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卷四百三十四 列傳第一百九十三 儒林四 劉子翬 呂祖謙 蔡元定子:沉 陸九齡兄:九韶 陸九淵 薛季宣 陳傅良 葉適 戴溪 蔡幼學 楊泰之

Volume 434 Biographies 193: Confucian Scholars 4 - Liu Zihui, Lu Zuqian, Cai Yuandingzi:chen, Lu Jiulingxiong:jiushao, Lu Jiuyuan, Xue Jixuan, Chen Fuliang, Ye Shi, Dai Xi, Cai Youxue, Yang Taizhi

Chapter 434 of 宋史 · History of Song
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Chapter 434
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1
Confucian Scholars 4
2
○ Liu Zihui, Lü Zuqian, Cai Yuanding (son Chen) Lu Jiuling (elder brother Jiushao) Lu Jiuyuan, Xue Jixuan, Chen Fuliang, Ye Shi, Dai Xi, Cai Youxue, Yang Taizhi
3
Liu Zihui
4
Liu Zihui, styled Yanchong, was the second son of Han, who had been posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor. Through his father's yin privilege he received appointment as Court Gentleman for Miscellaneous Service and was recruited as a staff member of Zhending Prefecture. When Han perished in the Jingkang disaster, Zihui was overcome with grief and anger, scarcely able to go on living, and kept mourning at the tomb for three years. After his mourning period ended, he was appointed vice prefect of Xinghua Military Prefecture. When Yang bandits raided the Fujian border, Zihui and the prefectural commander Zhang Dangshi drew up defensive plans with the ease of veterans; the rebels did not dare attack. When word of this reached the court, an edict ordered that he be kept in his post.
5
Zihui had first been brought low by illness while observing mourning; now, unable to bear the burdens of office, he resigned and retired to Mount Wuyi, where he did not emerge for seventeen years in all. From time to time he would go to his father's tomb, gaze upon it and pace about in tears, sometimes not returning home for days on end. After his wife died he did not remarry, and he showed the utmost filial and fraternal devotion to his stepmother Lady Lü and to his elder brother's son Yu. Yu's son Gong was clever and eager to learn from childhood; Zihui taught him without cease, and Gong ultimately made his mark.
6
He formed a close bond with Hu Xian of Jixi and Liu Mianzhi of Baishui; whenever they met, they spoke only of learning and nothing else. Those with whom he associated were all celebrated scholars of the realm, but of those in whom he placed hope for bearing great responsibility and reaching far, there was only Zhu Xi of Xin'an. Earlier, when Xi's father Song was near death, he entrusted Xi to Zihui's care. When Xi came to seek his instruction, Zihui told him the three words of the Changes—"returning is not far"—and bade him keep them for life; Xi later became the leading figure of the Confucian school. In youth Zihui had delighted in Buddhist teachings; after returning home he read the Changes and at once gained clear insight. His teaching held that in studying the Changes one should begin with the hexagram Fu (Return); that is why he gave Xi this counsel.
7
One day, sensing a slight illness, he at once visited the family shrine, wept his farewell to his mother, and took leave of relatives and friends; he entrusted household affairs to Gong, indicated where he wished to be buried, provided for orphaned and helpless kinsmen without means of support, and addressed his students in several hundred words on self-cultivation and the pursuit of the Way. Two days later he died, at the age of forty-seven. Scholars honored him as Master Pingshan. Gong has a separate biography.
8
Lü Zuqian
9
Lü Zuqian, styled Bogong, was the grandson of Hao Wen, Right Vice Director of the Secretariat. From his grandfather's generation onward the family made its home in Wuzhou. Zuqian's learning took root in his own household, which preserved the literary heritage of the Central Plains. In maturity he studied under Lin Zhiqi, Wang Yingchen, and Hu Xian; later he also became friends with Zhang Shi and Zhu Xi, and his inquiry grew ever more refined.
10
調 使使
At first he entered office through yin privilege; later he passed the jinshi examination and also the erudite and literary exposition examination, and was assigned to the Southern Outer Court Directorate of Sacrifices. While observing mourning for his mother, he lived on Mount Mingzhao, and scholars from all quarters flocked to him. He was appointed Erudite of the Imperial Academy; at that time capital officials awaiting assignment were routinely given supplemental posts outside the capital, and he was made supernumerary professor at Yanzhou. Soon he was recalled as erudite, concurrently serving as compiler in the National History Institute and examiner in the Veritable Records Institute. In rotation audience he urged Emperor Xiaozong to devote attention to sagely learning. He also said: "Recovery is a great undertaking; the overall design must be settled and the strategy carefully weighed. Your Majesty is now broadly gathering heroes and worthies to accomplish great deeds together. Your servant wishes to examine them carefully, so that they may clearly set forth what planning truly requires and what must come first and what after, and so that rash, opportunistic proposals may not be ventured before you. Then, with one or two great ministers, settle the completed plan and carry it out step by step—the great cause may be upheld and the great enterprise restored."
11
西
He was summoned to the examination for an academy post. Previously, those summoned to such examinations usually sought the topics in advance from the Hanlin Academy; Zuqian alone did not, yet his essay was especially elegant and refined. He once read Lu Jiuyuan's writings and delighted in them, though he had not yet met the man. While examining candidates at the Ministry of Rites, he obtained one scroll and said, "This must be the writing of the younger Lu of Jiangxi. " When the name was revealed, it was indeed Jiuyuan, and people marveled at his keen discernment. After mourning for his father and the end of the mourning period, he served as superintendent of the Chongdao Abbey in Taizhou.
12
Three years later he was appointed Secretary, compiler in the National History Institute, and examiner in the Veritable Records Institute. On the recommendation of Compiler Li Tao, he undertook a revision of the Veritable Records of Emperor Huizong. When the work was completed, he was promoted in rank. In audience he said: "In the body and structure of governance, security comes only when those above and below and within and without do not encroach upon one another. Formerly Your Majesty, finding great ministers unequal to their tasks, personally took on their duties; the great ministers in turn attended to minute affairs and performed the work of subordinate offices; and extending outward to supervisory commissioners, prefects, and magistrates—all were encroached upon by their superiors and could not command those below them. Thus the powerful and crafty made sport of government offices, prefectures and counties slighted the central ministries, clerks overawed their superiors, and base men held power-holders in contempt. In ordinary times the harm was not apparent; but once an emergency arose, who was there to command and deploy, to expand and contract as needed? If one says that subordinates' authority is too great and fears they cannot remain impartial, there are drafting and reviewing officers to receive and transmit matters, censorial and remonstrance officials to correct errors, and attendants to inquire and consult. If upright and unbiased men are appointed to these posts, there will be no fear of arbitrary power—why must the supreme dignity be bent to take their labor upon itself? In the human body, slight obstruction in the joints and channels soon gives rise to illness. Your Majesty, though not personally managing those at your side, if you treat them lightly and give them no thought, their influence will gradually grow, flatterers will multiply, and faults will accumulate; inwardly they will fear dismissal and think ever more of blocking access; outwardly they will fear public censure and ever more indulge in slander and exclusion. Your servant wishes that Your Majesty, with an open mind, seek out the scholars of the realm and hold fast to essentials to govern the pivot of all affairs. Do not, because appointments may err, deem many men suspect; do not, because your intelligence stands supreme, deem your wisdom sufficient to see all; do not be absorbed in small matters and forget far-reaching plans; do not neglect what is near and forget the sprouting of obstruction."
13
He also said: "In the governing structure of our dynasty, there are aspects that far surpass former ages and aspects that, compared with former ages, are not yet complete. To establish the framework with magnanimity, generosity, and loyalty, and to shape customs with courtesy, deference, and integrity—this is what is meant by far surpassing former ages. Thus after the chaos and peril of upheaval, the court remained in the southeast for more than fifty years without the slightest worry—how deep its foundations are may be readily seen. Yet civil governance is admirable while military achievement has not been revived; famous commanders succeed one another while strategic capacity remains wanting—thus even in a time of flourishing splendor, this malady was already visible. Thus in the crisis with Yuan Hao, Fan and Han were both the finest men of their age, yet could not pacify and destroy him—from this one may see how the dynasty failed to compete in achievement. Your servant holds that where today's governing structure falls short of former ages, it should indeed be roused and strengthened. What far surpasses former ages should all the more be cherished and upheld."
14
He was transferred to Compiler; because of a chronic illness, he requested a sacrificial appointment and returned home. Earlier, bookshops carried a work called Literary Ocean of the Holy Song; Emperor Xiaozong ordered the Lin'an prefecture to correct and publish it. Academician Zhou Bida said: The Literary Ocean's selections are flawed and may be hard to pass down to posterity—why not commission academy officials to select and compile a book worthy of the age? Emperor Xiaozong entrusted the task to Zuqian. He then selected works from before the Restoration, exalting the elegant and rejecting the frivolous, and arranged them in one hundred fifty juan; when he presented the work, it was granted the name Mirror of Literature of the Imperial Court.
