1
常同張致遠薛徽言陳淵魏矼潘良貴呂本中
Chang Tong, Zhang Zhiyuan, Xue Huiyan, Chen Yuan, Wei Gang, Pan Lianggui, and Lu Benzhong.
2
常同，字子正，邛州臨邛人，紹聖御史安民之子也。 登政和八年進士第。 靖康初，除大理司直，以敵難不赴，辟元帥府主管機宜文字，尋除太常博士。
Chang Tong, styled Zizheng, came from Linqiong in Qiong Prefecture. He was the son of Chang Anmin, who had served as a censor under Emperor Zhezong in the Shaosheng reign. In 1118 he took the highest civil-service degree. When the Jin crisis broke in 1126, he was named a reviewing clerk in the Court of Judicial Review but never reported, owing to the invasion. Instead he joined the marshal's headquarters as a policy secretary and was soon made an Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
3
高宗南渡，辟浙帥機幕。 建炎四年，詔：“故監察御史常安民、左司諫江公望，抗節剛直，觸怒權臣，擯斥至死。 今其子孫不能自振，朕甚憫之。 ”召同至行在，至則為大宗丞。
After Gaozong's flight south, he entered the secretariat of the Zhejiang military command. In 1130 the throne issued an edict: "The late Investigating Censor Chang Anmin and Left Remonstrator Jiang Gongwang stood on principle with unbending integrity, provoked the wrath of powerful ministers, and were hounded from office to their deaths. Their descendants have been unable to recover their standing, and We are deeply grieved for them." Chang Tong was summoned to the imperial camp; when he arrived he was appointed Vice Director of the Imperial Clan Court.
4
紹興元年，乞郡，得柳州。 三年，召還，首論朋黨之禍：“自元豐新法之行，始分黨與，邪正相攻五十年。 章惇唱於紹聖之初，蔡京和于崇寧之後，元祐臣僚，竄逐貶死，上下蔽蒙，豢成夷虜之禍。 今國步艱難，而分朋締交、背公死黨者，固自若也。 恩歸私門，不知朝廷之尊； 重報私怨，寧復公議之顧。 臣以為欲破朋黨，先明是非，欲明是非，先辨邪正，則公道開而奸邪息矣。 ”上曰：“朋黨亦難破。 ”同對：“朋黨之結，蓋緣邪正不分，但觀其言行之實，察其朋附之私，則邪正分而朋黨破矣。 ”上曰：“君子小人皆有黨。 ”同又對曰：“君子之党，協心濟國； 小人之黨，挾私害公。 為黨則同，而所以為黨則異。 且如元祐臣僚，中遭讒謗，竄殛流死，而後禍亂成。 今在朝之士，猶謂元祐之政不可行，元祐子孫不可用。 ”上曰：“聞有此論。 ”同對以：“禍亂未成，元祐臣僚固不能以自明。 今可謂是非定矣，尚猶如此，蓋今日士大夫猶宗京、黼等傾邪不正之論。 朋黨如此，公論何自而出？ 願陛下始終主張善類，勿為小人所惑。”
In 1131 he asked to leave the capital for a prefecture and was sent to Liuzhou. In 1133 he was recalled and opened with a memorial on the scourge of partisan politics: "Ever since the New Policies of the Yuanfeng era, courtiers have split into factions; for fifty years the righteous and the corrupt have torn one another apart. Zhang Dun led the charge at the start of Shaosheng; Cai Jing took up the chorus after Chongning. Yuanyou ministers were exiled, demoted, and killed until the court was hoodwinked top to bottom—and the barbarian catastrophe was bred in that darkness. The empire is in grave peril, yet men still form cliques, weave private alliances, betray the public good, and die for their party as before. Patronage flows into private gates while the majesty of the throne is forgotten; private vengeance weighs heavier than public deliberation. I believe that to shatter factionalism we must first settle what is true and what is false; to settle truth and falsehood we must first separate the corrupt from the upright. Then the public way will open and wickedness will wither. The Emperor replied, "Partisan blocs are not easily broken." Chang Tong answered, "Factions form because no one distinguishes the wicked from the upright. Judge men by what they actually say and do, expose the private interests behind their alliances, and the righteous will stand apart from the corrupt—then the factions collapse." The Emperor said, "Noble men and petty men alike have their followings." Chang Tong replied again, "A gentleman's faction unites in heart to serve the realm; a petty man's faction hugs private interest and harms the public good. Both are called parties, yet what they party for is utterly different. Consider the Yuanyou ministers: midway they were slandered, exiled, executed, and left to die in banishment—and only afterward did catastrophe engulf the realm. Even now some at court still insist that Yuanyou policies must never be revived and that the sons and disciples of Yuanyou must never be used. The Emperor said, "I have heard such talk." Chang Tong replied, "Before the disasters struck, Yuanyou men could not clear their own names. Today right and wrong are settled beyond doubt, yet the court still behaves this way—because many scholar-officials still cling to the warped doctrines of men like Cai Jing and Wang Fu. With factionalism like this, how can honest public debate ever rise? I beg Your Majesty to stand by the good from first to last, and not let petty men lead you astray."
5
又奏：“自古禁旅所寄，必參錯相制。 漢有南北軍，周勃用南軍入北軍以安劉氏，唐李晟亦用神策軍以復京師，是其效也。 今國家所仗，惟劉光世、韓世忠、張俊三將之兵耳。 陛下且無心腹禁旅，可備緩急，頃者苗、劉之變，亦可鑒矣。 ”除殿中侍御史。
He also submitted a memorial: "Since antiquity, the troops entrusted to the inner guard have always been posted in overlapping, mutually checking formations. The Han had Northern and Southern Armies; Zhou Bo marched the Southern Army into the Northern Army and thereby saved the Liu dynasty. In Tang, Li Sheng used the Shence Army to retake Chang'an—the same lesson. Today the dynasty relies on the armies of only three generals: Liu Guangshi, Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun. Your Majesty still has no trusted inner guard ready for sudden crisis—the recent Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan mutiny should be warning enough." He was then appointed Attending Censor within the Palace.
6
時韓世忠屯鎮江，劉光世屯建康，以私忿欲交兵。 同奏：“光世等不思待遇之恩，而驕狠尚氣，無所忌憚，一旦有急，其能相為唇齒乎？ 望分是非，正國典。 昔漢諸侯王有過，猶責師傅，今兩軍幕屬贊畫無狀，乞先黜責。 ”上以章示兩軍。
At that time Han Shizhong held Zhenjiang and Liu Guangshi Jiankang; private grievances nearly brought their armies to blows. Chang Tong memorialized, "Guangshi and his peers forget the grace shown them. Arrogant and violent, they answer to nothing but their own pride. In a crisis, will they stand shoulder to shoulder? Distinguish right from wrong and enforce the law of the land. In Han times, when a feudal prince erred, his tutors were punished. Today the staff who egged on both armies have behaved disgracefully—I beg that they be dismissed and punished first." The Emperor had the memorial shown to both armies.
