1
文苑一
Literature 1
2
○宋白梁周翰朱昂趙鄰幾 〈（何承裕附）〉 鄭起 〈（郭昱馬應）〉 和峴 〈（弟蒙附）〉 馮吉
○ Song Bai · Liang Zhouhan · Zhu Ang · Zhao Linji (He Chengyu appended) Zheng Qi (Guo Yu and Ma Ying) He Xian (Younger brother Meng appended) Feng Ji
3
宋白，字太素，大名人。 年十三，善屬文。 多遊鄠、杜間，嘗館於張瓊家，瓊武人，賞白有才，遇之甚厚。 白豪俊，尚氣節，重交友，在詞場中稱甚著。
Song Bai, courtesy name Taisu, was from Daming. At thirteen he could already compose polished prose. He often traveled between E and Du and once lodged with Zhang Qiong, a military officer who admired his talent and treated him with great kindness. Bold and spirited, he prized integrity and friendship alike, and enjoyed wide renown among men of letters.
4
建隆二年，竇儀典貢部，擢進士甲科。 乾德初，獻文百軸，試拔萃高等，解褐授著作佐郎，廷賜襲衣、犀帶。 蜀平，授玉津縣令。 開寶中，閻丕、王洞交薦其才，宜預朝列。 白以親老祈外任，連知蒲城、衛南二縣。
In 961 Dou Yi oversaw the civil examinations and Song Bai passed among the top tier of jinshi. At the start of the Qiande era he submitted a hundred scrolls of writings, placed at the top of the special selection examination, entered service as a Secretariat assistant gentleman, and received court robes and a rhinoceros-horn belt in audience. After the conquest of Shu he was made magistrate of Yujin County. During the Kaibao years Yan Pi and Wang Dong repeatedly recommended him for court office, arguing that his talents deserved a place in the central government. Citing aged parents at home, he sought a provincial post and served in succession as magistrate of Pucheng and Weinan.
5
太平興國五年，與程羽同知貢舉，俄充史館修撰、判館事。 八年，復典貢部，改集賢殿直學士、判院事。 未幾，召入翰林為學士。 雍熙中，召白與李昉集諸文士纂《文苑英華》一千卷。 端拱初，加禮部侍郎，又知貢舉。 白凡三掌貢士，頗致譏議，然所得士如蘇易簡、王禹偁、胡宿、李宗諤輩，皆其人也。 是時，命復舊制，專委有司，白所取二十八人，罷退既眾，群議囂然。 太宗遽召已黜者臨軒覆試，連放馬國祥、葉齊等八百餘人焉。
In 980 he and Cheng Yu jointly supervised the civil examinations, and shortly thereafter became a compiler in the Historiography Institute with charge of its daily administration. In 983 he again headed the examinations and was made Academician Recruit of the Hall of Assembled Worthies with charge of the institute. Before long he was summoned to the Hanlin Academy as an academic laureate. During the Yongxi years he and Li Fang were charged with assembling scholars to compile the thousand-scroll Wenyuan Yinghua anthology. At the opening of the Duangong era he was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites and again put in charge of the examinations. Song Bai presided over the examinations three times and drew considerable criticism for it, yet the scholars he advanced—including Su Yijian, Wang Yucheng, Hu Su, and Li Zong'e—were men of genuine merit. At that time the court restored the old examination procedures and entrusted selection to the regular officials alone; of the twenty-eight candidates Bai had passed, a great many were failed, and public outrage was loud. Emperor Taizong promptly ordered the failed candidates to a palace reexamination and passed more than eight hundred of them in succession, including Ma Guoxiang and Ye Qi.
6
白嘗過何承矩家，方陳倡優飲宴。 有進士趙慶者，素無行檢，遊承矩之門，因潛出拜白，求為薦名，及掌貢部，慶遂獲薦，人多指以為辭。 又女弟適王沔，淳化二年，沔罷參知政事。 時寇準方詆訐求進，故沔被出，復言白家用黃金器蓋舉人所賂，其實白嘗奉詔撰錢惟濬碑，得塗金器爾。
Song Bai once called on He Chengju's home while singers and entertainers were being displayed at a feast. A jinshi candidate named Zhao Qing, a man of poor character who frequented He Chengju's household, slipped out to pay his respects and ask for a recommendation; when Bai later headed the examinations, Qing was passed—and many cited this as evidence against him. His younger half-sister was married to Wang Yan, who lost his post as Vice Grand Councilor in 991. Kou Zhun was then slandering rivals to advance himself, and Wang Yan's removal was part of that; Yan also claimed that gold vessels in Bai's household were bribes from examination candidates—in fact they were gilt pieces Bai had received for composing a memorial stele for Qian Weijun at imperial order.
7
先是，白獻擬陸贄《榜子集》，上察其意，欲求任用，遂命知開封府以試之，既而白倦於聽斷，求罷任。 咸平四年，擢王欽若、馮拯、陳堯叟入掌機要，以白宿舊，拜禮部尚書。
Earlier Bai had submitted a work modeled on Lu Zan's Bangzi Collection; the emperor saw his ambition for office and appointed him prefect of Kaifeng as a trial, but Bai soon tired of hearing lawsuits and asked to be relieved. In 1001 Wang Qinruo, Feng Zheng, and Chen Yaosu were elevated to the inner councils of state; Song Bai, as a senior figure of long service, was made Minister of Rites.
8
白學問宏博，屬文敏贍，然辭意放蕩，少法度。 在內署久，頗厭番直，草辭疏略，多不愜旨。 景德二年，與梁周翰俱罷，拜刑部尚書、集賢院學士、判院事。 舊三館學士止五日內殿起居，會錢易上言，悉令赴外朝。 白羸老步梗，就班足跌。 未幾，抗表引年。 上以舊臣，眷顧未允。 再上表辭，乃以兵部尚書致仕，因就宰臣訪問其資產，虞其匱乏，時白繼母尚無恙，上東封，白肩與辭於北苑，召對久之，進吏部尚書，賜帛五十匹。
His learning was vast and his prose swift and fluent, yet his style ran to extravagance and he showed little regard for decorum. After long service in the inner secretariat he wearied of rotating duty there; his draft edicts grew perfunctory and often missed the mark. In 1005 he and Liang Zhouhan were both dismissed from the Hanlin Academy; Song Bai was made Minister of Justice, Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and given charge of that institute. Formerly the Three Repositories academicians need only attend the inner-court audience on the fifth of each month; when Qian Yi memorialized on the point, the court ordered them all to join the outer-court assembly. Frail and elderly, with a stiff and stumbling gait, he tripped when taking his place in the outer-court ranks. Before long he submitted a memorial pleading age to request retirement. The emperor, cherishing an old servant, refused the request. When he submitted again, he was allowed to retire as Minister of War; the emperor had the chief ministers inquire into his means, fearing he might be in want. His stepmother was still alive. When the emperor traveled east for the feng sacrifice, Bai took leave of him at the Northern Park shouldering a pack; the emperor summoned him for a long audience, promoted him to Minister of the Civil Office, and granted fifty bolts of silk.
9
大中祥符三年，丁內艱。 五年正月，卒，年七十七。 贈左僕射，錄其孫懿孫為將作監主簿，孝孫試秘書省校書郎，從子唐臣試正字。
In 1010 he entered mourning for his stepmother. In the first month of 1012 he died at seventy-seven. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Left Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat; his grandson Yisun was appointed principal clerk in the Directorate of Palace Buildings, Xiaosun was given a probationary post as Secretariat proofreader, and his nephew Tangchen as probationary regular scribe.
10
白善談謔，不拘小節，贍濟親族，撫恤孤藐，世稱其雍睦。 聚書數萬卷，圖畫亦多奇古者。 嘗類故事千餘門，號《建章集》。 唐賢編集遺落者，白多纘綴之。 後進之有文藝者，必極意稱獎，時彥多宗之，如胡旦、田錫，皆出其門下。 陳彭年舉進士，輕俊喜嘲謗，白惡其為人，黜落之，彭年憾焉，後居近侍，為貢舉條製，多所關防，蓋為白設也。 會有司諡白為文憲，內出密奏言白素無檢操，遂改文安。 有集百卷。
He was fond of wit and banter and cared little for small formalities, yet he supported his kinsmen generously and tenderly raised orphans and the young—the age praised the harmony of his household. He collected tens of thousands of books, and his gallery held many rare and ancient paintings. He once classified more than a thousand categories of institutional precedents in a work titled the Jianzhang Collection. Where Tang anthologies had left pieces out, he often gathered and restored them. He lavished praise on talented juniors, and many leading men of the age took him as their model—Hu Dan and Tian Xi among others came up under his wing. When Chen Pengnian sat for the jinshi examinations, Bai failed him on account of his frivolous and sarcastic character; Pengnian never forgot the slight. Later, as a palace attendant, he drafted examination regulations bristling with new restrictions—aimed largely at Song Bai. When the court was about to grant him the posthumous title Wenxian, a secret memorial from within the palace objected that he had never shown self-restraint, and the title was changed to Wen'an. His collected works ran to a hundred scrolls.
