Volume 314 Biographies 73:

范仲淹

Fan Zhongyan

范仲淹，字希文，唐宰相履冰之後。其先邠州人也，後徙家江南，遂為蘇州吳縣人。仲淹二歲而孤，母更適長山朱氏，從其姓，名說。少有志操，既長，知其世家，乃感泣辭母，去之應天府，依戚同文學。晝夜不息，冬月憊甚，以水沃面；食不給，至以糜粥繼之，人不能堪，仲淹不苦也。舉進士第，為廣德軍司理參軍，迎其母歸養。改集慶軍節度推官，始還姓，更其名。

Fan Zhongyan, styled Xiwen, was descended from Fan Lübing, a chancellor of the Tang. His forebears were from Bin Prefecture; the family later moved south of the Yangtze and settled as natives of Wuxian in Suzhou. Zhongyan lost his father when he was two. His mother remarried into the Zhu family of Changshan, and he took their surname and the name Shuo. From boyhood he showed high purpose and moral fiber. When he came of age and learned of his family's eminent pedigree, he wept, bade his mother farewell, went to Yingtian Prefecture, and studied under Qi Tongwen. He studied day and night without rest. In the depths of winter, when he was utterly worn out, he would splash water on his face to stay awake. When food ran short he lived on thin gruel. Others could not bear it, but Zhongyan never complained. He passed the jinshi examinations, was appointed assistant magistrate for law at the Guangde Army, and brought his mother home to support her. He was transferred to judicial commissioner under the Jiqing Army military commissioner, at which point he reclaimed his family surname and changed his given name.

監泰州西溪鹽稅，遷大理寺丞，徙監楚州糧料院，母喪去官。晏殊知應天府，聞仲淹名，召寘府學。上書請擇郡守，舉縣令，斥游惰，去冗僭，慎選舉，撫將帥，凡萬餘言。服除，以殊薦，為秘閣校理。仲淹泛通《六經》，長於《易》，學者多從質問，為執經講解，亡所倦。嘗推其奉以食四方游士，諸子至易衣而出，仲淹晏如也。每感激論天下事，奮不顧身，一時士大夫矯厲尚風節，自仲淹倡之。

He supervised salt tax at Xixi in Taizhou, was promoted to assistant director of the Court of Judicial Review, then transferred to oversee the grain depot in Chuzhou; he left office when his mother died. When Yan Shu served as prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, he heard of Zhongyan's reputation, summoned him, and enrolled him in the prefectural school. He submitted a memorial calling for the careful selection of prefects and county magistrates, the dismissal of the idle and negligent, the elimination of redundant and overreaching posts, stricter standards in examinations and appointments, and better treatment of generals and commanders—more than ten thousand words in all. When his mourning period ended, Yan Shu recommended him, and he was appointed collator in the Secret Repository. Zhongyan had wide command of the Six Classics and was especially skilled in the Book of Changes. Many scholars came to consult him; he would hold the classics and lecture, never tiring of it. He often used his salary to feed traveling scholars from all directions. His sons would even change clothes before going out so as not to wear their good ones, yet Zhongyan remained perfectly content. Whenever he spoke passionately about affairs of state, he forgot all concern for himself. The gentry's renewed esteem for integrity and moral courage at that time began with Zhongyan's example.

天聖七年，章獻太后將以冬至受朝，天子率百官上壽。仲淹極言之，且曰：「奉親於內，自有家人禮，顧與百官同列，南面而朝之，不可為後世法。」且上疏請太后還政，不報。尋通判河中府，徙陳州。時方建太一宮及洪福院，市材木陝西。仲淹言：「昭應、壽寧，天戒不遠。今又侈土木，破民產，非所以順人心、合天意也。宜罷修寺觀，減常歲市木之數，以蠲除積負。」又言：「恩幸多以內降除官，非太平之政。」事雖不行，仁宗以為忠。

In the seventh year of Tiansheng, Empress Dowager Zhangxian planned to hold court on the winter solstice, with the emperor leading all officials to offer her birthday congratulations. Zhongyan spoke against this in the strongest terms, saying: 'Serving a parent within the inner palace follows the etiquette of a household. To stand in the same ranks as all officials and bow toward her in audience would set a precedent that posterity must not follow.' He also submitted a memorial asking the empress dowager to return governmental authority, but received no reply. Soon afterward he was appointed acting prefect of Hezhong Prefecture, then transferred to Chen Prefecture. At that time the T'ai-yi Palace and Hongfu Cloister were under construction, and timber was being purchased in Shaanxi. Zhongyan said: 'The disasters at Zhaoying and Shouning showed that Heaven's warnings are never far away. Now to lavish resources on construction again, ruining the people's livelihood—this is no way to win hearts or accord with Heaven's will. Construction of temples and monasteries should be halted, and the annual quota for timber purchases reduced, so that accumulated burdens on the people may be lifted.' He also said: 'Favored intimates are too often appointed by private edicts from within the palace—this is not governance fit for an age of peace.' Though his proposals were not adopted, Emperor Renzong considered him loyal.

太后崩，召為右司諫。言事者多暴太后時事，仲淹曰：「太后受遺先帝，調護陛下者十餘年，宜掩其小故，以全后德。」帝為詔中外，毋輒論太后時事。初，太后遺誥乙太妃楊氏為皇太后，參決軍國事。仲淹曰：「太后，母號也，自古無因保育而代立者。今一太后崩，又立一太后，天下且疑陛下不可一日無母后之助矣。」

When the empress dowager died, he was summoned to serve as Right Remonstrance in the Secretariat. Many who spoke on policy harshly aired affairs from the empress dowager's regency. Zhongyan said: 'The empress dowager received the late emperor's dying charge and guided and protected Your Majesty for more than ten years. Her minor faults should be overlooked so that her virtue may stand complete.' The emperor issued an edict to court and country alike forbidding discussion of affairs from the empress dowager's regency. Initially the empress dowager's testamentary edict had invested the imperial consort Yang as empress dowager with authority to participate in military and state affairs. Zhongyan said: ''Empress dowager' is a title reserved for a mother. Since antiquity no one has been raised to that rank merely for having nursed and raised the emperor. Now that one empress dowager has died, yet another is to be installed—the realm will suspect that Your Majesty cannot govern for a single day without a empress dowager's help.'

歲大蝗旱，江、淮、京東滋甚。仲淹請遣使循行，未報。乃請間曰：「宮掖中半日不食，當何如？」帝側然，乃命仲淹安撫江、淮，所至開倉振之，且禁民淫祀，奏蠲廬舒折役茶、江東丁口鹽錢，且條上救弊十事。

That year locusts and drought struck severely; the Yangzi-Huai and He-dong regions suffered most. Zhongyan requested that envoys be sent to tour the affected regions, but received no reply. He then requested a private audience and asked: 'If those within the palace went half a day without food, what would that be like?' The emperor was moved and ordered Zhongyan to pacify the Jiang and Huai regions. Wherever he went he opened granaries to relieve the people and prohibited extravagant popular sacrifices. He memorialized remission of the Lu-Shu corvée tea tax and the Jiang-dong head tax on salt, and submitted ten proposals for remedying abuses.

會郭皇后廢，率諫官、御史伏閣爭之，不能得。明日，將留百官揖宰相廷爭，方至待漏院，有詔出知睦州。歲餘，徙蘇州。州大水，民田不得耕，仲淹疏五河，導太湖注之海，募人興作，未就，尋徙明州，轉運使奏留仲淹以畢其役，許之。拜尚書禮部員外郎、天章閣待制，召還，判國子監，遷吏部員外郎、權知開封府。

When Empress Guo was deposed, he led remonstrating officials and censorial commissioners in kneeling at the palace gate to protest, but could not prevail. The next day he planned to keep all officials at court to bow before the chief councilor and argue the matter—but before he reached the waiting court, an edict arrived appointing him prefect of Mu Prefecture. After more than a year he was transferred to Suzhou. A great flood struck the prefecture and the people's fields could not be tilled. Zhongyan dredged five waterways to channel Lake Tai into the sea and hired labor for the project. Before the work was finished he was transferred to Ming Prefecture, but the transport commissioner memorialized to keep Zhongyan until the project was complete, and this was granted. He was appointed Assistant Director in the Ministry of Rites and Gentleman Consultant at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations, recalled to the capital, put in charge of the Directorate of Education, then promoted to Assistant Director in the Ministry of Personnel and acting prefect of Kaifeng.

時呂夷簡執政，進用者多出其門。仲淹上《百官圖》，指其次第曰：「如此為序遷，如此為不次，如此則公，如此則私。況進退近臣，凡超格者，不宜全委之宰相。」夷簡不悅。他日，論建都之事，仲淹曰：「洛陽險固，而汴為四戰之地，太平宜居汴，即有事必居洛陽。當漸廣儲蓄，繕宮室。」帝問夷簡，夷簡曰：「此仲淹迂闊之論也。」仲淹乃為四論以獻，大抵譏切時政。且曰：「漢成帝信張禹，不疑舅家，故有新莽之禍。臣恐今日亦有張禹，壞陛下家法。」夷簡怒訴曰：「仲淹離間陛下君臣，所引用，皆朋黨也。」仲淹對益切，由是罷知饒州。

At that time Lü Yijian held power, and most of those promoted came from his circle. Zhongyan submitted an 'Officials' Chart' and, pointing to each rank in order, said: 'This is regular promotion; this is extraordinary promotion; this serves the public good; this serves private interest. Moreover, when promoting or demoting close ministers—whenever advancement goes beyond regular rank—the chief councilor should not be given sole discretion.' Yijian was displeased. On another occasion, discussing the choice of capital, Zhongyan said: 'Luoyang is naturally fortified, whereas Bian is ground for fighting on four fronts. In peace one should reside at Bian; should trouble arise one must move to Luoyang. Stores should be gradually expanded and palaces repaired there.' The emperor asked Yijian, who said: 'This is Zhongyan's impractical, wide-of-the-mark talk.' Zhongyan then composed four memorial essays and presented them, largely criticizing current policy. He also said: 'Emperor Cheng of Han trusted Zhang Yu and did not suspect his wife's family, and thus arose the disaster of Wang Mang. I fear that today too there may be a Zhang Yu undermining Your Majesty's household discipline.' Yijian angrily complained: 'Zhongyan is driving a wedge between Your Majesty and your ministers. Everyone he recommends belongs to a clique.' Zhongyan's replies grew sharper still, and on this account he was dismissed and made prefect of Rao Prefecture.

殿中侍御史韓瀆希宰相旨，請書仲淹朋黨，揭之朝堂。於是秘書丞余靖上言曰：「仲淹以一言忤宰相，遽加貶竄，況前所言者在陛下母子夫婦之間乎？陛下既優容之矣，臣請追改前命。」太子中允尹洙自訟與仲淹師友，且嘗薦己，願從降黜。館閣校勘歐陽修以高若訥在諫官，坐視而不言，移書責之。由是，三人者偕坐貶。明年，夷簡亦罷，自是朋黨之論興矣。仲淹既去，士大夫為論薦者不已。仁宗謂宰相張士遜曰：「向貶仲淹，為其密請建立皇太弟故也。今朋黨稱薦如此，奈何？」再下詔戒敕。

Palace Censor Han Du, eager to please the chief councilor, requested that Zhongyan's clique be written out and posted in the court hall. Thereupon Secretariat Assistant Yu Jing memorialized: 'Zhongyan, for a single word that offended the chief councilor, was suddenly demoted and banished—yet what he had spoken of before concerned matters between Your Majesty and your mother, and between husband and wife! Your Majesty has already treated him leniently; I ask that the previous order be withdrawn and revised.' Crown Prince Aide Yin Shu pleaded on his own behalf that he was Zhongyan's teacher and friend and had even recommended himself, and wished to share the demotion. Archive collator Ouyang Xiu, because Gao Ruonè held a remonstrating post yet watched without speaking, sent him a letter of reproach. On this account all three were likewise demoted. The next year Yijian was also dismissed, and from that time talk of factions arose. After Zhongyan departed, the gentry never ceased recommending and speaking on his behalf. Renzong said to Chief Councilor Zhang Shisun: 'The earlier demotion of Zhongyan was because he had secretly requested the establishment of a younger imperial brother as heir. Yet now factions praise and recommend him in this way—what is to be done?' He issued edicts of warning again.

仲淹在饒州歲餘，徙潤州，又徙越州。元昊反，召為天章閣待制、知永興軍，改陝西都轉運使。會夏竦為陝西經略安撫、招討使，進仲淹龍圖閣直學士以副之。夷簡再入相，帝諭仲淹使釋前憾。仲淹頓首謝曰：「臣鄉論蓋國家事，于夷簡無憾也。」

After more than a year at Rao Prefecture, Zhongyan was transferred to Run Prefecture, then again to Yue Prefecture. When Yuan Hao rebelled, Zhongyan was summoned as Gentleman Consultant at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations and prefect of the Yongxing Army, then appointed transport commissioner for Shaanxi. When Xia Song became pacification and recruitment commissioner for Shaanxi, Zhongyan was promoted to Academician Expositor in Direct Attendance at the Hall of Dragon Manifestations to serve as his deputy. When Yijian returned to power a second time, the emperor instructed Zhongyan to set aside past resentments. Zhongyan bowed and said: 'My arguments in court concerned affairs of state; toward Yijian I bear no personal resentment.'

延州諸砦多失守，仲淹自請行，遷戶部郎中兼知延州。先是，詔分邊兵：總管領萬人，鈐轄領五千人，都監領三千人。寇至禦之，則官卑者先出。仲淹曰：「將不擇人，以官為先後，取敗之道也。」於是大閱州兵，得萬八千人，分為六，各將三千人，分部教之，量賊眾寡，使更出禦賊。時塞門、承平諸砦既廢，用種世衡策，城青澗以據賊沖，大興營田，且聽民得互市，以通有無。又以民遠輸勞苦，請建鄜城為軍，以河中、同、華中下戶稅租就輸之。春夏徙兵就食，可省糴十之三，他所減不與。詔以為康定軍。

Many fortresses in the Yan Prefecture sector had fallen. Zhongyan volunteered to go in person and was promoted to Director in the Ministry of Revenue while also serving as acting prefect of Yan. Previously an edict had divided border troops: the supreme commander led ten thousand men, the controller five thousand, and the superintendent three thousand. When enemies came and troops went out to meet them, the officer of lower rank went out first. Zhongyan said: 'If generals are not chosen for ability but precedence is given to office rank, that is the path to defeat.' Thereupon he conducted a major review of prefectural troops and obtained eighteen thousand men. He divided them into six divisions of three thousand each under commanders, trained them by section, and according to the enemy's strength had them rotate in going out to meet them. At that time the Saimen and Chengping fortresses had already been abandoned. Adopting Zhong Shihheng's plan, he fortified Qingjian to block the enemy's route of advance, greatly expanded military colonies, and also allowed the people to trade across the border so that goods could circulate. Because long-distance transport of provisions burdened the people, he requested that a military settlement be established at Fucheng so that lower-bracket households in Hezhong, Tong, and Huazhong could deliver their tax grain there. In spring and summer troops could move there for rations, saving thirty percent of purchased grain—a saving unmatched elsewhere. An edict established this as the Kangding Army.