7
呂頤浩再相，同論其十事，且曰：“陛下未欲遽罷頤浩者，豈非以其有復辟之功乎？ 臣謂功出眾人，非一頤浩之力。 縱使有功，宰相代天理物，張九齡所謂不以賞功者也。 ”頤浩罷相。 論知樞密院宣撫川陝張浚喪師失地，遂詔浚福州居住。 同與辛炳在台同好惡，上皆重之。
When Lü Yihao returned as chief minister, Chang Tong laid out ten charges against him and said, "If Your Majesty hesitates to remove Yihao at once, is it not because he claims credit for restoring the throne? That achievement belonged to many men, not to Yihao alone. Even if he had merit, a chief minister governs on Heaven's behalf—as Zhang Jiuling said, one does not reward merit in such an office." Yihao was removed from office. He attacked Zhang Jun, Pacification Commissioner for Sichuan and Shaanxi, for losing troops and territory; the court ordered Jun to reside in Fuzhou in exile. At the Censorate, Chang Tong and Xin Bing thought alike on matters of right and wrong, and the Emperor esteemed them both.
8
金使李永壽等入見，同言：“先振國威，則和戰常在我； 若一意議和，則和戰常在彼。 ”上因語及武備曰：“今養兵已二十萬。 ”同奏：“未聞二十萬兵而畏人者也。”
When the Jin envoy Li Yongshou and others were received, Chang Tong said, "First restore the nation's prestige, and whether we fight or negotiate will remain in our hands; if we fix our minds only on peace talks, peace and war will rest in theirs." The Emperor, turning to armaments, said, "We now keep two hundred thousand troops under arms." Chang Tong replied, "I have never heard of an army of two hundred thousand that still trembles before the enemy."
9
偽齊宿遷令張澤以二千人自拔來歸，泗州守徐宗誠納之，韓世忠以聞。 朝論令世忠卻澤等，而械宗誠赴行在。 同奏：“敵雖議和，而兩界人往來未嘗有禁，偽齊尚能置歸受館，立賞以招吾民，今乃卻澤，人心自此離矣。 況宗誠起土豪，不用縣官財賦，募兵自養，為國障捍，今因受澤而械之，以沮士氣，非策也。 ”詔處來歸者於淮南，釋宗誠罪。
Zhang Ze, magistrate of Suqian under the puppet Qi regime, defected with two thousand men. Xu Zongcheng, prefect of Sizhou, received them, and Han Shizhong reported the matter. The court majority ordered Han Shizhong to turn Zhang Ze's men away and to send Xu Zongcheng to the capital in chains. Chang Tong objected: "Though the enemy talks of peace, people still cross the border freely. Even the puppet Qi set up halls to receive defectors and posted rewards to lure our subjects—yet we would turn Zhang Ze away and lose hearts from that hour. Xu Zongcheng was a local magnate who raised and fed his own troops without draining the county treasury and held the frontier for the state. To clap him in irons for accepting defectors will crush morale. That is no policy at all." An edict settled the defectors in Huainan and pardoned Xu Zongcheng.
10
四年，除起居郎、中書舍人、史館修撰。 先是，同嘗上疏論神、哲二史曰：“章惇、蔡京、蔡卞之徒積惡造謗，痛加誣詆，是非顛倒，循致亂危。 在紹聖時，則章惇取王安石《日錄》私書改修《神宗實錄》； 在崇甯後，則蔡京盡焚毀《時政記》、《日曆》，以私意修定《哲宗實錄》。 其間所載，悉出一時奸人之論，不可信於後世。 恭惟宣仁保佑之德，豈容異辭，而蔡確貪天之功，以為己力，厚誣聖後，收恩私門。 陛下即位之初，嘗下詔明宣仁安社稷大功，令國史院摭實刊修，又復悠悠。 望精擇史官，先修《哲宗實錄》，候書成，取《神宗朱墨史》考證修定，庶毀譽是非皆得其實。 ”上深嘉納。 至是，命同修撰，且諭之曰：“是除以卿家世傳聞多得事實故也。 ”一日奏事，上愀然曰：“向昭慈嘗言，宣仁有保佑大功，哲宗自能言之，正為宮中有不得志于宣仁者，因生誣謗。 欲辨白其事，須重修《實錄》，具以保立勞效，昭示來世，此朕選卿意也。 ”同乞以所得聖語宣付史館，仍記於《實錄》卷末。
In the fourth year of Shaoxing he was made Gentleman Attendant, Secretariat Drafter, and Compiler of the Historiography Institute. Earlier Chang Tong had memorialized on the Veritable Records of Shenzong and Zhezong: "Zhang Dun, Cai Jing, Cai Bian, and their ilk piled up crimes and forged slanders, heaping false charges until truth and falsehood were reversed and calamity followed step by step. Under Shaosheng, Zhang Dun took Wang Anshi's private Diary and reworked the Veritable Records of Shenzong; after Chongning, Cai Jing burned the Political Records and Daily Calendar wholesale and redrafted the Veritable Records of Zhezong to suit himself. What those books contain is nothing but the talk of villains of the hour—no later age should trust them. The protecting grace of Empress Xuanren brooks no second telling, yet Cai Que stole Heaven's credit for himself, grossly defamed the sage empress, and hoarded favor for his own house. At Your Majesty's accession you once issued an edict proclaiming Xuanren's great service to the realm and ordered the Historiography Institute to compile the truth—yet the work again drifted unfinished. Choose historians with care, revise the Veritable Records of Zhezong first, then when that is done collate the Vermilion-and-Ink History of Shenzong and set the record straight, so that praise and blame may finally match the truth." The Emperor warmly approved. Now he was ordered to serve as co-compiler and told, "You are appointed because your family has handed down much that is factual." One day, as he reported on business, the Emperor said gravely, "Empress Zhaoci once told me that Xuanren had guarded the throne with great merit, and that Zhezong himself could have said so. Slander arose only because palace people who had not prospered under her nursed grievances. To clear her name the Veritable Records must be rewritten, her labors in protecting the dynasty set forth in full, and shown to posterity. That is why I chose you." Chang Tong asked that these imperial words be promulgated to the Historiography Institute and copied at the end of the Veritable Records.
11
張俊乞復其田產稅役，令一卒持書瑞昌，而淩悖其令郭彥參，彥參系之獄。 後訴於朝，命罷彥參，同並封還二命。 俄除集英殿修撰、知衢州，以疾辭，除徽猷閣待制、提舉江州太平觀。
General Zhang Jun petitioned to restore his landholdings and tax exemptions and sent a soldier with his letter to Ruichang. The man insulted and defied the magistrate Guo Yancan, who threw him in jail. Zhang Jun appealed to court; the throne ordered Guo Yancan's dismissal, but Chang Tong returned both edicts unapproved. Soon after he was made Compiler at the Hall for Cherishing Talents and prefect of Quzhou; pleading illness, he was instead made Awaiting Draft at the Huaiyou Pavilion and put in charge of the Taiping Taoist Abbey in Jiangzhou.
