1
劉珙，字共父，子羽長子也。 生有奇質，從季父子翬學。 以蔭補承務郎，登進士乙科，監紹興府都稅務。 請祠歸，杜門力學，不急仕進。 主管西外敦宗院，召除諸王宮大小學教授，遷禮部郎官。
Liu Gong, courtesy name Gongfu, was the eldest son of Liu Ziyu. He showed exceptional gifts from birth and studied under his uncle Liu Zihui. He entered office through hereditary privilege as a Gentleman for Court Service, passed the jinshi examination in the second tier, and was made supervisor of the combined tax office in Shaoxing. He sought leave to a sinecure post and went home, where he shut himself in to study hard and showed no eagerness to climb the ladder of office. He oversaw the Western Outer Chongzong Hall, was then summoned to a professorship in the princely academies, and was promoted to a post in the Ministry of Rites.
2
秦檜欲追諡其父，召禮官會問，珙不至，檜怒，風言者逐之。 檜死，召為大宗正丞，遷吏部員外郎。 置令式庭中，使選集者得自翻閱，與吏辨，吏無得藏其巧。 兼權秘書少監，兼權中書舍人。 金犯邊，王師北向，詔檄多出其手，詞氣激烈，聞者泣下。 御史杜莘老劾宦者張去為，忤旨左遷，珙不草制，莘老得不去。 從幸建康，兼直學士院。 車駕將還，軍務未有所付，時張浚留守建康，眾望屬之。 及詔出，以楊存中為江淮宣撫使，珙不書錄黃，仍論其不可。 上怒，謂宰相曰：「劉珙父為浚所知，此特為浚地耳！」 命再下，宰相召珙諭旨，且曰：「再繳則累張公。」 珙曰：「某為國家計，豈暇為張公謀。」 執奏如初，存中命乃寢。 真除中書舍人、直學士院。 田師中死，其家請以沒入王繼先第為賜，李珂關通近習，求為督府掾，詔從中下，珙皆論罷之。 出知泉州，改衢州。
When Qin Hui sought a posthumous title for his father, he called the ritual officials together for consultation; Gong refused to appear. Qin flew into a rage and used whisper campaigns to have him driven from office. After Qin's death he was recalled as deputy director of the Imperial Clan Office and promoted to assistant minister in the Ministry of Personnel. He set out the regulations in the courtyard so candidates for appointment could read them for themselves and argue their case with the clerks, leaving no room for the clerks' sleights of hand. He also served concurrently as vice director of the Secretariat and acting Secretariat drafter. When the Jin raided the frontier and the imperial armies marched north, many of the edicts and battle proclamations were drafted by his hand; their language was fierce, and those who heard them wept. The censor Du Shenlao impeached the eunuch Zhang Quwei; defying the throne, Shenlao was demoted, but Gong refused to draft the appointment edict, so Shenlao was not removed after all. He accompanied the emperor to Jiankang and concurrently served in the Hanlin Academy. As the imperial procession was about to return north, military affairs had yet to be entrusted to anyone; Zhang Jun was then holding Jiankang, and all eyes turned to him. When the edict appeared appointing Yang Cunzhong pacification commissioner of the Jiang and Huai regions, Gong refused to endorse it in the yellow register and continued to argue that the appointment was wrong. The emperor was furious and told the chief councillors, "Liu Gong's father was a protégé of Zhang Jun — this is nothing but clearing the way for Jun!" The order was issued again; the chief councillors summoned Gong to convey the imperial intent and warned, "If you reject it once more, you will bring trouble on Lord Zhang." Gong replied, "I am acting for the sake of the state — how would I have time to plot for Lord Zhang?" He held to his memorial as before, and Yang Cunzhong's appointment was shelved. He was formally appointed Secretariat drafter and Hanlin academician. When Tian Shizhong died, his family asked that Wang Jixian's confiscated mansion be granted them as a reward; Li Ke, who had ties to the emperor's intimates, sought a staff post at the command headquarters — in each case the edict came down from the Secretariat, and Gong argued both measures down. He was sent out as prefect of Quanzhou and then transferred to Quzhou.
3
湖南旱，郴州宜章縣李金為亂，朝廷憂之，以珙知潭州、湖南安撫使。 入境，聲言發郡縣兵討擊，而移書制使沈介，請以便宜出師，曰：「擅興之罪，吾自當之。」 介即遣田寶、楊欽以兵至，珙知其暑行疲怠，發夫數程外迎之，代其負任，至則犒賜過望，軍士感奮。 珙知欽可用，檄諸軍皆受節制，下令募賊徒相捕斬詣吏者，除罪受賞。 欽與寶連戰破賊，追至莽山，賊黨曹彥，黃拱執李金以降。 支黨竄匿者尚眾，珙諭欽等卻兵，聽其自降，賊相率納兵，給據歸田里。 第上諸將功狀有差，上賜璽書曰：「近世書生但務清談，經綸實才蓋未之見，朕以是每有東晉之憂。 今卿既誅群盜，而功狀詳實，諸將優劣，破賊先後，歷歷可觀，宜益勉副朕意。」
Hunan was stricken by drought, and Li Jin raised a rebellion in Yizhang county of Chen prefecture; alarmed, the court appointed Gong prefect of Tanzhou and pacification commissioner of Hunan. On entering his jurisdiction he announced that he would mobilize prefectural and county troops to attack, and wrote to the military commissioner Shen Jie requesting leave to act on his own authority, saying, "If there is guilt in raising troops without authorization, I alone will bear it." Jie at once sent Tian Bao and Yang Qin with troops; knowing they were exhausted from marching in the summer heat, Gong sent laborers several stages out to meet them, carried their packs for them, and when they arrived rewarded them beyond all expectation — the troops were stirred to zeal. Gong knew that Qin could be relied on; he ordered all armies to accept his command and proclaimed that rebels who captured and beheaded one another and brought the heads to the authorities would be cleared of guilt and rewarded. Qin and Bao fought in succession and routed the rebels, pursuing them to Mang Mountain; the rebel followers Cao Yan and Huang Gong seized Li Jin and surrendered. Many scattered followers were still in hiding; Gong instructed Qin and the others to withdraw their troops and let them surrender of their own accord — the rebels came forward in succession to turn in their weapons, were given certificates, and returned to their villages. He ranked the generals' merit reports in order of distinction; the emperor sent an imperial letter saying, "Scholars in recent times pursue only lofty talk; true talent for governing is scarcely to be seen — for this I often fear a repeat of the Eastern Jin. Now that you have exterminated the bandits and your merit report is detailed and factual — the generals' strengths and weaknesses, who broke the rebels first, all set out plainly — you should strive still more to fulfill my intent."
4
除翰林學士、知制誥兼侍讀，言於上曰：「世儒多病漢高帝不悅學，輕儒生，臣以為高帝所不悅，特腐儒俗學耳。 使當時有以二帝三王之學告之，知其必敬信，功烈不止此。」 因陳聖王之學所以明理正心，為萬事之綱，上亟稱善。
He was made Hanlin academician, drafter of edicts, and concurrent imperial reader; he said to the emperor, "Scholars of the age fault Han Gaozu for disliking study and slighting the Confucians — I hold that what Gaozu disliked was only pedantic, vulgar learning. If at the time someone had taught him the learning of the Two Emperors and Three Kings, I know he would have revered and trusted it, and his achievements would not have stopped here." He went on to explain how the learning of the sage-kings illuminates principle and rectifies the mind as the guiding thread of all affairs; the emperor promptly praised it highly.
5
拜中大夫、同知樞密院事，辭不獲，因進言曰：「汪應辰、陳良翰、張栻學行才能，皆臣所不逮，而栻窮探聖微，曉暢軍務，曩幸破賊，栻謀為多，願亟召用。」 上可其奏。 兼參知政事。 奏除福建鈔鹽歲額二萬萬，罷江西和糴及廣西折米鹽錢，及蠲諸路累年逋負金錢穀帛巨億計。 上嘗以久旱齋居禱雨，一夕而應，珙進言曰：「陛下誠心感格，其應如響，天人相與之際，真不容發，隱微纖芥之失，其應豈不亦猶是乎？ 臣願益謹其獨。」 上竦然稱善。
He was appointed Grandee of the Palace and vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs; unable to decline, he memorialized, "Wang Yingchen, Chen Lianghan, and Zhang Shi in learning, conduct, and ability all surpass me — and Shi has exhaustively probed the subtle teachings of the sages and is thoroughly versed in military affairs; when we fortunately crushed the rebels, much of the planning was Shi's — I urge that they be summoned and employed at once." The emperor approved his memorial. He also served as Vice Grand Councillor. He memorialized to abolish Fujian's annual salt monopoly quota of two hundred million strings, end Jiangxi's grain requisition purchases and Guangxi's rice-conversion salt payments, and remit accumulated tax arrears in money, grain, and silk across the circuits — amounting to hundreds of millions. The emperor once, during a long drought, kept pure quarters and prayed for rain — and within a night it came; Gong advanced and said, "Your Majesty's sincere heart moved Heaven; the response was like an echo. At the juncture where Heaven and man meet, truly not a hair's breadth may intervene — would not a fault as fine as a gossamer thread draw a response likewise? I beg that Your Majesty be still more careful in solitude." The emperor started in surprise and praised it highly.
6
龍大淵、曾覿既被逐，未幾，大淵死，上憐覿欲還之。 珙言：「二人之去，天下方仰威斷。 此曹奴隸耳，厚賜之可也，若引以自近，使與聞機事，進退人才，非所以光德業、振紀綱。」 命遂止。
Long Dayuan and Zeng Di had already been driven out; before long Dayuan died, and the emperor pitied Di and wished to recall him. Gong said, "When those two men were removed, the empire had just begun to look up to Your Majesty's firm resolve. These creatures are mere slaves — generous gifts are enough; but to draw them close, let them hear state secrets, and advance or dismiss talent — that is not how to glorify virtue or revive discipline." The order was then stopped.
