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文苑三
Literary Figures, Part Three
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陳充吳淑 〈（舒雅）〉 黃夷簡 〈（盧稹謝炎許洞附）〉 徐鉉句中正曾致堯刁衎姚鉉李建中洪湛路振崔遵度陳越
Chen Chong and Wu Shu (Shu Ya) Huang Yijian (with appended biographies of Lu Zhen, Xie Yan, and Xu Dong) Xu Xuan, Ju Zhongzheng, Ceng Zhiyao, Diao Kan, Yao Xuan, Li Jianzhong, Hong Zhan, Lu Zhen, Cui Zundu, and Chen Yue
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陳充，字若虛，益州成都人。 家素豪盛，少以聲酒自娛，不樂從宦。 邑人敦迫赴舉，至京師，有名場屋間。 雍熙中，天府、禮部奏名皆為進士之冠，廷試擢甲科，釋褐孟州觀察推官，就改掌書記。 會寇準薦其文學，得召試，授殿中丞，出知明州。 入為太常博士、直昭文館，遷工部、刑部員外郎。 久病告滿，除籍，真宗憐其貧病，令致仕，給半奉。 未幾病間，守本官，仍充職。 以久次，遷兵部員外郎。 景德中，與趙安仁同知貢舉，改工部、刑部郎中。
Chen Chong, courtesy name Ruoxu, came from Chengdu in Yizhou. Born into a wealthy house, he spent his youth on music and wine and had little taste for official life. Neighbors pressed him to sit for the examinations; once in the capital he made a name among the degree candidates. During Yongxi (984–987) he topped both the Directorate and Ministry rosters of jinshi candidates and earned the highest palace-examination grade. On entering service he became investigating clerk on the Mengzhou observation commission, then secretary. Kou Zhun's recommendation of his scholarship brought a summons to court examination, appointment as Palace Attendant, and a posting as prefect of Mingzhou. He returned to the capital as Erudite of Imperial Sacrifices and Zhaowen Hall scholar, then rose to vice director in the Ministries of Works and Punishments. Prolonged illness exhausted his leave and cost him his register; Zhenzong, pitying his poverty and illness, let him retire on half pay. When he recovered somewhat he kept his rank and returned to duty. Seniority brought promotion to Vice Director in the Ministry of War. Under Jingde (1004–1007) he and Zhao Anren jointly ran the metropolitan examinations and he became director in the Ministries of Works and Punishments.
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大中祥符六年，以足疾不任朝謁，出權西京留守御史臺，旋以本官分司，卒，年七十。
In the sixth year of Dazhong xiangfu (1013), lameness kept him from court; he was posted acting commissioner of the Western Capital censorate, later served in his rank on detached duty, and died at seventy.
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充詞學典贍，唐牛僧孺著《善惡無餘論》，言堯舜之善、伯鯀之惡，俱不能慶殃及其子，充因作論以反之，文多不載。
A master of polished prose, Chong answered Tang Niuzengru's 'On Good and Evil Leaving No Surplus'—which held that Yao and Shun's virtue and Gun's guilt could not visit reward or punishment on their sons—with a counter-treatise largely lost today.
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性曠達，善談謔，澹於榮利，自號「中庸子」。 上頗熟其名，以疾故不登詞職。 臨終自為墓誌。 有集二十卷。
Broad-minded and fond of wit, indifferent to rank and profit, he called himself Master of the Mean. The throne knew him well, yet illness kept him from a drafting appointment. Near death he composed his own epitaph. His collected works ran to twenty juan.
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吳淑，字正儀，潤州丹陽人。 父文正，事吳，至太子中允。 好學，多自繕寫書。 淑幼俊爽，屬文敏速。 韓熙載、潘佑以文章著名江左，一見淑，深加器重。 自是每有滯義，難於措詞者，必命淑賦述。 以校書郎直內史。
Wu Shu, courtesy name Zhengyi, was from Danyang in Runzhou. His father Wenzheng served the Wu state and reached Vice Director in the Crown Prince's household. He loved learning and copied many books himself. As a boy Shu was bright and quick, writing with unusual speed. Han Xizai and Pan You were the celebrated writers of the lower Yangzi; both took Shu in hand at once. Whenever a knotty passage needed wording, they set Shu to draft it. He was collator and duty secretary in the Inner Secretariat.
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江南平，歸朝，久不得調，甚窮窘。 俄以近臣延薦，試學士院，授大理評事，預修《太平御覽》、《太平廣記》、《文苑英華》。 一日，召對便殿，出古碑一編，令淑與呂文仲、杜鎬讀之。 曆太府寺丞、著作佐郎。 始置秘閣，以本官充校理。 嘗獻《九弦琴五弦阮頌》，太宗賞其學問優博。 又作《事類賦》百篇以獻，詔令注釋，淑分注成三十卷上之，遷水部員外郎。 至道二年，兼掌起居舍人事，預修《太宗實錄》，再遷職方員外郎。
After the Jiangnan conquest he entered Song service but languished without appointment, in dire poverty. A court favorite soon secured him an Hanlin examination, appointment as judicial reviewer, and work on the Taiping Imperial Reader, Taiping Extensive Records, and Forest of Literature. One day in the side hall the emperor produced an ancient stele and had Shu, Lü Wenzhong, and Du Gao decipher it. He served as vice director in the Imperial Treasury and assistant compiler. When the Secret Archive was founded he served as collator in his existing rank. His 'Odes on the Nine-String Zither and Five-String Lute' won Taizong's praise for breadth of learning. He also presented a hundred 'Fu on Categories of Things'; ordered to annotate them, he produced thirty juan of commentary and was made Vice Director in the Ministry of Works. In Zhidao 2 (995) he kept the attendance diary and helped compile Taizong's Veritable Records, rising again to Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel.
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時諸路所上《閏年圖》，皆儀鸞司掌之，淑上言曰：「天下山川險要，皆王室之秘奧，國家之急務，故《周禮》職方氏掌天下圖籍。 漢祖入關，蕭何收秦籍，由是周知險要，請以今閏年所納圖上職方。 又州郡地裏，犬牙相入，向者獨畫一州地形，則何以傅合他郡？ 望令諸路轉運使，每十年各畫本路圖一上職方。 所冀天下險要，不窺牖而可知； 九州輪廣，如指掌而斯在。」 從之。 會詔詢禦戎之策，淑抗疏請用古車戰法，上覽之，頗嘉其博學。 咸平五年卒，年五十六。
Intercalary maps from every circuit then lay with the Directorate of Palace Ceremonial. Shu argued: 'Mountain passes and rivers are royal secrets and state urgencies—the Zhou Director of Regions kept the realm's maps. When Gaozu entered the passes Xiao He seized Qin registers and knew every defile. Let today's intercalary maps go to the Directorate of Regions. Prefecture and circuit boundaries interlock; a map of one circuit alone cannot mesh with its neighbors. Let every transport commissioner submit a circuit map to the Directorate every ten years. Then the realm's defiles could be known without leaving one's hall; the Nine Provinces would lie in the palm of one's hand. The court agreed. Asked for frontier strategy, he urged chariot warfare of antiquity to the emperor's admiration. He died in Xianping 5 (1002), aged fifty-six.
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淑性純靜好古，詞學典雅。 初，王師圍建業，城中乏食。 里閈有與淑同宗者，舉家皆死，惟存二女孩，淑即收養如所生，及長，嫁之。 時論多其義。 有集十卷。 善筆劄，好篆籀，取《說文》有字義者千八百餘條，撰《說文五義》三卷。 又著《江淮異人錄》三卷、《秘閣閑談》五卷。
Pure, quiet, and devoted to antiquity, his prose was classical and refined. When imperial forces first besieged Jianye the city went hungry. A kinsman in his lane lost his whole household save two girls; Shu raised them as his own and married them off. Opinion widely praised his conduct. His collected works ran to ten juan. A fine calligrapher and seal-script enthusiast, he drew eighteen hundred defined Shuowen entries into Three Juan on the Five Meanings of the Shuowen. He also wrote Records of Extraordinary Men of the Jiang-Huai (3 juan) and Idle Talk of the Secret Archive (5 juan).
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子安節、讓夷、遵路皆進士及第。 遵路官至祠部員外郎、秘閣校理。
His sons Anjie, Rangyi, and Zunlu all took the jinshi degree. Zunlu reached Vice Director in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Secret Archive collator.
