Volume 390 Biographies 149: Li Heng, Wang Zizhong, Jia Yuan, Zhang Gang, Zhang Dajing, Cai Guang, Mo Meng, Zhou Cong, Liu Zhang, Shen Zuobin

李衡王自中家愿张纲张大经蔡洸莫濛周淙刘章沈作宾

Li Heng, Wang Zizhong, Jia Yuan, Zhang Gang, Zhang Dajing, Cai Guang, Mo Meng, Zhou Cong, Liu Zhang, and Shen Zuobin.

李衡，字彦平，江都人。高祖昭素仕至侍御史。衡幼善博诵，为文操笔立就。登进士第，授吴江主簿。有部使者怙势作威，侵刻下民，衡不忍以敲扑迎合，投劾于府，拂衣而归。后知溧阳县，专以诚意化民，民莫不敬。夏秋二税，以期日榜县门，乡无府吏迹，而输送先他邑办。因任历四年，狱户未尝系一重囚。

Li Heng, courtesy name Yanping, was a native of Jiangdu. His great-grandfather Zhaosu rose in office to Attending Censor. As a boy, Heng excelled at wide reading and memorization, and when he wrote, his compositions were finished the moment he picked up the brush. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed registrar of Wujiang. A departmental envoy relied on his rank to bully others and grind down the common people. Heng refused to win favor through beatings and floggings, filed an impeachment with the prefectural office, and walked away from his post. Later, as magistrate of Liyang County, he devoted himself to governing through sincerity alone, and the people all held him in respect. For the summer and autumn tax levies, he posted the due dates at the county gate. No prefectural clerks appeared in the villages, yet his county finished its deliveries ahead of every other jurisdiction. During his four-year tenure, not a single serious prisoner ever occupied the jail.

隆兴二年，金犯淮堧，人相惊曰：“寇深矣！ ”官沿江者多送其孥，衡独自浙右移家入县，民心大安。盗猬起旁境，而溧阳靖晏自如。帅汪澈、转运使韩元吉等列上治状，诏进一秩，寻召入为监察御史。历司封郎中、枢密院检详，出知温、婺、台三州，惟婺尝莅其治。加直秘阁，而衡引年乞身，恳恳不休，上累却其奏，除秘阁修撰致仕。上思其仆忠，旋召落致仕，除侍御史，以老固辞，不获命。差同知贡举。会外戚张说以节度使掌兵柄，衡力疏其事，谓“不当以母后肺腑为人择官”，廷争移时。改除起居郎，衡曰：“与其进而负于君，孰若退而合于道。 ”章五上，请老愈力，上知不可夺，仍以秘撰致仕。时给事中莫济不书敕，翰林周必大不草制，右正言王希吕亦与衡相继论奏，同时去国，士为《四贤诗》以纪之。衡后定居昆山，结茅别墅，杖屦徜徉，左右惟二苍头，聚书逾万卷，号曰“乐庵”，卒，年七十九。

In the second year of Longxing, when the Jin attacked the Huai frontier, people cried out to one another in alarm: "The enemy is upon us! " Many officials along the Yangzi sent their families away. Heng alone moved his household from Zhejiang into the county, and the people were greatly reassured. Bandits erupted everywhere in neighboring counties, yet Liyang remained as peaceful and orderly as ever. Pacification Commissioner Wang Che, Transport Commissioner Han Yuanji, and others memorialized the throne praising his administration. The court promoted him one rank and soon summoned him to serve as investigating censor. He served as director in the Bureau of Appointments and as reviewer at the Bureau of Military Affairs, then was sent out to govern Wenzhou, Wuzhou, and Taizhou—though in fact he governed only Wuzhou. He was promoted to direct associate of the Secretariat Archive, but Heng cited his age and repeatedly petitioned to retire. The emperor rejected his requests several times before finally appointing him compiler of the Secretariat Archive and granting him retirement. The emperor, remembering his simple-hearted loyalty, soon recalled him from retirement and appointed him attending censor. Heng firmly declined on account of his age, but the appointment could not be refused. He was appointed associate commissioner for the civil examinations. At that time the empress's kinsman Zhang Shuo held military power as a military commissioner. Heng vigorously memorialized against the appointment, declaring that officials ought not be chosen merely because they were close kin to the empress dowager, and debated the matter at court at length. He was reassigned as recorder of the emperor's movements. Heng said, "Better to withdraw in accordance with the Way than to advance and betray the sovereign. " He submitted five memorials, pressing his request for retirement with ever greater force. The emperor knew he could not be dissuaded and again granted him retirement as compiler of the Secretariat Archive. At the time, Supervising Secretary Mo Ji refused to inscribe the edicts, Hanlin Academician Zhou Bidà refused to draft the proclamations, and Right Remonstrating Official Wang Xilü joined Heng in a succession of memorials and remonstrances. They all left office together, and scholars composed Four Worthies Poems in their honor. Heng later settled permanently in Kunshan, where he built a thatched retreat and wandered at leisure with staff and sandals. Only two household servants attended him, and he amassed more than ten thousand volumes of books in a library he called Joy Hermitage. He died at the age of seventy-nine.

衡自宣和间入辟雍，同舍有赵孝孙者，洛人也，其父实师程颐，家学有源，劝衡读《论语》曰：“学非记诵辞章之谓，所以学圣贤也，不可有丝毫伪实处，方可以言学。 ”衡心佩其训，虽博通群书而以《论语》为根本。临没，沐浴冠栉，翛然而逝。周必大闻之曰：“世谓潜心释氏，乃能达死生，衡非逃儒入释者，而临终超然如此，殆几孔门所谓闻道者欤。”

From the Xuanhe era onward, Heng studied at the Imperial Academy. Among his roommates was Zhao Xiaosun of Luoyang, whose father had studied under Cheng Yi—his family learning had a genuine lineage. He urged Heng to read the Analects, saying, "Learning is not mere memorization and literary polish; it is learning from the sages. Unless there is not the slightest falsity in one's conduct, one cannot speak of learning at all. " Heng took this teaching to heart. Though widely read in many books, he took the Analects as his foundation. At the end, he bathed, dressed his hair, and put on his cap, then passed away with serene composure. When Zhou Bidà heard of it, he said, "People say that only those who devote themselves to Buddhism can transcend life and death. Heng was no Confucian who fled into Buddhism, yet at his end he was so serene—perhaps he nearly attained what the Confucian school calls one who has heard the Way.

王自中

Wang Zizhong.

王自中，字道甫，温州平阳人。少负奇气，自立崖岸，繇是忤世。乾道四年，议遣归正人，自中伏丽正门争论，且言：“今内空无贤，外空无兵，当搜罗豪俊，广募忠力，以图中原。 ”坐斥徽州，放还。淳熙中，登进士第，主舒州怀宁簿。严州分水令。

Wang Zizhong, courtesy name Daofu, was a native of Pingyang in Wenzhou. In youth he possessed an uncommon spirit and held himself apart on a lofty standard, and so he ran afoul of the world. In the fourth year of Qiandao, when the court debated repatriating Jin defectors, Zizhong prostrated himself at the Lizheng Gate to remonstrate, saying, "Within the realm we lack worthy men; beyond it we lack troops. We ought to gather bold talents and widely recruit loyal strength to recover the Central Plains. " For this he was demoted and sent to Qizhou, then released to return home. During the Chunxi era he passed the jinshi examination and served as registrar of Huaining in Shuzhou. He served as magistrate of Fenshui in Yanzhou.

枢密使王蔺荐，召对，帝壮其言，将改秩为籍田令，又俾举所知，且响用矣，以谏疏罢。自中本韩彦古客，王蔺既荐之，上大喜。韩彦直、彦质辈恐其为彦古报仇，力请交结于自中；而密达意近习，谓“自中受彦古赂，伏阙上书荐彦古为相。 ”上遣人物色其事，中书舍人王信恒惧自中入台将不利于王淮，知彦直辈谮已行，亟请对，探上意；退即走白右正言蒋继周。继周方敢劾奏，读至“受赂伏阙”处，上曰：“卿可谓中其膏肓。 ”继周奏：“臣非不知孤踪忤王蔺，但不敢旷职。 ”盖欲并中蔺以媚淮，上但喜继周善论事，不知曲折如此。

When Military Affairs Commissioner Wang Lin recommended him, he was summoned for an audience. The emperor was impressed by his words and was about to promote him to director of the sacrificial fields and have him recommend men he knew—the appointment was nearly at hand—when he was dismissed because of a remonstrance memorial. Zizhong had originally been a client of Han Yangu. Once Wang Lin recommended him, the emperor was greatly pleased. Han Yanzhi, Yanzhi, and their faction feared he would avenge Han Yangu and strongly urged Zizhong to seek their alliance; while secretly telling court favorites that Zizhong had accepted bribes from Han Yangu and prostrated himself at the palace gate to recommend Han Yangu as chief councilor. The emperor sent someone to investigate. Drafting Middle Secretary Wang Xin constantly feared that if Zizhong entered the Censorate it would harm Wang Huai. Learning that the Han faction's slander had already taken hold, he urgently requested an audience and probed the emperor's intent; On leaving the audience he immediately ran to inform Right Remonstrating Official Jiang Jizhou. Only then did Jizhou dare to impeach. When he read the passage about "accepting bribes and prostrating at the palace gate," the emperor said, "Your memorial truly strikes at his vital point." Jizhou submitted, "Your subject knows he stands alone against Wang Lin, but he dares not neglect his duty." In essence he wished also to strike at Lin while flattering Huai. The emperor merely applauded Jizhou's eloquence, unaware of all these twists.