12
七年秋，以禮部侍郎召還。 未數日，除御史中丞。 車駕自建康回臨安，同奏：“旋蹕之初，去淮益遠，宜遣重臣出按兩淮，詢人情利病，察官吏侵擾，縱民耕墾，勿收租稅。 數年之後，田野加辟，百姓足而國亦足矣。 ”乃遣樞密使王庶視師，同乞以此奏付庶，詢究罷行。 又言：“江浙困于月樁錢，民不聊生。 ”上為減數千緡。 又言：“吳
In the autumn of the seventh year he was recalled as Vice Minister of Rites. Within days he was made Vice Censor-in-Chief. When the court moved back from Jiankang to Lin'an, he memorialized: "As the throne turns homeward we drift farther from the Huai. Send a senior minister to tour the Two Huai, learn what the people suffer and need, punish predatory officials, and let farmers reclaim fields without rent or tax for now. In a few years the land will widen under the plow, the people will be fed, and the treasury will follow." The court sent Grand Councilor Wang Shu to inspect the armies. Chang Tong asked that this memorial be handed to Wang Shu, who investigated it and then let the plan drop. He also said, "Jiangsu and Zhejiang are crushed by the monthly assessment levy; the people can barely live." The Emperor cut the levy by several thousand strings of cash. He also said, "Wu
13
玠屯師興、利，而西川人力已困。 玠頃年嘗講屯田，願聞其積穀幾何，減饋運幾何，趙開、李迨相繼為都漕，先後饋運各幾何，令制、漕、帥司條具以聞，然後按實講究，以紓民力。 ”又言：“國家養兵，不為不多，患在於偏聚而不同力，自用而不同心。 今韓世忠在楚，張俊在建康，岳飛在江州，吳玠在蜀，相去隔遠，情不相通。 今陛下遣樞臣王庶措置邊防，宜令庶會集將帥，諭以國體，協心共議禦敵，常令諸軍相接以常山蛇勢，一意國家，無分彼此，緩急應援，皆有素定之術。 ”詔付王庶出示諸將。
Jie holds his army in Xing and Li prefectures, yet the manpower of western Sichuan is already spent. In recent years Jie promoted garrison farming. How much grain did he store? How much supply transport did he cut? Zhao Kai and Li Dai served in turn as overall transport commissioners—how much did each ship? Let the pacification, transport, and command offices report item by item; then verify the figures and ease the people's burden." He also said, "The state keeps no small army, yet the armies cluster in separate camps—they do not combine their strength, and each general minds only himself. Han Shizhong holds Chu, Zhang Jun Jiankang, Yue Fei Jiangzhou, Wu Jie Sichuan—far apart, hearts not speaking to hearts. Your Majesty has sent Wang Shu to arrange the frontier. Let Shu gather the commanders, teach them what the realm requires, and make them plan together against the enemy. Keep the armies linked like the Constant Mountain Snake of the Art of War—one will for the state, no 'mine' and 'yours'—so that in crisis or calm relief has a settled plan." An edict ordered the memorial handed to Wang Shu to show the generals.
14
同乞郡，除顯謨閣直學士、知湖州。 復召，請祠，詔提舉江州太平觀。 紹興二十年卒。
Chang Tong asked for a prefecture and was made Direct Academician at the Xianmo Pavilion and prefect of Huzhou. Recalled again, he asked for a sinecure and was ordered to oversee the Taiping Taoist Abbey in Jiangzhou. He died in 1150.
15
張致遠
Zhang Zhiyuan
16
張致遠，字子猷，南劍州沙縣人。 宣和三年，中進士第。 宰相范宗尹薦其才，召對，擢為樞密院計議官。 建寇範汝為已降，猶懷反側，而招安官謝向、陸棠受賊賂，陰與之通。 致遠謁告歸，知其情，還白執政，請鋤其根枿，於是捕響、棠及制置司屬官施宜生付獄。 詔參知政事孟庾為福州宣撫使討賊，韓世忠副之，辟致遠為隨軍機宜文字。 賊平，除兩浙轉運判官，改廣東轉運判官。 招撫劇盜曾兗等，賊眾悉降。
Zhang Zhiyuan, styled Ziyou, was from Shaxian in Nanjian Prefecture. In 1121 he passed the jinshi examination. Chief Minister Fan Zongyin recommended his talent; summoned to audience, he was raised to Planning Officer in the Bureau of Military Affairs. The Jian bandit Fan Ruwei had surrendered but still wavered toward revolt, while pacification officers Xie Xiang and Lu Tang took bribes and dealt with him in secret. Zhiyuan went home on leave, learned the truth, returned to warn the chief ministers, and urged that the roots be cut. Xie Xiang, Lu Tang, and Pacification Commission clerk Shi Yisheng were arrested and jailed. The court named Participating Administrator Meng Geng Pacification Commissioner of Fuzhou to crush the rebels, with Han Shizhong as his deputy, and recruited Zhiyuan as army policy secretary. After the rebels were pacified he was made Transport Intendant for the Two Zhes, then for Guangdong. He pacified the fierce bandit Zeng Yan and others until their whole host surrendered.
17
紹興四年，以監察御史召。 未至，除殿中侍御史。 時江西帥胡世將請增和買絹折納錢，致遠上疏言：“折納絹錢本欲少寬民力，而比舊增半，是欲乘民之急而厚其斂也。 ”從之。
In 1134 he was summoned as Investigating Censor. Before he could arrive he was made Attending Censor within the Palace. The Jiangxi commander Hu Shijiang asked to raise the cash commutation for state silk purchases. Zhang Zhiyuan memorialized: "The commutation fee was meant to lighten the people's load, yet this proposal raises it half again above the old rate—that is to squeeze the people harder when they are already desperate." The court accepted his memorial.
18
金人與劉豫分道入寇，宰相趙鼎勸高宗親征，朝士尚以為疑，白鼎審處。 致遠入對，獨贊其決。 遷侍御史。 言：“聚財養兵，皆出民力，善理財者，宜固邦本。 請罷榷福建鹽，精擇三司使、副，以常平茶鹽合為一官，令計經常，量入為出，先務省節，次及經理。 ”詔戶部講究。
When the Jin and Liu Qi struck by separate routes, Chancellor Zhao Ding urged Gaozong to take the field in person. Many at court still hesitated and asked Ding to proceed with caution. Zhang Zhiyuan alone, in audience, endorsed the decision. He was promoted to Attending Censor. He said, "Armies are fed from the people's labor. A good treasurer must strengthen the state's foundation. Abolish the Fujian salt monopoly. Choose the Three Departments commissioners with care. Merge the Ever-Normal Granary with the tea-and-salt office, set regular budgets, match spending to income, economize first, then manage what remains." The throne ordered the Ministry of Revenue to study the proposal.
19
五年，除戶部侍郎，進吏部侍郎，尋復為戶部侍郎。 言：“陛下欲富國強兵，大有為於天下，願詔大臣力務省節，明禁僭侈，自宮禁始，自朝廷始。 額員可減者減之，司屬可並者並之。 使州縣無妄用，歸其餘于監司； 監司無妄用，歸其餘於朝廷； 朝廷無橫費，日積月聚，惟軍須是慮，中興之業可致也。 ”除給事中。
In the fifth year of Shaoxing he was made Vice Minister of Revenue, then Vice Minister of Personnel, and soon returned to Revenue. He said, "Your Majesty wishes to enrich the state, strengthen the army, and achieve great things. Order your chief ministers to practice strict economy, forbid extravagance plainly, and begin with the palace and the court itself. Cut quotas where they can be cut; merge offices where they can be merged. Let prefectures and counties spend nothing without cause and return surpluses to the circuit commissioners; let commissioners return their surpluses to the court; let the court spend nothing without need, hoard month by month for the army alone—and restoration will be within reach." He was appointed Drafting Recipient.