7
殿前指揮使王琪被旨，按視兩淮城壁，還，密薦和州教授劉甄夫。 上諭執政召之，珙請曰：「此人名位微，何自知之？」 上以琪告。 珙退坐堂上，追琪至，詰其故，授牘使對。 珙恐，請後不敢，乃叱使責戒勵狀而去。 會揚州奏琪檄郡增築新城，珙遂奏罷琪，語在《陳俊卿傳》。 珙時爭之尤力，殿中皆驚，以故獨罷為端明殿學士，奉外祠。 陳俊卿言：「珙正直有才，肯任怨，臣所不及，願留之。」 詔改知隆興府、江西安撫使。 入辭，猶以六事為獻，上曰：「卿雖去國，不忘忠言，材美非他人所及，行召卿矣。」 至鎮，首蠲稅務新額，及罷苗倉大斛。 屬邑奉新有復出租稅，窮民不能輸，相率逃去，反失正稅，並奏除之。
Wang Qi, commander of the Palace Front Guard, received the imperial command to inspect the fortifications of the two Huai regions; on returning he secretly recommended Liu Zhenfu, professor at He prefecture. The emperor told the chief councillors to summon him; Gong asked, "This man's name and rank are low — how did he come to Your Majesty's knowledge?" The emperor said Qi had told him. Gong withdrew and sat in the hall, had Qi pursued and brought back, questioned him as to the reason, and handed him a document to answer in writing. Qi was afraid and begged that he would not dare again — Gong thereupon rebuked him and sent him off with a written admonition of encouragement and warning. As it happened Yangzhou reported that Qi had ordered the prefecture to expand and build a new city wall; Gong then memorialized to dismiss Qi — the account is in the biography of Chen Junqing. Gong at the time argued especially forcefully; everyone in the hall was startled, and for this reason alone he was demoted to academician of the Duanming Hall and given an outside sinecure. Chen Junqing said, "Gong is upright and talented and willing to shoulder blame — what I cannot match — I beg that he be kept." An edict changed his appointment to prefect of Longxing and pacification commissioner of Jiangxi. On entering to take leave he still presented six matters; the emperor said, "Though you leave the capital you do not forget loyal counsel; your talent is not matched by others — you will soon be recalled." When he reached his post he first remitted new tax quotas at the commercial offices and abolished the large pecks at the seedling granaries. In the subordinate county Fengxin quit-rent taxes had been restored; the destitute could not pay and fled in bands, which in turn cost the regular tax revenue — he memorialized to abolish these as well.
8
除資政殿學士、知荊南府、湖北安撫使，以繼母憂去。 起復同知樞密院事、荊襄安撫使。 珙六上奏懇辭，引經據禮，詞甚切，最後言曰：「三年通喪，三代未之有改，漢儒乃有『金革無避』之說，已為先王罪人。 今邊陲幸無犬吠之驚，臣乃欲冒金革之名，以私利祿之實，不亦又為漢儒之罪人乎？」
He was made academician of the Zizheng Hall, prefect of Jingnan, and pacification commissioner of Hubei, and left office to mourn his stepmother. He was recalled from mourning to serve as vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and pacification commissioner of Jing and Xiang. Gong six times memorialized earnestly to decline, citing classics and ritual — his language very urgent; at last he said, "The three-year mourning period was unchanged through the Three Dynasties; Han Confucians invented the saying 'in time of war, arms brook no evasion' — they were already sinners against the former kings. Now the frontier fortunately knows no alarm so slight as a dog's bark — yet I would take the name of 'arms' to seek the substance of salary for private gain — would I not be a sinner against the Han Confucians as well?"
9
服闋，再除知潭州、湖南安撫使。 過闕入見，極論時事，言甚切至，上再三加勞，進資政殿大學士以行。 安南貢象，所過發夫除道，毀屋廬，數十州騷然。 珙奏曰：「象之用於郊祀，不見於經，驅而遠之，則有若周公之典。 且使吾中國之疲民，困於遠夷之野獸，豈仁聖之所為哉！」 湖北茶盜數千人入境，疆吏以告，珙曰：「此非必死之寇，緩之則散而求生，急之則聚而致死。」 揭榜諭以自新，聲言兵且至，令屬州縣具數千人食，盜果散去，其存者無幾。 珙乃遣兵，戒曰：「來毋亟戰，去毋窮追，不去者擊之耳。」 盜意益緩，於是一戰敗之，盡擒以歸，誅首惡數十，餘隸軍籍。
When mourning was complete he was again appointed prefect of Tanzhou and pacification commissioner of Hunan. Passing through the capital he entered audience and spoke exhaustively on current affairs — his words very urgent; the emperor repeatedly exhorted and encouraged him and advanced him to Grand Academician of the Zizheng Hall before he departed. Annam sent tribute elephants; wherever they passed laborers were conscripted to clear the roads and houses were torn down — dozens of prefectures were thrown into uproar. Gong memorialized, "The use of elephants in suburban sacrifice is not seen in the classics; to drive them away would accord with the precedent of the Duke of Zhou. Moreover, to let the worn-out people of our Middle Kingdom suffer for the wild beasts of distant barbarians — is that what a benevolent sage would do!" Several thousand Hubei tea bandits crossed the border; border officials reported it; Gong said, "These are not bandits who must fight to the death — if treated gently they will scatter and seek to live; pressed hard they will gather and fight to the death." He posted a proclamation urging them to reform, announced that troops were about to arrive, and ordered subordinate prefectures and counties to prepare food for several thousand men — the bandits indeed scattered, and those who remained were few. He then sent troops with orders, "When they come do not fight at once; when they go do not pursue to the end — only strike those who do not go." The bandits grew still more relaxed in intent; in one battle they were defeated, all captured and brought back — several dozen ringleaders were executed and the rest enrolled in the army registers.
10
淳熙二年，移知建康府、江東安撫使、行宮留守。 會水且旱，首奏蠲夏稅錢六十萬緡、秋苗米十六萬六千斛。 禁止上流稅米遏糴，得商人米三百萬斛。 貸諸司錢合三萬，遣官糴米上江，得十四萬九千斛。 籍主客戶高下，給米有差。 又運米村落，置場平價振糶，貸者不取償。 起是年九月，盡明年四月，闔境數十萬人，無一人捐瘠流徙者。
In the second year of Chunxi he was transferred to prefect of Jiankang, pacification commissioner of Jiangdong, and resident steward of the traveling palace. When there was flooding and also drought, he first memorialized to remit summer tax money of six hundred thousand strings and autumn seedling rice of one hundred sixty-six thousand bushels. He forbade upstream tax rice from blocking grain purchases and obtained three million bushels of merchants' rice. He borrowed thirty thousand strings in all from various offices, sent officials to purchase rice upriver, and obtained one hundred forty-nine thousand bushels. He registered resident and migrant households by rank and distributed rice with distinctions. He also transported rice to villages, set up markets to sell grain at fair prices for relief, and those who borrowed were not required to repay. From the ninth month of that year through the fourth month of the next, throughout the jurisdiction several hundred thousand people — not one wasted away or fled.
11
珙精明果斷，居家孝，喪繼母卓氏，年已逾五十，盡哀致毀，內外功緦之戚，必素服以終月數。 喜受盡言，事有小失，下吏言之立改。 臨數鎮，民愛之若父母，聞訃，有罷市巷哭相與祠之者。
Gong was sharp-minded, resolute, and filial at home; mourning his stepmother the Lady Zhuo, though already past fifty, he exhausted grief to the point of self-injury, and for all relatives within the five degrees of mourning he invariably wore plain dress for the full month count. He delighted in hearing blunt speech; if there was a small fault and a subordinate spoke of it he corrected it at once. Over several posts the people loved him as parents; when news of his death came, some closed markets, wept in the lanes, and together set up shrines to him.
12
王藺，字謙仲、廬江人。 乾道五年，擢進士第。 為信州上饒簿、鄂州教授、四川宣撫司幹辦公事，除武學諭。 孝宗幸學，藺迎法駕，立道周，上目而異之，命小黃門問知姓名，由是簡記。
Wang Lin, courtesy name Qianzhong, was a native of Lujiang. In the fifth year of Qiandao he passed the jinshi examination. He served as recorder of Shangrao in Xin prefecture, professor at E prefecture, and staff clerk of the Sichuan pacification commission, and was appointed instructor at the Military Studies Academy. When Xiaozong visited the academy, Lin greeted the imperial procession and stood along the roadway; the emperor looked at him with surprise, ordered a junior eunuch to ask his name — from this he was marked for favor.
13
遷樞密院編修官，輪對，奏五事，讀未竟，上喜見顏色。 明日，諭輔臣曰：「王藺敢言，宜加獎擢。」 除宗正丞，尋出守舒州。 陛辭，奏疏數條，皆極言時事之未得其正者，上曰：「卿議論峭直。」 尋出手詔：「王藺鯁直敢言，除監察御史。」 一日，上袖出幅紙賜之，曰：「比覽陸贄《奏議》，所陳深切，今日之政恐有如德宗之弊者，可思朕之闕失，條陳來上。」 藺即對曰：「德宗之失，在於自用遂非，疑天下士。」 退即上疏，陳德宗之弊，並及時政闕失，上嘉納之。
He was transferred to compiler at the Bureau of Military Affairs; in rotation audience he presented five matters — before he had finished reading, pleasure showed in the emperor's face. The next day he told the chief ministers, "Wang Lin dares to speak — he should be rewarded and promoted." He was appointed vice director of the Imperial Clan Court; soon after he went out as prefect of Shuzhou. At audience on taking leave he submitted several memorials, all speaking urgently of where current affairs had not yet been set right; the emperor said, "Your discourse is steep and straight." Soon an edict in the emperor's hand appeared: "Wang Lin is blunt and dares to speak — appointed investigating censor." One day the emperor took a sheet of paper from his sleeve and gave it to him, saying, "Recently reading Lu Zhi's Memorials — what he set forth is profound; today's government may harbor evils like those of Dezong — reflect on my shortcomings and submit them item by item." Lin answered at once, "Dezong's fault lay in trusting only himself, persisting in error, and suspecting the empire's scholars." On withdrawing he immediately submitted a memorial setting forth Dezong's faults and also the gaps in current policy; the emperor praised and accepted it.
14
遷起居舍人，言：「朝廷除授失當，臺諫不悉舉職，給、舍始廢繳駁，內官、醫官、藥官賜予之多，遷轉之易，可不思警懼而正之乎？」 上竦然曰：「非卿言，朕皆不聞。 磊磊落落，惟卿一人。」 除禮部侍郎兼吏部。 嘗因手詔「謀選監司，欲得剛正如卿者，可舉數人。」 即奏舉潘時、鄭矯、林大中等八人，乞擢用。 會以母憂去。 服除，召還為禮部尚書，進參知政事。
He was made recorder of the emperor and said, "Court appointments are often improper, the censorate and remonstrance bureau do not fully perform their duties, the drafting and recording offices have only now ceased rejecting documents in yellow — the lavish grants to inner eunuchs, medical officers, and pharmacy officers, the ease of their promotions — should we not think to be vigilant and set this right?" The emperor started and said, "But for your words I would have heard none of this. You stand alone — forthright and unencumbered." He was appointed vice minister of Rites with concurrent charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Once, by edict in the emperor's hand: "We plan to select circuit intendants and wish to have men as firm and upright as you — you may recommend several." He at once memorialized recommending eight men including Pan Shi, Zheng Jiao, and Lin Dazhong, and begged that they be promoted and employed. He left office to mourn his mother. When mourning ended he was summoned back as minister of Rites and advanced to Vice Grand Councillor.
