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卷四百三十八 列傳第一百九十七 儒林八 湯漢 何基 王柏 徐夢莘弟:得之 從子:天麟 李心傳 葉味道 王應麟 黃震

Volume 438 Biographies 197: Confucian Scholars 8 - Tang Han, He Ji, Wang Bai, Xu Mengshen and younger brothers: Dezhi, nephew: Tianlin, Li Xinchuan, Ye Weidao, Wang Yinglin, Huang Zhen

Chapter 438 of 宋史 · History of Song
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Chapter 438
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1
Confucian Scholars, Part Eight
2
Tang Han, He Ji, Wang Bai, and Xu Mengshen (with the younger brother Dezhi and the nephew Tianlin appended) Li Xinchuan, Ye Weidao, Wang Yinglin, and Huang Zhen
3
簿 使
Tang Han, courtesy name Boji, came from Anren in Raozhou. He and his elder brothers Gan, Jin, and Zhong were all famous in their time; when Chai Zhongxing met them, he was struck by their talent. While Zhen Dexiu was serving in Tanzhou, he brought Han on as a house guest. On one occasion he called on Zhao Rutan, who declared, "This is a man of the first rank." Zhao Ruteng, the judicial intendant of Jiangdong, recommended Han to the court; the throne exempted him from the qualifying examination and named him head lecturer of Xiangshan Academy. He sat for the separate-branch examination at the Ministry of Rites, passed on the main roll, and received appointment as chief clerk of Shangrao County. Zhao Xichong, transport commissioner of Jiangdong, protested, "Han is among the most celebrated scholars in the empire—how can he be relegated to routine service in a prefecture or county!" The court ordered his two qualifications counted together for promotion and posted him as professor at Xinzhou while also appointing him director of Xiangshan Academy.
4
In 1252 he was detailed as collator in the Historiography Institute and soon transferred to collator in the Veritable Records Institute for the National History. When severe flooding struck, he submitted a sealed memorial: "Whether the sovereign's heart inclines to reverence or to license is precisely what moves Heaven to show favor or anger." "A single reverent thought—'The Lord on High is upon you'—and the auspicious winds and felicitous clouds will follow." "A single licentious thought—'The Lord on High is enraged'—and demonic floods and yin pestilence take root." " When fire broke out, he answered an imperial summons with another sealed memorial:
5
"Your subject has heard that whoever bears the great charge of the realm must set his heart on nothing but fairness; and whoever guards its weighty trust must uphold his heart in reverence. Your Majesty has received Heaven's favoring mandate and inherited the ancestral patrimony—you must not harbor private favor; as sovereign of all the world and as the one on whom the myriad people stake their lives, you must not elevate private kin. The great ministers and the intimate attendants, whether in court regalia or in mourning garb, are all men Your Majesty should rely upon—you must not put your faith in private favorites. The Three Departments and the Privy Council are Your Majesty's court, the source from which decrees issue and policy is proclaimed—there must be no private orders. All the land within the four seas and nine provinces is Your Majesty's granary and treasury—you must not hoard private wealth. Your Majesty does not keep constantly in mind the virtue owed to Heaven and the ancestors, but repays private obligations instead; does not deeply pity the suffering of the common people, but enriches and ennobles private kin; the trust placed in the dukes and ministers at court is not as deep as that placed in intimate favorites; when the Secretariat drafts appointments, their promulgation is not as absolute as the emperor's inner drafts—thus Your Majesty's heart has already failed to accord fully with the public good of the realm.
6
In earlier years Your Majesty feared Heaven's warnings above and heeded popular opinion below; inwardly you were hemmed in by powerful ministers, outwardly you shrank before strong enemies—because reverence could not be wholly abandoned, private desires could not be wholly indulged either. In recent years Heaven's warnings and public criticism have been treated with contempt, while greedy, corrupt men hold power and are insatiable for bribes—since they intended to pursue their private aims without restraint, they had no choice but to indulge whatever Your Majesty wished to do. Thus the reverence of former days was wholly forgotten, and private impulses began to burst forth on every side beyond all control. Consider recent events: the stele commemorating the settlement of the succession suddenly issued from within the palace—formerly you would not even read its text yourself; kinsmen of the imperial clan were scattered through court and provinces—formerly they were not so unrestrained; the scourge of construction projects spread harm in every direction; in petty lawsuits even clerks and men of the lowest rank could borrow factional power to penetrate the innermost halls of government—formerly things were not so extreme; imperial brush-notes voided court orders above and encroached on the regular offices below—formerly there were not nearly so many; the channels of bribery and the manipulation of correspondence—formerly they were not so brazen.
7
宿
Thus everything that has kept Your Majesty from bearing the great charge and guarding the weighty trust, until resentment and stored-up calamity have been summoned, began with a heart not set on fairness and was completed in a heart not upheld in reverence—treating private interest as paramount and acting without restraint. This is why Heaven and Earth have been stirred, and why flood and fire have struck again within a few short months. Can Your Majesty fail to press forward at once with plans to order chaos and sustain peril—and yet treat these matters with the same careless ease as on ordinary days!
8
Appointed Erudite of the Imperial University, he presented a rotating memorial: "Those who ruined half of Taizu's empire were Cai Jing and Wang Fu." "Those who ruined half of Gaozong's empire was Zheng Qingzhi." " He also said, "If the ruler truly has the will, he must first set right the laws and standards, strengthen the foundations, and secure the outer defenses." "Only then will the mind expand and the person be at ease, free to move in spacious leisure with joy without limit." "To abandon this and seek joy only in the seclusion of the inner palace and the pleasure of a moment's smile. When joy reaches its limit and one reflects: I have a court yet cannot govern it; I have the people yet cannot protect them; I rise and look to the four borders, and external aggression is upon us again. Even with the music of Zheng and Wei, the beauties of Yan and Zhao, the splendor of Jianzhang Palace, and the treasures of Qionglin—what joy can there be in that alone!"
9
Summoned to examination for an academy post, he was promoted to collator in the Secretariat. At the crown prince's capping ceremony, he was assigned as Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to lead the guest and intone praise; ordered to present the 《Admonition at the Capping》, he did so, and an edict directed the crown prince to bow in thanks. Promoted to secretary, he presented a rotating memorial on frontier affairs, arguing that "today there is no other way to support a state in peril and rescue it from disorder: the ruler must purify his heart and be without desire, and devote all the realm's wealth and strength to the army." "Great ministers must serve with public hearts free of self-interest and employ all the realm's talent to strengthen the foundations—only then may there still be hope of turning extinction into survival."
