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卷四百十一 列傳第一百七十 湯璹 蔣重珍 牟子才 朱貔孫 歐陽守道

Volume 411 Biographies 170: Tang Shu, Jiang Zhongzhen, Mou Zicai, Zhu Pisun, Ouyang Shoudao

Chapter 411 of 宋史 · History of Song
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Chapter 411
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1
Yang Dong, Yao Xide, Bao Hui, Chang Ting, Chen Zongli, Chang Mao, Jia Xuanweng, and Li Tingzhi.
2
西 西
Yang Dong, whose style name was Yuanji, came from Qingcheng in Meizhou. In 1229 he finished second in the jinshi civil service examination. He received an appointment as signing clerk in the Jiannan West Circuit commissioner’s office. Before he could take up the post, his mother died and he went into mourning. After his mourning period he served on the Jingnan Pacification Commission, was later recruited in western Sichuan, and then entered the capital as director of the Imperial Academy. After his father’s death and the end of mourning, he was examined and appointed collator in the Secretariat while also teaching in the household of Prince Wu-Yi; he was later promoted to proofreader and compiler at the Bureau of Military Affairs. At an imperial audience he said, “Locusts are blotting out the sky. I beg Your Majesty to hold fast to one consistent virtue, so that Heaven may be moved and these disasters may pass.” He went on, “Lately the ministers who run the armies and the treasury sound wholly capable when they speak, yet their actions are almost all deceit. Court and provinces deceive one another, and nothing they say can be trusted.” If Your Majesty leads with utmost sincerity, then the affairs of the realm can be set right. He also said, “Our founders did not rely on armies, treasure, or statutes alone—they relied on keeping the people’s hearts bound to the throne.” I beg Your Majesty to keep a spirit of generous loyalty and not to employ harsh, precipitate men. The emperor was pleased, but other officials objected and he was given a temple sinecure instead.
3
使
He was recalled and appointed prefect of Xinghua Circuit. Confucius’s descendants lived at Jietou Town; Dong built them a temple, set aside land, and taught their sons and younger kin. He became Fujian judicial intendant, was soon made a Privy Archives scholar and acting prefect of Fuzhou with concurrent charge of the circuit’s pacification, rose through the Justice and Left and Right Department posts, served as compiler at the Imperial Genealogy Office, and was appointed vice director of the Imperial Clan Court. At an audience the emperor asked, “Is that all—just the teaching about rectifying the mind and cultivating the person?” Dong answered, “For thirty years what I have studied has been only this one teaching.” Apply it in serving parents and choosing friends, in governing depleted prefectures and examining wrongful cases—it is, in the end, quite simple. At the time a Daoist nun was entering and leaving the palace and was widely used for petitions and audiences, and many at court spoke against it. Dong memorialized the throne: “Why should Your Majesty spare one Daoist nun whom the whole realm watches with dismay, and not remove her at once?” The emperor disagreed. Dong said, “She secretly consorts with petty men—that is deeply worrying.” He also said, “In the ravaged prefectures of the capital region, Xiangyang, the two Huai, and Sichuan, officials are mostly generals holding provisional authority who levy exactions without restraint. Those people deserve pity—if Your Majesty does not pity them, who will?” The emperor accepted his advice.
4
殿 殿殿 殿
He was promoted to vice minister of rites and recorder of the emperor’s words, assigned as prefect of Chuzhou, and dismissed after Palace Censor Zhou Tan impeached him. He was recalled as a Dragon Diagram Hall scholar and prefect of Jianning, but declined the appointment. He superintended the Qianqiu Hongxi Abbey, became recorder of the emperor’s words with concurrent acting left vice minister and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall, then vice minister of personnel with concurrent duties on the national history and as reader-in-waiting; as Jiying Hall compiler and drafting secretary he went out as prefect of Taiping, was dismissed after Remonstrance Official Xiao Tailai objected, and was made superintendent of the Taiping Xingguo Abbey in his former rank. He was recalled and appointed prefect of Wuzhou. He was summoned to report on affairs, then given a temple sinecure at his former rank. When Duzong was made heir apparent, the emperor personally appointed Dong grand tutor of the heir. He rose to vice minister of works while remaining grand tutor with concurrent duties on the national history, as drafting secretary and Hanlin academician, then acting minister of justice and director of the Imperial University, then minister of rites; he became a Duanming Hall scholar, co-signatory at the Bureau of Military Affairs and guest of the heir, then associate director of the bureau with acting vice grand councilor, and finally vice grand councilor.
5
殿 沿使 殿沿使 殿使
Wang Huafu, prefect of Taizhou, founded the Shangcai Academy and asked the court to make Dong its head; the emperor agreed. He accordingly made his home in Taizhou. He was soon made a Zizheng Hall scholar and prefect of Jianning, but again declined. At his former rank he superintended the Dongxiao Abbey, then was again appointed prefect of Qingyuan and coastal pacification commissioner at the same rank. Investigating Censor Hu Yonghu impeached him and he was dismissed, again receiving a temple sinecure. He was made a Guanwen Hall scholar with concurrent posts as prefect of Qingyuan and coastal pacification commissioner, declined once more, and again held a temple sinecure. He was then appointed grand academician of the Zizheng Hall and superintendent of the Wanshou Abbey. When he died his final memorial reached the throne; the emperor suspended court and posthumously enfeoffed him as Junior Guardian.
6
Dong’s learning came from the Zhou and Cheng traditions, and he enjoyed great renown throughout the empire. When Jia Sidao became chief councilor he brought back elder statesmen and placed them among his attendants; Dong was among them. When a comet appeared, Dong insisted it was the Banner of Chiyou rather than a comet, and for this won little praise. Some said Dong spoke thus only for appearance’s sake while secretly urging the emperor to oust Sidao; Sidao found out, Dong fell under suspicion, and he left office. He wrote the Chongdao Collection and the Pingzhou Anthology.