15
An edict appointed him Direct Attendant of the Secretariat Library. At that time office titles were highly valued and were not granted without merit; Drafting Officer Chen Yan lodged an objection. Emperor Xiaozong wrote in marginal comment: "In academy posts, literature and history come first. What Zuqian has presented was selected with precision and benefits the way of governance; therefore he is to be honored—draft the appointment edict at once. " Yan had no choice but to draft the edict. Soon afterward he served as superintendent of the Chongyou Abbey. The following year he was appointed Compiler, concurrently serving as compiler in the National History Institute. He died at the age of forty-five. His posthumous title was Cheng.
16
忿 歿
Zuqian's learning took the Guan and Luo schools as its foundation, while he also consulted records broadly without limit. Even-tempered and mild, he did not set himself apart; all the outstanding men of the age gave him their hearts. In youth he was impetuous; one day, reciting Confucius's words—"Be strict with yourself and make light demands on others"—he suddenly felt his usual anger melt away like ice. Zhu Xi once said: "Only learning like Bogong's truly transforms one's temperament. " What he taught and planned was meant to open things up and accomplish great tasks; though he took to his sickbed, his resolve to bear heavy responsibility and reach far did not fade. His household governance could all serve as models for later generations. He compiled Records of Reading the Odes and Records of Great Affairs, but neither was completed. He collated the Ancient Book of Changes, Expositions on the Documents, Inner Standards, Admonitions for Officials, Records of Distinguishing Ambitions, and Origins and End of Master Ouyang—all circulated in his day. In his later years the place where he met friends was the Lizhe Academy in Jinhua city; after his death, the people of the prefecture at once established a shrine to him. His son was Yanian.
17
Cai Yuanding
18
西
Cai Yuanding, styled Jitong, was a native of Jianyang in Jianzhou. From birth he was clever; at eight he could compose poetry and each day wrote several thousand words from memory. His father Fa read widely in all books and styled himself the Old Man of Mutang; he taught Yuanding the Cheng family's Analects, the Shao family's Treatise on Ordering the World, and the Zhang family's Correcting Obscurity, saying, "This is the true lineage of Confucius and Mencius. " Yuanding deeply absorbed their meaning. When he grew up, his analysis grew ever more refined. He climbed to the summit of West Mountain, enduring hunger and eating shepherd's purse while he studied.
19
西
Hearing of Zhu Xi's fame, he went to study under him. Xi questioned his learning and was greatly astonished, saying, "This is my old friend; he should not be ranked among disciples. " Thereupon they shared a couch and discussed the profound meanings of the classics, often until midnight. Scholars who came from all directions—Xi always had them seek Yuanding's correction and verification first. Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices You Mao and Vice Director of the Secretariat Yang Wanli jointly submitted memorials recommending him to the court. He was summoned, but firmly declined on the grounds of illness. He built a house on West Mountain, planning to live out his days there.
20
At the time Han Tuozhou monopolized power, established a proscription against so-called "False Learning," and thereby purged worthy men from office. Censorial and remonstrance officials followed the prevailing wind and devoted themselves to attacks, yet still did not dare openly denounce Zhu Xi by name. Only when Shen Jizu and Liu Sanjie became remonstrance officials did they begin submitting successive memorials slandering Xi and implicating Yuanding as well. Yuanding wrote to his student Liu Li, saying, "If you transform nature, you produce falsity—how can that be guiltless!" Before long, he was indeed banished to Daozhou. The prefecture and county authorities pursued Yuanding with great urgency. Upon receiving the order, he set out at once without even bidding farewell to his family. Xi and several hundred followers saw him off at a Buddhist temple. The guests were moved to sigh, and some wept. Xi glanced at Yuanding and found him unchanged from ordinary times. He thereupon sighed and said, "The affection of friends who love one another, and Jitong's undaunted resolve—both may be said to have been fully attained." Yuanding composed a poem, saying, "We clasp hands and part with smiles—do not give way to womanish grief. The crowd said he ought to travel slowly, but Yuanding said, "Having offended Heaven, can one flee from Heaven? Leaning on his staff and wearing sandals, he traveled three thousand li with his son Chen. His feet bled, yet not the slightest sign of distress showed on his face.
21
When he reached Chunling, scholars came from near and far in ever-growing numbers, and every gentleman of the prefecture hurried to sit beneath his mat and hear his lectures. Even noted scholars who relied on their talent to be curt and arrogant and who mocked their predecessors came to submit in heartfelt respect, paying the disciple's salutation with great reverence. People said of this, "At first they did not revere him; now they submit their lives." Those who cared for Yuanding said he ought to turn away his students, but Yuanding said, "They come for learning—how can I bear to refuse them? If disaster should come, it is not something that closing the door and blocking the entrance could avoid. He sent a letter instructing his sons, saying, "Walk alone without shame before your shadow; sleep alone without shame beneath your coverlet—do not slacken because I have been punished. One day he said to Chen, "You may decline visitors; I wish for quiet, to return to nature what was originally hers. Three days later he died. After Tuozhou was executed, Yuanding was posthumously granted the rank of Diligence-in-Office Gentleman and given the posthumous title Cultured Integrity.
22
稿 西
Yuanding read everything in books and investigated everything in practical affairs. In principle and meaning he penetrated to the great root, and down to documents and records, rites and music, and institutions, there was nothing in which he was not exquisite. Strange words and abstruse meanings in ancient books that others could not understand, he grasped at a single reading. Xi once said, "For others easy books are hard to read; for Jitong hard books are easy." Xi's annotated explications of the Four Books, and his commentaries on the Changes and the Odes and the Outline and Details of the Comprehensive Mirror, were all repeatedly revised through exchange with Yuanding. The book Elementary Learning, moreover, was entrusted to Yuanding to draft. He once said, "The subtlety of creation is recognized only by those deeply versed in principle; I never tire of speaking with Jitong." When Yuanding was buried, Xi composed a funeral elegy for him, saying, "Penetrating insight, transcendent talent, a will that could not be bent, and disputation that could not be exhausted—none of these can be seen again. Scholars honored him as Master of West Mountain.
23
His lifelong pursuit of learning is largely preserved in Xi's collected writings. Books he authored include Detailed Explanation of the Great Evolution, New Book on Pitch Pipes, Banquet Music, Original Discrimination, Treatise on the Supreme Ultimate and the Ordering of the World, Essential Points of the Hidden Void of the Supreme Mystery, Explication of the Great Plan, and Explanation of the Eight Formations; Xi wrote prefaces for them all.
24
His sons Yuan and Chen both farmed with their own hands and did not take office. Yuan authored an Exegesis and Explanation of the Zhou Changes.
25
Son: Chen
26
Chen, styled Zhongmo, studied under Zhu Xi from youth. In his later years Xi wished to compose a Commentary on the Documents but did not complete it, and so entrusted the task to Chen. The numbers of the Great Plan had long been lost to scholars; Yuanding alone grasped them in his heart, yet had not yet set them down in writing, saying, "The one who will complete my book is Chen." Chen received the trust of father and teacher and pondered repeatedly for several decades before completing the book, elucidating what earlier Confucians had not yet reached. Regarding the numbers of the Great Plan, he said, "What embodies the operations of Heaven and Earth are the images of the Changes; what records the operations of Heaven and Earth are the numbers of the Great Plan." Numbers begin with one odd; images are formed from two evens. The odd is that by which number is established; the even is that by which number operates. Thus two fours make eight—the images of the Eight Trigrams; three threes make nine—the numbers of the Nine Categories. From this, eight times eight and again eight times eight make four thousand ninety-six, and the images are complete; nine times nine and again nine times nine make six thousand five hundred sixty-one, and the numbers are fully cyclical. The Changes passed through four sages and the images were fixed; the Great Plan was bestowed upon Divine Yu, yet its numbers were not transmitted. Later authors, ignorant of the origin of images and numbers and obstructing the subtlety of change and transformation, either derived numbers from images or reversed numbers to simulate images, forcing connections and reading meanings into things, so that the numbers of nature grew ever more obscure.
27
歿
At the beginning, when he followed Yuanding into exile at Daozhou, he trudged several thousand li through remote parts of Chu and Yue. Father and son faced one another and often found joy in principle and righteousness. When Yuanding died, Chen escorted the coffin home on foot. When gifts of gold were offered that righteousness would not allow him to accept, he always declined them, saying, "I cannot bear to burden my forebears." At barely thirty he put aside the pursuit of examination degrees and took the sages alone as his teachers. He lived in seclusion on Nine Peaks; eminent ministers of the age sought him out intending to recommend him for office, but Chen disdained to accept. His second son Kang has a separate biography.
28
Lu Jiuling
29
Lu Jiuling, styled Zishou. His eighth-generation ancestor Xisheng served as chief minister to Emperor Zhaozong of Tang. His descendant Deqian, at the end of the Five Dynasties, fled turmoil and settled at Jinxi in Fuzhou. His father He was honored by neighbors for learning and conduct. He once adopted Sima Guang's rites for capping, marriage, funeral, and sacrifice and practiced them in the household. He had six sons; Jiuling was the fifth. In youth he was clever, perceptive, and dignified. At ten he lost his mother and mourned with the grief and emaciation of an adult. When he grew somewhat older, he was enrolled as a student of the prefectural school.