20
尋以老母丐外，以顯謨閣待制知台州。 朝廷以海寇鄭廣未平，改知福州。 六年八月，廣等降，致遠選留四百人，置營城外，餘遣還業。 復遣廣討他郡諸盜，數月悉平。
Soon he begged leave to care for his aged mother and was made Awaiting Draft at the Xianmo Pavilion and prefect of Taizhou. Because the pirate Zheng Guang was still at large, he was transferred to Fuzhou. In the eighth month of the sixth year Zheng Guang surrendered. Zhiyuan kept four hundred men in a camp outside the walls and sent the rest home to their trades. He sent Guang to hunt bandits in neighboring prefectures; within months all were subdued.
21
八年正月，再召為給事中。 出知廣州。 尋以顯謨閣待制致仕。 十七年卒，年五十八。
In the first month of the eighth year he was recalled as Drafting Recipient. He was sent out as prefect of Guangzhou. Soon he retired with the title Awaiting Draft at the Xianmo Pavilion. He died in the seventeenth year of Shaoxing, aged fifty-eight.
22
致遠鯁亮有學識，曆台省、侍從，言論風旨皆卓然可觀。 趙鼎嘗謂其客曰：“自鼎再相，除政府外，從官如張致遠、常同、胡寅、張九成、潘良貴、呂本忠、魏矼皆有士望，他日所守當不渝。 ”識者謂鼎為知人雲。
Zhang Zhiyuan was upright, learned, and bright. Through the Censorate and the inner court his speeches and policies were consistently admirable. Zhao Ding once told his clients, "Since I returned as chief minister, the attendant officials—Zhang Zhiyuan, Chang Tong, Hu Yin, Zhang Jiucheng, Pan Lianggui, Lu Benzhong, Wei Gang—enjoy real standing. Their constancy in years ahead should not waver." Observers said Ding knew how to judge men.
23
薛徽言
Xue Huiyan
24
薛徽言，字德老，溫州人。 登進士第，為樞密院計議官。 紹興二年，遣使分行諸路，徽言在選中，以權監察御史宣諭湖南。 時郴、道、桂陽旱饑，徽言請於朝，不待報即諭漕臣發衡、永米以振，而以經制銀市米償之，所刺舉二十人。 使還，他使皆進擢，宰相呂頤浩以徽言擅易守臣，而移用經制銀，出知興國軍。 入為郎、遷右司，擢起居舍人。 時秦檜與金人議和，徽言與吏部侍郎晏敦復等七人同拜疏爭之。 一日，檜於上前論和，徽言直前引義固爭，反復數刻。 中寒疾而卒。 高宗念之，賻絹百匹，特與遺表恩。
Xue Huiyan, styled Delao, was from Wenzhou. He passed the jinshi and became a Planning Officer in the Bureau of Military Affairs. In 1132 the court sent envoys to tour the circuits. Huiyan was chosen and, as Acting Investigating Censor, sent to proclaim the throne's will in Hunan. Chen, Dao, and Guiyang were stricken by drought and famine. Huiyan petitioned the court, then—without waiting for a reply—ordered the transport commissioner to release grain from Heng and Yong for relief, using regulated-funds silver to buy replacement grain, and impeached twenty officials. On his return the other envoys were promoted, but Lü Yihao, angered that Huiyan had replaced a prefect on his own authority and spent regulated funds, sent him out to command the Xingguo Army. He entered the capital as a bureau director, moved to the Right Office, and was raised to Gentleman Attendant. When Qin Hui was negotiating peace with the Jin, Huiyan joined Vice Minister Yan Dunfu and six others in a joint memorial of protest. One day, as Hui argued for peace before the throne, Huiyan stepped forward, cited principle, and disputed him back and forth for nearly an hour. He caught a chill in the debate and died. Gaozong mourned him, granted a hundred bolts of silk, and gave special favor to his final memorial.
25
陳淵，字知默，南劍州沙縣人也。 紹興五年，給事中廖剛、中書舍人胡寅朱震、權戶部侍郎張致遠言：“淵乃瓘之諸孫，有文有學，自瓘在時，器重特甚，垂老流落，負材未試。 ”充樞密院編修官。 會李綱以前宰相為江南西路安撫制置大使，辟為制置司機宜文字。
Chen Yuan, styled Zhimò, was from Shaxian in Nanjian Prefecture. In 1135 Liao Gang, Hu Yin, Zhu Zhen, and Zhang Zhiyuan memorialized: "Chen Yuan is a grandson of Chen Guan—learned and capable. Guan prized him highly; now in his old age he drifts unemployed, his talent untried." He was made a compiler at the Bureau of Military Affairs. When Li Gang, the former chief minister, became Pacification Commissioner for Jiangxi West, Yuan joined his staff as policy secretary.
26
七年，詔侍從舉直言極諫之士，胡安國以淵應。 召對，改官，賜進士出身。 九年，除監察御史，尋遷右正言。 入對，論：“比年以來，恩惠太濫，賞給太厚，頒賚賜予之費太過。 所用既眾，而所入實寡，此臣所甚懼也。 《周官》‘唯王及後、世子不會’，說者謂不得以有司之法治之，非周公作法開後世人主侈用之端也。 臣謂塚宰以九式均節財用，有司雖不會，塚宰得以越式而論之。 若事事以式，雖不會猶會也。 臣願陛下凡有錫賚，法之所無而於例有疑者，三省得以共議，戶部得以執奏，則前日之弊息矣。”
In the seventh year the throne ordered attendants to recommend blunt remonstrators; Hu Anguo nominated Yuan. Summoned to audience, he was given a new rank and granted jinshi standing. In the ninth year he was made Investigating Censor, then Right Remonstrator. In audience he said, "In recent years imperial favor has run too wide, rewards too rich, and the cost of grants and gifts too heavy. Outgo is vast while income is thin—that is what I most fear. The Offices of Zhou says only the king, queen, and heir are 'not subject to accounting.' Commentators take that to mean they escape ordinary fiscal law—not that the Duke of Zhou opened the door for later rulers to spend without limit. The Grand Steward balances revenue by the nine formulas. Though the regular offices do not audit the throne, the Grand Steward may still judge spending against those formulas. If every grant were weighed by formula, the throne would be accounted for in all but name. I beg that whenever Your Majesty grants what the law does not cover and precedent doubts, the Three Departments debate together and Revenue remonstrate—then yesterday's abuses will end."
27
淵面對，因論程頤、王安石學術同異，上曰：“楊時之學能宗孔、孟，其《三經義辨》甚當理。 ”淵曰：“楊時始宗安石，後得程顥師之，乃悟其非。 ”上曰：“以《三經義解》觀之，具見安石穿鑿。 ”淵曰：“穿鑿之過尚小，至於道之大原，安石無一不差。 推行其學，遂為大害。 ”上曰：“差者何謂？ ”淵曰：“聖學所傳止有《論》、《孟》、《中庸》，《論語》主仁，《中庸》主誠，《孟子》主性，安石皆暗其原。 仁道至大，《論語》隨問隨答，惟樊遲問，始對曰：‘愛人。 ’愛特仁之一端，而安石遂以愛為仁。 其言《中庸》，則謂中庸所以接人，高明所以處己。 《孟子》七篇，專發明性善，而安石取揚雄善惡混之言，至於無善無惡，又溺於佛，其失性遠矣。”
In audience Yuan compared the learning of Cheng Yi and Wang Anshi. The Emperor said, "Yang Shi's learning follows Confucius and Mencius; his Exegesis of the Three Classics is sound." Yuan said, "Yang Shi first followed Wang Anshi; only after studying under Cheng Hao did he see the error." The Emperor said, "From the Exegesis of the Three Classics one sees how forced Anshi's readings are." Yuan said, "Forced reading is a small fault. On the great root of the Way, Anshi missed at every point. To impose his learning on the realm was great harm." The Emperor asked, "Where did he err?" Yuan said, "Sage learning rests on the Analects, Mencius, and Doctrine of the Mean—the Analects on benevolence, the Mean on sincerity, Mencius on human nature. Anshi was blind to all three. Benevolence is vast; the Analects answers each question as it comes—only to Fan Chi's question did Confucius first say, 'Love others.' Love is but one branch of benevolence, yet Anshi made love the whole of benevolence. On the Mean he said the mean is for dealing with others while loftiness is for oneself. Mencius's seven chapters expound the goodness of nature, yet Anshi took Yang Xiong's doctrine that good and evil mix—even to 'neither good nor evil'—and drowned in Buddhism. He lost human nature utterly."