15
光宗即位，遷知樞密院事兼參政，拜樞密使。 光宗精厲初政，藺亦不存形跡，除目或自中出，未愜人心者，輒留之，納諸御坐。 或議建皇后家廟，力爭以為不可，因應詔上疏「願陛下先定聖志」，條列八事，疏入，不報。 中丞何澹論之，以罷去。 起帥閫，易鎮蜀，皆不就。 後領祠，帥江陵。 寧宗即位，改帥湖南。 臺臣論罷，歸里奉祠。 七年薨。
When Guangzong ascended the throne he was transferred to director of the Bureau of Military Affairs with concurrent Vice Grand Councillor rank and appointed Military Affairs Commissioner. Guangzong was energetic in his early reign; Lin likewise kept no regard for appearances — when appointment documents sometimes came from the inner palace that did not satisfy popular sentiment, he would hold them back and place them before the imperial seat. When some proposed building the empress's family temple, he argued forcefully that it should not be done, and in response to an imperial edict submitted a memorial, "I beg Your Majesty first to fix your sagely resolve," listing eight items; the memorial was submitted but received no reply. Vice censor-in-chief He Dan impeached him, and he was dismissed from office. He was summoned to command the armies and transferred to command Shu — he accepted neither appointment. Later he held a temple sinecure and commanded Jiangling. When Ningzong ascended the throne he was reassigned to command Hunan. Censorial officials impeached him and he was dismissed; he returned home to a temple sinecure. He died in the seventh year.
16
藺盡言無隱，然嫉惡太甚，同列多忌之，竟以不合去。 有《奏議》傳於世。
Lin spoke without concealment, but his hatred of evil was too severe; colleagues mostly resented him, and in the end he left because he did not fit in. His Memorials circulate in the world.
17
黃祖舜
Huang Zushun
18
黃祖舜，福州福清人。 登進士第，累任至軍器監丞。 入對，言：「縣令付銓曹，專用資格，曷若委郡守，汰其尤無良者。」 上然之。
Huang Zushun was a native of Fuqing in Fuzhou. He passed the jinshi examination and rose through posts to vice director of the Armaments Directorate. In audience he said, "County magistrates are entrusted to the personnel office and appointed solely by seniority — how much better to entrust them to prefects and eliminate the worst among them." The emperor approved.
19
權守尚書屯田員外郎，徙吏部員外郎，出通判泉州。 將行，言：「抱道懷德之士，不應試干祿，老于韋布。 乞自科舉外，有學行修明、孝友純篤者，縣薦之州，州延之庠序，以表率多士； 其卓行尤異者，州以名聞，是亦鄉舉里選之意。」 下其奏禮部，遂留為倉部郎中，遷右司郎中、權刑部侍郎兼詳定敕令司兼侍講。 進《論語講義》，上命金安節校勘，安節言其書詞義明粹，乃令國子監板行。 薦李寶勇足以冠軍，智足以料敵，詔以寶為帶御器械。
Acting as secretary in the Ministry of Revenue's cultivation fields, he was transferred to assistant minister of Personnel and went out as vice prefect of Quanzhou. About to depart, he said, "Men who embrace the Way and cherish virtue should not seek office through examination; they grow old in common cloth. I beg that outside the examination system, for those of cultivated learning and upright conduct, pure in filial piety and friendship, counties recommend them to prefectures and prefectures invite them to school halls as models for the many scholars; and for those of outstanding conduct especially, prefectures report their names — this too is the intent of village recommendation and district selection." His memorial went down to the Ministry of Rites; he was kept as director in the granaries bureau, promoted to director in the right bureau, acting vice minister of Justice concurrently detailing statutes and concurrent lecturer. He presented Exegesis of the Analects; the emperor ordered Jin Anjie to collate it; Anjie said its language and meaning were clear and pure, and it was ordered printed by the Directorate of Education. He recommended Li Bao as brave enough to lead armies and wise enough to gauge the enemy; an edict appointed Bao keeper of imperial arms.
20
遷同知樞密院事。 金主亮犯淮，劉汜敗，王權走，上將誅權以厲其餘，祖舜言：「權罪當誅，汜不容貸。 劉錡有大功，聞其病已殆，權、汜誅，錡必媿忿以死，是國家一敗兵而殺三將，得無快於敵乎？」 上嘉納。 薨于官，諡「莊定」。
He was promoted to vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs. When the Jin ruler Hailing invaded Huai, Liu Bi was defeated and Wang Quan fled; the emperor was about to execute Quan to warn the rest; Zushun said, "Quan's crime deserves death and Bi cannot be spared. Liu Qi has great merit; hearing he is gravely ill, if Quan and Bi are executed Qi will surely die of shame and anger — would not the state, having lost one battle, kill three generals and please the enemy?" The emperor praised and accepted. He died in office; posthumous title Zhuangding.
21
王大寶
Wang Dabao
22
王大寶，字元龜，其先繇溫陵徙潮州。 政和間，貢辟雍。 建炎初，廷試第二，授南雄州教授。 以祿不逮養，移病而歸。 閱數年，差監登聞鼓院、主管台州崇道觀，復累年。
Wang Dabao, courtesy name Yuangui, his ancestors moved from Wenling to Chaozhou. During the Zhenghe era he entered the Directorate of Education by tribute. At the start of Jianyan he placed second in the palace examination and was appointed professor of Nanxiong prefecture. Because his salary could not support his parents, he requested leave on grounds of illness and returned home. After several years he was assigned to supervise the Court of Memorials drum office and oversee the Chongdao Abbey in Taizhou; again after several years.
23
趙鼎謫潮，大寶日從講《論語》，鼎歎曰：「吾居此，平時所薦無一至者，君獨肯從吾遊，過人遠矣。」 知連州。 張浚亦謫居，命其子栻與講學。 時趙、張客貶斥無虛日，人為累息，大寶獨泰然。 浚奉不時得，大寶以經制錢給之，浚曰：「如累君何？」 大寶不為變。
Zhao Ding was banished to Chao; Dabao daily followed him in studying the Analects; Ding sighed, "In my time here none I usually recommended ever comes — only you willingly study with me; you surpass others by far." He became prefect of Lianzhou. Zhang Jun was also banished there; he ordered his son Shi to study with him. At the time Zhao and Zhang's guests were banished without respite; others held their breath in fear — Dabao alone was calm. Jun did not always receive his stipend; Dabao gave him funds from the fiscal circuit; Jun said, "Would this not implicate you?" Dabao was unchanged.
24
代還，言連、英、循、惠、新、恩六州，居民才數百，非懋遷之地，月輸免行錢宜蠲減。 高宗謂大臣曰：「守臣上殿，令陳民事，遂得知田里疾苦，所陳五六，得一可行，其利亦不細矣。」 乃命廣西諸司具減數聞。
On returning from substitute service he said the six prefectures Lian, Ying, Xun, Hui, Xin, and En had only hundreds of residents and were not centers of commerce — the monthly exemption transit fees should be reduced. Gaozong told the ministers, "When frontier officials attend court, let them report civilian affairs — then we learn the hardships of fields and hamlets; of five or six matters raised, if one can be enacted, the benefit is not slight." He then ordered the Guangxi offices to report the reduced amounts.
25
知袁州，進《詩》、《書》、《易解》，上謂執政曰：「大寶留意經術，其書甚可采，可與內除。」 執政擬國子司業，上喜曰：「適合朕意。」 時經筵闕官，遂除國子司業兼崇政殿說書。 奏：「江南諸州有月樁錢，無定名數，吏緣為姦，刻剝民。 又有折帛錢，方南渡兵興，物價翔貴，令下戶折納，務以優之，今市帛匹四千，而令輸六千。 盍委監司覈月樁為定制，減折帛惠小民。」 詔戶部詳其奏。
As prefect of Yuanzhou he presented Explanations of the Odes, Documents, and Changes; the emperor told the chief councillors, "Dabao attends to classical learning; his books are quite adoptable — he may be promoted within." The chief councillors proposed director of studies at the Directorate; the emperor was pleased, "It suits my intent exactly." As the classics lecture post was vacant, he was appointed director of studies concurrently lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall. He memorialized, "Jiangnan prefectures have monthly plank money with no fixed name or amount; clerks use it for fraud and exploit the people. There is also silk conversion money; when the court crossed south and war rose, prices soared — lower households were ordered to convert payment, intending to favor them; now silk sells at four thousand per bolt but they must pay six thousand. Why not commission supervisory officials to verify monthly plank as a fixed regulation and reduce silk conversion to benefit commoners?" An edict ordered the Ministry of Revenue to review his memorial.
26
直敷文閣、知溫州、提點福建刑獄。 道臨漳，有峻嶺曰蔡岡，藂薄蔽翳，山石犖确，盜乘間剽劫。 大寶以囊金三十萬，募民抉藪甃道十餘里，行者便之。 提點廣東刑獄。
Direct attendant of the Filled Writings Hall, prefect of Wenzhou, judicial intendant of Fujian. Passing Linzhang, there was a steep ridge called Cai Ridge, thickets blocking sight, rocks rugged — bandits seized intervals to rob. Dabao used thirty thousand strings from his purse to hire people to cut thickets and pave the road for more than ten li — travelers found it convenient. Judicial intendant of Guangdong.
27
孝宗即位，除禮部侍郎。 大寶言：「古致治之君，先明國是，而行之以果斷。 自軍興以來，曰征曰和，浮議靡定。 太上傳丕基於陛下，四方日徯恢復，國論未定，眾志未孚。 願陛下果斷，則無不濟。」 擢右諫議大夫，首論朱倬、沈該之罪，皆行其言。 汪澈督師荊、襄，大寶劾其不能節制，坐視方城之敗，疏再上，澈落職謫台州。 大寶嘗論及移蹕，上曰：「吾欲亟行。」 大寶奏：「今日之勢殆未可，願少寬歲月。」
When Xiaozong ascended the throne he was appointed vice minister of Rites. Dabao said, "Ancient rulers who brought order first clarified the national policy and pursued it with resolution. Since war began, some say campaign, some say peace — floating debate never settles. The Retired Emperor passed the great foundation to Your Majesty; the four quarters daily await recovery; national debate is unsettled, the multitude's will not won. I beg Your Majesty be resolute — then nothing will fail." He was promoted to right remonstrance doctor; first he impeached Zhu Chun and Shen Gai — in each case his words were followed. Wang Che supervised armies in Jing and Xiang; Dabao impeached him for lacking control, sitting by while Fangcheng fell; the memorial was submitted twice — Che was removed and banished to Taizhou. Dabao once discussed moving the capital; the emperor said, "I wish to go quickly." Dabao memorialized, "Today's situation is perhaps not yet ready — I beg a few months' delay."