11
子憲臣，國子博士； 得臣，賜進士及第，至太常丞； 良臣，為太子中舍； 忠臣，殿中丞。
His son Xianchen served as a doctor of the Imperial Academy; Dechen received jinshi honors by imperial grant and rose to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; Liangchen served as Gentleman Attendant of the Heir Apparent; Zhongchen served as a palace aide.
12
梁周翰，字元褒，鄭州管城人。 父彥溫，廷州馬步軍都校。 周翰幼好學，十歲能屬詞。 周廣順二年舉進士，授虞城主簿，辭疾不赴。 宰相範質、王溥以其聞人，不當佐外邑，改開封府戶曹參軍。 宋初，質、溥仍為相，引為秘書郎、直史館。
Liang Zhouhan, courtesy name Yuanbao, was from Guancheng in Zheng Prefecture. His father Yanwen was commander of infantry and cavalry at Yan Prefecture. From childhood he loved learning, and at ten he could already compose verse. In 952 he passed the jinshi examinations and was appointed chief clerk of Yucheng, but pleaded illness and declined the post. Chancellors Fan Zhi and Wang Pu, reckoning a man of his stature unsuited to a county post, moved him to Army Master of the Household Section in the Kaifeng Prefecture. Early in the Song, with Fan Zhi and Wang Pu still in office, he was appointed Secretariat Gentleman with concurrent duty in the Historiography Institute.
13
時左拾遺、知制誥高錫上封，議武成王廟配享七十二賢，內王僧辯以不令終，恐非全德。 尋詔事部尚書張昭、工部尚書竇儀與錫重銓定，功業終始無瑕者方得預焉。 周翰上言曰：
Left Reminder and Edict Drafter Gao Xi then submitted a sealed memorial on the seventy-two worthies who shared sacrifice in the Temple of King Wucheng, arguing that Wang Sengbian—having met a violent end—could scarcely be counted a man of full virtue. The emperor soon ordered Ministers Zhang Zhao and Dou Yi, together with Gao Xi, to reevaluate the roster: only those whose careers from start to finish were without blemish would remain. Liang Zhouhan submitted a memorial saying:
14
臣聞天地以來，覆載之內，聖賢交騖，古今同流，校其顛末，鮮克具美。 周公，聖人也，佐武王定天下，輔成王致治平，盛德大勳，蟠天極地。 外則淮夷構難，內則管、蔡流言。 疐尾跋胡，垂至顛頓； 偃禾仆木，僅得辨明。 此可謂之盡美哉？ 臣以為非也。 孔子，聖人也，刪《詩》、《書》，定《禮》、《樂》，祖述堯、舜，憲章文、武。 卒以棲遲去魯，奔走厄陳，雖試用於定、哀，曾不容於季、孟。 又嘗履盜蹠之虎尾，聞南子之珮聲，遠辱慎名，未見其可。 此又可謂其盡善者哉？ 臣以為非也。 自餘區區後賢，瑣瑣立事，比於二聖，曾何足雲？ 而欲責其磨涅不渝、始卒如一者，臣竊以為難其人矣。
Your servant has heard that since Heaven and Earth were formed, sages and worthies have risen in every age under the sky—and when one weighs their beginnings against their ends, scarcely any achieve perfection in full. The Duke of Zhou was a sage: he helped King Wu settle the realm and guided King Cheng to peace; his virtue and achievement filled heaven and earth. Yet abroad the Huai tribes stirred rebellion, and at home Guan and Cai spread slander against him. Like a beast whose hind legs falter and tail drags, he nearly came to ruin; Only after grain was flattened and trees uprooted did he at last clear his name. Can this be called perfection? Your servant does not think so. Confucius too was a sage: he edited the Odes and Documents, fixed the Rites and Music, looked back to Yao and Shun, and took King Wen and King Wu as his exemplars. Yet in the end he lingered in exile from Lu and wandered in distress through Chen; though rulers Ding and Ai gave him trial employment, he never won a secure place under Ji or Meng. He once trod perilously close to Robber Zhi and heard the jade of Nanzi at court—acts that even from afar stained his reputation and can hardly be called unimpeachable. Can this be called perfect goodness? Your servant does not think so. As for the lesser worthies who came after, with their small and scattered deeds—what are they beside these two sages? To demand that men never change whether polished or stained, remaining wholly consistent from first to last—your servant privately thinks such men are hard to find.
15
昉自唐室，崇祀太公。 原其用意，蓋以天下雖大，不可去兵； 域中有爭，未能無戰。 資其佑民之道，立乎為武之宗，覬張國威，遂進王號。 貞元之際，祀典益修，因以歷代武臣陪饗廟貌，如文宣釋奠之制，有弟子列侍之儀，事雖不經，義足垂勸。 況於曩日，不乏通賢，疑難討論，亦云折中。 今若求其考類，別立否臧，以羔袖之小疵，忘狐裘之大善，恐其所選，僅有可存。
Since Tang times the court has honored Lord Tai in state sacrifice. The intent, one may suppose, was that though the realm is vast, arms cannot be done away with; Where the world holds conflict, war cannot altogether be avoided. Drawing on his way of protecting the people, the court made him patriarch of the martial arts; hoping to magnify national prestige, it raised him to princely rank. Under the Zhenyuan reign the rites were further perfected, and martial ministers of successive dynasties were admitted to share sacrifice in the temple, on the model of the Confucian libation ceremony with disciples in attendance. The practice was uncanonical, but its moral purpose was worth preserving. In those days learned men were not lacking, and the hard questions were thrashed out until a balanced judgment was reached. If the court now sets out to classify and judge anew—to take a small stain on a lamb's sleeve and forget the great virtue of a fox-fur robe—few of those now honored could survive the culling.
16
隻如樂毅、廉頗，皆奔亡而為虜； 韓信、彭越，悉菹醢而受誅。 白起則錫劍杜郵，伍員則浮屍江澨。 左車亦僨軍之將，孫臏實刑餘之人。 穰苴則僨卒齊庭，吳起則非命楚國。 周勃稱重，有置甲尚方之疑； 陳平善謀，蒙受金諸將之謗。 亞夫則死於獄吏，鄧艾則追於檻車。 李廣後期而自剄，竇嬰樹黨而喪身。 鄧禹敗於回溪，終身無董戎之寄； 馬援死於蠻徼，還屍闕遣奠之儀。 其餘諸葛亮之儔，事偏方之主； 王景略之輩，佐閏位之君。 關羽則為仇國所禽，張飛則遭帳下所害。 凡此名將，悉皆人雄，苟欲指瑕，誰當無累？ 或從澄汰，盡可棄捐。 況其功業穹隆，名稱烜赫。 樵夫牧稚，咸所聞知； 列將通侯，竊年思慕。 若一旦除去神位，擯出祠庭，吹毛求異代之疵，投袂忿古人之惡，必使時情頓惑，竊議交興。 景行高山，更奚瞻於往躅； 英魂烈魄，將有恨於明時。
Consider Yue Yi and Lian Po: both fled into exile and ended as captives; Han Xin and Peng Yue were both torn apart and executed. Bai Qi was ordered to fall on his sword at Duyou; Wu Zixu's body was thrown into the river. Lord Anling was a general who brought disaster on his army; Sun Bin was a man who had suffered judicial mutilation. Sima Rangju brought the army to ruin in Qi; Wu Qi met a violent end in Chu. Zhou Bo was a man of weight, yet suspicion clung to him that he had hidden armor in the imperial workshops; Chen Ping was a master strategist, yet was slandered for taking gold from the generals. Zhou Yafu died in prison; Deng Ai was hauled away in a prisoner cart. Li Guang missed his rendezvous and took his own life; Dou Ying built factional alliances and lost his life for it. Deng Yu was routed at Huixi and was never again entrusted with field command. Ma Yuan died on the barbarian frontier, and his body returning home was denied the court's rites of mourning. Then there are men like Zhuge Liang, who served only regional lords; And men like Wang Jinglue, who aided princes whose titles were irregular. Guan Yu was taken captive by a hostile power, and Zhang Fei was murdered by his own subordinates. Every one of these famous commanders was a hero among men—if one goes looking for flaws, who could claim to be spotless? Apply that standard strictly enough, and every name could be struck from the rolls. Their achievements were towering, their fame resplendent. Woodcutters and herd boys alike had heard of them; ranked generals and enfeoffed lords looked to them in secret admiration. Strip their spirit tablets from the hall in one stroke, blow on a speck of dust to find fault with men of another age, flare up in indignation at ancient wrongs—and you will surely bewilder the living and set loose a storm of private murmuring. The high exemplar stands like a mountain—why must anyone still measure old footsteps; their heroic spirits would carry grievance into this enlightened age.