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舒雅字子正，久仕李氏。 江左平，為將作監丞，後充秘閣校理。 好學。 善屬文，與吳淑齊名。 累遷職方員外郎，求出，得知舒州，仍賜金紫。 恬於榮宦，州之潛山靈仙觀有神仙勝跡，郡秩滿，即請掌觀事。 東封，就加主客郎中，改直昭文館，轉刑部。 在觀累年，優遊山水，吟詠自樂，時人美之。 卒年七十餘。 弟雄，端拱二年進士。
Shu Ya, courtesy name Zizheng, had long served the Southern Tang Li. After the conquest he became Vice Director in the Directorate of Works, then Secret Archive collator. He loved learning. A skilled writer, he ranked with Wu Shu. Promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel, he sought a post outside and was made prefect of Shuzhou with gold-and-purple dress. Careless of office, he at term's end took charge of the Lingxian Abbey on Shuzhou's Mount Qian, famed for immortal traces. The eastern Fengshan rites brought him Director in the Court of Imperial Guests, Zhaowen duty, and transfer to Punishments. Years at the abbey among mountains and streams, composing for pleasure, won wide admiration. He died past seventy. His brother Xiong took jinshi in Duangong 2 (989).
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黃夷簡，字明舉，福州人。 父廷樞，為王審知從事，甚被親遇。 嗣王延鈞以女妻之。 錢氏取福州，署光祿卿。 夷簡少孤，好學，有名於江東，為錢惟治明州判官。 太平興國初，隨錢俶來朝，授檢校秘書少監、元帥府掌書記，賜以襲衣、器幣、鞍勒馬。 八年，俶讓元帥，改授夷簡淮海國王府判官。 雍熙四年，俶改封許王，出鎮南陽，加夷簡倉部員外郎，充許王府判官。
Huang Yijian, courtesy name Mingju, was from Fuzhou. His father Tingchu served Wang Shenzhi as aide and enjoyed great favor. The succeeding ruler Yanjun married a daughter to him. When the Qian seized Fuzhou he was made Director of Imperial Entertainment. Orphaned young, Yijian loved learning and was famed east of the river; he was Qian Weizhi's Mingzhou judge. In early Taiping xingguo he followed Qian Chu to court as Acting Vice Director of the Secretariat and headquarters secretary, with court dress, vessels, and horses. In the eighth year Chu yielded his princely title and Yijian became judge of the Prince of Huaihai. In Yongxi 4 (987) Chu became Prince of Xu at Nanyang; Yijian was made Vice Director in Revenue and judge of his domain.
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初，宰相張齊賢欲引夷簡與曾致堯並知制誥，有急製，值舍人出院，即封除目命夷簡草之，物議以為不可，故但進秩而已。 景德中，夷簡被病，告滿二百日，御史臺言當除籍，真宗以其吳越舊僚，有詞學，且年老母在，特命續其月廩。 大中祥符初，遷秘書少監。 三年，丁內艱，上遣中使存問，賻贈有加，因請護母喪歸浙右，許之。 且欲不絕其奉給，特授檢校秘書監、平江軍節度副使。 逾年卒，年七十七。
Grand Councillor Zhang Qixian once wanted Yijian and Ceng Zhiyao as edict drafters and, when urgent drafts came with academicians absent, would seal orders for Yijian to write; opinion blocked it and he gained only rank. In Jingde illness brought two hundred days' leave and censorate demand for removal; Zhenzong, recalling a Wu-Yue colleague with learning and an aged mother, kept his stipend. Early in Dazhong xiangfu he became Vice Director of the Secretariat. In the third year he mourned his mother; the throne sent envoys with gifts and allowed him to escort her bier to the lower Yangzi. Not wishing to end his pay, the throne made him Acting Director of the Secretariat and Pingjiang vice commissioner. A year later he died at seventy-seven.
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夷簡喜談論，善屬文，尤工詩詠，老而不輟。 嘗攝鴻臚卿，護許國長公主葬，在道，駙馬都尉魏咸信禮接甚薄，夷簡銜之，言於上云：「發引之日，以錢三十千遺臣治裝，不重王人，若有輕國命之意，臣拒不納。」 上遣中使詰咸信，咸信言：「夷簡始受命，屢有求丐，又獻挽詞以希賂遺，臣皆不敢受，以是為慊。」 既而夷簡又貢歌詩一編，大率譏咸信吝嗇，且形於怨詛。 復言所未受三十千錢，意欲索取。 真宗甚鄙之，且不欲其歌詩流布於外，命中書召夷簡對焚之。 士大夫以是薄其為人。
Fond of talk and skilled in prose, especially poetry, which he never abandoned in age. Acting Director of Imperial Banquets for Princess Chang of Xu's funeral, he found the emperor's son-in-law Wei Xianxin cold on the road and told the throne: 'On departure day he offered thirty thousand cash for my outfit—slighting the imperial envoy as if the mission were light. I refused.' An envoy questioned Xianxin, who said Yijian had begged favors and offered elegies for gifts he would not accept. Yijian then presented songs mocking Xianxin's stinginess in open resentment. He still pressed the thirty thousand cash he had refused. Zhenzong despised him, forbade circulation, and had the Secretariat summon him to burn the songs before him. Gentlemen therefore thought little of his character.
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浙右士之秀者，又有盧稹、謝炎、許洞。
Other fine men of the lower Yangzi included Lu Zhen, Xie Yan, and Xu Dong.
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盧稹字淑微，杭州人。 幼穎悟，七歲能詩，十二學屬文。 及長，曉《五經》大義，酷嗜《周易》、《孟子》。 端拱初，遊京師，時徐弦以宿儒為士子所宗，覽稹文，甚奇之，為延譽於朝。 是年登進士第，調補真定束鹿主簿。 至府，值契丹圍城，未及赴官，卒，年二十七。 嘗著《五帝皇極志》、《孺子問》、《翼聖書》數十篇。
Lu Zhen, courtesy name Shuwei, was from Hangzhou. Clever as a child, he wrote verse at seven and parallel prose at twelve. Grown, he grasped the Five Classics and loved the Changes and Mencius. In early Duangong he went to the capital; Xu Xuan, the elder scholar students revered, marveled at his writing and praised him at court. That year he took jinshi and was posted recorder of Donglu in Zhending. At the prefecture the Khitan were besieging the city; before taking office he died at twenty-seven. He left Records of the Five Emperors' Imperial Pole, Questions of the Child, and Book to Aid the Sage in several tens of pieces.
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謝炎字化南，蘇州嘉興人。 父崇禮，泰寧軍掌書記。 炎慕韓、柳為文，與盧稹齊名，時謂之「盧、謝」。 稹忄巽懦，炎勁急，反相厚善。 端拱初，舉進士，調補昭應主簿，徙伊闕，連知華容、公安二縣，卒，年三十四。 有集二十卷。
Xie Yan, courtesy name Huanan, was from Jiaxing in Suzhou. His father Chongli was secretary to the Taining army. Yan took Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan as models and was paired with Lu Zhen as 'Lu and Xie.' Lu Zhen was timid, Xie Yan impetuous, yet they were deeply devoted friends. In early Duangong he took jinshi, served as Zhaoying recorder, moved to Yique, and successively governed Huarong and Gong'an; he died at thirty-four. His collected works ran to twenty juan.
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許洞字洞天，蘇州吳縣人。 父仲容，太子洗馬致仕。 洞性疏雋，幼時習弓矢擊刺之伎，及長，折節勵學，尤精《左氏傳》。 咸平三年進士，解褐雄武軍推官。 嘗詣府白事，有卒踞坐不起，即杖之。 時馬知節知州，洞又移書責知節，知節怒其狂狷不遜，會洞輒用公錢，奏除名。
Xu Dong, courtesy name Dongtian, was from Wu county in Suzhou. His father Zhongrong had retired as Director of the Crown Prince's Household. Free-spirited and sharp, he trained in archery and swordplay as a boy, then turned to books and mastered the Zuo Commentary. He took jinshi in Xianping 3 (1000) and became investigating clerk in the Xiongwu army. Reporting to the prefecture once, he found a soldier sprawled and refusing to rise and caned him on the spot. Prefect Ma Zhijie took offense at Dong's insolent letter; when Dong misused public funds Zhijie had him removed from office.
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歸吳中數年，日以酣飲為事。 嘗從民坊貰酒，一日，大署壁作《酒歌》數百言，鄉人爭往觀，其酤數倍，乃盡捐洞所負。 景德二年，獻所撰《虎鈐經》二十卷。 應洞識韜略、運籌決勝科，以負譴報罷，就除均州參軍。 大中祥符四年，祀汾陰，獻《三盛禮賦》，召試中書，改烏江縣主簿，卒，年四十二。 有集一百卷。 又著《春秋釋幽》五卷、《演玄》十卷。
Back in Wu for years he lived for drink. Buying wine on credit once, he covered a shop wall with a long 'Song of Wine'; crowds came, sales soared, and the shopkeeper canceled his debt. In Jingde 2 (1005) he presented his Tiger Tally Classic in twenty juan. He sat for the strategy examination but the earlier dismissal blocked promotion; he received only a Junzhou aide post. At the Fenyin rites in Dazhong xiangfu 4 (1011) he presented his Fu on the Three Grand Rites, passed a Secretariat examination, became Wuhe recorder, and died at forty-two. His collected works ran to one hundred juan. He also wrote Elucidating the Obscure in the Spring and Autumn (5 juan) and Expounding the Mysterious (10 juan).