30
退
At the time Qin Gui held power and no one spoke of the learning of the Cheng school; Jiuling alone honored its teachings. After some time he heard that the new Erudite studied the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi and did not observe rites and law. He sighed in indignation and said, "This is not what I wish to study." Thereupon he returned home and applied himself still more vigorously to study with his father and elder brothers. At that time Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel Xu Xin was famed at court. Retired to Linchuan, he rarely received guests, but upon one meeting with Jiuling he was greatly delighted in conversation and told him everything he knew of contemporary documents and institutions. From then on Jiuling applied himself to learning with redoubled vigor, reading through the hundred schools day and night without tiring, and thoroughly mastering the theories of yin and yang, astronomy and calendrics, the Five Phases, and divination.
31
調 調
By nature he was thorough and careful and would not casually skim or dabble. He entered the Imperial College, and Vice Director Wang Yingchen recommended him as Recorder of Learning. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Qiandao reign. He was appointed instructor at Guiyang Prefecture, but because his parents were old and the road was far, he was transferred to Xingguo Prefecture. Before he took up the post, Hunan tea bandits raided Luling, and the alarm shook neighboring prefectures and struck fear into people's hearts. There had long been a volunteer defense society to guard against bandits. The prefecture, following the people's request, put Jiuling in charge of it, and many of his disciples were displeased. Jiuling said, "Civil affairs and military preparedness are one." In antiquity when there were campaigns, high ministers themselves became generals; the heads of neighborhoods were leaders of groups of five households. If gentlemen are ashamed of this, then bold ruffians who take the law into their own hands will monopolize it. Thereupon he took charge of the matter; in deployment, garrisoning, and defense he had methods for everything. Although the bandits did not come, the prefecture and counties relied on him as a mainstay. In his spare time he practiced archery with the young men of the district, saying, "This is indeed a man's business." In a bad year, when plunderers passed his gate, they always warned one another, saying, "That household shoots with great accuracy—do not bring death on yourselves.
32
滿 調
When he reached Xingguo, the place bordered the great river; the customs were frugal and stingy, and few knew learning. Jiuling did not relax because his office was idle. He tightened rules all the more, kept his cap and robes in order as if facing a great assembly, and by encouragement, reassurance, guidance, and support raised up the community of scholars. Before a full year had passed, he left office to observe mourning for his stepmother. When mourning ended, he was appointed instructor at Quanzhou. Before he took up the post, he fell ill. One morning he rose, sat on his bed conversing with a guest, and still spoke with concern for the learning and talent of the realm. By evening he straightened his robe, lay properly, and died. He was forty-nine. In the second year of the Baoqing reign he was specially granted the rank of Court Gentleman for Appeasing the Dynasty and Direct Attendant at the Secretariat, and given the posthumous title Cultured Penetration.
33
Jiuling once continued his father's aims and further cultivated ritual learning; in governing the household he had methods. The whole household numbered a hundred mouths; men and women each in their rank performed their duties, and within the inner quarters discipline was as strict as at court. Yet he was loyal, reverent, cheerful, and easygoing, and the villagers were transformed by him, all becoming deferential among brothers. With his younger brother Jiuyuan he were teacher and friend to each other, harmonious yet different; scholars called them "the Two Lus." When someone came to inquire about learning, Jiuling would unhurriedly instruct him, and each person gained his own understanding. If someone was not yet fit to converse with, he would not speak. He once said, "Some of people's confusions cannot be settled by tongue and lips; speak too sharply and you only fix their error more firmly; wait a little, and they may well come to understand on their own."
34
Zhang Shi of Guanghan did not know Jiuling, but in his later years exchanged letters to discuss learning, looking to the weighty affairs of the age. Lü Zuqian often praised him, saying, "What he aspired to was great; what he relied on was solid." Where there was obstruction at the vital joint, though he had piled up nine fathoms of effort he did not dare press on; where there was bias of a hair's breadth, though he stood as a model for ten thousand men he did not dare rest secure. He hears with an open ear and sees with an even eye, standing apart to survey all quarters—yet because he never reaches that ground of perfect balance and clarity, he never knows where to put his hand. "Brother Jiu Shao."
35
Jiu Shao, elder brother of the subject above
36
使
Jiu Shao, whose courtesy name was Zimei. His scholarship ran deep and ran clear. He lived in seclusion among the mountains, and each night set down in writing whatever he had done or said by day. For generations his clan had lived as one household under shared duty: the eldest served as patriarch, and the whole family took its orders from him. Every year the younger members rotated through the household duties—fields and rents, receipts and disbursements, the kitchen, and the receiving of guests—each task with its own steward. Jiu Shao cast his admonitions into rhymed verse. Each morning, once the patriarch had led the younger men in obeisance at the ancestral shrine and struck the drum, they would recite his words in ranks for all to hear. When a younger member fell into fault, the patriarch would gather the whole company to rebuke and instruct him. If he would not mend his ways, he was flogged; if he still would not mend them and was judged beyond forbearance, the matter was brought before the magistrates and he was sent away to a distant place. Among Jiu Shao's writings were the Collected Works of Suoshan, Household Regulations, and Maps of Prefectures and Commanderies.
37
Lu Jiuyuan
38
西
Lu Jiuyuan, whose courtesy name was Zijing. When he was three or four years old, he asked his father where heaven and earth came to an end. His father only laughed and did not answer. He brooded on the question until he forgot both food and sleep. By the time he had bound his hair in youth, his manner was unlike that of other boys, and all who saw him treated him with deference. He once said to others, "When I hear people recite the words of Cheng Yi, I feel as if they are cutting into me. "He also said, "Why do Yichuan's words not resemble those of Confucius and Mencius? On closer reading I find many places where he is simply wrong." The first time he read the Analects, he already suspected that Youzi's sayings were piecemeal and off the mark. On another day, reading an ancient text, he came upon the word "cosmos." The gloss read: "The four quarters and what lies above and below constitute space; what was and what will be constitute time." Suddenly he saw it whole and cried, "Affairs of the cosmos are affairs of the self; affairs of the self are affairs of the cosmos." He also said, "Should a sage arise east of the sea, this mind would be the same, and this principle would be the same. Should sages arise on the western, southern, or northern seas, it would be no different. A thousand or ten thousand generations ago, when sages arose, this mind was the same and this principle was the same. And should sages arise a thousand or ten thousand generations hence, this mind and this principle would still be no different."
39
調簿
Later he passed the jinshi examination in the eighth year of the Qiandao era. When he reached the capital, men of learning vied to follow him. His speech awakened and stirred the heart; many who heard him rose up transformed. In instruction he kept no formal rules of study. For a small fault, a single word that struck the truth could bring sweat to the brow. For those who carried feelings in the breast they could not themselves discern, he would lay out the causes one by one until they matched the heart exactly. There were even men a thousand li away who, hearing only the broad outline of his teaching, could know the man he was. He once said, "When a thought goes wrong, know it in the turning of a moment and you may set it right at once. When a thought is right, lose it in the turning of a moment and it becomes wrong. Some things may be read in outward conduct; some may not. Judge a man only by what can be seen, and you will never truly know him. Measure a man only by what can be seen, and you will never truly save him." At first he was appointed chief clerk of Jing'an County under Longxing. After mourning his mother and completing the period of grief, he was reassigned to Chong'an County in Jianning. On the recommendation of Junior Mentor Shi Hao, he was summoned for imperial review but did not go. The palace attendants recommended him again, and he was made Rectifier of the Directorate of Education, instructing the students no differently than he had at home. He was then appointed reviser at the Office for the Compilation of Edicts and Ordinances.
40
滿
In youth Jiuyuan had heard tell of the Jingkang disaster and was seized by the call to avenge the nation's humiliation. By then he had sought out bold fighting men and debated with them the broad strategy of recovery. At a rotating audience before the throne he submitted five memorials. The first addressed the nation's shame still unavenged and urged the broad search for outstanding men of the realm to share in the work of expounding the Way and ordering the state. The second urged the emperor to show the utmost sincerity in honoring virtue and delighting in the Way. The third spoke of how hard it is to know men. The fourth held that great affairs must be brought to fruition by degrees and cannot be rushed. The fifth argued that the ruler ought not personally to trifle with small matters. The emperor commended them. Before long he was made Deputy Director of the Directorate of Palace Buildings, but Vice Censor-in-Chief Wang Xin impeached him, and he was ordered to take charge of the Chongdao Abbey in Taizhou. When he returned home, scholars pressed in upon him. Whenever he opened his lecture hall, shoes overflowed the threshold, and old men leaned on their staves to listen. He took for himself the style Old Man of Elephant Mountain, and scholars addressed him as Master Xiangshan. He once told his students, "Your ears are already sharp, your eyes already clear. Serve your father and you are already filial; serve your elder brother and you are already dutiful. Nothing is missing in you, and you need seek nothing outside yourselves—only stand firm on your own." He also said, "This Way is easier to speak of to a man drowning in profit and desire than to a man drowning in opinions." When others urged Jiuyuan to write books, he said, "The Six Classics annotate me—I do not annotate the Six Classics. "He also said, "Once a man truly knows the Way in his learning, the Six Classics become no more than footnotes to him."