17
況伏陛下方厲軍威，將遏亂略，講求兵法，締構武祠，蓋所以勸激戎臣，資假陰助。 忽使長廊虛邈，僅有可圖之形； 中殿前空，不見配食之坐。 似非允當，臣竊惑焉。 深惟事貴得中，用資體要，若今之可以議古，恐來者亦能非今。 願納臣微忠，特追明敕，乞下此疏，廷議其長。
Moreover, Your Majesty is now strengthening the army's prestige, checking disorder, studying the arts of war, and founding martial shrines—all to stir military men to valor and lend them unseen support. Suddenly the long corridor would stand empty, scarcely a figure left upon the walls; the central hall bare, with no companion worthies seated for shared sacrifice. That hardly seems fitting—and your servant is deeply troubled by it. Matters are best judged by the mean and the essential: if today's standard is applied to judge the past, those who come after may just as well condemn the present. I beg Your Majesty to heed this humble counsel, issue a clarifying edict, and submit this memorial for open debate at court.
18
不報。
The emperor did not reply.
19
乾德中，獻《擬製》二十編，擢為右拾遺。 會修大內，上《五鳳樓賦》，人多傳誦之。 五代以來，文體卑弱，周翰與高錫、柳開、範杲習尚淳古，齊名友善，當時有「高、梁、柳、範」之稱。 初，太祖嘗識彥溫於軍中，石守信亦與彥溫舊故。 一日，太祖語守信，將用周翰掌誥，守信微露其言，周翰遽上表謝。 太祖怒，遂寢其命。
During the Qiande period he submitted twenty fascicles of "Imperial Drafts" and was promoted to Right Reminder. During renovations of the inner palace he submitted an "Ode to the Five Phoenix Tower," which many copied and recited. Since the Five Dynasties literary taste had sunk low; Zhouhan, together with Gao Xi, Liu Kai, and Fan Gao, revived the plain antique style, were famous friends, and were known as the "Four—Gao, Liang, Liu, and Fan." Emperor Taizu had known Yanwen in the army, and Shi Shouxin was also an old friend of his. One day Taizu told Shouxin he meant to put Zhouhan in charge of imperial edicts; Shouxin let the hint slip, and Zhouhan at once submitted a note of thanks. The emperor was furious and dropped the appointment.
20
曆通判綿、眉二州，在眉州坐杖人至死，奪二官。 起授太子左讚善大夫。 開寶三年，遷右拾遺，監綾綿院，改左補闕兼知大理正事。 會將郊祀，因上疏曰：「陛下再郊上帝，必覃赦宥。 臣以天下至大，其中有慶澤所未及、節文所未該者，所宜推而廣之。 方今賦稅年入至多，加以科變之物，名品非一，調發供輸，不無重困。 且西蜀、淮南、荊、潭、廣、桂之地，皆以為王土。 陛下誠能以三方所得之利，減諸道租賦之入，則庶乎均德澤而寬民力矣。」 俄坐杖錦工過差，為其所訴。 太祖甚怒，責之曰：「爾豈不知人之膚血與己無異，何乃遽為酷罰！」 將杖之，周翰自言：「臣負天下才名，不當如是。」 太祖乃解，止左授司農寺丞。 逾年，為太子中允。
He served in succession as judicial commissioner of Mian and Mei; in Mei he beat a man to death with the rod and was stripped of two ranks. He was reinstated as Left Supporter of the Heir Apparent. In 970 he became Right Reminder and overseer of the brocade depot, then Left Supplementation Censor with charge of chief judge duties at the Court of Judicial Review. As a suburban sacrifice drew near he memorialized: "Your Majesty has twice sacrificed to Heaven at the suburban altar and will surely proclaim a great amnesty. Yet in so vast a realm there remain corners where the gracious edict has not reached and categories its ritual language does not cover—areas that ought to be extended and enlarged. Tax receipts have grown enormous, and the additional items exacted under separate lists are legion; levies and transport still crush the people. Western Shu, Huainan, Jing, Tan, Guang, and Gui are now all imperial soil. If Your Majesty were to apply the revenue of those conquered regions to lighten the tax burdens of the other circuits, favor would be spread more evenly and the people's load eased." Soon after he was denounced for excessive beating of a brocade artisan. Taizu was furious: "Do you not know another man's flesh and blood is the same as your own? Why deal out cruel punishment so quickly!" As the rod was raised Zhouhan said: "I am a man of wide renown in the empire—I should not be treated like this." Taizu relented and demoted him only to Vice Director of the Directorate of Grains. A year later he was made Attendant of the Heir Apparent.
21
太平興國中，知蘇州。 周翰善音律，喜蒱博，惟以飲戲為務。 州有伶官錢氏，家數百人，日令百人供妓，每出，必以殽具自隨。 郡務不治，以本官分司西京。 逾月，授左讚善大夫，仍分司。 俄除楚州團練副使。 雍熙中，宰相李昉以其名聞，召為右補闕，賜緋魚，使江、淮提點茶鹽。
During the Taiping Xingguo period he served as prefect of Suzhou. Zhouhan loved music and gambling and gave himself over chiefly to drink and games. A troupe leader of the Qian clan kept a household of hundreds and every day maintained a hundred entertainers; whenever she went abroad a train of food and wine followed. Prefectural business was neglected, and he was relegated to an honorary posting at the Western Capital. Within a month he was made Left Supporter of the Heir Apparent, still in honorary service. Soon after he was appointed Vice Commissioner of the Chuzhou militia. During Yongxi Chancellor Li Fang, on his reputation, recalled him as Right Supplementation Censor, granted the red robe and fish tally, and dispatched him to inspect tea and salt in the Jianghuai region.
22
周翰以辭學為流輩所許，頻曆外任，不樂吏事。 會翰林學士宋白等列奏其有史才，回下位，遂命兼史館修撰。 會太宗親試貢士，周翰為考官，麵賜金紫，因語宰相，稱其有文，尋遷起居舍人。 淳化五年，張佖建議復置左右史之職，乃命周翰與李宗諤分領之。 周翰兼起居郎，因上言：「自今崇政、長春殿皇帝宣諭之言，侍臣諭列之事，望依舊中書修為時政記。 其樞密院事涉機密，亦令本院編纂，每至月終送史館。 自餘百司凡於對拜、除改、沿革、製置之事，悉條報本院，以備編錄。 仍令郎與舍人分直崇政殿，以記言動，別為起居注，每月先進禦，後降付史館。」 從之。 起居注進禦，自周翰等始也。 周翰蚤有時譽，久擯廢，及被除擢，尤洽時論。
His peers acknowledged his literary talent, but he served repeatedly in the provinces and took little pleasure in administration. When Song Bai and other Hanlin academicians testified to his gifts as a historian, he was brought back to the capital and named a concurrent compiler in the Historiography Institute. When Taizong personally examined candidates, Zhouhan served as examiner, was granted gold and purple in audience, and so impressed the chancellor that he was soon made Diarist of Attendance. In 994 Zhang Bie proposed reviving the Left and Right Scribes; Zhouhan and Li Zong'e were placed in charge. Zhouhan, also Attendance Diarist, memorialized: "Henceforth the emperor's pronouncements in the Chongzheng and Changchun halls and the attendant ministers' business before the court should, as of old, be compiled by the Secretariat into a Record of Current Administration. Secret matters of the Bureau of Military Affairs should be compiled by that bureau and sent monthly to the Historiography Institute. All other agencies should report audiences, appointments, institutional changes, and new regulations to this office for the record. Let Attendance Diarist and Diarist of Attendance share watch at Chongzheng Hall, keep a separate Record of Attendance, submit it to the emperor each month first, then pass it to the Historiography Institute." The court approved. The monthly presentation of the Record of Attendance to the throne began with Zhouhan and his colleagues. Long famous and long sidelined, he at last won appointment—and public opinion warmly approved.