28
鄭億年復資政殿學士、奉朝請，召見於內殿。 淵言：“億年故相居中之子，雖為從官，而有從賊之醜，乞浸其職名。 ”不報。 億年，右僕射秦檜之親黨也，由是檜怒之。 除秘書少監兼崇政殿說書，以祖名辭。 改宗正少卿，以何鑄論罷。 主管台州崇道觀。 十五年，卒。
Zheng Yinian was restored as Academician of the Zizheng Hall and Court Attendant and summoned to the inner hall. Yuan objected: "Yinian is the son of the former chief minister Zheng Juzhong. Though he holds court rank, he bears the stain of having served the puppet regime. I beg that his titles be slowly stripped." The throne did not respond. Yinian was kin to Vice Director Qin Hui; Hui therefore turned against Yuan. He was named Junior Director of the Secretariat and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall but declined because of a name taboo with his grandfather. He was shifted to Junior Director of the Imperial Clan Court, then removed on He Zhu's impeachment. He was put in charge of the Chongdao Taoist Abbey in Taizhou. He died in the fifteenth year of Shaoxing.
29
魏矼，字邦達，和州曆陽人，唐丞相知古後也。 少穎悟。 時方尚王氏新說，矼獨守所學。 宣和三年，上舍及第。 建炎四年，召赴闕，詔改宣教郎，除詳定一司敕令所刪定官。
Wei Gang, styled Bangda, came from Liyang in He Prefecture, a descendant of the Tang chief minister Wei Zhigu. As a youth he was quick and perceptive. When Wang Anshi's New Learning was still in fashion, Gang held to the older learning. In 1121 he passed the upper-college examination with highest honors. In 1130 he was summoned to court, given the rank Instructor, and made reviser on the Commission for Statutes of the One Office.
30
紹興元年，遷樞密院計議官，遷考功郎。 會星變，矼因轉對，言：“治平間，彗出東方，英宗問輔臣所以消弭之道，韓琦以明賞罰為對。 比年以來，賞之所加，有未參選而官已升朝者，有未經任而輒為正郎者，罰之所加，有未到任而例被沖替者，有罪犯同而罰有輕重者。 ”力言大臣黜陟不公，所以致異。 上識其忠，擢監察御史，遷殿中侍御史。
In 1131 he became Planning Officer in the Bureau of Military Affairs, then Director of the Bureau of Appointments. When a comet appeared, Gang spoke in audience: "Under Emperor Yingzong in the Zhiping era a comet rose in the east. Yingzong asked how to dispel it; Han Qi answered, 'Make rewards and punishments clear.'" Today some men are promoted to court rank before they ever enter the selection lists; some become Regular Gentlemen before they ever serve. Some are displaced before they reach their posts; some share the same crime yet receive unequal punishment." He insisted that unfair promotions and demotions by the great ministers had brought the omen. The Emperor recognized his loyalty and made him Investigating Censor, then Attending Censor within the Palace.
31
臨安火，延燒數千家，獻諛者謂非災異。 矼言：“《春秋》定、哀間數言火災，說者謂孔子有德而魯不能用，季孫有惡而不能去，故天降之咎。 今朝廷之上有奸慝邪佞之人未逐乎？ 百執事之間有朋附奔競之徒未汰乎？ 搢紳有公忠宿望及抱道懷藝、有猷有守之士未用乎？ 在位之人，畏人軋己，方且蔽賢，未聞推誠盡公，旁招俊乂。 宜鑒定、哀之失，甄別邪正，亟加進用。”
Fire in Lin'an burned thousands of homes; flatterers denied it was an omen. Gang said, "The Spring and Autumn Annals records several fires between the reigns of Ding and Ai. Commentators say Confucius had virtue but Lu would not use him; Jisun harbored evil but could not be removed—so Heaven sent fire as blame. Are there treacherous and flattering men above the court not yet driven out? Among the hundred executors, are clique-runners and frantic climbers not yet purged? Among the gentry, are men of public loyalty, long repute, learning, and steadfast principle not yet employed? Men in office fear rivals and hide the worthy; they do not push sincerity, recruit talent broadly, and serve the public good. Take warning from Ding and Ai: distinguish the wicked from the upright and promote the worthy at once."
32
內侍李暠飲韓世忠家，刃傷弓匠，事下廷尉。 矼言：“內侍出入宮禁，而狠戾發於杯酒，乃至如此，豈得不過為之慮？ 建炎詔令禁內侍不得交通主兵官及預朝政，違者處以軍法。 乞申嚴其禁，以謹履霜之戒。 ”於是廙杖脊配瓊州。 遷侍御史，賜矼五品服。
The eunuch Li Hao drank at Han Shizhong's house and wounded a bow-maker with a blade; the case went to the Court of Judicial Review. Gang said, "Eunuchs pass in and out of the palace, yet over wine this man's violence broke out—how can we not take warning? The Jianyan edict forbade eunuchs to associate with army commanders or join court politics on pain of military law. I beg that this ban be enforced strictly, as a warning against the tread on hoarfrost that foretells ice." Li Hao was beaten and banished to Qiongzhou. Gang was promoted to Attending Censor and granted fifth-rank robes.
33
時朱勝非獨相，矼論：“勝非無所建明，惟知今日進呈一二細故，明日啟擬一二故人，而機務不決，軍政不修，除授挾私，賢士解體。 ”又疏其五罪，詔令勝非持餘服。 又言：“國家命令之出，必先錄黃。 其過兩省，則給捨得以封駁； 其下所屬，則台諫得以論列。 此萬世良法也。 竊聞近時三省、樞密院，間有不用錄黃而直降指揮者，亦有雖畫黃而不下六部者，望並依舊制。”
When Zhu Shengfei held the chief ministership alone, Gang said, "Shengfei establishes nothing. He presents a trifle today, drafts an old friend tomorrow, leaves critical business undecided, neglects the armies, fills posts by favor, and disheartens the worthy. He listed five offenses; the court ordered Shengfei to observe the remainder of his mourning leave. He also said, "State commands must first be recorded on yellow paper. When they pass the Two Departments, drafting recipients may seal and remonstrate; when they reach subordinates, censors may object. That is a law good for ten thousand generations. I hear that lately the Three Departments and Bureau of Military Affairs sometimes skip the yellow record and issue commands directly, or draft in yellow without sending them to the Six Ministries. I beg that the old procedures be restored."
