜御史中丞。先是，三院御史言事，皆先白中丞。筠榜臺中：「御史自言事，毋白丞雜知」。天聖二年貢舉，數以疾告，進尚書禮部侍郎、樞密直學士、知潁州。召還，復知貢舉，進翰林學士承旨兼龍圖閣直學士、同修國史、判尚書都省。祀南郊，為禮儀使，請宿齋太廟日，罷朝饗玉清昭應宮，俟禮成，備鑾駕恭謝。從之。筠素愛廬江，遂築室城中，構閣藏前後所賜書，帝飛白書曰「真宗聖文秘奉之閣」。再知廬州，營塚墓，作棺，自為銘刻之。既病，徙於書閣，卒。

When Emperor Renzong succeeded to the throne, Yun was promoted to recipient of edicts and again summoned as Hanlin Academician. A little over a month later he was appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief. Previously, censors in the three bureaus had to inform the Vice Censor-in-Chief before raising affairs. Yun posted a notice in the Censorate: "Censors shall speak on their own affairs and need not first report to the Vice Censor-in-Chief or the miscellaneous supervisors." In the second year of the Tiansheng era he supervised the examinations. After repeated medical leaves he was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites in the Secretariat and academician directly attached to the Bureau of Military Affairs, and was made prefect of Yingzhou. Recalled to court, he again supervised the examinations and was promoted to Chief Hanlin Academician, concurrently Direct Academician of the Longtu Pavilion, co-compiler of the National History, and overseer of the Secretariat Chancellery. At the Southern Suburb sacrifice he served as ritual commissioner. He requested that on the day of fasting in the Imperial Ancestral Temple the court suspend its breakfast at Yujing Zhaoying Palace and that, once the rite was complete, the full imperial procession be prepared for the thanksgiving ceremony. The court approved. Yun had always loved Lujiang. He built a house in the city and a pavilion to store the books the emperor had bestowed on him over the years. The emperor inscribed its name in flying-white script: "Pavilion for Treasuring Zhenzong's Sacred Writings." When he served again as prefect of Luzhou, he prepared his tomb and grave, had his coffin made, and carved the inscription himself. When he fell ill, he was moved to his book pavilion, where he died.

筠，景德以來，居文翰之選，其文辭善對偶，尤工為詩。初為楊億所識拔，後遂與齊名，時號「楊劉」。凡三入禁林，又三典貢部，以策論升降天下士，自筠始。性不苟合，遇事明達，而其治尚簡嚴。然晚為陽翟同姓富人奏求恩澤，清議少之。著《冊府應言》、《榮遇》、《禁林》、《肥川》、《中司》、《汝陰》、《三入玉堂》凡七集。一子蚤卒，田廬沒官。包拯少時，頗為筠所知。及拯顯，奏其族子為後，又請還所沒田廬云。

From the Jingde era onward Yun ranked among the leading literary officials. His prose excelled in parallel composition, and he was especially accomplished as a poet. Yang Yi had first recognized and promoted him, and Yun later rose to equal fame; contemporaries called them the "Yang-Liu" school. He entered the Hanlin Academy three times and three times directed the Examination Bureau. Using policy essays to rank scholars nationwide began with him. By nature he would not compromise for convenience. In public affairs he was clear and practical, and in administration he favored simplicity and strictness. Yet in his later years he memorialized on behalf of a wealthy Yangzhai clansman to obtain imperial favor, and men of upright reputation thought less of him for it. He authored seven collections: Responses from the Imperial Archives, Honored Encounters, Forbidden Grove, Feichuan, Central Bureau, Ruyin, and Three Entries to the Jade Hall. His only son died young, and his fields and houses were seized by the state. In his youth Bao Zheng won Yun's notice and esteem. After Bao Zheng achieved distinction, he memorialized to appoint a clansman's son as Yun's heir and asked that the confiscated fields and houses be restored.

薛映，字景陽，唐中書令元超八世孫，後家於蜀。父允中，事孟氏為給事中。歸朝，為尚書都官郎中。映進士及第，授大理評事，歷通判綿、宋、昇州，累遷太常丞。王化基薦為監察御史、知開封縣。太宗召對，為江南轉運使，改左正言、直昭文館，為江、淮、兩浙茶鹽制置副使。改京東轉運使，徙河東，兼河西隨軍。求便親，知相州。再領漕京東，積遷尚書禮部郎中，擢知制誥，權判吏部流內銓兼制置群牧使。同梁顥安撫河北，還，權判度支。

Xue Ying, courtesy name Jingyang, was an eighth-generation descendant of the Tang chief councilor Xue Yuanchao; his family later settled in Shu. His father Yunzhong served the Meng regime of Later Shu as recipient of edicts. After submitting to the Song dynasty he served as Director in the Ministry of Justice of the Secretariat. Ying passed the jinshi examination and was appointed a judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. He served successively as supervisory prefect of Mian, Song, and Sheng prefectures and rose to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Wang Huaji recommended him for appointment as Supervising Censor and magistrate of Kaifeng County. Emperor Taizong summoned him for audience and appointed him transport commissioner for Jiangnan. He was then made Left Rectifier with direct appointment in the Zhaowen Library and deputy commissioner for tea and salt in Jianghuai and the two Zhe circuits. He was transferred to transport commissioner for Jingdong, then to Hedong, where he also served with the army on the Hexi frontier. He asked for a posting that would let him care for his parents and was made prefect of Xiangzhou. He again headed transport duties in Jingdong and rose through repeated promotions to Director of Rites in the Secretariat. He was then promoted to drafter of edicts, temporarily oversaw inward selection at the Ministry of Personnel, and concurrently served as commissioner for the horse herds. He joined Liang Hao in pacifying Hebei, and on his return temporarily oversaw the Department of Fiscal Affairs.