通判郢州，道除知光化军，改信州，丁内艰，服阕，还朝。光宗即位，迎谓曰：“朕得卿名于寿皇，留为郎可乎？ ”言者不置。主管冲佑观，起知邵州、兴化军，命下而自中已病，庆元五年八月，卒，年六十。

He served as supervising prefect of Ezhou; en route he was appointed military commissioner of Guanghua, then transferred to Xinzhou. After completing mourning for his mother, he returned to court. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, he greeted him and said, "I learned your name from Emperor Shouhuang—will you stay on as a court officer?" Critics objected. He was made director of the Chongyou Abbey, then appointed to govern Shaozhou and Xinghua Circuit—but the order arrived after Zizhong was already ill. In the eighth month of the fifth year of Qingyuan he died at the age of sixty.

家愿，字处厚，眉山人。父勤国，庆历、嘉祐间与从兄安国、定国同从刘巨游，与苏轼兄弟为同门友。王安石久废《春秋》学，勤国愤之，著《春秋新义》。熙宁、元丰诸人纷更，而元祐诸贤矫枉过正，勤国忧之，为筑室，作《室喻》，二苏读之敬叹。

Jia Yuan, courtesy name Chuhou, was a native of Meishan. His father Qinguo, during the Qingli and Jiayou eras, studied with his older cousins Anguo and Dingguo under Liu Ju and were fellow students with the Su brothers. Wang Anshi had long neglected the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals; Qinguo was indignant and wrote New Meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals. During the Xining and Yuanfeng reforms many changes were made rashly; when the Yuanyou worthies overcorrected, Qinguo was troubled, built a studio, and wrote Studio Allegory, which the two Sus read with admiration.

愿弱冠游京师，以广文馆进士登第，时绍圣元年也。廷策进士，中书侍郎李清臣拟进策问，力诋元祐之政，愿答策惟以守九年之所已行者为言。时门下侍郎苏辙尝上疏辨策问，举汉武帝事，触上怒待罪，愿未及知也，因见辙，诵所对，惊喜曰：“故人子道同志合，犹若是也。 ”杨畏覆考，专主熙宁、元丰，取毕渐为第一，愿遂居下第。辙寻出守汝，而国论大变矣。

At twenty Yuan traveled to the capital, passed the Broad Culture Hall examination, and received his degree in the first year of Shaosheng. At the palace examination, Vice Director Li Qingchen drafted the policy question and fiercely attacked Yuanyou policies. Yuan answered only by advocating adherence to what had already been implemented over the past nine years. At that time Vice Director Su Zhe had memorialized disputing the policy question, citing Emperor Wu of Han, provoking the emperor's anger and leaving him awaiting punishment. Yuan did not yet know. When he met Zhe he recited his answer, and Zhe said in delight, "The son of an old friend—same path, same purpose—still thus!" Yang Wei reviewed the examination, exclusively favoring Xining and Yuanfeng policies, ranked Bi Jian first, and Yuan fell to the lowest rank. Zhe soon went out to govern Ru Prefecture, and the political tide shifted greatly.

元符三年，以日食求言，愿时为普州乐至令，应诏上言，极论时政凡万言，其大要有十：一曰谨始以正本，二曰敬德以格天，三曰谨好恶以防小人，四曰审信任以辨君子，五曰开言路以来直谏，六曰详听言以观事实，七曰破党议以存至公，八曰登硕德以服天下，九曰从宽厚以尽人才，十曰崇名节以厚士风。疏上不报。崇宁元年，诏籍元祐、元符上书人姓名，愿以选人籍入邪下等，谪监华州西岳庙。时当改京秩，迄不改，禁锢不调凡十年。大观四年，孛星出，降赦，党禁解，始改秩，调知双流县。通判文州。郡守郑行纯凭内侍势自恣，罢蕃夷互市，启边隙。愿争之，不从，径下令复其旧。守怒，交章互奏，俱报罢。而愿以曾入党籍，谪英州酒税，量移黄州，数年始予祠。兴元帅臣王庶荐自代，通判果州。靖康初，左丞冯澥荐备谏列，除开封府工曹，京城失守，不克赴。高宗南渡，擢知阆州。会张浚谋大举，愿谓浚厉兵足谷以俟机会，浚不悦，以便旨移彭州。有论边防书，名曰《罪言》。守彭之明年，乞骸骨以归，卒。

In the third year of Yuanfu, when an eclipse prompted a call for memorials, Yuan was then magistrate of Lezhi in Puzhou. He responded with a memorial of some ten thousand characters exhaustively discussing current affairs. Its ten main points were: be careful at the beginning to rectify the root; revere virtue to move Heaven; be careful in likes and dislikes to guard against petty men; examine trust to distinguish gentlemen; open the way for speech to welcome forthright remonstrance; examine words carefully to observe actual facts; break up factional disputes to preserve supreme fairness; elevate great virtue to win over the realm; follow leniency to exhaust human talent; and honor reputation and integrity to strengthen the scholar's ethos. The memorial received no response. In the first year of Chongning, an edict registered the names of Yuanyou and Yuanfu memorial submitters. Yuan was entered in the evil lower registry as a selected candidate and demoted to supervise the Western Peak Temple of Huazhou. It was time for promotion to capital rank, yet he was never promoted; the ban barred reassignment for ten years in all. In the fourth year of Daguang, a comet appeared, an amnesty was granted, and the party prohibition was lifted. He was finally promoted and assigned to govern Shuangliu County. He served as supervising prefect of Wenzhou. Prefect Zheng Xingchun relied on eunuch power to act willfully, abolished trade with tribal peoples at the frontier, and opened border tensions. Yuan disputed it; the prefect would not listen, so Yuan directly ordered the old practice restored. The prefect was angry; they exchanged mutual impeachment memorials, and both were dismissed. Because Yuan had been on the party registry, he was demoted to liquor tax at Yingzhou, transferred to Huangzhou, and only after several years was he granted an abbey stipend. Campaign commander Wang Shu recommended Yuan to succeed him, and he served as supervising prefect of Guozhou. At the beginning of Jingkang, Left Vice Director Feng Xi recommended him for the remonstrance offices. He was appointed opening capital works officer, but when the capital fell he could not take up the post. After Gaozong crossed south, he was promoted to govern Langzhou. When Zhang Jun planned a major campaign, Yuan urged him to sharpen troops and fill granaries while awaiting opportunity. Jun was displeased and transferred him to Pengzhou by special edict. He wrote a treatise on frontier defense called Words of Blame. The year after he took up office in Pengzhou, he requested to retire on grounds of old age and died.

方苏辙之读愿策，谓愿少年能不为进取计，异时当以直道闻，恨不及见，辙之言至是而验。淳祐间，愿曾孙大酉侍讲经筵，因从容及之，上改容嘉叹，宣取所上书，又亲书“西社同门友，元符上书人”十大字以赐。

When Su Zhe read Yuan's examination answer, he said the young man could set aside advancement and would in time be known for the upright way; he regretted not living to see it. Zhe's words were now fulfilled. During the Chunyou era, Yuan's great-grandson Dayou served lecturing at the Classics Hall. The emperor changed expression and praised him, ordered retrieval of the memorial, and personally wrote ten characters: "Fellow of Western Community, Yuanfu Memorial Submitter."

愿同郡杨恂，丹棱人也，字信仲。元丰五年，登进士第。元符初，知广都县，与愿同时上书，语甚切直。越三年，亦同入党籍邪下第五等。其书以火不存。

Yang Xun of the same commandery as Yuan, from Danling, courtesy name Xinzhong. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng he passed the jinshi examination. At the beginning of Yuanfu he governed Guangdu County and simultaneously memorialized with Yuan; his language was very forthright. Three years later he also entered the party registry as evil fifth rank. His memorial was lost in a fire.