41
使 使使
When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Jiuyuan was appointed military prefect of Jingmen. When the people came with grievances, early or late they were all admitted to his hall. He would have them carry their own petitions to pursue the matter, set a date—and all arrived as promised. He then decided each case according to its merits, often persuading the parties and sending them home reconciled. In cases touching family and human ties, he made the parties tear up their own petitions, so as to strengthen public morals. Only those who could not be reasoned with were handed over to the law. He already knew which officials in his jurisdiction were corrupt and which were upright, and which local customs were sound and which were vicious. One man sued another for killing his son. Jiuyuan said, "It has not gone that far." When the matter was pursued, the son was indeed alive and well. Another man complained that goods had been stolen but could not name the thief. Jiuyuan gave two men's names, had them seized, and under interrogation they confessed. All that had been stolen was returned to the complainant, and Jiuyuan pardoned their crimes so they might begin anew. He then told his clerks that a certain man in a certain place was given to violence. The next day a man came to report a robbery on the road—the culprit was exactly that man, and severer punishment was added. The clerks were thunderstruck, and the people of the prefecture took him for one touched by the divine. He enforced the mutual-responsibility system with rigor. Whenever thieves struck, not one escaped; bands of robbers fell silent.
42
西 使
Jingmen stood on the secondary frontier yet had no walled city. Jiuyuan argued that the prefecture lay between the Yangtze and the Han, a crossroads where four routes met—shielding Jiangling to the south, bolstering Xiangyang to the north, guarding the ribs of Sui and Ying to the east, and meeting the thrust of Guanghua and Yiling to the west. If Jingmen stood firm, the four neighboring regions would have something to lean on; if not, back, flank, and heart would all be exposed. From Tangzhou's Huyang toward the mountains, the crossing of the Han already lay under Jingmen's armpit. From Dengzhou's Dengcheng, to cross the Han and strike toward the mountains was already to enter Jingmen's belly. Beyond these, bypaths fit for a gallop, Han fords easy to wade, slopes that could not check a horse, and shallows that could not bog a wheel—such openings were still many. For us too, to win by unexpected strokes against the enemy's flank and vitals—the opportunity lay precisely here. Though mountains closed in on four sides and defense was easy, with neither wall nor moat in place—who was to hold it?" He therefore petitioned the court to build the walls, and from that time the people no longer lived in fear of the border. He abolished the market gate inspectors and lightened the people's taxes. Merchants flocked in, and revenue rose day by day. Copper cash had formerly been in use, but because the region lay near the frontier it was switched to iron cash. Copper was forbidden—yet the people were still required to pay an additional levy. Jiuyuan said, "You forbid it—and then make them pay for it again?" He remitted the levy in full. By established practice, in peacetime the garrison trained in archery and the people of the prefecture might join; those who hit the mark shared the reward equally, and recommendations of subordinates were not confined by rank and pedigree. He once said, "In antiquity there was no division by pedigree, yet the line between the worthy and the unworthy was drawn sharp. In later ages there were divisions by pedigree, yet the line between the worthy and the unworthy grew faint." Whenever drought fell, rain followed his prayer, and the people of the prefecture marveled. After little more than a year, his policies were in force, orders were obeyed, and local customs changed. Office after office sent up recommendations on his behalf. Chancellor Zhou Bida once praised the government of Jingmen as proof of what a man achieves when he truly lives what he teaches.
43
One day he said to those close to him, "My elder brother, the former instructor, had the realm in his heart, yet died before he could put his will into action." He also told his household, "I am about to die." He also told his staff, "My time has come." At the time he was praying for snow, and the next day snow fell. He bathed, changed his garments, and sat upright. Two days later, at noon, he died. Those who came to his funeral numbered in the thousands. He was given the posthumous title Wen'an.
44
鹿
Earlier Jiuyuan had once met Zhu Xi at Goose Lake, and their debate over their respective teachings largely ended in disagreement. When Zhu Xi was prefect of Nankang, Jiuyuan came to visit him. Xi accompanied him to White Deer Grotto Academy, where Jiuyuan lectured on the passage about the gentleman understanding righteousness and the petty man understanding profit—some in the audience wept. Zhu Xi felt that the lecture had cut to the hidden, deep-seated sickness of scholarly life. As for their dispute over the Ultimate of Non-Being and the Supreme Ultimate, they exchanged letters back and forth, arguing without end. Among his disciples, Yang Jian, Yuan Xie, Shu Lin, and Shen Huan were able to carry on his teaching.
45
Xue Jixuan
46
退
Xue Jixuan, whose courtesy name was Shilong, was a native of Yongjia. He was the son of the Court Chronicler Xue Huiyin. When Huiyin died, Jixuan was only six years old. His uncle Bi, a Dafu of the Hall of Written Elegance, took him in and raised him. Traveling in his uncle's official retinue, he came to know the elder statesmen who had crossed south over the river and heard at first hand the broad design of the Zhongxing restoration. He loved to talk with old NCOs and retired soldiers and learned the campaigns of Yue Fei's and Han Shizhong's generals in intimate detail. At seventeen he entered service when the Jingnan commander summoned him to write tactical dispatches, and he came to serve under Yuan Gai. Gai had studied with Cheng Yi and taught him everything he knew. After Jixuan had absorbed Gai's teaching, he researched and mapped every detail of the ancient enfeoffment system, well-field allotments, district-and-path administration, and Military Rites regulations, convinced that each could be put into practice in his own day.
47
便
Before the Jin forces arrived, Liu Qi, magistrate of Wuchang, was stationed at Ezhu. Jixuan warned Qi that Wuchang's position opened directly toward Huai and Cai while its garrison was thin and vulnerable, and that defenses should be prepared at once; Qi refused to listen. Once battle was joined, Qi slowly began to rely on Jixuan's plans. Soon afterward Wang Che arrived as imperial commissioner for Jing and Xiang; the Jin armies drove toward the Yangtze, and an edict ordered Cheng Min to pull his army back and march in to reinforce. Jixuan again urged Che that with Min already holding Cai and riding an unstoppable momentum, he should seize the moment and not recall him, but let him strike south to Yingchang, pass through Chen and Ru, and press on Bian—so that the Jin would turn inward in panic and collapse, and their armies might be broken without a fight. Che would not listen.
48
便 鹿 退
Officials along the Yangtze and Huai, hearing that the Jin were coming, all sent their servants on ahead and hitched their horses in the courtyard, ready to run. Jixuan alone kept his family in the county and told the people: "My house is your house; if trouble comes, I will die with you. " The people took heart on their own. Bandits were numerous in the county and Jixuan worried over them; when an order arrived on grouping the populace, he put the baowu system into practice—five households to a bao, two bao to a jia, six jia to a dui—then merged units into zong along natural lines without regard to township boundaries, each zong headed by a chief and deputy. Official, scholarly, and wealthy families were all enrolled in the baowu rolls; their personal corvée was waived in return for cash contributions toward each zong's running costs. Each zong maintained a drill ground for archery; dice games and other diversions were banned, but martial contests were allowed, and every five days the winners were reviewed at the magistrate's office and given prizes. Families that suffered a death in service received coffins, and their household taxes were remitted for three years. Each township got a watchtower; at the first sign of bandits, drums sounded and beacons flared, and alarm ran a hundred li in minutes. Garrisons were posted at the county seat, Bailu Rock, and Anle Ford. He also secured from the commissionerate ten warships and three hundred suits of armor and strung them along the line. With defenses in place, when the enemy finally withdrew the populace never lost their nerve.
49
使簿
Wang Yan of the Privy Council recommended him to court; he was called up as chief clerk of the Court of Judicial Review, but before he arrived he wrote Yan a letter of refusal: "The Son of Heaven is gifted beyond the ordinary, yet his ministers have no way to guide and steady him; given the moment, they cannot set his heart straight at the start and build a true restoration—they chase quick results and bedazzle the world with empty boasts; even retaking the north would change little. The right course now is to take benevolence, righteousness, and the fundamental norms as the foundation. As for going to war, that should wait ten years.
50
西 西
A severe drought then gripped the Jiang-Huai region; refugees poured north across the Yangtze, and frontier officials reported that many north of the Huai wished to come over; Chancellor Yu Yunwen proposed dispatching Jixuan to western Huai to settle them and thicken the border. Jixuan catalogued fallow land, matched plots to the terrain, rebuilt thirty-six polders at Hefei, and founded twenty-two farming colonies northeast of old Huangzhou, assigning dwellings by household and fields by able-bodied men, issuing oxen, tools, and seed in set amounts and feeding the families until harvest. Six hundred eighty-five households in all were settled between Hefei and Huangzhou, and loyalists coming in from the frontier were likewise given farms to stand on. Jixuan told others: "I am not doing this for a quick return. The Hefei polders, once the frontier is threatened, can bar the river with palisades and shield Chaohu. Huangzhou lies directly on the road to Cai; with the colonies linked, the western approaches gain a shield. " Guangzhou prefect Song Duanyou had registered only five returning northern households but padded the rolls with old residents to reach one hundred seventy and submitted for an imperial favor; Jixuan audited the books, exposed the fraud, and impeached him. Duanyou was wired into patronage networks and seemed untouchable, but when Jixuan's memorial arrived Xiaozong flew into a rage and referred the matter to the Court of Judicial Review; Duanyou died under the strain.