10
西 使
As intendant of the Fujian Ever-Normal Granaries, he impeached Shi Yanzhi, prefect of Fuzhou, and Xie Hong, prefect of Quanzhou. He was summoned to serve as a director in the Ministry of Rites and as reader to the crown prince. Soon afterward he was granted directorship of the Huawen Pavilion and appointed transport judge of Fujian, then transferred to prefect of Ningguo. He was transferred to intendant of the Jiangxi Ever-Normal Granaries while also serving as prefect of Jizhou. He was moved to transport judge of Jiangdong and prefect of Longxing. Summoned as a director in the Left Office of the Ministry of Revenue, reader to the crown prince, and reviser at the Imperial Genealogy Office, he entered court and said: "I pray Your Majesty will rectify the root and clarify the source, empty yourself and heed all below, restore the great way of fairness, and open the gate of frank speech, so that the court may be bright and penetrating, with no roots of evil to bend what is upright." "Within the four seas, joy and mutual trust may prevail, with no resentful, rebellious spirit to violate harmony." "In your subject's loyal devotion, nothing is more urgent than this."
11
便使
He was transferred to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, then promoted to concurrent tutor to the crown prince and appointed vice director of the Secretariat. In a memorial he argued: "In recent years Dong Songchen's prestige has blazed forth; his power could remove censors and remonstrators, displace great ministers, join with vicious ringleaders, and combine every kind of wicked conduct, bringing on the calamity of unending warfare." "Your Majesty clearly saw the cause, expelled him and kept him at a distance—I thought his shadow had vanished and his tracks were gone forever." "Who could have expected that what had melted away would congeal again, that what had thawed would suddenly reunite? Once he regained his freedom, he at once plotted his return; with the dregs of his crimes still upon him, in a single day he was again allowed to pass in and out of the innermost chambers and serve in the ancestral temple—this heavily offends spirits and men alike, lays anew the source of calamity and disorder, and leaves court and country bewildered while all gnash their teeth." "Yet Your Majesty is now making explanations on his behalf, and great ministers are reconciling with him—I deeply grieve this misguided calculation." "From antiquity, when petty men return to power their harm is sure to be dire: they vent their resentful rage, rally their kind, overturn heaven and earth, and there are times when Your Majesty's august authority cannot be exercised at will—this is greatly to be feared."
12
He requested retirement; the court promoted him to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the crown prince wrote urging him to stay. Seeking an outside appointment, he was made compiler at the Secret Repository while serving as prefect of Fuzhou and pacification commissioner of Fujian, then transferred to prefect of Longxing.
13
When Emperor Duzong acceded, Han was summoned to report on affairs and appointed vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices while also serving as compiler in the National History Institute and reviser in the Veritable Records Institute. Promoted to attendant of the emperor while also reader, he entered court and said: "I pray Your Majesty will uphold a single reverent heart to set right the hundred offices—then in pursuing nurture and continuing filial piety, whereby you repay the late emperor, you will surely bring it to greater loftiness; in anticipating his intent and carrying out his will, whereby you serve the empress dowager, you will surely bring it to greater care." "In caring for your person, you must not let material desires disturb your peace; in rectifying the household, you must not let private favor destroy your laws and standards." "State affairs must issue from the court, with precaution taken against many back doors; talent must come through open recommendation, with evil bypaths deeply blocked."
14
使 殿
He concurrently served as acting drafter in the Secretariat and acting vice minister of War, then was promoted to concurrent co-compiler of the National History and Veritable Records while also serving as academician on duty. After repeatedly requesting retirement, he was granted attendant academician of the Huawen Pavilion and appointment as prefect of Ningguo, with a gold belt bestowed. After a long interval he was again summoned as vice minister of Justice and reader, and as attendant academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall while serving as prefect of Fuzhou and pacification commissioner of Fujian. He was transferred to prefect of Taiping and acting minister of Works while also serving as reader. As academician on duty of the Xianwen Pavilion he was appointed intendant of the Yulong Palace. Advanced to academician of the Huawen Pavilion, he retired with the rank of academician of the Duanming Hall. He died at the age of seventy-one. He was specially posthumously granted Grandee of Proper Service, with the posthumous title Wénqīng.
15
Han was upright, pure, and principled, indifferent to advancement, and left collected writings in sixty juan.
16
He Ji, courtesy name Zigong, came from Jinhua in Wuzhou. His father Bo Chi served as assistant magistrate of Linchuan; Huang Gan happened to be administering that county, and when Bo Chi saw his two sons' talent, he had them take Gan as their teacher. Gan told them that only with a genuine mind-ground and painstaking effort could one succeed; Ji received the charge in fearful reverence. Thereupon Gan guided him in every matter, enabling him to grasp the profound excellence of the master's teaching. In subtle words and abstruse meanings he refined his study and deepened his thought, leveling his heart and easing his temper until understanding came; he never mixed in his own ideas, set himself apart to seem lofty, or bent to others with little constancy. Whatever he read he punctuated without exception; meaning appeared and intent was clear, and there were passages that needed no commentary to reveal themselves.
17
使
Yang Yuli, a disciple of Zhu Xi, was won over at first sight. Many students came to study with him; he once said, "In learning, one's resolve must be firm and one's scope must be great; one must fill out practice and carry it through in service—only death brings an end." "The method of reading the 《Odes》 is to sweep the breast utterly clean; only then may one chant up and down, recite with ease, and move others to feeling—only then has one achieved something." " He said, "When the 《Great Plan》 is compared with the 《Great Learning》 and the 《Doctrine of the Mean》, there are correspondences that need no forcing." He said, "One who reads the 《Changes》 should wholly cast off rigid, fragmented views, purify the heart, savor subtle principle, and sink into it with deep immersion until one attains its root source—only then may one gradually contemplate the line statements. This was because he faithfully kept his teacher's instruction and therefore could refine meaning and arrive at essentials.
