1
何郯，字聖從，本陵州人，徙成都。 第進士，由太常博士為監察御史，轉殿中侍御史，言事無所避。 王拱辰罷三司使守亳，已而留經筵，郯乞正其營求之罪。 石介死，樞密使夏竦讒其詐，朝廷下京東體實，郯與張昪極陳竦奸狀，事得寢。 楊懷敏以衛卒之亂，猶為副都知，郯又與昪及魚周詢論之。 仁宗召諭云：「懷敏實先覺變，宜有所寬假。」 郯等皆言不可，卒出之。 郯爭辨尤力。 帝曰：「古有碎首諫者，卿能之乎？」 對曰：「古者君不從諫，則臣有碎首； 今陛下受諫如流，臣何敢掠美而歸過君父。」 帝欣納之。
He Tan, whose courtesy name was Shengcong, came from Ling Prefecture but later settled in Chengdu. After earning his jinshi degree, he rose from Erudite of the Grand Music Office to Supervising Censor and then Palace Censor-in-Attendance, speaking out on public affairs without flinching. When Wang Gongchen lost the commissionership of the Three Fiscal Departments and was posted to Bo, only to be retained at the imperial lecture hall, Tan demanded that his corrupt self-seeking be formally punished. After Shi Jie's death, Privy Councilor Xia Song accused him of faking his demise, and the court dispatched investigators to the eastern capital circuit. Tan and Zhang Bian laid bare Song's villainy in detail, and the inquiry was abandoned. Yang Huaimin remained Vice Director-in-Chief despite the palace guard mutiny, and Tan once more joined Bian and Yu Zhouxun in protesting the appointment. Emperor Renzong called them in and said, "Huaimin was the first to sense the mutiny; he deserves some measure of clemency." Tan and his colleagues all objected, and Yang Huaimin was dismissed in the end. Tan pressed his case with exceptional vigor. The emperor asked, "In old times men would shatter their skulls rather than hold their tongues—would you do as much?" He answered, "In antiquity, ministers broke their heads only when rulers refused counsel; but Your Majesty welcomes remonstrance as freely as running water. How could I claim merit for myself and lay fault at the feet of my sovereign and father?" The emperor received the reply with evident pleasure.
2
夏竦倡張貴妃之功，諫官王贄遂言賊根本起於皇后閣，請究其事，冀搖動中宮，而陰為妃地。 帝以語郯，郯曰：「此奸人之謀也。」 乃止不究。 竦負罪不去，郯等奏出知河南，竦乞留京師。 郯言：「佞人在君側，為善政累，願勿革前命。」 竦遂行。
Xia Song trumpeted Consort Zhang's achievements, and remonstrance official Wang Zan claimed the rebellion had its origin in the empress's apartments, urging an investigation in the hope of unsettling the inner court while quietly advancing the consort's cause. When the emperor repeated this to Tan, Tan replied, "This is a villain's scheme." The inquiry was stopped. Though guilty, Xia Song refused to leave court; Tan and his colleagues memorialized for his appointment as prefect of Henan, while Song pleaded to stay in the capital. Tan argued, "With a sycophant at the sovereign's elbow, sound governance suffers. Do not revoke the earlier decree." Xia Song left the capital.
3
時詔群臣陳左右朋邪、中外險詐，久而無所行。 郯請閱實其是否，因言曰：「誠以待物，物必應以誠。 誠與疑，治亂之本也，不可以一臣詐而疑眾臣，一士詐而疑眾士。 且擇官者宰相之職，今用一吏，則疑其從私，故細務或勞於親決。 分閫者將帥之任，今專一事，則疑其異圖，故多端而加羈制。 博訪者大臣之體，今見一士，則疑其請託。 相先後者士之常，今進其類，則疑為朋黨。 君臣交疑，而欲天下無否塞之患，不可得矣。」
An edict had called on officials to expose court factions and deceit at home and abroad, yet for a long time no action followed. Tan asked that each accusation be verified, adding, "Treat the world with sincerity, and the world will answer in kind. Trust and doubt are the foundations of peace and chaos. One deceitful minister must not make you doubt every minister; one deceitful scholar must not poison your faith in every scholar. Choosing officials belongs to the chancellor, yet if a single clerk is appointed, you suspect favoritism—so petty business drags the throne into endless personal adjudication. Command of a frontier sector is a general's trust, yet let him act on one matter and you suspect treason—so he is hedged about with endless restraints. Broad consultation befits a great minister, yet the sight of one scholar makes you suspect backdoor pleading. Scholars naturally recommend their peers; promote several of the same stamp and you cry "faction." When sovereign and ministers eye one another with suspicion, you cannot expect the realm to remain free of obstruction and deadlock."
4
都知王守忠以修祭器勞，遷景福殿使，給兩使留後奉。 郯曰：「守忠勞薄賞重。 舊制，內臣遙領止於廉察。 今雖不授留後，而先給其祿； 既得其祿，必得其官； 若又從之，則何求不可。」 既又詔許如正班。 守忠移閤門，欲綴本品坐宴，郯又言：「祖宗之制，未有內臣坐殿上者。 此弊一開，所損不細。」 守忠聞之，不敢赴。 知雜御史闕，執政欲進其黨，帝以郯不阿權勢，越次用之。 郯遍歷三院，有直聲。 晚節頗回畏，因地震言陰盛臣強，以譏切韓琦； 又乞召還王陶以迎合上意，由是聲名損於御史時也。
Wang Shouzhong, Director-in-Chief, was rewarded for overseeing ritual vessels with promotion to Commissioner of the Hall of Glorious Blessings and the emoluments of a dual-circuit commissioner-in-residence. Tan protested, "Shouzhong's service was modest, the reward extravagant. Under longstanding practice, eunuchs on nominal provincial posts were limited to surveillance commissions. Now, though no commissioner-in-residence title is granted, the salary comes first; once the pay is in hand, the office inevitably follows; grant that as well, and no demand will be refused." Soon another edict allowed him to take his seat among regular court ranks. Shouzhong appeared at the Gate of Transmission intending to banquet in hall by his former rank. Tan objected again: "Never under the founders' institutions did a eunuch sit upon the palace dais. Let this breach open, and the damage will be far from small." Hearing this, Shouzhong dared not attend. When the Supervising Censor with Miscellaneous Duties post fell vacant, the chief ministers wanted their own man, but the emperor skipped the queue for Tan, who refused to truckle to power. He served in all three censorial bureaus and earned a name for fearless speech. In later life he grew cautious. After an earthquake he spoke of yin overpowering yang and ministers growing too strong—a veiled attack on Han Qi; he also asked that Wang Tao be recalled to please the throne, and his standing never again matched his censorial days.