51
退
Back at court Jixuan told Xiaozong: "You must read the motives of everyone who whispers in your ear. They wrap deviance in righteousness, peddle sycophancy as blunt honesty, advance and ruin officials without ever speaking straight, and ruin reputations before you know it. Soon commands appear to come from the throne while real power has slipped to private factions. Qi Huan's hegemony did not rest on rewarding Ning Qi and punishing Tian Ji—it rested on executing men who traded in gossip. I see punishments and rewards aplenty today—yet the whisperers carry on untouched. The emperor said: "I am already working on that."
52
使
Jixuan went on: "We wall the Huai commanderies one after another; when I passed Hefei the timber frames had just gone up, eunuch supervisors arrived, and the walls were finished overnight. I traveled through the prefecture; one stormy night five lengths of parapet collapsed. Liyang's south wall gaped open while Juchao stayed as mean as ever, yet I hear of forty-zhang walls thrown up by burning fortunes. Your Majesty, why accept this? Border business is the lesser worry; what keeps me awake is the rot at the root. Men at your elbow quietly push out the upright while praising them in public; if you trust their looks and their lines, I fear you will be played as Xiaozheng was by Shi Xian, Wang Feng, and Zheng Zhu. " He added: "Lately some dismiss officials for 'seeking a name'; yet for a minister, caring about one's name is part of the scholar's discipline. A ruler who thinks of the realm should only fear that his men do not care about their names; if every officer prized reputation and feared wrongdoing, what district would not hold? The emperor approved, lamented that he had found Jixuan so late, promoted him two ranks, and made him rectifier of the Court of Judicial Review.
53
調
After that, every memorial, policy paper, or recommendation he filed was granted. Yu Yunwen, stung by having his lapses aired, took a dislike to him. Seven days later he was posted prefect of Huzhou; the Ministry of Revenue was folding every market tax into the circuit intendant's lump-sum quota, coin by coin, and prefectures had no room to maneuver. Jixuan told the court: "Once the intendant's quota was fixed, counties scraped empty to show a surplus; even honest clerks who wanted relief could not act. If you skim more than half on top of that, where does a prefecture find operating money? You are back to wringing the people by tricks—how can they survive? The ministry berated him harder; he fought back harder; censors piled on in his support, and the order was rescinded.
54
He was reassigned prefect of Changzhou; before he reported he died, at forty. Jixuan produced commentaries on the Songs, Documents, Spring and Autumn, Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning, and Analects, all kept in the family. His collected essays appear as Collected Idle Words.
55
Chen Fuliang
56
Chen Fuliang, courtesy name Junju, was a native of Ruian in Wenzhou. He began by loathing the formulas of civil-service essays, tried to break out with a doctrine of his own in writing, and built a school so distinctive that people copied and recited his pieces until followers packed around him—his prose ruled the day. Zheng Boxiong of Yongjia and Xue Jixuan were then famed for scholarship and character; Boxiong above all dug into classical institutions and statecraft. Fuliang studied under both, but Jixuan's teaching shaped him most. At the Imperial Academy he became close to Zhang Shi of Guanghan and Lü Zuqian of Donglai. Zuqian traced how literary and institutional learning had passed down in the Song, and said his grasp of reverent attentiveness and the cultivation of righteousness owed most to Shi. Students from every quarter multiplied after that.
57
He took jinshi honors in the top tier and served as professor at Taizhou. Vice Grand Councilor Gong Maoliang spotted his talent, recommended him, and he was moved to recorder of the Imperial Academy. He left the capital as vice prefect of Fuzhou. Chief Councilor Liang Kejia commanded the circuit and handed day-to-day business to Fuliang, who straightened every dispute in the prefecture on the single measure of righteousness. Bullies could not get their way; they quietly lined up with the censors and had him removed.
58
西
Five years on he was recalled as prefect of Guiyang Army. After Guangzong took the throne he rose step by step to intendant of Ever-Normal Granaries and tea and salt, and transport vice commissioner. In Hunan and Hubei, childless commoners who adopted heirs from other surnames saw officials seize the property for revenue. Fuliang said: "Snuffing out a man's line is not how you govern." He restored close to two thousand households. He was moved to judicial intendant of western Zhejiang. He was appointed an outer-office director in the Ministry of Personnel; fourteen years away from court had turned every hair gray, and crowds in the capital gathered to gape and sigh, nicknaming him "Old Director Chen."
59
Fuliang's scholarship ran from the Three Dynasties through Qin and Han with nothing skipped; on every topic he pushed inquiry to the furthest point before he would stop. Taizu's founding design he pursued with special depth. At a rotating audience he said: "Taizu left posterity a single principle—spare the people's strength. From Xining on, men in power took Taizu's restraints and overturned them wholesale. Circuit quotas for upper tribute doubled the Xiangfu baseline. Chongning rewrote the tribute schedules and sent them everywhere; totals routinely jumped tenfold. Other surcharges piled on: Xining sealed Ever-Normal surpluses and vacant military pay; Yuanfeng added quota-free tribute; Xuanhe brought circuit intendant totals; Shaoxing added aggregate and monthly extractions—all still on the books—while silk conversion and mandated purchases sit outside even that. Tea tickets flowed entirely to the capital depot, salt certificates to the monopoly bureau, and eighteen or nineteen parts in ten of autumn grain to the transport gangs—counties kept almost nothing. Starved of revenue, prefectures robbed the people—grain levies, conversion fees, apportionments, forced purchases, penalty exactions—until the people had nothing left. Today's peril is not only the barbarians on four sides. Whether Heaven's mandate lasts depends on whether the people's strength holds; is that not the greater fear? Your Majesty should make ending the people's exhaustion your task, extend Taizu's bounty while it still lingers, and secure blessing for ages to come.
60
使 退
He added: "The empire's strength is swallowed feeding troops, and nothing drains it like the Yangtze armies. The regional commanders' troops are called 'Imperial Front' forces—even the court cannot see inside. The aggregate pay offices hold 'grand army' funds—even the Ministry of Revenue cannot touch them. Inside and outside pulled apart, authority splintered, and policy could not run straight; even wanting to lighten the people's load, there was no path. If commanders' troops were again what they were under the pacification commissioner, and aggregate funds what they were under transport, inside and outside would be one body again. With one body, you can finally talk about easing the people's burden. " The emperor listened with evident approval and asked kindly: "Where have you been all this time? I have missed you. Let me see what you have written. " He withdrew and submitted thirteen chapters of Explanations of the Rites of Zhou, and was promoted secretary minor director, with concurrent posts collating the Veritable Records and serving as reader-admonisher to the Jia Prince.
61
殿
In Shaoxi year three he was made attendant of the Secretariat. The following year he also served acting drafter in the Secretariat. Earlier, Empress Li had resented Consort Huang, the favorite of Guangzong, and had her killed. Guangzong had already heard the reports, but a violent storm during the suburban sacrifice terrified him into what was taken as a heart disorder; thereafter he reviewed memorials only irregularly. Chen Fuliang then submitted a memorial: "The strength of a nation is like a person's health: when channels are clogged, sickness follows. If you put off one affair today and block another person tomorrow, the cunning will profit from the opening; court and country will stop speaking to each other, power will slip to others, and in the end heavenly portents will not be reported and frontier alarms will not be heard—who knows what calamity may follow!" The emperor took the point; his symptoms also eased somewhat, and he went to Chonghua Palace. The following Chongming festival he again stayed away, pleading illness; from the chief minister down to National University students all urged him in vain, while he was appointing the eunuch Chen Yuan to a senior post in the Inner Attendants Service. Fuliang refused to draft the appointment and wrote: "Your Majesty's absence from the palace comes only from mistaken doubts that festered into illness—that is all. I have argued your Majesty's state of mind back and forth at length and believed I had reached you; your Majesty even agreed. Soon you reversed yourself, treating a mistake as truth and opening a needless breach; treating suspicion as certainty and making an illness that cannot be cured. Your Majesty has brought this trouble on yourself." When the memorial arrived, the emperor was ready to act on it. The officials formed ranks, waiting for the emperor to appear. At the imperial screen the empress pulled the emperor back; Fuliang rushed forward and caught his sleeve, and the empress rebuked him. Fuliang wept in the courtyard; the empress grew furious, and Fuliang left the hall and walked off. He was ordered to remain Compiler at the Secret Repository and Reader, but he declined.
62
退 殿
When Ningzong succeeded, Fuliang was called back as Secretariat drafter, concurrent lecturer, Hanlin academician, and compiler of the Veritable Records. When an inner order sent Zhu Xi to an outside palace post, Fuliang said: "Xi is slow to advance and quick to withdraw; when the inner draft came down the whole court was stunned—I dare not promulgate it. Zhu Xi was then made Gentleman-in-Waiting of the Baowen Pavilion and sent to a prefecture. Censor-in-chief Xie Shenfu charged that Fuliang's refusal showed contempt for the throne and had him posted as commissioner of the Xingguo Palace. The next year censorial investigators piled on; his rank was stripped and he was dismissed. In Jiatai year 2 he was restored to office, offered Quanzhou, and declined. He received the title Compiler at the Jiying Hall, rose to Gentleman-in-Waiting of the Baomo Pavilion, and died at home at sixty-seven. He was posthumously honored as Wenjie.