张纲，字彦正，润州丹阳人。入太学，以上舍及第。释褐，徽宗知纲三中首选，特除太学正，迁博士，除校书郎。入对，论：“君子小人簉殽，询言试事则邪正自别。小人得志邀功生事，祸有不可胜言者。今用事者大言罔上，风俗侈靡，背本趋末，日甚一日。宜以祖考躬行之教为法，天下有不难化矣。 ”上称善。论事与蔡京不相合，挤之去，主管玉局观。久之还故官，兼修《国朝会要》、校正御前文字。迁著作佐郎、屯田司勋郎。

Zhang Gang, courtesy name Yanzheng, was a native of Danyang in Runzhou. He entered the Imperial Academy and passed as an upper hall graduate. Upon leaving office, Emperor Huizong knew Gang had topped three sessions as first choice. He was specially appointed Hanlin Academy instructor, promoted to doctor, and appointed collator. At audience he argued, "When gentlemen and petty men are mixed together, inquiry and trial of affairs will naturally distinguish the upright from the perverse. When petty men gain their aim they invite merit and stir trouble—the disaster cannot all be told. Those in power today speak grandly and deceive their superiors; custom grows ever more extravagant and wasteful, turning from root to tip, worsening day by day. One ought to take the ancestors' personally practiced teaching as a model—then transforming the realm would not be difficult. " The emperor praised it. His policy views did not align with Cai Jing; Jing forced him out and placed him in charge of the Jade Bureau Abbey. After a long time he was restored to his former post and also edited the Court Annals Compendium and corrected imperial texts. He was promoted to assistant compiler and director in the ministries of works and war.

初，朝议遣童贯、蔡攸使朔方，纲力论不可出师状，不报。及金渝盟犯京阙，命纲分守四壁，旋解严，诏登陴足月者迁。纲曰：“主忧臣辱，义当尔，顾因此受赏邪？ ”卒不自言。出为两浙提刑，移江东。池将王进剽悍恣睢，曹官以小过违忤，遂钉手于门。事闻，诏纲乘传穷竟。时国势未安，诸将往往易朝廷，进拥甲骑数百突至纲前，纲叱进阶下，即按问，罪立具，自是无越法者。以左司召，权监察御史。请令郡邑月具系囚存亡数，申提刑司，岁终校多寡行殿最。进起居舍人，改中书舍人。建言乞依祖宗法命大臣兼领史事，诏宰臣吕颐浩监修国史，著为令。

Initially the court debated sending Tong Guan and Cai You as envoys north. Gang vigorously memorialized against dispatching troops, but received no response. When the Jin broke the treaty and invaded the capital, Gang was ordered to hold one of the four walls. Soon the siege was lifted, and an edict declared that those who manned the walls a full month would be promoted. Zhang Gang said, "When the sovereign suffers, his ministers share the shame—it is only proper—but how could I accept a promotion for merely doing my duty?" In the end, he never spoke of his own service at all. He was appointed judicial intendant of the Two Zhe circuits, then transferred to Jiangdong. Wang Jin, a general stationed at Chizhou, was brutally overbearing. When a petty clerk displeased him over a trifling matter, he had the man's hands nailed to the gate. When the report reached court, the emperor ordered Zhang Gang to ride post-haste and conduct a full investigation. The realm was still unsettled, and many commanders held the court in contempt. Wang Jin rode up with several hundred armored cavalry and confronted Zhang Gang directly. Gang ordered him off his horse at once and questioned him; the charge was established on the spot. After that, no one in the region dared violate the law. He was recalled to serve as Left Assistant and appointed acting censor. He proposed that every county and prefecture report monthly on detainees and whether they were alive or dead, submit these figures to the judicial intendant's office, and have officials ranked at year's end according to how well they had managed their prisons. He was promoted to recorder in attendance, then transferred to drafting secretary at the Secretariat-Chancellery. He urged that, following ancestral precedent, senior ministers be ordered to oversee the historical records. The court commanded Grand Councilor Lü Yihao to supervise compilation of the National History and made this a standing rule.

试给事中。大将有以军中田不均乞不收租，朝廷将从之，纲执不可。会推恩元祐党籍家，有司无限制，自陈者纷至。纲建议以崇宁所刻九十八人为正。自军兴后，小人多乘时召乱，历五年而怨家告讦者众。纲谓非所以广好生之德，乞自蔽囚，后有告勿受。宗室令懬特转太中大夫，纲言：“庶官超转侍从非法，且自崇宁以来官职不循资任，致纲纪大坏，今方丕变其俗，奈何以令懬故复违旧章。 ”诏以次官命词，舍人王居正复执不行，命遂寝。宣抚使张俊驻师九江，遣营卒以书至瑞昌，县令郭彦章揣知卒与狱囚通，乃械系之。俊酝于朝，彦章坐免。纲言：“近时州县吏多献谀当路，彦章不随流俗，是能奉法守职，今不奖而黜，何以示劝？”

He was appointed acting receptionist in the Secretariat. A senior commander asked that rent collection be waived on unequal military farmlands. The court was prepared to agree, but Zhang Gang insisted it could not be allowed. As the court extended clemency to families implicated in the Yuanyou partisan list, the responsible offices imposed no clear limits, and claimants swarmed forward by the score. Zhang Gang advised that the ninety-eight names recorded on the Chongning stele be taken as the authoritative list. Since the war began, unscrupulous men had repeatedly stirred trouble in the chaos. After five years, vindictive accusers had become legion. Zhang Gang argued that this undercut the sovereign's mercy and asked that, for all prisoners already in custody, no new denunciations be accepted. A member of the imperial clan, Ling Kuan, was specially promoted to Grandee of Palace Attendance. Zhang Gang protested, "It is unlawful for a common official to skip directly into the ranks of palace attendants. Since the Chongning era, appointments have ignored seniority and qualifications, ruining public order. We are only now trying to change that habit—how can we break the old rules again for Ling Kuan's sake?" The court ordered the appointment drafted at a lower rank instead, but drafting secretary Wang Juzheng again refused to issue it, and the appointment was dropped. Pacification commissioner Zhang Jun was encamped at Jiujiang and sent a camp runner bearing a letter to Ruichang. Magistrate Guo Yanzhao suspected the man was colluding with prisoners and had him arrested in irons. Zhang Jun lodged complaints at court, and Guo Yanzhao was dismissed as a result. Zhang Gang argued, "These days local officials flatter the powerful at every turn. Guo Yanzhao refused to go along with the crowd and upheld the law. If the court dismisses rather than rewards him, what example does that set?"

除给事中。侍御史魏矼劾纲，提举太平观。进徽猷阁待制，引年致仕。秦桧用事久，纲卧家二十年绝不与通问。桧死，召为吏部侍郎兼侍读。初讲《诗关雎》，因后妃淑女事，历陈文王用人，寓意规戒。上曰：“久不闻博雅之言，今日所讲析理精详，深启朕心。 ”纲言：“比年监司资浅望轻，请择七品以上清望官，或曾任郡守有治状者为之，庶位望既重，材能已试，可举其职。 ”从之。权吏部尚书。时以彗出东方，诏求言。纲奏：“求言易，听察难。宜命有司详审章奏，必究极其情，无事苟简。 ”除参知政事。高宗频谕辅臣宽恤民力，盖惩秦桧苛政，期安黎庶。纲乃摘其切于利民八十事，标以大指，乞镂版宣布中外，于是人皆昭知上德意。告老，以资政殿学士知婺州，寻致仕。高宗幸建康，纲朝行宫。孝宗登极，召纲陪祀南郊，以老辞不至，诏嘉之，命所在州郡恒存问，仍赐羊酒，卒，年八十四。

He was appointed receptionist in the Secretariat. Attending censor Wei Kang impeached Zhang Gang, who was then assigned to superintend the Taiping Abbey. He was promoted to academician-in-waiting at the Huaiyou Pavilion and retired on grounds of age. While Qin Hui dominated the court for years, Zhang Gang lived in retirement at home for twenty years and refused all contact with him. After Qin Hui's death, Zhang Gang was recalled as Vice Minister of Personnel and concurrent palace reader. When he first lectured on the "Guanju" ode from the Book of Poetry, he used the theme of the queen and virtuous consorts to expound at length on how King Wen chose his ministers, offering implicit counsel and warning. The emperor said, "It has been a long time since I heard such erudite counsel. Today's lecture analyzed its subject with great precision and truly enlightened me." Zhang Gang said, "In recent years the circuit intendants have been men of little seniority and standing. I ask that the court choose officials of seventh rank or above who enjoy a reputation for integrity, or former prefects with proven records of governance. Only when their rank and standing are weighty, and their ability already tested, can they truly perform the office." The emperor agreed. He was appointed acting Minister of Personnel. When a comet appeared in the eastern sky, the emperor issued an edict soliciting memorials. Zhang Gang memorialized, "It is easy to ask for opinions; it is hard to listen carefully and investigate them." He urged that the responsible offices review memorials thoroughly, investigate each matter to the full extent of the facts, and never treat submissions perfunctorily. He was appointed Vice Grand Councilor. Emperor Gaozong repeatedly urged his chief ministers to lighten the people's burdens, seeking to undo Qin Hui's harsh rule and restore peace to the populace. Zhang Gang then distilled eighty measures most urgent for the people's welfare, summarized them under main headings, and asked that they be carved on printing blocks and promulgated throughout the realm, so that all might clearly understand the emperor's benevolent intent. He petitioned to retire on grounds of age, was made Academician of the Zizheng Hall and prefect of Wuzhou, and soon retired from office. When Emperor Gaozong visited Jiankang, Zhang Gang presented himself at the temporary palace. When Emperor Xiaozong came to the throne, Zhang Gang was summoned to assist at the southern suburban sacrifice. He declined on grounds of age. The court commended him, ordered his local prefecture to inquire after him regularly, and continued to grant him mutton and wine. He died at the age of eighty-four.