7
簿 調 調調
Yao Xide, whose style names were Fengyuan and Shugang, came from Tongchuan and passed the jinshi examination in 1223. Appointed registrar of Xiaoxi, he spent three years awaiting assignment studying the Six Classics and the hundred schools from morning till night. He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Panshi. When war broke out in Sichuan he mustered military supplies without harassing the people and was transferred to judicial aide in Jiading Prefecture. He was appointed magistrate of Pujiang County. Powerful local clans dominated the county, which was known as difficult to govern. Xide restrained the powerful and aided the weak, and his reputation spread widely. Associate Director You Si of the Bureau of Military Affairs heard of Xide’s reputation and had him summoned for review; he served at the capital memorial office, as vice prefect of Taiping, then of Fuzhou, walking on foot to Houguan so that the clerks did not even recognize him as vice prefect.
8
調
He was summoned as vice director of the Directorate of Education, promoted to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, temporarily drafted Revenue Ministry documents, and concurrently taught in the household of Prince Yi-Jing. The emperor had just expelled powerful traitors and recalled men of renown, and the whole court rejoiced. Xide thought that outward appearances made the court seem clear and enlightened; but when he felt the pulse within, he found signs like those of a state nearing collapse. He memorialized: “Under Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties there was no ruin, yet rulers welcomed talk of ruin; since Qin and Han there have been many ruinations, yet rulers constantly taboo such talk.” Ruin itself must not come about, but talk of ruin must never die out. Later rulers tread on danger as if it were level ground and shun such words as they shun sickness. He also said, “Worthies are being recalled, yet their intentions are not yet unified; petty men are being expelled, yet their roots are not yet cut out entirely. Great power seems held firmly, yet suspicion of back channels remains; the great reform seems under way, yet no path to lasting peace is in sight. Court remonstrances and sealed memorials are earnest enough, yet Your Majesty neither punishes them nor acts on them.” Throughout history rulers willing to court ruin were not only benighted ones—enlightened rulers have done so too. That is what I fear most. The court is where all transformations begin; it is truly rooted in the sovereign’s mind alone. How can there still be matters in dispute when great brightness fills the heavens? Everyone knows that establishing the inner elementary school shows Your Majesty intends to name an heir. Yet months and years pass without action; hearts grow anxious and doubtful, with nothing to hold to. Since Qin and Han, when succession was not settled early, crises arose in haste—orders from the inner palace, plots led by eunuchs, or schemes begun by treacherous ministers—all enough to endanger a state. Why should Your Majesty hesitate to settle this great matter early? Everyone knows the splendor of the princely mansions shows Your Majesty’s deep affection for kin. Yet many lean on such patronage, scorn the law, and petitions move faster than shadow follows form. Yang Gan, younger brother of the Marquis of Jin, misconducted himself at Quiliang; Wei Jiang executed his attendants; the marquis was angry at first but later repented, and Jin eventually became hegemon. Lord Pingyuan, the King of Zhao’s brother, paid no rent or tax; Zhao She punished his agents; the king valued him and employed him, and Zhao grew strong. Both examples show how a state can be revived. Why does Your Majesty not enforce the law even a little among kin? Today Daoist nuns are what everyone points at; nearby eunuchs and petty officials at times steal power and favor. All this comes from Your Majesty’s mind turning bright and dim by turns—is that not danger? A state has good men as a person has vital energy; as good men fail and fade, so vital energy sickens and wanes. Good men are few—how can they bear repeated losses? When they are gone, the state follows. Your Majesty knows men clearly and employs them fairly and surely has no wish to reuse powerful traitors. Yet people on the roads whisper—this is like the moment before the Yuanyou and Shaosheng factions split. The roots of disaster still lie hidden—is that not treating danger as safety? The emperor’s expression changed. “I will never employ Shi Songzhi,” he said.
9
He was promoted to director of the Imperial Clan Court with acting duties in the Revenue Ministry. Li Shao reported illness and submitted ten memorials asking to retire. Xide said, “Shao has virtue and standing; though ill, better to keep him at an inner abbey sinecure attending the classics mat—he would still lend weight to the court.” He also said, “Treasury and people are exhausted; shift non-urgent spending to fill military stores and relieve the people—nothing honors Heaven more. Is reverence found in enlarging palaces and setting up images?” He also laid out three policies to rescue paper currency and asked for a Bureau to Benefit the People; the emperor approved all of them.
10
西 西 西 退 西 殿
He was promoted to Secretariat secretary, then compiler, and appointed Jiangxi intendant of the Ever-Normal Granaries. The labor-service law had long broken down; wealthy families in Linchuan bribed clerks to escape service, and Xide punished them. He then became judicial intendant and was made a Privy Archives scholar. Soon he was made an outer aide in the Revenue Ministry, then a Baozhang Pavilion scholar, and transferred to govern Ganzhou. A bandit calling himself Grand Marshal Cui held Shibi and linked several prefectures; Liu Laolong and others gathered mobs to burn and plunder, throwing the region into turmoil. Xide directed operations and pacified them in less than fifty days. He was appointed direct associate of the Baomoge Pavilion, Guangxi transport commissioner-assistant, with acting authority over Jingjiang Prefecture. Soon he was made direct associate of the Huiyu Pavilion, prefect of Jingjiang, in charge of the Guangxi pacification commissionerate while retaining his transport post. When his mother died, he left office for mourning. He was recalled as vice director of the Secretariat with concurrent duty rectifying the various bureaus of the Secretariat-Chancellery. At audience he spoke on the difference between gentlemen and petty men, right and wrong, and said, “A gentleman offends you to your face and dares remonstrate, goes against your wishes, and in retirement is content with a private life—that is planning for the state, not suited for himself.” “The petty man builds factions, drives out upright men, flatters you in everything you wish, and so wins your offices and ranks—that is planning for himself, not suited for the state.” He was promoted to vice director of the Imperial Clan Court, compiler of the National History, examiner of the Veritable Records, acting supervising secretary and acting vice minister of Justice, and co-compiler at the National History and Veritable Records offices. The empire was fighting in the west, and some plotted to bring Shi Songzhi back, claiming no one else could manage it. The emperor meant to reuse him; knowing Xide would oppose it, he issued an edict stating his intent. Xide resolutely submitted a confidential memorial in full, but received no answer. He also returned the order granting Deng Yong a temple sinecure. Right remonstrator Shao Ze, investigating censor Wu Yan, and palace censor Zhu Yi were impeached and dismissed one after another.