5
以母老求西歸，加直龍圖閣、知漢州。 將行，上疏言：「張堯佐緣後宮親，叨竊非據，外庭竊議，謂將處以二府。 若此命一出，言事之臣，必以死爭之。 倘罷堯佐則傷恩，黜言者則累德，累德、傷恩，皆為不可。 臣謂莫若富貴堯佐而不假之以權，如李用和可也。」 其後卒罷堯佐宣徽之命。 進集賢殿修撰、知梓州，擢天章閣待制，還判銀臺司。 時封駁之職廢，郯乞準故事，凡詔敕並由門下，從之。 唐介出荊南，敕過門下，郯封還之，介復留諫院。 遷龍圖閣直學士，為河東都轉運使。 故相梁適帥太原，病不能事，內臣蘇安靜鈐轄兵馬，怙寵不法，皆劾奏之。
When his mother aged, he sought to return west and was made Directorship of the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Han Prefecture. Before leaving, he memorialized: "Zhang Yaozuo holds office he does not deserve through inner-palace kinship, and rumor outside court says he is bound for the two chief ministries. Issue that appointment, and remonstrators will fight to the death against it. Dismiss Yaozuo and you wound imperial grace; silence the critics and you stain virtue—neither can be borne. Better to enrich Yaozuo without giving him power, as was done for Li Yonghe." In the end the appointment of Yaozuo as Commissioner of the Palace Domestic Service was withdrawn. He rose to Compiler of the Hall for Treasuring Literature and prefect of Zi Prefecture, then to Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall, returning to judge the Silver Terrace Office. The practice of sealing and returning improper edicts had fallen into disuse; Tan restored the old rule that all edicts pass through the Gate Office, and the request was granted. When Tang Jie was ordered to Jingnan, Tan sealed and returned the edict at the Gate Office, and Jie stayed at the Remonstrance Bureau. He became Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and Transport Commissioner of the Hedong Circuit. Former chancellor Liang Shi held Taiyuan but was too ill to govern; eunuch Su Anjing controlled the army, arrogant and lawless—Tan impeached them all.
6
歷知永興、河南。 治平末，再知梓州。 居三年，老而病，猶乞進用。 神宗薄之，詔提舉成都玉局觀。 從臣外祠自此始。 遂以尚書右丞致仕。 卒，年六十九。
He later governed Yongxing and Henan in turn. Near the close of the Zhiping era he was again appointed prefect of Zi Prefecture. After three years, though aged and ill, he still petitioned for promotion. Emperor Shenzong held him in low regard and posted him to superintend the Jade Bureau Abbey in Chengdu. Thus began the practice of assigning retired court ministers to outside Taoist abbeys. He finally retired with the title Right Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue. He died at sixty-nine.
7
吳中復
Wu Zhongfu
8
吳中復，字仲庶，興國永興人。
Wu Zhongfu, courtesy name Zhongshu, came from Yongxing in Xingguo Circuit.
9
父仲舉，仕李煜為池陽令。 曹彬平江南，仲舉嘗殺彬所招使者。 城陷，彬執之，仲舉曰：「世祿李氏，國亡而死，職也。」 彬義而不殺。
His father Zhongju had served Li Yu as magistrate of Chiyang. When Cao Bin conquered Jiangnan, Zhongju had killed an envoy Bin had sent to win him over. After the city fell, Bin captured him. Zhongju said, "I drew stipend from the House of Li; when the realm fell, death was my duty." Bin honored his integrity and spared his life.
10
中復進士及第，知峨眉縣。 邊夷民事淫祠太盛，中復悉廢之。 廉於居官，代還，不載一物。 通判潭州，御史中丞孫抃薦為監察御史，初不相識也。 或問之，抃曰：「昔人恥為呈身御史，今豈有識面臺官耶？」 遷殿中侍御史。 彈宰相梁適，仁宗曰：「馬遵亦言之矣。」 且問中復曰：「唐自天寶後治亂分，何也？」 中復歷引姚、宋、九齡、林甫、國忠用舍以對。 適罷，中復亦通判虔州，未至，復還臺。
Zhongfu passed the jinshi examination and served as magistrate of Emei County. Frontier peoples maintained far too many licentious shrines; Zhongfu abolished them all. Incorruptible in office, he returned from his post without a single personal possession. While vice prefect of Tan Prefecture, he was recommended for Supervising Censor by Vice Censor-in-Chief Sun Bian, though the two had never met. Asked why, Bian replied, "Men of old scorned becoming censors by currying favor—would a censor today be chosen because he had made the acquaintance of his chief?" He was promoted to Palace Censor-in-Attendance. He impeached Chancellor Liang Shi. Emperor Renzong said, "Ma Zun has raised this as well." Then he asked Zhongfu, "After Tang's Tianbao era, peace and chaos parted ways—why?" Zhongfu answered by tracing how the rise and fall of Yao Chong, Song Jing, Zhang Jiuling, Li Linfu, and Yang Guozhong had turned the age. Liang Shi was removed; Zhongfu was posted as vice prefect of Qian Prefecture, but before he arrived he was recalled to the censorate.
11
富弼主李仲昌開六塔河，內臣劉恢密告所斷岡與國姓上名同，賈昌朝陰助之，欲以搖弼。 詔中復往治，促行甚急。 中復言：「獄起奸臣，非盛世所宜有。」 馳至，較其名，乃趙征村也，亦無岡勢，獄以故得止。 又彈宰相劉沆，沆罷。 改右司諫，同知諫院。 遷御史知雜事、戶部副使，擢天章閣待制，知澤州、瀛州，移河東都轉運使，進龍圖閣直學士、知江寧府。 郵兵苦巡轄官苛刻，縶而鞭之。 獄具，法不至死，中復以便宜戮首惡，流其餘，入奏為令。 歷成德軍、成都府、永興軍。
Fu Bi backed Li Zhongchang's plan to open the Six Pagoda River. Eunuch Liu Hui secretly claimed a ridge to be cut bore the characters of the imperial surname and given name; Jia Changchao quietly abetted him, hoping to unseat Bi. An edict sent Zhongfu to investigate, with orders to hurry. Zhongfu declared, "A prosecution born of treacherous ministers ill befits a flourishing age." He rode hard to the site, checked the place-name—it was Zhao Zheng Village, with no ominous ridge—and the case collapsed. He impeached Chancellor Liu Hang as well, and Hang was removed. He became Right Remonstrance Officer and Associate Director of the Remonstrance Bureau. He rose through Supervising Censor with Miscellaneous Duties and Vice Commissioner of Revenue to Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall, governing Ze and Ying Prefectures, then Hedong transport, then Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Jiangning. Postal couriers, tormented by harsh patrol officers, seized and flogged their overseers. The law did not require death, but Zhongfu summarily executed the ringleaders, exiled the rest, and memorialized to make this precedent. He later governed the Chengde Army, Chengdu Prefecture, and the Yongxing Army in succession.