18
When Wang Bai had presented his gift and become a disciple, Ji was modest and did not hold himself high in the teacher's role. Bai was lofty in brilliance and unmatched in insight; he ordered and rectified the classics, offered grand discourse and eloquent disputation, and questioned and raised doubts—sometimes on a single matter there would be ten exchanges back and forth, yet Ji never shifted his ground and waited for the matter to settle. He once said, "In treating the classics one should carefully keep and refine them—there is no need to raise many doubtful disputations." For those who wish to instruct later students, the utmost caution is required. Ji was pure, steadfast, and sincere, in every way resembling the Ru scholars of the Han. Although he took Zhu Xi as his foundation, in elucidating his teachings he produced refined meanings and fresh insights without end. He left collected writings in thirty juan, and eighteen juan of question-and-debate exchanges with Wang Bai.
19
殿西
When Zhao Ruteng served as prefect of Wuzhou, he invited Ji to lecture, but Ji declined. He again took the lead in recommending Ji to the court, and also led famous attendant officials in submitting joint recommendations. The vice prefect Zheng Shiyi and the prefects Cai Kang and Yang Dong in succession invited him, but he declined every offer. In 1264 an edict summoned worthy men; Ji and Xu Ji of Jian were specially recommended and together appointed as specially assigned professors at the Wuzhou school while also serving as head of Lizhe Academy; he strove to decline but had not finished when Emperor Lizong died. At the beginning of Xianchun he was appointed collator in the Historiography Institute and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall; he repeatedly declined, was given the rank of Gentleman for Palace Service and made intendant of the Western Peak Temple, and in the end accepted none of it. He died at the age of eighty-one. Yang Wenzhong, libationer of the Directorate of Education, petitioned the court for the posthumous title Wendìng.
20
His works included Elucidations on the Great Learning, Elucidations on the Doctrine of the Mean, Elucidations on the Great Commentary, Elucidations on the Introduction to the Changes, Elucidations on the Penetrating Book, and Elucidations on Reflections on Things at Hand.
21
殿
Wang Bai, courtesy name Huizhi, came from Jinhua in Wuzhou. His great-grandfather Shiyu was lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall; he studied the Changes and the Analects under Yang Shi, and later also associated with Zhu Xi, Zhang Shi, and Lü Zuqian. His father Han was Gentleman for Court Audience and intendant of the Xiandu Abbey in Jianchang Circuit; all the brothers entered the circles of Zhu Xi and Lü Zuqian.
22
In youth Bai admired Zhuge Liang and styled himself Longxiao, "the Long Whistler." Past thirty he first grasped the source of his family's learning, cast off vulgar studies, and devoted himself boldly to seeking the Way. With his friend Wang Kaizhi he wrote Comprehensive Meaning of the Analects; when he reached "In dwelling be respectful, in handling affairs be reverent," he sighed in alarm and said, "Longxiao is not the sage school's way of upholding reverence." He at once changed his style to Luzhai, "the Lu Studio.
23
While associating with Zhu Xi's disciples, he was told that He Ji had received Zhu Xi's transmission through Huang Gan; he at once went to study with Ji, who taught him to establish resolve and dwell in reverence, and wrote the "Admonition of the Lu Studio" to encourage him. Solid, sincere, and painstaking, whenever he had doubts he always took them to Ji for resolution. His punctuation and collation of the Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius, and Comprehensive Mirror Outline were especially meticulous. He wrote the Diagram of the Admonition of the Reverent Studio. He rose early to visit the ancestral temple and governed his household with strict discipline. In summer he shut himself in his study to sit in quiet; when sons and younger brothers came to report affairs, he would not receive them unless they were properly dressed.
24
Orphaned young, he served his elder brother with great respect. His youngest brother died young; he raised the orphan and also gave him a portion of the family fields. He gathered the clan together and supported them with comprehensive care. When Kaizhi died in poverty, Bai laid out his body and buried him.
25
Many students came to study with him; in his teaching he always began with the Great Learning. Cai Kang and Yang Dong in succession served as prefect of Wuzhou, and Zhao Jingwei as prefect of Taizhou; they engaged him as teacher at the Lizhe and Shangcai academies, and the district elders all performed the rites of disciples before him. When Emperor Lizong died, he led his students in putting on mourning dress and attending at the prefectural seat.
26
退
Bai said, "Fuxi took the River Chart to draw the Eight Trigrams; King Wen extended the Eight Trigrams to harmonize with the River Chart—these are the ancestors of the Before Heaven and After Heaven arrangements." "The River Chart alternates odd and even position by position; After Heaven alternates odd and even in the whole body—only the four generating numbers remain fixed." "Taking the four completing numbers and moving them up and down, even above and odd below—all of it follows nature." He also said, "Yu the Great obtained the Luo Document and arrayed the Nine Categories; Jizi obtained the Nine Categories and transmitted the Great Plan—the numbers of the Plan's scope accorded in secret without being sought. "Is not the Great Plan the ancestor of the classics and commentaries!" "From 'First, the Five Elements' below, sixty-five characters form the Great Plan; from 'Five, the Imperial Extreme' below, sixty-four characters form the Classic of the Imperial Extreme—this is the great instruction handed down among emperors and kings, not the words of Jizi." He also said, "Are the present three hundred and five pieces of the Odes all fixed by the Master's own hand? "The odes he deleted may still survive in the mouths of common folk; Han scholars took them to fill lacunae." He then fixed the Two Souths at eleven pieces each, paired two by two. He demoted "How Luxuriant Those Branches" and "Sweet Pear-Tree" to the Royal Airs, cut out "In the Wilds Is a Dead Roebuck," and dismissed the licentious odes of Zheng and Wei. He also wrote Elucidations on the Spring and Autumn. He also said, "The chapter on extending knowledge and investigating things in the Great Learning has never been lost." He restored the chapter on knowing where to stop above the chapter on hearing lawsuits. He held that "anciently the Doctrine of the Mean had two sections; sincerity and clarity could serve as the guiding thread but not as a chapter heading." He fixed the sincerity-and-clarity sections of the Doctrine of the Mean at eleven chapters each; his outstanding insight and singular views were mostly of this kind.
27
At his death he straightened his cap and gown and sat upright, waving the women away. Yang Wenzhong, libationer of the Directorate of Education, petitioned the court for the posthumous title Wenxian.