11
殿 使西 沿使 沿 沿使使 西
After some time he was made Hanlin academy compiler and intendant of the Qianqiu Hongxi Abbey. Soon he returned as commissioner-assistant of the Two Huai pacification office, was made Baomoge Pavilion academician, and served in Jingxi, Hunan North and South, and Sichuan. An edict restored his original rank. For defending Jiangling he was summoned as vice minister of Revenue. The emperor said, “Yao Xide’s talent and standing suit him for frontier command.” He was advanced to Huanzhang Pavilion academician, prefect of Qingyuan, and coastal commissioner, then promoted to Fuwen Pavilion academician. When an edict enlarged the coastal fleet, Xide widely recruited sailors, built warships, stored grain, and remitted twelve thousand piculs of rice and a million in old arrears. On leaving office he used the entire treasury surplus to pay levies owed by the people. He was summoned as minister of Works and reader-in-waiting. At the classics mat the emperor questioned him thoroughly on affairs in Qingyuan. He was made Huawen Pavilion academician, Yangtze coastal commissioner, prefect of Jiankang, Jiangdong pacification commissioner, and palace resident. Xide toured the river line, comforted the troops, and the men rejoiced. When Liyang suffered famine he opened granaries and urged sharing, saving many lives. He created the Ningjiang Army, building more than twenty thousand quarters in stockades from Jiankang and Taiping to Chizhou and stationing over seven thousand troops. The emperor heard of it and repeatedly issued edicts praising him. He was made Baozhang Pavilion academician, soon minister of Justice as well, retaining his posts while also serving as Huai-West chief steward.
12
殿 殿 使 殿祿
In Jingding year 5 he was summoned as minister of War and reader-in-waiting. He spoke on four matters: employing talent, repairing government, ordering arms, and sparing expenditure. He was appointed Duanming Hall academician, deputy director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and guest of the heir apparent. When a public star changed he memorialized taking blame and asked to leave state affairs. He was made acting vice grand councilor. When Duzong succeeded he was made associate director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and acting vice grand councilor, then full vice grand councilor. Dismissed after remonstrance, he was made Zizheng Hall academician and intendant of the Dongxiao Palace. Recalled as prefect of Tanzhou and Hunan pacification commissioner, he declined because of grave illness and returned to his temple sinecure. He asked to retire; the court refused, but he pressed again and retired as grand academician of the Zizheng Hall, Grandee of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon, still Duke of Tongchuan. He died in Xianchun year 5. When his final memorial arrived the emperor halted court and posthumously made him Junior Guardian.
13
西 稿
Xide was loyal, upright, plain, and frugal, fond of advancing good men and scorning empty fame; he would recommend people to the throne who never knew he had spoken for them. The Guangxi government used brocade for curtains; Xide said, “I am only a scholar risen from the ranks—what need have I for this!” He ordered it replaced with plain silk. Several dozen Sichuan kin and old associates relied on him; Xide supported them for life, paid for every wedding and funeral himself, and in old age allotted fields by household, each according to need. His works include Continued Records of Words and Deeds, Memorial Drafts, and Collected Works of Juzhou.
14
調谿簿 簿 沿 沿使 使簿 鹿 簿
Bao Hui, style Hongfu, was from Jianchang. His father Yang, his uncle Yue, and his uncle Xun had studied with Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan. As a youth Hui lectured on the Great Learning to his uncles’ students; his exposition was so penetrating that they were astonished. In the first year of Jiading3 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed registrar of Jinxi. Shaowu prefect Wang Sui recruited him as registrar of Guangze, where he pacified bandit unrest. Jianning prefect Yuan Fu recommended him as prefectural school instructor; he supervised the Tiger Wing Army, recruited local militia, and suppressed the Tangshi bandits. He was made archivist, then staff officer of the coastal commissionerate. In a famine year bandits rose between Jintan and Liyang; Hui sent his generals in ten columns and exterminated them. Coastal commissioner Chen Wei made him confidential staff; after further success against bandits he was named magistrate of Yongfeng in Jizhou but did not take up the post and was assigned transport staff officer instead. Fujian pacification commissioner Chen Kai ordered him to pacify bandits; he was promoted to Military School instructor and Imperial Clan registrar, with supernumerary duty as vice prefect of Taizhou. Xu Luqing campaigned against Wenzhou bandits and recruited him to manage documents for the judicial intendant, planning their capture. He became vice prefect of Lin’an, then Imperial Clan registrar and prefect of Taizhou. A sorcerer-monk in the mountains called himself the “Living Buddha”; men and women flocked to him for illicit gain, and the gentry followed the fashion until Hui executed him.
15
使西 調
Promoted to left bureau director, he did not take up the post; named Hubei judicial intendant, he again did not go; he was transferred to Fujian as concurrent prefect of Jianning. Fujian custom held a ninth-month rite for the “Five Kings’” birthdays, squandering gold and silk as the whole market turned out to worship. Hui said, “They are not dogs or swine—how could five sons be born on one day? Is that not an ill omen?” “Yet you honor and fear them like this.” The crowd took his point and the rite dwindled away. As concurrent transport commissioner-assistant he was impeached and dismissed by attendant censor Zhou Tan. Guangzhou commoner Chen Jingxia memorialized, “Bao Hui is an upright, unyielding minister; his critics have only slandered him.” Four years later he was recalled as Guangdong transport commissioner-assistant and acting pacification commissioner, promoted to right attendant director, soon vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, and the same day made direct associate of the Xianwen Pavilion and Zhexi judicial intendant. Sea bandits were then in revolt; Hui went alone, stationed troops at Xu and Ganpu, and in one day gathered the armies and crushed them. A Jiaxing clerk took a million in bribes over regulated grain purchases; ordered to review prisoners, Hui said, “I will use this to dispel corruption.” He commuted the death sentence and cut off the man’s hand.