纲尝书坐右曰：“以直行己，以正立朝，以静退高天下。 ”其笃守如此。初谥文定，吏部尚书汪应辰论驳之，孙釜再请，特赐曰章简。釜，庆元间为谏官，力排道学诸贤，累官至签书枢密院事。

Zhang Gang once wrote these words and kept them at his right hand: "Conduct yourself with integrity, stand in court with rectitude, and hold yourself above the world through quiet withdrawal." Such was the steadfastness with which he held to his principles. His initial posthumous title was Wendi, but Minister of Personnel Wang Yingchen objected. When Sun Fu petitioned again, the court specially granted him the title Zhangjian. Sun Fu served as a remonstrance official during the Qingyuan era, vigorously opposed the Neo-Confucian scholars, and eventually rose to Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

张大经

Zhang Dajing

张大经，字彦文，建昌南城人。绍兴十五年，中进士第，宰吉之龙泉，有善政。诸司列荐，赐对便殿，出知仪真。时两淮监司、帅守多兴事邀功，大经独以平易近民，民咸德之。提举湖南常平，提点湖北刑狱，寻移江东。他路有巨豪犯法，狱久不竟，命移属大经。豪挟权势求脱，大经卒正其罪。孝宗重风宪之选，命条上部使者十人，上独可大经，召见，上曰：“朕十人中得卿一人，以卿风力峻整。 ”遂除监察御史，命下，中外耸叹。

Zhang Dajing, courtesy name Yanwen, was a native of Nancheng in Jianchang. In the fifteenth year of Shaoxing, he passed the jinshi examination and served as magistrate of Longquan in Ji Prefecture, where he governed well. Various offices jointly recommended him. He was granted audience in the Hall of Convenience and was appointed prefect of Yizhen. At the time, circuit intendants and military commissioners in the Two Huai regions often launched projects to claim credit. Dajing alone governed in an accessible, people-friendly manner, and the populace deeply respected him. He served as intendant of Hunan Ever-Normal Granaries and judicial intendant of Hubei, then was soon transferred to Jiangdong. In another circuit a powerful magnate had broken the law, and the case had dragged on unresolved. The court ordered it transferred to Dajing's jurisdiction. The magnate used his power and connections to seek release, but Dajing ultimately secured his conviction. Emperor Xiaozong valued appointments to the censorate and ordered a list drawn up of ten senior envoys. The emperor singled out Dajing alone for approval. When summoned for audience, the emperor said, "Of the ten men on my list, you are the one I want—because your force of character is stern and upright." He was thereupon appointed censor. When the appointment was announced, it stirred admiration throughout court and country.

大经首陈士风掊克、偷惰、诞慢、浮虚四弊。时理官间多居外，大经奏非便，乃作舍守庭。迁大理少卿，守殿中侍御史。言：“今日不治，由大臣不任责。 ”又言：“诸路荒政不实，飞蝗颇多。愿益加恐惧，申饬大臣，俾内而百官有司输忠谠、修厥职，外而监司守臣察贪理冤、去苛敛、宽民力。 ”上皆嘉纳。因论近习韩俣荐士，上曰：“此亦无害。昔杨得意为狗监，亦尝荐司马相如。 ”大经奏：“彼何人斯，使得荐士，将恐无廉耻者望风希旨，伤毁士俗。 ”后数日，上谓大经曰：“卿前所论韩俣，朕思之诚是也。 ”又论宦者董琏暴横，将命淮甸，所至诛求，且自号“董阎罗”。上曰：“然，人皆言之。 ”即依奏镌罢，窜南康军。除侍御史。上宣谕曰：“卿论事得体，且详练。 ”大经遂言：“士风未厚，吏治未肃，民力未苏，和气未应，皆由人心未正。愿察公正，明义利，以彰好恶，抑浮薄，去贪刻，则莫不靡然洗濯，一归于正。 ”上称善再三。又言：“监司治民之本，不可限以资格。 ”上纳其言，即选四寺丞同时临遣。试右谏议大夫兼侍讲。请通漕臣之计，以补州郡之有无；拘户绝之租，以广常平之储侍；严脏罪改正法，以惩贪黩；收外路辟阙归吏部，以杜私谒而通孤寒。

Dajing first identified four abuses afflicting scholar-official conduct: extortion, sloth, insolence, and empty pretension. At the time many judicial officials worked outside the capital. Dajing memorialized that this was impractical, and the court instituted the practice of holding sessions within the judicial office. He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review while retaining his post as palace attendant censor. He said, "The reason the realm is poorly governed today is that the great ministers refuse to accept responsibility." He also said, "Famine relief on the various circuits is not being carried out honestly, and locust swarms are widespread." I urge Your Majesty to redouble your caution, admonish the chief ministers, and require officials at court to offer loyal and forthright counsel and perform their duties, while circuit intendants and prefects investigate corruption, redress injustice, abolish harsh levies, and lighten the people's burdens. The emperor praised and accepted all of it. When the discussion turned to the attendant Han Yu recommending scholars, the emperor said, "There is no harm in that." In former times Yang Deyi, as keeper of the imperial hounds, also once recommended Sima Xiangru. Dajing memorialized, "What sort of man is this, that he should be allowed to recommend scholars? I fear the shameless will take their cue from him and seek favor by flattery, corrupting the standards of the scholar-official class." Several days later the emperor told Dajing, "What you said earlier about Han Yu—I have thought it over, and you are entirely right." He also spoke against the eunuch Dong Lian, a violent and overbearing man who was about to be dispatched to the Huai region. Wherever he went he extorted the people, and he even styled himself "Dong Yama." The emperor said, "Indeed—everyone says so." The court immediately acted on the memorial, stripped Dong Lian of office, and banished him to Nankang Prefecture. He was appointed attending censor. The emperor addressed him directly: "Your memorials are well judged in manner, and moreover thorough and informed." Dajing then said, "Scholar-official standards remain weak, official governance is still lax, the people's strength has not recovered, and harmonious responses have not come—all because hearts are not yet set right." I urge the court to examine fairness and justice, distinguish righteousness from profit, make good and evil clear, suppress frivolity, and remove greed and harshness—then all will be thoroughly cleansed and brought back to the upright path. The emperor praised his words repeatedly. He also said, "Circuit intendants are the foundation of governing the people and cannot be chosen by rigid qualification alone." The emperor accepted his advice and immediately selected four assistant commissioners of the Court of Judicial Review and dispatched them on circuit at once. He was appointed acting Right Remonstrance Official and concurrent palace lecturer. He proposed coordinating transport commissioners' plans to balance what prefectures and commanderies lacked against what they possessed; collecting rents from extinct households to expand ever-normal granary reserves; strictly enforcing the law on corruption to punish greed and misconduct; returning appointments made by special selection outside the capital to the Ministry of Personnel, to block private petitions and open the way for the isolated and poor.

秋旱，诏求言。大经极言：“人心不和有以致之。民力竭而愁叹多，军士贫而怨嗟众，二者当今大弊。州县之间，绢帛多折其估，米粟过收其赢，关市苛征，榷酤峻禁。中外兵帅多出贵幸之门，营利自丰，素召众怨，教阅灭裂，军容不整。且近习甲第名园，越法逾制，别墅列肆，在在有之，非赂遗何以济欲？愿陛下疏斥憸腐，抑绝幸门，垂意人主之职，责成宰辅，一提其纲，则天下事必有能办之者。 ”俄而池司郝政降充统制官，殿帅补外，盖用其言也。

During an autumn drought, the emperor issued an edict soliciting memorials. Dajing spoke forcefully: "There are causes that have led human hearts into disharmony." The people's strength is exhausted and their lamentations are many; soldiers are impoverished and their resentments widespread—these two are the great abuses of the day. Between prefectures and counties, silk is often undervalued in assessment, grain is over-collected for surplus profit, transit markets are harshly taxed, and wine monopolies are rigidly enforced. Military commanders inside and outside the capital mostly come from noble and favored households. They enrich themselves through profit, invite widespread resentment, conduct perfunctory training and review, and keep their forces in poor order. Moreover, the favored attendants maintain mansions and famous gardens that exceed law and regulation, and their villas and shops are everywhere—how can such desires be satisfied without bribes and gifts? I urge Your Majesty to dismiss the crafty and corrupt, shut the gates of favor, attend to the sovereign's own duties, hold the chief ministers accountable, and once the guiding rope is lifted, there will surely be those under heaven able to handle the realm's affairs. Before long, Chi Prefecture official Hao Zheng was demoted to command officer, and the palace commander was reassigned outside the capital—implementing his recommendations.