23
會考課京朝官，有敢隱前犯者，皆除名為民。 周翰被譴尤多，所上有司偶遺一事，當免。 判館楊徽之率三館學士詣相府，以為周翰非故有規避，其實所犯頻繁，不能悉記，於是止罰金百斤。
During the review of capital officials, anyone who concealed prior offenses was cashiered and reduced to commoner status. The censures against Zhouhan were especially numerous; one offense was accidentally omitted from his submission and he might have escaped dismissal. Yang Huizhi, supervisor of the institute, led the Three Repositories academicians to the chancellery to argue that Zhouhan had not willfully concealed his record but had simply committed too many lapses to remember—whereupon he was fined only a hundred catties of copper.
24
先是，趙安易建議於西川鑄大鐵錢，以一當十，周翰上言：「古者貨、幣、錢三者兼用，若錢少於貨、幣，即鑄大錢，或當百，或當五十，蓋欲廣其錢而足用爾。 今不若使蜀民貿易者，凡鐵錢一止作一錢用，官中市物即以兩錢當一。 又西川患在少鹽，請於益州置榷院，入物交易，則公私通濟矣。」 至道中，遷工部郎中。
Earlier Zhao Anrong had proposed minting large iron coins in Sichuan at ten to one; Zhouhan argued: "Antiquity used goods, silk tokens, and coin together; when coin ran short, large denominations were cast—sometimes worth fifty or a hundred—to stretch the supply. Better that Sichuan traders treat each iron piece as one coin in private exchange, while the government accept two for one in official markets. Sichuan also lacks salt; establish a monopoly exchange at Yizhou where goods can be traded in, and both public treasury and people will be served." During the Zhidao period he was promoted to Director of the Ministry of Works.
25
周翰性疏雋卞急，臨事過於嚴暴，故多曠敗。 晚年才思稍減，書詔多不稱旨。 有集五十卷及《續因話錄》。
By nature he was sharp, restless, and headstrong; in office he was harsh to excess and often failed through neglect. In later years his literary powers waned, and many edicts he drafted missed the mark. He left a fifty-scroll collection and a "Continued Record of Casual Conversations."
26
朱昂，字舉之，其先京兆人，世家渼陂。 唐天復末，徙家南陽。 梁祖篡唐，父葆光與唐舊臣顏蕘、李濤數輩挈家南渡，寓潭州。 每正旦夕至，必序立南嶽祠前，北望號慟，殆二十年。 後濤北歸，葆光樂衡山之勝，遂往家焉。
Zhu Ang, courtesy name Juzhi, came of a Jingzhao family long settled at Meibei. At the end of the Tang Tianfu era the family moved to Nanyang. When the Liang founder usurped the Tang, his father Baoguang joined several old Tang ministers, including Yan Rao and Li Tao, in taking their families south to Tanzhou. At every dawn and dusk they would stand in order before the Southern Peak temple, look north, and wail—for nearly twenty years. Later Li Tao returned north; Baoguang, enchanted by Mount Heng, made his home there.
27
昂少與熊若穀、鄧洵美同學。 朱遵度好讀書，人號之為「朱萬卷」，目昂為「小萬卷」。 昂嘗間行經廬陵，道遇異人，謂之曰：「中原不久當有真主平一天下，子仕至四品，安用南為？」 遂北遊江、淮。 時周世宗南征，韓令坤統兵至揚州，昂謁見，陳治亂方略，令坤奇之，署權知揚州揚子縣。 適兵革之際，逃亡過半，昂便宜綏輯，復逋亡者七千餘家，令坤即表授本縣令。
In youth Ang studied with Xiong Rugu and Deng Xunmei. Zhu Zundu loved books and was called "Zhu of Ten Thousand Scrolls"; Ang they nicknamed "Little Ten Thousand Scrolls." Ang once traveled by side paths through Luling and met a stranger who told him: "Before long the Central Plains will have a true lord who unifies the realm; you will rise to the fourth rank—why linger in the south?" He went north to the Jianghuai region. When Later Zhou's Shizong marched south, Han Lingkun led troops to Yangzhou; Ang presented him with a strategy for order and chaos, impressed him, and was appointed acting magistrate of Yangzi County. War had emptied half the county; Ang eased conditions as he could, brought back more than seven thousand refugee households, and Lingkun at once memorialized to confirm him as full magistrate.
28
宋初，為衡州錄事參軍，嘗讀陶潛《閑情賦》而慕之，因廣其辭曰：
Early in the Song he served as recorder of Heng Prefecture; reading Tao Qian's "Rhapsody on Leisurely Sentiment," he admired it and expanded its language, writing:
29
維稟氣兮清濁，獨得意兮虛徐。 耳何聰兮無瑱，衣何散兮無裾。 務冥懷於得喪，寧勤體乎菑畬。 將使同方姬、孔，抗跡孫、蘧。 精騖廣漠，心遊太虛。 傲朝曦兮南榮，溯夕飆兮北疏。 非道之病，惟情之舒。
Receiving breath of clear or turbid, alone I rest easy and unhurried. Ears need no piercing to hear; robes need no hems to drape. Better to harbor gain and loss in silence than wear the body thin at plow and hoe. I would stand with Ji and Confucius in the Way, and match stride with Sun and Qu. My spirit races the wild wastes; my heart wanders the Great Void. I greet no morning sun on the southern beam, nor chase the evening gust at the northern casement. Not sickness of the Way, but feeling let loose.
30
繇是含穎懷粹，凝和習懿。 器奫淪兮幽憂，德芬馨兮周比。 井無渫兮泉融，珠潛輝兮川媚。 又何必陋雄之尚《玄》，笑奕之心醉，悲墨之素絲，歎展之下位？ 苟因時之明揚，乃斯文之不墜。
So I sheathe the bud within, gather purity, collect harmony, and cultivate goodness. The vessel sinks deep in quiet grief; virtue spreads fragrance among my kin. Untroubled wells merge their springs; pearls hidden still make the river glow. Why scorn Yang Xiong's worship of the Dark Classic, laugh at the chess player's drunken heart, grieve over Mo Di's white silk, or lament Zhan's lowly place? Yet if the age lifts the worthy in due season, culture itself will not fall.
31
睇煙景兮飄飄，心懸旌兮搖搖。 感朝榮而夕落，嗟響蛩而鳴蜩。 姑藏器以有待，因寄物而長謠。 願在首而為弁，束玄發而未衰。 會名器之有得，與纓珥兮相宜。 願在足而為舄，何坎險之罹憂。
I watch the misted landscape billow; banners of the heart flutter and sway. Morning bloom fades by night—so I sigh with the cricket and the summer cicada. For now I hide my talent and wait, and pour a long song through what lies near at hand. Would I were the cap upon the head, binding black locks still unthinned. When name and office are won, cap-tassels and ear-pendants sit fit upon me. Would I were shoes upon the feet—why suffer the pits and perils of the path?
32
欲效勤於豎亥，思追踵於浮丘。 願在服而為袂，傳繒素而飾躬。 異化緇之色涅，寧拭麵而道窮。 願在目而為鑒，分妍醜於崇朝。 驚青陽之難久，庶白首以見招。 願在地而為簟，當暑溽而冰寒。
I would serve like Shuahai in toil, and follow in the steps of Fu Qiu. Would I were the sleeve on the robe, spreading silk and fine gauze to dress the body. Unlike cloth that blackens in dye, I would wipe the face even when the Way runs out. Would I were the mirror before the eyes, sorting fair from foul at the break of day. I dread that green spring cannot endure—yet hope white age may yet be called. Would I were the sleeping mat on the ground, turning summer heat to ice-cold ease.
33
伊膚革之尚疚，胡寤寐以求安？ 願在觴而為醴，不亂德而溺真。 體虛受之為器，革譎性以歸淳。 願在握而為劍，每輔衽而保裾。 殊鉛銛之效用，比硎刃而有餘。 願在橐而為矢，美筈羽之斯全。
Yet skin and hide still smart with hurt—how then seek rest waking or asleep? Would I were the wine in the cup, never muddling virtue or drowning what is true. Hollow within to hold what comes, I would shed cunning and return to what is plain. Would I were the sword in the hand, ever steadying the robe and guarding the hem. More useful than lead or mere sharpness—like an edge honed on stone, and still to spare. Would I were the arrow in the quiver, whole in shaft and feather.
34
疇懋勳而錫晉，射窮壘而衄燕。 願在體而為裘，托針縷以成功。 非珍華而取飾，將被服而有容。 願在軒而為篁，貫歲寒而不改。 挺介節以自持，廓虛心而有待。
Once for merit enfeoffed in Jin, shooting till the ramparts fell and driving Yan back in defeat. Would I were the fur upon the body, stitched into being by needle and thread. Not meant for rare display, but to be worn and lend dignity. Would I were bamboo in the hall, enduring the cold years unaltered. Upright in integrity, empty in heart, and waiting still.