34
劉豫挾金人入寇，宰相趙鼎決親征之議，矼請扈從，因命督江上諸軍。 時劉光世、韓世忠、張俊三大將權均勢敵，又懷私隙，莫肯協心。 矼首至光世軍中，諭之曰：“賊眾我寡，合力猶懼不支，況軍自為心，將何以戰？ 為諸公計，當思為國雪恥，釋去私隙，不獨有利於國，亦將有利其身。 ”光世許之，遂勸其貽書二帥，示以無他，二帥復書交歡。 光世以書聞，由此眾戰屢捷，軍聲大振。
When Liu Qi invaded with Jin backing, Zhao Ding resolved that Gaozong should take the field in person. Gang asked to accompany the guard and was ordered to supervise the Yangzi armies. Liu Guangshi, Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun were evenly matched in power and nursed private grudges; none would cooperate. Gang went first to Guangshi's camp and said, "The enemy outnumbers us—even united we may not hold. If each army minds only itself, how will you fight? Think of wiping the nation's shame clean and dropping private feuds—that helps the state and yourselves alike." Guangshi agreed and urged him to write the other commanders pledging good faith; they answered in kind. Guangshi reported the exchange to court; thereafter the armies won repeated victories and their fame soared.
35
上至平江，魏良臣、王繪使金回，約再遣使，且有恐迫語。 矼請罷“講和”二字，飭厲諸將，力圖攻取。 會金屢敗遁去，使亦不遣。 遷秘書少監。
At Pingjiang, Wei Liangchen and Wang Hui returned from Jin missions proposing further embassies, with words of intimidation. Gang asked that the word "peace" be struck from court discourse and the generals admonished to fight for recovery. The Jin were beaten back repeatedly; the envoys were never sent. He was promoted to Junior Director of the Secretariat.
36
矼在職七閱月，論事凡百二十餘章。 尋乞補外，除直龍圖閣、知泉州，以親老辭，知建州。 尋召還，丐祠，不允，除權吏部侍郎。
In seven months in office he submitted more than a hundred twenty memorials. He soon asked for an outside post and was named Direct Academician at the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Quanzhou; pleading for his parents he declined and was sent to Jianzhou. Recalled again, he begged a sinecure without success and was made Acting Vice Minister of Personnel.
37
八年，金使入境，命矼充館伴使，矼言：“頃任御史，嘗論和議之非，今難以專論。 ”秦檜召矼至都堂，問其所以不主和之意，矼具陳敵情難保，檜諭之曰：“公以智料敵，檜以誠待敵。 ”矼曰：“相公固以誠待敵，第恐敵人不以誠待相公耳。 ”檜不能屈，乃改命吳表臣。
In the eighth year Jin envoys crossed the border; Gang was ordered to receive them. He said, "As censor I once condemned peace talks; today I cannot argue that case alone." Qin Hui summoned him to the Councilors' Hall and asked why he opposed peace. Gang laid out why the enemy could not be trusted. Hui replied, "You measure the enemy with cleverness; I treat the enemy with sincerity." Gang said, "You may treat them with sincerity—but I fear they will not treat you with sincerity." Hui could not bend him and gave the post to Wu Biaochen instead.
38
詔金使入境，欲屈己就和，令侍從、台諫條奏來上。 矼言：“臣素不熟敵情，不知使人所需者何禮，陛下所以屈己者何事。 賊豫為金人所立，為之北面，陛下承祖宗基業，天命所歸，何藉于金國乎？ 傳聞奉使之歸，謂金人悉從我所欲，必無難行之禮，以重困我，陛下何過自取侮乎？ 如或不可從之事，儻輕許之，他時反為所制，號令廢置將出其手，一有不從，便生兵隙。 予奪在彼，失信在我，非計之得也。 雖使還我空地，如之何而可保？ 雖欲寢兵，如之何而可寢？ 雖欲息民，如之何而可息？ 非計之得也。 陛下既欲為親少屈，更願審思天下治亂之機，酌之群情，擇其經久可行者行之，其不可從者，以國人之意拒之，庶無後悔。 所謂國人者，不過萬民、三軍爾。 搢紳與萬民一體，大將與三軍一體，今陛下詢于搢紳，民情大可見矣。 欲望速召大將，各帶近上統制官數人同來，詳加訪問，以塞他日意外之憂。 大將以為不可，則其氣益堅，何憂此敵。”
When Jin envoys entered the border the throne wished to humble itself for peace and ordered attendants and censors to submit written opinions. Gang said, "I do not know the enemy's mind, what rites their envoys demand, or what Your Majesty would humble yourself to grant. The puppet Liu Qi was set up by the Jin and bows north to them. Your Majesty inherits the ancestral foundation and Heaven's mandate—why lean on the Jin? Rumor says the returning envoys will claim the Jin grant everything we ask, with no hard terms—yet they will burden us. Why invite insult? If we lightly promise what we cannot keep, they will control us—appointments and dismissals will issue from their hands; one refusal and war follows. They would hold the power of grant and denial; we would hold the loss of trust—that is no winning plan. Even if they return empty territory, how could we hold it? Even if we wished to rest the armies, how could they rest? Even if we wished to ease the people, how could they be eased? That is no winning plan. If Your Majesty will bend slightly for kinship, weigh order and disorder, heed popular feeling, do what can last, and reject what the nation cannot bear with the people's will—there will be no regret. The people of the state are the myriad people and the Three Armies. Gentry and people are one body; great generals and armies are one body. Your Majesty has asked the gentry—the people's will is plain. Summon the great generals at once, each with several close commanders, question them in detail, and forestall future surprise. If the generals say peace is impossible, their spirit will harden—why fear the enemy?"
39
未幾，丁父憂。 免喪，除集英殿修撰、知宣州，不就。 改提舉太平興國宮，自是奉祠，凡四任。 丁內艱以卒。
Soon he entered mourning for his father. When mourning ended he was named Compiler at the Hall for Cherishing Talents and prefect of Xuanzhou but did not go. He was shifted to oversee the Taiping Xingguo Palace and held abbey commissions four times in all. He entered mourning for his mother and died during it.
40
潘良貴
Pan Lianggui
41
潘良貴，字子賤，婺州金華人。 以上舍釋褐為辟雍博士，遷秘書郎。 時宰相蔡京與其子攸方以爵祿鉤知名士，良貴屹然特立，親故數為京致願交意，良貴正色謝絕。 除主客郎中，尋提舉淮南東路常平。
Pan Lianggui, styled Zijian, was from Jinhua in Wu Prefecture. Through the upper college he entered service as Erudite of the Imperial University, then became a Secretary. When Cai Jing and his son You used rank and salary to hook famous scholars, Lianggui stood alone. Relatives repeatedly conveyed Jing's wish to befriend him; Lianggui refused with a stern face. He was made Director of the Bureau of Receptions, then Commissioner for the Huainan East Ever-Normal Granary.
42
靖康元年，召還。 賜對，欽宗問孰可秉鈞軸者，良貴極言：“何、唐恪等四人不可用，他日必誤社稷。 陛下若欲扶危持顛之相，非博詢於下僚，明揚於微陋，未見其可。 ”語徹於外，當國者指為狂率，黜監信州汭口排岸。
In the first year of Jingkang he was recalled. In audience Qinzong asked who could hold the chief ministership. Lianggui said bluntly, "He Zhizhong, Tang Ke, and four others cannot be used—they will ruin the altars of state." If Your Majesty wants a minister to save a tottering realm, you must search broadly among lower officials and raise the obscure—I see no other way. His words leaked out. Those in power called him reckless and demoted him to supervisor of the Ruikou wharf in Xin Prefecture.