28
His works included Records of Reading the Changes, Comprehensive Ancient Explanations of the Changes, Extended Meaning of the Great Images, Comprehensive Ancient Diagrams and Writings, Records of Reading, Doubts on the Documents, Discriminating Explanations on the Odes, Records of Reading the Spring and Autumn, Extended Meaning of the Analects, Extended Meaning of the Supreme Polarity, Essential Meaning of the Yi-Luo School, Diagram of Investigating the Subtle, Chapter and Sentence Commentary on the Lu Classics, Comprehensive Meaning of the Analects and Mencius, Attached Commentary on the Documents, Corrected Tradition of Mr. Zuo, Continuation of the Discourses of the States, Writings on Inner Learning, Restoration and Continuation of Ancient Style in Literature, Literary Tradition of Lian and Luo, Draft Record of the Way Learning, Essentials of Master Zhu, The Odes May Be Spoken, examinations of astronomy, geography, and the ink forest, Great Erya, Original Characters of the Six Principles, Sounds of the Correct Beginning, Imperial Chronology, Sources of the Jiang Left, Miscellaneous Records of Yi-Luo Essentials, Master Zhou, Dispelling the Threefold Samadhi, Guide to Literature, Collection of Morning Splendor, Zhu Xi's Ode Categories, family registers, and collected writings.
29
簿
Xu Mengshen, courtesy name Shanglao, came from Linjiang. Clever from childhood, he devoured the classics and histories, even unofficial histories and minor tales—whatever met his eye he could recite from memory. In 1154 he passed the jinshi examination. He served as professor of Nan'an Circuit. He was transferred to magistrate of Xiangyin County. When the Hunan commander surveyed fields under the banner of increasing cultivated-land tax, other counties obeyed with utmost care. Mengshen alone protested that the county had no new fields and that rent and tax could not be produced from nothing. The commander resented his siding with the people and tried to find fault in the account books, but could discover none; he therefore came to value him all the more.
30
西 西西 西 使
Soon he was placed in charge of documents for the Guangxi Transport Commission. At the time the court debated changing the salt law of the Two Guangs and sent Hu Tingzhi, staff officer of the Guangxi Pacification Commission, to meet with the eastern and western transport officials at the border for joint deliberation. Mengshen accompanied the mission and argued, "Guangxi is hemmed in by mountains and should keep the official transport method—only then will the people be spared harm." "The prefectures of Guangdong all border the rivers and might permit merchant transport; it is not fitting to apply one policy to both Guangs at once." His views did not accord with Hu Tingzhi's. Hu Tingzhi in the end carried out his own plan and, through the merchant-transport reform, became transport commissioner. After Mengshen became prefect of Binzhou, he was dismissed because his earlier opposition was deemed to obstruct the new law. Within three years merchants in the Two Guangs were ruined, the people suffered from lack of salt, and the official transport method was restored.
31
西
Mengshen was indifferent to glory and advancement; he often recalled that he was born amid the disorders of the Jingkang era, and that at four, when Jiangxi was cut off by rebellion, his mother carried him on her back and fled to safety. Wishing to trace events from beginning to end, he gathered old reports and assembled agreements and differences into the Collected Records of Northern Alliances across Three Reigns in 250 juan—from the maritime alliance of 1117 to the death of Wanyan Liang in 1161, forty-five years in all; edicts, regulations, patent letters, proclamations, state letters, memorials, deliberations, records, prefaces, steles, and epitaphs were all included without omission. The emperor heard of it and commended him, promoting him to directorship of the Secret Repository.
32
Throughout his life Mengshen wrote many works, including Collected Supplements, Collected Records, Records of Reading Notes, Collected Medical Records, and Collected Immortal Records—all prefixed with "Ru Glory." His love of learning and breadth of culture were a tireless pursuit that ended only with his death. In the eighth month of 1205 he died at the age of eighty-two. Mengshen's younger brother was Dezhi; his nephew was Tianlin.
33
使
Dezhi, courtesy name Sishu, passed the jinshi examination in 1183. A ministry envoy recommended him as an incorrupt official; he retired with the rank of Gentleman for Direct Remonstrance. Content with poverty and delighting in his lot, neither greedy nor restless, he wrote Mr. Zuo's Chronicle of States, Annals of the Records of the Historian, Brief Notes of the Worn Writing Case, Songs of the Processional Drums, and Gazetteer of the Chen River.
34
調西 西
Tianlin, courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a jinshi graduate of 1205. Assigned professor of Fuzhou, he served successively as staff officer of the Huguang General Comptroller's Office, professor of Lin'an, staff officer of the Zhexi Ever-Normal Granaries, director of the Ministry of Rites and War archives, instructor at the Imperial Clan Academy, and erudite of the Military Studies Academy. In a rotating audience he said the ruler should uphold his heart in reverence. He received temple service at the Xiandu Abbey, served as vice prefect of Hui and Tan, acting prefect of Yingde, and acting dispatched transport judge of Guangxi. Wherever he served he promoted schools and clarified teaching, and his administration was benevolent.
35
西西
He wrote Essentials of the Western Han in seventy juan, Essentials of the Eastern Han in forty juan, Origins and Ends of Han Military Affairs in one juan, Exegesis on Western Han Geography in six juan, and Classic of Mountains in thirty juan. After resigning office he built a pavilion above Xiaotan, painted an image of Yan Ziling, and venerated it.
36
簿
Li Xinchuan, courtesy name Weizhi, was the son of Shunchen, registrar of the Court of the Imperial Clan. In 1195 he was recommended in the district examination; after failing, he resolved never to compete again and shut his door to write. Late in life, through the combined recommendations of twenty-three men including Cui Yuzhi, Xu Yi, and Wei Liaoweng, the pacification commission earnestly sent him to the capital. He became collator in the Historiography Institute, was granted jinshi status, and specialized in compiling the Imperial Annals of the Four Reigns of the Restoration. When he had just completed three of them, critics brought about his dismissal and he was made specially assigned vice prefect of Chengdu. Soon he was transferred to assistant in the Composition Office while also serving as deliberator on the Sichuan Pacification Commission. An edict forbade him to enter the deliberation staff but permitted him to recruit officials and establish a bureau to continue compiling the Essentials of Thirteen Reigns. In 1236 the work was completed. Summoned to the capital, he became vice minister of Works and said:
37
使
"Your subject has heard that 'after great warfare there is sure to be a year of famine.'" This is because the killing was so great and the levies so heavy that the people's resentful rage offended the harmony of yin and yang, reaching this extreme. Your Majesty should join with the great ministers to sweep away disorderly government and make a fresh start with the people, as a plan to dispel evil fortune and welcome good omens. Yet defective laws have never been reformed and the people's toil has not been relieved—unable to change the old ways, things have almost grown worse. Therefore imperial virtue has not reached freedom from fault, court standards are often in disorder, incorrupt officials are rarely seen, while greedy, shameless men who dare do evil, taking advantage of enemies to raise troops, rise on every side to satisfy their desires. To hope in such circumstances that the five blessings will all arrive and the hundred grains flourish is to climb a tree to catch fish.