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西 使 紿 使
He was promoted to direct associate of the Longtu Pavilion and acting transport commissioner, then Privy Archives compiler, prefect of Longxing, and Jiangxi transport commissioner. He drowned a sorceress in the river; she was said to turn into a fox, and people took it as miraculous. A mother sued her son; in the date on the plaint the character for “close” was written as “estranged”; Hui grew suspicious, summoned the son, who wept and would not speak. The truth was that the widowed mother was carrying on with a monk, hated her son’s warnings, and had him charged with unfilial conduct on a plaint the monk had drafted. He ordered the son to wait on her and never leave her side, so the monk could not come near. The mother used her husband’s death anniversary to enter a temple for Buddhist rites, hid clothing in a basket, and smuggled the monk home inside it. Hui learned of it, had them intercepted, and put the basket in the government storehouse; after ten days clerks reported the stench spreading outside; Hui ordered it sunk in the river and told the son, “I have removed this scourge for you.” When an aunt died she borrowed her daughter-in-law’s coffin; the family was too poor to replace it, and the daughter-in-law appealed to Hui. Enraged, he bought a coffin, tricked her into lying in it “to try the fit,” and had it sealed and buried at once. He was made Hunan transport commissioner and then dismissed.
17
殿 殿
Early in Jingding he was made director of the Court of Judicial Review, chief bearer of the Bureau of Military Affairs, lecturer, acting vice minister of Rites, and soon Secretariat drafter. Lin Xiyi memorialized that Hui upheld the law and served the public with a mind clear as water. As acting vice minister of Justice he was promoted to Huawen Pavilion academician, prefect of Pingjiang, and transport commissioner. A magnate had seized commoners’ tax-contract fields, registered them as public rent, and deceived the court; Hui memorialized that this struck at the people’s plea to Heaven for enduring mandate. The emperor was deeply moved, punished the officials involved, and immediately returned the land. Summoned to court, he declined; named prefect of Shaoxing, he declined again. When Duzong succeeded he was summoned as minister of Justice, made Duanming Hall academician and deputy director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Nancheng. After the suburban sacrifice he returned and retired as Zizheng Hall academician.
18
Wherever he served, Hui broke powerful bullies, removed corrupt clerks, tried witchcraft cases, assessed basin salt, and cleared silver arrears; his reputation for governance was resounding. At rotation audience he once said, “What my heart most urgently tells Your Majesty is this: your compassionate heart is like heaven and earth, sun and moon; those who shut it in and feed on it are your intimate attendants and your in-laws, nothing more.” Vice grand councilor Dong Huai read it and sighed, “We ought to blush.” Another day a lecturer praised Hui’s memorial as earnest and urged the emperor to heed it. Emperor Lizong said gladly, “His words are very blunt—when have I ever been angry at blunt speech!” At the classics mat his answers were sincere and earnest; on matters touching body and mind he was always patient and thorough. Duzong even compared Hui to Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi. When his father was ill Hui washed, scrubbed, and swept without calling servants. At eighty-seven, dying, he cited Lu Huaishen’s straw mat and plain coffin to warn his sons to bury him in simple deep garments, wrote farewell letters to kin, and died; a light was seen to fall there. When his final memorial arrived the emperor halted court, posthumously made him Junior Guardian, gave the posthumous title Wensu, and granted five hundred in silver and silk.
19
殿
Chang Ting, style Fangshu, was from Fuzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in Jiaxi year 2. He served as Imperial Academy recorder, passed the archive examination, became Secretariat rectifier and Zhuangwen Palace instructor, and was promoted to collator. At rotation audience he asked that Li Ruoshui be granted associated sacrifice in Gaozong’s temple. He became Secretariat secretary with concurrent duty in the Personnel Ministry’s merit section, went out as prefect of Quzhou, and was made investigating censor and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall. In a memorial he urged three reforms for frontier command: recruit real talent, report real merit, and recruit real troops. For the central government he urged two priorities: appoint capable officials and elevate men of integrity. He also urged: “Your Majesty should ponder designs of lasting scope and rouse a spirit of clarity; lay down frameworks and regulations fit to govern ten thousand generations, display virtue and shut out wrongdoing, and thereby set the standard for every office.” He was then made Vice Director of the Court of Sacrifices and of the Directorate of Education, and concurrently compiler of the national history, collator of the veritable records, and holder of the Imperial Drafting Academy. He was promoted to Diarist, with acting appointment as Vice Minister of Works and concurrent duty in the Hanlin Academy. He was made Vice Minister of Works and Attendant-in-ordinary. Right Remonstrance Counselor Chen Yaodao remonstrated against him and he was dismissed. He served as Baozhang Pavilion academician and prefect of Zhangzhou, then Quanzhou; he held acting appointments as Minister of War and Reader-in-waiting, then as Minister of Rites with concurrent co-compiler of the national history and veritable records. He submitted Imperial Learning: Essay Topics and was promoted to Minister of Personnel. In Xianchun year 3 he became Vice Director of the Privy Council and acting Vice Grand Councilor, was enfeoffed Duke of Heshha Commandery, and received appointment as Vice Grand Councilor. In the fourth year he retired; he died soon afterward and was posthumously honored as Junior Mentor.