35
人之願兮實繁，我之心兮若此。 蓄為誌兮璞藏，發為文兮霧委。 既持瑾兮掌瑜，復擷蘭兮藝芷。 始無言兮植杖，終俯首兮嗟髀。 振襟兮自適，覿物兮解頤。 雲無心兮遐舉，蘿倚幹兮叢滋。 想陵谷之變地，況玄黃之易絲。 人可汰而可鍛，己不磷而不緇。 苟一鳴而驚人，何五鼎而勿飴？
The wishes of men are many; my heart is only this. Aspiration stored like jade hidden; writing released like mist unrolling. Jade in the hand, orchids gathered, angelica cultivated. First wordless with staff planted; at last bowing the head and sighing over wasted legs. I shake out my robe and rest easy; I meet the world and smile. Clouds rise without intent; creepers lean on the trunk and multiply. If hills and valleys can shift, how much more may black and yellow change their hue. Others may be washed and tempered; I would neither stain nor blacken. If one cry can startle the world, why refuse the sweetness of the five tripods?
36
已而擁膝清嘯，傾懷自寬。 樞桑戶蓽兮差樂，鳩飛梭躍兮胡難。 指夜蟾兮為伍，仰疏籟兮邀歡。 何孫牧而伊耕？ 何巢箕而呂磻？ 滌我慮兮綠綺。 清我眠兮琅玕。 周旋兮有則，徙倚兮可觀。 終卷舒兮自得，契休哉於《考槃》。
Then hugging my knees I whistle clear and pour out my heart to ease myself. A mulberry door and thatched gate may suffice for joy; but dove in flight and shuttle in leap—how hard they are. I take the night moon as my companion and lift my ear to the sparse wind for delight. Why Sun Shu with his cattle, Yi Yin at the plow? Why Chao washing by the stream, Lü Wang with his line? I wash my cares upon the green lute. I clear my sleep upon jade bamboo. In coming and going there is measure; in lingering there is something worth seeing. At last I roll and unroll content, and find my joy in the "Kaopan."
37
李昉知州事，暇日多召語，且以文為贄，昉深所嗟賞。 曆宜城令。 開寶中，拜太子洗馬、知蓬州，徙廣安軍。 會渠州妖賊李仙眾萬人劫掠軍界，昂設策禽之。 自餘果、合、渝、涪四州民連結為妖者，置不問，蜀民遂安。 宰相薛居正稱其能，遷殿中丞、知泗州。
Li Fang, as prefect, often called him to talk in his spare time and accepted his writings as gifts; Fang admired him deeply. He served as magistrate of Yicheng. During Kaibao he became Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent and governor of Pengzhou, then was moved to Guang'an Army. When the Quzhou bandit Li Xian led ten thousand men in raiding the military frontier, Ang devised a plan and took him captive. For the rest who in Guo, He, Yu, and Fu had joined in sorcery, he chose not to pursue them, and the people of Shu were settled. Chancellor Xue Juzheng commended his competence, and he was promoted to Palace Aide and made prefect of Sizhou.
38
嘗作《隋河辭》，謂浚決之病民，遊觀之傷財，乃天意之所以亡隋也。 使隋不興役費財以害其民，則安得有今日之利哉！
He once composed a "Rhapsody on the Sui River," arguing that dredging oppressed the people and pleasure tours wasted the treasury—Heaven's way of destroying Sui. Had Sui not spent its people and wealth on forced labor, how would the present realm enjoy today's gain?
39
嘗聚淮水流屍三千，為塚瘞之。 有戍卒謀亂，昂誅其首惡，凡支黨之詿誤者悉貰之。 就遷監察御史、江南轉運副使。 太平興國二年，知鄂州，加殿中侍御史，為峽路轉運副使，就改庫部員外郎，遷轉運使。 端拱二年，以本官直秘閣，賜金紫。 久之，出知復州，表求謝事，不許。 遷水部郎中，復請老，召還，再直秘閣，尋兼越王府記室參軍。
He once collected three thousand corpses from the Huai River and buried them in a common mound. When garrison troops plotted revolt, Ang put the ringleaders to death and pardoned all who had been drawn in by mistake. He was at once made Investigating Censor and Vice Transport Commissioner for Jiangnan. In 977 he governed Ezhou, became Attendant Palace Aide, Vice Transport Commissioner for the Gorges route, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Stores, and finally Transport Commissioner. In 989, retaining his rank, he entered the Secret Archive and received the gold seal and purple robe. After long service he was posted prefect of Fuzhou; he asked to retire, but the court refused. Promoted to Director of the Ministry of Waterways, he again pleaded age to retire, was recalled, re-entered the Secret Archive, and soon became Recorder in the Prince of Yue's household.
40
直宗即位，遷秩司封郎中，俄知制誥，判史館，受詔編次三館秘閣書籍，既畢，加吏部。 咸平二年，召入翰林為學士。 逾年，拜章乞骸骨，召對，敦諭，請彌確，乃拜工部侍郎致仕。 翌日，遣使就第賜器幣，給全奉，詔本府歲時存問，章奏聽附驛以聞。 命其子正辭知公安縣，以便侍養，許歸江陵。 舊制，致仕官止謝殿門外，昂特延見命坐，恩禮甚厚。 令俟秋涼上道，遣中使賜宴於玉津園，兩製三館皆預，仍詔賦詩餞行，縉紳榮之。
When Zhenzong ascended the throne, Ang rose to Director of the Department of Enfeoffments, then Edict Drafter with charge of the Historiography Institute; ordered to catalogue the Three Repositories and Secret Archive, he was promoted to the Ministry of the Civil Office when the work was done. In 999 he was summoned to the Hanlin Academy as an academic laureate. A year later he memorialized to retire on account of age; summoned and pressed to stay, he pleaded all the more firmly and was allowed to retire as Vice Minister of Works. The next day an envoy brought vessels and silks to his home, his full salary was continued, and the prefecture was ordered to visit him each season; his memorials might be sent by post. His son Zhengcix was appointed magistrate of Gong'an to attend him, and he was allowed to return to Jiangling. By custom retired officials bowed only outside the hall; Ang was specially received, given a seat, and honored beyond measure. Told to wait for cool autumn before departing, he was feasted at Yujin Garden by imperial envoy, with Hanlin and Three Repositories scholars present; the court ordered farewell poems written—a mark of high honor.
41
昂前後所得奉賜，以三之一購奇書，以諷誦為樂。 及是閑居，自稱退叟，著《資理論》三卷上之，詔以其書付史館。 弟協以純謹著稱，仕至主客郎中、雍王府翊善。 昂以書招之，協亦告老歸。 兄弟皆眉壽，時人比漢之二疏。 知府陳堯谘署其居曰東、西致政坊。 昂於所居建二亭：曰知止，曰幽棲。 頗好釋氏書。 晚歲自為墓誌。 景德四年卒，年八十三，門人諡曰正裕先生。 詔加賻贈，錄其孫適出身。
He spent a third of his stipends and gifts on rare books and made reciting them his delight. In retirement he styled himself the "Retired Elder," wrote a three-scroll "Treatise on Governing Principles," and submitted it; the court ordered it deposited in the Historiography Institute. His younger brother Xie, noted for pure and careful conduct, rose to Director of Receiving Guests and Tutor in the Prince of Yong's household. Ang wrote inviting him home, and Xie retired as well. Both brothers lived to ripe old age, and men compared them to the Two Shus of Han. Prefect Chen Yaozhi named their homes the East and West Retirement Quarters. At his residence he built two pavilions: "Knowing When to Stop" and "Quiet Retreat." He was fond of Buddhist writings. In old age he composed his own epitaph. He died in 1007 at eighty-three; his disciples styled him Master Zhengyu. The court added funeral gifts and granted his grandson Shi initial entry into office.
42
昂好學，純厚有清節，澹於榮利，為洗馬十五年，不以屑意。 居內署，非公事不至兩府。 在王邸時，真宗居儲宮，知其素守，故每加褒進，然昂未嘗有所私請，進退存禮，士類多之。 有集三十卷。 子正彝、正辭並登進士第，正基虞部員外郎。
He loved learning, was pure and upright, and cared little for rank or gain; for fifteen years as Grand Mentor he scarcely minded the post. Within the inner service he visited the Two Offices only on public business. At the heir's household Zhenzong knew his long integrity and repeatedly favored him, yet Ang never asked private favors; in coming and going he kept the rites, and men of letters admired him. His collected works ran to thirty scrolls. His sons Zhengyi and Zhengcix both passed the jinshi; Zhengji served as Deputy Director in the Ministry of Works.