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徐鉉，字鼎臣，揚州廣陵人。 十歲能屬文，不妄遊處，與韓熙載齊名，江東謂之「韓、徐」。 仕吳為校書郎，又仕南唐李父子，試知制誥，與宰相宋齊丘不協。 時有得軍中書檄者，鉉及弟鍇評其援引不當。 檄乃湯悅所作，悅與齊丘誣鉉、鍇泄機事，鉉坐貶泰州司戶掾，鍇貶為烏江尉，俄復舊官。
Xu Xuan, courtesy name Dingchen, was from Guangling in Yangzhou. Composing at ten, avoiding idle wandering, he was paired with Han Xizai as Han and Xu in the lower Yangzi. He collated for Wu, drafted for the Southern Tang Li, and clashed with Grand Councillor Song Qiqiu. When a military proclamation surfaced, Xuan and his brother Kai found its citations faulty. Tang Yue had written it; he and Qiqiu accused the brothers of leaking secrets. Xuan became Taizhou registrar and Kai Wuhe magistrate, then both were restored.
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時景命內臣車延規、傅宏營屯田於常、楚州，處事苛細，人不堪命，致盜賊群起。 命鉉乘傳巡撫。 鉉至楚州，奏罷屯田，延規等懼，逃罪，鉉捕之急，權近側目。 及捕得賊首，即斬之不俟報，坐專殺流舒州。 周世宗南征，景徙鉉饒州，俄召為太子右諭德，復知制誥，遷中書舍人。 景死，事其子煜為禮部侍郎，通署中書省事，曆尚書在丞、兵部侍郎、翰林學士、御史大夫、吏部尚書。
Inner attendants Che Yanwei and Fu Hongying ran harsh garrison fields in Chang and Chu until bandits rose in bands. Xuan was sent on commission to inspect and pacify. At Chu he abolished the garrison fields; Yanwei fled and Xuan hunted them hard, drawing hostile glances from the powerful. He beheaded a captured bandit chief without awaiting orders and was exiled to Shuzhou for unauthorized killing. Shizong's southern campaign sent him to Raozhou, then recalled him as crown-prince mentor, drafter, and Secretariat drafter. After Jing's death he served Yu as Vice Minister of Rites with Secretariat duties, rising to Left Vice Director, Vice Minister of War, Hanlin academician, Censor-in-Chief, and Minister of Personnel.
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宋師圍金陵，煜遣鉉求緩兵。 時煜將朱令贇將兵十餘萬自上江來援，煜以鉉既行，欲止令贇勿令東下。 鉉曰：「此行未保必能濟難，江南所恃者援兵爾，奈何止之！」 煜曰：「方求和解而復決戰，豈利於汝乎？」 鉉曰「要以社稷為計，豈顧一介之使，置之度外可也。」 煜泣而遣之。 及至，雖不能緩兵，而入見辭歸，禮遇皆與常時同。 及隨煜入覲，太祖責之，聲甚厲。 鉉對曰：「臣為江南大臣，國亡罪當死，不當問其他。」 太祖歎曰：「忠臣也！ 事我當如李氏。」 命為太子率更令。
When Song besieged Jinling Yu sent Xuan to beg a truce. General Zhu Lingyun was bringing a hundred thousand men downriver; with Xuan already gone Yu wanted to halt him. Xuan said: 'This mission may not save us, but Jiangnan lives on relief troops—how can you stop them?' Yu said: 'You sue for peace while battle resumes—how does that help you?' Xuan said: 'The altars come first; a single envoy does not matter—set me aside.' Yu wept and sent him on. He could not slow the Song army, but on leave to return he received the same courtesy as before. Entering court with Yu, he met Taizu's fierce rebuke. Xuan answered: 'I was Jiangnan's minister; when the state fell I deserved death and nothing more should be asked.' Taizu sighed: 'A loyal minister! Serve me as you served the Li.' He was made Director of the Crown Prince's Household.
24
太平興國初，李昉獨直翰林，鉉直學士院。 從征太原，軍中書詔填委，鉉援筆無滯，辭理精當，時論能之。 師還，加給事中。 八年，出為右散騎常侍，遷左常侍。 淳化二年，廬州女僧道安誣鉉奸私事，道安坐不實抵罪，鉉亦貶靜難行軍司馬。
In early Taiping xingguo Li Fang held Hanlin duty alone and Xuan the academy. On the Taiyuan campaign he drafted proclamations without delay to general praise. On return he was made Supervising Censor. In the eighth year he became Right then Left Regular Attendant. In Chunhua 2 (991) a Luzhou nun falsely accused him of impropriety; she was punished and he was demoted to Jingnan staff officer.
25
初，鉉至京師，見被毛褐者輒哂之，邠州苦寒，終不禦毛褐，致冷疾。 一日晨起方冠帶，遽索筆手疏，約束後事，又別署曰：「道者，天地之母。」 書訖而卒，年七十六。 鉉無子，門人鄭文寶護其喪至汴，胡仲容歸其葬於南昌之西山。
New to the capital he mocked fur coats; in bitter Binzhou he refused them and fell ill of cold. Dressing one morning he suddenly wrote his last affairs and added: 'The Way is the mother of Heaven and Earth.' He died as he finished, at seventy-six. Childless, his student Zheng Wenbao escorted the bier to Bian and Hu Zhongrong buried him on Nanchang's West Mountain.
26
鉉性簡淡寡欲，質直無矯飾，不喜釋氏而好神怪，有以此獻者，所求必如其請。 鉉精小學，好李斯小篆，臻其妙，隸書亦工。 嘗受詔與句中正、葛湍、王惟恭等同校《說文》，《序》曰：
Plain, few in wants, honest and unadorned, he disliked Buddhism but loved marvels and always received what he asked. A philologist, he mastered Li Si's small seal and wrote fine clerical script. Ordered with Ju Zhongzheng and others to collate the Shuowen, he wrote in the preface:
27
許慎《說文》十四篇，並《序目》一篇，凡萬六百餘字，聖人之旨蓋雲備矣。 夫八卦既畫，萬象既分，則文字為之大輅，載籍為之六轡，先王教化所以行於百代，及物之功與造化均不可忽也。 雖王帝之後改易殊體，六國之世文字異形，然猶存篆籀之跡，不失形類之本。 及暴秦苛政，散隸聿興，便於末俗，人競師法。 古文既變，巧偽日滋。 至漢宣帝時，始命諸儒修倉頡之法，亦不能復。 至光武時，馬援上疏論文字之訛謬，其言詳矣。 及和帝時，申命賈逵修理舊文，於是許慎采史籀、李斯、揚雄之書，博訪通人，考之於逵，作《說文解字》，至安帝十五年始奏上之。 而隸書之行已久，加以行、草、八分紛然間出，反以篆籀為奇怪之跡，不復輕心。
Xu Shen's Shuowen: fourteen chapters plus preface, over ten thousand six hundred characters—the sage's intent stands complete. Once the trigrams were drawn and forms divided, writing became the great carriage and records the six reins; royal teaching ran through ages and its reach matched creation itself. Though scripts changed under later kings and Six States forms diverged, seal traces remained and the roots of form survived. Under brutal Qin clerical script arose for vulgar convenience and all rushed to imitate it. With ancient script altered, artifice multiplied daily. Even Xuan's order to restore Cangjie's method could not bring it back. Guangwu's reign brought Ma Yuan's detailed memorial on written errors. He ordered Jia Kui to repair old text; Shen gathered Shizhou, Li Si, and Yang Xiong, consulted widely, checked with Kui, and composed Explaining Graphs, presenting it in An's fifteenth year. Clerical script already ruled; running, cursive, and eight-part forms crowded in and seal script seemed merely quaint.
28
至於六籍舊文，相承傳寫，多求便俗，漸失本原。 《爾雅》所載草、木、魚、鳥之名，肆誌增益，不可觀矣。 諸儒傳釋，亦非精究小學之徒，莫能矯正。
Classical texts copied on and on sought vulgar ease and lost the source. Erya entries for plants, fish, and birds swelled beyond recognition. Ru commentary was shallow; only philologists could set it right.