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調 便
Chen Zongli, style Lizhi. Poor in youth, he studied hard; when Yuan Fu served as Jiangdong judicial intendant, Zongli went to study under him. In Chunyou year 4 he passed the jinshi examination. He served as judge of Shaowu Circuit, then entered the capital as Directorate rectifier, became Imperial Academy erudite and Directorate vice director, and was transferred to Secretariat assistant compiler. At audience he warned that fire was straying from its proper path—a celestial omen. The emperor was anxious about unusual stars; Zongli said, “Heaven is warning us. Your Majesty must cultivate virtue and govern well to move Heaven’s heart back to favor.” He added, “The empire is caught up in profit and desire; officials scramble for gain. Only absolute fairness can restrain it.” He served concurrently in the merit section, as collator of the national history and veritable records, and as instructor of the Jingxian Palace; he was promoted to compiler, then became Left Department officer with concurrent Right Department duty. Ding Daquan then held sole sway over government and treated frank speech as forbidden. Zongli sighed, “How can one stay in such a court even a day longer? At palace audience he urged, “Act for the altars of state and the realm’s long survival, not merely for granaries and treasuries; win the hearts of the whole empire, not only those of attendants, favorites, and consort kin; entrust your inner counsel to the loyal and worthy, not your eyes and ears to the low and near at hand; and bring upright men by open highways, not by back alleys that recruit the greedy and corrupt.” He was made Vice Director of the Court of Sacrifices, advanced from Baomo Pavilion academician and Guangdong judicial intendant to Huanzhang Pavilion academician, and then became Director of the Secretariat. Investigating censor Yu Lü denounced him; he was stripped of two ranks and exiled to Yongzhou.
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西 殿
In Jingding year 4 he became Attending Censor, Dragon Diagram Hall academician and Huai West transport vice commissioner, and was promoted to Minister of Justice. Diarist-attendant Cao Xiaoqing remonstrated against him and he was dismissed. When Duzong acceded, he was made concurrent lecturer and Palace Attending Censor. In a memorial he wrote, “Respect and frugality must begin with Your Majesty; purity must begin in the inner palace. Banish attendants who urge profit, and punish secret gifts brought through back channels.” Lecturing on the Book of Songs, he added, “A ruler’s every act, however small, shows itself in the end. That is why the ancients prized vigilance even when alone.” He served as acting Vice Minister of Rites and Attendant-in-ordinary. Reading Xiaozong’s Sacred Instructions, he said, “Order and chaos often begin in a single thought. Stray slightly in intent, and disaster follows at once. No empire has ever fallen to chaos that did not start small and grow plain to see.” He also said, “The state is blessed when private whim does not damage public law.” The emperor said, “In Xiaozong’s household way, rewarding good and punishing evil were especially strict.” Zongli replied, “Without rewarding merit or punishing guilt, even Yao and Shun could not rule the realm. This truly cannot be neglected.”
22
使殿 稿
He was made Vice Minister of Rites, then acting Minister of Rites, and asked for a temple sinecure. The emperor said, “Do you think I am not worth serving?” He was appointed Huawen Pavilion academician and prefect of Longxing, declined again, and kept his former rank pending the next assignment. A year later he became Guangdong pacification commissioner and prefect of Guangzhou, was made Duanming Hall academician and Signing Secretary of the Privy Council, and soon acting Vice Grand Councilor as well. In a memorial he wrote, “A state stands on Heaven’s mandate and the people’s hearts. Heed warnings and grow reverent, and Heaven’s mandate may yet be turned; while the realm has not yet fallen, steady the people, and their hearts have never been beyond recall.” He died in office; his final memorial reached the throne. He was posthumously honored Grand Preceptor of equal ceremonial rank to the Three Excellencies, Marquis of Xujiang Commandery, with the posthumous title Wendiing. His writings include Drafts of Cherished Thoughts, Collected Writings of Crooked Axle and Scattered Timber, Memorials of Two Reigns, Lectures for the Classics Colloquium, Discriminations in Classics and History, Overview of Classics and History, and Discourses on Persons.
23
調 使 調 使 使
Chang Mao, style Changru, was the great-grandson of Xianmo Pavilion academician Chang Tongzhi. He entered the Imperial Academy. In Chunyou year 7 he passed the jinshi examination. He was assigned assistant magistrate of Changshu. Upright and incorrupt, he did not fear the powerful; circuit envoys repeatedly recommended him. He was assigned investigating officer of Wuzhou. He cleared backlog lawsuits and won renown for mastering complex and urgent cases. Lin’an prefect Ma Guangzu recommended him again; as inspector of Pingjiang’s Million-Granary he refused improper state-purchase quotas and curbed clerks’ and soldiers’ harsh exactions. Transport commissioner and judicial intendant Zhao Yuru had Mao review cases and cleared the wrongful conviction of the Zhai family of Wuxi. As superintendent of the Jiang-Huai Tea and Salt bureau at Wuhu he refused excess merchant levies, and Guangzu respected him still more. He was made magistrate of Jiading County. When flood struck he urged shared relief and state grain purchases, distributing burdens evenly by household register. Wang Can and Sun Zixiu both specially recommended him; as signing judge of Lin’an he would not bend to powerful interests. When You Wei, Huai East Ever-Normal intendant, summoned Mao to serve under him, Mao knew they could not work together and declined with a smile. Soon the government forced him to accept; he resigned on the spot, and court and country held him in high esteem. As superintendent of the South City Ward he heard cases with stern clarity, and local magnates feared him still more. After the capital fire, rubble filled the streets and commoners’ boats were drafted to haul it away. Of 150 registered households only 25 performed service; the rest were shielded by powerful men and eunuchs. Mao pursued them all; he caned resisters and shackled them elsewhere until every household obeyed. He also firmly resisted the Revenue Ministry’s forced purchases. Ye Mengding and Chen Fang held him in the highest regard. He received an added assignment as vice prefect of Lin’an. Ordered to try sealed-reserve clerk Fan Cheng, he refused to follow the council’s bent and freed every innocent defendant.