明年正月，詔諸路入討，仲淹曰：「正月塞外大寒，我師暴露，不如俟春深入，賊馬瘦人饑，勢易制也。況邊備漸修，師出有紀，賊雖猖獗，固已懾其氣矣。鄜、延密邇靈、夏，西羌必由之地也。第按兵不動，以觀其釁，許臣稍以恩信招來之。不然，情意阻絕，臣恐偃兵無期矣。若臣策不效，當舉兵先取綏、宥，據要害，屯兵營田，為持久計，則茶山、橫山之民，必挈族來歸矣。拓疆禦寇，策之上也。」帝皆用其議。仲淹又請修承平、永平等砦，稍招還流亡，定堡障，通斥候，城十二砦，於是羌漢之民，相踵歸業。

In the first month of the following year an edict ordered all routes to launch punitive campaigns. Zhongyan said: 'In the first month the cold beyond the passes is severe and our armies would be exposed in the open. It is better to wait until spring for a deep advance, when the enemy's horses are lean and men hungry and their situation easier to control. Moreover border defenses are being gradually improved and campaigns are conducted with discipline; though the enemy is rampant, their spirit is already cowed. Fu and Yan lie close to Ling and Xia—the Western Qiang must pass through there. Simply hold the army in place and watch for provocations; allow me gradually to win them over with favor and trust. Otherwise, with goodwill cut off, I fear there will be no end in sight to the cessation of arms. If my plan fails, I should raise troops first to take Sui and You, hold the strategic points, station troops and develop military colonies as a long-term plan—then the people of Chashan and Hengshan will surely bring their clans to submit. Expanding territory and repelling enemies is the highest strategy.' The emperor adopted all his proposals. Zhongyan also requested repair of the Chengping and Yongping fortresses, gradually recalled exiles, established defensive barriers, connected scout lines, and fortified twelve fortresses—whereupon Han and Qiang people followed one another home to their occupations.

久之，元昊歸陷將高延德，因與仲淹約和，仲淹為書戒喻之。會任福敗于好水川，元昊答書語不遜，仲淹對來使焚之。大臣以為不當輒通書，又不當輒焚之，宋庠請斬仲淹，帝不聽。降本曹員外郎、知耀州，徙慶州，遷左司郎中，為環慶路經略安撫、緣邊招討使。初，元昊反，陰誘屬羌為助，而環慶酋長六百余人，約為鄉道'事尋露。仲淹以其反復不常也，至部即奏行邊，以詔書犒賞諸羌，閱其人馬，為立條約：「若仇已和斷，輒私報之及傷人者，罰羊百、馬二，已殺者斬。負債爭訟，聽告官為理，輒質縛平人者，罰羊五十、馬一。賊馬入界，追集不赴隨本族，每戶罰羊二，質其首領。賊大入，老幼入保本砦，官為給食；即不入砦，本家罰羊二；全族不至，質其首領。」諸羌皆受命，自是始為漢用矣。

After some time Yuan Hao returned the captured general Gao Yande and accordingly negotiated peace with Zhongyan, who wrote a letter admonishing him. When Ren Fu was defeated at Haoshui Creek, Yuan Hao's reply used insolent language; Zhongyan burned it before the envoy. Senior ministers held that he should not have communicated by letter on his own authority, nor burned it on his own authority. Song Kui requested that Zhongyan be executed, but the emperor would not hear of it. He was demoted in rank within his ministry to assistant director and made prefect of Yao Prefecture, transferred to Qing Prefecture, promoted to Director in the Left Secretariat, and appointed pacification and recruitment commissioner for the Huan-Qing circuit along the border. Initially when Yuan Hao rebelled he had secretly lured subject Qiang tribes to assist him; more than six hundred chieftains of Huan and Qing had agreed to serve as local guides, but the plot was soon exposed. Because of their fickleness, as soon as Zhongyan arrived at his post he memorialized to tour the border and, by imperial edict, rewarded the various Qiang tribes with gifts; he inspected their men and horses and established regulations: 'If after a feud has been reconciled one privately reports it or injures another person, the fine is one hundred sheep and two horses; if someone has been killed, execution. For debt disputes and lawsuits, one may report to officials for judgment; if one forcibly seizes and binds a free commoner, the fine is fifty sheep and one horse. When enemy horses enter the border, if one fails to muster and follow one's tribe to pursue, each household is fined two sheep, and the headman is taken as hostage. When the enemy invades in force, the old and young enter the nearest fortress and officials provide food; if one does not enter the fortress, that household is fined two sheep; if the entire clan fails to come, their headman is taken as hostage.' All the Qiang accepted these commands; from this time they began to serve the Han.

改邠州觀察使，仲淹表言：「觀察使班待制下，臣守邊數年，羌人頗親愛臣，呼臣為'龍圖老子'。今退而與王興、朱觀為伍，第恐為賊輕矣。」辭不拜。慶之西北馬鋪砦，當後橋川口，在賊腹中。仲淹欲城之，度賊必爭，密遣子純祐與蕃將趙明先據其地，引兵隨之。諸將不知所向，行至柔遠，始號令之，版築皆具，旬日而城成，即大順城是也。賊覺，以騎三萬來戰，佯北，仲淹戒勿追，已而果有伏。大順既城，而白豹、金湯皆不敢犯，環慶自此寇益少。

He was made Military Commissioner of Bin Prefecture. Zhongyan memorialized: 'The military commissioner's rank is below that of a Gentleman Consultant. I have defended the border for several years; the Qiang people have grown quite fond of me and call me "Old Man Longtu. Now to step back and be ranked with Wang Xing and Zhu Guan—I fear the enemy will only hold me in contempt.' He declined and refused the appointment. Mapu Fort northwest of Qing Prefecture stood at the mouth of Houqiao Creek, deep in enemy territory. Zhongyan wished to build a fort there and expected the enemy would contest it. He secretly sent his son Chunyou and the tribal general Zhao Ming to seize the ground first, then led troops after them. The generals did not know where they were headed; only when they reached Rouyuan did he issue orders. Building materials were all ready, and in ten days the fort was completed—this was Dashun Fort. The enemy discovered this and came with thirty thousand cavalry to fight. They feigned retreat, but Zhongyan warned against pursuit—and indeed there was an ambush. Once Dashun was fortified, Baibao and Jintang dared not violate it, and from this time raids in Huan and Qing grew fewer.

明珠、滅臧勁兵數萬，仲淹聞涇原欲襲討之，上言曰：「二族道險，不可攻，前日高繼嵩已喪師。平時且懷反側，今討之，必與賊表裏，南入原州，西擾鎮戎，東侵環州，邊患未艾也。若北取細腰、胡蘆眾泉為堡障，以斷賊路，則二族安，而環州、鎮戎徑道通徹，可無憂矣。」其後，遂築細腰、胡蘆諸砦。

Mingzhu and Miezang had strong forces numbering tens of thousands. Zhongyan heard that Jingyuan intended to launch a surprise attack on them and memorialized: 'The two tribes occupy dangerous routes and cannot be attacked; the other day Gao Jisong already lost his army. Even in normal times they harbor rebellious intent. If we attack them now, they will surely join the enemy inside and out, push south into Yuan Prefecture, harass Zhenrong in the west, and invade Huan Prefecture in the east—border troubles will not cease. If we take Xiyao and Hulu to the north and their many springs as defensive barriers to cut the enemy's routes, the two tribes will be secure and the direct roads to Huan Prefecture and Zhenrong will be open—there will be nothing to worry about.' Thereafter they fortified Xiyao, Hulu, and the other fortresses.

葛懷敏敗於定川，賊大掠至潘原，關中震恐，民多竄山谷間。仲淹率眾六千，由邠、涇援之，聞賊已出塞，乃還。始，定川事聞，帝按圖謂左右曰：「若仲淹出援，吾無憂矣。」奏至，帝大喜曰：「吾固知仲淹可用也。」進樞密直學士、右諫議大夫。仲淹以軍出無功，辭不敢受命，詔不聽。

Ge Huaimin was defeated at Dingchuan; the enemy plundered as far as Panyuan. Guanzhong was shaken with fear, and many people fled into the mountains and valleys. Zhongyan led six thousand men through Bin and Jing to relieve them. Hearing that the enemy had already left the frontier, he returned. When news of Dingchuan first arrived, the emperor studied the map and said to those around him: 'If Zhongyan goes out to relieve them, I have no worries.' When the memorial arrived, the emperor was greatly pleased and said: 'I always knew Zhongyan could be relied upon.' He was promoted to Academician Expositor in Direct Attendance at the Bureau of Military Affairs and Right Remonstrance Grandee. Zhongyan, because his expedition had achieved no success, declined and dared not accept the appointment; an edict refused to hear of it.

時已命文彥博經略涇原，帝以涇原傷夷，欲對徙仲淹，遣王懷德喻之。仲淹謝曰：「涇原地重，第恐臣不足當此路。與韓琦同經略涇原，並駐涇州，琦兼秦鳳、臣兼環慶。涇原有警，臣與韓琦合秦鳳，環慶之兵，掎角而進；若秦鳳、環慶有警，亦可率涇原之師為援。臣當與琦練兵選將，漸復橫山，以斷賊臂，不數年間，可期平定矣。願詔龐籍兼領環慶，以成首尾之勢。秦州委文彥博，慶州用滕宗諒總之。孫沔亦可辦集。渭州，一武臣足矣。」帝採用其言，復置陝西路安撫、經略、招討使，以仲淹、韓琦、龐籍分領之。仲淹與琦開府涇州，而徙彥博帥秦，宗諒帥慶，張亢帥渭。

At that time Wen Yanbo had already been appointed to oversee Jingyuan. Because Jingyuan had suffered heavy losses, the emperor wished to transfer Zhongyan in exchange and sent Wang Huaide to explain this to him. Zhongyan declined, saying: 'Jingyuan is a weighty post; I fear only that I am not equal to this route. Together with Han Qi he should oversee Jingyuan, both stationed at Jing Prefecture—Qi would also cover Qin and Feng, and I would also cover Huan and Qing. If Jingyuan is alarmed, Han Qi and I will combine the forces of Qin-Feng and Huan-Qing and advance in pincer fashion; if Qin-Feng or Huan-Qing is alarmed, we can also lead the armies of Jingyuan as relief. I should train troops and select generals with Qi, gradually recover Hengshan, and cut off the enemy's arm—in a few years, pacification may be expected. I ask that Pang Ji be ordered to also oversee Huan and Qing, so as to form a coordinated front and rear. Qin Prefecture should be entrusted to Wen Yanbo, and Qing Prefecture placed under Teng Zongliang's overall command. Sun Mian can also handle the gathering of forces. For Wei Prefecture, one military official is sufficient.' The emperor adopted his proposal, restored the posts of pacification, military oversight, and recruitment commissioner for the Shaanxi circuit, and had Zhongyan, Han Qi, and Pang Ji divide command among them. Zhongyan and Qi opened their headquarters at Jing Prefecture, while Yanbo was transferred to command Qin, Zongliang to command Qing, and Zhang Kang to command Wei.

仲淹為將，號令明白，愛撫士卒，諸羌來者，推心接之不疑，故賊亦不敢輒犯其境。元昊請和，召拜樞密副使。王舉正懦默不任事，諫官歐陽修等言仲淹有相材，請罷舉正用仲淹，遂改參知政事。仲淹曰：「執政可由諫官而得乎？」固辭不拜，願與韓琦出行邊。命為陝西宣撫使，未行，復除參知政事。會王倫寇淮南，州縣官有不能守者，朝廷欲按誅之。仲淹曰：「平時諱言武備，寇至而專責守臣死事，可乎？」守令皆得不誅。

As a general Zhongyan's orders were clear. He cherished and comforted his soldiers, and toward Qiang who came to him he received them with open sincerity and without suspicion; thus the enemy also did not dare lightly violate his territory. When Yuan Hao requested peace, Zhongyan was summoned and appointed Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Wang Juzheng was timid and silent and did not attend to affairs. Remonstrating officials such as Ouyang Xiu said Zhongyan had the talent of a chief councilor and requested that Juzheng be dismissed and Zhongyan used; he was then appointed Vice Grand Councilor. Zhongyan said: 'Can one obtain governing power through remonstrating officials?' He firmly declined and would not accept, wishing instead to go to the border with Han Qi. He was appointed Shaanxi pacification commissioner; before he departed he was again appointed Vice Grand Councilor. When Wang Lun raided Huainan, some prefectural and county officials could not hold their posts; the court wished to investigate and execute them. Zhongyan said: 'In normal times we avoid speaking of military preparedness, yet when bandits arrive we hold defending officials solely responsible to die at their posts—is this acceptable?' The prefects and magistrates were all spared execution.

帝方銳意太平，數問當世事，仲淹語人曰：「上用我至矣，事有先後，久安之弊，非朝夕可革也。」帝再賜手詔，又為之開天章閣，召二府條對，仲淹皇恐，退而上十事：

The emperor was then keenly intent on great peace and repeatedly asked about current affairs. Zhongyan told others: 'The emperor's use of me has reached its height. Affairs have an order of priority—the abuses of long peace cannot be reformed overnight.' The emperor twice bestowed handwritten edicts, also opened the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations for him, and summoned the two councils to respond item by item. Zhongyan was awed and fearful; he withdrew and submitted ten items:

一曰明黜陟。二府非有大功大善者不遷，內外須在職滿三年，在京百司非選舉而授，須通滿五年，乃得磨勘，庶幾考績之法矣。二曰抑僥倖。罷少卿、監以上乾元節恩澤；正郎以下若監司、邊任，須在職滿二年，始得蔭子；大臣不得薦子弟任館閣職，蔭子之法無冗濫矣。三曰精貢舉。進士、諸科請罷糊名法，參考履行無闕者，以名聞。進士先策論，後詩賦，諸科取兼通經義者。賜第以上，皆取詔裁。餘優等免選注官，次第人守本科選。進士之法，可以循名而責實矣。四曰擇長官。委中書、樞密院先選轉運使、提點刑獄、大藩知州；次委兩制、三司、御史台、開封府官、諸路監司舉知州、通判；知州通判舉知縣、令。限其人數，以舉主多者從中書選除。刺史、縣令，可以得人矣。五曰均公田。外官廩給不均，何以求其為善耶？請均其入，第給之，使有以自養，然後可以責廉節，而不法者可誅廢矣。六曰厚農桑。每歲預下諸路，風吏民言農田利害，堤堰渠塘，州縣選官治之。定勸課之法以興農利，減漕運。江南之圩田，浙西之河塘，隳廢者可興矣。七曰修武備。約府兵法，募畿輔強壯為衛士，以助正兵。三時務農，一時教戰，省給贍之費。畿輔有成法，則諸道皆可舉行矣。八曰推恩信。赦令有所施行，主司稽違者，重置於法；別遣使按視其所當行者，所在無廢格上恩者矣。九曰重命令。法度所以示信也，行之未幾，旋即厘改。請政事之臣參議可以久行者，刪去煩冗，裁為制敕行下，命令不至於數變更矣。十曰減徭役。戶口耗少而供億滋多，省縣邑戶少者為鎮，並使、州兩院為一，職官白直，給以州兵，其不應受役者悉歸之農，民無重困之憂矣。

First: make promotions and demotions clear. Those in the two councils should not be transferred unless they have great merit or great virtue. Inside and outside the capital one must serve a full three years in office, and those in the capital bureaus who were appointed without examination must serve a full five years before merit review—thus the method of evaluating performance may be realized. Second: restrain undeserved favor. Abolish Qianyuan Festival favors for assistant directors and supervisors and above; for regular directors and below, as well as supervisory commissioners and border posts, one must serve a full two years in office before one's sons may receive inherited privilege; great ministers may not recommend their sons and younger brothers for archive posts—the law of inherited privilege will no longer be redundant and excessive. Third: refine the examination and recommendation system. For jinshi and other examination categories, request abolition of the sealed-name method. Those whose conduct upon investigation is without fault should be reported by name. For jinshi, policy essays first and then poetry and rhapsodies; for other categories select those who broadly master classical meaning. Those granted palace rank and above should all be subject to edictal decision. The remaining top grades are exempt from selection and appointment; those in order remain within their original category's selection. The jinshi system can then match names to actual merit. Fourth: select chief local officials. Entrust the Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs first to select transport commissioners, judicial intendant commissioners, and prefects of major prefectures; next entrust drafters, the three fiscal commissions, the Censorate, Kaifeng officials, and route supervisory commissioners to recommend prefects and vice-prefects; prefects and vice-prefects recommend magistrates and district chiefs. Limit the number of nominees; where recommending hosts are numerous, the Secretariat selects and appoints from among them. Prefects and magistrates can then obtain the right men. Fifth: equalize public fields. External officials' salary provisions are unequal—how can one expect them to do good? Request that their income be equalized and simply provided, so they have means to support themselves. Only then can integrity be required, and those who violate the law may be punished and dismissed. Sixth: strengthen agriculture and sericulture. Each year send down instructions to all routes in advance, encouraging officials and people to report on the benefits and harms of farmland, dikes, weirs, canals, and ponds. Prefectures and counties select officials to manage them. Establish methods of encouraging production to promote agricultural profit and reduce grain transport. The polder fields of Jiangnan and the river ponds of western Zhe can be revived where they have fallen into ruin. Seventh: repair military preparedness. Following the capital guard military method, recruit strong men from the capital region as guard soldiers to assist the regular army. Three seasons devoted to farming, one season to military training—saving the cost of provisions. If the capital region has an established method, then all circuits can implement it. Eighth: extend favor and trust. When amnesty edicts are to be implemented, responsible offices that delay or violate them should be heavily punished according to law; separately dispatch envoys to inspect what should be carried out, so that nowhere will imperial favor be nullified. Ninth: give weight to commands. Laws and standards exist to show trustworthiness, yet before they have been in force long they are immediately revised. Request that governing ministers jointly discuss what can be long maintained, delete the redundant, trim them into regulations and edicts for issuance, so commands will not be changed repeatedly. Tenth: reduce corvée and labor service. Households have dwindled while supplies demanded have increased. Reduce counties and districts with few households to market towns, merge the two courts of circuit and prefecture into one, assign official runners and guards state troops, and return all who should not bear corvée to farming—the people will be free from the worry of heavy oppression.