29
唐大曆中，李陽冰篆跡殊絕，獨冠古今，於是刊定《說文》，修正筆法，學者師慕，篆籀中興。 然頗排斥許氏，自為臆說。 夫以師心之獨見，破先儒之祖述，豈聖人之意乎？ 今之為字學者，亦多陽冰之新義，所謂貴耳而賤目也。
In Tang's Dali era Li Yangbing's seal surpassed all ages; revising the Shuowen he revived seal script for admiring scholars. Yet he largely rejected Xu for private invention. To overturn the ancients on private conviction—was that the sage's intent? Today's graphologists prize Yangbing's novelties—honoring hearsay over sight.
30
自唐末喪亂，經籍道息。 有宋膺運，人文國典，粲然復興，以為文字者六藝之本，當由古法，乃詔取許慎《說文解字》，精加詳校，垂憲百代。 臣等敢竭愚陋，備加詳考。
Late Tang chaos stilled the way of classics. Song revived culture, took writing as root of the six arts, and ordered a fine collation of Xu Shen's Explaining Graphs as law for ages. We dare offer our shallow labors in detailed review.
31
有許慎注義、序例中所載而諸部不見者，審知漏落，悉從補錄。 復有經典相承傳，寫及時俗要用而《說文》不載者，皆附益之，以廣篆籀之路。 亦皆形聲相從、不違六書之義者。
Missing entries from Xu's glosses or preface we restored wherever found. Current usage and transmission absent from the Shuowen we added when form and sound followed the six scripts. All followed form and sound without violating the six scripts.
32
其間《說文》具有正體而時俗論變者，則具於注中。 其有義理乘舛、違戾六書者，並列序於後，俾夫學者無或致疑。 大抵此書務援古以正今，不徇今而違古。 若乃高文大冊，則宜以篆籀著之金石，至於常行簡牘，則草隸足矣。
Where correct Shuowen forms had vulgar variants we noted them in commentary. Errant meanings violating the six scripts we listed after so scholars would not doubt. This book uses antiquity to correct the present, never the present against antiquity. Grand works belong in seal on metal and stone; daily documents need only clerical script.
33
又許慎注解，詞簡義奧，不可周知。 陽冰之後，諸儒箋述有可取者，亦從附益； 猶有未盡，則臣等粗為訓釋，以成一家之書。
Xu's glosses are terse and deep beyond quick mastery. Worthy ru glosses after Yangbing we also added; where still lacking we roughly glossed to complete one school of the book.
34
《說文》之時，未有反切，後人附益，互有異同。 孫愐《唐韻》行之已久，今並以孫愐音切為定，庶幾學者有所適從焉。
In Shen's day there was no fanqie; later additions disagree. Sun Mian's Tangyun now fixes all readings so scholars have a standard.
35
鍇亦善小學，嘗以許慎《說文》依四聲譜次為十卷，目曰《說文解字韻譜》。 鉉序之曰：
Kai too mastered philology and arranged the Shuowen by four tones in ten juan as Rhyme Companion to Explaining Graphs. Xuan prefaced it thus:
36
昔伏羲畫八卦而文字之端見矣，蒼頡模鳥跡而文字之形立矣。 史籀作大篆以潤色之，李斯變小篆以簡易之，其美至矣。 及程邈作隸而人競趣省，古法一變，字義浸訛。 先儒許慎患其若此，故集《倉》、《雅》之學，研六書之旨，博訪通識，考於賈逵，作《說文解字》十五篇，凡萬六百字。 字書精博，莫過於是。 篆籀之體，極於斯焉。
Fuxi drew the trigrams and writing began; Cangjie traced bird tracks and character forms stood firm. Shizhou's great seal adorned it, Li Si's small seal simplified it—beauty peaked there. Cheng Miao's clerical script made all rush to abbreviate; ancient method shifted and meaning eroded. Xu Shen gathered Cangjie and Erya, studied the six scripts, consulted Jia Kui, and wrote Explaining Graphs in fifteen chapters and ten thousand six hundred characters. No character book surpasses it. Seal script peaked there.
37
其後賈魴以《三蒼》之書皆為隸字，隸字始廣而篆籀轉微。 後漢及今千有餘歲，凡善書者皆草隸焉。 又隸書之法有冊繁補闕之論，則其訛偽斷可知矣。 故今字書之數累倍於前。
Later Jia Fang treated the three Cang as clerical; clerical spread and seal faded. For a thousand years since Later Han every good writer has used clerical. Clerical rules of omitting and supplying guarantee corruption. Today's character books multiply the old count.
38
夫聖人創製皆有依據，不知而作，君子慎之，及史闕文，格言斯在。 若草、木、魚、鳥，形聲相從，觸類長之，良無窮極，苟不折之以古義，何足以觀？ 故叔重之後，《玉篇》、《切韻》所載，習俗雖久，要不可施之於篆文。 往者，李陽冰天縱其能，中興斯學。 讚明許氏，奐焉英發。 然古法背俗，易為堙微。
Sage creation rests on precedent; ignorant invention the noble dreads—and when records fail, that maxim stands. Plants and fish grow by form and sound without end; without ancient meaning how can one judge? After Shen, Yupian and Qieyun usages, however old, cannot govern seal. Li Yangbing once revived the art by heaven's gift. Praising Xu he shone brilliantly. Yet ancient method opposed the vulgar and was easily lost.
39
方今許、李之書僅存於世，學者殊寡，舊章罕存。 秉筆操觚，要資檢閱，而偏傍奧密，不可意知，尋求一字，往往終卷，力省功倍，思得其宜。 舍弟鍇特善小學，因命取叔重所記，以《切韻》次之，聲韻區分，開卷可睹。 鍇又集《通釋》四十篇，考先賢之微言，暢許氏之玄旨，正陽冰之新義，折流俗之異端，文字之學，善矣盡矣。 今此書止欲便於檢討，無恤其他，故聊存詁訓，以為別識。 其餘敷演，有《通釋五音》凡十卷，貽諸同志雲。
Today Xu and Li survive only in fragments; few study them and old rules are rare. Brush in hand one must consult references, yet radicals are abstruse; hunting one graph can mean reading the whole scroll—hence the need for a tool that saves labor. My brother Kai, expert in philology, arranged Shen's record by the Qieyun so tones and rhymes appear at a glance. Kai's forty chapters of Comprehensive Gloss expound the sages, unfold Xu's intent, correct Yangbing, and refute vulgar error—writing study perfected. This book serves lookup only; we keep brief glosses as a separate guide. Further work appears in Comprehensive Gloss of the Five Sounds in ten juan for fellow scholars.
40
鉉親為之篆，鏤板以行於世。
Xuan wrote it in seal script himself and had it carved for circulation.
41
鍇字楚金，四歲而孤，母方教鉉，未暇及鍇，能自知書。 李景見其文，以為秘書省正字，累官內史舍人，因鉉奉使入宋，憂懼而卒，年五十五。 李穆使江南，見其兄弟文章，歎曰：「二陸不能及也！」
Kai, courtesy name Chujin, was orphaned at four; his mother taught Xuan and Kai taught himself to write. Li Jing made him Secretariat rectifier and Inner Drafter; he died of grief when Xuan went to Song, aged fifty-five. Li Mu on mission to Jiangnan sighed that the two Lu could not equal them.
42
鉉有文集三十卷，《質疑論》若干卷。 所著《稽神錄》，多出於其客蒯亮。 鍇所著則有文集、家傳、《方輿記》、《古今國典》、《賦苑》、《歲時廣記》云。
Xuan left thirty juan of collected works and Doubting Discussions. His Records of Investigating Spirits owed much to his client Kuai Liang. Kai wrote collected works, family biography, Record of Regions, state canons, Garden of Fu, and Broad Record of Seasons.
43
句中正，字坦然，益州華陽人。 孟昶時，館於其相毋昭裔之第，昭裔奏授崇文館校書郎，復舉進士及第，累為昭裔從事。 歸朝，補曹州錄事參軍、汜水令，又為潞州錄事參軍。
Ju Zhongzheng, courtesy name Tanran, was from Huayang in Yizhou. Under Meng Chang he lodged with Chancellor Wu Zhaoyi, became Chongwen collator and jinshi, and served Zhaoyi as aide. Entering Song service he was Caozhou recorder, Sishui magistrate, and Luzhou recorder.
44
中正精於字學，古文、篆、隸、行、草無不工。 太平興國二年，獻八體書。 太宗素聞其名，召入，授著作佐郎、直史館，被詔詳定《篇》、《韻》。
He mastered graphology—ancient, seal, clerical, running, and cursive alike. In Taiping xingguo 2 (977) he presented eight script styles. Taizong summoned him as Assistant Compiler and duty historian to fix the Pian and Yun.