43
趙鄰幾，字亞之，鄆州須城人，家世為農。 鄰幾少好學，能屬文，嘗作《禹別九州賦》，凡萬餘言，人多傳誦。
Zhao Linji, courtesy name Yazhi, was from Xucheng in Yan Prefecture; his family had farmed for generations. From youth he loved learning and wrote well; his "Fu on Yu's Division of the Nine Provinces" ran to more than ten thousand words and was widely copied and recited.
44
周顯德二年舉進士，解褐秘書省校書郎，曆許州、宋州從事。 太平興國初，召為左讚善大夫、直史館，改宗正丞。 四年，郭贄、宋白授中書舍人，告謝日交薦之，俄而鄰幾獻頌，上覽而嘉之，遷左補闕、知制誥，數月卒，年五十九。 中使護葬。
In 955 he passed the jinshi, entered service as a Secretariat proofreader, and served on the staffs of Xuzhou and Songzhou. Early in Taiping Xingguo he was summoned as Left Supporter of the Heir Apparent with concurrent duty in the Historiography Institute, then made Director of the Imperial Clan Court. In 979 Guo Zan and Song Bai became Secretariat Gentlemen and recommended him at their thanksgiving audience; Linji soon submitted a eulogy that pleased the emperor, was made Left Supplementation Censor and Edict Drafter, and died within months at fifty-nine. A palace attendant supervised his burial.
45
鄰幾體貌尫弱，如不勝衣。 為文浩博，慕徐、庾及王、楊、盧、駱之體，每構思，必斂衽危坐，成千言始下筆。 屬對精切，致意縝密，時輩咸推服之。 及掌誥命，頗繁富冗長，不達體要，無稱職之譽。
He was slight and frail, as though his frame could barely hold his robes. His prose was vast and learned; he admired the styles of Xu Ling, Yu Xin, and the Wang-Yang-Lu-Luo school; before writing he would sit upright with robes gathered, and only after a thousand words in mind would he take up the brush. His parallel prose was exact and his thought dense; contemporaries all bowed to his skill. In drafting edicts he grew florid and long-winded, missed the essential point, and won no praise as a fit drafter.
46
常欲追補唐武宗以來實錄，孜孜訪求遺事，殆廢寢食，會疾革，唯以書未成為恨。 至淳化中，參知政事蘇易簡因言及鄰幾追補《唐實錄》事，鄰幾一子東之，以蔭補郎山主簿，部送軍糧詣北邊，沒焉，其家屬寄居睢陽。 太宗遣直史館錢熙往取其書，得鄰幾所補《會昌以來日曆》二十六卷及文集三十四卷，所著《鯫子》一卷、《六帝年略》一卷、《史氏懋官志》五卷，並他書五十餘卷來上，皆塗竄之筆也。 詔賜其家錢十萬。
He long sought to continue the Tang Veritable Records from Emperor Wuzong onward, hunted lost materials until he nearly forgot sleep and food, and on his deathbed grieved only that the book remained unfinished. In the Chunhua years Su Yijian mentioned Linji's unfinished Tang records; Linji's son Dongzhi, a Langshan chief clerk by yin privilege, died escorting grain northward, and the family lodged at Suiyang. Taizong sent Qian Xi to retrieve his papers: twenty-six scrolls of "Calendar from Huichang Onward," thirty-four of collected works, plus "Ziyu," "Six Emperors' Year Summaries," "Record of Historiographical Officials," and fifty-odd other scrolls—all in draft emendation. The court granted the family one hundred thousand cash.
47
時又有何承裕者，晉天福末擢進士第，有清才，好為歌詩，而嗜酒狂逸。 初為中都主簿，桑維翰鎮兗州，知其直率，不責以吏事。 累官至著作佐郎、直史館，出為盩厔、咸陽二縣令，醉則露首跨牛趨府，府尹王彥超以其名士而容之，然為治清而不煩，民頗安焉。 每覽牒訴，必戲判以喻曲直，訴者多心伏引去。 往往召豪吏接坐，引滿，吏因醉挾私白事，承裕悟之，笑曰：「此見罔也，當受杖。」 杖訖，復召與飲。 其無檢多類此。
There was also He Chengyu, who passed the jinshi at the end of the Jin Tianfu era; gifted and poetic, he drank hard and lived without restraint. He began as chief clerk of Zhongdu; Sang Weihan, governing Yanzhou, knew his blunt honesty and did not burden him with clerk's work. He rose to Secretariat Assistant Gentleman with concurrent Historiography duty, then served as magistrate of Zhouzhi and Xianyang; drunk, he would ride an ox bareheaded to the yamen, and Prefect Wang Yanchao, knowing him as a man of letters, indulged him—yet his rule was clear and light, and the people were content. Reading petitions, he often rendered playful judgments that made the rights and wrongs plain; many litigants withdrew convinced. He would summon powerful clerks to drink with him; when they grew drunk and tried to slip him private business, he would laugh: "That is a trick—you deserve the rod." When the beating was done he would call them back to drink again. His want of restraint was mostly of this sort.
48
開寶三年，自涇陽令入為監察御史，後曆侍御史，累知忠、萬、商三州，太平興國中卒。
In 970 he left the magistracy of Jingyang for Investigating Censor, later Attendant Censor, governed Zhong, Wan, and Shang in turn, and died during Taiping Xingguo.
49
鄭起，字孟隆，不知何許人。 少遊京、洛間，佻薄無檢操。 聞襄州雙泉寺僧能為黃金，往依焉，遂削髮為侍者。 久之，知其誑耀，乃反初服。 舉進士，時舉子多尚詩賦，惟起有文七軸，歌詩尤清麗。 周廣順初，調補尉氏主簿，秩滿，以書幹宰相範質，薦為右拾遺、直史館。 恭帝初，遷殿中侍御史。
Zheng Qi, courtesy name Menglong—his birthplace is unknown. In youth he wandered between the capital and Luoyang, loose and without self-restraint. Hearing that a monk at Shuangquan Temple in Xiangzhou could make gold, he went to study with him and shaved his head as a temple attendant. After long acquaintance he saw the trick for what it was and returned to lay dress. He sat for the jinshi when most candidates favored shi and fu; Qi alone submitted seven scrolls of prose, and his lyrics were especially fine. Early in Guangshun he became chief clerk of Weishi; when his term ended he wrote to Chancellor Fan Zhi and was recommended as Right Reminder with concurrent Historiography duty. Under Emperor Gongdi he was made Attendant Palace Aide.
50
乾德初，出掌泗州市征。 刺史張延範檢校司徒，官吏呼以「太保」。 起貧，常乘騾。 一日，從延範出近郊送客，延範揖起曰：「請策馬令進。」 起曰：「此騾也，不當過呼耳。」 以譏延範，延範深銜之，密奏起嗜酒廢職。
Early in Qiande he was sent to collect market taxes at Sizhou. Prefect Zhang Yanfan held the honorary title Grand Steward, and staff addressed him as "Grand Protector." Qi was poor and usually rode a donkey. One day, seeing a guest off with Yanfan in the suburbs, Yanfan bowed and said: "Pray spur your horse and go ahead." Qi replied: "This is a donkey—it hardly deserves so lofty an address." —a barb aimed at Yanfan, who deeply resented it and secretly reported that Qi drank to excess and neglected his post.
51
初，顯德末，起見太祖握禁兵，有人望，乃上書範質，極言其事。 又嘗遇太祖於路，橫絕前導而過，太祖亦弗之怒。 及延範奏至，出為河西令。 會蜀平，當徙遠官，起不欲往，乃炙烙其足，因是成疾而卒。
At the end of the Xiande era Qi saw that Taizu commanded the palace guard and commanded wide respect; he wrote to Fan Zhi urging action on the point. Once on the road he cut in front of Taizu's escort and passed on; the emperor did not take offense. When Yanfan's memorial reached court, Qi was posted out as magistrate of Hexi. With the conquest of Shu he was slated for a distant post; unwilling to go, he burned his feet, fell ill, and died.
52
起負才倨傲，多所詆訐，數為群小窘辱，終亦不改。
Talented and overbearing, he slandered freely and was often shamed by lesser men—yet he never changed.