天子方信向仲淹，悉採用之，宜著令者，皆以詔書畫一頒下；獨府兵法，眾以為不可而止。

The Son of Heaven was then placing full trust in Zhongyan and adopted all his proposals. Where regulations should be established, unified edicts were issued; only the capital guard military method was halted because the multitude deemed it unworkable.

又建言：「周制，三公分兼六官之職，漢以三公分部六卿，唐以宰相分判六曹。今中書，古天官塚宰也，樞密院，古夏官司馬也。四官散於群有司，無三公兼領之重。而二府惟進擢差除，循資級，議賞罰，檢用條例而已。上非三公論道之任，下無六卿佐王之職，非治法也。臣請仿前代，以三司、司農、審官、流內銓、三班院、國子監、太常、刑部、審刑、大理、群牧、殿前馬步軍司，各委輔臣兼判其事。凡官吏黜陟、刑法重輕、事有利害者，並從輔臣予奪：其體大者，二府僉議奏裁。臣請自領兵賦之職，如其無補，請先黜降。」章得象等皆曰不可。久之，乃命參知政事賈昌朝領農田，仲淹領刑法，然卒不果行。

He also proposed: 'Under the Zhou system the Three Dukes concurrently held the duties of the Six Offices; Han had the Three Dukes divide supervision among the Six Ministers; Tang had chief councilors divide judgment among the Six Bureaus. Today the Secretariat is the ancient Heavenly Office Grand Steward; the Bureau of Military Affairs is the ancient Summer Office Minister of War. The four offices are scattered among the various departments, without the weight of the Three Dukes' concurrent leadership. Yet the two councils only promote, appoint, follow seniority ranks, discuss rewards and punishments, and check against regulations—that is all. Above there is not the Three Dukes' duty of discussing the Way; below there are not the Six Ministers' offices of assisting the ruler—this is not proper governance. Your subject requests following previous dynasties: the Three Commissions, Agriculture Commission, Office of Review, Within-the-Flow Selection Office, Three-Rank Court, Directorate of Education, Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Ministry of Punishments, Office of Judicial Review, Court of Judicial Review, Pasturage Commission, and Palace Front Horse and Foot Army Command—each should be entrusted to assisting ministers to concurrently judge their affairs. All matters of officials' promotion and demotion, the severity of criminal law, and affairs of benefit or harm should be decided by assisting ministers. For those of larger scope, the two councils jointly discuss and memorialize for decision. Your subject requests to take charge of military and fiscal duties himself. If they prove unhelpful, please demote me first.' Zhang Dexiang and others all said it could not be done. After some time they ordered Vice Grand Councilor Jia Changchao to oversee agriculture and Zhongyan to oversee criminal law, but in the end it was not carried out.

初，仲淹以忤呂夷簡，放逐者數年，士大夫持二人曲直，交指為朋黨。及陝西用兵，天子以仲淹士望所屬，拔用之。及夷簡罷，召還，倚以為治，中外想望其功業。而仲淹以天下為己任，裁削幸濫，考覈官吏，日夜謀慮興致太平。然更張無漸，規摹闊大，論者以為不可行。及按察使出，多所舉劾，人心不悅。自任子之恩薄，磨勘之法密，僥倖者不便，於是謗毀稍行，而朋黨之論浸聞上矣。

Initially, because Zhongyan had offended Lü Yijian, he was banished for several years. The gentry took sides on the rights and wrongs of the two men and mutually denounced each other as clique members. When military operations began in Shaanxi, the Son of Heaven, because the gentry's esteem rested on Zhongyan, promoted and used him. When Yijian was dismissed, Zhongyan was recalled and relied upon for governance. Inside and outside the court all looked to his achievements. Yet Zhongyan took the realm as his own responsibility, cut back favoritism and excess, examined officials, and day and night plotted to bring about great peace. Yet his reforms lacked gradualness, his plans were broad and large, and critics held them unworkable. When investigative commissioners went out and impeached many, hearts were displeased. Since favors for sons by inherited privilege grew thin and merit review grew strict, those who relied on luck found it inconvenient. Thus slander gradually spread, and talk of cliques gradually reached the emperor.

會邊陲有警，因與樞密副使富弼請行邊。於是，以仲淹為河東、陝西宣撫使，賜黃金百兩，悉分遺邊將。麟州新罹大寇，言者多請棄之，仲淹為修故砦，招還流亡三千餘戶，蠲其稅，罷榷酤予民。又奏免府州商稅，河外遂安。比去。攻者益急，仲淹亦自請罷政事，乃以為資政殿學士、陝西四路宣撫使、知邠州。其在中書所施為，亦稍稍沮罷。

When there was alarm on the frontier, he joined Vice Commissioner Fu Bi in requesting to go to the border. Thereupon Zhongyan was made pacification commissioner for Hedong and Shaanxi. He was granted one hundred taels of gold and distributed them all to border generals. Lin Prefecture had recently suffered a major raid; many who spoke on policy requested abandoning it. Zhongyan repaired the old fortresses, recalled more than three thousand refugee households, remitted their taxes, and abolished the government liquor monopoly in favor of the people. He also memorialized remission of commercial tax in Fu Prefecture, and the region west of the Yellow River was thus pacified. Shortly before he left the capital. The attacks against him intensified, and Zhongyan himself asked to be relieved of his ministerial duties. He was then made Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance, Pacification Commissioner for the four Shaanxi circuits, and Prefect of Bin. The policies he had put in place at the Secretariat were also gradually blocked and rolled back.

以疾請鄧州，進給事中。徙荊南，鄧人遮使者請留，仲淹亦願留鄧，許之。尋徙杭州，再遷戶部侍郎，徙青州。會病甚，請潁州，未至而卒，年六十四。贈兵部尚書，諡文正。初，仲淹病，帝常遣使賜藥存問，既卒，嗟悼久之。又遣使就問其家，既葬，帝親書其碑曰「褒賢之碑。」

Illness led him to request a post at Deng Prefecture, and he was promoted to Drafting Attendant. When he was reassigned to Jingnan, the people of Deng intercepted the imperial messenger and begged that he be kept. Zhongyan too wished to remain at Deng, and the request was granted. He was soon moved to Hang Prefecture, promoted again to Vice Minister of Revenue, and then transferred to Qing Prefecture. When his illness grew grave, he asked to go to Ying Prefecture, but died before he could reach it, at the age of sixty-four. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Minister of War and given the posthumous name Wenzheng, "Upright in Culture." While Zhongyan was ill, the emperor had often sent messengers with medicine to inquire after his health. After his death, the emperor sighed in grief for a long while. He also dispatched an envoy to visit the family. Once the funeral was over, the emperor personally inscribed the stele with the title "Stele in Commendation of the Worthy."

仲淹內剛外和，性至孝，以母在時方貧，其後雖貴，非賓客不重肉。妻子衣食，僅能自充。而好施予，置義莊里中，以贍族人。泛愛樂善，士多出其門下，雖里巷之人，皆能道其名字。死之日，四方聞者，皆為歎息。為政尚忠厚，所至有恩，邠、慶二州之民與屬羌，皆畫像立生祠事之。及其卒也，羌酋數百人，哭之如父，齋三日而去。四子：純祐、純仁、純禮、純粹。

Zhongyan was resolute at heart yet mild in manner, and profoundly filial by nature. His mother had lived in poverty, and even after he rose to high rank he would not set out a second dish of meat unless he had guests. His wife and children had barely enough food and clothing to get by. Yet he delighted in giving, and established a charity estate in his home village to support members of his clan. Broad in his benevolence and eager to promote the good, he drew many scholars from his household, and even common townsfolk could speak his name. When he died, people far and wide who heard the news all sighed in grief. In office he prized sincerity and kindness and left a legacy of grace wherever he served. The people of Bin and Qing, together with the Tangut tribes under his jurisdiction, painted his likeness and built living shrines in his honor. At his death several hundred Tangut chieftains mourned him as they would a father, kept three days of abstinence, and only then took their leave. He had four sons: Chunyou, Chunren, Chunli, and Chuncui.

子純祐

His son Chunyou.

純祐，字天成，性英悟自得，尚節行。方十歲，能讀諸書；為文章，籍籍有稱。父仲淹守蘇州，首建郡學，聘胡瑗為師。瑗立學規良密，生徒數百，多不率教，仲淹患之。純祐尚未冠，輒白入學，齒諸生之末，盡行其規，諸生隨之，遂不敢犯。自是蘇學為諸郡倡。寶元中，西夏叛，仲淹連官關陝，皆將兵。純祐與將卒錯處，鉤深擿隱，得其才否。由是仲淹任人無失，而屢有功。仲淹帥環慶，議城馬鋪砦，砦逼夏境，夏懼扼其沖，侵撓其役。純祐率兵馳據其地，夏眾大至，且戰且役，數日而成，一路恃之以安。純祐事父母孝，未嘗違左右，不應科第。及仲淹以讒罷，純祐不得已，蔭守將作監主簿，又為司竹監，以非所好，即解去。從仲淹之鄧，得疾昏廢，臥許昌。富弼守淮西，過省之，猶能感慨道忠義，問弼之來公耶私耶，弼曰「公」。純祐曰「公則可」。凡病十九年卒，年四十九。子正臣，守太常寺太祝。

Chunyou, styled Tiancheng, was naturally quick and self-assured, and held fast to integrity in his conduct. By the age of ten he could read the full range of canonical texts. His essays won wide acclaim. When his father Zhongyan governed Suzhou, he founded the prefectural school—the first of its kind—and engaged Hu Yuan as its master. Hu Yuan drew up rigorous school rules, but of the several hundred students many refused to obey them, to Zhongyan's dismay. Chunyou was still under age, yet he asked to enroll, took the lowest place among the students, and obeyed every rule to the letter. The others followed his example, and from then on none dared break the regulations. Thereafter the Suzhou school became the standard for prefectural education throughout the realm. During the Baoyuan period, when the Western Xia rose in rebellion, Zhongyan held a series of posts along the Guan-Shaan frontier, each time with command of troops. Chunyou lived among the officers and rank and file, questioning them closely and drawing out what they kept hidden, until he knew exactly who had ability and who lacked it. Thanks to this, Zhongyan never misjudged the men he appointed and won repeated victories. While Zhongyan was military commissioner of Huan-Qing, he proposed building Mapu Fort. The site lay hard against the Xia frontier; fearing their supply line would be cut, the Xia repeatedly raided the builders. Chunyou raced ahead with troops to seize the site. A large Xia army arrived, but he fought while building, and within days the fort was finished. The entire circuit thereafter depended on it for its safety. Chunyou was devoted to his parents and never strayed from their side; he declined to pursue the examination route to office. After Zhongyan fell victim to slander and lost office, Chunyou reluctantly accepted a yin privilege appointment as recorder at the Directorate of Palace Buildings, and later served as commissioner of the Bamboo Plantations Office. Finding neither post to his taste, he resigned at once. He accompanied Zhongyan to Deng, then fell gravely ill and was left incapacitated, confined to his bed at Xuchang. Fu Bi, then governing the Huai-Xi region, stopped to see him on his way through. Chunyou could still speak passionately of loyalty and duty, and asked whether the visit was official or personal. Fu Bi answered, "Official." Chunyou replied, "If it is official business, then very well." His illness lasted nineteen years in all; he died at forty-nine. His son Zhengchen served as a sacrificial officer in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

子純禮

His son Chunli.

純禮，字彝叟，以父仲淹蔭，為秘書省正字，簽書河南府判官，知陵台令兼永安縣。永昭陵建，京西轉運使配木石磚甓及工徒於一路，獨永安不受令。使者以白陵使韓琦，琦曰：「范純禮豈不知此？將必有說。」他日，眾質之，純禮曰：「陵寢皆在邑境，歲時繕治無虛日，今乃與百縣均賦，曷若置此，使之奉常時用乎。」琦是其對。還朝，用為三司鹽鐵判官，以比部員外郎出知遂州。

Chunli, styled Yisou, entered office through his father Zhongyan's yin privilege as a secretariat proofreader, signed as judicial commissioner of Henan Prefecture, and governed Lingtai while concurrently administering Yong'an County. During construction of the Yongzhao Mausoleum, the Jingxi transport commissioner levied timber, stone, brick, tile, and labor from every county in the circuit. Yong'an alone declined to comply. The envoy reported the matter to the mausoleum commissioner Han Qi, who said, "Fan Chunli must surely understand the situation. He must have his reasons. Some days later the others pressed him for an explanation. Chunli said, "The imperial tombs all fall within my county's jurisdiction, and we maintain them without a day's interruption. To impose the same levy as on a hundred other counties—would it not be better to exempt us so those funds can meet the tombs' everyday needs?" Han Qi accepted his reasoning. After returning to court he was made salt and iron judge of the Three Departments, then left the capital as outer bureau vice director to govern Suizhou.

滬南有邊事，調度苛棘，純禮一以靜待之，辨其可具者，不取於民。民圖像於廬，而奉之如神，名曰「范公庵」。草場火，民情疑怖，守吏惕息俟誅。純禮曰：「草濕則生火，何足怪！」但使密償之。庫吏盜絲多罪至死，純禮曰：「以棼然之絲而殺之，吾不忍也。」聽其家趣買以贖，命釋其株連者。除戶部郎中、京西轉運副使。

When border troubles arose on the Lunan frontier, the requisitions were severe and burdensome. Chunli responded with steady calm, determined what could legitimately be furnished, and levied nothing beyond that on the populace. The people painted his likeness in a roadside shrine and venerated it as divine, calling the place the Hermitage of Lord Fan. When a hay storage yard caught fire, the people grew fearful and suspicious, and the officials in charge trembled, expecting to be punished with death. Chunli said, "Damp hay can catch fire—what is so strange about that?" He simply had the loss quietly made good. A warehouse clerk who had stolen silk faced the death penalty. Chunli said, "To execute a man over a few skeins of tangled silk—I cannot bring myself to do it." He let the family rush to buy silk to redeem him, and ordered all those caught up in the case by association to be freed. He was appointed director of the Ministry of Revenue and vice transport commissioner of Jingxi.