24
使
He became prefect of Guangde Circuit. When flood struck the commandery he opened community granaries to feed the hungry. Officials hesitated; Mao released grain first, then asked to be punished for acting without authorization. He founded a charity bureau for orphans and built a shrine to former sages. By custom a prefect’s autumn grain share was a thousand piculs of rice; he used it to cover subordinate counties’ shortfalls in the state grain transport quota. Appointed investigating censor, he spoke without reserve on every matter he knew. He spoke on celestial omens and Jia Sidao’s land dispute, and urged succession for Prince Qi—angering Duzong, who transferred him to Director of the Court of Agriculture and soon made him Two Zhe transport commissioner. He curbed corrupt clerks and refused to press regular taxes with urgent orders. Each year brine tides from the sea damaged Haiyan’s fields; Mao petitioned the court, donated funds and grain, and gave from his own purse to build a new dyke 3,625 zhang long, which he named the Calm Sea Dyke. That autumn fierce winds and waves struck; the dyke was flooded only a foot deep, the people kept their homes, the harvest was good again, and the district honored him.
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殿 使 使
He was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. He received petitions from across the realm and worked to bring the people’s concerns to the court. He concurrently rectified affairs in the Secretariat-Chancellery bureaus and served as Vice Minister of Justice. He spoke at length against abuses in fiscal review and verification. Presenting historical precedents to the throne, he began with untimely thunder and snow; the emperor took offense. He asked for a temple sinecure but was refused; instead he was made Jiying Hall compiler and prefect of Pingjiang. A drought struck. By custom a prefect was entitled to 150,000 strings of cash; he gave it all to feed the people and supply the troops. He remitted 90,000 in seed grain, 130,000 in tax, and 160,000 in register levies, plus another 28,000 in new seed grain, greatly easing burdens on public and private alike. Locust swarms nearly reached the prefecture, but a fierce wind blew them into Lake Tai. He cut wasteful spending and restored the prefectural treasury. When he left office, custom allowed send-back gifts; beyond provisions for his staff, ten thousand notes remained—and Mao refused every one. A clerk exclaimed, “People say Vice Minister Chang cares nothing for money—and it is true! He was transferred to Eastern Zhe pacification commissioner. When flood struck he donated ten thousand notes for relief, petitioned the court for grain purchases and obtained ten thousand piculs, and remitted 38,000 in new seed grain. Zhuji was hit especially hard; he gave the county twenty thousand notes for transport and conversion so the people did not go hungry. The people enshrined him in their homes. For the unburied dead and the poor who could not afford funerals in Two Zhe, Kuaiji, and Shanyin, he deposited 100,000 notes in a Universal Benefit warehouse and used the interest to provide coffins. He was soon recalled as Vice Minister of Justice. He clarified the law on scheduled amnesty and rank restoration, disputed policy with the council, exposed a false customs case, spared granary officials facing death for deficits, reversed the Heavenly Well Lane murder conviction, and saved many lives. As concurrent Attendant-in-ordinary he sealed and returned the edict appointing Lady of Long State’s nephew’s son Huang Jin observation commissioner. The emperor was furious; Jia Sidao sent an imperial order to draft and execute the appointment tactfully, but Mao refused to the end. He was made Baozhang Pavilion awaiting draftsman and superintendent of the Taiping Xingguo Abbey.
26
殿
In the first year of Deyou he was appointed Minister of Personnel; he declined citing age and illness, but repeated edicts refused him, and a special envoy was sent with stern orders to hurry him to court. At audience Mao spoke first: “The Shechuan affair was not Prince Qi’s true intent. Putting him to death was excessive; denying him an heir was excessive as well. He was of the Baling imperial line: denied a proper fate in life and sacrificial offerings in death. Grievance and silent rage have festered for forty or fifty years; it is little short of a miracle that no demon or haunting spirit has risen from the shades. I beg Your Majesty not to waver before loose talk, but to reach a decisive judgment on your own—the dynasty would be greatly blessed.” The court then ordered the National History Academy to research precedents and report back. After the Bright Hall ceremony he was promoted to Duanming Hall academician and put in charge of Ministry of Revenue finances, with the special perquisites granted to chief ministers. Mao held that with the realm in crisis it was no hour for ministers to seek honor, and he firmly refused the special grants. He fell out with court policy and took leave citing illness. In the spring of year 2 he was appointed Vice Grand Councilor; Xia Shilin blocked the appointment, and Mao memorialized and left the capital. He died six years later.
27
使西使 殿
Jia Xuanweng was from Meizhou. He entered office through hereditary privilege. He rose through the ranks to prefect of Changzhou, where his governance won wide praise. He became judicial intendant of eastern Zhejiang, then Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital and holder of the Huawen Pavilion; he served as Shaoxing chief administrator and Secretariat compiler, chief clerk of the Privy Council, prefect of Jianning with concurrent Fujian transport vice commissioner, acting Vice Minister of Revenue with concurrent prefect of Lin’an and Zhexi pacification commissioner, then Vice Minister of Revenue and acting Vice Minister of the Right, still holding the Privy Council chief clerkship. He was granted jinshi standing and made Duanming Hall academician and signing clerk of the Privy Council.
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使 使
As Yuan forces camped near the capital, Grand Councillors Wu Jian and Jia Yuqing circulated a proclamation ordering every prefect and magistrate to surrender his city. Xuanweng alone refused to sign. The marshal sent men intending to bind him. Xuanweng said, “The Secretariat has no precedent for seizing a chief minister. ” Wu Jian submitted a petition to the Yuan court and sent Xuanweng as envoy. When the audience ended he was given no leave to depart and was detained in the guest lodge. Learning that Song had fallen, he wept day and night and took no food or drink for months. The Yuan court, admiring his integrity, wished to elevate him to high office as an example to the south. Xuanweng would not betray his sovereign; in refusing office he gave no evasive reply. When the Song imperial household was sent north, Xuanweng again led former ministers to receive them. He prostrated himself, weeping, and kowtowed in apology: as envoy he had failed, could not move the emperor’s heart, and could not save the realm. All who witnessed it sighed. Wen Tianxiang’s sister, implicated in her brother’s case, was held by a Xi official. Xuanweng spent all he had to ransom her and sent her back to her brother Bi.