12
河北行青苗法，使者至，將先下州縣。 中復檄之曰：「斂散自有期，今先事擾之，何也？」 拒不聽，且以報。 安撫司韓琦方疏諫青苗，錄其語以上。 熙寧倂省郡邑，以永康為縣，中復言：「永康控威、茂，不可廢。」 其後因夷竟復之。 關內大旱，民多流亡。 中復請加賑恤，執政惡之，遣使往視，謂為不實，削一階，提舉玉隆觀。 起知荊南，坐過用公使酒，免。 卒，年六十八。 中復樂易簡約，好周人之急，士大夫稱之。 從孫擇仁。
When the Green Sprouts Law reached Hebei, the imperial envoy meant to roll it out through prefectures and counties first. Zhongfu wrote back, "Grain is levied and released on fixed schedules—why stir trouble ahead of time?" He refused compliance and reported the matter upward. Pacification Commissioner Han Qi was already remonstrating against the Green Sprouts Law and forwarded Zhongfu's words to court. During Xining's consolidation of districts, Yongkang was reduced to a county. Zhongfu argued, "Yongkang guards Wei and Mao—it must not be abolished." Later, owing to the tribal peoples, it was restored. A severe drought within the passes drove many people to flee. Zhongfu asked for greater relief; the chief ministers resented it, sent investigators who declared his report false, stripped him of one rank, and posted him to superintend the Yulong Abbey. Recalled to govern Jingnan, he was dismissed for overspending official entertainment wine. He died at sixty-eight. Easygoing and plain in habit, he loved to rescue others in distress, and the literati held him in esteem. His collateral descendant was Zerén.
13
從孫擇仁
Zerén, a Collateral Descendant
14
擇仁，字智夫，以父任，為開封雍丘主簿。 元祐中，金水河堤壞，十六縣皆選屬庀役，得詣朝堂白事。 宰相范純仁獨異之，曰：「簿領中乃有是人邪？」
Zerén, courtesy name Zhifu, entered service through yin privilege as chief clerk of Yongqiu in Kaifeng. During Yuanyou, when the Jinshui River dike failed, sixteen counties each dispatched subordinates to manage corvée labor and gain access to the court. Chancellor Fan Chunren alone took notice and exclaimed, "Can such a man really be found among ledger clerks?"
15
建中靖國初，畿內饑，多盜，以擇仁知太康縣。 始至，召令賊曹曰：「民窮而盜，非天性也，我以靜鎮之。 若亡命椎埋故犯，我一切誅之，毋得貸。」 群盜相戒不入境。 中貴人譚稹奴犯法，按致於理。 稹羞恚造譖，徽宗召戶部郎中宋喬年往鞫。 喬年，伉吏也，疾驅至。 候者惶遽入白，擇仁著衣冠坐廡下。 喬年慮囚擿隱，剔抉帑庾出入，不能得毫毛罪，乃歸傳舍。 擇仁上謁，喬年迎笑曰：「所以來，為察君罪，顧乃得一奇士，吾今薦君矣。」 居數日，召詣闕。
When famine and banditry spread through the capital region at the opening of the Jianzhong Jingguo era, Zerén was made magistrate of Taikang County. On taking office he told the bandit-catchers, "Poverty drives men to theft—it is not inborn nature. I shall govern through calm restraint. But hardened outlaws who kill for gain will all be put to death without mercy." Bandits warned one another to stay out of his jurisdiction. When a favored eunuch Tan Zhen's slave broke the law, Zerén prosecuted him to the letter. Humiliated, Tan fabricated charges, and Huizong sent Ministry of Revenue Director Song Qiaonian to investigate. Song Qiaonian was a hard-driving official and raced to the county. An attendant panicked and announced him; Zerén sat in full official dress in the outer hall. Song tore through the jail and treasury records hunting for hidden guilt but found not a thread of offense, and withdrew to his lodging. When Zerén called on him, Song smiled and said, "I came to catch you in wrongdoing, but found an uncommon man instead. I mean to recommend you." Within days he was summoned to the palace.
16
方有事青唐，擢熙河路轉運判官，即以直秘閣為副使，從招討使王厚領兵深入，克蘭、廓城柵十三。 加龍圖，進集賢殿修撰，為京畿都轉運使。 鄭州城惡，受命更築之。 或讒於帝曰：「新城雜以沙土，反不如故，且速圮。」 帝怒，密遣取塊城上，緘以來，令衛卒三投之，堅緻如削鐵，讒不能售。 遂拜戶部侍郎兼知開封府。 故事，尹以三日聽訟，右曹吏十輩列庭下，自占姓名，一人云：「某人送某獄，某人當杖，某人去」，而尹無所可否。 有竇鑒者，以捕盜寵，官諸司使，服金帶。 擇仁視事，狃舊態來前，叱而械諸獄，一府大驚。 賣珠人居民貨久不返，度事急，匿宦官楊戩第，擇仁跡取之，竄於遠。
During operations in Qing Tang he rose to Transport Assessor of the Xihe Circuit, then Vice Commissioner with Directorship of the Secret Archive, accompanying Pacification Commissioner Wang Hou deep into enemy country to capture thirteen forts at Lan and Kuo. He received the Dragon Diagram designation, became Compiler of the Hall for Treasuring Literature, and Transport Commissioner of the capital region. Zheng Prefecture's walls were crumbling, and he was ordered to rebuild them. A detractor told the emperor, "The new walls are adulterated with sand and worse than before—they will soon fall." Enraged, the emperor secretly had a wall block sealed and sent to court; three throws by guard soldiers showed iron-hard density, and the slander failed. He was then made Vice Minister of Revenue and concurrently prefect of Kaifeng. By custom the prefect heard cases every third day while ten right-bureau clerks lined the courtyard, calling out names and dispositions—"Send X to such-and-such prison, beat Y, release Z"—while the prefect assented to nothing. One Dou Jian, a favorite for catching thieves, held rank as Commissioner of Various Offices and wore a gold belt. When Zerén took office, Dou Jian approached as of old habit; Zerén rebuked him and had him shackled in jail, stunning the entire prefecture. A pearl merchant whose goods a resident long refused to return hid in eunuch Yang Kan's house when pressed; Zerén tracked him down and banished him far away.
17
戩中以事，出為顯謨閣直學士、知熙州，從永興軍。 走馬承受藍從熙言其擅改茶法，奪職，免。 再閱歲，以徽猷閣待制領江淮發運，還直學士、知渭州。 以病提舉崇福宮，起知青州，不克拜，卒，年六十六。
Yang Kan lodged a complaint, and Zerén was posted out as Direct Academician of the Hall of Manifest Instruction and prefect of Xi Prefecture, later attached to the Yongxing Army. Palace courier Lan Congxi accused him of altering the tea law on his own authority; he was stripped of office and dismissed. A year later he headed Huai-Hai grain transport as Court Gentleman of the Hall of Imperial Instruction, then returned as Direct Academician and prefect of Wei Prefecture. Illness led to superintendence of the Chongfu Palace; though recalled to govern Qing Prefecture, he could not take up the post and died at sixty-six.