元祐初，入為吏部郎中，遷左司。又遷太常少卿、江淮荊浙發運使。以光祿卿召，遷刑部侍郎，進給事中。純禮凡所封駁，正名分紀綱，皆國體之大者。張耒除起居舍人，病未能朝，而令先供職。純禮批敕曰：「臣僚未有以疾謁告，不赴朝參先視事者。耒能供職，豈不能見君？壞禮亂法，所不當為。」聞者皆悚動。御史中丞擊執政，將遂代其位，先以諷純禮。純禮曰：「論人而奪之位，寧不避嫌邪？命果下，吾必還之。」宰相即徙純禮刑部侍郎，而後出命。轉吏部，改天章閣待制、樞密都承旨，去知亳州、提舉明道宮。

At the beginning of the Yuanyou reign he was recalled to the capital as director of the Ministry of Personnel and promoted to the Left Office of the Secretariat. He was next made vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and transport commissioner for the Jiang-Huai and Jing-Zhe circuits. Recalled as director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, he was transferred to vice minister of justice and promoted to drafting attendant. Every rescript Chunli returned corrected improper titles and upheld institutional propriety—each one a matter of fundamental importance to the state's dignity. Zhang Lei was appointed attendant of the diaries of activity and repose. Though too ill to attend court, he was told to take up his duties beforehand. Chunli returned the rescript with this objection: "No official has ever reported sick, skipped court audience, and begun work ahead of time. If Lei is well enough to perform his duties, how can he be too ill to appear before the emperor? This violates ritual propriety and undermines the law. It must not be permitted." All who heard of the rebuke were deeply stirred. The censor-in-chief was assailing the chief ministers with the aim of taking their posts, and he first tried to feel out Chunli's views. Chunli said, "To criticize a man in order to take his place—should one not at least avoid the appearance of self-interest? If the appointment is actually issued to me, I shall certainly refuse it. The chief minister at once moved Chunli to vice minister of justice, and only then issued the new appointment. He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, made attendant drafting academician of the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations and chief secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs, then left the capital to govern Bozhou and oversee the Mingdao Palace.

徽宗立，以龍圖閣直學士知開封府。前尹以刻深為治，純禮曰：「寬猛相濟，聖人之訓。今處深文之後，若益以猛，是以火濟火也。方務去前之苛，猶慮未盡，豈有寬為患也。」由是一切以寬處之。中旨鞫享澤村民謀逆，純禮審其故，此民入戲場觀優，歸途見匠者作桶，取而戴於首曰：「與劉先生如何？」遂為匠擒。明日入對，徽宗問何以處之，對曰：「愚人村野無所知，若以叛逆蔽罪，恐辜好生之德，以不應為杖之，足矣。」曰：「何以戒後人？」曰：「正欲外間知陛下刑憲不濫，足以為訓爾。」徽宗從之。

When Huizong came to the throne, Chunli was appointed academician of the Hall of Dragon Diagrams and prefect of Kaifeng. The previous prefect had ruled with pitiless severity. Chunli said, "Leniency and severity should complement each other—that is the sage's teaching. After an era of harsh legalism, to pile on more severity is to fight fire with fire. We are still working to undo the previous harshness and fear we have not gone far enough—how could moderation itself be a danger?" From then on he disposed of every case with a lighter hand. An imperial directive ordered an inquiry into villagers of Xiangze on charges of treason. Chunli looked into the matter and found that the man had gone to a playhouse to watch a performance. On his way home he saw a cooper making a tub, picked it up, placed it on his head, and asked, "How do I look next to Master Liu?" The cooper then seized him. The next day Chunli appeared at court. Huizong asked how the case should be handled, and he replied, "The man is an ignorant country fellow. To charge him with treason would violate the principle of sparing life. A beating for improper conduct is punishment enough." Huizong asked, "But how will that serve as a warning to others?" Chunli answered, "Precisely because I want the world to see that Your Majesty's punishments are measured and never abused—that in itself will be lesson enough." Huizong accepted his recommendation.

拜禮部尚書，擢尚書右丞。侍御史陳次升乞除罷言官並自內批，不由三省進擬，右相曾布力爭不能得，乞降黜次升。純禮徐進曰：「次升何罪？不過防柄臣各引所親，且去不附己者爾。」徽宗曰：「然。」乃寢布議。

He was appointed minister of rites and elevated to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. The remonstrance official Chen Cisheng petitioned that censorial appointments be dismissed by direct imperial rescript, bypassing the Three Departments. Right Chancellor Zeng Bu fought the proposal hard but could not stop it, and asked that Cisheng himself be demoted. Chunli stepped forward calmly and asked, "What offense has Cisheng committed? Nothing more than preventing powerful ministers from installing their own partisans and purging those who refuse to follow them. Huizong said, "That is so." Zeng Bu's proposal was set aside.

呂惠卿告老，徽宗問執政，執政欲許之。純禮曰：「惠卿嘗輔政，其人固不足重，然當存國體。」曾布奏：「議者多憂財用不足，此非所急也，願陛下勿以為慮。」純禮曰：「古者無三年之蓄，曰國非其國。今大農告匱，帑庾枵空，而曰不足慮，非面謾邪？」因從容諫曰：「邇者朝廷命令，莫不是元豐而非元祐。以臣觀之，神宗立法之意固善，吏推行之，或有失當，以致病民。宣仁聽斷，一時小有潤色，蓋大臣識見異同，非必盡懷邪為私也。今議論之臣，有不得志，故挾此藉口。以元豐為是，則欲賢元豐之人；以元祐為非，則欲斥元祐之士，其心豈恤國事？直欲快私忿以售其奸，不可不深察也。」

Lü Huiqing asked to retire on account of old age. Huizong consulted the chief ministers, who were inclined to approve. Chunli said, "Huiqing once held high office. The man himself may not deserve esteem, but the dignity of the state must be preserved." Zeng Bu submitted a memorial: "Many officials worry about insufficient revenue, but that is not the pressing concern. I hope Your Majesty will not let it trouble you." Chunli replied, "In antiquity it was said that a state without three years' worth of stores was no state at all. Today the chief granaries stand depleted and the treasury coffers are bare, and yet you say there is no cause for concern—is that not bare-faced deceit?" He then offered a measured remonstrance: "Lately every court directive praises the Yuans Feng reforms and condemns the Yuanyou period. As I see it, Shenzong's legislative aims were fundamentally sound, but officials sometimes enforced them improperly and the people suffered. Under Empress Dowager Xuanren's regency there were modest improvements, chiefly because leading ministers held different views—not because every opponent of the new laws acted from private malice. Today some of the officials driving this debate have failed to advance as they wished, and they are using the issue as a pretext. If Yuans Feng is declared right, they want to elevate its partisans; if Yuanyou is declared wrong, they want to purge its adherents. Do they truly have the nation's welfare at heart? They mean only to vent private grudges and advance their own designs. Your Majesty must look into this with the greatest care."

又曰：「自古天下汨亂，系於用人。祖宗於此，最得其要。太祖用呂餘慶，太宗用王禹偁，真宗用張知白，皆從下列置諸要途。人君欲得英傑之心，固當不次飭拔。必待薦而後用，則守正特立之士，將終身晦跡矣。」左司諫江公望論繼述事當執中道，不可拘一偏。徽宗出示其疏，純禮贊之曰：「願陛下以曉中外，使知聖意所向，亦足以革小人徇利之情。乞褒遷公望，以勸來者。」

He added, "Since antiquity the rise and fall of empires has always turned on whom the throne chooses to employ. Our founding emperors understood this better than anyone. Taizu elevated Lü Yuqing, Taizong elevated Wang Yucheng, and Zhenzong elevated Zhang Zhibai—each plucked from modest station and set on the path to high office. If a ruler wishes to win the loyalty of exceptional talent, he must be willing to promote men out of turn and elevate them beyond ordinary procedure. If appointment always waits on recommendation, men of steadfast integrity who stand apart from the crowd will remain in obscurity all their lives. Jiang Gongwang, Left Supervising Remonstrance Official, submitted a memorial on policy succession arguing that the ruler should hold to the middle course and not be bound to one-sided positions. Emperor Huizong showed the memorial at court. Chunli praised it, saying, "I pray Your Majesty will proclaim this far and wide, so that all within and beyond the palace may know the emperor's intent. That alone would be enough to check petty men who serve only their own gain. I ask that Gongwang be honored with promotion, as an encouragement to others who may speak forth in future."

純禮沉毅剛正，曾布憚之，激駙馬都尉王詵曰：「上欲除君承旨，范右丞不可。」詵怒。會詵館遼使，純禮主宴，詵誣其輒斥御名，罷為端明殿學士、知潁昌府，提舉崇福宮。崇寧中，啟黨禁，貶試少府監，分司南京。又貶靜江軍節度副使，徐州安置，徙單州。五年，復左朝議大夫，提舉鴻慶宮。卒，年七十六。

Chunli was grave, resolute, and upright in character. Zeng Bu feared him and goaded Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant Wang Shen, saying, "The emperor means to remove you from the drafting post, but Vice Director Fan will not allow it." Shen flew into a rage. When Shen was playing host to Liao envoys, Chunli presided at the banquet. Shen falsely accused him of having uttered the emperor's name without proper formality. Chunli was dismissed from office, made Academician of the Hall of Bright Clarity, appointed prefect of Yingchang, and given charge of Chongfu Palace. During the Chongning era, when factional proscriptions were renewed, he was demoted to probationary Director of the Palace Workshops and assigned nominal duty at Nanjing. He was further demoted to Vice Military Commissioner of the Jingjiang Army, placed under restricted residence at Xuzhou, and then moved to Shan Prefecture. In the fifth year of the reign he was restored to Left Policy Advisor and put in charge of Hongqing Palace. He died at the age of seventy-six.

子純粹

His son Chuncui

純粹，字德孺，以蔭遷至贊善大夫、檢正中書刑房，與同列有爭，出知滕縣，遷提舉成都諸路茶場。元豐中，為陝西轉運判官。時五路出師伐西夏：高遵裕出環慶，劉昌祚出涇原，李憲出熙河，种諤出鄜延，王中正出河東。遵裕怒昌祚後期，欲按誅之，昌祚憂恚病臥，其麾下皆憤焉。純粹恐兩軍不協，致生他變，勸遵裕往問昌祚疾，其難遂解。神宗責諸將無功，謀欲再舉。純粹奏：「關陝事力單竭，公私大困，若復加騷動，根本可憂。異時言者必職臣是咎，臣寧受盡言之罪於今日，不忍默默以貽後悔。」神宗納之，進為副使。

Chuncui, styled Deru, entered service through hereditary privilege and rose to Gentleman Attendant and inspector in the Secretariat's criminal section. After a dispute with colleagues he was sent out as magistrate of Teng County, then promoted to supervisor of the tea markets on the Chengdu circuits. In the Yuanfeng reign he was made transport assessor for Shaanxi. At that time five army columns marched against Western Xia: Gao Zunyu from the Huanqing circuit, Liu Changzuo from Jingyuan, Li Xian from Xihe, Zhong E from Fuyan, and Wang Zhongzheng from Hedong. Zunyu was furious that Changzuo had arrived late and sought to have him tried and executed. Changzuo fell ill with grief and resentment, and his officers seethed with anger. Fearing that discord between the two armies might spark further trouble, Chuncui persuaded Zunyu to pay a sick visit to Changzuo, and the crisis passed. Emperor Shenzong rebuked the generals for their lack of success and planned a renewed campaign. Chuncui submitted a memorial: "Guanzhong and Shaanxi have been drained to the last measure. Public and private resources alike are exhausted. If the region is stirred up again, the very foundations of the realm may be shaken. When men speak of this later, they will surely blame me. I would rather accept every penalty for speaking out today than hold my peace and leave cause for regret." The emperor heeded him and promoted Chuncui to vice commissioner.

吳居厚為京東轉運使，數獻羨賦。神宗將以徐州大錢二十萬緡助陝西，純粹語其僚曰：「吾部雖急，忍復取此膏血之餘？」即奏：「本路得錢誠為利，自徐至邊，勞費甚矣。」懇辭弗受。入為右司郎中。哲宗立，居厚敗，命純粹以直龍圖閣往代之，盡革其苛政。時蘇軾自登州召還，純粹與軾同建募役之議，軾謂純粹講此事尤為精詳。

Wu Juhou, transport commissioner of Jingdong, repeatedly reported surplus revenue to the throne. When the emperor proposed sending two hundred thousand strings of large coin from Xuzhou to aid Shaanxi, Chuncui told his staff, "Though our own circuit is hard pressed, how can we take what little remains of the people's blood and sweat?" He immediately memorialized: "It would certainly benefit our circuit to receive these funds, but the cost of moving them from Xuzhou to the border would be enormous." He earnestly declined and refused the money. He was recalled to the capital as director in the Right Office of the Secretariat. When Zhezong came to the throne and Juhou was disgraced, Chuncui was sent in his stead as Direct Associate of the Hall of Dragon Images and abolished every harsh policy Juhou had left behind. Su Shi was then recalled from Deng Prefecture. Chuncui joined him in drafting the hired-service proposal, and Su remarked that Chuncui's treatment of the subject was especially precise and thorough.

復代兄純仁知慶州。時與夏議分疆界，純粹請棄所取夏地，曰：「爭地未棄，則邊隙無時可除。如河東之葭蘆、吳堡，鄜延之米脂、羲合、浮圖，環慶之安疆，深在夏境，於漢界地利形勢，略無所益。而蘭、會之地，耗蠹尤深，不可不棄。」所言皆略施行。純粹又言：「諸路策應，舊制也。自徐禧罷策應，若夏兵大舉，一路攻圍，力有不勝，而鄰路拱手坐觀，其不拔者幸爾。今宜修明戰守救援之法。」朝廷是之。及夏侵涇原，純粹遣將曲珍救之，曰：「本道首建應援牽制之策，臣子之義，忘軀徇國，無謂鄰路被寇，非我職也。」珍即日疾馳三百里，破之于曲律，搗橫山，夏眾遁去。元祐中，除寶文閣待制，再任，召為戶部侍郎，又出知延州。

He again replaced his elder brother Chunren as prefect of Qing. While negotiating the border with Western Xia, Chuncui urged that captured Xia territory be returned, saying, "So long as disputed lands are held, border conflict will never end. Places such as Jialu and Wubao in Hedong, Mizhi, Yihe, and Futu in Fuyan, and Anjiang in Huanqing lie deep inside Xia territory. They confer scarcely any strategic advantage on our side of the border. The Lan and Hui regions, above all, bleed the treasury dry and must be given up." His recommendations were largely adopted. Chuncui further argued that coordinated relief among circuits had been the established practice. Ever since Xu Xi ended cross-circuit support, if Xia forces strike in strength and one circuit is besieged beyond its capacity to resist, neighboring circuits have stood by idle. When a fortress has not fallen, it has been mere good fortune. The court should now restore clear rules for combat, defense, and mutual rescue. The court agreed. When Xia forces invaded Jingyuan, Chuncui dispatched General Qu Zhen to relieve the siege, saying, "This circuit pioneered the policy of coordinated support and diversion. A minister's duty is to forget himself for the state. Do not imagine that a neighbor under attack is someone else's concern." Qu Zhen rode hard three hundred li that very day, routed the enemy at Qülü, raided Hengshan, and drove the Xia army off. During Yuanyou he was made Attendant Drafting Academician of the Hall of Precious Culture. After a second term in Qing he was recalled as vice minister of revenue, then sent out again as prefect of Yan.

紹聖初。哲宗親政，用事者欲開邊釁，御史郭知章遂論純粹元祐棄地事，降直龍圖閣。明年，復以寶文閣待制知熙州。章惇、蔡卞經略西夏，疑純粹不與共事，改知鄧州。曆河南府、滑州，旋以元祐黨人奪職，知均州。徽宗立，起知信州，復故職，知太原，加龍圖閣直學士，再臨延州。改知永興軍。尋以言者落職，知金州，提舉鴻慶宮。又責常州別駕，鄂州安置，錮子弟不得擅入都。會赦，復領祠。久之，以右文殿修撰提舉太清宮。黨禁解，復徽猷閣待制，致仕。卒，年七十餘。

At the beginning of the Shaosheng reign. Once Zhezong took personal control, the faction in power sought to stir up border trouble. Censor Guo Zhizhang impeached Chuncui over the Yuanyou land abandonments, and he was demoted from Direct Associate of the Hall of Dragon Images. The following year he was restored as Attendant Drafting Academician and made prefect of Xi. Zhang Dun and Cai Bian were directing operations against Western Xia. Doubting that Chuncui would cooperate, the court moved him to prefect of Deng. He served at Henan Prefecture and Hua in turn, but was soon stripped of rank as a Yuanyou factionalist and posted to Jun Prefecture. When Huizong came to the throne, Chuncui was rehabilitated as prefect of Xin, his former title restored, and he was posted to Taiyuan. Promoted to Direct Academician of the Hall of Dragon Images, he once again took charge of Yan. He was transferred to prefect of Yongxing Army. Before long critics brought about his dismissal from rank; he was made prefect of Jin and given nominal charge of Hongqing Palace. He was further demoted to assistant prefect of Chang, placed under restricted residence at E Prefecture, and his sons and brothers were barred from entering the capital without permission. An amnesty restored him to a nominal temple post. After some time he was made Compiler of the Hall for Cultivating Culture and put in charge of the Taiping Palace. When the factional proscription was lifted, his title of Attendant Drafting Academician of the Hall of Brilliant Designs was restored and he retired from office. He died in his seventies.