28
張浚復起為都督，大寶力贊其議，符離失律，群言洶洶。 大寶言：「危疑之際，非果斷持重，何以息橫議。」 未幾，湯思退議罷督府，力請講和，大寶奏謂：「今國事莫大于恢復，莫仇于金敵，莫難於攻守，莫審於用人。 宰相以財計乏，軍儲虛，符離師潰，名額不除，意在覈軍籍，減月給。 臣恐不惟邊鄙之憂，而患起蕭牆矣。」 章三上，除兵部侍郎。
Zhang Jun was again raised as supreme commander; Dabao strongly supported his plan; at Fuli discipline broke and talk swirled. Dabao said, "In a time of peril and doubt, without resolute steadiness how can rampant talk be stilled?" Not long after, Tang Situi proposed abolishing the command headquarters and strongly sought peace; Dabao memorialized, "Of state affairs none is greater than recovery, none more hated than the Jin foe, none harder than attack and defense, none more critical than employing men. The chief councillor, citing exhausted finances and empty granaries, Fuli's rout, and uncleared roster names, intends to audit army registers and cut monthly pay. I fear not only frontier worry but trouble arising within the palace walls." The memorial was submitted three times; he was appointed vice minister of War.
29
胡銓為起居郎，奏曰：「近日王十朋、王大寶相繼引去，非國之福。」 上曰：「十朋力自引去，朕留之不能得。 大寶論湯思退太早，令為兵部侍郎，豈容復聽其去。」 未幾，以敷文閣直學士提舉太平興國宮。 他日，銓奏事，上復諭之曰：「大寶留之經筵，亦固求去，勢不兩立。」 銓奏：「自古臺諫論宰相多矣，若謂勢不兩立，則論宰相者皆當去。」 大寶尋請致仕。 督府既罷，撤邊防，棄四州，金復犯邊，詔思退都督軍馬，辭不行。 上震怒，竄思退，中外以大寶前言不用為恨。
Hu Quan as recorder of the emperor memorialized, "Recently Wang Shipeng and Wang Dabao left in succession — this is not the state's blessing." The emperor said, "Shipeng strongly removed himself; I kept him but could not. Dabao criticized Tang Situi too early; now made vice minister of War — how can we again let him leave?" Not long after, he was appointed academician of the Filled Writings Hall to oversee Taiping Xingguo Palace. Another day Quan reported affairs; the emperor again told him, "Keeping Dabao at the classics lecture — he too firmly sought to leave; the two could not stand together." Quan memorialized, "From antiquity remonstrance officials criticized chief councillors often — if incompatible then critics should all leave." Dabao soon requested retirement. After the command headquarters was abolished, border defense was withdrawn and four prefectures abandoned — the Jin again raided; an edict made Situi commander of armies — he declined. The emperor was shaken with rage and banished Situi; court and country regretted that Dabao's earlier words were not heeded.
30
乾道元年，落致仕，召為禮部尚書。 入對，言理財之道，當務本抑末。 右正言程叔達奏大寶乞復免行錢非是，以舊職提舉太平興國宮。 中書舍人閻安中欲留其行，叔達並劾之。 詔大寶致仕。 尋卒，年七十七。
First year of Qiandao — retirement revoked, summoned as minister of Rites. In audience he spoke on fiscal management — should promote the root and restrain the branch. Right remonstrance Cheng Shuda memorialized that Dabao's request to restore exemption transit fees was wrong — restored to old post overseeing Taiping Xingguo Palace. Drafting companion Yan Anzhong wished to keep him from going — Shuda impeached both. An edict ordered Dabao to retire. Soon he died, age seventy-seven.
31
金安節
Jin Anjie
32
金安節，字彥亨，歙州休寧人。 資穎悟，日記千言，博洽經史，尤精于《易》。 宣和六年，由太學擢進士第，調洪州新建縣主簿。 紹興初，范宗尹引為刪定官。 入對，言：「司馬光以財用乏，請用宰相領總計使，宜以為法。」
Jin Anjie, courtesy name Yanheng, was a native of Xiuning in She prefecture. Naturally clever — he memorized a thousand words daily, was broadly versed in classics and histories, and especially skilled in the Changes. Sixth year of Xuanhe — selected in the jinshi from the Directorate, appointed recorder of Xinjian county in Hong prefecture. Early Shaoxing — Fan Zongyin brought him in as revision officer. In audience he said, "Sima Guang, finding finances exhausted, asked that the chief councillor head the fiscal commissioner — this should be the model."
33
除司農丞，又遷殿中侍御史。 韓世忠子彥直直秘閣，安節言：「崇、觀以來，因父兄秉政而得貼職近制，皆在討論。 今彥直復因父任而授，是自廢法也。」 不報。 任申先除待制致仕，安節劾其忿戾，乞追奪。 秦檜兄梓知台州，安節劾其附麗梁師成，梓遂罷，檜銜之。 未幾，丁母憂去，遂不出。
Appointed vice director of the granaries bureau, then moved to attendant censor. Han Shizhong's son Yanzhi was given direct appointment to the Secretariat — Anjie said, "Since Chongning and Daguan, those who got near posts through fathers and brothers in power are all under discussion. Now Yanzhi again receives appointment through his father — this is self-abolishing the law." No reply. Ren Shenxian was granted ceremonial retirement — Anjie impeached his harsh temper and begged reversal. Qin Hui's brother Zi was prefect of Taizhou — Anjie impeached him for clinging to Liang Shicheng; Zi was dismissed and Hui bore a grudge. Not long after he left on mourning for his mother and did not return to office.
34
檜死，起知嚴州，除浙西提刑。 入為大理卿，首言：「治民之道，先德後刑，今守令慮不及遠，簿書期會，賦稅輸納，窮日力辦之，而無卓然以教化為務者。 願申飭守令，俾無專事法律，苟可以贊教化，必力行之。」 時獲偽造鹽引者，大臣欲置之死，安節力爭，以為事已十餘年，且自首無死法，因得減等。 兩浙漕屬王悅道鞫仁和令楊績獄不實，事下大理，安節並逮悅道。 悅道，幸醫王繼先子也，屢因人求免，安節不從。
After Hui died he was raised as prefect of Yanzhou and appointed judicial intendant of western Zhejiang. He entered as chief of the Court of Judicial Review; first said, "The way to govern the people puts virtue before punishment — now magistrates fear not thinking far; documents and deadlines, tax delivery — they exhaust the day on these without standing out to make transformation their task. I beg to admonish magistrates not to specialize in law alone — if anything can aid transformation they must strive to do it." When counterfeit salt tallies were captured, ministers wished death — Anjie argued forcefully: the matter was over ten years old and self-surrender carried no death penalty — the sentence was reduced. Wang Yuedao of the two Zhe transport bureau tried the case of Yang Ji, magistrate of Renhe, as untrue — the matter went to the Court of Review; Anjie also arrested Yuedao. Yuedao was the son of the imperial favorite Wang Jixian, the court physician; he repeatedly had others intercede for his release, but Anjie refused.
35
遷宗正少卿。 為金使施宜生賀正，安節館伴。 屬顯仁皇后喪，服黑帶，宜生曰：「使人以賀禮來，迓使安得服黑帶？」 安節辭難再四，宜生屈服。 遷禮部侍郎。 明年，再充送伴使。 至楚州，副使耶律翼奪巡檢王松馬不得，鞭笞之。 安節遣人責翼，詞色俱厲，朝廷恐生事，坐削兩秩。 葉義問使金，金主因言：「前日奪馬事，曲在翼，已笞二百，回日可詳奏。」 乃復元官。
He was promoted to vice director of the Imperial Clan Court. When the Jin envoy Shi Yisheng arrived to offer New Year's greetings, Anjie served as his host commissioner. It coincided with mourning for Empress Xianren, so he wore a black mourning belt. Yisheng said, "Your envoy has come with congratulatory rites — how can the commissioner who receives him wear a black belt?" Anjie raised objections again and again until Yisheng backed down. He was promoted to vice minister of Rites. The following year he again served as escort commissioner. At Chuzhou the deputy envoy Yelü Yi tried to seize patrol officer Wang Song's horse and, failing, had him flogged. Anjie sent a man to rebuke Yi in words and tone both stern; the court, fearing an incident, punished him by stripping two ranks. When Ye Yiwen went as envoy to Jin, the Jin ruler remarked, "In the recent horse incident the wrong lay with Yi; he has already been flogged two hundred times. When you return, you may report this in full." His former rank was then restored.
36
遷禮部侍郎。 將祠明堂，時已聞欽宗升遐，安節言：「宮廟行禮，皆當以大臣攝事。」 從之。 遷侍講、給事中。 殿院杜莘老論張去為補外，安節言：「不可因內侍而去言官。」 上遂留莘老。
He was again promoted to vice minister of Rites. As preparations were made to sacrifice at the Bright Hall, news had already arrived that Emperor Qinzong had died. Anjie said, "Rites at the palace and ancestral temples should all be performed by senior ministers acting in the emperor's stead." The emperor accepted his advice. He was promoted to court lecturer and supervising secretary. Censor Du Xinlao argued that Zhang Quwei should be posted outside the capital; Anjie said, "A remonstrating official must not be removed because of pressure from inner attendants." The emperor then kept Xinlao at his post.
37
金主亮犯淮，從幸建康。 亮死，安節陳進取、招納、備守三策，而以備守為進取、招納之本。 上將還臨安，命楊存中宣撫江、淮、荊、襄，安節言：「存中頃以權太盛，人言籍籍，方解軍政，復授茲職，非所以全之。」 又言：「方今正當大明賞罰，乃首用劉寶、王權刻剝庸懦之人，何以激勸將士。」 上皆納之。
When the Jin ruler Wanyan Liang invaded the Huai region, Anjie accompanied the emperor to Jiankang. After Liang's death, Anjie presented three strategies — offensive action, recruitment, and defense — arguing that defense was the foundation of both advance and recruitment. As the emperor prepared to return to Lin'an, he appointed Yang Cunzhong pacification commissioner for the Jiang, Huai, Jing, and Xiang regions. Anjie said, "Cunzhong's power had grown too great and public talk was widespread; he had only just been relieved of military command — to give him this office again is no way to protect him." He added, "This is precisely the moment to make rewards and punishments unmistakably clear, yet you begin by employing Liu Bao and Wang Quan — men who prey on the timid and incompetent. How will that stir and encourage the troops?" The emperor accepted all his recommendations.
38
楊存中議省江、淮州縣，安節言：「廬之合肥，和之濡須，皆昔人控扼孔道。 魏明帝云：『先帝東置合肥，南守襄陽，西固祁山，賊來輒破於三城之下』。 孫權築濡須塢，魏軍累攻不克，守將如甘寧等，常以寡制眾。 蓋形勢之地，攻守百倍，豈有昔人得之成功，今日有之而反棄之耶？ 且濡須、巢湖之水，上接店步，下接江口，可通漕舟，乞擇將經理。」 存中議遂格。
Yang Cunzhong proposed abolishing prefectures and counties along the Jiang and Huai. Anjie said, "Hefei in Lu and Ruxu in He were both strategic choke points in earlier ages. Emperor Ming of Wei said, 'My predecessor placed Hefei in the east, held Xiangyang in the south, and fortified Qishan in the west — whenever the enemy came, they were broken beneath these three strongholds.' Sun Quan built the Ruxu fort, and Wei armies attacked it again and again without success; defenders such as Gan Ning often used small forces to defeat large ones. Such ground gives a hundredfold advantage in attack and defense — can our forebears have succeeded by holding these places while we, possessing them today, throw them away? Moreover, the waters of Ruxu and Chaohu link upstream with Dianbu and downstream with the river mouth, allowing grain barges to pass through. I ask that capable generals be chosen to administer them." Cunzhong's proposal was dropped.