43
越數年，除提點荊湖南路刑獄，主管江州太平觀，除考功郎，遷左司。 宰相呂頤浩從容謂良貴曰：“旦夕相引入兩省。 ”良貴正色對曰：“親老方欲乞外，兩省官非良貴可為也。 ”退語人曰：“宰相進退一世人才，以為賢邪，自當擢用，何可握手密語，先示私恩。 若士大夫受其牢籠，又何以立朝。 ”即日乞補外，以直龍圖閣知嚴州。 到官兩月，請祠，主管亳州明道宮。 起為中書舍人。
Years later he was made Punishments Commissioner for Jingnan South, overseer of the Taiping Abbey in Jiangzhou, Director of the Bureau of Appointments, then Left Office director. Chief Minister Lü Yihao said casually, "Soon I will bring you into the Two Departments." Lianggui answered sternly, "My parents are old and I was about to beg an outside post. The Two Departments are not for me." He told others afterward, "A chief minister advances the talent of a generation. If he thinks a man worthy, let him promote him openly—why clasp hands in secret and show private favor first? If scholar-officials accept such snares, how can they stand at court?" That day he begged an outside post and was made Direct Academician at the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Yan Prefecture. Two months after arrival he asked for an abbey post and was put in charge of the Mingdao Palace in Bozhou. He was recalled as Secretariat Drafter.
44
會戶部侍郎向子諲入見，語言煩褻，良貴故善子諲，是日攝起居，立殿上，徑至榻前厲聲曰：“子諲以無益之談久煩聖聽！ ”子諲欲退，高宗顧良貴曰：“是朕問之。 ”又諭子諲且款語。 子諲復語，久不止，良貴叱之退者再。 高宗色變，閣門並彈之，於是二人俱待罪。 有旨良貴放罪，子諲無罪可待。
When Vice Minister Xiang Ziyin spoke at audience his talk was tedious and improper. Lianggui, who had been friendly with him, was acting Gentleman Attendant that day. He strode to the throne and said sharply, "Ziyin has long troubled the imperial ear with useless talk!" Ziyin tried to withdraw. Gaozong told Lianggui, "I asked him." He told Ziyin to continue at ease. Ziyin spoke on and would not stop; Lianggui twice ordered him to withdraw. The Emperor's face changed; the Gate Department impeached both, and both awaited punishment. Lianggui was released; Ziyin had no case to answer.
45
良貴求去，以集英殿修撰提舉江州太平觀。 起知明州。 期年，除徽猷閣待制、提舉亳州明道宮。 既歸，不出者十年。 李光得罪，良貴坐嘗與通書，降三官。 卒，年五十七。
Lianggui asked to leave and was made Compiler at the Hall for Cherishing Talents overseeing the Taiping Abbey in Jiangzhou. He was raised to prefect of Ming Prefecture. After his term he was made Awaiting Draft at the Huaiyou Pavilion and Commissioner for the Mingdao Palace in Bozhou. Once home he did not go out for ten years. When Li Guang fell, Lianggui was demoted three ranks for having once exchanged letters with him. He died aged fifty-seven.
46
良貴剛介清苦，壯老一節。 為博士時，王黼、張邦昌俱欲妻以女，拒之。 晚家居貧甚，秦檜諷令求郡，良貴曰：“從臣除授合辭免，今求之于宰相，辭之于君父，良貴不敢為也。 ”其諫疏多焚稿，僅存雜著十五卷，新安朱熹為之序。
Lianggui was firm, independent, pure, and austere—one integrity from youth to age. As erudite, Wang Fu and Zhang Bangchang both wished him to marry their daughters; he refused. In old age he lived in deep poverty. Qin Hui hinted he should ask for a prefecture. Lianggui said, "Court followers should decline appointment. To beg a chief minister and then decline before the throne—I dare not." Most of his memorials were burned as drafts; only fifteen scrolls of miscellany survive, prefaced by Zhu Xi of Xin'an.
47
呂本中
Lu Benzhong
48
呂本中，字居仁，元祐宰相公著之曾孫、好問之子。 幼而敏悟，公著奇愛之。 公著薨，宣仁太后及哲宗臨奠，諸童稚立庭下，宣仁獨進本中，摩其頭曰：“孝於親，忠於君，兒勉焉。”
Lu Benzhong, styled Juren, was the great-grandson of Yuanyou chief minister Lu Gongzhu and son of Haowen. As a child he was quick and perceptive; Gongzhu doted on him. When Gongzhu died, Empress Xuanren and Zhezong came to mourn. Children stood in the courtyard; Xuanren alone drew Benzhong forward, stroked his head, and said, "Be filial to kin, loyal to your ruler—strive, child."
49
祖希哲師程頤，本中聞見習熟。 少長，從楊時、游酢、尹焞遊，三家或有疑異，未嘗苟同。 以公著遺表恩，授承務郎。 紹聖間，黨事起，公著追貶，本中坐焉。
His grandfather Xizhe studied under Cheng Yi; Benzhong grew up steeped in that world. He studied with Yang Shi, You Zuo, and Yin Huan; when the three houses differed, he never agreed lightly. On the grace of Gongzhu's final memorial he received the rank Assistant Gentleman for Meritorious Achievement. When factional purges began in Shaosheng, Gongzhu was posthumously demoted and Benzhong was implicated.
50
元符中，主濟陰簿、秦州士曹掾，辟大名府帥司幹官。 宣和六年，除樞密院編修官。 靖康改元，遷職方員外郎，以父嫌奉祠。 丁父憂，服除，召為祠部員外郎，以疾告去。 再直秘閣，主管崇道觀。
Under Yuanfu he served as registrar of Jiyin, scholars' clerk in Qin Prefecture, and staff officer at Daming headquarters. In the sixth year of Xuanhe he was made Compiler at the Bureau of Military Affairs. At the Jingkang reign change he was made Outer Director of the Bureau of Appointments, then given an abbey post on account of his father's taboo. When mourning ended he was summoned as Outer Director of the Bureau of Sacrifices but pleaded illness and left. He again served at the Secret Repository and oversaw the Chongdao Taoist Abbey.
51
紹興六年，召赴行在，特賜進士出身，擢起居舍人兼權中書舍人。 內侍李琮失料曆，上以潛邸舊人，不用保任特給之。 本中言：“若以異恩別給，非所謂‘宮中府中當為一體’者。 ”上見繳還，甚悅，令宰臣諭之曰：“自今有所見，第言之。”
In the sixth year of Shaoxing he was summoned to court, granted jinshi standing, and made Gentleman Attendant with concurrent Acting Secretariat Drafter. The eunuch Li Cong lost his duty roster; as an old man of Gaozong's princely household, the Emperor granted a replacement without the usual guarantee. Benzhong said, "To grant by special favor is not what the ancients meant by 'palace and government as one body.'" The Emperor, pleased that he returned the order, told the chief ministers to say to him, "From now on speak whatever you see."