38
使
Your subject examines the causes of drought: harmonized purchase has increased and the people resent it; the displaced have nowhere to return and the people resent it; tax inspection is not truthful and the people resent it; asset registration punishes without crime and the people resent it. All these arose after great warfare, and nothing has dispelled their momentum, so they accumulate ever more extremely. Even Emperor Tang, a sage ruler, still took blame upon himself for six failings in his prayer at the Mulberry Grove. Your Majesty has long desired good governance, yet for seven years now omens, disasters, and famine have filled the histories without end. What is the cause? When orders change from morning to evening and nothing holds steady, government loses discipline; When travelers and those who see them off have scarcely a day free of corvée, the people are worn to exhaustion; When gardens and temples at the secondary capital demand ceaseless labor, building projects run rampant; When Taoist nuns from the prince's old residence wield ever greater influence, female go-betweens at court multiply; When gifts of rare treasures are scarcely ever refused, bribery becomes routine; When blunt, earnest remonstrance is mostly scorned and rejected, flatterers and slanderers thrive. If even one of these six faults is present, it is enough to cause drought. I pray that Your Majesty will quickly issue an edict of self-reproach and rectify these six matters to win back Heaven's favor. Any minister who urges schemes of extortion and plunder to win advancement must be severely dismissed, so that none may mislead Your Majesty's sacred virtue from above; then even a fierce drought may yet be stilled. Yet with the people resentful within and enemies pressing from without, when affairs reach their limit and pressure mounts, what calamity may not follow! Even with scheming ministers thick as clouds and fierce generals dense as rain, Your Majesty will still not know what course to take.
39
The emperor accepted his advice. Before long he was again dismissed for his remonstrance, took a temple stipend, and lived in Chaozhou. In 1241 his temple stipend was revoked, then restored, and then revoked once more. In the third year he retired, then died at the age of seventy-eight.
40
Xinchuan had a historian's talent and mastered the facts of the past, yet in his biographies of Wu Lie and Xiang Anshi his judgments fell short of the historian's charge. For his mind always favored Sichuan and looked down on scholars of the southeast.
41
西
His completed works included the "Chronological Record of Emperor Gaozong" (200 juan), "Compilation on Learning the Changes" (5 juan), "Instructions for Reciting the Odes" (5 juan), "Examination of the Spring and Autumn Annals" (13 juan), "Discriminations on Ritual" (23 juan), "Examination in Reading History" (12 juan), "Verification of Errors in Old Reports" (15 juan), "Miscellaneous Records of Court and Countryside" (40 juan), "Record of the Way and Fate" (5 juan), "Record of Pacification on the Western Frontier" (90 juan), "Correction of the Record of the Southern Migration" (1 juan), and one hundred juan of poems and prose.
42
調
Ye Weidao, originally named Hesun, was known by his style name and later adopted the courtesy name Zhidao; he came from Wenzhou. From youth he devoted himself to classical learning and studied under Zhu Xi. He ranked first in the Ministry of Rites examination. When the ban on heterodox learning was in force, Weidao's policy examination essay consistently drew on Cheng Yi without holding back. Chief examiner Hu Hong saw it and failed him, saying, "This must be a follower of the banned school. " After failing the examination, he again studied with Zhu Xi in the Wuyi mountains. When the learning ban was lifted, he passed the jinshi examination in 1220 and was posted as professor at Ezhou.
43
使 殿
When Emperor Lizong inquired about Zhu Xi's disciples and their writings, the circuit commissioner reported Weidao's character and integrity, and he was appointed to oversee archival documents for the Three Departments. Promoted to tutor at the Imperial Clan school, in a rotating audience he said, "When a ruler devotes himself to learning, it is a blessing for the realm. He must hold fast to his resolve to preserve what he has learned, watch the subtlest signs to test it, uphold the cardinal norms to strengthen it, and welcome loyal counsel to complete it. " In his oral presentation he also explained how emperors transmit the mind and why the four ancient dynasties composed songs and inscriptions; he concluded, "When speech is overextended, its force is spent; when rhetoric overwhelms, meaning grows empty. " Attendant ministers recommended Weidao as a lecturer, and he was appointed Doctor of the Imperial University and concurrent lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall.
44
使
By precedent, lecturers were limited to the "Comprehensive Mirror" and did not cover the classics. Weidao asked to lecture first on the "Analects," and the emperor agreed. The emperor suddenly asked about ghosts and spirits, suspecting that the story of Bo You was rather far-fetched. Weidao replied, "The dispersal and gathering of yin and yang—even Heaven and Earth cannot change them. That the dead sometimes do not fully disperse is the normal case. That those who die unjustly may remain pent up and undispersed is the exceptional case. That is why the sages established ancestral temples to distinguish kin near and far—precisely to teach the people mutual affection and to help nurture life. Bo You died under a charge, his spirit did not disperse, and he became a haunting curse that unsettled the whole state; so they established Zixie as his heir to carry on his line—then ghosts might take heed and all spirits find rest. " This was an indirect criticism of the affair of Crown Prince Hao.
45
When the court mobilized for the Three Capitals campaign, ministers and frontier commanders competed to urge seizing the moment. Weidao submitted a memorial arguing that "as the frontier war widens, reinforcements grow ever harder to supply, levies multiply daily, and logistics grow ever tighter; once the people can bear no more, disasters like those of Pang Xun and Huang Chao will follow at once. This shakes the foundation first and gains nothing abroad. " At the Classics Mat he pressed the point every day without fail, and soon came word that the Luoyang force had been defeated. People then said that Weidao had seen the warning signs and thought far ahead.
46
In every memorial Weidao submitted, each word sought to guide and support the ruler himself; By drawing parallels and circling back, he always led the discussion to the principles of good government. He was promoted to Assistant in the Secretariat Composition Office and then died. When word of his death arrived, the emperor was deeply grieved, sent silver and silk from the inner treasury to help with the funeral, and promoted his heir one rank—something without precedent.