除礼部尚书兼侍读。大经屡请祠，上曰：“卿公廉必能为朕牧民。 ”以徽猷阁学士知建宁府。未几，移镇绍兴，辞不拜，予祠。进龙图阁学士，告老，以通奉大夫致仕。方主眷未衰，抗疏引去，人方之孔戣。寿逾八袠，绍熙五年，宁宗即位，进正议大夫，降诏抚问，赐银奁药茗。庆元四年七月，疾革，语诸子曰：“吾目可暝，吾爱君忧国之心不可泯。 ”无一语及私。卒，年八十九。讣闻，上甚悼之，赠银青光禄大夫，谥简肃。

He was appointed Minister of Rites and concurrent palace reader. Dajing repeatedly requested a sinecure post. The emperor said, "You are upright and incorrupt and can surely govern the people on my behalf." He was appointed Huaiyou Pavilion academician and prefect of Jianning Prefecture. Soon afterward he was reassigned to Shaoxing, but he refused the post and was instead granted a ceremonial stipend. Promoted to Academician of the Hall of Dragon Diagrams, he asked to retire and left office with the rank of Grandee for Court Discussion. While the emperor's favor was still strong, he submitted a memorial insisting on withdrawal, and people likened him to Kong Kui. He lived past eighty. In the fifth year of Shaoxi, when Emperor Ningzong took the throne, he was promoted to Grandee of Correct Remonstrance; the court sent an edict of consolation and bestowed a silver casket of medicine and tea. In the seventh month of the fourth year of Qingyuan, as his illness turned grave, he told his sons, "My eyes may close, but my love for the sovereign and my grief for the state will never die." He said nothing about personal affairs. He died at the age of eighty-nine. When word of his death reached the throne, the emperor grieved deeply, posthumously ennobled him as Grandee of Silver and Blue Light, and gave him the posthumous name Jiansu (Concise and Solemn).

蔡洸，字子平，其先兴化仙游人，端明殿学士襄之后，徙霅川。父伸，左中大夫。洸以荫补将仕郎，中法科，除大理评事，迁寺丞，出知吉州。召为刑部郎，徙度支，以户部郎总领淮东军马钱粮、知镇江府。会西溪卒移屯建康，舳舻相衔。时久旱，郡民筑陂潴水灌溉，漕司檄郡决之，父老泣诉。洸曰：“吾不忍获罪百姓也。 ”却之。已而大雨，漕运通，岁亦大熟。民歌之曰：“我潴我水，以灌以溉。俾我不夺，蔡公是赖。 ”就除司农少卿，言：“镇江三邑税户客户输丁各异，请为一体，不得自为同异。所输丁绢，依和买之直，计尺折纳，人给一钞，官自买绢起发，公私皆便。 ”上嘉纳。以户部侍郎召，试吏部尚书，移户部。上谓侍臣曰：“朕以版曹得人为喜。 ”洸常言：“财无渗漏则不可胜用。 ”未几求去，除徽猷阁学士、知宁国府。陛辞赐坐，上慰劳曰：“卿面有火色，风证也，朕有二方赐卿。 ”洸谢，即奉祠以归。卒，年五十七。

Cai Guang, courtesy name Ziping, came from a family originally of Xianyou in Xinghua, descended from the Duanming Hall academician Cai Xiang; the clan later moved to Zhechuan. His father Shen served as Left Grandee of the Palace. Guang entered office by hereditary privilege as a General Gentleman-for-Service, passed the legal examinations, was made Reviewing Official of the Court of Judicial Review, promoted to Vice Director of the court, and appointed Prefect of Jizhou. Recalled as a Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, then transferred to the Department of Revenue, he served as a Ministry of Revenue Secretary overseeing Huaidong military funds and provisions while governing Zhenjiang Prefecture. When the Xixi garrison was transferred to Jiankang, boats lined up stem to stern along the river. During a long drought the people had built a dam to store water for irrigation, but the transport commissioner ordered the prefecture to break it open; the village elders came weeping to protest. Guang said, "I cannot bear to wrong the people." He refused. Soon heavy rains came, transport routes opened again, and the year brought a great harvest. The people sang in praise: "We store our water to irrigate our fields." That we were not deprived of it, we owe to Master Cai. He was promptly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Agriculture and memorialized: "In Zhenjiang's three districts, tax households and tenant households pay corvée levies differently. I ask that they be treated as one and not allowed to vary on their own." Labor silk payments should be assessed at the hemai purchase price, measured by length and collected in kind; each person would receive a certificate, and the government would buy and ship the silk itself—benefiting both state and people. The emperor approved and adopted the proposal. Recalled as Vice Minister of Revenue, he was examined for the post of Minister of Personnel and then transferred to head the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor told his attending ministers, "I am delighted to have found the right man for the Ministry of Revenue." Guang often said, "If there are no leaks in the treasury, the funds will more than suffice." Before long he asked to leave office and was appointed Academician of the Hall of Splendid Learning and Prefect of Ningguo. At his farewell audience he was granted a seat. The emperor comforted him, saying, "Your face is flushed—it is a wind ailment. I have two prescriptions for you." Guang thanked him, received a sinecure post, and returned home. He died at the age of fifty-seven.

洸事亲孝，曾祖襄未易名，力请于朝，赐谥忠惠。所得奉，每以振亲戚之贫者，去朝之日，囊无餘资，至售所赐银鞍鞯治行，人服其清洁云。

Guang was filial to his parents. His great-grandfather Xiang had not yet received a revised posthumous name, so Guang pressed the court until the posthumous name Zhonghui (Loyal and Kind) was granted. He used his salary to support poor relatives, and when he left the capital his purse was empty—he even sold the silver saddle and tack the court had granted him to pay for the journey. People admired his integrity.

莫濛字子蒙，湖州归安人。以祖荫补将仕郎，两魁法科，累官至大理评事、提举广南市舶。张子华以脏败，朝廷命濛往鞫之，濛正其罪。又言秦熺、郑时中受子华赂，计直数千缗。还朝，除大理寺正。吏部火，连坐者数百人，久不决，命濛治之。濛察其最可疑者留于狱，出餘人为耳目以踪迹之，约三日复来，遂得其实，系者乃得释。黄州卒奏亲擒盗五十餘人，上命濛穷竟，既至，咸以冤告。濛命囚去桎梏，引卒至庭，询窃发之由，斗敌之所，远近时日悉皆牴牾，折之，语塞。濛具正犯数人奏上，余释之。上谕辅臣曰：“莫濛非独晓刑狱，可俾理金谷。 ”除户部员外郎。

Mo Meng, courtesy name Zimeng, was a native of Gui'an in Huzhou. Through his grandfather's privilege he entered as General Gentleman-for-Service, twice topped the legal examinations, and rose to Reviewing Official of the Court of Judicial Review and Commissioner of Guangnan Maritime Trade. When Zhang Zihua was ruined by a corruption scandal, the court sent Meng to investigate, and Meng confirmed his guilt. He also reported that Qin Xi and Zheng Shizhong had taken bribes from Zihua worth several thousand strings of cash. On returning to court he was appointed Chief Administrator of the Court of Judicial Review. When fire broke out in the Ministry of Personnel, hundreds were implicated and the case dragged on unresolved until the court put Meng in charge. Meng kept the most suspicious in custody, released the rest to serve as informants, set a three-day deadline for them to return with evidence, and thus uncovered the truth so the wrongly detained could go free. A Huangzhou soldier reported that he had personally captured more than fifty bandits; the emperor ordered Meng to investigate thoroughly, and upon arrival all the accused pleaded that they had been wronged. Meng removed the prisoners' shackles, brought the soldier into court, and questioned him about where the theft occurred, where the fight took place, and the distances and times involved—every detail contradicted the rest; pressed further, the soldier had nothing to say. Meng reported only the true offenders to the throne and released the rest. The emperor told his chief ministers, "Mo Meng understands more than criminal law—he can be entrusted with managing the treasury." He was appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue.

朝廷遣濛措置浙西、江淮沙田芦场，上语之曰：“得此可助经费，归日以版曹处卿。 ”濛多方括责，得二百五十三万七千餘亩。言者论其丈量失实，征收及贫民，责监饶州景德镇。起知光化军。谍知金渝盟，郡乏舟，众以为虑，濛力为办集，及敌犯境，民赖以济。时饷馈急，除淮南转运判官，濛迁延不之任，右司谏梁仲敏劾其慢命，罢官勒停。宣谕使汪澈为言于上，复旧职，召见，上谕曰：“朕常记向措置沙田甚不易。”

The court sent Meng to organize sandy fields and reed marshes in Zhexi and the Jianghuai region. The emperor told him, "Revenue from this can help with expenses—when you return I shall place you in the Ministry of Revenue." Meng assessed the land by many methods and registered more than 2,537,000 mu. Critics charged that his surveying was inaccurate and that collection fell on the poor; he was demoted to supervisory duty at Jingdezhen in Raozhou. He was reinstated as military prefect of Guanghua. Intelligence showed the Jin would break the treaty. The commandery lacked boats and many were alarmed, but Meng worked hard to gather them, and when the enemy crossed the border the people were saved. When supplies were urgently needed he was appointed Transport Vice Commissioner of Huainan, but Meng delayed taking up the post; Right Remonstrance Official Liang Zhongmin impeached him for insubordination and he was dismissed. Imperial Commissioner Wang Che pleaded his case before the emperor; his former post was restored and he was summoned to audience. The emperor said, "I often remember how difficult your sand-field project was."