63
His works—the Gloss on the Odes, Discourse on the Rites of Zhou, Later Commentary on the Spring and Autumn, and Exegesis of the Zuo Tradition—circulated widely.
64
西
Ye Shi, courtesy name Zhengze, was from Yongjia in Wenzhou. His prose was luminous and forceful. In Chunxi 5 he finished second on the jinshi examination and was made adjutant under the Pingjiang command. He withdrew for his mother's mourning. He was reassigned as judge under the Wuchang command. Junior Guardian Shi Hao recommended him; he did not answer the summons and became a clerk in the Zhexi judicial intendant's office, where many scholars gathered around him. Vice councilor Gong Maoliang recommended him again, and he was called to be Director of the National University.
65
退 退 沿
Promoted to erudite, he spoke in audience: "A subject's duty to your Majesty is to clarify one great matter—nothing else. The shame of the two tombs is unavenged and half our old territory is still lost, yet speakers say we must seize the moment or wait for the hour. But if the opening comes from us, what is there for the enemy to seize? If the timing is ours to make, what are we waiting on them for? It is not genuinely impossible; we have only decided that we are the obstacle and that we cannot act. For twenty-six years those who might have acted have exhausted their will and chosen silence. What is called 'too hard' is quietly discouraged; what is called 'impossible' is quietly engineered. There are four kinds of difficulty and five kinds of 'cannot.' We set aside an mortal enemy to preach universal love and make ourselves weak by choice—that is the first national-policy difficulty. Once the state's direction is fixed, gentry opinion follows. Schemers talk only of timing; the loyal talk only of personal campaigns or moving the capital; the cautious talk only of consolidation— that is the second difficulty, the paralysis of debate. Look around the court: who advances, who retreats—who knows the heart of the matter and can debate it thoroughly? Who still holds this aim and can be urged and relied upon? That is the third difficulty: people. Critics cite the Five Dynasties as chaos but forget how Jingkang brought ruin. Clinging to old forms while trying to drive an entire generation to avenge the throne leaves no room to move. If institutions are changed to fit the times, every adjustment shakes something vital—that is the fourth difficulty, law and custom. And five 'impossibilities': armies so large they are weak, revenue so vast it is empty, trust in clerks not officers, trust in rules not people, trust in seniority not ability—these five freeze the realm. Are they not our real disease?" Habit and constraint have built up for years. Weighing gain and loss, sorting reality from pretense, judging right from wrong, deciding what to keep or discard—all rests on what your Majesty does." Before Ye finished, the emperor frowned: "My eyes have troubled me; that ambition has faded. Who could bear this burden? I can speak of it only with you." When Ye read on, the emperor looked stricken for a long time.
66
使
He was made erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and collator for the Veritable Records. He once recommended Chen Fuliang and thirty-three others to the chief minister; all were later appointed—the age praised his eye for talent. When Zhu Xi was made vice minister of war but had not yet taken up the post, Vice Minister Lin Li impeached him. Ye Shi memorialized in protest: "Lin Li's charges against Xi are not one of them substantiated—he vented private spite and forgot his own deceit!" As for the phrase 'calling it Daoxue,' the stakes are not Zhu Xi alone. Petty men who ruin the loyal have always needed a label—'seeking fame,' 'being eccentric,' 'forming factions.' Lately they invented 'Daoxue': Zheng Bing began it, Chen Jia joined; men at the levers secretly coordinated. Any official who cared for integrity was tagged 'Daoxue'—virtue became a stain, learning a fault—and was blocked from advancement. Worthy men trembled, the middling sort fell apart; many fell silent or hid, even taking on foul habits to escape the label. Lin Li, a palace attendant, could not convey your Majesty's intent, yet repeated Zheng Bing and Chen Jia's secret line, treating Daoxue as a capital crime and driving out Zhu Xi—after that, what harm will not befall the good?" I beg your Majesty to crush the violent and uphold the good." The memorial was ignored.
67
When Guangzong succeeded, Ye left the Secretariat to govern Qizhou. He returned as left selection officer in the Ministry of Personnel. The emperor had not visited Chonghua Palace for seven months, pleading illness; business great and small had stalled. Ye Shi urged the emperor: "Love between father and son is natural. Idle suspicion and private fear—things that seem so but are not—where is the fact in that? If visits to your father cease and orders below go wrong, hearts will split—can that last?" Soon the emperor visited Chonghua Palace twice and the capital rejoiced. Ye memorialized again: "On days when your Majesty visits the palace, let the chief ministers and attendants go first to pay respects. When either palace has something hard to say, messages can pass through them—then responsibility is clear. Do not let favorite petty servants twist words and breed doubt again." Again there was no response. Matters drifted again; court and country were in turmoil.
68
使 退
When Xiaozong grew gravely ill, ministers wept and clutched his robes begging him to go; he still would not. Ye rebuked chief minister Liu Zheng: "The emperor's illness is obvious. Father and son should meet when the illness has eased. You did not make that clear and let officials gossip about their lord and father—is that acceptable?" Soon Xiaozong died, and Guangzong could not perform mourning. Soldiers muttered; unrest seemed possible. Ye told Liu Zheng again: "The emperor is ill and will not mourn—what will you say to the empire?" Prince Jia is grown; if he is named to share decisions early, suspicion will lift." The councilors took his advice, jointly memorialized to make Prince Jia crown prince, and the emperor agreed. Soon an inner draft spoke of long service and wishing to retire; Liu Zheng feared and withdrew, and morale shook further. Zhao Ruyu, director of military affairs, desperate, had Ye tell Cai Bisheng, director of gate affairs: "The state is here—you are a close attendant; will you only watch?" Cai agreed; with announcement reader Fu Changchao, director of inner attendants Guan Li, and director of gate affairs Han Tuozhou he laid a plan. Han Tuozhou was the grand empress dowager's nephew. When Cifu Palace intendant Zhang Zongyin visited Tuozhou, Tuozhou read his intent and told Bisheng. Ye heard and at once told Zhao Ruyu. Zhao Ruyu consulted Bisheng and sent Tuozhou, via Zhang Zongyin and Guan Li, to propose inner abdication to the grand empress dowager and ask her to rule from behind the curtain; she agreed and the plan was set. The next day at the end-of-mourning rites the grand empress dowager presided; Prince Jia ascended, performed the sacrifice in person, officials congratulated him, and the realm was calm. Every memorial was drafted by Zhao Ruyu and Ye Shi; at the last moment they handed them to the ritual officer—only then did others learn they had planned it. Ye was promoted to vice director of the Directorate of Education.
69
滿
When Zhao Ruyu became chief minister and rewards were due, Ye was to be included; Ye said: "In national crisis, loyalty is duty. What merit have I?" Han Tuozhou claimed credit; when promotion did not match his expectations he resented Zhao Ruyu. Ye warned Zhao Ruyu: "Tuozhou wants nothing more than a regional command—you should give it to him." Zhao Ruyu refused. Ye Shi sighed: "Disaster starts here!" He then pressed hard for a post outside the capital. He was made director of the Palace Treasury and overall controller of Huaidong army funds and grain. When Zhao Ruyu was exiled to Hengyang, Ye Shi was impeached by Censor Hu Hong, stripped two ranks, put in charge of Chongyou Abbey, and offered Quzhou; he declined.
70
He was recalled as Hunan transport judge, then appointed to govern Quanzhou. Summoned to audience, he told Ningzong: "When your Majesty first took the throne, I once explained the meaning of 'Juan E' for you. Heaven has granted you clarity; partisan rancor has faded and talent might gather again. Yet to govern a state the root is harmony; to handle affairs the standard is even-handedness. I ask only that ministers forget themselves for the realm, lay the past to rest, and serve what lies ahead." The emperor praised and accepted his words. At first Han Tuozhou, fearing lack of support, let petty men on the censorial track invent 'False Learning' and banish nearly every notable scholar in the empire. Tuozhou later regretted it; Ye's memorial spoke to that and recommended Lou Yue, Qiu Ke, and Huang Du, all sent to prefectures. After that the proscription gradually eased.