29
Xuanweng was striking in appearance—seven chi tall, dressed with grave elegance. He was a master of the Spring and Autumn Annals and took the style Zetang. Resettled at Hejian, he taught the classic to his pupils and often recounted Song history and the dynasty’s fall—sometimes weeping aloud. When Emperor Chengzong of Yuan succeeded, he was sent home and given the title Recluse, with gifts of gold and coin—all of which he refused. Some years later he died at an advanced age.
30
Li Tingzhi, style Xiangfu. His forebears were from Bian. Twelve generations lived under one roof as the “Li clan of the Righteous Gate,” later moving to Yingshan in Suizhou. When Jin fell and Xiang and Han were ravaged by war, the family moved again to Suizhou. The clan was known above all for military prowess.
31
At his birth fungus appeared on the roof beam; neighbors gathered to see it as an omen of a son, and so he was named. As a boy he was unusually gifted, reciting thousands of characters a day, and his judgment often outstripped his elders. When Wang Min held Suizhou, the eighteen-year-old Tingzhi told his uncles, “Lord Wang is greedy and heedless of his men; they resent him. Suizhou will surely rebel. Move our household to De’an while we can. ” His uncles reluctantly agreed. Within ten days Wang Min’s troops had seized him and risen in revolt, and countless people of Suizhou perished. Near the end of the Jiaxi era, with river defense critical, Tingzhi passed the provincial examination but declined office and went to Jingnan commander Meng Gong with a plan, offering his service. Meng Gong was skilled at reading faces and had dreamed that night of an entourage announcing that Vice Minister Li sought audience; the next day Tingzhi came. Seeing Tingzhi’s imposing frame, Meng Gong told his sons, “I have judged many men, but none like this Li. His rank will exceed mine. ” Sichuan was then under threat, and Tingzhi was immediately appointed acting magistrate of Jianshi in Shi Prefecture. On arrival he trained farmers for war, selected strong men, and drilled them alongside regular troops. Within a year every man knew how to fight: they farmed with spears at hand and turned out in full when the enemy came. The Kuizhou commander adopted his system throughout his jurisdiction. At the start of the Chunyou era he left office, sat for the jinshi, and passed. He joined Meng Gong’s staff as director of confidential documents. At Meng Gong’s death his final memorial named Jia Sidao as successor and commended Tingzhi to him. Grateful for Meng Gong’s trust, Tingzhi bore the coffin to burial at Xingguo, resigned, and observed three years’ mourning for his patron.
32
When Sidao held Jinghu, Tingzhi became planning staff on his commission, then moved to the two Huai, where together they built palisades at Qinghe’s five river mouths and added a hundred twenty beacon towers along Huainan. He was then made prefect of Hao and rebuilt Jingshan to shield Huainan. Each measure struck at the right moment. In the first year of Qingqing, with Sidao pacification commissioner of Jinghu, Tingzhi was left in charge at Yangzhou. Soon, with major forces in Sichuan, he asked to be made prefect of Xia to guard the Sichuan river mouth. The court appointed Zhao Yourui Huainan commissioner and Li Yinggeng as planning staff. Li Yinggeng marched both circuits’ troops against the southern city; in the midsummer heat tens of thousands died of sunstroke. Li Dan, seeing their folly, took the three Lianshui cities, crossed the Huai, and seized the southern city. When the relief from Ezhou arrived, Tingzhi left to mourn his mother. The court debated who should hold Yangzhou; the emperor said, “No one but Li Tingzhi. ” He was recalled from mourning to head the two-Huai commission. Tingzhi again routed Li Dan, killed his general Li Yuanshuai, razed the southern city, and withdrew. The following year he defeated Dan again at Qiaocun and took Donghai, Shipu, and other cities. The year after, Li Dan surrendered and the three cities’ populace was resettled between Tong and Tai. He also took Qizhou and killed its defender.
33
使
When Tingzhi first reached Yangzhou, the city had just burned and every house lay in ruins. The prefecture depended on the salt trade, yet saltern households had fled in droves; public and private coffers alike were empty. Tingzhi canceled overdue debts, lent money for rebuilding, then forgave the loans when houses were finished. Within a year both official quarters and private homes stood restored. He dug a forty-li canal to the Jinsha Yuqing saltern, sparing cart haulage. He dredged other transport canals and wrote off more than two million in saltern salt debt. Saltern workers were spared cart labor and freed of debt; refugees returned, and the salt trade revived. Pingshan Hall had overlooked the city; when Yuan forces came they built a watchtower there and mounted ballistae to rain bolts on Yangzhou. Tingzhi encircled it with a great outer wall and enrolled twenty thousand refugees from south of Bian to man it; the court named them the Wurui Army. He rebuilt the school, furnished classics and ritual vessels, and drilled the gentry in archery ceremony. In flood or drought he opened the granaries at once, and when stores ran short he spent his own wealth on relief. The people of Yangzhou loved him as a parent. Liu Pan came to court from Huainan. Asked about the Huai front, he said, “Li Tingzhi is steady and prudent; soldiers and civilians are secure. The border is quiet and every undertaking prospers—all because Your Majesty appoints the right men.”