純粹沉毅有幹略，才應時須，嘗論賣官之濫，以為：「國法固許進納取官，然未嘗聽其理選。今西北三路，許納三千二百緡買齋郎，四千六百緡買供奉職，並免試注官。夫天下士大夫服勤至於垂死，不沾世恩，其富民猾商，捐錢千萬，則可任三子，切為朝廷惜之。」疏上，不聽。凡論事剴切類此。

Chuncui was grave, resolute, and resourceful; his talents were equal to the demands of his age. Once, criticizing the abuse of selling offices, he wrote: "The laws of the realm do permit men to obtain rank through monetary contribution, Yet on the three northwestern circuits, three thousand two hundred strings now buys a Supplicant rank and four thousand six hundred strings buys an Attendant-in-Waiting post, both without examination or competitive appointment. Scholar-officials throughout the empire labor until death without ever tasting imperial favor, while wealthy merchants who pay out millions may place three sons in office at once. The court's loss in this is grievous. When the memorial reached the throne, it went unheeded. In every memorial he submitted, his language was as forthright and penetrating as this.

范純仁

Fan Chunren

純仁，字堯夫，其始生之夕，母李氏夢兒墮月中，承以衣裾，得之，遂生純仁。資警悟，八歲，能講所授書。以父任為太常寺太祝。中皇祐元年進士第，調知武進縣，以遠親不赴；易長葛，又不往。仲淹曰：「汝昔日以遠為言，今近矣，復何辭？」純仁曰：「豈可重於祿食，而輕去父母邪？雖近，亦不能遂養焉。」仲淹門下多賢士，如胡瑗、孫復、石介、李覯之徙，純仁皆與從遊。晝夜肄業，至夜分不寢，置燈帳中，帳頂如墨色。

Chunren, styled Yaofu, was born on the night his mother, Lady Li, dreamed that a child fell from the moon into the fold of her skirt. She caught the child, and Chunren was born. He was bright and quick-witted. At eight he could lecture on the texts he had been taught. Through his father's office he was appointed assistant director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He passed the jinshi examinations in the first year of Huangyou and was assigned to Wujin County, but declined because the post was too far from home. He was reassigned to Changge and again refused to go. Zhongyan said, "You once pleaded that the post was too far away. Now it is near—what reason can you give?" Chunren replied, "How can I value salary and office above abandoning my parents? Even though the post is close, I still cannot leave them to take it." Many eminent scholars gathered at Zhongyan's door—Hu Yuan, Sun Fu, Shi Jie, Li Gou, and others—and Chunren studied alongside them all. He studied day and night without rest, often keeping at his books until the middle watch. He read by lamplight inside a tent, and the tent's peak turned black with soot.

仲俺沒，始出仕，以著作佐郎知襄城縣。兄純祐有心疾，奉之如父，藥膳居服，皆躬親時節之。賈昌朝守北都，請參幕府，以兄辭。宋庠薦試館職，謝曰：「輦轂之下，非兄養疾地也。」富弼責之曰：「臺閣之任豈易得？何庸如是。」卒不就。襄城民不蠶織，勸使植桑，有罪而情輕者，視所植多寡除其罰，民益賴慕，後呼為「著作林」。兄死，葬洛陽。韓琦、富弼貽書洛尹，使助其葬，既葬，尹訝不先聞。純仁曰：「私室力足辦，豈宜慁公為哉？」

Only after Zhongyan's death did Chunren enter official life. As editorial assistant he was appointed magistrate of Xiangcheng County. His elder brother Chunyou suffered from a mental illness. Chunren cared for him as though he were a father, personally seeing to his medicine, meals, and mourning dress at every season. Jia Changchao, prefect of the Northern Capital, invited him into his staff, but Chunren declined because of his brother. Song Kui recommended him for the palace examination leading to archival posts. Chunren declined, saying, "The capital is no place to tend a sick brother." Fu Bi reproached him: "A post in the palace archives is not so easily won—why treat it so lightly? Why be so stubborn?" In the end he did not accept. The people of Xiangcheng did not raise silkworms or weave cloth. Chunren urged them to plant mulberry trees and, for minor offenders, reduced their penalties in proportion to how many trees they planted. The people came to trust and admire him, and later called the place the "Grove of the Editorial Assistant." When his brother died, he buried him in Luoyang. Han Qi and Fu Bi wrote to the prefect of Luoyang asking him to help with the funeral. After the burial the prefect was astonished that he had not been told in advance. Chunren said, "My family's resources were enough to manage the funeral. How could I impose on a public official?"

簽書許州觀察判官、知襄邑縣。縣有牧地，衛士牧馬，以踐民稼，純仁捕一人杖之。牧地初不隸縣，主者怒曰：「天子宿衛，令敢爾邪？」白其事於上，劾治甚急。純仁言：「養兵出於稅畝，若使暴民田而不得問，稅安所出？」詔釋之，且聽牧地隸縣。凡牧地隸縣，自純仁始。時旱久不雨，純仁籍境內賈舟，諭之曰：「民將無食，爾所販五穀，貯之佛寺，候食闕時吾為糴之。」眾賈從命，所蓄十數萬斛。至春，諸縣皆饑，獨境內民不知也。

He served as signing secretary and administrative assistant under the observation commissioner of Xu Prefecture, and as magistrate of Xiangyi County. The county contained pasture land where palace guards pastured their horses, trampling the people's crops. Chunren seized one of the guards and had him beaten. The pasture had not originally fallen under county jurisdiction. Its superintendent flew into a rage: "These are the emperor's own guards—how dare a county magistrate treat them so?" He reported the matter upward, and an impeachment was pressed with great urgency. Chunren replied, "The army is maintained from taxes levied on every plot of land. If soldiers may trample the people's fields without consequence, whence will those taxes come?" An edict ordered the man released and permitted pasture lands to be placed under county jurisdiction. The practice of placing pasture lands under county jurisdiction began with Chunren. A long drought had brought no rain. Chunren registered every merchant boat in his jurisdiction and told the traders: "The people will soon have nothing to eat. Store the grain you carry in Buddhist temples, and when food runs short I will purchase it from you." The merchants complied, and the grain they stored amounted to several hundred thousand hu. When spring came, every neighboring county was in famine, yet the people within his jurisdiction scarcely knew hunger at all.

治平中，擢江東轉運判官，召為殿中侍御史，遷侍御史。時方議濮王典禮，宰相韓琦、參知政事歐陽修等議尊崇之。翰林學士王珪等議，宜如先朝追贈期親尊屬故事。純仁言：「陛下受命仁宗而為之子，與前代定策入繼之主異，宜如王珪等議。」繼與御史呂誨等更論奏，不聽。純仁還所授告敕，家居待罪。既而皇太后手書尊王為皇，夫人為後。純仁復言：「陛下以長君臨禦，奈何使命出房闈，異日或為權臣矯托之地，非人主自安計。」尋詔罷追尊，起純仁就職。純仁請出不已，遂通判安州，改知蘄州。曆京西提點刑獄、京西陝西轉運副使。

During the Zhiping reign he was promoted to transport assessor of Jiangdong, recalled as attendant censor in the palace, and transferred to supervising censor. The court was then debating the rites due to the Prince of Pu. Chief Minister Han Qi, Vice Director Ouyang Xiu, and others argued that he should be honored with elevated titles. Hanlin Academician Wang Gui and others held that the precedent of posthumous enfeoffment for close relatives of the previous reign should be followed. Chunren argued: "Your Majesty received the throne from Renzong and became his son. That differs from earlier emperors who entered the succession through a predetermined enthronement plan. Wang Gui's proposal should be adopted." He then joined Supervising Censor Lü Hui and others in further memorials, but the emperor would not heed them. Chunren returned the commission and patent he had received and remained at home awaiting punishment. Soon afterward the Empress Dowager issued a handwritten edict elevating the Prince of Pu to emperor and his consort to empress. Chunren spoke again: "Your Majesty governs as the senior sovereign—how can edicts issue from the inner quarters? In time to come this may become ground for powerful ministers to forge orders in their own interest. That is no plan by which a ruler can secure himself." Soon an edict halted the posthumous elevation, and Chunren was recalled to office. Chunren repeatedly asked to leave office and would not be dissuaded. He was finally made vice prefect of An and transferred to prefect of Qi. He served successively as judicial intendant of Jingxi and vice transport commissioner of the Jingxi and Shaanxi circuits.

召還，神宗問陝西城郭、甲兵、糧儲如何，對曰：「城郭粗全，甲兵粗修，糧儲粗備。」神宗愕然曰：「卿之才朕所倚信，何為皆言粗？」對曰：「粗者未精之辭，如是足矣。願陛下且無留意邊功，若邊臣觀望，將為他日意外之患。」拜兵部員外郎，兼起居舍人、同知諫院。奏言：「王安石變祖宗法度，掊克財利，民心不寧。《書》曰：'怨豈在明，不見是圖。 '願陛下圖不見之怨。」神宗曰：「何謂不見之怨？」對曰：「杜牧所謂'天下之人，不敢言而敢怒'是也。」神宗嘉納之，曰：「卿善論事，宜為朕條古今治亂可為監戒者。」乃作《尚書解》以進，曰：「其言，皆堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武之事也。治天下無以易此，願深究而力行之。」加直集賢院、同修起居注。

Recalled to court, Emperor Shenzong asked about the walled cities, armor, weapons, and grain stores of Shaanxi. Chunren replied, "The walled cities are roughly intact, armor and weapons roughly maintained, and grain stores roughly supplied." The emperor was startled. "Your talent is what I rely on," he said. "Why do you answer only with 'roughly'?" Chunren replied, "'Roughly' means not yet perfected—and that is sufficient. I pray Your Majesty will for now set aside thoughts of frontier glory. If border officials begin watching for chances to advance themselves, that will breed unforeseen trouble in days to come." He was appointed vice minister of war, concurrently attendant of the diaries of activity and repose and associate director of the remonstrance bureau. He submitted a memorial: "Wang Anshi has altered the laws and institutions of the ancestors, wrung profit from the people, and left the hearts of the realm unsettled. The Book of Documents says, 'Is resentment found only in what is visible? One must plan for what is not seen.' I pray Your Majesty will heed the resentment that has not yet come into view. The emperor asked, "What do you mean by resentment that is not seen?" He replied, "It is what Du Mu meant when he wrote that the people of the empire dare not speak out, yet dare to seethe in silence." The emperor approved and said, "You argue well on affairs of state. Set forth for me, item by item, examples from past and present of order and disorder that may serve as warnings." He thereupon composed his Exegesis of the Documents and presented it, saying, "Its words are all the deeds of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu. There is nothing with which to replace this in governing the empire. I pray Your Majesty will study it deeply and put it vigorously into practice." He was further made Direct Associate of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and co-compiler of the diaries of activity and repose.

神宗切於求治，多延見疏逖小臣，咨訪闕失。純仁言：「小人之言，聽之若可采，行之必有累。蓋知小忘大，貪近昧遠，願加深察。」富弼在相位，稱疾家居。純仁言：「弼受三朝眷倚，當自任天下之重，而恤己深於恤物，憂疾過於憂邦，致主處身，二者胥失。弼與先臣素厚，臣在諫省，不錄私謁以致忠告，願示以此章，使之自省。」又論呂誨不當罷御史中丞，李師中不可守邊。

Emperor Shenzong was eager for good governance and often granted audiences to humble memorialists from afar, consulting them on shortcomings in policy. Chunren warned: "The words of petty men, if listened to, seem worth adopting, but if put into practice they will surely bring harm. They grasp the small and forget the large, covet what is near and lose sight of what is far. I pray Your Majesty will examine such counsel more deeply." Fu Bi held office as chief minister but claimed illness and remained at home. Chunren wrote: "Bi enjoyed the trust of three reigns and ought to have shouldered the weight of the empire. Yet he cares for himself more deeply than for the realm and grieves over his illness more than over the state. In serving his ruler and in his personal conduct, he has failed in both. Bi was close to my late father, and I serve in the remonstrance office, where I do not record private audiences in order to speak candidly. I ask that this memorial be shown to him, that he may examine himself." He also argued that Lü Hui should not have been removed as censor-in-chief and that Li Shizhong was unfit to hold a frontier command.

及薛向任發運使，行均輸法于六路。純仁言：「臣嘗親奉德音，欲修先王補助之政。今乃效桑羊均輸之法，而使小人為之，掊克生靈，斂怨基禍。安石以富國強兵之術，啟迪上心，欲求近功，忘其舊學。尚法令則稱商鞅，言財利則背孟軻，鄙老成為因循，棄公論為流俗，異己者為不肖，合意者為賢人。劉琦、錢顗等一言，便蒙降黜。在廷之臣，方大半趨附。陛下又從而驅之，其將何所不至。道遠者理當馴致，事大者不可速成，人材不可急求，積敝不可頓革。儻欲事功亟就，必為憸佞所乘，宜速還言者而退安石，答中外之望。」不聽。遂求罷諫職，改判國子監，去意愈確。執政使諭之曰：「毋輕去，已議除知制誥矣。」純仁曰：「此言何為至於我哉，言不用，萬鐘非所顧也。」

When Xue Xiang was appointed grain transport commissioner and implemented the balanced-transport system on six circuits. Chunren wrote: "I once personally received the sage edict expressing the wish to restore the policy of aid and relief practiced by the former kings. Now the court imitates Sang Hongyang's balanced-transport method and puts petty men in charge of it, squeezing the people and heaping up resentment—the very foundation of calamity. Anshi, with his methods for enriching the state and strengthening the army, has opened the emperor's mind. Seeking quick results, he has forgotten his earlier learning. When law and ordinance are at issue he cites Shang Yang; when wealth and profit are at issue he turns his back on Mencius. He despises seasoned officials as hidebound, dismisses public opinion as vulgar fashion, treats dissenters as worthless, and treats flatterers as worthy. Liu Qi, Qian Yi, and others spoke a single word and at once suffered demotion. More than half the ministers at court were then rushing to attach themselves to him. Your Majesty again drives them on from above—where will such a course not lead? The Way that is distant must be approached step by step. Great affairs cannot be rushed to completion. Talent cannot be hurriedly gathered. Accumulated abuses cannot be overturned at a stroke. If you wish achievement to come quickly, you will surely be ridden by the cunning and servile. Your Majesty should quickly restore the remonstrators and dismiss Anshi, to answer the hopes of the empire within and without." The emperor did not listen. Chunren thereupon asked to be relieved of his remonstrance duties, was transferred to judge the Directorate of Education, and his resolve to leave office grew firmer. Those in power sent someone to tell him: "Do not leave lightly—you have already been slated for appointment as drafting attendant. Chunren replied, "Why should such words be spoken to me? If my counsel goes unheeded, even the highest salary is nothing I would covet."