47
He wrote the "Commentary on the Four Books," "Lectures on the Great Learning," "External Commentary on the Rites of Sacrifice, Ancestral Temples, Temple Offerings, and Suburban and Altar Rites," "Oral Memorials at the Classics Mat," and "Lectures on Precedents."
48
調西簿 調西使 調
Wang Yinglin, courtesy name Bohou, came from Qingyuan Prefecture. At nine he had mastered the Six Classics; in 1241 he passed the jinshi examination and studied under Wang Ye. Posted as chief clerk of Xi'an County, the people looked down on him for his youth, and tax payments fell behind. Yinglin reported the matter to the prefect, enforced the law, and the payments were promptly collected. When several guard units plotted mutiny, Weng Fu, acting magistrate, was at a loss; Yinglin persuaded them with reason and propriety until they submitted. He was assigned to supervise the Million-East Granary at Pingjiang. He was transferred to serve as account supervisor under the Zhexi Commissioner for Ever-Normal Granaries, Tea, and Salt, and circuit commissioner Zheng Lin treated him with special regard. After mourning his father and completing the mourning period, he was posted as professor at Yangzhou.
49
西
When Yinglin first passed the examinations, he said, "Those who pursue the examination career today chase reputation; once they succeed they cast everything aside and know nothing of institutions or precedent—this is not what the state expects of true scholars. " Thereupon he shut his door and studied with fierce resolve, vowing to distinguish himself in the Broad Learning and Eloquent Diction examination and borrowing imperial library books to read. In 1256 he passed that examination. Yinglin and his younger brother Yingfeng shared the same birthday; in 1259 Yingfeng also passed that examination, the court issued an edict of praise, and Yinglin was specially assigned as staff officer on the Zhexi Pacification Commission.
50
殿
The emperor held the palace examination in the Hall of Assembled Excellence and summoned Yinglin to review the papers again. When the rankings were submitted, the emperor wanted to move the seventh scroll to first place. Yinglin read it and kowtowed, saying, "This scroll's ancient righteousness is clear as a mirror, its loyal heart firm as iron and stone—I venture to congratulate Your Majesty on finding such a man. " The seventh scroll was accordingly ranked first. When the names were read aloud, the candidate was Wen Tianxiang. He was promoted to oversee archival documents for the Three Departments and the Privy Council.
51
輿
He was promoted to registrar of the National University and then to Doctor of the Military Academy. In a memorial he said, "Your Majesty has long studied governance and long desired good rule. In hard times, with the realm pressed by foreign threats, talent scarce and the people's strength spent, you should force yourself to do good, cultivate virtue all the more, and not fall into despair; lift the spirit of the scholar-officials, let every grievance from below reach you, hold fast to standards and make appointments clear, watch those close at hand and guard against obstruction, and seek wise men to assist the heir. " After the audience, the emperor asked his father's name and said, "Your father made presenting what is good his standard of loyalty—truly you inherit a fine legacy.
52
簿
Ding Daquan tried to recruit Yinglin but failed. Promoted to Registrar of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in audience before the emperor he said, "The Huai defenses are on alert, the road into Shu is perilously hard, and the upper reaches of the maritime frontier all face the mutual-defense anxieties of rampart and lip." To stint on rewards before military achievements are secured, and to levy heavier taxes when the people's strength is already spent, is no strategy for strengthening the state and repelling the enemy. Your Majesty must not grow complacent in ease and comfort, nor take flattering words as reassurance. " The emperor said gravely, "The border situation is deeply troubling. " Yinglin said, "In peace worry deeply; when crisis comes do not panic. I pray that Your Majesty will act urgently to prepare and not be misled by those who block the truth. " At that time Daquan suppressed discussion of border affairs, and Yinglin was dismissed.
53
Before long Daquan fell from power, and Yinglin was recalled as vice prefect of Taizhou. He was summoned as Doctor of Imperial Sacrifices, promoted to Secretariat Gentleman, and soon also appointed tutor in the household of the Prince of Yijinghui. When a comet appeared, he responded to an edict with a forceful indictment of the chief ministers, attendants, and remonstrance officials, and of the harm done by hoarding private wealth and imposing public fields. He also said, "To respond to Heaven's warning, nothing comes before winning back the people's hearts; to win back hearts, nothing comes before receiving remonstrance openly. If you silence the realm and break the spirit of upright ministers, how can you respond to Heaven? " Many who spoke frankly then ran afoul of powerful ministers, and Yinglin was caught up in the backlash. He was promoted to Assistant in the Composition Office.
54
使
When Duzong ascended the throne, Yinglin served as acting Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites and drafted the memorials of the hundred officials. Under the old regulations, a request to assume governance required four memorials or more. One evening, entering the mourning audience, the chief minister ordered three additional memorials drafted, and Yinglin wrote them on the spot. When the chief councilor returned from overall command, three resignation memorials were needed; the messenger stood waiting, and Yinglin calmly handed them over. The chief councilor was deeply impressed and at once made him concurrent Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites and Hanlin academician.
55
殿
When Ma Tingluan served as chief examiner, an edict appointed Yinglin acting Hanlin duty officer, and soon also lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall. He was promoted to Composition Gentleman and acting Vice Director of Armaments. At the Classics Mat on Human Day, when snow fell, the emperor asked what precedents existed; Yinglin answered with the Tang court poems composed on command by Li Jiao, Li Yi, and others. He added, "With so much spring snow, the people suffer cold and hunger; Your Majesty's compassionate heart should earnestly seek to move Heaven. " He was then promoted to Director of Palace Construction.
56
綿
At court the emperor said to Yinglin, "In study one must truly grasp the minds of the ancients. " Yinglin answered, "Solemn respect and dutiful caution, never neglecting the ruler, practicing diligence and thrift, refusing self-indulgence, ruling firmly over subordinates, and cutting through affairs with decision — that is the ancients' ideal. But resolve is easily lost in minute distractions, and earnest diligence is often set aside for idle pastimes. The emperor praised and adopted his counsel. Shortly afterward, in a rotating memorial audience, he said, "The sovereign must check incipient desires and sustain ceaseless sincerity. " He was appointed concurrent attendant editor, promoted to acting chief of the Hanlin Academy, and transferred to vice director of the Secretariat with a concurrent lecturing post. He memorialized on maritime trade offices; the court did not reply.