52
監階州草場苗亙以贓敗，有詔從黥，本中奏：“近歲官吏犯贓，多至黥籍，然四方之遠，或有枉濫，何由盡知？ 異時察其非辜，雖欲抆拭，其可得乎？ 若祖宗以來此刑嘗用，則紹聖權臣當國之時，士大夫無遺類久矣。 願酌處常罰，毋令奸臣得以藉口於後世。 ”從之。
Miao Gen, overseer of the Jie fodder grounds, was convicted of corruption; an edict ordered tattooing. Benzhong memorialized, "Lately corrupt officials are often tattooed, yet in distant places wrongful cases may hide—how can we know them all? If later we find them innocent, how wipe the mark away? If our ancestors had used this punishment routinely, no scholar-official would have survived the Shaosheng factional reign. Apply the regular punishments and do not let treacherous ministers of later ages use tattooing as a pretext." The court accepted his memorial.
53
七年，上幸建康，本中奏曰：“當今之計，必先為恢復事業，求人才，恤民隱，講明法度，詳審刑政，開直言之路，俾人人得以盡情。 然後練兵謀帥，增師上流，固守淮甸，使江南先有不可動之勢，伺彼有釁，一舉可克。 若徒有恢復之志，而無其策，邦本未強，恐生他患。 今江南、兩浙科須日繁，閭裡告病，倘有水旱乏絕，奸宄竊發，未審朝廷何以待之？ 近者臣庶勸興師問罪者，不可勝數，觀其辭固甚順，考其實不可行。 大抵獻言之人，與朝廷利害絕不相侔，言不酬，事不濟，則脫身而去。 朝廷施設失當，誰任其咎？ 鷙鳥將擊，必匿其形，今朝廷於進取未有秋毫之實，所下詔命，已傳賊境，使之得以為備，非策也。 ”又奏：“江左形勢如九江、鄂渚、荊南諸路，當宿重兵，臨以重臣。 吳時謂西陵、建平，國之藩表，願精擇守帥，以待緩急，則江南自守之計備矣。”
In the seventh year, when the Emperor visited Jiankang, Benzhong memorialized: "Today's plan must first build restoration: seek talent, ease the people's burdens, clarify law, tighten justice, open the road of blunt speech so every man may speak his mind. Then train troops and choose commanders, strengthen the upper Yangzi armies, hold the Huai firm, make the south unshakable, watch for enemy openings, and strike when the moment comes. Restoration zeal without policy leaves the foundation weak—I fear other troubles will follow. Taxes in Jiangnan and the Two Zhes grow daily; villages report distress. If drought or flood brings want and villains stir, how will the court meet it? Lately subjects urging war are beyond count; their words sound loyal, their plans cannot be done. Such men share nothing with the court's interest—if their words fail and plans collapse, they slip away. If the court misarranges affairs, who bears the blame? A striking hawk hides its form; yet we advance without real strength while edicts reach the enemy and teach them to prepare—that is no policy." He also said, "Key points such as Jiujiang, Ezhou, and Jingnan need heavy garrisons and weighty overseers. Wu called Xiling and Jianping the realm's outer screens. Choose guarding commanders with care for sudden need, and Jiangnan's defense will be complete."
54
內侍鄭諶落致仕，得兵官。 本中言：“陛下進臨江滸，將以有為，今賢士大夫未能顯用，岩穴幽隱未能招致，乃起諶以統兵之任，何邪？ ”命遂寢。 引疾乞祠，直龍圖閣、知台州，不就，主管太平觀。 召為太常少卿。
The eunuch Zheng Chen left retirement and received a military post. Benzhong said, "Your Majesty comes to the river intending great deeds, yet worthy men are not employed, recluses are not summoned—and you raise Chen to command troops. What is this?" The appointment lapsed. Pleading illness he begged an abbey post; named prefect of Taizhou he did not go and oversaw the Taiping Abbey. He was summoned as Junior Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
55
八年二月，遷中書舍人。 三月，兼侍講。 六月，兼權直學士院。 金使通和，有司議行人之供，本中言：“使人之來，正當示以儉約，客館芻粟若務充悅，適啟戎心。 且成敗大計，初不在此，在吾治政得失，兵財強弱，願詔有司令無乏可也。”
In the second month of the eighth year he became Secretariat Drafter. In the third month he was made Lecturer as well. In the sixth month he was Acting Academician of the Hanlin Academy. When Jin envoys came for peace, offices debated their supplies. Benzhong said, "Show austerity to envoys; filling guest lodges only whets enemy appetite. Victory does not lie in lavish hosting but in governance, armies, and wealth. Order the offices to supply only what is needed, no more."
56
初，本中與秦檜同為郎，相得甚歡。 檜既相，私有引用，本中封還除目，檜勉其書行，卒不從。 趙鼎素主元祐之學，謂本中公著後，又範沖所薦，故深相知。 會《哲宗實錄》成，鼎遷僕射，本中草制，有曰：“合晉、楚之成，不若尊王而賤霸； 散牛李之黨，未如明是以去非。 ”檜大怒，言於上曰：“本中受鼎風旨，伺和議不成，為脫身之計。 ”風御史蕭振劾罷之。 提舉太平觀，卒。 學者稱為東萊先生，賜諡文清。
Earlier Benzhong and Qin Hui had been bureau colleagues and were close friends. When Hui became chief minister he wished to employ Benzhong privately; Benzhong returned appointment documents sealed; Hui urged him to sign, but he refused. Zhao Ding upheld Yuanyou learning and, knowing Benzhong as Gongzhu's descendant and Fan Chong's protégé, trusted him deeply. When the Veritable Records of Zhezong were completed, Ding was made Vice Director; Benzhong drafted the edict: "Joining Jin and Chu is not as good as honoring the king and slighting hegemons; scattering the Niu and Li factions is not as good as clarifying right to remove wrong." Hui was furious and told the Emperor, "Benzhong took Ding's secret cue, hoping peace would fail so he could slip away." He had censor Xiao Zhen impeach and dismiss him. As Commissioner for the Taiping Taoist Abbey he died. Scholars called him Master Donglai; he was posthumously titled Wénqīng.
57
有詩二十卷得黃庭堅陳師道句法，《春秋解》一十卷、《童蒙訓》三卷、《師友淵源錄》五卷，行於世。
He left twenty scrolls of poetry in the manner of Huang Tingjian and Chen Shidao, ten scrolls of Exegesis of the Spring and Autumn Annals, three of Instructions for the Young, and five of Record of Teachers and Friends—all in circulation.
58
論曰：《傳》有之：“不有君子，其何能國。 ”紹興之世，呂頤浩、秦檜在相位，雖有君子，豈得盡其志，宋之不能圖復中原，雖曰天命，豈非人事乎？ 若常同、張致遠、薛徽言、陳淵、魏矼、潘良貴、呂本中，其才猷皆可以經邦，其風節皆可以厲世，然皆論議不合，奉祠去國，可為永慨矣。
The historians comment: The Documents says, "Without gentlemen, how could there be a state?" In Shaoxing, Lü Yihao and Qin Hui held power—even with gentlemen present, how could they fully realize their aims? That Song could not recover the north—though called Heaven's mandate, was it not also human failure? Chang Tong, Zhang Zhiyuan, Xue Huiyan, Chen Yuan, Wei Gang, Pan Lianggui, and Lu Benzhong—all had talent to order the state and integrity to steel the age—yet all clashed in council, took abbey posts, and left the realm. That is a lasting grief.