45
四年，命副張洎為高麗加恩使，還，遷左讚善大夫，改著作郎，與徐鉉重校定《說文》，模印頒行。 太宗覽之嘉賞，因問中正，凡有聲無字有幾何？ 中正退，條為一卷以獻。 上曰：「朕亦得二十一字，可並錄之也。」 時又命中正與著作佐郎吳鉉、大理寺丞楊文舉同撰定《雍熙廣韻》。 中正先以門類上進，麵賜緋魚，俄加太常博士。 《廣韻》成，凡一百卷，特拜虞部員外郎。
In the fourth year he deputized Zhang Ji to Goryeo, then collated the Shuowen with Xu Xuan for printing. Taizong praised it and asked how many sounds lacked graphs. Zhongzheng listed them in one juan. The emperor added twenty-one graphs of his own for inclusion. He also ordered Zhongzheng, Wu Xuan, and Yang Wenju to compile the Yongxi Guangyun. Presenting by category he received crimson fish and soon became Erudite of Imperial Sacrifices. The Guangyun finished at one hundred juan brought him Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites.
46
淳化元年，改直昭文館，三遷屯田郎中，杜門守道，以文翰為樂。 太宗神主及諡寶篆文，皆詔中正書之。 嘗以大小篆、八分三體書《孝經》摹石，咸平三年表上之。 真宗召見便殿，賜坐，問所書幾許時，中正曰：「臣寫此書，十五年方成。」 上嘉歎良久，賜金紫，命藏於秘閣。 時乾州獻古銅鼎，狀方而四足，上有古文二十一字，人莫能曉，命中正與杜鎬詳驗以聞，援據甚悉。 五年，卒，年七十四。
Chunhua 1 (990) brought Zhaowen duty and thrice promotion to Revenue Director; he kept to his study and the Way. Taizong's spirit tablet and posthumous seal script were all Zhongzheng's hand. He carved the Filial Classic in three scripts on stone and presented it in Xianping 3 (1000). Zhenzong asked how long the carving took; Zhongzheng said fifteen years. Zhenzong praised him, granted gold and purple, and stored the stones in the Secret Archive. An ancient ding from Qianzhou bore twenty-one unreadable characters; Zhongzheng and Du Gao deciphered them with full citation. He died in the fifth year (1002) at seventy-four.
47
中正喜藏書，家無餘財。 子希古、希仲並進士及第，希仲太常博士。
He collected books and died without surplus wealth. His sons Xigu and Xizhong took jinshi; Xizhong became Erudite of Imperial Sacrifices.
48
蜀人又有孫逢吉、林罕。 逢吉嘗為蜀國子《毛詩》博士、檢校刊刻石經。 罕亦善文字之學，嘗著《說文》二十篇，目曰《林氏小說》，刻石蜀中。
Two other Shu scholars were Sun Fengji and Lin Han. Fengji was Shu Erudite of the Mao Odes and oversaw carving the stone classics. Han wrote twenty chapters titled Lin's Epitome from the Shuowen and carved them in Shu.
49
曾致堯字正臣，撫州南豐人。 太平興國八年進士，解褐符離主簿、梁州錄事參軍，三遷著作佐郎、直史館，改秘書丞，出為兩浙轉運使。 嘗上言：「去歲所部秋租，惟湖州一郡督納及期，而蘇、常、潤三州悉有逋負，請各按賞罰。」 太宗以江、淮頻年水災，蘇、常特甚，所言刻薄不可行，詔戒致堯毋擾。 俄徙知壽州，轉太常博士。
Ceng Zhiyao, courtesy name Zhengchen, was from Nanfeng in Fuzhou. Taiping xingguo 8 (983) jinshi led to Fuli recorder, Liangzhou staff officer, Secretariat posts, and two-Zhe transport commissioner. He memorialized that only Huzhou paid autumn rent on time while Suzhou, Changzhou, and Runzhou were in arrears and asked graded rewards and punishments. Taizong, citing Jiang-Huai floods especially at Suzhou and Changzhou, called this harsh and told him not to disturb. He soon became prefect of Shouzhou and Erudite of Imperial Sacrifices.
50
李繼遷擾西鄙，靈武危急，命張齊賢為涇、原、邠、寧、環、慶等州經略使，選致堯為判官，仍遷戶部員外郎。 既受命，因抗疏自陳，願不受章紱之賜，詞旨狂躁。 詔御史府鞫其罪，黜為黃州副使，奪金紫。 未幾，復舊官，改吏部員外郎，曆知泰、泉、蘇、揚、鄂五州。 大中祥符初，遷禮部郎中，坐知揚州日冒請一月奉，降掌升州榷酤，轉戶部郎中。 五年，卒，年六十六。
With Li Jiqian threatening the west, Zhang Qixian became frontier commissioner and chose Zhiyao as aide with promotion to Revenue Vice Director. He boldly refused seal and ribbon rewards in wild, rash wording. The censorate demoted him to Huangzhou vice commissioner and stripped gold and purple. Soon restored, he became Personnel Vice Director and prefect of Tai, Quan, Su, Yang, and E. Early Dazhong xiangfu brought Rites Director; a false salary claim as Yangzhou prefect demoted him to Shengzhou liquor monopoly then Revenue Director. He died in the fifth year (1012) at sixty-six.
51
致堯頗好纂錄，所著有《仙鳧習翼》三十卷、《廣中台志》八十卷、《清邊前要》三十卷、《西陲要紀》十卷、《為臣要紀》一十五篇。 子易從、易占皆登進士第。
He compiled Immortal Cranes Practicing Wings (30 juan), Record of the Broad Central Terrace (80 juan), and other frontier and ministerial works. His sons Yicong and Yizhan both took jinshi.
52
刁衎，字元賓，升州人。 父彥能，仕南唐為昭武軍節度。 衎用蔭為秘書郎、集賢校理，衣五品服，以文翰入侍，甚被親昵。 李煜嘗令直清輝殿，閱中外章奏。
Diao Kan, courtesy name Yuanbin, was from Shengzhou. His father Yanneng was Southern Tang military commissioner of Zhaowu. By yin privilege he was Secretariat secretary and Hongwen collator in fifth-rank dress, favored for literary attendance. Li Yu had him review memorials in the Qinghui Hall.
53
金陵平，從煜歸宋，太祖賜緋魚，授太常寺太祝。 稱疾，假滿，屏居輦下者數歲。 太平興國初，李昉、扈蒙在翰林，勉其出仕，因撰《聖德頌》獻之。 詔復本官，出知睦州桐廬縣。
At Jinling's fall he followed Yu to Song; Taizu made him Grand Sacrificer. Pleading illness he lived in seclusion near the capital for years. Li Fang and Hu Meng urged him out; he presented an Ode to Sagely Virtue. He was restored and sent as Tonglu magistrate in Muzhou.
54
會詔群臣言事，衎上《諫刑書》，謂：
Ordered to speak on policy he submitted a Memorial on Punishment:
55
淫刑酷法非律文所載者，望詔天下悉禁止之。 巡檢使臣捕得盜賊、亡卒，並送本部法官訊鞫，無得擅加酷虐。 古者投奸凶於四裔，今遠方囚人盡歸京闕，以配務役，最非其宜。 且神皋勝地，天子所居，豈使流囚於此聚役。 自今外處罪人，望勿許解送上京，亦不留於諸務充役。
Lewd punishments not in the statutes should be forbidden empire-wide. Patrols must send captives to headquarters judges without adding torture. Antiquity banished the wicked to the borders; today distant prisoners labor at the capital—most unsuitable. The imperial capital is no place to gather exiled laborers. Henceforth outer criminals should not be sent to the capital or kept for corvée.
56
又《禮》曰：「刑人於市，與眾棄之。」 則知黃屋紫宸之中，非用刑行法之處。 望自今御前不行決罰之刑，殿前引見司鉗黥法具，並赴御史臺、廷尉之獄； 敕杖不以大小，皆引赴御史、廷尉。 京府或出中使，或命法官，具禮監科，以重聖皇明刑慎法之意。
The Rites say: punish men in the market and abandon them with the multitude.' The imperial hall is no place for punishment. Capital punishment should not occur before the throne; branding tools should go to the censorate and court prison; imperial beatings should be conducted at the censorate and court prison. The capital should use envoys or judges with ritual oversight to show cautious punishment.
57
或有犯劫盜亡命，罪重者刖足釘身，國門布令。 此乃小民昧於刑憲，逼於衣食，偶然為惡，義不及他，被其慘毒，實傷風化，亦望減除其法。 如此則人情不駭，各固其生； 和氣無傷，必臻上瑞。
Heavy robbers and deserters suffer foot-cutting and nailing with proclamation at the gate. Petty offenders driven by hunger suffer cruel display that harms mores—I ask this law be reduced. Then hearts would not be terrified and each would secure life; harmony uninjured, supreme auspices would arrive.