18
陳薦，字彥升，邢州沙河人。 舉進士，為華陽尉。 盜殺人，棄屍民田。 薦出驗，有以移屍告者。 田主又殺其母。 縣欲聞致殺二人，以逭薦失盜之責。 薦不可，曰：「焉有誣人以自貰者邪！」 已而獲盜。
Chen Jian, courtesy name Yansheng, came from Shahe in Xing Prefecture. After passing the jinshi examination he served as marshal of Huayang. Bandits murdered a man and dumped the body in a farmer's field. Jian went to examine the corpse, and someone reported that the body had been moved. The field owner had also killed his own mother. The county wanted to report two murders together to shield Jian from blame for failing to catch the bandits. Jian refused, saying, "Who would frame an innocent man to clear himself?" The bandits were captured soon after.
19
從韓琦定州、河東幕府。 性木強簡澹，獨琦知之最深，每語人曰：「廉於進，勇於退，嫌疑間毫髮不處，與人交久而不變，如彥升者，無幾也。」 琦輔政，薦為秘閣校理、判登聞檢院、知太常禮院。
He served on Han Qi's staffs at Ding Prefecture and in Hedong. Stubborn, plain, and reserved, he was known best by Han Qi, who often said, "Frugal in ambition, bold in withdrawal, never touching the shadow of suspicion, steadfast through long acquaintance—men like Yansheng are rare." When Qi entered the chief ministry, Jian was made Collator of the Secret Archive, judge of the Petition Office, and director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
20
英宗諸王出閣，選為記室參軍，直集賢院。 潁王為皇太子，加右諭德； 王即位，拜天章閣待制，進知制誥、知諫院。 薛向首謀取橫山，功不成，薦請以漢王恢之罪罪向。 楊繪論曾公亮用人不當，言既行而遷侍讀，罷諫職。 薦曰：「此乃宰相欲杜繪言爾，所言是，宜責宰相。」 疏入不報。
When Yingzong's sons left the inner palace, Jian was chosen as Recorder and attached to the Hall for Treasuring Literature. When Yingzong was named crown prince, Jian received the post of Right Mentor; when that prince ascended the throne, Jian became Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall, then Drafter of Edicts and Director of the Remonstrance Bureau. Xue Xiang had first plotted to seize Hengshan and failed; Jian asked that he be punished under the precedent of Wang Hui's crime. Yang Hui criticized Zeng Gongliang's appointments; though his remonstrance was heeded, he was moved to Reader-in-Waiting and stripped of remonstrance office. Jian said, "The chancellor only wants to silence Yang Hui. Hui was right—the chancellor should bear the blame." His memorial went in unanswered.
21
除龍圖閣直學士、河北都轉運使。 河決棗強，水官議於恩、冀、深、瀛之間築堤三百六十里，期一月就功，役丁夫八萬。 薦曰：「河未能為數州害，民力方困，願以歲月為之。」 還，判流內銓、太常寺。 議學校貢舉法，請會三年貢士數均之諸路，計口察孝廉如漢制。 權主管御史臺，言李定匿所生母喪，不宜為御史。 罷臺事。 又以議典禮不合，出知蔡州。 召為寶文閣學士兼侍讀，進資政殿學士。
He became Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and Transport Commissioner of Hebei. When the Yellow River burst at Zaoqiang, water officials proposed three hundred sixty li of dikes between En, Ji, Shen, and Ying, to be finished in one month with eighty thousand laborers. Jian replied, "The river is not yet a grave threat to several prefectures, and the people are exhausted. Let the work proceed over time." On returning he judged the Flowing Within Bureau and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Debating school and examination reform, he proposed averaging three years of examination quotas across circuits and selecting filial and incorrupt men by population after the Han model. Acting chief of the Censorate, he argued that Li Ding, having concealed mourning for his birth mother, was unfit to serve as censor. He was stripped of his Censorate responsibilities. Because his ritual opinions did not accord with court policy, he was sent out as prefect of Cai Prefecture. He was recalled as Academician of the Hall for Treasuring Culture and Reader-in-Waiting, then advanced to Academician of the Hall of Manifest Virtue.
22
屢求退，以為本州，命兩省燕餞資善堂。 擢其子厚御史臺主簿。 未幾，提舉崇福宮。 卒，年六十九，贈光祿大夫。
After repeated requests to retire, he was granted his home prefecture, and both departments were ordered to banquet him at the Hall of Cultivating Goodness. The court elevated his son Hou to chief clerk of the Censorate. Soon he was assigned to superintend the Chongfu Palace. He died at sixty-nine and was posthumously granted the title Grandee of Splendid Happiness.
23
王獵，字得之，長垣人。 累應進士不第，乃治生積錢，既而歎曰：「此敗吾志也。」 悉以班諸親族。 慶曆用兵，詔求遺逸，范仲淹薦之，得出身為永興藍田主薄。 府使之掌學，諸生有犯法者，獵自責數，以為教之不至，屏出之府。 帥意其私，捕生下獄，獵前白曰：「此特年少不率教爾。 致於理，不足以益美化，恐適貽士類辱。」 帥悟而喜曰：「吾慮初不及此。」 即釋生而待獵加敬。 徙林慮令，縣依山，俗以搜田為生，不知學。 獵立孔子廟，擇秀民誨之。 漢杜喬墓在境中，往奠謁，建祠其旁。 居官無絲髮擾，吏民愛信，共目為清長官。
Wang Lie, courtesy name Dezhi, came from Changyuan. After repeated failure at the jinshi examinations, he went into trade and amassed money, then sighed, "This destroys my purpose in life." He gave it all away to his kinsmen. When the Qingli campaigns prompted a search for hidden talent, Fan Zhongyan recommended him, and he entered service as chief clerk of Lantian in Yongxing. The prefecture put him in charge of the school; when a student broke the law, Lie blamed himself for poor instruction and expelled the boy from the academy. The military governor suspected favoritism, jailed the student, and Lie stepped forward: "This is only a young man who would not heed his teachers. Prosecution will not enhance moral cultivation—it will only disgrace the scholar class." The governor saw the point and exclaimed, "I never thought that far." He released the student at once and treated Lie with new respect. As magistrate of mountainous Linlu County, where people lived by hunting and knew nothing of learning, he built a Confucian temple and chose promising locals to teach. He sacrificed at the tomb of the Han official Du Qiao within his jurisdiction and built a shrine beside it. He never troubled the people in the least; officials and commoners loved and trusted him, calling him the upright magistrate.