39
孝宗嗣位，給廷臣筆劄陳當世事，安節請：「嚴內降之科，凡內侍省、御藥院、內東門司冗費，一切罷去。 堂除省歸吏部，長官聽辟僚屬，以清中書之務。 文武蔭補，各有定制，毋令易文資。 臣僚致仕遺表恩澤，不宜奏異姓，使得高貲為市。」 上嘗對大臣稱其誠實。 一日，因奏事面勞之曰：「近不見繳駁，有所見，但繳駁，朕無不聽。」
When Xiaozong ascended the throne, the court supplied ministers with writing materials to set out current affairs. Anjie requested, "Strictly enforce the prohibition on inner edicts, and abolish all redundant expenses of the Inner Attendant Service, the Imperial Pharmacy, and the Inner Eastern Gate Office. Direct appointments from the chief councillors' office should be returned to the Ministry of Personnel, and senior officials should be allowed to recruit their own staff, so as to lighten the Secretariat's burden. Hereditary appointments for civil and military families each have fixed regulations; do not allow military families to exchange their privilege for civil rank. Favors granted through posthumous memorials by retired officials should not be extended to unrelated persons, lest they become commodities sold at high price." The emperor once praised his honesty before the assembled ministers. One day, while Anjie was reporting on affairs, the emperor personally commended him: "I have not lately seen you submit protest memorials. Whatever you observe, simply protest — I will hear you out on every point."
40
拜兵部侍郎。 金將僕散忠義遺三省、樞密院書，論和議，乃畫定四事，詔群臣議。 安節謂：「世稱侄國，國號不加「大」字及用「再拜」二字，皆不可從。 海、泗、唐、鄧為淮、襄屏蔽，不可與。 必不得已，寧少增歲幣。 欽宗梓宮當迎奉。 陵寢地必不肯歸我，宜每因遣使恭謁。 但講好之後，當益選將厲兵，以為後圖。」 已而請祠，得請。 中書舍人胡銓繳奏，謂：「安節太上之舊人，而陛下之老成也。 漢張蒼、唐張柬之、國朝富弼、文彥博皆年八旬尚不聽其去，安節膂力未愆，有憂國心，豈宜從其引去。」 上遂留之。
He was appointed vice minister of War. The Jin general Pushe Zhongyi sent a letter to the Three Departments and the Bureau of Military Affairs proposing peace talks. Four points were outlined, and the emperor ordered the ministers to deliberate. Anjie argued, "Addressing us as a nephew state, omitting 'Great' from our dynastic title, and requiring the phrase 'twice bow' — none of these can be accepted. Haizhou, Sizhou, Tangzhou, and Dengzhou shield the Huai and Xiang frontiers and must not be surrendered. If there is no alternative, it would be better to increase the annual tribute slightly. Emperor Qinzong's coffin should be brought back and properly enshrined. The imperial tomb grounds will surely not be returned to us; we should therefore send envoys on each occasion to pay reverent visits there. But once peace is secured, we should redouble our efforts to select able generals and train the army, keeping the long term in view." He soon requested a sinecure post and was granted one. Secretariat drafter Hu Quan submitted a protest memorial, saying, "Anjie is a veteran of the Retired Emperor's court and a seasoned counselor for Your Majesty. Zhang Cang of Han, Zhang Jianzhi of Tang, and in our own dynasty Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo — all at eighty were still not permitted to retire. Anjie's vigor has not yet declined, and his concern for the state remains strong. How can we grant his request to withdraw?" The emperor then kept him in office.
41
逾年，權吏部尚書兼侍讀。 自是力請謝事，詔以敷文閣學士致仕。 陛辭，上曰：「卿且暫歸，旦夕召卿矣。」 去之日，縉紳相與歎羨，以為中興以來全名高節，鮮有其比。 乾道六年卒，年七十七。 遺表聞，贈通奉大夫，累贈開府儀同三司、少保。
More than a year later he served as acting minister of Personnel and concurrent palace reader. From then on he repeatedly pressed to retire, and an edict granted him retirement as academician of the Fuweng Pavilion. At his farewell audience the emperor said, "Return home for now — I shall summon you again very soon." On the day of his departure, officials and gentry alike sighed in admiration, believing that since the Restoration few men of such unsullied reputation and lofty integrity could be found. He died in the sixth year of Qiandao, at the age of seventy-seven. When his final memorial reached the throne, he was posthumously ennobled as Grandee for Court Discussion, and later cumulatively honored as Grand Preceptor with the ceremonial rank of a grand commandery and as Junior Guardian.
42
安節至孝，居喪有禮。 與兄相友愛，田業悉推與之，又以恩奏其孤子㒜。 初筮仕，未嘗求薦於人，及貴，有舉薦不令人知。 其除司農丞，或語之曰：「公是命，張侍郎致遠為中司時所薦，盍往謝之？」 安節曰：「彼為朝廷薦人，豈私我耶！」 竟不往。 薦晁公武、龔茂良可臺諫，皆稱職，二人弗知也。 與秦檜忤，不出者十八年，及再起，論事終不屈，人以此服之。 有文集三十卷、《奏議表疏》、《周易解》。
Anjie was profoundly filial and observed every proper rite while in mourning. He was devoted to his elder brother, turned over all their land and property to him, and used his privilege to secure an appointment for his orphaned nephew Rui. When he first entered office he never asked anyone for a recommendation; once he rose high, he recommended others without letting them know. When he was appointed vice director of the granaries bureau, someone said to him, "This appointment came because Vice Minister Zhang Zhiyuan recommended you when he was chief censor. Should you not go thank him?" Anjie replied, "He recommended people for the court's sake — how could that have been a personal favor to me!" He never went. He recommended Chao Gongwu and Gong Maoliang for censorial and remonstrance posts; both served capably, and neither ever knew who had recommended him. He had fallen out with Qin Hui and stayed out of office for eighteen years; when he returned to service he never softened his remonstrances, and men respected him for it. He left collected writings in thirty juan, along with Memorials and Petitions and a Commentary on the Changes.
43
王剛中
Wang Gangzhong
44
王剛中，字時亨，饒州樂平人。 剛中博覽強記。 紹興十五年，進士第二人。 任某州推官，改左宣義郎。 故事當召試，秦檜怒其不詣己，授洪州教授。 檜死，召見，擢秘書省校書郎，遷著作佐郎。
Wang Gangzhong, courtesy name Shiheng, was a native of Leping in Raozhou. Gangzhong read broadly and possessed a formidable memory. In the fifteenth year of Shaoxing he placed second in the jinshi examination. He served as judicial assistant in a certain prefecture and was promoted to Left Gentleman for Righteous Undertakings. By precedent he should have been summoned for a palace examination, but Qin Hui, angered that he had not paid court to him, instead appointed him professor in Hongzhou. After Hui's death he was summoned to audience, promoted to collator in the Secretariat, and transferred to assistant compiler.
45
孝宗為普安郡王，剛中兼王府教授，每侍講，極陳古今治亂之故，君子小人忠佞之辨。 遷中書舍人，言：「禦敵今日先務，敵強則犯邊，弱則請盟。 今勿計敵人之強弱，必先自治，擇將帥，搜戰士，實邊儲，備器械，國勢富強，將良士勇，請盟則為漢文帝，犯邊則為唐太宗。」 上韙其言。 會西蜀謀帥，上曰：「無以逾王剛中矣。」 以龍圖閣待制知成都府、制置四川。 御便殿，臨遣錫金帶、象笏。 進敷文閣直學士。
When Xiaozong was Prince of Pu'an, Gangzhong also served as professor in the princely academy. At each lecture he spoke at length on the causes of order and chaos through history and on how to distinguish the noble from the base, the loyal from the sycophantic. He was promoted to Secretariat drafter and said, "Defending against the enemy is the urgent task of the day: when the enemy is strong they raid the frontier; when weak they sue for peace. Do not fixate on whether the enemy is strong or weak. First put our own house in order: choose commanders, recruit soldiers, fill frontier granaries, and ready weapons. If the realm is rich and strong and our officers capable and troops brave, then seeking peace will make us like Emperor Wen of Han, and repelling invasion will make us like Emperor Taizong of Tang." The emperor praised his advice. When the court was choosing a commander for western Shu, the emperor said, "No one surpasses Wang Gangzhong." He was appointed holder of the Dragon Diagram Hall for Drafting, prefect of Chengdu, and commissioner for Sichuan. At the informal palace hall the emperor personally saw him off, bestowing a gold belt and an ivory court tablet. He was promoted to direct academician of the Fuweng Pavilion.
46
時吳璘累官閥至大帥，其下姚仲、王彥等亦建節雄一方。 守帥以文治則玩於柔，而號令不行； 以武競則窒於暴，而下情不通。 惟剛中檢身以法，示人以禮，不立崖塹，馭吏恩威並行，羽檄紛遝，從容裁決，皆中機會。
At that time Wu Lin had risen through successive appointments to supreme commander, while subordinates such as Yao Zhong and Wang Yan also held military commissions and ruled their regions like petty kings. When prefects and commanders relied on civil administration they grew indulgent and weak, and their orders went unheeded; when they competed in martial force they became brutal and oppressive, and grievances from below never reached them. Gangzhong alone disciplined himself by law, treated others with courtesy, erected no barriers between himself and others, and governed his staff with both kindness and severity. Though urgent dispatches piled up, he decided each matter calmly and always to the point.
47
敵騎度大散關，人情洶洶。 剛中跨一馬，夜馳二百里，起吳璘於帳中，責之曰：「大將與國義同休戚，臨敵安得高枕而臥？」 璘大驚。 又以蠟書抵張正彥濟師。 西師大集，金兵敗走。 方議奏捷，剛中倍道馳還，謂其屬李燾曰：「將帥之功，吾何有焉。」 燾唶曰：「身督戰而功成不居，過人遠矣。」 已乃差擇將士，眾所推者上之朝，備統帥選。 又疏蜀名勝士與幕府之賢，備部使者、州刺史之佐。 目使頤指，內外響應。 諸汰遣使臣困絕不能自存，剛中以為冒刃於少壯之年，不可斥棄於既老之後，悉召詣府，有善射者復其祿秩，以禁軍闕額糧給之，其罷癃不堪事，則給以義倉米。
When enemy cavalry crossed Dasan Pass, public alarm spread everywhere. Gangzhong mounted a single horse and rode two hundred li through the night, roused Wu Lin from his tent, and rebuked him: "A great general shares life and death with the state — facing the enemy, how can you sleep at ease?" Lin was deeply shaken. He also sent a wax-sealed letter urging Zhang Zhengyan to march reinforcements. Western forces assembled in strength, and the Jin army was routed. Just as a victory report was being drafted, Gangzhong raced back by forced marches and said to his aide Li Tao, "The credit belongs to the generals — what part is mine?" Tao marveled and said, "To oversee the fighting in person yet refuse the credit — that puts him far above ordinary men." He then selected officers and soldiers, forwarding to court those most praised by the troops as candidates for command. He also submitted a list of distinguished scholars of Shu and able men in his staff as candidates to serve provincial commissioners and prefects. At his glance or gesture, men inside and outside the government responded as one. Many dismissed military envoys were destitute and could not support themselves. Gangzhong held that men who had faced swords in their prime should not be abandoned in old age. He summoned them all to the prefectural seat; skilled archers had their ranks and salaries restored and were paid from vacant imperial-guard grain quotas, while those too infirm to serve were given rice from the relief granaries.