濛谢曰：“职尔，不敢避怨。 ”上曰：“使任责者人人如卿，天下何事不成。”

Meng replied, "It was my duty—I dared not shun resentment." The emperor said, "If everyone entrusted with responsibility were like you, what in the realm could not be accomplished?"

除湖北转运判官。未几，知鄂州，召除户部左曹郎中，出知扬州。陛辞，上以城圮，命濛增筑。濛至州，规度城，分授诸将各刻姓名甃堞间，县重赏激劝，阅数月告成。除直宝文阁学士、大理少卿兼详定司敕令官，兼权知临安府。未几，假工部尚书使金贺正旦。金庭锡宴，濛以本朝忌日不敢簪花听乐，金遣人趣赴，濛坚执不从，竟不能夺。使还，除刑部侍郎，改工部侍郎兼临安府少尹，以言者罢。起知鄂州。卒于官，年六十一，赠正奉大夫。

He was appointed Transport Vice Commissioner of Hubei. Soon after he became Prefect of Ezhou, he was recalled and appointed Director of the Left Section of the Ministry of Revenue, then sent out again as Prefect of Yangzhou. At his farewell audience the emperor noted that the city walls were in ruins and ordered Meng to rebuild them. On reaching the prefecture, Meng surveyed the walls, assigned each general a section with names carved on the parapets, offered heavy rewards as incentive, and within months the work was finished. He was appointed Direct Academician of the Hall of Precious Culture, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and Compiler of Statutes and Decrees, with concurrent acting Prefect of Lin'an. Soon afterward he served as acting Minister of Works on an embassy to Jin to congratulate the New Year. At a Jin court banquet Meng refused flowers and music because it was a day of mourning in the Song calendar; Jin envoys pressed him to join, but he steadfastly refused and could not be moved. On returning from the mission he was appointed Vice Minister of Justice, then Vice Minister of Works and Junior Prefect of Lin'an, but was dismissed after criticism from memorialists. He was reinstated as Prefect of Ezhou. He died in office at the age of sixty-one and was posthumously granted the rank of Grandee for Direct Administration.

周淙，字彦广，湖州长兴人。父需，以进士起家，官至左中奉大夫。淙幼警敏，力学，宣和间以父任为郎，历官至通判建康府。绍兴三十年，金渝盟，边事方兴，帅守难其选，士夫亦惮行。首命淙守滁阳，未赴，移楚州，又徙濠梁。淮、楚旧有并山水置砦自卫者，淙为立约束，结保伍。金主亮倾国犯边，民赖以全活者不可胜计。除直秘阁，再任。孝宗受禅，王师进取虹县，中原之民翕然来归，扶老携幼相属于道。淙计口给食，行者犒以牛酒，至者处以室庐，人人感悦。张浚视师，驻于都梁，见淙谋，辄称叹，且曰：“有急，公当与我俱死。 ”淙亦感激，至谓“头可断，身不可去”。浚入朝，悉陈其状，上嘉叹不已，进直徽猷阁，帅维扬。

Zhou Cong, courtesy name Yanguang, was a native of Changxing in Huzhou. His father Xu entered office through the jinshi degree and rose to Left Grandee for Direct Administration. Cong was precocious and devoted to study; in the Xuanhe era he entered office through his father's position and rose to Vice Prefect of Jiankang. In the thirtieth year of Shaoxing the Jin broke the treaty and border affairs flared up; it was hard to find suitable commanders, and officials feared taking frontier posts. He was first ordered to guard Chuyang; before he could take up the post he was moved to Chuzhou, then transferred to Haoliang. In the Huai and Chu regions people had long built mountain fortresses for self-defense; Cong established regulations and organized mutual-aid groups. When the Jin emperor Hailing mobilized the whole country to invade the border, countless people survived because of him. He was granted direct access to the Privy Archive and reappointed. When Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, Song troops advanced to take Hong County, and people of the Central Plains came home in droves, the old and young crowding the roads. Cong rationed food by headcount, rewarded those on the road with oxen and wine, and housed those who arrived; everyone was grateful. Zhang Jun inspected the army at Duliang, praised Cong's plans, and said, "If there is an emergency, you must die with me." Cong was deeply moved and declared, "My head may be cut off, but I will not leave." Zhang reported the full situation in court; the emperor praised him repeatedly, promoted Cong to the Hall of Splendid Learning, and made him military commissioner of Weiyang.

会钱端礼以尚书宣谕淮东，复以淙荐，进直显谟阁。时两淮经践蹂，民多流亡，淙极力招辑，按堵如故。劝民植桑柘，开屯田，上亦专以属淙，屡赐亲札。淙奉行益力，进直龙图阁，除两浙转运副使。未几，知临安府，上言：“自古风化必自近始。陛下躬履节俭，以示四方，而贵近奢靡，殊不知革。 ”乃条上禁止十五事，上嘉纳之，降诏奖谕，赐金带。临安驻跸岁久，居民日增，河流湫隘，舟楫病之，淙请疏浚。工毕，除秘阁修撰，进右文殿修撰，提举江州太平兴国宫以归。上念淙不忘，除敷文阁待制，起知宁国府，趣入奏，上慰抚愈渥。魏王出镇，移守婺州。明年春，复奉祠，亟告老。十月卒，年六十，积阶至右中奉大夫，封长兴县男。

When Qian Duanli went to Huaidong as Minister and imperial commissioner and recommended Cong again, Cong was promoted to the Hall of Manifest Counsel. Both banks of the Huai had been ravaged and many people had fled, but Cong worked hard to gather and settle them until order was restored. He urged the people to plant mulberry and catalpa and to open military colonies; the emperor entrusted this work solely to Cong and repeatedly sent him personal letters. Cong carried out the work with even greater energy, was promoted to the Hall of Dragon Diagrams, and appointed Transport Vice Commissioner of the Two Zhe. Soon after he became Prefect of Lin'an, he memorialized: "Since antiquity, moral transformation must begin close at hand." Your Majesty personally practices frugality to set an example for the realm, yet the nobles and those close to the throne remain extravagant and show no sign of reform. He submitted a detailed list of fifteen prohibitions; the emperor praised and adopted them, issued an edict of commendation, and granted him a gold belt. Lin'an had long served as the temporary capital; as the population grew the rivers silted up and shipping suffered, so Cong requested dredging. When the work was finished he was appointed Compiler of the Privy Archive, promoted to Compiler of the Hall of Right Culture, placed in charge of Taiping Xingguo Palace in Jiangzhou, and returned home. The emperor still thought of Cong, appointed him Attendant Gentleman of the Hall of Spreading Culture, reinstated him as Prefect of Ningguo, and urged him to report to court, comforting him with especial warmth. When the Prince of Wei went out to his fief, Cong was transferred to guard Wuzhou. The following spring he received a sinecure post again and urgently petitioned to retire. He died in the tenth month at the age of sixty, having risen to Right Grandee for Direct Administration and been ennobled as Baron of Changxing County.

刘章，字文孺，衢州龙游人。少警异，日诵数千言，通《小戴礼》，四冠乡举。绍兴十五年廷对，考官定其级在三，迨进御，上擢为第一，授镇江军签判。是冬，入省为正字。明年，迁秘书郎兼普安、恩平两王府教授，迁著作佐郎。事王邸四岁，尽忠诚，专以经谊文学启迪掖导，受知孝宗自此始。秦桧当国，嗛不附已，风言者媒蘖其罪，出倅筠州。桧死，召为司封员外郎、检详枢密院文字兼玉牒检讨官。擢秘书少监、起居郎。使金还，除权工部侍郎，俄兼吏部、兼侍讲。郊祀毕，侍从，上《庆成诗》。

Liu Zhang, courtesy name Wenru, was a native of Longyou in Quzhou. From youth he was unusually quick, recited thousands of characters each day, mastered the Rites of Dai the Younger, and topped the provincial examinations four times. At the palace examination in 1145, the examiners placed him third, but when his answer was read before the emperor, the throne promoted him to first rank and appointed him signatory judge of the Zhenjiang Army. That winter he entered the Secretariat as a collator. The following year he was made secretary gentleman and concurrently instructor to the Princes of Pu'an and Enping, and was later promoted to assistant compiler. For four years in the princely household he served with unwavering loyalty, teaching through the classics and literature, and from that time Emperor Xiaozong came to know and trust him. While Qin Hui dominated the court, he resented Zhang's refusal to join his faction; slanderers invented charges against him, and Zhang was demoted to deputy prefect of Yizhou. After Qin Hui's death he was recalled as vice director in the Department of State Affairs, reviewer of documents at the Bureau of Military Affairs, and reviser of the imperial genealogy. He was promoted to vice director of the Secretariat and imperial recorder. After returning from an embassy to Jin, he was made acting vice minister of Works and soon added concurrent duties in the Ministry of Personnel and as imperial lecturer. After the suburban sacrifice he attended the emperor and presented a poem celebrating its completion.