24
入為吳王潭王宮教授、睦親廣親宅講書、諸王侍講。 凡在京藩十二年，宗室無高卑少長，各得其歡如一日。 英宗在邸，尊禮之； 入為皇子，即拜說書； 及即位，拜天章閣待制兼侍講。 方議濮王稱，以問獵，獵不可。 帝曰：「王待侍講厚，亦持此說邪？」 對曰：「臣荷皇恩厚，不敢以非禮名號加於王，所以報王也。」 帝大悟，自是不復議。 以疾請謝事，不許。 疾愈入見，帝喜曰：「侍講乃欲舍朕去乎？」
He entered court as instructor to the Princes of Wu and Tan, lecturer at the halls of imperial kinship, and Lecturer to the Princes. For twelve years in the capital princely establishment, clansmen high and low, young and old, all found equal delight in his company. Yingzong, while still in his princely residence, honored him; when Yingzong became crown prince, Lie was immediately made Lecturer; and when he took the throne, Lie became Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall and Reader-in-Waiting. When court debated titles for the Prince of Pu, the emperor consulted Lie, who disapproved. The emperor asked, "The prince has treated you generously—do you still hold this view?" He answered, "I owe deep imperial grace and dare not attach an improper title to the prince—that is how I repay his kindness." The emperor saw clearly and dropped the matter. Illness led him to request retirement, but permission was refused. When he recovered and attended audience, the emperor said warmly, "Lecturer, would you abandon Us?"
25
神宗立，進龍圖閣直學士。 求知襄州，未行，改滑州。 自工部郎中為本曹侍郎致仕，給全奉。 後八年卒，年八十。 詔賻絹千匹，官其二孫，賜家人冠帔，人以為寵。
When Shenzong took the throne, Lie was promoted to Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall. He sought appointment at Xiang Prefecture but was transferred to Hua Prefecture before he could depart. He retired from Director of the Ministry of Works as Vice Minister of that ministry, with full salary continued. He died eight years later at eighty. The court granted a thousand bolts of silk, office to two grandsons, and caps and sashes to the family—a mark of exceptional favor.
26
孫思恭
Sun Sigong
27
孫思恭，字彥先，登州人。 擢第後，即遭父喪，不肯復從官，二十年間才三書吏考。 為宛丘令，轉運使以水災時調春夫，爭弗得，乃棄官去。 吳奎薦其學行，補國子直講，加秘閣校理。 事神宗藩邸為說書，又為侍講、直集賢院。 以居中都久，力請補外，王奏留之。 及即位，擢天章閣待制。
Sun Sigong, courtesy name Yanxian, came from Deng Prefecture. After passing the examinations he entered mourning for his father and refused further service, recording only three clerk evaluations in twenty years. As magistrate of Wanqiu he quarreled with the transport commissioner over spring corvée during floods, failed to prevail, and resigned. Wu Kui recommended his scholarship and conduct, and he became Direct Lecturer of the Directorate of Education and Collator of the Secret Archive. He served Shenzong's princely household as Lecturer, then as Reader-in-Waiting attached to the Hall for Treasuring Literature. After long residence in the capital he begged for an outside post, but the prince memorialized to keep him. When the prince became emperor, he was elevated to Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall.
28
思恭性不忤物，犯而不校，篤於事上。 有所見，必密疏以聞。 帝亦間訪以政。 歐陽修初不知思恭，修出政府，思恭盡力救解。 出知江寧府、鄧州，以疾移單州，管幹南京留司御史臺。 卒，年六十一。
Easy-natured and uncontentious even when wronged, he was devoted in service to his sovereign. Whatever he observed, he reported in secret memorials. The emperor also occasionally sought his counsel on affairs of state. Ouyang Xiu did not know him at first; when Xiu fell from power, Sigong worked tirelessly to clear him. Posted to Jiangning and Deng Prefectures, he moved to Shan Prefecture for illness and managed the Nanjing branch of the Censorate. He died at sixty-one.
29
思恭精關氏《易》，尤妙於《大衍》。 嘗修天文院渾儀，著《堯年至熙寧長曆》，近世曆數之學，未有能及之者。
Sigong mastered Master Guan's 《Book of Changes》 and excelled above all in the 《Great Evolution》. He restored the Astronomical Bureau armillary sphere and wrote 《Long Calendar from the Era of Yao to Xining》; in calendrical science of his age none surpassed him.
30
周孟陽
Zhou Mengyang
31
周孟陽，字春卿，其先成都人，徙海陵。 醇謹夷緩。 第進士，為潭王宮教授、諸王府記室。
Zhou Mengyang, courtesy name Chunqing, was descended from Chengdu people who had moved to Hailing. He was pure, cautious, mild, and unhurried in manner. After passing the jinshi examination he taught in the Prince of Tan's palace and served as Recorder in various princely households.
32
英宗居環列，以其質厚，禮重之，會除知宗正寺，力辭，凡上十八表，皆孟陽為文。 又從容陳古事以諷，英宗悚然起拜； 及為皇子，愈堅臥不出。 孟陽入見臥內，勸之曰：「天子知太尉賢，參以天人之助，乃發德音。 何為堅拒如此？」 英宗曰：「非敢徼福，以避禍也。」 孟陽曰：「今已有此跡，設固辭不拜，使中人別有所奉，遂得燕安無患乎？」 時中使趣召十輩，又命宗諤傾一宮往請，不能動，及是，意乃決。
Yingzong, living among the princes, honored him for his solid character; when appointment as Director of the Court of the Imperial Clan loomed, Yingzong forcefully declined in eighteen memorials—all drafted by Mengyang. Mengyang also gently cited ancient precedents in admonition, and Yingzong started up in alarm and bowed; when made crown prince he lay abed and refused all the more firmly to emerge. Mengyang entered the sickroom and urged him, "The emperor knows Your Highness is worthy and, with Heaven's and men's support, has issued a virtuous summons. Why resist so stubbornly?" Yingzong replied, "I do not seek fortune—I seek to avoid disaster." Mengyang said, "The trail is already laid. If you refuse the throne and eunuchs advance another candidate, will you then live untroubled?" Ten rounds of palace envoys had already pressed him; the emperor even sent Zong'e with the whole inner palace to plead—only then did Yingzong resolve to accept.
33
帝即位，命為皇子位說書，以嘗侍藩邸，固辭。 加直秘閣、同知太常禮院。 數引對，訪以時務。 最後，召至隆儒殿，在邇英苑中，群臣未嘗至。 人疑且大用，帝亦諭以不次進擢意。 孟陽稱他人，使代己，乃遷集賢殿修撰、同判太常寺兼侍讀。 神宗初立，入奏事，方升殿，帝望見慟哭，左右皆泣下。 拜天章閣待制。 卒，年六十九。 詔特官其婿及子孫二人，除其家負官緡錢數萬。
When Yingzong took the throne, Mengyang was ordered Lecturer to the crown prince but declined, having already served the princely household. He received Directorship of the Secret Archive and Associate Directorship of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Repeatedly summoned to audience, he was consulted on affairs of the day. At last he was summoned to the Hall of Elevating Confucianism in the Er Ying Garden, a place no minister had entered before. Observers suspected imminent high appointment; the emperor hinted at extraordinary promotion. Mengyang recommended another to replace him and was transferred to Compiler of the Hall for Treasuring Literature, Associate Judge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Reader-in-Waiting. When Shenzong first took the throne, Mengyang came to report affairs; the emperor saw him ascending the hall and wept, and attendants wept with him. The emperor made him Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall. He died at sixty-nine. An edict specially enfeoffed his son-in-law and two descendants and remitted tens of thousands of strings in official debt owed by his family.