57
使
When Jia Sidao received appointment as Grand Councillor, Ye Mengding and Jiang Wanli each asked to resign, and Sidao himself also sought to step down. Yinglin cited the precedent that under Emperor Xiaozong the chief councillorship had likewise stood vacant for more than a year; the emperor at once had the record brought out to instruct him. Sidao, hearing Yinglin's remark, loathed him deeply and told Bao Hui, "When I go, courtiers like Wang Bohou will be legion, but this man has long been known for letters — I do not want the world to say I cast scholars aside. Let him consider humbling himself a little! " When Hui relayed this, Yinglin laughed and said, "The trouble of crossing the chief councillor is slight; the guilt of failing the sovereign is grave. " He was moved to diarist of attendance and concurrent acting drafting secretary. When thunder sounded in winter, Yinglin said, "Tenth-month thunder was seen repeatedly only in the Eastern Han. When authority is divided, treachery rises together — a sign of the base overtaking the exalted, the outer pressing upon the inner. The ruler must cleanse himself before Heaven, honor Heaven's mandate, embody Heaven's virtue, and so win Heaven's favor back. To keep what has been won, one must take the ancestors as model; to rule well, one must gather power and favor in the throne. " Sidao heard it and resolved at once to drive him out.
58
Yinglin sent a memorial through the Gate Department requesting direct audience, arguing that in appointments one must first distinguish the upright from the base. As he held his memorial and awaited his turn in court, censorial officials rushed forward with counter-memorials, and the custom of diarists petitioning directly was abolished. He was appointed compiler in the Privy Archive and put in charge of the Chongxi Abbey.
59
After some time he was recalled to serve as prefect of Huizhou. His father Hui had governed that prefecture; the local elders said, "Here is the son of the incorrupt prefect. " He broke the power of local magnates, cut rents and levies, and the people rejoiced.
60
Recalled as director of the Secretariat and acting drafting secretary, he pleaded hard to decline but was refused. He also served as compiler of the national history, examiner of the veritable records, and court lecturer. Promoted to court gentleman and acting vice minister of personnel, he laid out arguments of triumph and disaster, advance and retreat, and said, "The empire rests on the Yangtze; Xiangyang and Fancheng are its gateway — deliberation cannot wait. The court still moved as leisurely as in ordinary days; let the moment slip once, and who could feel secure? " No minister would speak of the border crisis, and the emperor was displeased. Sidao again schemed to remove him, but Yinglin left office to mourn his mother.
61
After Sidao's forces collapsed on the Yangtze, Yinglin was made drafting secretary and chief of the Hanlin Academy; he at once submitted ten urgent proposals: rally troops, clarify law and punishment, restore integrity, hear the people, find generals, drill the army, stock provisions, employ real talent, choose good governors, and secure the coast. He added, "To confront great peril one must overlook small grievances; to achieve real results one must strip away hollow paperwork. " He asked that loyal armies from every circuit be gathered; those who came first should be richly rewarded to rouse valor, and all should fight together — only if one can fight can one hold. He rose to concurrent compiler of the national history and co-compiler in the Veritable Records Academy with a reader-in-waiting post, then became vice minister of rites and drafting secretary. During an eclipse Yinglin answered the imperial edict on Heaven's rebuke with five points and ten defense measures, but none were used.
62
西使
He was soon moved to minister of works with a concurrent post as receiver of memorials. Left chief councillor Liu Mengyan appointed Xu Nang censor and promoted Jiangxi commissioner Huang Wanshi and others; Yinglin returned the order, saying, "Nang shares Mengyan's home district — a private tie is suspected; Wanshi is rough, brutal, and ignorant, and the loss of Nanchang was a grave betrayal of the realm. If you now recruit them to bolster yourselves, upright men they harry and ruin will leave in bitterness. Wu Jun is venal, reckless, and impulsive — how can he be put in office? Besides, Mengyan gives bad orders and scorns remonstrance; honest counsel he will not relay, and many who now offer surrender are men he raised. " He resubmitted the memorial; again there was no reply. Outside the capital gate awaiting orders, he wrote again, "In peril the norms are thrown into confusion; with partial views public debate is silenced — my returns are ignored and I stand apart from the chief ministers; I cannot stay. " The memorial went in and again went unanswered; he then went home to the east.
63
使
The throne dispatched eunuch Tan Chunde to summon him as Hanlin academician; observers said this pulled him from the vital post and rewarded him with an honorary rank — no way to honor a worthy man. Yinglin again refused firmly; he died twenty years later.
64
稿稿
Among his works were "Collected Works of Shenning" (100 juan), "Drafts from the Royal Hall" (23 juan), "Drafts from the Palace Secretariat" (22 juan), "Investigation of the Odes," "Geographical Investigation of the Odes," his verification of the Han bibliographic treatise, his geographic studies of the "Comprehensive Mirror," "Observations from Difficult Study," "Elementary Instruction," supplements to the "Quick Mastery Primer" and "Royal Assembly Chapter," "Pearls on the Classics for Elementary Learning," the encyclopedic "Jade Sea" (200 juan), guides to literary composition, surname primers, studies of Han institutions, astronomic compilations, and elementary recitations.
65
調
Huang Zhen, courtesy name Dongfa, was a native of Cixi in Qingyuan Prefecture. In Baoyou year 4 he passed the jinshi examination and was assigned as magistrate of Wu County. Wu was full of powerful houses; private debt suits were handed to the sheriff, and common people, already hungry, cold, and desperate, died under his runners. Once Zhen took office, he refused petitions from great families. The prefecture ordered him to serve as acting county magistrate. Later, as acting magistrate of Changzhou and Huating as well, he won praise everywhere he served.
66
沿西 便
Wang Huafu, Zhedong intendant of the Changping granaries, engaged him to supervise account documents. Then Qian Gengsun governed Changzhou, Zhu Yi governed Pingjiang, and Wu Junzhuo governed Jiaxing — each leaning on court favorites to harry the people. Huafu, though gravely ill, forced himself up to impeach and remove all three; Zhen applauded him. The coastal commissioner tried to appoint him staff officer overseeing Zhexi salt — he declined. He accepted instead a post supervising the Zhenjiang transshipment granary. When the public-field law took effect he was shifted to the official-field office; he argued it was harmful, was ignored, and went back to the transshipment granary.