58
再遷大理寺丞，獻文四十篇。 召試，授殿中丞、通判湖州，上疏請定天下酒稅額、修郡縣城隍、條約牧宰、除兩浙丁身錢、禁汴水流屍，凡五事。 俄知婺州，遷國子博士。 會考校百官殿最，衎被召，以無過，得知光州，就改虞部員外郎。 轉運使狀其政績，優詔嘉獎，徙知廬州。
Twice promoted in Judicial Review he presented forty writings. Examined as Palace Attendant and Huzhou commissioner, he asked to fix liquor taxes, repair walls, regulate magistrates, abolish two-Zhe head tax, and forbid Bian corpses. He became Wuzhou prefect and Directorate Erudite. Merit review found no fault; he became Guangzhou prefect then Rites Vice Director. His transport commissioner praised him; an edict commended him and he moved to Luzhou.
59
真宗即位，遷比部員外郎。 嘗上疏曰：
Zhenzong's accession brought Revenue Vice Director. He once memorialized:
60
臣聞天下，大器也； 群生，眾畜也。 治大器者執一以正其度，保眾畜者齊化以臻其原。 故至人謂莫神於天，莫富於地，莫大於帝王。 又曰：帝王乘地而總萬物，以用人也。 則知萬乘之尊，一人之位，等天地之覆燾，若日月之照臨，可不慎思慮以安民，係慘舒而被物！ 所以堯、舜篤善道以垂化，而民謂之所天； 桀、紂懷凶德以害世，而民謂之獨夫。 則君之於民，善惡有如是之驗； 民之於君，毀譽有如是之異。
The empire is a great vessel; the people are many beasts. Governing the vessel requires one standard; preserving the herd requires harmonizing transformation. The perfected say nothing surpasses Heaven, Earth, or the emperor. Emperors ride Earth and marshal all things by employing men. The Son of Heaven equals Heaven and Earth's nurture; he must think carefully to settle the people. Yao and Shun pursued the good Way and the people called them Heaven; Jie and Zhou harmed the age and the people called them lone men. Rulers' good and evil prove themselves thus in the people; the people's praise and blame differ thus toward rulers.
61
陛下纂圖茲始，布政惟新，所宜上順天心，下從人欲，進善以去惡，避毀而求譽。 遵唐、虞之治，斥辛、癸之亂，私賞無及於小人，私罰無施於君子，任賢勿貳，去邪勿疑。 開諫諍之門，塞讒佞之口，愛而知其惡，憎而知其善，無以春秋鼎盛而耽於逸遊，無以血氣方剛而惑於聲色。 若太祖之勤儉，若太宗之惠慈，答天地敷錫之意，保祖宗艱難之業，則周成、漢文二宗之美，不可同年而議擬也。
Your Majesty inherits the chart anew; follow Heaven's heart and men's desires, advance good, remove evil. Follow Tang and Yu, reject Xin and Gui; reward not petty men, punish not gentlemen; employ worthies, remove the wicked. Open remonstrance, stop slander; love yet know evil, hate yet know good; do not roam in prime years nor be deluded by pleasure. Taizu's frugality and Taizong's kindness answering Heaven would rival Zhou Cheng and Han Wen.
62
代還，獻所著《本說》十卷，得以本官充秘閣校理，出知潁州。 入為比部員外郎，改直秘閣，充崇文院檢討。 時杜鎬、陳彭年並預檢討、衎言此二人可專其任，詔許解職，判三司開拆司，預修《冊府元龜》，加主客郎中。 求領外任，得知湖州，轉刑部郎中。 歲滿，復預編修。 大中祥符六年，書成，授兵部郎中。 入朝，暴中風眩，真宗遣使馳賜金丹，已不救，年六十九。
Returning he presented Basic Discourse in ten juan, became Secret Archive collator, and went to Yingzhou. He entered as Revenue Vice Director, took Secret Archive duty, and collated at Chongwen. He yielded collation to Du Gao and Chen Pengnian, judged the Three Offices, helped compile the Prime Archive, and became Guests Director. Seeking the provinces he became Huzhou prefect and Punishments Director. At term's end he returned to compilation. In Dazhong xiangfu 6 (1013) the book finished and he became War Punishments Director. When he came to court he was stricken with sudden vertigo from a stroke. Emperor Zhenzong dispatched a courier with golden elixirs, yet nothing could save him. He died at sixty-nine.
63
衎始仕李氏，權勢甚盛。 父為藩帥，家富於財，被服飲膳，極於侈靡。 歸宋，以純澹夷雅知名於時，恬於祿位，善談笑，喜棋弈，交道敦篤，士大夫多推重之。
Kang had begun his career under the Li dynasty, when that house still held enormous power. His father had been a frontier commander, and the household was immensely wealthy—its clothing, fare, and table were carried to the height of luxury. Once he entered Song service, he won renown for plain dignity and quiet grace. Indifferent to office and emolument, easy in conversation, devoted to chess, and steadfast in his friendships, he was widely respected among the literati.
64
子湛、湜、渭，皆登進士第。 湛，刑部郎中； 湜，屯田員外； 渭，太常博士。 湛子繹、約，天聖中並進士及第。
His sons Zhan, Shi, and Wei all earned jinshi degrees. Zhan rose to Director in the Ministry of Punishments. Shi served as Outer-Director in the Directorate of Public Works. Wei held the post of Erudite in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Zhan's sons Yi and Yue both took jinshi degrees during the Tiansheng reign.
65
姚鉉，字寶之，廬州合肥人。 太平興國八年進士甲科，解褐大理評事，知潭州湘鄉縣，三遷殿中丞，通判簡、宣、升三州。 淳化五年，直史館，侍宴內苑，應製賦《賞花釣魚詩》，特被嘉賞，翌日，命中使就第賜白金以獎之。
Yao Xuan, courtesy name Baozhi, came from Hefei in Luzhou. In Taiping xingguo 8 he graduated jinshi in the highest tier, entered service as a judicial reviewer, and governed Xiangxiang in Tanzhou. Three promotions later he was Palace Director and military prefect in turn of Jian, Xuan, and Sheng. In Chunhua 5 he became a duty scholar in the Historiography Institute. At an inner-garden banquet he wrote on command the poem "On Enjoying Flowers and Angling for Fish," won exceptional praise, and on the following day received a palace envoy at his home bearing a reward of white gold.
66
至道初，遷太常丞，充京西轉運使，曆右正言、右司諫、河東轉運使。 俄上言曰：「伏見諸路官吏，或強明蒞事、惠愛及民者，則必立教條，除其煩擾。 然狡胥之輩，非其所便，俟其罷官，悉藏記籍，害公蠹政，莫甚於此。 《禮》云：『其人存則其政舉，其人亡則其政息。』 又《語》曰：『舊令尹之政必告新令尹。』 斯實聖人之格言，國家之急務也。 欲望所在官吏，有經畫利濟事可長久者，歲終書曆，受代日錄付新官，俾之遵守。 若事有灼然匪便，聽上聞，俟報改正。」 詔從之。
Early in Zhidao he rose to Assistant Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and transport commissioner for Jingxi, then served as Right Remonstrator, Right Remonstrator in the Department of State Affairs, and Hedong transport commissioner. Soon he memorialized: "I observe that whenever a circuit official governs with forceful clarity and genuine care for the people, he sets down regulations and clears away petty harassment. But the shrewd clerks, disliking the change, wait until he departs and then conceal the registers—no plague on public business runs deeper. The Rites states: 'While the man remains, his policies endure; when he is gone, they vanish.' And the Analects adds: 'The outgoing magistrate's policies must be handed on to his successor.' These are sage precepts and matters the state cannot neglect. I ask that whenever an official devises a measure of lasting public benefit, he enter it in an annual record and, on relinquishing his post, deliver that record to his successor for faithful observance. If a measure is clearly unworkable, the successor may report upward and amend it only after receiving approval. The throne assented.
67
咸平三年，河決鄆州王陵埽，東南注钜野，入淮、泗，城中積水壞廬舍，以鉉知州事，徙州於汶陽鄉之高原，委以營度，許便宜從事。 工畢，加起居舍人、京東轉運使，徙兩浙路。
In Xianping 3 the Yellow River burst the Wangling levee in Yanzhou and flooded southeast into Juye and on toward the Huai and Si. Water stood in the city and wrecked dwellings. Xuan was assigned to govern the prefecture, relocate the seat to the heights at Wenyang township, and oversee the works with full discretionary authority. After the project was complete he became Drafting Attendant and Jingdong transport commissioner, then moved to the Liang-Zhe circuit.