34
楊繪，字元素，綿竹人。 少而奇警，讀書五行俱下，名聞西州。 進士上第，通判荊南。 以集賢校理為開封推官，遇事迎刃而解，諸吏惟日不足，繪未午率沛然。 仁宗愛其才，欲超置侍從，執政見其年少，不用。 以母老，請知眉州，徙興元府。 吏請攝穿窬盜庫縑者，繪就視之，蹤跡不類人所出入，則曰：「我知之矣。」 呼戲沐猴者詰於庭，一訊具伏，府中服其明。 在郡獄無繫囚。
Yang Hui, courtesy name Yuansu, came from Mianzhu. Precocious and brilliant, he read five lines at a glance and was famed throughout the western circuits. He topped the jinshi list and served as vice prefect of Jingnan. As Collator of the Hall for Treasuring Literature and Kaifeng investigating officer, he cut through cases effortlessly while clerks could not keep pace—yet Hui was always done before noon. Emperor Renzong admired his talent and wished to leap him into close attendance, but chief ministers, deeming him too young, blocked the move. When his mother aged, he sought Mei Prefecture and was transferred to Xingyuan Prefecture. Clerks asked him to pursue burglars who stole treasury silk; Hui inspected the scene, saw tracks unlike human passage, and said, "I know the culprit." He summoned monkey trainers to court; one interrogation produced full confession, and the prefecture marveled at his insight. During his tenure the prefectural jail held no prisoners.
35
神宗立，召修起居注、知制誥、知諫院。 詔遣內侍王中正、李舜舉等使陝西，繪言：「陛下新即位，天下拭目以觀初政。 館閣、臺省之士，朝廷所素養者不之遣，顧獨遣中人乎？」 向傳範安撫京東西路，繪請易之，以杜外戚干進之漸。 執政曰：「不然，傳範久領郡，有政聲，故使守鄆，非由外戚也。」 帝曰：「諫官言是，斯可窒異日妄求矣。」 曾公亮請以其子判登聞鼓院，用所厚曾鞏為史官。 繪爭曰：「公亮持國，名器視如己物。 向者公亮官越，占民田，為郡守繩治，時鞏父易占亦官越，深庇之。 用鞏，私也。」 帝為寢其命。 繪亦解諫職，改兼侍讀，繪固辭，滕甫言於帝。 帝詔甫曰：「繪抗跡孤遠，立朝寡援，不畏強禦，知無不為。 朕一見許其忠藎，擢置言職，信之亦篤矣。 今日之除，蓋難與宰相並立於輕重之間，姑令少避爾，卿其諭朕意。」 繪曰：「諫官不得其言則去，經筵非姑息之地。」 卒不拜。 未閱月，復知諫院，擢翰林學士，為御史中丞。
When Shenzong took the throne, Hui was summoned to compile the imperial diary, draft edicts, and direct the Remonstrance Bureau. When palace attendants Wang Zhongzheng and Li Shunju were dispatched to Shaanxi, Hui said, "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne; the realm watches your opening policies. Scholars long cultivated in pavilion and secretariat posts are passed over—yet eunuchs alone are sent?" When Xiang Chuanfan was made pacification commissioner of the eastern and western capital circuits, Hui asked that he be replaced to block consort kin from seeking office. Chief ministers replied, "Chuanfan long governed with a good name—that is why he guards Yan, not through consort influence." The emperor said, "The remonstrator is right. This can choke off reckless petitions hereafter." Zeng Gongliang asked that his son judge the Petition Drum Court and that his protégé Zeng Gong become historiographer. Hui objected, "Gongliang treats the state as his private estate and offices as personal property. When he was prefect of Yue he seized civilian land and was punished by a local governor; Gong's father Yi Zhan, then also in Yue, shielded him deeply. Appointing Zeng Gong is pure favoritism." The emperor shelved the appointments. Hui also resigned remonstrance office when shifted to Reader-in-Waiting; he firmly declined, and Teng Fu appealed to the emperor. The emperor told Fu, "Hui stands alone in court, fearless before power, and acts on every conviction. I recognized his loyalty at once, elevated him to remonstrance, and trusted him deeply. This appointment is hard to reconcile with standing beside the chancellor in equal weight—let him step aside for now. Convey my intent." Hui replied, "A remonstrator who cannot speak freely must leave—the lecture hall is no place for soft compromise." He refused the appointment. Within a month he again directed the Remonstrance Bureau, became Hanlin Academician, and Vice Censor-in-Chief.
36
時安石用事，賢士多謝去。 繪言：「老成之人，不可不惜。 當今舊臣多引疾求去：范鎮年六十有三、呂誨五十有八、歐陽修六十有五而致仕； 富弼六十有八而引疾； 司馬光、王陶皆五十而求散地，陛下可不思其故乎？」 又言：「方今以經術取士，獨不用《春秋》，宜令學者以《三傳》解經。」 免役法行，繪陳十害。 安石使曾布疏其說，詔繪分析，固執前議，遂罷為侍讀學士、知亳州，歷應天府、杭州。 再為翰林學士。
Wang Anshi then held power, and many worthy men were leaving office. Hui warned, "The court cannot afford to lose its elder statesmen. Already many veterans are retiring on illness: Fan Zhen at sixty-three, Lü Hui at fifty-eight, Ouyang Xiu at sixty-five; Fu Bi at sixty-eight pleads illness; Sima Guang and Wang Tao, both fifty, seek posts away from court—does Your Majesty not ask why?" He also argued that since examinations tested classical learning, the court should require scholars to expound the canon through the 《Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals》, not ignore the 《Spring and Autumn Annals》 itself. When the Exemption-from-Corvée Law took effect, Hui listed ten harms. Anshi had Zeng Bu rebut him; ordered to respond, Hui held firm and was dismissed to Reader-in-Waiting and prefect of Bo, then Yingtian and Hangzhou. He later returned as Hanlin Academician.
37
議者欲加孔子帝號，繪以為非禮，又言不宜用遼曆改置閏，悉從之。 繪常薦屬吏王永年，御史蔡承禧言其私通饋賂，坐貶荊南節度副使。 詳在《竇卞傳》。 數月，分司南京，改提舉太平觀，起知興國軍。 元祐初，復天章閣待制，再知杭州。 卒，年六十二。
When some proposed an imperial title for Confucius, Hui called it improper; he also opposed resetting intercalation by the Liao calendar—both views prevailed. Hui had recommended subordinate Wang Yongnian; Censor Cai Chenxi accused him of taking bribes through the appointment, and Hui was demoted to vice commissioner of Jingnan. For particulars see the 《Biography of Dou Bian》. Months later he served Nanjing in a divisional post, superintended the Taiping Abbey, then governed the Xingguo Army. At the opening of Yuanyou he was restored as Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall and again governed Hangzhou. He died at sixty-two.