67
使
He entered the capital as inspector of the army commissary's stimulating-award wine depot. Raised to historiography examiner, he helped compile the "National History" and "Veritable Records" for the reigns of Ningzong and Lizong. In a rotating audience he named the age's gravest ills: the people were ruined, the army feeble, the treasury empty, and the literati without shame. He asked that ordination certificates for monks and priests be halted so the orders would die out naturally, and that their lands be seized to fund the army and ease the people. The palace was then building an inner Buddhist chapel, which is why he raised the issue first. The emperor, enraged, marked his record for demotion by three ranks, and Zhen at once departed the capital. On the remonstrance of censorial officials, the punishment was withdrawn.
68
He was sent out as military vice-prefect of Guangde Army. Emperor Xiaozong had once spread Zhu Xi's community-granary system empire-wide, yet in Guangde the granary was run by officials. People were crushed paying interest until interest itself became principal and was extorted at will; some were driven to suicide. Because it bore Zhu Xi's name, no one dared criticize it. Zhen said, "That is not so. Laws from Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties sages still admit change — must a former master's institution be kept though it brings harm? Besides, in Zhu Xi's system the granary belongs to the community, not the magistrate. Even without official meddling, the burden of interest remained. " Zhen bought six hundred mu on his own and substituted its rent for granary interest; loans were made only in famine years and carried no interest.
69
The prefecture held the Cishan Temple, where each year hundreds of thousands from the Yangtze and Huai came to pray, sacrificing oxen. Local rowdies habitually armed themselves and danced with sacrificial beasts to greet the deity, brawling until the law was broken. There was also a custom of men shackling themselves from infancy and beating their own flesh to win divine favor. Zhen questioned them and found they were soldiers. He made them write out their offenses; one soldier said, "I have done nothing wrong. " Zhen replied, "Your crimes are many; you will not confess them to men, only to the god to escape blame. " He had them flogged in public as an example. There was also the "Burial Assembly": a five-foot pit was dug in the courtyard, the sacrificial ox and hundreds of vessels were placed inside, covered with hide and locked overnight — by morning everything had vanished. Zhen judged it sorcery and unlawful ox sacrifice, reported it to the authorities, and banned it. Prefect Jia Fanshi, nephew of the reigning chief councillor, was arrogant and unruly; Zhen often crossed him; Fanshi, unable to endure it, accused Zhen of obstructing rule, and Zhen was removed.
70
Soon afterward he served as military vice-prefect of Shaoxing, seized pirates, and put them to death. When famine sparked unrest in Fuzhou, Zhen was named prefect; he galloped ahead alone and, on the road, ordered rich men and elders to gather in the city by a set day. Arriving, he posted in the market, "Hoarders will be punished; forced buyers will be executed"; he worked from the courier station, never entering the yamen or fixing prices, and rice fell day by day. He himself boiled gruel for the hungry. He asked the court for honors for those who had helped, and only then took up regular prefectural duties. The transport office demanded the prefecture buy seventy thousand shi of rice; Zhen said, "The people are already prostrate — how can we crush them again! " He covered the quota with revenue from three seized official estates. He reprinted the "Six Classics" and "Rites of Zhou," restored Zhu Xi's temple, labeled Yan Shu's gate "Old Study Lane," made vessels for the altars of soil and grain, revived wind-and-thunder rites, urged wheat planting, outlawed racing boats — burning more than thirteen hundred craft and using their timber and iron for five hundred barracks — all worthy acts.
71
忿 使
The throne increased his rank and promoted him intendant of the Changping granaries. A twenty-eight-year-old case of men who banded together to resist arrest still filled the jail; fewer than three or four in ten remained alive; because the Ministry of Personnel was involved, no judge would rule — banding together was treated as revolt. Zhen held that such leagues resembled mutual-aid societies elsewhere, not rebellion, and that repeated amnesties had covered them; he freed them all. Xincheng and Guangze bordered each other; villagers on both sides of a creek fought every year over fishing grounds. When acting magistrate Jian Xiong oppressed them, the people banded together, then rioted, burning and looting. Zhen impeached Xiong, removed him, and ordered the crowd to go home. The Changping office once ran a Charity for Infants for the poor who cast away children, but the name survived after the work ceased. Zhen argued that rescuing babies after abandonment was worse than keeping families from abandoning them at all. He reworked the rules: poor families entitled to exemption could ask officials for aid through neighborhood clerks; abandoned infants could be adopted with state grain paid to the foster home — and many lived. On corvée service, Zhen had counties assess household wealth first so poor families would not be burdened by the rich. He pushed irrigation hard, restoring ruined ponds, broken dams, and works seized by local magnates.
72
簿
Made judicial intendant, he cleared stale prisons, untangled civil suits, and judged with awesome clarity. He prosecuted a great family that had wronged commoners, and they bore him a grudge. He also compelled rich men to release grain to the hungry, and they too turned against him. Vice censor-in-chief Chen Jian, acting on accusers' reports, impeached Zhen from office — the accusers were men who hated him. He was then given a sinecure at the Yuntai Shrine. After Jia Sidao left the chief ministership, Zhen was recalled as registrar in the Court of Imperial Clan and slated to become censor with Yu Zhe; a consort's kin, dreading Zhen's candor, blocked the move, and Zhe likewise departed for speaking plainly.
73
As Zhedong intendant of Changping granaries, he settled famine refugees and stamped out incipient robbery. The emperor's grand-uncle, Prince Fu Yuru, was then prefect of Shaoxing, so Zhen was also named chief administrator of the princely household. Zhen wrote, "Court protocol distinguishes rank, but the norms must not be broken. Even a prince in the provinces may be criticized by a circuit intendant. If I serve under him, how can I investigate his faults? Why should I be the one to undermine the rule? " He steadfastly declined the chief administrator's appointment. He was ordered promoted to attendant of the Left and vice director of the Court of Imperial Clan, and again refused both posts.
74
Zhen once said, "Read only the sages; write no poetry or prose that does no good. " In office he rose before daylight; when a case came in, he settled it on the spot. He kept himself poor and spare, yet when anyone faced crisis he helped generously. He authored "Daily Notes" in one hundred juan. When he died, his students privately honored him as Master Wenjie.
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