71
沿 使使
He was made acting vice minister of war, then left for his father's mourning. When mourning ended he was recalled. Some urged Tuozhou to win a towering feat to fix his power; he agreed and prepared for war. Ye memorialized: "Those who accept weakness and ease decline; those who turn weakness into strength rise. Your Majesty has told the ministers to plan budgets, avenge old shame, and recover ancestral lands—you mean to turn weakness into strength. First know where strength and weakness truly lie and fix policy accordingly; then enact real governance and real virtue—weakness can become strength without great difficulty. But to turn weakness into strength by launching a sudden punitive war is the weightiest step of all. Prepare fully before you move; secure your base before you fight. Some say Jin is fading and we may strike first without fearing the aftermath, attempting what Xuanhe failed and Shaoxing dared not— that is the utmost peril. Real governance means fortifying every prefecture along the Huai and Han so each can hold on its own. When enemies come they meet walled cities; garrisons support one another—only then can offensive plans be discussed. Train the imperial guard armies on all fronts until they can master the foe; test officials great and small until they can deliver— that is real governance. Real virtue: taxes are heavy yet the state grows poorer; under harmonized purchase and folded-silk levies some farmers pay more than half their rent. If we plan recovery, the people need relief. I ask that offices review which levies hurt the people most and which waste should be cut first. Cut revenue demands and cap expenditures. Real governance above and real virtue below— that is how an army can fight again and again without breaking and win without fail."
72
使沿使
He was made acting vice minister of works. Tuozhou wanted him to draft edicts to move court and country; he was shifted to acting vice minister of personnel and Hanlin academician, but pleaded illness and refused the concurrent post. When orders sent generals out on four routes, Ye again warned Tuozhou to defend the Yangzi first; Tuozhou would not listen. Soon every army was beaten; Tuozhou, alarmed, made Qiu Ke Huai-Jiang pacification commissioner and Ye Shi gentleman-in-waiting of the Baomo Pavilion and pacification commissioner at Jiankang on the Yangzi. Ye said that in the Three Kingdoms Sun Quan's state had held the north bank to guard the river; since Southern Tang that line was lost, and Jianyan and Shaoxing had no time to restore it. He asked the court for authority over the north-bank prefectures.
73
使 退 退使
When Jin forces poured in, two riders one day raised banners as if to cross; refugees panicked and cut mooring lines—many drowned—and Jiankang shook. Ye said once morale breaks it cannot be restored; southerners excel at night raids—he recruited two hundred market toughs and volunteers under Xu Wei of Caishi. After midnight they met Jin troops, fired from the reeds, and men dropped at every shot. When arrows ran out they charged with swords; the Jin froze and did not advance. At dawn the Jin learned how small the force was and gave chase—but the men were already aboard ship. He sent men from Shibo and Dingshan to raid enemy camps and returned with prisoners and heads. Jin raised the siege of Hezhou and fell back to Guabu; the city calmed. He sent Shi Binxian to Xuanhua and Xia Houcheng by separate routes; each met success. Jin forces withdrew from Chuzhou. Dispatches flew in from every quarter, yet Ye worked as in peacetime; the army was supplied from official stores and the people were left alone. Refugees crossing the Yangzi found boats, shelter in temples, money and rice—coming as if home. After the armies withdrew he was promoted to gentleman-in-waiting of the Baowen Pavilion and Huai-Jiang pacification commissioner, organized garrison farms, and submitted his walled-settlement plan.
74
使 沿 西西 退 祿
At first Huai refugees, shattered by war, could not live securely day to day. Ye built forty-seven fortified hamlets in ruined countryside on defensible ground, had people farm in warm months and shelter in cold, and return to their trades under guard. He added three major forts along the river: Shibo shielding Caishi, Dingshan shielding Jing'an, Guabu shielding Dongyang and Xiasbu. To the west they guarded Liyang and linked toward Yizhen; in crisis they could support one another—three hundred li east-west, thirty to forty li north-south. Each fort was sized for two thousand households and trained them in archery. In peacetime five hundred men under one commander garrisoned each. In alarm they added new recruits and two thousand drawn from prefectural garrisons, plus fort residents—4,500 men in all. Each autumn the pacification office also recruited a thousand daredevils for raiding and burning enemy grain. He said the forts brought four gains: "With the enemy on the north bank and our forts backing the river, they dare not cross; our morale doubles and our fleets can act. If He, Chu, Zhen, or Liuhe falter, our forts can strike in support, cut them off or follow— victory is assured. That is gaining much from little effort." When the three forts stood, refugees gradually returned. Just as Tuozhou was killed, censor-in-chief Lei Xiaoyou charged Ye with backing Tuozhou's war and stripped his post. He then held honorary temple posts for thirteen years, rising to Baowen academician and grandee of palace accord. In Jiading 16 he died at seventy-four. Posthumously honored as grandee of splendid happiness with the posthumous name Wending.
75
Ye's ambition was bold; he prided himself on practical statecraft. When Tuozhou planned war he valued Ye for Ye's insistence that the great shame was still unavenged. Yet after Ye was recalled, every memorial urged caution before acting, and he refused to draft war edicts. Had Ye been heeded when the armies marched, Tuozhou might not have acted rashly and the north-south slaughter might have been spared. Commentators could only sigh.
76
使 簿
Dai Xi, courtesy name Xiaowang, was from Yongjia. He was known early for his writing. In Chunxi 5 he ranked first in the supplemental provincial exam. He was superintendent of the Southern Peak Temple in Tanzhou. At the start of Shaoxi he managed Ministry of Personnel archives and became National University recorder and Veritable Records collator. The combined recorder-historian role began with Dai Xi. As erudite he urged agricultural commissioners for the two Huai, like the Han paddy-field envoys, to survey idle land and split costs and profits between owners and tenants to revive farming. He was named vice prefect of Qingyuan but was reassigned as registrar of the Imperial Clan Court before taking up the post. He rose step by step to vice director in the Ministry of War.
77
沿
When the army was crushed at Fuli in the Kaixi era, Dai memorialized that border loyalists and Hunan-Hubei salt merchants should be organized to prevent later trouble. When peace was made, Zhang Yan, director of military affairs at Jingkou, made him a staff adviser. Months later he was summoned as lecturer at the Hall of Worthy Virtue.
78
退便 殿
From ritual director he advanced through six steps to tutor of the heir apparent and director of the Secretariat. Prince Jingxian asked Dai to lecture on the Doctrine of the Mean and Great Learning; Dai declined, saying lecturing was not the tutor's proper duty. The prince said: "After lecture you may wear the lecturer's robe—it is informal; do not worry." He was ordered to compile commentaries on the Changes, Odes, Documents, Spring and Autumn, Analects, Mencius, and Comprehensive Mirror for presentation. As acting minister of works he was made Huawen academician. In Jiading 8 he retired with the titles palace attendant and Dragon Diagram academician. He died and was posthumously honored as special advancement and Duanming academician. Under Lizong in the Shaoding era he received the posthumous name Wenduan.
79
Dai long served in the palace establishment; his subtle manner won favor with the heir, yet in court his proposals were often secret—some said he lacked spine.
80
Cai Youxue
81
使
Cai Youxue, courtesy name Xingzhi, was from Ruian in Wenzhou. At eighteen he ranked first in the Ministry of Rites exam. Chen Fuliang was famed at the National University; Youxue studied under him. In monthly essays to Chancellor Rui Ye and Lü Zuqian he was repeatedly promoted above Fuliang—everyone said the pupil surpassed the master. Xiaozong heard of him and meant to place him first among candidates. But consort kin Zhang Shuo was in power, and chief ministers Yu Yunwen and Liang Kejia secretly backed him. Youxue's exam answer said in essence: "Your Majesty is clever but your vision is not yet broad, your aims lofty but your direction not yet true, your diligence great but the root unsettled. At the start of your reign you expected peace at any moment. Yet after ten years morals decay daily and are hard to sustain; Statutes and discipline fray daily and will be hard to restore; hearts grow more unsettled and will be hard to win back; officials slacken, soldiers grow arrogant, the treasury empties, and the people suffer—little can be set right." He also said: "Your Majesty reformed the chief-minister system on ancient models so two ministers serve together—a thing praised as reform. Yet some dazzle with empty fame and promise themselves glory; some stay silent to save themselves and cannot hold the line." This was aimed at Yu Yunwen and Liang Kejia. He also said: "Since Emperor Wu of Han made war, grand marshals grew mighty and chief ministers faint. Gongsun Hong was chief minister while Wei Qing held power; Hong flattered and achieved nothing as minister. Xuan and Yuan relied on Xu and Shi; Chengdi on the Wangs; Aidi on Ding and Fu—each path led to Yuanshi-era ruin. Now your Majesty lets a maternal nephew hold military power—a man with no talent at all. The chief minister sits beside him without shame. By his crimes he should rank above Gongsun Hong." This was aimed at Zhang Shuo. The emperor read it with displeasure; Yu Yunwen hated it most. He was placed in the lower tier and sent to teach in Guangde Army.
82
調
After his father's mourning he was transferred again to Tanzhou. The council recommended him; the emperor agreed and asked: "How old is he? Why is he called Youxue?" Vice councilor Shi Shidian answered with Mencius: 'study in youth, act in maturity.' The emperor paused and said: "He is mature now—let him serve." He was appointed compiler at the Edict Drafting Office. He opened: "Great shame is unavenged and land unrestored—your Majesty's wisdom and vigor can act. Yet temporizing talk and lax habit can only slow your will to act." Xiaozong said gladly: "I understand—you want me to set a standard." Soon he left for his mother's mourning.