38
繪為吏敏強，主愛利，而受性疏曠，訖以是見廢斥。 然表裏洞達，一出於誠，為范祖禹所諮重。 為文立就，有集八十卷。
As an official Hui was sharp and public-spirited, yet by nature broad and unconstrained—and for that he was eventually cast aside. Yet transparent in motive and utterly sincere, he was deeply valued by Fan Zuyou. He wrote with effortless speed and left a collection of eighty juan.
39
劉庠，字希道，彭城人。 八歲能詩。 蔡齊妻以子，用齊遺奏，補將作監主簿。 復中進士第，為高密廣平院教授。
Liu Xiang, courtesy name Xidao, came from Pengcheng. At eight he could compose poetry. Cai Qi took him as son-in-law; through Qi's final memorial he entered service as chief clerk of the Directorate of Palace Buildings. He later passed the jinshi examination and taught at the Guangping Academy in Gaomi.
40
英宗求直言，庠上書論時事。 帝以示韓琦，琦對之未識，帝益嘉重，除監察御史裏行。 日食甫數日，苑中張具待幸，庠言非所以祗天戒，詔罷之。 會聖宮修仁宗神御殿，甚宏麗。 庠言：「天子之孝，在繼先志，隆大業，不在宗廟之靡。 宜損其制，以昭先帝儉德。」 奉宸庫被盜，治守藏吏。 庠言：「皇城幾察厲禁，實近侍主之，當並按。」 仁宗外家李珣犯銷金法，庠奏言，法行當自貴近始。 帝不豫，儲嗣未正，庠拜疏謂：「太子，天下本。 漢文帝於初元即為無窮計。 潁王長且賢，宜亟立，使日侍禁中，閱四方章奏。」 帝皆行之。
When Yingzong sought frank counsel, Liu Xiang submitted a memorial on current affairs. The emperor showed it to Han Qi, who did not know him; the emperor prized him all the more and made him Acting Supervising Censor. Days after an eclipse the palace park was prepared for a feast; Liu Xiang said this failed to honor Heaven's warning, and the feast was canceled. The Palace of Meeting with the Sage was building a magnificent spirit hall for Renzong. Liu Xiang argued, "Imperial filial piety lies in carrying forward the former will and great enterprise—not in lavish ancestral halls. Reduce the scale to display the late emperor's frugality." When the Inner Treasury was robbed, the keepers were punished. Liu Xiang said, "The Imperial City is tightly guarded, yet close attendants actually control it—they should be investigated too." When Renzong's consort kin Li Xun violated the gilding prohibition, Liu Xiang argued that law must begin with the high and near. When the emperor fell ill and the succession unsettled, Liu Xiang memorialized, "The crown prince is the root of the realm. Emperor Wen of Han at the opening of Chuyuan already planned for endless generations. The Prince of Ying is eldest and worthy—establish him at once, let him daily attend within the palace and review memorials from every quarter." The emperor adopted every proposal.
41
神宗立，遷殿中侍御史，為右司諫。 言：「中國禦戎之策，守信為上。 昔元昊之叛，五來五得志，海內為之困弊。 今莫若示大信、舍近功，為國家長利。」 奉使契丹。 故事，兩國忌日不相避。 契丹張宴白溝，日當英宗祥祭，庠丐免，契丹義而聽之。
When Shenzong took the throne, Liu Xiang became Palace Censor-in-Attendance and Right Remonstrance Officer. He argued, "China's frontier policy should put keeping faith above all else. When Yuanhao rebelled, five campaigns brought five humiliations and exhausted the realm. Better to show great faith, abandon short-term gains, and seek the state's lasting good." He served as envoy to the Khitan. By precedent the two states did not observe one another's mourning days. The Khitan held a banquet at Bai Gou on Yingzong's mourning day; Liu Xiang begged exemption, and they honorably consented.
42
除集賢殿修撰、河東轉運使。 庠計一路之產，鐵利為饒，請復舊冶鼓鑄，通隰州鹽礬，博易以濟用。 又請募民入粟塞下，豫為足食。 進天章閣待制、河北都轉運使。 契丹侵霸州土場，或言河北不可不備。 庠上五策，料其必不動，已而果然。 大河東流，議者欲徙而北。 內侍程昉希功，請益兵濟役。 庠請遲以歲月，徐觀其勢而順導之。 朝廷是其議。 移知真定府，又為河東都轉運使，召知開封府。
He became Compiler of the Hall for Treasuring Literature and Transport Commissioner of Hedong. Calculating the circuit's resources, Liu Xiang found iron most profitable and proposed restoring old smelters, opening Xi Prefecture salt and alum, and trading to meet needs. He also proposed recruiting grain shipments to the frontier in advance of need. He rose to Court Gentleman of the Heavenly Manifest Hall and Transport Commissioner of Hebei. When the Khitan encroached on Ba Prefecture pasturelands, some urged full Hebei mobilization. Liu Xiang submitted five stratagems predicting they would not act—and so it proved. As the Yellow River flowed east, some proposed diverting it north. Palace attendant Cheng Fang, seeking glory, asked for more troops to aid the work. Liu Xiang urged delay over months, watching the river's course and guiding it gradually. The court approved his plan. He governed Zhending Prefecture, again headed Hedong transport, and was summoned to govern Kaifeng.
43
庠不肯屈事王安石。 安石欲見之，戒典謁者曰：「今日客至勿納，惟劉尹來，即告我。」 有語庠者曰：「王公意如此，盍一往見。」 庠謂：「見之，何所言？ 自彼執政，未嘗一事合人情。 脫問青苗、免役，將何辭以對？」 竟不往。 奏論新法，神宗諭之曰：「奈何不與大臣協心濟治乎？」 庠曰：「臣子於君父各伸其志。 臣知事陛下，不敢附安石。」 會與蔡確爭廷參禮，遂以為龍圖閣直學士、知太原府。 請復憲州募民子弟剽銳工技擊者，籍為勇敢，仿漢謫戍法，貰流以下罪徙實河外。
Liu Xiang would not bend to serve Wang Anshi. Anshi wished to see him and told the gatekeeper, "Admit no guests today—except Prefect Liu; inform me at once." Someone told Liu Xiang, "Lord Wang wants you—why not call on him once?" Liu Xiang replied, "If I go, what would I say? Since he took power, not one policy has accorded with human feeling. If he asks about Green Sprouts or Exemption-from-Corvée, what answer could I give?" He never went. Memorializing against the new laws, Liu Xiang was told by Shenzong, "Why not join the great ministers in common effort?" Liu Xiang answered, "Ministers and sons each serve sovereign and father according to their own conscience. I know how to serve Your Majesty—I dare not attach myself to Anshi." After quarreling with Cai Que over court-audience ritual, he was posted as Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Taiyuan. He proposed restoring Xian Prefecture, enrolling sharp young craftsmen and fighters as "the Brave," and populating the far frontier by commuting exile and lesser sentences after the Han model.