48
成都萬歲池廣袤十里，溉三鄉田，歲久淤澱，剛中集三鄉夫共疏之，累土為防，上植榆柳，表以石柱，州人指曰：「王公之甘棠也。」 府學禮殿，東漢興平中建，後又建新學，遭時多故，日就傾圮，屬九縣繕完，悉復其舊。 葺諸葛武侯祠、張文定公廟，夷黃巢墓，表賢癉惡以示民。 有女巫蓄蛇為妖，殺蛇，黥之。
Chengdu's Wansui Pool stretched ten li in every direction and irrigated the fields of three townships, but years of silt had choked it. Gangzhong mobilized labor from all three townships to dredge it, built earthen dikes, planted elms and willows along them, and set up stone markers. The people of the prefecture pointed to the work and said, "This is Lord Wang's sweet-pear shade." The prefectural school's ritual hall had been built in the Xingping era of Eastern Han; a new academy was later added, but years of turmoil had left both crumbling. He assigned the nine counties to repair them and fully restored their original condition. He restored Zhuge Liang's shrine and Zhang Wending's temple, demolished Huang Chao's tomb, and honored the worthy while exposing the wicked as an example to the people. When a witch kept snakes to work sorcery, he killed the snakes and punished her with facial tattooing.
49
孝宗受禪，以宮僚進左朝奉大夫，召赴闕，以足疾請祠，提舉太平興國宮。 歸次番陽，營圃植竹，號「竹塢」。
When Xiaozong received the abdication, Gangzhong was promoted as a palace official to Left Grandee of Court Audience and summoned to court, but citing foot ailment he requested a sinecure as superintendent of the Taiping Xingguo Palace. On his way home he stopped at Poyang, laid out a garden, planted bamboo, and called the place the Bamboo Retreat.
50
金犯淮，有旨趣剛中入見，陳戰守之策。 除禮部尚書、直學士院兼給事中，為鹵簿使，除端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事，進同知院事。 剛中曰：「戰守者實事，和議者虛名，不可恃虛名害實事。」 又奏四事：開屯田、省浮費、選將帥、汰冗兵。 居政府，屬疾卒，年六十三，贈資政殿大學士、光祿大夫，諡「恭簡」。
When the Jin invaded the Huai region, an edict urgently summoned Gangzhong to court to present strategies for war and defense. He was appointed minister of Rites, Hanlin academician in direct attendance, and concurrent supervising secretary; served as imperial procession commissioner; was then made academician of the Duanming Hall and signing secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and finally promoted to vice director of the Bureau. Gangzhong said, "War and defense are concrete realities; peace talks are empty names — we must not sacrifice real strength for the sake of a hollow reputation for peace." He also submitted four proposals: establish frontier garrison farms, cut wasteful spending, appoint capable commanders, and trim the bloated army. While serving in the central government he fell gravely ill and died at sixty-three. The court posthumously made him Grand Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance and Grandee of Splendid Happiness, with the epithet Respectful and Simple.
51
建炎間，詔階、成、岷、鳳四州刺壯丁為兵，眾以為憂。 剛中建言五害罷之，免符下，民歡呼，聲震山谷。 比去，蜀父老遮道，有追送數百里者。 繇布衣至公卿，無他嗜好，公退惟讀書著文為樂。 有《易說》、《春秋通義》、《仙源聖紀》、《經史辨》、《漢唐史要覽》、《天人修應錄》、《東溪集》、《應齋筆錄》，凡百餘卷。
During the Jianyan period, an edict ordered the conscription of able-bodied young men in the four western prefectures of Jie, Cheng, Min, and Feng. The populace viewed it with alarm. Gangzhong memorialized on five harmful consequences and secured its repeal. When the exemption order arrived, people cheered so loudly that the valleys echoed. When he departed, elders of Shu blocked the road to see him off; some escorted him for hundreds of li. Rising from commoner to minister, he cultivated no other pleasures; after hours he read and wrote for delight alone. His writings included Commentaries on the Changes, Comprehensive Meaning of the Spring and Autumn, Records of the Immortal Source, Discriminations between Classics and Histories, Essential Survey of Han and Tang History, Records of Heavenly-Human Correspondence, Collection of Eastern Stream, and Brush Notes of the Responding Study—more than a hundred scrolls in all.
52
李彥穎
Li Yanying
53
李彥穎，字秀叔，湖州德清人。 少端重，強記覽。 金犯浙西，父挾家人逃避，彥穎方十歲，追不及，敵已迫其後，能趨支徑，亂流獲濟。
Li Yanying, courtesy name Xiushu, was from Deqing in Huzhou. As a youth he was grave and steady, with a prodigious memory. When the Jin invaded western Zhejiang, his father fled with the family. Yanying, only ten, could not keep pace; with enemy troops close behind, he took side paths and forded rushing streams to escape.
54
紹興十八年，擢進士第，主餘杭簿。 守曹泳豪敚酒家業為官監，利其貲具，彥穎爭之。 泳怒，戒吏煆煉，不得毫髮罪。 調建德丞，改秩。 時宰知其才，將處之學官，或勸使一見，彥穎恥自獻。 調富陽丞。 御史周操薦為御史臺主簿。
In Shaoxing 18 (1148) he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed registrar of Yuhang. Prefect Cao Yong forcibly seized a family wine business for state monopoly, coveting its assets and equipment; Yanying challenged the seizure. Yong was furious and ordered his clerks to manufacture charges through torture, but they could not find the slightest fault. He was transferred to assistant magistrate of Jiande and promoted in rank. The chief minister recognized his talent and planned to appoint him to an academic post; friends urged him to pay a courtesy visit to the minister, but Yanying was too proud to court favor. He was transferred to assistant magistrate of Fuyang. Censor Zhou Cao recommended him for appointment as chief clerk of the Censorate.
55
金敗盟，張浚督師進討。 上方向浚，執政堅主和，陳良翰、周操不以為然。 右正言尹穡陰符執政，薦引同己者，轉言和於上前。 上惑之，罷督府，良翰、操相繼黜，而穡進殿中，遷諫議大夫。 一日，穡以和、戰、守叩彥穎，彥穎曰：「人所見固不同。 公既以和議為是，曷不明陳於上前，以身任之，事成功歸於公，不成奉身而退。 若欲享其利而不及其害，國事將誰倚？」 穡大怒曰：「自為諫官，前後百餘奏，曷嘗及一『和』字，而臺簿有是言！」 自是銜彥穎，陰排之。
When the Jin broke the peace treaty, Zhang Jun took command of an offensive. The emperor favored Jun, but the chief ministers staunchly advocated peace. Chen Lianghan and Zhou Cao disagreed. Right Remonstrance Director Yin Ji secretly allied with the chief ministers, promoting like-minded men and repeatedly advocating peace before the emperor. The emperor was swayed. The supervisory headquarters was abolished; Lianghan and Cao were dismissed in succession, while Ji gained access to the inner palace and was promoted to Remonstrance and Policy Advisor. One day Ji asked Yanying his views on peace, war, and defense. Yanying replied, "Men see these matters differently. If you believe peace is right, state it plainly before the emperor and stake your career on it. If it succeeds, the credit is yours; if it fails, resign and withdraw. If you wish to reap its rewards without accepting its risks, upon whom will the government depend?" Ji flew into a rage. "Since I became a remonstrance official, I have submitted more than a hundred memorials—not one mentioning peace—and now this Censorate clerk dares say such things!" From that point he nursed a grievance against Yanying and worked behind the scenes to drive him out.
56
改國子博士，權吏部郎中，以父喪去。 免喪，復為吏部兼皇子恭王府直講，權右史兼兵部侍郎。 經筵，張栻講《葛覃》，言先王正家之道，因及時事，語激切，上意不懌。 彥穎曰：「人臣事君，豈不能阿諛取容？ 栻所以敢直言，正為聖明在上，得盡愛君之誠耳。 《書》曰：『有言逆於汝心，必求諸道。』」 上意遽解，曰：「使臣下皆若此，人主應無過。」
He was made Erudite of the National University and acting Director of Personnel in the Ministry of Personnel, then left office to mourn his father. After the mourning period he returned to the Ministry of Personnel, also serving as lecturer in the household of Prince Gong of Wei, acting Right Historiographer, and Vice Minister of War. At the imperial lecture, Zhang Shi expounded the "Ge Tan" ode on the ancient kings' regulation of the household and turned to current affairs in blunt, forceful language. The emperor was displeased. Yanying said, "A minister serves his sovereign—could he not simply flatter and ingratiate himself? Shi dares speak plainly because Your Majesty is enlightened enough to welcome sincere devotion from his officials. The Book of Documents says, "When counsel runs counter to your inclination, examine whether it accords with the Way." The emperor's annoyance vanished at once. "If all my ministers were like this," he said, "I would seldom err."
57
立皇太子，兼左諭德。 首論建置宮僚，以為詹事於東宮內外無所不當省，事須白詹事而後行。 司馬光論皇太子講讀官有奏疏，錄以進。 上大喜，行之。 皇太子尹臨安，兼判官兼中書舍人。 張說再登樞筦，彥穎論：「說無寸長，去年驟躋宥府，物議沸騰。 今此命復出，中外駭然。 臣恐六軍解體，人心不服。」 未幾，權禮部侍郎兼侍講，因言：「士習委靡，不然則矯激，宜擇篤實鯁亮者用之。」 升詹事，見上，言：「皇太子尹臨安已久，雖欲更嘗民事，然非便，宜一意講學。」 他日以言於上者告太子，趣草奏辭尹事，三辭乃免。
When the crown prince was designated, Yanying was also appointed Left Tutor. He first addressed the organization of the crown prince's staff, arguing that the Grand Tutor should supervise all affairs within and beyond the Eastern Palace, with nothing undertaken until reported to him. He transcribed and submitted Sima Guang's memorial on the crown prince's tutors and readers. The emperor was delighted and adopted the proposal. When the crown prince was put in charge of Lin'an, Yanying also served as his administrative judge and Drafting Attendant of the Secretariat. When Zhang Yue was again appointed to the Military Affairs Commission, Yanying protested: "Yue possesses not a shred of talent. Last year he was suddenly elevated to the highest council of state, and public opinion was outraged. Now this appointment has been issued again, and shock runs through court and country alike. I fear the Six Armies will lose cohesion and the people will refuse to accept it." Soon afterward, as acting Vice Minister of Rites and imperial lecturer, he said, "Scholarly culture has grown either lax or shrilly extreme. We should appoint men of solid character and uncompromising integrity." On promotion to Grand Tutor, he told the emperor, "The crown prince has governed Lin'an long enough. Though one might wish him more practical experience, this is not the right course; he should concentrate on his studies." Later he told the crown prince what he had said to the emperor and urged him to draft a memorial resigning the governorship. After three petitions the appointment was withdrawn.