53
時有郭昱者，好為古文，狹中詭僻。 周顯德中登進士第，恥赴常選，獻書於宰相趙普，自比巢、由，朝議惡其矯激，故久不調。 後復伺普，望塵自陳，普笑謂人曰：「今日甚榮，得巢、由拜於馬首。」 開寶末，普出鎮河陽，昱詣薛居正上書，極言謗普，居正奏之，詔署襄州觀察推官。 潘美鎮襄陽，討金陵，以昱隨軍。 昱中夜被酒號叫，軍中皆驚，翌日，美遣還。 歲餘，坐盜用官錢除名，因居襄陽，遊索樊、鄧間，雍熙中卒。
There was also Guo Yu, a writer of archaizing prose—narrow, eccentric, and odd. He passed the jinshi under Xiande, refused the regular roster, and wrote to Zhao Pu comparing himself to Chao Fu and Xu You; the court disliked his theatrics and long withheld appointment. Later he waylaid Pu on the road and bowed from the dust; Pu laughed: "What honor—Chao and Xu kowtow at my horse's head." At Kaibao's end, when Pu went to Heyang, Yu denounced him to Xue Juzheng, who memorialized the court; Yu was appointed investigating officer at Xiang Prefecture. Pan Mei, governing Xiangyang, marched on Jinling with Yu in his train. One night, drunk, he shouted till the camp was alarmed; Mei sent him home the next day. A year later he was cashiered for misusing public funds, lingered in Xiangyang begging between Fan and Deng, and died during Yongxi.
54
又有馬應者，薄有文藝，多服道士衣，自稱「先生」。 開寶初效元結《中興頌》作《勃興頌》，以述太祖下荊、湖之功，欲刊石於永州結《頌》之側，縣令惡其誇誕，不以聞。 太平興國初，登第，授大理評事，坐事除名，羈旅積年。 淳化中，以詩幹同年殿中丞牛景，景因奏上，太宗覽而嘉之，復授大理評事，未幾卒。
There was also Ma Ying, a minor man of letters who often wore Daoist garb and called himself "Master." Early in Kaibao he modeled Yuan Jie's "Ode on the Restoration" in a "Ode on the Surging Rise" praising Taizu's conquest of Jing and Hu; he wanted it carved beside Jie's stele at Yongzhou, but the magistrate thought it bombastic and suppressed it. Early in Taiping Xingguo he passed the examinations and became a judicial assessor, was dismissed for an offense, and wandered for years. In Chunhua he sent poems to his fellow jinshi Niu Jing, who forwarded them; Taizong admired them and restored him as judicial assessor; he died soon after.
55
又有穎贄、董淳、劉從義善為文章，張翼、譚用之善為詩，張之翰善箋啟。 贄拔萃登科，至太子中允。 淳為工部員外郎、直史館，奉詔撰《孟昶紀事》。 從義多藏書，嘗纘長安碑文為《遺風集》二十卷。 餘皆官不達。
Ying Zan, Dong Chun, and Liu Congyi wrote prose; Zhang Yi and Tan Yongzhi wrote poetry; Zhang Zhihan wrote polished memorials. Zan passed the special selection and rose to Gentleman Attendant of the Heir Apparent. Chun was Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works with Historiography duty and compiled the "Record of Meng Chang's Reign" by order. Congyi owned many books and compiled twenty scrolls of Chang'an stele texts as the "Collection of Surviving Styles." The others never rose in office.
56
和峴，字晦仁，開封浚儀人。 父凝，晉宰相、太子太傅、魯國公。 峴生之年，適會凝入翰林、加金紫、知貢舉，凝喜曰：「我平生美事，三者並集，此子宜於我也。」 因名之曰三美。 七歲，以門蔭為左千牛備身，遷著作佐郎。 漢乾祐初，加朝散階。 十六，登朝為著作郎。 丁父憂，服闋，拜太常丞。
He Xian, courtesy name Huiren, was from Junyi in Kaifeng. His father Ning was a Jin chancellor, Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, and Duke of Lu. The year Xian was born, Ning entered the Hanlin, received gold and purple, and headed the examinations; he rejoiced: "The three finest things of my life come together—this child will be like me." He named him Sanmei—"Three Beauties." At seven he entered by yin privilege as Left Thousand-Bull Guard, then became a Secretariat assistant gentleman. Early in the Later Han Qianyou era he received Dispersed Court rank. At sixteen he entered court as a Secretariat gentleman. After mourning his father he was appointed Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
57
建隆初，授太常博士，從祀南郊，讚導乘輿，進退閑雅。 太祖謂近侍曰：「此誰氏之子，熟於讚相？」 左右即以峴門閥對。 俄拜刑部員外郎兼博士，仍判太常寺。
Early in Jianlong he became a Court of Imperial Sacrifices doctor; at the Southern Suburb rites he guided the imperial carriage with polished grace. Taizu asked his attendants: "Whose son is this, so practiced in ritual praise?" They answered with Xian's lineage. Soon he was Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice and concurrent doctor, still directing the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
58
乾德元年十一月甲子，有事於南郊。 丁丑冬至，有司復請祀昊天上帝，詔峴議其禮，峴以祭義戒於煩數，請罷之。 二年，議孝明、孝惠二後神主祔於別廟，峴以舊禮有二後同廟之文，無各殿異室之說，今二後同祔別廟，亦宜共殿別室。 孝明皇后嘗母儀天下，宜居上室。 孝惠皇后止以追尊，當居次室。 從之。 三年春，初克夔州，以內衣庫使李光睿權知州，峴通判州事。 代還，是歲十二月十四日戊戌臘，有司以七日辛卯蠟百神，峴獻議正之。 四年，南郊，峴建議望燎位置爟火。
In the eleventh month of 963, on day jiazi, the Southern Suburb sacrifice was held. At the winter solstice on dingchou the offices again proposed sacrifice to Heaven; Xian, citing the "Doctrine of Sacrifice" against excessive rites, urged cancellation. In 964, debating the separate temple for Empresses Xiaoming and Xiaohui, Xian argued that old rites allowed two empresses one temple but not separate halls—so they should share one hall with separate chambers. Empress Xiaoming had once been mother of the realm and should take the upper chamber. Empress Xiaohui, honored only posthumously, should take the lower chamber. The court approved. In spring 965, when Kuizhou fell, Li Guangrui was acting governor and Xian served as judicial commissioner. Returning that year, on the fourteenth of the twelfth month (wuxu) he corrected the schedule when the offices set the wax rites for the seventh (xinmao). In 966, at the Southern Suburb, he proposed the placement of the signal fire for the blaze-gazing rite.
59
又嘗言：「依舊典，宗廟殿庭設宮縣三十六架，加鼓吹熊羆十二案，朝會登歌用五瑞，郊廟奠獻用四瑞，回仗至樓前奏《采茨之曲》，禦樓奏《隆安之曲》，各用樂章。」 復舉唐故事，宗廟祭科處別設珍膳，用申孝享之意。 又謂「《八佾》之舞以象文德武功，請用《玄德升聞》、《天下大定》二舞」。 並從其議。 事具《禮》、《樂志》。
He also urged restoring old practice: thirty-six palace bell frames in the ancestral temple, twelve drum-and-bear tables, the Five Auspicious Objects for court song, the Four for suburban offerings, "Cai Ci" before the tower, "Long An" at the imperial tower—each with its proper movement." He cited Tang precedent for separate delicacies at ancestral rites to express filial intent. He proposed the eight-row dance symbolizing civil and martial virtue, using "Mysterious Virtue Ascending in Fame" and "All Under Heaven Greatly Settled." All were approved. Details appear in the "Rites" and "Music" treatises.
60
先是，王樸、竇儼洞曉音樂，前代不協律呂者多所考正。 樸、儼既沒，未有繼其職者。 會太祖以雅樂聲高，詔峴講求其理，以均節之，自是八音和暢，上甚嘉之。 語具《律志》。 樂器中有叉手笛者，上意欲增入雅樂，峴即令樂工調品，以諧律呂，其執持之狀如拱揖然，請目曰「拱辰管」，詔備於樂府。
Wang Pu and Dou Yi had mastered music and corrected much that failed to match proper pitch. After their deaths no one succeeded them. Finding court pitch too high, Taizu had Xian investigate and regulate it; the eight tones harmonized, and the emperor praised him. The account is in the "Treatise on Pitch." When Taizu wished to add the crossed-hand flute to court music, Xian tuned it to the modes; held like a bow, it was named the "Bow-to-the-Constellations Pipe" and entered the Music Office.
61
峴性苛刻鄙吝，好殖財，復輕侮人，嘗以官船載私貨販易規利。 初為判官鄭同度論奏，既而彰信軍節度劉遇亦上言，按得實，坐削籍，配隸汝州。
Harsh, stingy, and greedy, he often insulted others and once used an official boat to trade private goods for profit. Investigator Zheng Tong memorialized against him; Liu Yu of Zhangxin Army confirmed it; Xian was struck from the rolls and assigned to Ruzhou.