44
契丹建牙雲中，遣騎涉內地，邊吏執之。 契丹檄取紛然，又遣使議疆事。 眾疑其造兵端，欲大為備。 庠奏言：「雲朔歲儉，軍無見糧。 契丹張形示強，造端首禍，曲在彼不在我，願勿聽。 宜先諭以理，然後飭兵觀釁。」 帝嘉使者辭順，訖以黃嵬山分水嶺立新疆。 遭母喪，服終，知成都府。 乞禁西山六州與漢人婚姻，勿蹈吐蕃取維州之害。 徙秦州。 坐失舉，降知虢州，移江寧府、滁州，徙永興軍。 時西征無功，關內騷動。 庠過關，力言虛內事外，恐搖根本，帝感納其忠。
The Khitan pitched headquarters at Yunzhong and sent horsemen across the border; frontier officials seized them. Khitan demands for their return poured in, and envoys came to discuss the border. Many suspected war and urged massive preparations. Liu Xiang memorialized, "Yun and Shuo face famine; Khitan armies lack ready grain. They show force but begin the trouble—the fault is theirs, not ours. Do not heed them. Reason with them first, then ready troops and watch for provocation." The emperor praised the envoy's conciliatory words; in the end a new border was fixed at Mount Huangwei watershed. After mourning his mother he governed Chengdu Prefecture. He asked to forbid marriage between the six western mountain prefectures and Han people, lest history repeat Tibet's seizure of Weizhou. His next posting was Qin Prefecture. For a failed recommendation he was demoted to Guo Prefecture, then moved through Jiangning and Chu Prefectures to the Yongxing Army. The failed western campaign had thrown the passes into turmoil. Passing the frontier, Liu Xiang warned that draining the interior to serve foreign campaigns would shake the realm's foundations; the emperor was moved and heeded him.
45
元祐初，加樞密直學士、知渭州。 卒，年六十四。 宣仁聞之曰：「帥臣極難得，劉庠可惜也。」 庠有吏能，淹通歷代史，王安石稱其博。 卒後，蘇頌論庠治平建儲之功，詔褒錄其子。
At the opening of Yuanyou he became Direct Academician of the Privy Council and prefect of Wei Prefecture. He died at sixty-four. Empress Xuanren said on hearing of it, "A frontier commander is hard to find—Liu Xiang is a loss." Liu Xiang was an able administrator, deeply versed in successive dynasties' histories; even Wang Anshi praised his erudition. After his death Su Song memorialized Liu Xiang's merit in securing the succession during Zhiping, and the court enfeoffed his sons.
46
朱京，字世昌，南豐人。 父軾，有隱德。 京博學淹貫，登進士甲科。 教授亳州、應天府，入為太學錄。 神宗數召見論事，擢監察御史。 時中丞及同僚多罷去，京抗疏曰：「御史假之則重，略之則輕。 今耳目之官，屢進屢卻，則言者不若靜默為賢，直者不若柔從為智。 偷安取容，雖得此百數，亦何益國邪？」 他日入見，帝勞之曰：「昨覽奏疏，所補多矣。」 京風神峻整，見者憚之，目為真御史。
Zhu Jing, courtesy name Shichang, came from Nanfeng. His father Shi was a man of quiet virtue. Broadly learned and deeply versed, Jing passed the jinshi examination in the top class. He taught at Bo and Yingtian Prefectures, then entered court as Recorder of the Directorate of Education. Shenzong repeatedly summoned him to discuss affairs and made him Supervising Censor. As the vice censor-in-chief and many colleagues were dismissed, Jing submitted a bold memorial: "Censors matter when heeded and mean nothing when brushed aside. When the court's eyes and ears are repeatedly installed and removed, silence looks wiser than speech and compliance smarter than integrity. Men who seek ease and favor—even a hundred of them—what good are they to the state?" On a later audience the emperor said warmly, "I read your memorial yesterday—it added much." Jing's bearing was stern and imposing; men feared him and called him a true censor.
47
初，臺臣奏事，必先移閤門，得班乃入。 京嘗以名聞，翌旦既入，會有先之者，不及對而退。 帝問京安在，左右以告，詔趣之入，辰漏且盡，為留班以須。 未幾，論大臣除擬有愛憎之私。 中書言其失實，謫監興國軍鹽稅。 歷太常博士、湖北、京西、江東轉運判官，提點淮西刑獄、司封員外郎。 元符初，遷國子司業。 京在元祐時，嘗為《幸太學頌》，或擿其語有及先朝者，京亦固辭不拜。 徽宗初立，復命之，逾月而卒。
Originally censors had to notify the Gate of Transmission and wait for a court session before entering. Jing once had his name entered; next morning he arrived but another spoke first and he withdrew without being heard. The emperor asked where Jing was; told, he ordered him hurried in—the morning audience was nearly over, yet the emperor held session to wait. Soon he criticized chief ministers for favoritism in appointments. The Secretariat declared his charges false and demoted him to supervise salt tax at the Xingguo Army. He later served as Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, transport assessor on Hubei, Jingxi, and Jiangdong circuits, Huaixi judicial intendant, and Outer Section Member of the Ministry of Rites. At the opening of Yuanfu he became Vice Director of the Directorate of Education. During Yuanyou Jing had written 《Ode on the Imperial Visit to the Directorate of Education》; critics found language touching the former reign, and he firmly declined the post. When Huizong first took the throne Jing was again appointed; he died within a month.
48
論曰：何郯、吳中復，皆良御史也。 郯出夏竦，阻王守忠，奸人庶幾少戢矣。 中復恥識面臺官，其所守可見矣。 薦之論李定，思恭之右歐陽修，繪請惜老成，庠不附新法，數子所見，何其同也。 獵為令而興孔子廟，孟陽以教授而參決大計，此其卓然者乎。 恢臨政簡約，無可議者。 京持論端確，竟以去位，君子惜之。
The historian comments: He Tan and Wu Zhongfu were both worthy censors. Tan expelled Xia Song and blocked Wang Shouzhong, giving villains at least some pause. Zhongfu scorned censors chosen by acquaintance—his integrity speaks for itself. Jian on Li Ding, Sigong defending Ouyang Xiu, Hui pleading to keep elder statesmen, Xiang refusing the new laws—how alike their vision was. Lie built a Confucian temple as magistrate; Mengyang as instructor helped settle a great succession—were these not their finest moments? Qi Hui governed simply and without reproach. Jing argued with upright precision, yet lost office in the end—a loss men of principle regretted.