其所上章疏，語多激切。神宗悉不付外，純仁盡錄申中書，安石大怒，乞加重貶。神宗曰：「彼無罪，姑與一善地。」命知河中府，徙成都路轉運使。以新法不便，戒州縣未得遽行。安石怒純仁沮格，因讒者遣使欲捃摭私事，不能得。使者以他事鞭傷傳言者，屬官喜謂純仁曰：「此一事足以塞其謗，請聞於朝。」純仁既不奏使者之過，亦不折言者之非。後竟坐失察僚佐燕游，左遷知和州，徙邢州。未至，加直龍圖閣、知慶州。

The memorials he submitted were often forceful and cutting in tone. The emperor did not release any of them outside the palace. Chunren copied them all and forwarded them to the Secretariat-Chancellery. Anshi was furious and asked that Chunren be more heavily punished. The emperor said, "He is without guilt. For the present give him a good post." He was appointed prefect of Hezhong and transferred to transport commissioner of the Chengdu route. Finding the new laws burdensome, he instructed the prefectures and counties not to implement them hastily. Anshi was angry that Chunren was obstructing implementation and, through slanderers, dispatched an envoy to gather evidence of private wrongdoing, but none could be found. The envoy whipped and injured a courier who was passing on word. A subordinate rejoiced and told Chunren: "This one matter is enough to block their slander—please report it to the court." Chunren neither memorialized the envoy's fault nor rebuked the courier's error. Later he was punished for failing to supervise subordinates who feasted and went sightseeing; he was demoted to prefect of He and transferred to Xing. Before he could take up his new post, he was further made Direct Associate of the Hall of Dragon Images and prefect of Qing.

過闕入對，神宗曰：「卿父在慶著威名，今可謂世職。卿隨父既久，兵法必精，邊事必熟。」純仁揣神宗有功名心，即對曰：「臣儒家，未嘗學兵，先臣守邊時，臣尚幼，不復記憶，且今日事勢宜有不同。陛下使臣繕治城壘，愛養百姓，不敢辭；若開拓侵攘，願別謀帥臣。」神宗曰：「卿之才何所不能，顧不肯為朕悉心爾。」遂行。

Passing through the capital to answer the emperor's summons, Shenzong said, "Your father won great renown at Qing. This may be called a hereditary post. You have long followed your father. Your knowledge of military methods must be refined and your knowledge of frontier affairs must be thorough." Chunren, sensing that the emperor hungered for military glory, replied at once: "I am a Confucian and have never studied warfare. When my late father held the frontier I was still young and remember little. Moreover, the situation today ought to be different. If Your Majesty assigns me to repair the fortifications and care for the people, I dare not decline. But if you wish to open new campaigns of aggression and encroachment, I pray that another commander be chosen." The emperor said, "What is there that your talent cannot accomplish? You simply refuse to exert yourself wholeheartedly for me." Chunren then departed for his post.

秦中方饑，擅發常平粟振貸。僚屬請奏而須報，純仁曰：「報至無及矣，吾當獨任其責。」或謗其所全活不實，詔遣使按視。會秋大稔，民歡曰：「公實活我，忍累公邪？」晝夜爭輸還之。使者至，已無所負。邠、甯間有叢塚，使者曰：「全活不實之罪，於此得矣。」發塚籍骸上之。詔本路監司窮治，乃前帥楚建中所封也。朝廷治建中罪，純仁上疏言：「建中守法，申請間不免有殍死者，已坐罪罷去。今緣按臣而及建中，是一罪再刑也。」建中猶贖銅三十斤。環州種古執熟羌為盜，流南方，過慶呼冤，純仁以屬吏，非盜也。古避罪讕訟，詔御史治于寧州。純仁就逮，民萬數遮馬涕泗，不得行，至有自投於河者。獄成，古以誣告謫。亦加純仁以他過，黜知信陽軍。

Famine was then raging in Shaanxi. On his own authority Chunren released grain from the ever-normal granaries for relief loans. His staff asked that he memorialize and await imperial reply. Chunren said, "By the time a reply arrives it will be too late. I alone will bear the responsibility." Some slandered him, claiming the number of lives he had saved was false. An edict dispatched an envoy to investigate. When autumn brought a great harvest, the people rejoiced and said, "The governor truly saved our lives—how can we bear to bring trouble upon him?" Day and night they competed to repay what they had borrowed. When the envoy arrived, nothing remained unpaid. Between Bin and Ning there were clusters of burial mounds. The envoy said, "The crime of falsely claiming lives saved is proved here." He opened the mounds, counted the bones, and reported them upward. An edict ordered the circuit supervisory officials to investigate thoroughly. The mounds turned out to have been sealed by the former commander Chu Jianzhong. The court punished Jianzhong. Chunren submitted a memorial: "Jianzhong observed the law, and while his requests were pending some unavoidably died of starvation. He was already punished and removed. Now, because of the investigation directed at me, Jianzhong is implicated again. That is punishing one crime twice." Jianzhong was nevertheless fined thirty jin of copper. Zhong Gu of Huan Prefecture treated the Shufan Qiang as bandits and exiled them to the south. Passing through Qing they cried out their innocence, and Chunren held that they were not bandits. Gu, seeking to escape punishment, brought a false accusation. An edict ordered the censorate to try the case at Ning Prefecture. When Chunren was taken into custody, tens of thousands of people blocked his horse in tears and would not let him go. Some even threw themselves into the river. When the case was concluded, Gu was demoted for false accusation. Chunren was also punished on another charge and dismissed to prefect of Xinyang Army.

移齊州。齊俗兇悍，人輕為盜劫。或謂：「此嚴治之猶不能戢，公一以寬，恐不勝其治矣。」純仁曰：「寬出於性，若強以猛，則不能持久；猛而不久，以治凶民，取玩之道也。」有西司理院，系囚常滿，皆屠販盜竊而督償者。純仁曰：「此何不保外使輸納邪？」通判曰：「此釋之，復紊，官司往往待其以疾斃於獄中，是與民除害爾。」純仁曰：「法不至死，以情殺之，豈理也邪？」盡呼至庭下，訓使自新，即釋去。期歲，盜減比年大半。

He was transferred to Qi Prefecture. The customs of Qi were fierce and violent, and people readily turned to robbery and plunder. Some said, "Even harsh governance cannot restrain them. If the governor relies on leniency alone, I fear he will not be able to govern them." Chunren replied, "Leniency comes from my nature. If I force myself to severity, I cannot sustain it. Severity that cannot last, when used to govern violent people, is the way to invite contempt." There was a Western Judicial Review Office where the cells were constantly full—mostly butchers, peddlers, thieves, and debtors held to compel repayment. Chunren asked, "Why not release them on bail to make payment outside?" The vice prefect said, "If these are released, they will again cause disorder. The office often waits for them to die of illness in prison—that is simply removing harm for the people." Chunren said, "When the law does not prescribe death, to kill by sentiment—is that reasonable?" He summoned them all to the hall, admonished them to reform themselves, and at once released them. Within a year, robbery decreased by more than half compared with recent years.

丐罷，提舉西京留司御史台。時耆賢多在洛，純仁及司馬光，皆好客而家貧，相約為真率會，脫粟一飯，酒數行，洛中以為勝事。復知河中，諸路閱保甲妨農，論救甚力。錄事參軍宋儋年暴死，純仁使子弟視喪，小殮，口鼻血出。純仁疑其非命，按得其妾與小吏奸，因會，寘毒鱉肉中。純仁問食肉在第幾巡，曰：「豈有既中毒而尚能終席者乎？」再訊之，則儋年素不食鱉，其曰毒鱉肉者，蓋妾與吏欲為變獄張本，以逃死爾。實儋年醉歸，毒於酒而殺之。遂正其罪。

He requested to be relieved of office and was given charge of the Western Capital branch of the censorate. At that time many elder worthies lived in Luoyang. Chunren and Sima Guang were both fond of guests yet poor in means. Together they formed a Plain Fellowship, sharing a meal of husked millet and a few rounds of wine—a custom Luoyang regarded as a surpassing pleasure. He again served as prefect of Hezhong and argued forcefully against the circuit-wide review of the baojia militia, which was harming agriculture. Song Danian, the recording secretary, died suddenly. Chunren sent his sons to attend the funeral, and at the minor encoffinement blood issued from the nose and mouth. Chunren suspected foul play. Investigation revealed that Danian's concubine had committed adultery with a petty clerk and, at a gathering, placed poison in turtle meat. Chunren asked in which round of the feast the meat had been eaten, saying, "How could one who had already been poisoned still finish the banquet?" On further questioning it turned out that Danian had never eaten turtle. Their claim of poisoned turtle meat was simply the concubine and the clerk laying groundwork to overturn the case and escape death. In fact Danian returned home drunk and was killed by poison placed in wine. Their guilt was thereupon established.

哲宗立，復直龍圖閣、知慶州。召為右諫議大夫，以親嫌辭，改天章閣待制兼侍講，除給事中。時宣仁後垂簾，司馬光為政，將盡改熙甯、元豐法度。純仁謂光：「去其太甚者可也。差役一事，尤當熟講而緩行，不然，滋為民病。願公虛心以延眾論，不必謀自己出；謀自己出，則諂諛得乘間迎合矣。役議或難回，則可先行之一路，以觀其究竟。」光不從，持之益豎。純仁曰：「是使人不得言爾。若欲媚公以為容悅，何如少年合安石以速富貴哉。」又云：「熙寧按問自首之法，既已行之，有司立文太深，四方死者視舊數倍，殆非先王寧失不經之意。」純仁素與光同志，及臨事規正，類如此。初，種古因誣純仁停任。至是，純仁薦為永興軍路鈐轄，又薦知隰州。每自咎曰：「先人與種氏上世有契義，純仁不肖，為其子孫所訟，甯論曲直哉。」

When Zhezong came to the throne, Chunren was again made Direct Associate of the Hall of Dragon Images and prefect of Qing. He was summoned as Right Remonstrance Grandee but declined on account of kinship obligations. He was instead made Attendant Drafting Academician of the Hall of Heavenly Patterns, concurrently court lecturer, and appointed chief of the drafting office. At that time Empress Dowager Xuanren held court from behind the curtain and Sima Guang held power, intending to overturn entirely the laws and institutions of the Xining and Yuanfeng reigns. Chunren told Guang, "Removing what is excessive would suffice. The hired-service system, above all, ought to be carefully debated and slowly implemented. Otherwise it will increasingly become a burden on the people. I pray that you open your mind to the opinions of the multitude and need not insist that every plan come from yourself. If plans must come from yourself, flatterers will seize the chance to suit and agree with you. If debate over the service system proves hard to reverse, you may first implement it on one circuit and observe the outcome." Guang did not listen and held all the more firmly to his course. Chunren said, "This is really just a way to keep people from speaking their minds. If I wanted to curry your favor and please you, I might as well have done what I did in my youth—throw in my lot with Wang Anshi and hurry toward wealth and high office." He added, "The Xining regulations on interrogation and voluntary confession are already in force, yet the agencies have written the rules far too severely. Deaths across the realm are now many times what they once were—hardly what the ancient kings meant when they said it is better to let the guilty escape than to punish the innocent." Chunren had long been of one mind with Sima Guang, yet when matters came before him he corrected course in just this way. Earlier, Zhong Gu had brought false charges against Chunren and had him removed from office. At this point Chunren recommended him as military intendant on the Yongxing Circuit route and later as prefect of Xi Prefecture. He often reproached himself, saying, "Our ancestor and the Zhong family's forebears had a covenant of loyalty. Chunren is unworthy—sued by their descendants, how could I stand on right and wrong?"

元祐初，進吏部尚書，數日，同知樞密院事。初，純仁與議西夏，請罷兵棄地，使歸所掠漢人，執政持之未決。至是，乃申前議，又請歸一漢人予十縑。事皆施行。邊俘鬼章以獻，純仁請誅之塞上，以謝邊人，不聽。議者欲致其子，收河南故地，故赦不殺。後又欲官之，純仁復固爭，然鬼章子卒不至。

Early in the Yuanyou reign he was promoted to Minister of Personnel, and within a few days was made Associate Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Earlier Chunren had taken part in deliberations on Western Xia, urging that fighting be stopped, territory abandoned, and captured Han subjects returned; the chief ministers had held back without deciding. Now he pressed the earlier proposal again and further asked that ten bolts of silk be paid for each Han person returned. All of these measures were put into effect. The border captive Gui Zhang was brought forward as tribute. Chunren asked that he be executed on the frontier as satisfaction to the border people, but the court would not agree. Those debating the matter hoped to summon his son and recover the old Henan lands, and so he was spared rather than executed. Later they again wanted to give him an official post; Chunren again argued strenuously against it, but Gui Zhang's son never arrived.

三年，拜尚書右僕射兼中書侍郎。純仁在位，務以博大開上意，忠篤革士風。章惇得罪去，朝廷以其父老，欲畀便郡，既而中止。純仁請置往咎而念其私情。鄧綰帥淮東，言者斥之不已。純仁言：「臣嘗為綰誣奏坐黜，今日所陳為綰也，左降不宜錄人之過太深。」宣仁後嘉納。因下詔：「前日希合附會之人，一無所問。」

In the third year he was appointed Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and concurrently Vice Director of the Secretariat. While in power, Chunren worked to open the emperor's mind through breadth of spirit and to reform the moral tone of the scholar-official class through sincerity and steadfast loyalty. Zhang Dun fell from grace and left office. The court, noting that his father was elderly, at first wanted to give him a comfortable prefecture, then abandoned the idea. Chunren asked that past wrongs be set aside and private feeling be taken into account. Deng Wan was in command on the Huaidong circuit, and critics attacked him without letup. Chunren said, "Your subject was once removed from office on the strength of Wan's false memorial. What I say today is on Wan's behalf—a demotion should not dwell too deeply on a man's past faults." Empress Dowager Xuanren praised and accepted this. An edict was then issued: "Those who yesterday fawned and attached themselves to factions are not to be questioned at all."

學士蘇軾以發策問為言者所攻，韓維無名罷門下侍郎補外。純仁奏軾無罪，維盡心國家，不可因譖黜官。及王覿言事忤旨，純仁慮朋黨將熾，與文彥博、呂公著辨於簾前，未解。純仁曰：「朝臣本無黨，但善惡邪正，各以類分。彥博、公著皆累朝舊人，豈容雷同罔上。昔先臣與韓琦、富弼同慶曆柄任，各舉所知，常時飛語指為朋黨，三人相繼補外，造謗者公相慶曰一綱打盡，此事未遠，願陛下戒之。」因極言前世朋黨之禍，並錄歐陽修《朋黨論》以進。

Academician Su Shi came under attack from critics for the palace examination questions he had set; Han Wei, with no reason given, was removed as Vice Director of the Chancellery and sent to a post outside the capital. Chunren memorialized that Su Shi was innocent and that Han Wei had served the state with all his heart—they should not be dismissed on the basis of slander. When Wang Zhi spoke on state affairs and offended the throne, Chunren feared that factionalism would flare up. With Wen Yanbo and Lü Gongzhu he argued the matter before the regent's curtain, but no conclusion was reached. Chunren said, "Court ministers are not factions by nature; good and evil, the upright and the corrupt, simply sort themselves by kind. Yanbo and Gongzhu are men of many reigns—how could they possibly band together to deceive their superiors? In the past my late father served with Han Qi and Fu Bi during the Qingli reforms, each recommending men he knew; at the time loose talk called them a faction. The three were sent out of the capital one after another, and the slanderers openly rejoiced that the whole catch had been hauled in with one pull of the net. That is not long ago—Your Majesty, I beg you to take warning from it." He then spoke at length on the disasters wrought by factions in earlier ages and submitted a copy of Ouyang Xiu's "Essay on Factions."