62
六年，起為太常丞，分司西京，復階勳章服。 端拱初，上躬耕籍田，峴奉留司賀表至闕下，因以其所著《奉常集》五卷、《秘閣集》二十卷、《注釋武成王廟讚》五卷奏禦，上甚嘉之，復授主客郎中，判太常寺兼禮儀院事。
In 969 he was restored as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices at the Western Capital, with rank and insignia returned. Early in Duangong, when Taizong plowed the sacred field, Xian's congratulatory memorial arrived with his five-scroll "Collection of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices," twenty-scroll "Secret Archive Collection," and five-scroll "Annotated Eulogies of the Temple of King Wucheng"; he was restored as Director of Receiving Guests with charge of ritual affairs.
63
是秋得暴疾，卒，年五十六。 弟蒙。
That autumn he died suddenly at fifty-six. Younger brother Meng.
64
蒙字顯仁，凝第四子也。 生五六歲，凝教之誦古詩賦，一曆輒不忘。 試令詠物為四句詩，頗有思致，凝歎賞而奇之，語峴曰：「此兒他日必以文章顯，吾老矣，不見，汝曹善保護之。」
Meng, courtesy name Xianren, was Ning's fourth son. At five or six Ning taught him poems and fu; one reading and he remembered. Asked for quatrains on objects, he showed real wit; Ning marveled and told Xian: "This child will distinguish himself by writing; I am old and will not see it—you must guard him well."
65
太平興國八年擢進士第，釋褐霍丘主簿。 雍熙初，知崇仁縣，就拜大理評事。 江南轉運楊緘以其材幹奏，移知南昌縣。 代還，刑部取為詳覆官，遷光祿寺丞。
In 983 he passed the jinshi and became chief clerk of Huoqiu. Early in Yongxi he governed Chongren and was made a judicial assessor. Transport Commissioner Yang Jian recommended his ability and moved him to magistrate of Nanchang. On return the Ministry of Justice made him a detailed review officer, then Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.
66
先是，凝嘗取古今史傳聽訟斷獄、辨雪冤枉等事著為《疑獄集》，蒙因增益事類，分為三卷，表上之。 俄獻所著文賦五十軸，召試中書，擢為太子中允。 先是，馮起撰《御前登第三榜碑》以獻，上甚稱獎，命直史館。 淳化初，蒙又撰《七榜題名記》，並補注凝所撰《古今孝悌集成》十卷以獻，遂以本官直集賢院，中謝日，賜緋魚。 三年春，獻《觀燈賦》，詔付史館，遷右正言。
Ning had compiled the "Collection of Doubtful Cases" from historical trials; Meng expanded it to three scrolls and submitted it. He soon submitted fifty scrolls of prose and fu, passed a Secretariat examination, and became Gentleman Attendant of the Heir Apparent. Earlier Feng Qi had submitted the "Stele of the Third Rank before the Throne" and won high praise and Historiography duty. Early in Chunhua Meng submitted the "Record of the Seven Examination Lists" and a supplemented ten-scroll "Comprehensive Collection of Filial Piety and Fraternal Duty"; he entered the Hall of Assembled Worthies and received the red robe and fish tally. In spring of the third Chunhua year he submitted a "Fu on Viewing the Lanterns"; the court sent it to the Historiography Institute and made him Right Rectifier.
67
是歲，太宗親試貢士，蒙預考校，作歌以獻，上對宰相稱賞之，召問年幾何。 時摹印《儒行篇》，以賜新及第人及三館、台省官，皆上表稱謝。 上時禦便坐，出表以示宰相，而蒙洎尤稱上旨，因謂李昉曰：「蒙，宰相子，勤學自立，有文章，能荷堂構，如蒙者不可多得也。」 遂以本官知制誥。 不逾年，加水部員外郎、知理檢院。 至道元年，賜金紫，與王旦同判吏部銓。 是秋，晨起將朝，風眩暴作而卒，年四十五。 上聞之驚歎，遣中使就家問疾狀，並恤其孤，賵賻加等。 長子珙才十歲，即授大理評事。 次子敫，補太廟齋郎。
That year Taizong personally examined candidates; Meng helped grade, submitted a song, and the emperor praised him to the chancellor and asked his age. Block prints of the "Chapter on the Scholar's Conduct" were given to new jinshi and Three Repositories and Secretariat-Censorate officials, who all submitted thanks. At the informal seat the emperor showed the chancellor the thanks memorials; Meng and Ji pleased him most, and he told Li Fang: "Meng, a chancellor's son, studies hard and writes well—he can bear the family roof; such men are rare." He was made Edict Drafter at his existing rank. Within a year he was also Deputy Director of the Ministry of Waterways with charge of the Inspection Institute. In 995 he received gold and purple and jointly judged civil appointments with Wang Dan. That autumn, rising for court, he was struck by vertigo and died at forty-five. The emperor sighed, sent an envoy to inquire, consoled his orphans, and increased funeral gifts. His eldest son Gong, only ten, was at once made a judicial assessor. His second son Jiao was made Supplementary Officer of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
68
蒙好修飾容儀，自五鼓張燈燭至辨色，冠帶方畢。 雖幼能屬文，殊少警策。 每草制，必精思討索而後成，拘於引類偶對，頗失典誥之體。 上以其貴家子，能業文，甚寵待之，欲召入翰林，謂近臣曰：「蒙眸子毛毛然，胸中必不正，不可以居近侍也。」 其命遂寢。
Meng loved fine dress; from the fifth watch he lit lamps until dawn before his cap and belt were complete. Though he could write from youth, his work lacked edge. Each edict required exhaustive drafting; bound to parallel phrasing, he lost the tone of great proclamations. The emperor favored him as a noble scion and meant to summon him to the Hanlin, but told close ministers: "Meng's eyes are dull; his heart is not straight—he must not serve in close attendance." The appointment was dropped.
69
蒙弟嵲始為三班奉職，淳化中，獻文求試，上以故相之後，改授大理評事。
Younger brother E began as Third-Rank Attendant; in Chunhua he submitted writings for examination and, as a former chancellor's descendant, became a judicial assessor.
70
馮吉，字惟一，河南洛陽人。 父道，周太師、中書令，追封瀛王。 吉，晉天福初以父任秘書省校書郎，遷膳部、金部、職方員外郎，屯田、戶部、司勳郎中，累階金紫。 周顯德中，遷太常少卿。
Feng Ji, courtesy name Weiyi, was from Luoyang in Henan. His father Dao was Zhou Grand Preceptor and Grand Councilor, posthumously Prince of Ying. Early in Jin Tianfu Ji entered as a Secretariat proofreader by his father's rank, rose through ministries to gold and purple. Under Zhou Xiande he became Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
71
吉嗜學，善屬文，工草隸，議者以掌誥許之。 然性滑稽無操行，每中書舍人缺，宰相即欲用吉，終以佻薄而止。
He loved learning, wrote well, and excelled at cursive and clerical script; critics said he was fit to draft edicts. Yet he was comic and unrestrained; whenever the Secretariat Gentleman post opened the chancellor wanted him, but his levity always blocked it.
72
雅好琵琶，尤臻其妙，教坊供奉號名手者亦莫能及。 父常戒令勿習，吉性所好，亦不能改。 道欲辱之，因家宴，令吉奏琵琶為壽，賜以束帛，吉置於肩，左抱琵琶，按膝再拜如伶官狀，了無怍色，家人皆大笑。
He adored the pipa and mastered it beyond even the Music Office's best players. His father forbade it, but nature he could not change. Dao once tried to shame him at a feast, ordering him to play for longevity and giving silks; Ji slung the gift on his shoulder, hugged the pipa, bowed twice like a performer without a blush—and the household roared.
73
及為少卿，頗不得意，以杯酒自娛。 每朝士宴集，雖不召，亦常自至，酒酣即彈琵琶，彈罷賦詩，詩成起舞。 時人愛其俊逸，謂之「三絕」。
As Vice Director he was discontent and drowned his mood in wine. At officials' feasts, invited or not, he came; warmed with wine he played pipa, then recited a poem, then danced. Men of the age loved his dash and called it the "Three Perfections."
74
宋初，受詔撰述《明憲皇太后諡議》，見稱於時。 建隆四年卒，年四十五。
Early in the Song he drafted the "Posthumous Address for Empress Dowager Mingxian" and was praised in his day. He died in the fourth year of Jianlong, at the age of forty-five.