68
鉉雋爽，頗尚氣。 薛映知杭州，與之不協，事多矛盾。 映摭鉉罪狀數條，密以聞，詔使劾之，當奪一官，特除名，貶連州文學。 吉州之萬安抵虔，江有贛石，舟行其中，湍險萬狀，鉉過，感而賦之以自況。 大中祥符五年，會赦，移岳州，又移舒州，俄授本州團練副使。 天禧四年卒，年五十三。
Xuan was quick-witted and outspoken, with a touch of proud temper. Under Xue Ying's prefecture at Hangzhou they fell out, and their business repeatedly collided. Ying gathered several charges against Xuan and sent them in secret. An imperial inquiry followed; though the statutory penalty was demotion by one rank, he was specially removed from the rolls and exiled as literary instructor in Lianzhou. Between Wan'an in Jizhou and Qian lay the Gan rocks, where river traffic met a thousand perils. Crossing them, Xuan was stirred to verse that mirrored his own fall from favor. In Dazhong xiangfu 5, upon a general amnesty, he was transferred to Yuezhou and then Shuzhou, and shortly thereafter named deputy militia commissioner there. He died in Tianxi 4 at fifty-three.
69
鉉文辭敏麗，善筆劄，藏書至多，頗有異本，兩浙課吏寫書，亦薛映所掎之一事。 雖被竄斥，猶傭夫荷擔以自隨。 有集二十卷。 又采唐人文章纂為百卷，目曰《文粹》。 卒後，子嗣復以其書上獻，詔藏內府，授嗣復永城主簿。 幼子稱，俊穎美秀，頗善屬辭，裁十歲卒。 鉉紀其事為《聰悟錄》，人多傳之。
Xuan wrote with swift grace and handled correspondence with ease. His library was vast and held many unusual texts; the Liang-Zhe clerks' book-copying duty was itself one of the grievances Xue Ying had raised against him. Even in exile he traveled with hired bearers hauling his books. His collected writings ran to twenty juan. He also anthologized Tang prose in one hundred juan under the title Literary Essence. After his death his son Sifu offered the anthology to the court. It was ordered into the inner library, and Sifu was made registrar of Yongcheng. His youngest son Cheng was handsome, clever, and already skilled in writing, yet died at ten. Xuan set the story down in Record of Precocious Understanding, and it was widely copied.
70
李建中，字得中，其先京兆人。 曾祖逢，唐左衛兵曹參軍。 祖稠，梁商州刺史，避地入蜀。 會王建僭據，稠預佐命功臣，左衛將軍。 建中幼好學，十四丁外艱。 會蜀平，侍母居洛陽，聚學以自給。 攜文遊京師，為王佑所延譽，館於石熙載之第，熙載厚待之。
Li Jianzhong, courtesy name Dezong, traced his origins to Jingzhao. His great-grandfather Feng had been Army Adjutant of the Left Guard under Tang. His grandfather Chou, Shangzhou prefect under Later Liang, took refuge in Shu amid the upheavals. When Wang Jian established his rule, Chou was honored as a founding supporter and appointed General of the Left Guard. Jianzhong had loved study since boyhood and at fourteen finished mourning for his mother. After the conquest of Shu he kept his mother company in Luoyang and earned a living by gathering students. He went to the capital with his writings in hand, won recommendation from Wang You, and was housed at Shi Xizai's residence, where Xizai treated him with great kindness.
71
太平興國八年進士甲科，解褐大理評事，知岳州錄事參軍。 轉運使李惟清薦其能，再遷著作佐郎、監潭州茶場，改殿中丞，曆通判道、郢二州。 柴成務領漕運，再表稱薦，轉太常博士。 時言事者多以權利進，建中表陳時政利害，序王霸之略，太宗嘉賞，因引對便殿，賜以緋魚。 會考課京朝官，建中舊坐公累罰金，漏其事，坐降授殿中丞，監在京榷易院。 蘇易簡方被恩顧，多得對，嘗言蜀中文士，因及建中，太宗亦素知之，命直昭文館。 建中父名昭文，懇辭，改集賢院。 數月，出為兩浙轉運副使，再遷主客員外郎，曆通判河南府，知曹、解、潁、蔡四州。 景德中，以久次，進金部員外郎。
In Taiping xingguo 8 he graduated jinshi in the highest tier, entered service as a judicial reviewer, and became recorder in Yuezhou. Transport commissioner Li Weiqing commended his talent. Two promotions later he was Assistant Archivist and overseer of the Tanzhou tea depot, then Palace Director and military prefect in turn of Dao and Ying. Chai Chengwu, in charge of grain transport, twice memorialized in his favor, and he was made Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Many who petitioned on state affairs then rose by trading on power and profit. Jianzhong memorialized on the costs and gains of current policy and laid out the principles of kingship and hegemony. Taizong praised him, received him in the side hall, and granted the scarlet robe and fish tally. During the capital-official review, Jianzhong had once been fined for a public offense but failed to report it. He was therefore reduced to Palace Director and assigned to supervise the capital monopoly exchange office. Su Yijian then enjoyed the emperor's favor and often spoke at court. On one occasion, discussing Shu literati, he named Jianzhong, whom Taizong already knew well. Jianzhong was ordered to serve as duty scholar in the Zhaowen Hall. Because his father's name was Zhaowen, Jianzhong begged off the post and was transferred to the Hall of Assembled Worthies. A few months later he became deputy transport commissioner for Liang-Zhe, then Outer-Director in the Ministry of Rites, military prefect of Henan, and in turn prefect of Cao, Xie, Ying, and Cai. During Jingde, by seniority, he rose to Outer-Director in the Ministry of Revenue.
72
建中性簡靜，風神雅秀，恬於榮利，前後三求掌西京留司御史臺，尤愛洛中風土，就構園池，號曰「靜居」。 好吟詠，每遊山水，多留題，自稱岩夫民伯。 加司封員外郎、工部郎中。 建中善修養之術，會命官校定《道藏》，建中預焉。 又判太府寺。 大中祥符五年冬，命使泗州，奉御製《汴水發願文》，就致設醮。 使還得疾，明年卒，年六十九。
Simple and serene by nature, Jianzhong carried himself with refined grace and cared little for rank or profit. Thrice he asked to head the Western Capital censorate. He loved Luoyang's air and scenery above all, laid out a garden there, and named it Quiet Dwelling. He loved to compose and chant verse; on every excursion among hills and streams he left poems inscribed on the scenery, and styled himself Yanfu Minbo—the Rock Hermit and Common Elder. He rose to Outer-Director in the Ministry of Personnel and Director in the Ministry of Works. Jianzhong practiced the arts of nourishing life. When the throne ordered a revision of the Daoist Canon, he joined the commission. He also held concurrent appointment as director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury. In the winter of Dazhong xiangfu 5 he was sent to Sizhou to present the emperor's Vow Text on the Bian River and perform a ritual offering on the spot. He took ill on his return from the mission and died the next year at sixty-nine.
73
建中善書劄，行筆尤工，多構新體，草、隸、篆、籀、八分亦妙，人多摹習，爭取以為楷法。 嘗手寫郭忠恕《汗簡集》以獻，皆科斗文字，有詔嘉獎。 好古勤學，多藏古器名畫。 有集三十卷。
Jianzhong excelled at correspondence, above all in running script. He invented many new styles, and his draft, clerical, seal, large-seal, and eight-part scripts were all masterly. Scribes copied him in crowds and took his hand as the standard. He once copied out Guo Zhongshu's Sweat-Bamboo Collection and offered it to the throne—all in tadpole script—and received an imperial commendation. He cherished the past, studied hard, and amassed a great store of antique bronzes and celebrated paintings. His collected writings filled thirty juan.
74
子周道、周士並進士及第。 周士曆侍御史、江東、陝西轉運、三司鹽鐵判官，賜金紫，終工部郎中。 周民，太子中舍。
His sons Zhoudao and Zhoushi both earned jinshi degrees. Zhoushi rose through service as censor, Jiangdong and Shaanxi transport commissioner, and salt-and-iron commissioner in the Three Departments. He received the gold-and-purple insignia and ended his career as Director in the Ministry of Works. Zhoumin served as Palace Attendant.
75
洪湛，字惟清，升州上元人。 曾祖勳，南唐崇文館直學士。 祖壽，桐城令。 父慶元，獻書李煜，授奉禮郎，補新喻令。 歸宋，至冤句令。 湛幼好學，五歲能為詩，未冠，錄所著十卷為《齠年集》。 舉進士，有聲。 雍熙二年，廷試已落，復試，擢置高等，解褐歸德軍節度推官。 召還，授右拾遺、直史館。
Hong Zhan, courtesy name Weiqing, came from Shangyuan in Shengzhou. His great-grandfather Xun had been a direct scholar in the Chongwen Hall under Southern Tang. His grandfather Shou served as magistrate of Tongcheng. His father Qingyuan presented writings to Li Yu, received appointment as Master of Ceremonies, and became magistrate of Xinyu. Once in Song service he advanced to magistrate of Yuanqu. Zhan loved study from childhood. At five he could write poems, and before coming of age he gathered ten juan of his work as Collection of Early Youth. He sat for the jinshi degree and gained a name. In Yongxi 2 he had failed the palace exam; on a second sitting he ranked in the upper tier and entered service as judicial officer under the Guide de commission. Recalled to court, he became Right Remonstrator and duty scholar in the Historiography Institute.