初，章在秘省，尝议郊庙礼文，当置局讨论，诏行其说。正迁吏部，御史论章使胥长买绢，高宗愕然曰：“刘章必无是事。 ”御史执不已，罢提举崇道观，举朝嗟郁。起居郎王佐讼其冤，亦坐绌。起知信州，未久，复请祠。孝宗受禅，念旧学，命知漳州，为谏议大夫王大宝所格。寻除秘阁修撰、敷文阁待制，召提举佑神观兼侍读，遂拜礼部侍郎。奏禁遏淫祀，仍于《三朝史》中删去《道释》、《符瑞志》，大略以为非《春秋》法。

Earlier, while serving in the Secretariat, Zhang had argued that ritual texts for the suburban and temple sacrifices should be studied by a special bureau, and the court adopted his proposal. Just as he was being transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, a censor accused him of having a chief clerk buy silk on his behalf. Emperor Gaozong was astonished and said, 'Liu Zhang would never do such a thing.' The censor would not let the matter drop, and Zhang was removed to serve as superintendent of the Chongdao Temple, to the grief and indignation of the entire court. Wang Zuo, the imperial recorder, appealed on Zhang's behalf and was demoted as well. He was recalled to govern Xinzhou, but before long he again asked to be granted a sinecure at a temple. When Emperor Xiaozong took the throne, he remembered his old tutor and ordered Zhang appointed prefect of Zhangzhou, but Remonstrance Adviser Wang Dabao blocked the appointment. He was soon made compiler at the Secret Repository and awaiting orders at the Fuwen Pavilion, then summoned to superintend the Youshen Temple while serving as imperial reader, and finally appointed vice minister of Rites. He memorialized to suppress illicit cult worship and to remove from the History of Three Reigns the sections on Daoism, Buddhism, and portents, arguing in general that such material did not accord with the standards of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

朝廷议经略中原，调诸郡兵，民颇扰。少卿赵彦端指言非是。或谮彦端曰：“陛下究心大举，凡所图回，但资赵彦端一笑尔。 ”颜端惧不测。上因夜对问章曰：“闻卿监中有笑朕者。 ”章不知状，从容对曰：“圣主所为，人焉敢笑，若议论不同或有之。 ”上意颇解。彦端获免，人称章长者。诏询唐太宗所问魏征德仁功利优劣，章上疏谆复，且言：“太宗问徵在贞观十六年，陛下宅天命十载于兹，原益加意，将越商、周绍唐、虞矣，太宗非难到也。 ”进权礼部尚书兼给事中。对选德殿，问章：“今年几而容貌未衰，颇尝学道否？ ”章拱对曰：“臣书生无他长，惟菲俭自度。晏婴一狐裘三十年不易，人以为难，臣以为易。 ”上嘉叹久之。亲洒宸翰以赐，俾安职。章力告归，以显谟阁学士食祠禄。

When the court debated recovering the Central Plains and mobilized troops from the prefectures, the people were greatly troubled. Vice Minister Zhao Yanduan openly argued that the policy was mistaken. Someone slandered Yanduan, saying, 'Your Majesty is wholly committed to this great campaign, yet every plan you make exists only to amuse Zhao Yanduan.' Yanduan feared he might suffer some unforeseen punishment. During a night audience the emperor asked Zhang, 'I hear there are people in your office who laugh at me.' Zhang, unaware of the circumstances, replied calmly, 'Who would dare laugh at what a sage ruler does? Differences of opinion may exist, but mockery would not.' The emperor's anger largely subsided. Yanduan was spared, and people praised Zhang as a man of generous character. The court asked about Emperor Taizong's question to Wei Zheng on the relative merits of virtue, benevolence, utility, and profit. Zhang submitted a long, earnest memorial, saying, 'Taizong put that question to Wei Zheng in 642; Your Majesty has held the Mandate of Heaven for ten years now. I hope you will devote even greater attention to such matters—you may surpass the Shang and Zhou and inherit the legacy of Tang and Yu; matching Taizong is not beyond reach.' He was promoted to acting minister of Rites and concurrently appointed supervising secretary. At an audience in the Xuande Hall, the emperor asked Zhang, 'How old are you this year, that you still look so vigorous? Have you studied the Way?' Zhang bowed and replied, 'I am only a scholar with no special gifts; I have simply lived by frugality and restraint.' Yan Ying wore the same fox-fur robe for thirty years without replacing it; others find that hard, but I find it easy.' The emperor praised him warmly and sighed with admiration for a long while. The emperor personally wrote in his own hand to bestow the gift and told Zhang to resume his duties at ease. Zhang repeatedly asked to retire and was granted the title of academician of the Xianmo Pavilion with a temple stipend.

淳熙元年，子之衡由御史、检法出守广德军，当陛辞，对便殿，问：“卿父学士安否？ ”抚劳再三，临退复谓曰：“卿归侍，为朕致此意。 ”旋遣阁门祗候苏曦至家宣问，拜端明殿学士，赐银绢四百匹。四年，上表告老，以资政殿学士致仕，卒，年八十，赠光禄大夫，谥曰靖文。章容状魁硕，以周密自守，出入两朝，被顾遇，未尝泄禁中一语。

In 1174, Zhang's son Zhihéng, who had served as censor and legal inspector, was sent to govern Guangde Army; at his farewell audience in the side hall, the emperor asked, 'Is your father the academician well?' The emperor comforted him repeatedly, and as he was leaving said again, 'When you return home to attend your father, convey this message for me.' The emperor soon sent Gate Attendant Su Xi to Zhang's home with an imperial message of inquiry, appointed him academician of the Duanming Hall, and granted him four hundred bolts of silver and silk. In the fourth year he memorialized to retire, was granted retirement as academician of the Zizheng Hall, and died at eighty; he was posthumously awarded Grandee of Splendid Happiness with the posthumous name Jingwen. Zhang was tall and imposing in bearing and guarded himself with meticulous care. Serving through two reigns and enjoying imperial favor, he never once disclosed a word spoken within the palace.

沈作宾

Shen Zuobin

沈作宾，字宾王，世为吴兴归安人。以父任入仕，监饶州永平监，冶铸坚致，又承诏造雁翎刀，称上意，连进两资。中刑法科，历江西提刑司检法官，入为大理评事。改秩，通判绍兴府。帅守丘崇遇僚吏刚严，作宾从容裨赞，每济以宽。秩满，知台州，首访民疾苦，弛盐禁，宽租期，均徭役，更酒政，决滞狱，五十日间尽除前政之不便民者，邦人胥悦；而前守嫉其胜己，巧媒蘖之，罢去。民请于朝，借留不遂，为立“留贤碑”。除大理正，亲嫌，改太府丞，迁刑部郎。

Shen Zuobin, courtesy name Binwang, came from a family long established in Gui'an, Wuxing. Entering office through his father's privilege, he supervised the Yongping Foundry in Raozhou, where his castings were exceptionally solid; when he was also ordered to manufacture goose-quill blades that pleased the emperor, he received two consecutive step promotions. He passed the law examination, served as reviewing legal officer under the Jiangxi judicial intendant, and entered the capital as an evaluator at the Court of Judicial Review. After a change of rank, he was appointed vice prefect of Shaoxing Prefecture. Prefect Qiu Chong was stern with his staff; Zuobin assisted him calmly and always softened his severity with leniency. When his term ended he became prefect of Taizhou; he first inquired into the people's hardships, relaxed the salt monopoly, extended rent deadlines, equalized corvée labor, reformed wine administration, and cleared backlogged cases; within fifty days he removed every policy of the previous administration that had harmed the people, and the whole prefecture rejoiced; But the former prefect, jealous that Zuobin outshone him, cleverly fabricated charges against him, and he was removed from office. The people petitioned the court to keep him, but without success; they erected a stele called 'Stele to Retain the Worthy.' He was appointed chief judge of the Court of Judicial Review; because of a relative in the office, he was transferred to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury and then promoted to secretary in the Ministry of Justice.