知漢陽軍吳處厚傅致蔡確安州《車蓋亭詩》，以為謗宣仁后，上之。諫官欲寘於典憲，執政右其說，唯純仁與左丞王存以為不可。爭之未定，聞太師文彥博欲貶於嶺嶠，純仁謂左相呂大防曰：「此路自乾興以來，荊棘近七十年，吾輩開之，恐自不免。」大防遂不敢言。及確新州命下，純仁于宣仁后簾前言：「聖朝宜務寬厚，不可以語言文字之間曖昧不明之過，誅竄大臣。今舉動宜與將來為法，此事甚不可開端也。且以重刑除惡，如以猛藥治病，其過也，不能無損焉。」又與王存諫于哲宗，退而上疏，其略云：「蓋如父母之有逆子，雖天地鬼神不能容貸，父子至親，主於恕而已。若處之必死之地，則恐傷恩。」確卒貶新州。

Wu Chuhou, prefect of Hanyang, forwarded by report Cai Que's "Chariot Pavilion" poems from An Prefecture, claiming they slandered Empress Dowager Xuanren, and submitted them to the throne. Remonstrating officials wanted to punish Cai Que under the penal code; the chief ministers sided with them—only Chunren and Left Vice Director Wang Cun held that this should not be done. While the debate remained unresolved, he heard that Grand Preceptor Wen Yanbo wanted to banish Que to the Lingnan frontier. Chunren said to Left Chancellor Lü Dafang, "Since the Qianxing era this road has been overgrown with thorns for nearly seventy years. If we open it, I fear we ourselves will not escape traveling it." Dafang then no longer dared to speak. When the order sending Que to Xin Prefecture was issued, Chunren spoke before Empress Dowager Xuanren's curtain: "Our sage dynasty should strive for generosity. One must not banish and cast out great ministers over vague and uncertain faults in words and writing. What we do now should become the standard for the future—this is a door that must not be opened. Besides, to root out evil with heavy punishments is like treating disease with fierce drugs—even when the remedy is called for, some harm cannot be avoided." Together with Wang Cun he remonstrated before Emperor Zhezong, and on retiring submitted a memorial whose gist was: "It is like parents with a rebellious son—though Heaven and earth and the spirits cannot pardon him, between father and son, who are bound by the closest kinship, what should prevail is forgiveness alone. If he is placed in circumstances where death is all but certain, I fear the bond of affection will be wounded." In the end Cai Que was demoted to Xin Prefecture.

大防奏確黨人甚盛，不可不問。純仁面諫朋黨難辨，恐誤及善人。遂上疏曰：「朋黨之起，蓋因趣向異同，同我者謂之正人，異我者疑為邪黨。既惡其異我，則逆耳之言難至；既喜其同我，則迎合之佞日親。以至真偽莫知，賢愚倒置，國家之患，率由此也。至如王安石，正因喜同惡異，遂至黑白不分，至今風俗，猶以觀望為能，後來柄臣，固合永為商鑒。今蔡確不必推治黨人，旁及枝葉。臣聞孔子曰：『舉直錯諸枉，能使枉者直。』則是舉用正直，而可以化枉邪為善人，不仁者自當屏跡矣。何煩分辨黨人，或恐有傷仁化。」司諫吳安詩、正言劉安世交章擊純仁黨確，純仁亦力求罷。

Dafang memorialized that Cai Que's faction was very large and could not be left uninvestigated. Chunren remonstrated in person that factions are hard to distinguish and that good men might be swept up by mistake. He submitted a memorial saying, "Factions arise because people's inclinations differ—those who agree with me are called upright men; those who differ are suspected of forming an evil faction. Once one hates those who differ, unwelcome words hardly reach one's ears; once one delights in those who agree, sycophants who cater to one grow closer day by day. Truth and falsehood become impossible to tell apart; the worthy and the foolish are reversed in rank—the state's troubles mostly spring from this. Take Wang Anshi—precisely because he loved agreement and hated difference, black and white could no longer be distinguished. Even now the custom persists of treating watchful hesitation as a talent; later holders of power should forever take this as a warning. In Cai Que's case there is no need to extend the investigation to his faction and reach out to every branch and leaf. I have heard Confucius say, "Raise the upright and set them above the crooked, and the crooked will become straight." That is to say, by elevating and employing the upright one can transform the crooked and evil into good men, and the unkind will naturally withdraw of their own accord. Why go to the trouble of sorting out factions—unless one fears damaging the work of humane governance?" Supervising Remonstrator Wu Anshi and Rectifier Liu Anshi submitted successive memorials attacking Chunren for siding with Cai Que; Chunren also pressed hard for his own dismissal.

明年，以觀文殿學士知潁昌府。逾年，加大學士、知太原府。其境土狹民眾，惜地不葬。純仁遣僚屬收無主燼骨，別男女異穴，葬者三千餘。又推之一路，葬以萬數計。夏人犯境，朝廷欲罪將吏。純仁自引咎求貶。秋，有詔貶官一等，徙河南府，再徙潁昌。

The following year he was made magistrate of Yingchang Prefecture with the title Academician of the Hall for Exalted Literature. A year later he was given the higher academician title and appointed magistrate of Taiyuan Prefecture. The territory was cramped and the population dense; people begrudged land for burial. Chunren sent his staff to gather ownerless charred bones, separated men and women into different graves, and buried more than three thousand bodies. He extended the practice across the circuit, and burials ran into the tens of thousands. When Tangut raiders crossed the border, the court wanted to punish the frontier officers. Chunren took the blame upon himself and asked to be demoted. In autumn an edict demoted him one rank; he was transferred to Henan Prefecture, then again to Yingchang.

召還，復拜右僕射。因入謝，宣仁后簾中諭曰：「或謂卿必先引用王覿、彭汝礪，卿宜與呂大防一心。」對曰：「此二人實有士望，臣終不敢保位蔽賢，望陛下加察。」純仁將再入也，楊畏不悅，嘗有言，純仁不知。至是，大防約畏為助，欲引為諫議大夫。純仁曰：「諫官當用正人，畏不可用。」大防曰：「豈以畏嘗言公邪？」純仁始知之。後畏叛大防，凡有以害大防者，無所不至。宣仁後寢疾，召純仁曰：「卿父仲淹，可謂忠臣。在明肅皇后垂簾時，唯勸明肅盡母道；明肅上賓，唯勸仁宗盡子道。卿當似之。」純仁泣曰：「敢不盡忠。

Summoned back to court, he was again appointed Right Vice Director. When he entered to give thanks, Empress Dowager Xuanren instructed him from behind the curtain: "Some say you will first bring in Wang Zhi and Peng Rulin—you should be of one mind with Lü Dafang." He replied, "These two men truly enjoy scholarly esteem. Your subject would never hold on to office and conceal talent—I beg Your Majesty to look into this closely." When Chunren was about to return to office, Yang Wei was displeased and had spoken against him—Chunren did not know this. At this point Dafang enlisted Wei as an ally and wanted to appoint him Remonstrance Grandee. Chunren said, "Remonstrance officials should be upright men—Wei is not fit for the post." Dafang said, "Is it because Wei once spoke against you?" Only then did Chunren learn of it. Later Wei turned against Dafang; whatever might harm Dafang, he did without limit. Empress Dowager Xuanren fell ill and summoned Chunren, saying, "Your father Zhongyan was a true loyal minister. During Empress Ming Su's regency he urged her only to fulfill a mother's duty; when Ming Su passed away he urged Renzong only to fulfill a son's duty. You should be like him." Chunren wept and said, "How could I dare not give my full loyalty?

宣仁后崩，哲宗親政，純仁乞避位。哲宗語呂大防曰：「純仁有時望，不宜去，可為朕留之。」且趣入見，問：「先朝行青苗法如何？」對曰：「先帝愛民之意本深，但王安石立法過甚，激以賞罰，故官吏急切，以致害民。」退而上疏，其要以為「青苗非所當行，行之終不免擾民也」。

After Empress Dowager Xuanren died, Emperor Zhezong took personal rule, and Chunren asked to step aside. Emperor Zhezong told Lü Dafang, "Chunren enjoys public esteem—he should not leave. Keep him for me." He hurried Chunren in for an audience and asked, "How was the green sprouts law under the previous reign?" He answered, "The late emperor's intent to love the people was deep, but Wang Anshi's legislation went too far and was driven by rewards and punishments, so officials acted with excessive urgency and ended up harming the people." On retiring he submitted a memorial whose gist was that the green sprouts policy ought not to be carried out—that if it were, disturbance of the people could not ultimately be avoided.

是時，用二三大臣，皆從中出，侍從、臺諫官，亦多不由進擬。純仁言：「陛下初親政，四方拭目以觀，天下治亂，實本於此。舜舉皋陶，湯舉伊尹，不仁者遠。縱未能如古人，亦須極天下之選。」又群小力排宣仁后垂簾時事，純仁奏曰：「太皇保佑聖躬，功烈誠心，幽明共監，議者不恤國事，一何薄哉。」遂以仁宗禁言明肅垂簾事詔書上之。曰：「望陛下稽仿而行，以戒薄俗。」

At this time the appointment of two or three great ministers all came from the inner court; attendants and censorial remonstrators also often bypassed the usual nomination process. Chunren said, "Your Majesty has only just begun to rule in person; the four quarters watch with open eyes—the order or disorder of the realm truly hinges on this. Shun raised Gao Yao, Tang raised Yi Yin—and the unkind kept their distance. Even if we cannot match the ancients, we must still choose from the finest talent under Heaven." Meanwhile petty men vigorously attacked the affairs of Empress Dowager Xuanren's regency. Chunren memorialized, "The Grand Empress protected the sacred person—her merit, loyalty, and sincere heart were witnessed by the living and the dead alike. The critics care nothing for the affairs of state—how shallow!" He thereupon submitted the edict by which Emperor Renzong had forbidden discussion of Empress Ming Su's regency. saying, "Your Majesty, I hope you will examine it and follow its example as a warning against shallow custom."

蘇轍論殿試策問，引漢昭變武帝法度事。哲宗震怒曰：「安得以漢武比先帝？」轍下殿待罪，眾不敢仰視。純仁從容言：「武帝雄才大略，史無貶辭。轍以比先帝，非謗也。陛下親事之始，進退大臣，不當如訶叱奴僕。」右丞鄧潤甫越次曰：「先帝法度，為司馬光、蘇轍壞盡。」純仁曰：「不然，法本無弊，弊則當改。」哲宗曰：「人謂秦皇、漢武。」純仁曰：「轍所論，事與時也，非人也。」哲宗為之少霽。轍平日與純仁多異，至是乃服謝純仁曰：「公佛地位中人也。」轍竟落職知汝州。

Su Zhe, in discussing the palace examination questions, cited Emperor Zhao of Han changing the institutions of Emperor Wu. Emperor Zhezong erupted in anger: "How dare you compare Emperor Wu to the late emperor?" Su Zhe left the hall to await punishment; no one dared raise his eyes. Chunren said calmly, "Emperor Wu was heroic in talent and grand in design—the histories carry no word of blame against him. Su Zhe's comparison with the late emperor is not slander. At the beginning of Your Majesty's personal rule, advancing or dismissing great ministers should not be like scolding servants." Right Vice Director Deng Runfu interrupted out of turn, "The late emperor's institutions were ruined entirely by Sima Guang and Su Zhe." Chunren said, "Not so—law by nature has no flaw; when a law proves flawed, it should be changed." Emperor Zhezong said, "People speak of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han." Chunren said, "What Su Zhe discussed was the matter and its time—not the man himself." Emperor Zhezong's anger eased somewhat. Su Zhe had often differed from Chunren, but now submitted and thanked him, saying, "Sir, you are a man midway to Buddhahood." Su Zhe was ultimately stripped of office and made prefect of Ru Prefecture.

全台言蘇軾行呂惠卿告詞，訕謗先帝，黜知英州。純仁上疏曰：「熙甯法度，皆惠卿附會王安石建議，不副先帝愛民求治之意。至垂簾之際，始用言者，特行貶竄，今已八年矣。言者多當時御史，何故畏避不即納忠，今乃有是奏，豈非觀望邪？」御史來之邵言高士敦任成都鈐轄日不法事，及蘇轍所謫太近。純仁言：「之邵為成都監司，士敦有犯，自當按發。轍與政累年，之邵已作御史，亦無糾正，今乃繼有二奏，其情可知。」

The full censoriate said that Su Shi, in drafting Lü Huiqing's appointment edict, had mocked the late emperor; he was demoted to prefect of Ying Prefecture. Chunren submitted a memorial saying, "The Xining institutions were all proposals put forward by Lü Huiqing in echo of Wang Anshi—they did not match the late emperor's intent to love the people and seek good governance. It was only during the regency that critics were at last heeded and demotions and banishments were carried out—and that was already eight years ago. Most of those speaking now were censors at the time—why then did they shrink from offering loyal counsel immediately, and only now submit such memorials? Are they not simply watching which way the wind blows?" Censor Lai Zhi Shao reported unlawful acts by Gao Shidun during his service as military intendant of Chengdu, and argued that Su Zhe's place of exile was too close to the capital. Chunren said, "Zhi Shao was a supervisory official in Chengdu; if Shidun had committed offenses, he should have investigated and reported them at the time. Su Zhe had held office for many years; Zhi Shao had already become a censor yet made no correction—now he submits two memorials in succession. His motive is plain enough."

純仁凡薦引人材，必以天下公議，其人不知自純仁所出。或曰：「為宰相，豈可不牢籠天下士，使知出於門下？」純仁曰：'但朝廷進用不失正人，何必知出於我邪？」哲宗既召章惇為相，純仁堅請去，遂以觀文殿大學士加右正議大夫知潁昌府。入辭，哲宗曰：「卿不肯為朕留，雖在外，于時政有見，宜悉以聞，毋事形跡。」徙河南府，又徙陳州。初，哲宗嘗言：「貶謫之人，殆似永廢。」純仁前賀曰：「陛下念及此，堯、舜用心也。」

Whenever Chunren recommended men for office, he always relied on the consensus of public opinion throughout the realm; the men themselves did not know the recommendation had come from Chunren. Someone said, "As chancellor, should you not win over the scholars of the realm so they know they owe their advancement to your patronage?" Chunren said, "So long as the court promotes upright men, why must they know the appointment came from me?" After Emperor Zhezong recalled Zhang Dun as chancellor, Chunren firmly asked to leave office and was made magistrate of Yingchang Prefecture with the titles Grand Academician of the Hall for Exalted Literature and Right Regular Grandee of Discussion. On taking leave, Emperor Zhezong told him, "Since you will not stay for me, though you are outside the capital, if you have views on current policy you should report them fully—do not stand on ceremony." He was transferred to Henan Prefecture, then again to Chen Prefecture. Earlier Emperor Zhezong had once said, "Men who are demoted and banished are nearly as good as permanently cast aside." Chunren had congratulated him on this beforehand, saying, "Your Majesty's concern for this shows the mind of Yao and Shun."

既而呂大防等竄嶺表，會明堂肆赦，章惇先期言：「此數十人，當終身勿徙。」純仁聞而憂憤，欲齋戒上疏申理之。所親勸以勿為觸怒，萬一遠斥，非高年所宜。純仁曰：「事至於此，無一人敢言，若上心遂回，所系大矣。不然，死亦何憾。」乃疏曰：「大防等年老疾病，不習水土，炎荒非久處之地，又憂虞不測，何以自存。臣曾與大防等共事，多被排斥，陛下之所親見。臣之激切，止是仰報聖德。向來章惇、呂惠卿雖為貶謫，不出裏居。臣向曾有言，深蒙陛下開納，陛下以一蔡確之故，常軫聖念。今赴彥若已死貶所，將不止一蔡確矣。願陛下斷自淵衷，將大防等引赦原放。」疏奏，忤惇意，詆為同罪，落職知隨州。

Then Lü Dafang and others were banished to Lingnan. When the Hall of Brightness amnesty was proclaimed, Zhang Dun spoke beforehand, "These several dozen men should never be moved for the rest of their lives." Chunren, hearing this, was troubled and indignant and wished to fast and submit a memorial in their defense. Those close to him urged him not to provoke anger—for if he were banished far away, that would not suit a man of his advanced years. Chunren said, "Matters have come to this and not one person dares speak. If the emperor's mind should harden on this course, the consequences would be grave. Otherwise, what regret would there be in death?" He memorialized, "Dafang and the others are old and ill, unused to the climate and soil; the hot southern wastes are no place to remain long, and with unpredictable dangers besides, how could they preserve themselves? Your subject once served with Dafang and the others and was often pushed aside—Your Majesty saw this with your own eyes. Your subject's urgency is only to repay in loyalty the sage virtue of Your Majesty. In the past, though Zhang Dun and Lü Huiqing were demoted and banished, they did not leave their home districts. Your subject spoke on this before and was deeply received by Your Majesty's open acceptance; Your Majesty, because of Cai Que alone, has often borne this in sage concern. Now Fu Yanruo has already died in his place of banishment—there will be more than one Cai Que. Your Majesty, I beg you to decide from the depths of your heart and bring Dafang and the others back under the amnesty and release them." When the memorial was submitted it offended Zhang Dun, who denounced him as guilty of the same offense; he was stripped of office and made prefect of Sui Prefecture.