映以右諫議大夫知杭州。映臨決蜂銳，庭無留事。轉運使姚鉉移屬州：「當直司毋得輒斷徒以上罪。」映即奏：「徒、流、笞、杖，自有科條，苟情狀明白，何必繫獄，以累和氣。請詔天下，凡徒流罪於長吏前對辨，無所異，聽遣決之。」朝廷施用其言。與鉉既不協，遂發鉉納部內女口及鬻銅器抑取其直，又廣市綾羅不輸稅。真宗遣御史臺推勘官儲拱劾鉉，得實，貶連州文學。映坐嘗召人取告鉉狀，當贖金，帝特貰之。

Ying was appointed Right Remonstrating Grand Counselor and prefect of Hangzhou. Ying's courtroom judgments were swift and fierce; no case lingered on his docket. Transport Commissioner Yao Xian notified the subordinate prefectures: "The duty office must not on its own decide exile and heavier crimes." Ying immediately memorialized: "Exile, banishment, rod blows, and stick blows each have fixed statutes. When the facts are clear, why keep people in prison and undermine good order? I ask that an edict go out to the empire: wherever exile and banishment cases are argued before the chief local official without dispute, let sentence be pronounced at once and the offender dispatched." The court adopted his proposal. Already at odds with Xian, he then exposed Xian for taking in female servants within his circuit, selling bronzeware while withholding full payment, and buying silk on a large scale without paying taxes. Emperor Zhenzong sent Censorate investigator Chu Gong to impeach Xian. The charges were substantiated, and Xian was demoted to literary instructor at Lianzhou. Ying was technically liable for having once had someone obtain an indictment against Xian and should have paid a redemption fine, but the emperor specially remitted the penalty.

在杭五年，入知通進銀臺司兼門下封駁事。封泰山，為東京留守判官，遷給事中、勾當三班院，出知河南府。祀汾陰還，駐蹕西京，以映有治狀，賜御書嘉獎。

After five years in Hangzhou he returned to court as director of the Office for Transmission and the Silver Terrace, with concurrent charge of remonstrance and rejection under the Gate. During the Mount Tai enfeoffment rite he served as adjutant to the Eastern Capital garrison commissioner. He was promoted to recipient of edicts, placed in charge of the Three-Bureau Office, and sent out as administrator of Henan Prefecture. Returning from the Fenyin sacrifice, the emperor halted at the Western Capital and, impressed by Ying's record of governance, bestowed an imperial inscription in commendation.

映好學有文，該覽強記，善筆劄，章奏尺牘，下筆立成。為治嚴明，吏不能欺。每五鼓冠帶，黎明據案決事，雖寒暑，無一日異也。子耀卿，秘閣校理。孫紳，直龍圖閣。

Ying loved learning and wrote well. He read widely and remembered easily, and was adept with the brush: memorials, letters, and notes flowed from his hand at once. He governed with clarity and strictness, and his clerks could not deceive him. Every day at the fifth watch he dressed for office, and at dawn he sat at his desk to decide cases. Heat or cold, he never varied the routine by a single day. His son Yaoqing served as collator in the Secret Archive. His grandson Shen held direct appointment in the Longtu Pavilion.

論曰：自唐末詞氣浸敝，迄於五季甚矣。先民有言：「政厖土裂，大音不完，必混一而後振。」宋一海內，文治日起。楊億首以辭章擅天下，為時所宗，蓋其清忠鯁亮之氣，未卒大施，悉發於言，宜乎雄偉而浩博也。劉筠後出，能與齊名，氣象似爾，至於文體之今古，時習使然，遑暇議是哉。晁迥寬易，與物無忤，父子先後典書命，稱為名臣。薛映學藝、吏術俱優，而挾忿以抉人之私，君子病之。

Discussion: From the late Tang the quality of literary style steadily declined, and by the Five Dynasties it had sunk to its lowest point. The ancients said: "When government is chaotic and the realm is torn apart, the great music cannot be whole; only after unification can it flourish again." Once the Song unified the realm, literary culture revived day by day. Yang Yi was the first to dominate the literary world and became the age's model. The pure loyalty and upright forthrightness he could not fully put into action in office all poured out in his writing—so it is no wonder his style was grand and expansive. Liu Yun came later yet rose to equal fame, and his spirit was much the same. Whether a style is ancient or modern is simply a matter of prevailing fashion—who has leisure to quibble over it? Chao Jiong was broad-minded and easy in manner, never at odds with others. Father and son in succession held charge of imperial edicts and were acclaimed as eminent ministers. Xue Ying excelled in both learning and administrative skill, yet he used personal grievances to expose others' secrets, and men of principle criticized him for it.

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