庆元初，历官至淮南转运判官，以治办闻。直华文阁，因其任。擢太府少卿，总领淮东军马钱粮，继升为卿。寻除直龙图阁，帅浙东，知绍兴府。入对，奏：“徽州、南康军月桩不如期，朝廷科降额，比年曰‘权免一次’，来年督促如初，适足启吏奸、重民害，乞明诏示。又楚州武锋一军已招三千五百餘人，朝廷初欲减戍，数年未就纪律：一，主将望轻；二，郡守节制不为礼；三，训练不尽其能。愿令本州少假借，责之练习，期以岁月，考绩用成否，上于朝而黜陟之。 ”上嘉纳。韩侂胄方用事，族有居越者，私酿公行，作宾逮捕置于狱，而窜其奴。又论绍兴府和买事，语在《食货志》。

At the beginning of the Qingyuan era he rose through the ranks to transport commissioner of Huainan East Circuit and was known for effective administration. He was granted direct access to the Huawen Pavilion in connection with that office. He was promoted to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, put in charge of military funds and grain for Huainan East, and later promoted to full director. Soon afterward he was appointed directly to the Longtu Pavilion, given command of Zhedong Circuit, and appointed prefect of Shaoxing. At an audience he memorialized, 'When Huizhou and Nankang Circuit fail to meet their monthly quota assessments on time, the court reduces their quotas; in recent years this has been called a one-time temporary exemption, but the next year collection is enforced as before. This only encourages official corruption and increases harm to the people. I beg that an explicit edict be issued to make this clear.' Furthermore, the Wufeng Army of Chuzhou has already recruited more than thirty-five hundred men; the court initially wished to reduce the garrison, but for several years discipline has not been established: first, the commanding general lacks sufficient standing; second, the prefect does not treat him with the proper respect due to military command; third, training has not fully developed their capabilities. I ask that the prefect be allowed a little discretion, that they be required to drill, that a deadline of months be set, and that success or failure be assessed and reported to the court for promotion or dismissal. The emperor approved and accepted this. Han Tuozhou was then in power; a clansman of his living in Yue privately brewed liquor openly, and Zuobin arrested him and placed him in prison, banishing his servants. He also memorialized on the hemai purchases in Shaoxing Prefecture; the account is given in the Treatise on Food and Money.

除两浙转运副使。入对，奏：“欑宫一司，岁拔经、总制钱为缗率四万有奇，丹雘未弊，加之涂饰，墙壁具存，从而创易，妄费固不足计，亡谓惊黩，非所以妥神灵、彰圣孝。今后有合营缮，闻于朝，下守臣稽核，画旨而后兴役。 ”上首肯再三，而修奉者不乐也。

He was appointed vice transport commissioner of the Two Zhe Circuits. At an audience he memorialized, 'The office for the temporary imperial tomb consumes more than forty thousand strings of cash each year drawn from regular and aggregate funds; though the cinnabar lacquer is not yet damaged, more is added for repainting; though the walls remain intact, they are torn down and rebuilt. The waste is not worth calculating, but worse, it is wantonly disturbing and irreverent—not the way to put the spirits at rest or display imperial filial piety.' Hereafter, whenever repairs are needed, the matter should be reported to the court, the local official should verify it, and work should begin only after an imperial directive is issued. The emperor nodded assent again and again, but those in charge of maintenance were displeased.

除权工部侍郎，继兼户部侍郎。奏请修绍兴三十一年以前故事，复敕令所删修官五员以待选人有才者，又乞申严保伍法。以言者罢归，起知镇江府，除集英殿修撰，改知宁国府，除宝谟阁待制，知潭州，除户部侍郎兼详定敕令官。奏湖北当储粟，湖南当增兵。未几，除龙图阁待制，知平江府，请得节制许浦水军，诏可。郡有使臣，故海盗也，作宾使招诱其党，既至，慰勉之，锡衣物，又得强勇者几千人，置将以统之，号曰“义士”；复募郡城内外恶少亦几千人，号曰“壮士”。衣粮器械皆视官军，而轻捷善斗过之，于是海道不警，市井无哗。寻命参赞督府，兼权镇江府。请留戍兵千人，又欲以江、闽新军二千人易旧军千人，备不虞。朝廷难之，遂请祠。言者继及之，复召为户部侍郎。军兴之餘，国力殚耗，见存金谷，仅支旬日。作宾考逋负，柅吏奸，阅三月即有半年之储。充馆伴使，兼权工部尚书。

He was appointed acting vice minister of Works and soon also held the Ministry of Revenue. He memorialized requesting restoration of precedents from before 1161, reinstatement of five revisers at the Statutes Office to await talented candidates, and also asked that the baowu system be strictly enforced. Because of critics he was dismissed and sent home; he was then recalled to govern Zhenjiang Prefecture, appointed compiler at the Jiying Hall, transferred to govern Ningguo Prefecture, appointed awaiting orders at the Baomo Pavilion, appointed prefect of Tanzhou, and appointed vice minister of Revenue concurrently as commissioner for the detailed revision of statutes. He memorialized that Hubei should store grain and Hunan should increase troops. Before long he was appointed awaiting orders at the Longtu Pavilion and prefect of Pingjiang Prefecture; he requested command over the naval forces at Xupu, and the edict approved. In the prefecture there was an envoy who had formerly been a pirate; Zuobin sent men to entice his followers, and once they arrived he comforted and encouraged them, bestowed clothing, and also obtained several thousand strong and brave men whom he placed under commanders, calling them 'Righteous Warriors'; He also recruited several thousand unruly youths inside and outside the prefectural city, calling them 'Bold Warriors.' Their clothing, rations, and weapons were all on a par with regular troops, yet they were more agile and better in combat; thereafter the sea routes were secure and the markets quiet. Soon he was ordered to assist the supervisory headquarters and concurrently act as prefect of Zhenjiang. He requested that a thousand garrison troops be retained, and also wished to exchange a thousand old troops for two thousand new troops from Jiang and Min as a precaution against the unexpected. The court found this difficult to accept, and he thereupon requested a temple appointment. Criticism continued, and he was again recalled as vice minister of Revenue. In the aftermath of the military campaign, national strength was exhausted; the treasury's remaining gold and grain would barely last ten days. Zuobin investigated arrears and checked official corruption; within three months there was a six-month reserve. He served as host for the embassy and concurrently acted as minister of Works.

会临安阙知府事，时相欲奏用作宾，力辞。除权户部尚书，以母忧解，服阕，授显谟阁直学士、知建宁府。入觐，乞申严诡户之禁。除宝谟阁学士、江西安抚兼知隆兴府。奏部内南安、南康、龙泉三县，迫近溪峒，三县令尉及近峒之砦曰秀洲，曰北乡，曰莲塘，并永新县之胜乡砦，宜就委帅、宪两司择才辟置，量加赏格。又乞诏诸道监司分诣州郡，选禁军，精练阅，改刺其懦弱者为厢军。在郡撙钱二十餘万缗，僚属请献诸朝，作宾谓平生未尝献羡，以半归帅司犒师，半隶本府。除焕章阁学士、提举隆兴府玉隆万寿宫，进显谟阁学士致仕，卒于家，赠金紫光禄大夫。

When Lin'an lacked a prefect, the chief councilor wished to recommend Zuobin, but he firmly declined. He was appointed acting minister of Revenue; he resigned on account of mourning for his mother, and after the mourning period was appointed direct academician of the Xianmo Pavilion and prefect of Jianning. On presenting himself at court he requested strict enforcement of the prohibition on fraudulent household registration. He was appointed academician of the Baomo Pavilion, military commissioner of Jiangxi, and concurrently prefect of Longxing. He memorialized that within his jurisdiction the three counties of Nan'an, Nankang, and Longquan, close to the stream gorges and mountain passes, together with the county magistrates and sheriffs and the nearby stockades called Xiuzhou, Beixiang, and Liantang, as well as the Shengxiang stockade in Yongxin County, should be entrusted to the circuit commander and judicial intendant to select talented men for appointment, with added rewards according to rank. He also asked that an edict order circuit supervisors to go in person to the prefectures, select troops from the forbidden armies, drill and review them carefully, and reassign the weak to the auxiliary armies. While in the prefecture he saved more than two hundred thousand strings of cash; his staff asked to present the surplus to the court, but Zuobin said he had never in his life presented surplus revenue; he gave half to the command headquarters to reward the troops and kept half for the prefecture. He was appointed academician of the Huanzhang Pavilion and superintendent of the Yulong Wanshou Temple in Longxing Prefecture, advanced to direct academician of the Xianmo Pavilion with retirement, died at home, and was posthumously awarded Grandee of the Gold Seal and Purple Ribbon.

论曰：李衡进退雍容，几于闻道。王自中、家愿奇迈危言，摧折弗悔，咸有可称。尝考宋之立国，元气在台谏。崇宁、大观而后，奸佞擅权，爵赏冒滥，驯至覆亡。高、孝重绳纠封驳之司，张纲抑令懬恩，大经劾韩俣、斥董琏，人人振扬风采，正气稍伸矣。时则有若洸、濛、淙、章、作宾，班班有善，同传亦宜。

The commentators say: Li Heng advanced and withdrew with dignified ease, nearly attaining the Way. Wang Zizhong and Jia Yuan were bold and outspoken in perilous words; though broken, they did not repent—all had qualities worth praising. On reflection, when the Song state was founded, its strength lay in the censorial and remonstrance institutions. After the Chongning and Daguan periods, wicked flatterers seized power, titles and rewards were handed out with reckless abandon, and the dynasty drifted inexorably toward collapse. Under Gaozong and Xiaozong, the offices charged with scrutiny and blocking improper edicts were again taken seriously. Zhang Gang held back the special favor shown to Ling Kuan; Zhang Dajing impeached the attendant Han Yu and denounced the eunuch Dong Lian. Each in his way revived the censorial spirit, and the moral climate improved somewhat. In the same period there were figures such as Cai Guang, Mo Meng, Zhou Cong, Liu Zhang, and Shen Zuobin—each distinguished in his own way, and all deserving to appear in this shared biography.

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