明年，又貶武安軍節度副使、永州安置。時疾失明，聞命怡然就道。或謂近名，純仁曰：「七十之年，兩目俱喪，萬里之行，豈其欲哉？但區區之愛君，有懷不盡，若避好名之嫌，則無為善之路矣。」每戒子弟毋得小有不平，聞諸子怨章惇，純仁必怒止之。江行赴貶所，舟覆，扶純仁出，衣盡濕。顧諸子曰：「此豈章惇為之哉？」既至永，韓維責均州，其子訴維執政日與司馬光不合，得免行。純仁之子欲以純仁與光議役法不同為請，純仁曰：「吾用君實薦，以至宰相。昔同朝論事不合則可，汝輩以為今日之言，則不可也。有愧心而生者，不若無愧心而死。」其子乃止。

The following year he was further demoted to Vice Commissioner of the Wu'an Army and settled at Yong Prefecture. By then illness had blinded him; on receiving the order he set out calmly on the road. Some said he sought reputation; Chunren said, "At seventy, with both eyes gone, on a journey of ten thousand li—could that be what I wanted? It is only my small measure of love for my ruler, with feelings not yet fully expressed. If I shunned the suspicion of seeking a good name, there would be no path left for doing good." He always warned his sons and grandsons not to harbor the least resentment; when he heard his sons speak with resentment of Zhang Dun, Chunren always angrily stopped them. Traveling by river to his place of banishment, the boat capsized; they pulled Chunren out, and his clothes were soaked through. He looked at his sons and said, "Surely Zhang Dun did not do this?" When he reached Yong, Han Wei was assigned to Jun Prefecture; Wei's son petitioned that during Wei's time in power he had been at odds with Sima Guang, and Wei was excused from going. Chunren's sons wished to petition on the ground that Chunren and Sima Guang had differed on the labor-service law; Chunren said, "I reached the chancellorship through Junshi's recommendation. In the past, differing in court debate was permissible—but for you to speak as you do today is not permissible. Better to die without a guilty conscience than to live with one." His sons then stopped.

居三年，徽宗即位，欽聖顯肅後同聽政，即日授純仁光祿卿，分司南京，鄧州居住。遣中使至永賜茶藥，諭曰：「皇帝在藩邸，太皇太后在宮中，知公先朝言事忠直，今虛相位以待，不知目疾如何，用何人醫之。」純仁頓首謝。道除右正議大夫、提舉崇福宮。不數月，以觀文殿大學士、中太一宮使詔之。有曰：「豈唯尊德尚齒，昭示寵優；庶幾鯁論嘉謀，日聞忠告。」純仁以疾，捧詔而泣曰：「上果用我矣，死有餘責。」徽宗又遣中使賜茶藥，促入覲，仍宣渴見之意。

After three years Emperor Huizong ascended the throne; Empress Qinsheng Xiansu joined in governance and that same day appointed Chunren Grandee of Splendid Happiness, with nominal office at Nanjing and residence at Deng Prefecture. An imperial envoy was sent to Yong with tea and medicine and instructed him, "When the emperor was still in his princely residence and the Grand Empress Dowager was in the palace, they knew of your loyal and upright remonstrance in the previous reign. Now the chancellorship waits empty for you—we do not know how your eye ailment is, or what physician should treat it." Chunren bowed his head in thanks. On the road he was appointed Right Regular Grandee of Discussion and Director of Chongfu Palace. Within a few months he was summoned with the titles Grand Academician of the Hall for Exalted Literature and Commissioner of the Central Grand Unity Palace. The edict read, "Surely this honors virtue and reveres age and displays special favor; perhaps forthright counsel and good plans may daily reach the ear as loyal admonition." Chunren, ill, received the edict weeping and said, "The emperor truly intends to use me—even in death there would still be duty unfulfilled." Emperor Huizong again sent an imperial envoy with tea and medicine, urging him to come for audience and conveying the emperor's eager wish to see him.

純仁乞歸許養疾，徽宗不得已許之。每見輔臣問安否，乃曰：「范純仁，得一識面足矣。」遂遣上醫視疾。疾小愈，丐以所得冠帔改服色酬醫。詔賜醫章服，令以冠帔與族侄。疾革，以宣仁後誣謗未明為恨。呼諸子口占遺表，命門生李之儀次第之。其略云：「蓋嘗先天下而憂，期不負聖人之學，此先臣所以教子，而微臣資以事君。」又云：「惟宣仁之誣謗未明，致保佑之憂勤不顯。」又云：「未解疆埸之嚴，幾空帑藏之積。有城必守，得地難耕。」凡八事。建中靖國改元之旦，受家人賀。明日，熟寐而卒。年七十五。詔賻白金三十兩，敕許、洛官給其葬，贈開府儀同三司，諡曰忠宣，禦書碑額曰：「世濟忠直之碑」。

Chunren begged to return home to nurse his illness; Emperor Huizong, unwillingly, granted it. Whenever he saw chief ministers he asked after Chunren's health and would say, "Fan Chunren—even one meeting would be enough." He then sent the court physician to examine his illness. When his illness eased slightly, he asked to exchange the rank robes he had received for official robes in payment to the physician. An edict granted the physician official robes and ordered the rank robes given to a clan nephew. When his illness became critical, he regretted that the slander against Empress Dowager Xuanren had not been cleared. He called his sons and dictated a final memorial, ordering his disciple Li Zhiyi to put it in order. Its gist read, "I have always sought to worry before all under Heaven and hoped not to fail the learning of the sages—this is what my late father taught his sons, and what your humble servant relied on in serving his ruler." It also read, "Only because the slander against Empress Dowager Xuanren has not been cleared do her protective labors and earnest care remain unrevealed." It also read, "The frontier defenses were not yet secure, and the treasury's accumulations were nearly emptied. Where there was a fort it had to be held; land taken was hard to farm." There were eight items in all. On the first day of the Jianzhong Jingguo era change he received congratulations from his family. The next day he fell into a deep sleep and died. He was seventy-five. An edict granted thirty taels of white silver for funeral expenses; officials of Xu and Lu were ordered to supply the burial; he was posthumously made Grand Preceptor with ceremonial equal to the Three Excellencies; his posthumous title was Zhongxuan; the imperial brush inscribed the stele: "Stele of Loyalty and Uprightness Handed Down through Generations."

純仁性夷易寬簡，不以聲色加人，誼之所在，則挺然不少屈。自為布衣至宰相，廉儉如一，所得奉賜，皆以廣義莊；前後任子恩，多先疏族。沒之日，幼子、五孫猶未官。嘗曰：「吾平生所學，得之忠恕二字，一生用不盡。以至立朝事君，接待僚友，親睦宗族，未嘗須臾離此也。」每戒子弟曰：「人雖至愚，責人則明；雖有聰明，恕己則昏。苟能以責人之心責己，恕己之心恕人，不患不至聖賢地位也。」又戒曰：「《六經》，聖人之事也。知一字則行一字。要須'造次顛沛必於是'，則所謂'有為者亦若是'爾。豈不在人邪？」弟純粹在關陝，純仁慮其于西夏有立功意。與之書曰：「大輅與柴車爭逐，明珠與瓦礫相觸，君子與小人鬥力，中國與外邦校勝負，非唯不可勝，兼亦不足勝，不唯不足勝，雖勝亦非也。」親族有請教者，純仁曰：「惟儉可以助廉，惟恕可以成德。」其人書於坐隅。有文集五十卷，行於世。子正平、正思。

Chunren's nature was easy, broad, and simple; he did not use harsh tone or appearance toward others, yet where righteousness lay he stood firm and would not yield in the least. From commoner to chancellor he was frugal and plain in the same way; all salary and gifts he received he used for the Broad Righteousness Estate; whenever he used the privilege of office for his sons, he mostly gave priority to distant clansmen. On the day he died, his youngest son and five grandsons still held no office. He once said, "What I have learned in life I owe to the two words loyalty and forbearance—a lifetime is not enough to exhaust them. Whether standing in court serving the ruler, receiving colleagues, or treating kin with kindness in the clan, I have never for a moment departed from this." He always warned his sons and grandsons, "However foolish a man may be, in blaming others he is clear; however clever he may be, in forgiving himself he is dull. If one can blame oneself with the mind one uses to blame others, and forgive others with the mind one uses to forgive oneself, one need not fear failing to reach the station of sages." He also warned, "The Six Classics are the business of the sages. Understand one word and practice one word. One must "in haste and in distress be devoted to this"—then what is called "he who would act must be like this" applies. Is it not all in the person?" His younger brother Chun Cui was in Guan and Shan; Chunren feared he intended to win merit against Western Xia. He wrote him, "A great carriage racing a firewood cart, a bright pearl striking common tile—a gentleman wrestling a petty man, the Middle Kingdom contending with a foreign state for victory: not only can one not win, one also ought not win; not only ought one not win—even winning would not be right." When kinsmen asked his teaching, Chunren said, "Only frugality can assist integrity; only forbearance can complete virtue." The man wrote this at the corner of his seat. He had collected works in fifty juan, circulated in the world. His sons were Zhengping and Zhengsi.

子正平

Son: Zhengping

正平字子夷，學行甚高，雖庸言必援《孝經》、《論語》。父純仁卒，詔特增遺澤，官其子孫，正平推與幼弟。紹聖中，為開封尉，有向氏於其墳造慈雲寺。戶部尚書蔡京以向氏後戚，規欲自結，奏拓四鄰田廬。民有訴者，正平按視，以為所拓皆民業，不可奪；民又撾鼓上訴，京坐罰金二十斤，用是蓄恨正平。

Zhengping, styled Ziyi, was very high in learning and conduct; even in ordinary speech he always cited the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects. When his father Chunren died, an edict specially added extra favor and office for his sons and grandsons; Zhengping yielded the benefit to his youngest brother. During the Shaosheng era he was a captain of the Kaifeng guard; the Xiang clan built the Ciyun Temple at their grave. Minister of Revenue Cai Jing, because the Xiang were maternal kin of the empress, wished to win them over and memorialized to expand the neighboring fields and buildings. When commoners petitioned, Zhengping inspected on site and held that all land taken was people's property and could not be seized; the people again beat the drum to appeal upward; Jing was fined twenty jin of gold and on this account nursed hatred for Zhengping.

及當國，乃言正平矯撰父遺表。又謂李之儀所述《純仁行狀》，妄載中使蔡克明傳二聖虛佇之意，遂以正平逮之儀、克明同詣御史府。正平將行，其弟正思曰：「議《行狀》時，兄方營窀穸之事，參預筆削者，正思也，兄何為哉？」正平曰：「時相意屬我，且我居長，我不往，兄弟俱將不免，不若身任之。」遂就獄，捶楚甚苦，皆欲誣服。獨克明曰：「舊制，凡傳聖語，受本於御前，請寶印出，注籍於內東門。」使從其家得永州傳宣聖語本有御寶，又驗內東門籍皆同。其遺表八事，諸子以朝廷大事，防後患，不敢上之，繳申潁昌府印寄軍資庫。自潁昌取至，亦實。獄遂解。正平羈管象州，之儀羈管太平州。正平家屬死者十余人。

When he came to power he said Zhengping had forged his father's final memorial. He also said that Li Zhiyi's account of Chunren's conduct biography had falsely recorded the eunuch Cai Keming's transmission of the two emperors' empty waiting—thereupon Zhengping was taken together with Zhiyi and Keming to the Censorate. As Zhengping was about to go, his younger brother Zhengsi said, "When the conduct biography was debated, you were arranging burial affairs; the one who took part in the writing was I—what are you doing?" Zhengping said, "The chief minister's intent falls on me, and I am the eldest—I will not go and then both brothers will not escape; better that I bear it alone." He then entered prison; the beating and torture were very severe—all wished to force false confession. Only Keming said, "By old regulation, whenever imperial words are transmitted, one receives the text at the imperial presence, requests the seal to be affixed and brought out, and registers it at the inner east gate." Messengers obtained from his home the Yong Prefecture transmission of imperial words with the imperial seal, and verification of the inner east gate register all matched. As for the eight items in the final memorial, the sons, considering them great affairs of state and fearing later trouble, did not dare submit them; they turned them in under seal to Yingchang Prefecture and deposited them in the military supplies store. When they were fetched from Yingchang, these too proved genuine. The case was then dismissed. Zhengping was placed under restraint at Xiang Prefecture; Zhiyi was placed under restraint at Taiping Prefecture. More than ten members of Zhengping's family died.

會赦，得歸潁昌。唐君益為守，表其所居為忠直坊，取所賜「世濟忠直」碑額也。正平告之曰：「此朝廷所賜，施于金石，揭於墓隧，假寵于范氏子孫則可；若於通途廣陌中為往來之觀，以聳動庸俗，不可也。」君益曰：「此有司之事，君家何預焉？」正平曰：「先祖先君功名，人所知也。十室之邑，必有忠信，異時不獨吾家詒笑，君亦受其責矣。」竟撤去之。正平退閑久，益工詩，尤長五言，著《荀裏退居編》，以壽終。

When an amnesty was proclaimed he was able to return to Yingchang. Tang Junyi was prefect and had his residence marked as the Loyal and Upright Ward, taking the bestowed stele inscription "Loyalty and Uprightness Handed Down through Generations." Zhengping told him, "This was bestowed by the court and may be set in metal and stone and displayed at the tomb passage, and the Fan clan's descendants may borrow the honor; but to make it a spectacle for passersby on broad public roads and startle vulgar opinion—that cannot be done." Junyi said, "This is the officials' business—what has your family to do with it?" Zhengping said, "Our ancestors' and our late father's achievements are known to all. In a hamlet of ten households there is sure to be loyalty and trust—another time it will not be our family alone that is mocked; you too will bear the blame." In the end it was removed. Zhengping lived in retirement for a long time and became more skilled in poetry, especially excelling in five-character verse; he compiled "Collected Writings from Retirement in the Bush" and died at a full age.

論曰：自古一代帝王之興，必有一代名世之臣。宋有仲淹諸賢，無愧乎此。仲淹初在制中，遺宰相書，極論天下事，他日為政，盡行其言。諸葛孔明草廬始見昭烈數語，生平事業備見於是。豪傑自知之審，類如是乎！考其當朝，雖不能久，然先憂後樂之志，海內固已信其有弘毅之器，足任斯責，使究其所欲為，豈讓古人哉！」純仁位過其父，而幾有父風。元祐建議攻熙、豐太急，純仁救蔡確一事，所謂謀國甚遠，當世若從其言，元祐黨錮之禍，不至若是烈也。仲淹謂諸子，純仁得其忠，純禮得其靜，純粹得其略。知子孰與父哉！

The commentator says: Since ancient times, whenever an age's emperor arose, there was sure to be an age's eminent minister. The Song had Zhongyan and the other worthies—none shamed this saying. When Zhongyan was first in mourning he sent the chancellor a letter exhaustively discussing affairs under Heaven; when he later held power he fully carried out what he had said. Zhuge Kongming, in his thatched hut at first meeting Emperor Zhaolie in a few words—his life's work is all seen in this. Heroes who know themselves clearly are mostly like this! Examining his time in power, though he could not long remain, yet his resolve to worry first and rejoice after was already trusted throughout the realm to show he had the firm and resolute capacity sufficient for this charge—had he fully accomplished what he wished to do, how would he yield to the men of old! Chunren's rank surpassed his father's, yet he nearly had his father's manner. In Yuanyou the attack on the Xi and Feng reforms was too hasty; in Chunren's effort to save Cai Que in one matter—what is called planning for the state from far off—if his contemporaries had followed his words, the Yuanyou faction-ban calamity would not have been so fierce. Zhongyan told his sons: Chunren received his loyalty, Chun Li received his calm, Chun Cui received his breadth. Who knows a son better than a father!

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