58
兼吏部侍郎，權尚書兼侍讀。 月食淫雨，言：「甲申歲以淫雨求言，今十年矣，中間非無水旱，而不聞求言之詔，豈以言多沽激，厭之耶？ 比欺蔽成風，侍從、臺諫猶慎嘿，況其他乎？ 陰沴之興，未必不由此。」 時廷臣多以中批斥去，彥穎又言：「臣下有過，宜顯逐之，使中外知獲罪之由以為戒。 今譖毀潛行，斥命中出，在廷莫測其故，將恐陰邪得伸，善類喪氣，非盛世事也。」 除吏部尚書。 接送金賀正使，言兩淮兵備城築及裁減接送浮費甚悉，上嘉納焉。
He served concurrently as Vice Minister of Personnel, acting Minister of Personnel, and imperial reader. During a lunar eclipse amid torrential rains, he said, "In the jiashen year the court solicited remonstrance because of flooding. Ten years have passed; floods and droughts have struck again, yet no such edict has been issued. Have you grown weary because so many memorials were merely inflammatory? Deception and cover-up have become habitual; even attendants and censors keep silent—what of lesser officials? Such celestial portents may well arise from this." Many court officials had been dismissed by secret palace edict; Yanying added, "When a minister errs, dismiss him openly so that the cause of his disgrace may serve as a warning throughout the realm. Now slander circulates in secret and dismissals arrive by palace edict. No one at court knows why. I fear the wicked will prevail and good men lose heart—this is unworthy of an age of flourishing governance." He was appointed Minister of Personnel. While escorting the Jin envoy for New Year's observances, he presented detailed proposals on military preparedness and fortifications in the two Huai regions and on reducing wasteful escort expenses. The emperor approved them warmly.
59
十二月，除端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事。 二年閏九月，參知政事。 金使至，上遣王抃諭金使稍變受書舊禮，議久不決。 彥穎曰：「須於國體無損而事可濟，乃善，若如去年張子顏之行，不但無益。」 時左司諫湯邦彥新進，冀僥倖集事，自許立節。 彥穎言邦彥輕脫，必誤國。 他日，對便殿，上復語及之。 顏穎欲進說，上色動，宰相亟引退。 遂以邦彥為申議國信使，且命福建造海船，起兩淮民兵赴合肥訓練，並詔諸軍飭戎備，中外騷然。 彥穎復言：「兩淮州縣去合肥，遠者千餘里，近亦二三百里。 令民戶三丁起其二，限三月而罷，事未集，民先失業矣。」 上作色曰：「卿欲盡撤邊備耶？」 彥穎曰：「今不得已，令三百里內，家起一丁詣合肥，三百里外，就州縣訓習，日增給錢米，限一月罷，庶不大擾。」 翌日，復執奏，從之。 洎邦彥辱命而還，彥穎論其罪，貶新州。
In the twelfth month he was made Academician of the Hall of Brilliant Accomplishment and Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In the intercalary ninth month of the second year of his reign, he was made Vice Grand Councilor. When a Jin envoy arrived, the emperor sent Wang Bian to propose a slight modification to the old ceremony for receiving the imperial letter of state. Deliberations dragged on without resolution. Yanying said, "Any change must preserve the dignity of the state and still be achievable. Last year's mission led by Zhang Ziyan accomplished nothing at all." Tang Bangyan, a newly appointed remonstrance official of the Secretariat Chancellery, hoped to seize his chance for glory and styled himself a man of principle. Yanying said Bangyan was rash and irresponsible and would surely harm the country. On another day, at an audience in the Convenient Hall, the emperor raised the matter again. Yanying tried to remonstrate further, but the emperor's expression darkened and the chief councilor quickly drew him away. Bangyan was appointed chief negotiator to the Jin, Fujian was ordered to build warships, militia from the two Huai were conscripted for training at Hefei, and every army was put on alert. Alarm spread throughout the realm. Yanying remonstrated again: "Prefectures and counties of the two Huai lie far from Hefei—more than a thousand li at the farthest, two or three hundred even at the nearest. To conscript two of every three able-bodied men for only three months' training will ruin livelihoods long before any army is formed." The emperor flushed with anger. "Do you mean to dismantle all our frontier defenses?" Yanying replied, "As a compromise, households within three hundred li might send one man each to Hefei; beyond that distance men should drill locally, with daily grain and pay for one month only—that would cause far less disruption." The next day he pressed his memorial again, and the emperor accepted it. When Bangyan returned in disgrace, Yanying indicted him; he was exiled to Xinzhou.
60
彥穎在東府三歲，實攝相事，內降繳回甚多。 內侍白劄籍名造器械並犒師，降旨發左藏、封樁諸庫錢，動億萬計。 彥穎疏歲中經費以進，因言：「虞允文建此庫以備邊，故曰『封樁』，陛下方有意恢復，苟用之不節，徒啟他日妄費，失封樁初意。」 上矍然曰：「卿言是，朕失之矣。」 自是絕不支。
Yanying served three years in the Eastern Secretariat, effectively acting as chief councilor, and returned many unauthorized palace edicts without executing them. Palace attendants submitted informal lists naming men to be rewarded and weapons to be forged, and palace orders went out to disburse funds from the Left Storehouse and sealed reserve treasuries—sums running into tens of millions. Yanying submitted a budget of annual expenditures and argued, "Yu Yunwen created these reserves for frontier defense—hence the name 'sealed reserve.' Your Majesty aspires to recover lost territory; if we spend recklessly now, we invite future waste and betray the treasury's purpose." The emperor started as if awakened. "You are right," he said. "I have erred." From that time forward, no further disbursements were made from those reserves.
61
墜馬在告，力求去，以資政殿學士知紹興府，勤約有惠政。 提舉洞霄宮，復參知政事，病羸，艱拜起，力辭，上曰：「老者不以筋力為禮，孟享禮繁，特免卿。」 諫官論其子毆人至死，奉祠鐫秩。 起知婺州，禁民屠牛，捐屬縣稅十三萬三千緡。 復知紹興府，進資政殿大學士，再奉祠，進觀文殿學士。
After a fall from his horse he took sick leave and pleaded repeatedly to resign, eventually serving as Grand Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance and prefect of Shaoxing, where his frugal and conscientious rule benefited the people. After appointment to supervise the Tongxiao Palace, he was again made Vice Grand Councilor. Frail and barely able to bow, he pleaded to be excused. The emperor said, "The old are not judged by physical strength. The spring ancestral rites are arduous—I exempt you from them." Censors indicted his son for beating a man to death. Yanying was given a temple appointment and his rank was reduced. Reappointed prefect of Wuzhou, he banned the slaughter of cattle by commoners and remitted 133,000 strings of copper in taxes owed by subordinate counties. He served again as prefect of Shaoxing, was promoted to Grand Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance, received another temple appointment, and was made Academician of the Hall for Viewing Culture.
62
紹熙元年，致仕。 家居凡十載，自奉澹約，食才米數合。 室無姬媵，蕭然永日，與州縣了不相聞。 薨，年八十一，贈少保，諡「忠文」。 子沐，慶元中，與一時臺諫排趙汝愚，善類一空，公論醜之。
In Shaoxi 1 (1190) he retired from office. He lived at home for ten years, maintaining a spare existence on no more than a few gō of rice a day. He kept no concubines; his days passed in austere solitude, and he had no contact with local officials. He died at eighty-one. The court posthumously made him Junior Guardian with the epithet Loyal and Literary. His son Mu, during the Qingyuan persecution, joined the censorial faction that drove out Zhao Ruyu and purged the upright from office—a deed widely condemned.
63
范成大
Fan Chengda
64
起知處州。 陛對，論力之所及者三，曰日力，曰國力，曰人力，今盡以虛文耗之，上嘉納。 處民以爭役囂訟，成大為創義役，隨家貧富輸金買田，助當役者，甲乙輪第至二十年，民便之。 其後入奏，言及此，詔頒其法于諸路。 處多山田，梁天監中，詹、南二司馬作通濟堰在松陽、遂昌之間，激溪水四十里，溉田二十萬畝。 堰歲久壞，成大訪故跡，疊石築防，置堤閘四十九所，立水則，上中下溉灌有序，民食其利。
He was appointed prefect of Chuzhou. At his formal audience he identified three kinds of national capacity—daily labor, fiscal resources, and manpower—all now squandered on empty paperwork. The emperor praised his analysis and accepted it. The people of Chuzhou quarreled constantly over corvée obligations. Chengda devised a "righteous corvée" system: households contributed according to wealth to purchase communal land, helping those currently on duty, with turns rotating over twenty years. The people welcomed it. When he later reported to court, the emperor ordered his system promulgated throughout the empire. Chuzhou's terraced farmlands depended on the Tongji Weir, built in Liang Tianjian by the two marshals Zhan and Nan between Songyang and Suichang, which diverted streamwater for forty li and irrigated two hundred thousand mu. After years of decay Chengda traced the old works, rebuilt the stonework, installed forty-nine sluice gates, set watermarks for staged irrigation, and restored orderly distribution of water from upper to lower reaches. The people reaped the benefit.
65
除禮部員外郎兼崇政殿說書。 乾道《令》以絹計贓，估價輕而論罪重，成大奏：「承平時絹匹不及千錢，而估價過倍。 紹興初年遞增五分，為錢三千足。 今絹實貴，當倍時直。」 上驚曰：「是陷民深文。」 遂增為四千，而刑輕矣。
He was made Outer Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites and lecturer at the Hall for Venerating Governance. Under the Qiandao statutes, theft was assessed by the value of silk bolts—undervalued for the goods but inflated for sentencing. Chengda memorialized: "In peaceful times a bolt sold for less than a thousand cash, yet the statutory valuation was more than double that. In early Shaoxing the assessed rate rose in increments of five percent until it reached three thousand cash per bolt. Silk is far costlier today; the valuation should be doubled to reflect actual prices." The emperor was astonished. "That would trap common people under harsh penalties." The valuation was raised to four thousand cash, and sentences became correspondingly lighter.