34
使 使 使 鹿
In Xianchun year 5 the northern army pressed Xiangyang hard. Xia Gui marched to relieve it and was routed at Huwei; Fan Wenhu led a second relief force and was beaten again; he fled in a light craft while troops broke ranks, and countless men drowned in the Han. That winter Tingzhi was ordered as Jinghu Grand Commissioner to lead the Xiangyang relief. Hearing of Tingzhi’s arrival, Wenhu wrote Sidao: “I have tens of thousands of men; one battle will end it—only keep me from orders out of the capital command. Then the credit will be yours. ” Sidao was delighted, made Wenhu observation commissioner of Fuzhou, and kept his army under central control. Wenhu spent his days with concubines, riding and playing ball in camp. Tingzhi repeatedly urged an advance, saying, “I have not yet received the imperial order. ” The next sixth month the Han flooded; Wenhu at last marched once, then fled before reaching Lumen. Tingzhi repeatedly asked to be relieved; the court refused, and Xiangyang fell. Chen Yizhong demanded Wenhu’s execution; Sidao shielded him with a single-rank demotion to Anqing prefect, while Tingzhi and generals Su Liuyi and Fan Youxin were exiled to Guangnan. Tingzhi retired to Jingkou.
35
西 沿 調
Soon Yuan forces besieged Yangzhou; commissioner Yin Yinglei died suddenly, and Tingzhi was recalled to command the two Huai. Tingzhi asked to split the front: Xia Gui would hold western Huai while he focused on the east, and the court agreed. In year 10 he fortified the Qinghe mouth, which the court chartered as Qinghe Army. In the twelfth month Yuan forces took Ezhou; the court called for loyalist armies, and Tingzhi was first to send troops, leading every circuit. In the spring of Deyou year 1, Sidao’s army was shattered at Wuhu; along the Yangtze prefectures surrendered or fled—none held. Tingzhi held every city in his jurisdiction. A man named Li Hu brought a surrender placard into Yangzhou; Tingzhi killed him and burned it. General Zhang Jun came out to fight bearing Meng Zhijin’s surrender letter; Tingzhi burned it and displayed Jun and five others in the marketplace. Each day he sent Miao Zaicheng to the south, Xu Wende to the north, and Jiang Cai and Shi Zhong in the center. He feasted his troops on gold, silk, cattle, and wine, and every man fought for him unto death. The court sent command gold as reward and promoted Tingzhi to Vice Grand Councilor. In the seventh month he was summoned as Director of the Privy Council; Xia Gui was named to replace him at Yangzhou but never came, and the plan lapsed.
36
滿 使退 西 使使 使 使 滿
In the tenth month Chancellor Bayan entered Lin’an and left Marshal Achu at Zhenjiang to pin the Huai armies. Achu assaulted Yangzhou for months without success, then threw up a long encirclement. By winter the city was starving; corpses choked the streets. The next second month famine worsened; hundreds leapt into the moat each day. Where a body lay in the street, crowds fought to carve and devour it on the spot. After Song fell, Empress Dowager Xie and Emperor Yingguo sent orders to surrender. Tingzhi mounted the wall and said, “I was ordered to defend this city; I have heard no order to surrender. ” Soon the imperial household went north; at Guazhou they wrote again: “We ordered you to submit, yet days pass without answer—do you still not grasp Our meaning, and mean to hold the walls?” Now that the heir and I have already submitted, for whom are you still holding out? Tingzhi made no reply, ordered crossbows fired at the envoys, killed one, and the rest withdrew. Jiang Cai led troops out to recover the two palaces, failed, and the city was shut again for defense. In the third month Xia Gui surrendered Huai West; Achu marched surrendered troops to the walls as a display, banners covering the plain. When a staff member tried to probe him, Tingzhi said, “I have only death left.” Achu’s envoy came with an edict offering surrender; Tingzhi opened the gate, admitted him, beheaded him, and burned the edict on the wall. Soon word came that Xu Wende of Huai’an, Zhang Sicong of Xuyi, and Liu Xingzu of Sizhou had all surrendered when their grain ran out. Tingzhi still requisitioned civilian grain for the army; when it was gone he ordered officials to give grain, then officers, mixing ox hide and ferment mash to feed the men. Some soldiers boiled their children for food, yet still went out to fight bitterly every day. In the seventh month Achu asked that Tingzhi be pardoned for burning the edict so he might surrender; the court agreed. Tingzhi still refused. That month Prince Yi summoned Tingzhi as Junior Guardian and left grand councilor; Tingzhi left Zhu Huan to hold Yangzhou and with Jiang Cai led seven thousand men east toward the sea to Taizhou, where Achu pursued and besieged them. After Zhu Huan surrendered the city, he drove the families of Tingzhi’s men to Taizhou’s walls; defenders Sun Gui and Hu Weixiao opened the gates and surrendered. When he heard what had happened, Tingzhi threw himself into Lotus Pond, but the water was too shallow and he could not drown. Captured and taken to Yangzhou, Zhu Huan said, “Since the fighting began at Yangzhou, the fields have been heaped with corpses—all Tingzhi and Cai’s doing. Why wait to kill them?” They were beheaded. On the day they died, the people of Yangzhou wept.
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Song Yinglong was Taizhou deliberation officer; Prefect Sun Liangchen’s brother Shunchen came from the army to urge surrender. Liangchen consulted Yinglong, who spoke at length of the state’s grace and loyalty between ruler and minister and asked that Shunchen be killed to warn waverers; Liangchen reluctantly killed him. When Taizhou fell, Yinglong and his wife hanged themselves. Chu Yizheng, deliberation officer of the judicial intendant’s office, was posted at Gaoyou, urged the fighting, was wounded, and drowned. Hu Gongchen, magistrate of Xinghua, also died when his city fell.
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The historians comment: Yang Dong’s learning came from the Yi and Luo traditions, yet he was hemmed in by a powerful minister, quickly slandered and blamed—whose fault was that? Yao Xide was a gentle, amiable gentleman. Bao Hui governed with severity—was that not because a people in a declining age cannot be handled with lax indulgence? Chang Ting and Chen Zongli were both skilled in statecraft and won wide renown. Chang Mao in his later years pleaded the case of Prince Qi—open, upright, and radiant with public justice. Jia Xuanweng’s loyalty to one ruler alone is enough to stand as a model for ministers. Li Tingzhi died in the nation’s calamity—how pitiable!
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