83
退
When Guangzong succeeded he was recalled as National University recorder and made erudite at the Military Academy. A year later he moved to the National University, became secretariat corrector and Veritable Records collator, then proofreader. Guangzong still would not visit Chonghua Palace; Youxue submitted a sealed memorial: "Since spring your Majesty has not attended the northern palace. When Shouhuang fell ill, attendants and censors begged an audience—you rose and left, the chief minister caught your robe, ministers wept. You withdrew and the palace gates closed; for days ministers saw no sign of you. On audience day the capital waited; court dragged until noon and the guards nursed anger. Markets and barracks buzzed with rumor; garrisons in neighboring prefectures heard strange talk—sudden crisis would fall on your Majesty. Remember body and life come from Shouhuang, the realm from his trust—let old affection move you; act alone, restore father and son, and avert disaster to the state!" The memorial went unanswered.
84
When Ningzong succeeded, an edict called for frank counsel. Youxue memorialized again: "To be a full ruler there are three essentials—honor kin, employ talent, ease the people—and the root is study. Lately petty men overturned gentlemen with talk of quiet and peace. Great ministers fear to 'make trouble'; close ministers are cast out for dissent—until the throne sits silent and no plan is spoken. Unless learning is renewed daily and talent is sought urgently, how will the realm be staffed?" From Xining and Yuanfeng came exemption-service cash, Ever-Normal surplus, and extra tribute; from Daguan and Xuanhe came grand-ritual tribute, school grain funds, and circuit-control levies; from Shaoxing came harmonized purchase, overall control, and monthly army muster funds; tea, salt, wine monopolies, deed taxes, surcharges— piled tenfold on the ancestors' levies until the people are exhausted."
85
Having surveyed policy, Youxue returned every issue to sagely learning. The emperor praised him and meant to promote him. Han Tuozhou was in power, labeling upright men 'False Learning' and purging dissent. Youxue pressed for an outside post and was made commissioner of Fujian Ever-Normal Granaries. On leave he said: "Orders now issue from the inner court and ministers' responsibility shrinks; the remonstrance office and classics lecture are purged without cause and scholars grow confused. Has someone misled your Majesty to this?" Tuozhou heard and was displeased. At his post he daily taught famine relief. Zhu Xi lived in Jianyang; Youxue consulted him on everything—Censor Liu Dexiu impeached him and he held temple posts for eight years.
86
調
He was recalled to govern Huangzhou, then named Fujian judicial intendant, but did not go. Some urged Tuozhou to recall famous scholars; he summoned Youxue as vice director of personnel. On audience he cited Gaozong in Jianyan reducing Wuzhou harmonized silk: 'One such deed a day is only three hundred sixty a year.' Your Majesty abolished the two-Zhe household levy like Gaozong—yet war brought blades and transport costs south of the Yangzi; I beg your Majesty to cherish the root of the state." He rose to vice director of education and vice director of the imperial clan court, both as acting secretariat drafter.
87
After Tuozhou's death his faction still blocked the upright; Youxue impeached them in turn and many were banished—the age called it duty fulfilled. He was promoted to secretariat drafter and lecturer. By precedent, gate and announcement staff served ten years before a route command. Tuozhou broke precedent, promoting men in five to eight years and keeping some on the palace registry after outside posts—Youxue corrected it all.
88
At the start of Jiading he and Lou Yue supervised the metropolitan exam. Orthodox learning had long been banned; candidates focused on prosody and numerology. Youxue first selected essays on principle; study gradually returned to the right path. As Hanlin academician his edicts were warm, elegant, and measured—widely praised. He was made vice minister of justice, then personnel, keeping his concurrent posts. Zhao Shixie was appointed to Lin'an and declined. Precedent required a refusal edict. Youxue said: "Shixie rose by fawning on power; thrice he governed the capital with a poor record—how can I draft praise?" The appointment lapsed. He was shifted to reader; Shixie's appointment then issued.
89
使
He was made gentleman-in-waiting of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, governed Quanzhou, then Jiankang and Fuzhou, and became Fujian pacification commissioner. He governed leniently and feared only to hurt the people. Lower Fujian prefectures forced extra salt purchases—by property ('property salt') or by contract tax ('floating salt')—until they became fixed levies. Youxue sought to abolish them; no answer came. The intendant ordered households to hoard new huizi by field grade or forfeit property. Youxue said: "If cheating the people is allowed, how can I stay? I can only leave." He said currency was unbalanced and scales unreliable, and pressed to resign. He was promoted to direct academician of the Baomo Pavilion and commissioner of Wanshou Palace. He was summoned as acting minister of war and jade-register compiler, soon tutor of the heir apparent.
90
使 西
The court had sent annual tribute into Jin lands; Jin could not receive it and sent troops to the border to demand payment. Court and country were in uproar; most said pay at once. Youxue sought audience: "Tribute envoys have not returned while invaders arrive—and insult us in writing. Heaven and the people are enraged—should we not uphold righteousness and break their plot?" Court opinion hardened and an edict finally broke with Jin. Youxue urged consolidating the root, showing intent, recruiting talent openly, and winning hearts to unify north and south. The emperor praised his counsel. One night he dreamed a star fell in the southwest corner of his house; he died at sixty-four.
91
Youxue was famed early for writing; in midlife he dug to the root and wrote only of education and rectified nature. He was grave and unreadable, sat upright all day, and never spoke rashly. In debate on principle he surged like a broken dam—even skilled debaters could not match him. He continued Sima Guang's official tables and wrote chronologies, memoranda, and biographical essentials—over a hundred works in all.
92
Yang Taizhi
93
調調綿 使
Yang Taizhi, courtesy name Shuzheng, was from Qingshen in Meizhou. As a youth he studied relentlessly and for decades slept without a bed. In Qingyuan 1 he passed the classified exam, served as Huichuan district captain, moved to Shifang, then Mianzhou professor and Luojiang assistant, and joined a pacification staff. When Wu Tan pacified Shu, Taizhi wrote: "If Wu Xi rebels and scholars refuse, some will dare not follow; Once rebellion starts, if scholars resist, Wu Xi will still have reason to fear. Rebellion is Wu Xi's doing; that it can succeed is the doing of the literati."
94
使 使 使 祿
He was reassigned to govern Yandao County and served as acting vice prefect of Jiading. Baiya Fort commander Wang Kun led barbarian raiders against Lidian; the judicial envoy executed Kun and implicated others for death. Taizhi found the Yidu tribe lay next to Lidian and had been called rebels without needing a guide—he pleaded for their release in vain. He resigned. Pacification Commissioner An Bing recommended him: "Taizhi, son of the famed Shu scholar Yang Yuzhong, urged officials to hold firm when the rebel crisis came. When ignored he shook out his robes and left. Given even a little authority he would meet danger and give his life." Taizhi was summoned to the Secretariat for review but declined, citing aged parents. He was assigned Guang'an Army but entered mourning for his father before taking up the post. After mourning he governed the Fushun salt monopoly. On leaving office he gave thousands of strings of salary to neighbors and a thousand to a charity estate. As prefect of Puzhou he persuaded An Bing to remit levies entirely for Anju and Anyue, which had suffered worst. An Bing recommended him again; summoned to court he firmly declined. He was appointed to govern Guozhou. The qiling coin levy hurt the people; Taizhi saved a year's surplus to cut levies across prefectures, reported upward, and it became fixed practice. The people sang: "First Zhang, then Yang—bless us without end." Zhang was Zhang Yi, who began the practice; Taizhi followed.
95
使 便
When Lizong succeeded, urged to audience he said: "Take Heaven's vigor as your model, act with bold decisiveness, gather all authority, refuse private whim and heterodox talk, rescue deep decay, and renew governance. Our dynasty's grace has been cut away until the people have no steady heart—how can there be a state? Your Majesty asks for frank speech yet punishes it, teaching the realm to fear words. If the path of speech is blocked, morale will fade into the silence of a declining age—what good is that for the state?" The emperor was struck by his answer and made him director in the Ministry of Works. After that memorialists spoke without fear—beginning with Taizhi. He was promoted to vice director of the armory and vice director of the Court of Judicial Review.
96
歿
In Shaoding 1 he said in audience: "Violent storms and bursting floods are signs of yin prevailing over yang. Yet censors evaded blame, calling the Zhe River flood Jie's lingering wrath." He later said: "The order posthumously demoting the Prince of Baling weighed the ministers more heavily than brotherly love. Your Majesty sits in the highest ease—you should remember the deepest pain of kinship. The prince of Qin died at Fangling; after enfeoffment and posthumous honors his son was employed. Now you say he should not be heir 'lest trouble come later'—how narrow a message to the world!" He also said: "If we do not speak today, someone will speak later. Better to act now than mourn later." That day he was ordered direct gentleman of the Baomo Pavilion and prefect of Chongqing. Leaving the chief minister he wrote: "A minister's greatest duty is to employ men rightly—drop selfishness, widen tolerance, judge fairly—that is all." When he took office local custom changed greatly. He was put in charge of the Qianqiu Hongxi Abbey and died.
97
His works included the Collected Works of Kezhai, commentaries on the Analects and Laozi, Spring and Autumn state lists, Gongyang and Guliang categories, ode categories and name lists, Analects and Mencius categories, historical categories, mirror and long-compilation categories, and Essentials of the Great Changes—297 juan in all.
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