66
隆興再講和，失定受書之禮，上嘗悔之。 遷成大起居郎，假資政殿大學士，充金祈請國信使。 國書專求陵寢，蓋泛使也。 上面諭受書事，成大乞併載書中，不從。 金迎使者慕成大名，至求巾幘效之。 至燕山，密草奏，具言受書式，懷之入。 初進國書，詞氣慷慨，金君臣方傾聽，成大忽奏曰：「兩朝既為叔侄，而受書禮未稱，臣有疏。」 搢笏出之。 金主大駭，曰：「此豈獻書處耶？」 左右以笏標起之，成大屹不動，必欲書達。 既而歸館所，金主遣伴使宣旨取奏。 成大之未起也，金庭紛然，太子欲殺成大，越王止之，竟得全節而歸。
During the renewed peace talks of the Longxing era, the established ceremony for receiving the imperial letter was abandoned, to the emperor's lasting regret. Chengda was promoted to Attendant of Affairs and provisionally given the title Grand Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance as chief envoy to the Jin. The formal letter sought only access to the imperial tombs—in effect a goodwill mission without diplomatic substance. The emperor personally instructed him on the ceremony for receiving the letter of state. Chengda asked that the demand be included in the formal missive, but the emperor refused. The Jin envoy who came to welcome him admired Chengda's great fame and even asked for a headcloth to imitate his style. At Yan Mountain he secretly drafted a memorial setting forth the form for receiving the letter of credence and carried it hidden on his person when he entered. When he first presented the state letter, his language was impassioned; as the Jin ruler and ministers were listening intently, Chengda suddenly memorialized, "The two courts are already uncle and nephew, yet the rites for receiving the letter are not fitting — your servant has a memorial." He took his memorial tablet from his girdle and produced it. The Jin ruler was greatly alarmed and said, "Is this the place to present a memorial?" Attendants used their tablets to mark him and raise him up, but Chengda stood firm and unmoved, insisting that the memorial be received. Afterward he returned to the guest lodge; the Jin ruler sent an accompanying envoy to announce the imperial command and take the memorial. Before Chengda rose, the Jin court was in an uproar; the crown prince wished to kill Chengda, but the Prince of Yue stopped him — in the end he preserved his integrity and returned.
67
除中書舍人。 初，上書崔寔《政論》賜輔臣，成大奏曰：「御書《政論》，意在飭綱紀，振積敝。 而近日大理議刑，遞加一等，此非以嚴致平，乃酷也。」 上稱為知言。 張說除簽書樞密院事，成大當制，留詞頭七日不下，又上疏言之，說命竟寢。
He was appointed Secretariat drafter. Earlier the emperor had sent Cui Shi's Political Treatise to the chief ministers as a gift; Chengda memorialized, "The imperial copy of the Political Treatise aims to tighten discipline and revive long-standing abuses. Yet recently the Court of Judicial Review in sentencing has added a grade of punishment in succession — this is not governing through severity toward peace but cruelty." The emperor praised him as speaking to the point. When Zhang Shuo was appointed to sign documents at the Bureau of Military Affairs, Chengda as drafter held back the appointment text for seven days without issuing it, and again submitted a memorial on the matter — Shuo's appointment was shelved.
68
知靜江府。 廣西窘匱，專藉鹽利，漕臣盡取之，於是屬邑有增價抑配之敝，詔復行鈔鹽，漕司拘鈔錢均給所部，而錢不時至。 成大入境，曰：「利害有大於此乎？」 奏疏謂：「能裁抑漕司強取之數，以寬郡縣，則科抑可禁。」 上從之。 數年，廣州鹽商上書，乞復令客販，宰相可其說，大出銀錢助之。 人多以為非，下有司議，卒不易成大說。 舊法馬以四尺三寸為限，詔加至四寸以上，成大謂互市四十年，不宜驟改。
He was made prefect of Jingjiang. Guangxi was straitened and relied solely on salt profits; transport officials took all of it, so subordinate counties suffered the abuse of price hikes and forced allocation; an edict restored the salt certificate system, and the transport bureau was to distribute certificate funds evenly to its jurisdictions — but the money did not arrive on time. On entering his jurisdiction Chengda said, "Is there any harm greater than this?" In his memorial he said, "If the transport bureau's forcible exactions can be cut back to ease the prefectures and counties, then forced levies can be stopped." The emperor followed his advice. After several years Guangzhou salt merchants petitioned to restore the old rule allowing traveling merchants to sell; the chief councillor approved and advanced large sums in silver to assist them. Many thought this wrong; the matter was referred to the relevant offices for discussion, and in the end Chengda's view was not changed. Under the old law horses were limited to four feet three inches in height; an edict raised the minimum to four feet and above — Chengda said that in forty years of border trade this should not be changed abruptly.
69
除敷文閣待制、四川制置使，疏言：「吐蕃、青羌兩犯黎州，而奴兒結、蕃列等尤桀黠，輕視中國。 臣當教閱將兵，外修堡砦，仍講明教閱團結之法，使人自為戰，三者非財不可。」 上賜度牒錢四十萬緡。 成大謂西南諸邊，黎為要地，增戰兵五千，奏置路分都監。 吐蕃入寇之路十有八，悉築柵分戍。 奴兒結擾安靜砦，發飛山軍千人赴之，料其三日必遁，已而果然。 白水砦將王文才私娶蠻女，常導之寇邊，成大重賞檄群蠻使相疑貳，俄禽文才以獻，即斬之。 蜀北邊舊有義士三萬，本民兵也，監司、郡守雜役之，都統司又俾與大軍更戍，成大力言其不可，詔遵舊法。 蜀知名士孫松壽年六十餘，樊漢廣甫五十九，皆掛冠不仕，表其節，詔召之，皆不起，蜀士由是歸心。 凡人才可用者，悉致幕下，用所長，不拘小節，其傑然者露章薦之，往往顯於朝，位至二府。
Appointed attendant of the Filled Writings Hall and Sichuan military commissioner; in his memorial he said, "Tibetans and Qing Qiang have twice raided Lizhou, and Nu'erjie, Fanlie, and others are especially fierce and look down on China. Your servant will train and review troops, repair fortresses on the outer line, and clarify methods of training and militia organization so that men fight for themselves — all three require funds." The emperor granted forty thousand strings in ordination certificate funds. Chengda held that among the southwestern borders Li prefecture was the key point; he added five thousand battle troops and memorialized to establish circuit-level supervisory commanders. There were eighteen routes by which Tibetans invaded; he built stockades and garrisoned them all. When Nu'erjie harassed Anjing stockade, he sent a thousand men of the Flying Mountain Army — judging they would withdraw within three days, and so it proved. Wang Wencai, commander of Baishui stockade, privately married a barbarian woman and often guided raids on the border; Chengda offered heavy rewards and sent proclamations to the various tribes to sow mutual suspicion — soon Wencai was captured and presented, and was beheaded at once. On the northern border of Shu there were formerly thirty thousand righteous warriors, originally militia; supervisory commissioners and prefects mixed them in miscellaneous labor, and the supreme command also made them rotate guard duty with the main army — Chengda spoke forcefully that this must not be; an edict followed the old law. The renowned Shu scholars Sun Shoushou, over sixty, and Fan Hanguang, just fifty-nine, had both hung up their caps and would not serve — he memorialized their integrity; an edict summoned them, but neither came — Shu scholars thereafter gave him their hearts. Whatever talent could be used he brought into his staff, employing their strengths without fussing over small faults; the outstanding he recommended by open memorial, and many rose to prominence at court, some reaching the two chief councils.
70
召對，除權吏部尚書，拜參知政事。 兩月，為言者所論，奉祠。 起知明州，奏罷海物之獻。 除端明殿學士，尋帥金陵。 會歲旱，奏移軍儲米二十萬振饑民，減租米五萬。 水賊徐五竊發，號「靜江大將軍」，捕而戮之。 以病請閑，進資政殿學士，再領洞霄宮。 紹熙三年，加大學士。 四年薨。
Summoned to audience, he was made acting minister of Personnel and Vice Grand Councillor. After two months he was impeached by remonstrance officials and given a temple sinecure. He was raised as prefect of Mingzhou and memorialized to abolish the tribute of seafood. Appointed academician of the Duanming Hall; soon after he commanded Jinling. When drought came he memorialized to shift two hundred thousand bushels of army grain to relieve the hungry and reduced rent grain by fifty thousand. The river bandit Xu Wu rose in rebellion, styling himself Great General of Jingjiang — he was captured and executed. He requested leisure on grounds of illness, was advanced to academician of the Zizheng Hall, and again oversaw the Cave of Heaven abbey. In the third year of Shaoxi he was made Grand Academician. He died in the fourth year.
71
成大素有文名，尤工於詩。 上嘗命陳俊卿擇文士掌內制，俊卿以成大及張震對。 自號「石湖」，有《石湖集》、《攬轡錄》、《桂海虞衡集》行於世。
Chengda had long been famed for his writing, and was especially skilled in poetry. The emperor once ordered Chen Junqing to select literary men to manage inner drafting; Junqing named Chengda and Zhang Zhen. He styled himself Stone Lake; his Stone Lake Collection, Record of Holding the Reins, and Collection of the Cassia Sea and Yuheng circulate in the world.
72
論曰：劉珙忠義世家，迨屬纊，以未雪讐恥為深恨。 王藺犯顏忠諫，剛腸嫉惡。 方趙鼎、張浚非罪遠謫，朋交絕蹤，大寶獨從之遊，逮斥權姦，了無顧忌。 安節拒秦檜，排淵、覿，堅如金石，孤立無黨，死生禍福，曾不一動其心。 當金兵犯大散關，剛中單騎星馳，夜起吳璘，一戰卻敵。 成大致書北庭，幾於見殺，卒不辱命。 俱有古大臣風烈，孔子所謂「歲寒然後知松柏之後凋」者歟？ 若祖舜奪楊愿恩，褫秦熺秩，誅檜惡於既死，彥穎論事激烈，披露忠藎，直氣亦可尚已。
The commentators say: Liu Gong came from a loyal and righteous house; on his deathbed his deep regret was that the national shame had not been avenged. Wang Lin offended the throne with loyal remonstrance — a firm will that hated evil. When Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun were banished without cause to distant places and friends cut off all contact, Dabao alone kept company with them; when he denounced powerful villains he showed not the slightest fear. Anjie resisted Qin Hui, drove out Long and Di, stood firm as metal and stone, stood alone without faction — life, death, fortune, and disaster never once moved his heart. When Jin troops raided Dasan Pass, Gangzhong rode alone through the night, roused Wu Lin from his tent, and in one battle drove the enemy back. Chengda presented his memorial in the northern court and nearly lost his life, yet in the end did not disgrace his commission. All had the fierce integrity of great ministers of old — are they not those of whom Confucius said, "Only when the year grows cold do we know that the pine and cypress are the last to wither"? As for Zushun's seizing Yang Yuan's favor, stripping Qin Xi of rank, and punishing Qin's evil after death; Yanying's fierce remonstrances and disclosure of loyal devotion — his upright spirit too is worthy of respect.