76
端拱初，通判壽、許二州。 歸宋，與左正言尹黃裳、馮拯、右正言王世則、宋沆伏閣請立許王元僖為儲貳，詞意狂率，太宗怒。 時沆坐呂蒙正親黨，已出為宜州團練副使。 上因語近臣曰：「儲副，邦國之本，朕豈不知。 但近世淺薄，若立太子，即東宮僚屬皆須稱臣，官職聯次與上台無異，人情深所不安。 此事朕自有時爾。」 湛坐削職，出知容州，黃裳知邕州，拯知端州，沆知靖州，世則知蒙州。 容之戍卒謀竊發者，湛偵知，亟斬之。 再遷比部員外郎，知郴、舒二州。
Early in Duangong he was military prefect of Shou and Xu. After returning to Song, he joined Left Remonstrator Yin Huangshang, Feng Zheng, Right Remonstrator Wang Shize, and Song Hang in kneeling at the palace gate to ask that Prince Xu, Yuanxi, be named heir apparent. Their language was reckless, and Taizong flew into a rage. Hang, already banished as a partisan of Lü Mengzheng, was then deputy militia commissioner of Yizhou. The emperor then told his inner circle: "The heir apparent is the foundation of the realm—do you think I do not know it? Yet the age has grown shallow. Once a crown prince is named, every official in the Eastern Palace must call him lord, and their ranks stand in the same order as at court—a thing that deeply unsettles people. When the moment is right, I shall decide this myself. Zhan was demoted and sent to govern Rongzhou; Huangshang went to Yongzhou, Zheng to Duanzhou, Hang to Jingzhou, and Shize to Mengzhou. At Rong, garrison troops were plotting a rising; Zhan learned of it and had them beheaded at once. Two promotions later he was Outer-Director in the Ministry of Revenue and prefect in turn of Chen and Shu.
77
咸平二年召還，命試舍人院，復直史館。 是秋，命與閣門祗候韓紹輝使荊湖按視民事，條奏利病甚眾。 還，判三司都磨勘司。 又與王欽若同知貢舉，未幾，同修起居注。 時議城綏州，邊臣互言利害，遣湛與閣門祗候程順奇同往按視，湛言城之利有七而害有二，遂詔營葺，終以勞人罷之。
In Xianping 2 he was recalled, examined in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies, and restored as duty scholar in the Historiography Institute. That autumn he and Palace Gate Commissioner Han Shaohui were sent to inspect Jing-Hu and review local conditions; he memorialized extensively on what helped and harmed the people. On his return he was placed in charge of the Three Departments' central audit office. He also joined Wang Qinruo as co-examiner for the metropolitan degree, and soon afterward became co-compiler of the Veritable Records. When officials debated fortifying Suizhou, border commanders disputed the trade-offs. Zhan and Palace Gate Commissioner Cheng Shunqi were dispatched to inspect. Zhan argued seven advantages against two drawbacks; construction was ordered, but in the end the work was dropped as too burdensome on the people.
78
湛美風儀，俊辯有材幹，凡五使西北議邊要。 真宗有意擢任，顧遇甚厚。 曲宴苑中，賦賞花詩，不移晷以獻，深被褒賞。
Handsome in bearing, sharp of tongue, and capable in counsel, Zhan went five times to the northwest on missions concerning border strategy. Emperor Zhenzong meant to elevate him and showed him exceptional favor. At an informal garden banquet he wrote a flower-appreciation poem and submitted it before the sun had moved a fraction on the dial; the emperor praised him warmly.
79
五年春，有河陰民常德方訟臨津尉任懿納賄登第，事下御史臺，鞫得懿款云：「咸平二年，補太學生，寓僧仁雅舍，因仁雅求院之主僧惠秦為道地，署紙許銀七鋌，仁雅、惠秦隱其二，易為五鋌。 惠秦素識王欽若已在貢院，乃因館客寧文德、仆夫徐興納署紙於欽若妻李，李密召家仆祁睿書懿名於左臂，並口傳許賂之數，入省告欽若。 及懿過五場，睿復持湯飲至省，欽若遣睿語李，令取其銀，懿未即與。 既而懿預奏名授官，未行，丁內艱，還鄉里。 仁雅馳書索銀，形於詛罵。」 德方者，賣卜縣市，獲其書，以告中丞趙昌言，具其事奏白，請逮欽若屬吏。
In spring of the fifth year, a He yin commoner named Chang Defang accused Linjin district captain Ren Yi of buying his pass on the examinations. The Censorate took the case; under questioning Yi confessed: "In Xianping 2 I entered the Imperial College as a supplemental student and stayed at Monk Renya's lodgings. Through Renya I asked Chief Monk Huiqin of the college for favor and signed a note for seven ingots of silver. Renya and Huiqin kept two and altered the figure to five. Huiqin knew Wang Qinruo was already in the examination hall. Through the lodger Ning Wende and the servant Xu Xing he delivered the signed note to Qinruo's wife Li. Li secretly called the house servant Qi Rui, had Yi's name written on his left arm, and told him the promised sum by word of mouth; he entered the hall and reported to Qinruo. When Yi had passed the fifth session, Rui once more brought soup to the hall. Qinruo sent him to tell Li to collect the silver, but Yi did not pay at once. Yi was later placed on the pass list and granted an appointment, but before assuming office he went into mourning for his mother and returned home. Renya wrote demanding the silver in urgent, abusive terms. Defang, a fortune-teller in the county market, got hold of the letter, laid the matter before Vice Censor-in-Chief Zhao Changyan, and memorialized asking that Qinruo be seized as a serving official.
80
先是，欽若為亳州判官，睿其廳幹，及代歸，以睿從行而未除州之役籍。 及貢舉事畢，會州人張續還鄉行服，托為睿去籍名。 至是，欽若訴云：「睿休役之後，始傭於家，而惠秦未嘗及門。」 欽若方被寵顧，乃詔翰林侍讀學士邢昺、內侍副都知閻承翰並驛召知曹州邊肅、知許州毋賓古就太常寺別鞫，懿易款云：「有妻兄張駕舉進士，識湛，懿亦與駕同造湛門，嘗以石榴二百枚、木炭百秤饋之。 懿之輸銀也，但憑二僧達一主司，實不知誰何？」 乃以為湛納其銀。 湛適使陝西，中途召還，時張駕已死，寧文德、徐興悉遁去，欽若近參機務，門下仆使多新募至，不識惠秦，故無與左證。 又固執知舉時未有祁睿，遂以湛受銀，法當死，特詔削籍、流儋州。 懿杖脊、配隸忠靖軍。 惠秦坐受簡劄及隱銀未入已，以年七十餘，當贖銅八斤，特杖一百，黥麵配商州坑冶。 仁雅杖脊，配隸郢州牢城，而不窮用銀之端。
Previously, when Qinruo was judicial officer in Bozhou, Rui had been a clerk in his office. On leaving his post Qinruo took Rui home but never struck Rui's name from the prefecture corvée rolls. After the examination business was done, a Bozhou man named Zhang Xu went home to observe mourning and was entrusted to strike Rui's name from the register. By then Qinruo filed an appeal, saying: "After Rui completed his corvée service he was only then taken on as a household servant, and Huiqin had never once set foot at our door." Qinruo was then in high favor at court. An edict ordered Hanlin Academician Reader Xing Bing and Inner Service Deputy Director Yan Chenghan to summon by post relay Bian Su, prefect of Cao, and Wu Binggu, prefect of Xu, to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for separate hearings. Yi revised his confession: "My wife's elder brother Zhang Jia had taken the jinshi examination and knew Zhan; Yi too had gone with Jia to Zhan's door and once sent two hundred pomegranates and a hundred piculs of charcoal as gifts. When Yi paid the silver, he relied only on the two monks to reach one chief examiner and truly did not know who it was." Zhan was therefore held to have accepted the silver. Zhan was then on mission in Shaanxi and was recalled en route. Zhang Jia was already dead; Ning Wende and Xu Xing had all fled. Qinruo was then deeply involved in confidential affairs of state, and most servants at his gate were newly hired and did not know Huiqin, so no corroborating witness could be found. Investigators also insisted that Qi Rui had not existed when the examinations were held; Zhan was therefore convicted of taking silver, which by law merited death, but a special edict stripped him from the rolls and exiled him to Danzhou. Yi was flogged on the back and assigned to the Loyal Tranquility Army. Huiqin was punished for receiving the signed note and for concealing silver not yet delivered. At over seventy he should have redeemed the offense with eight jin of copper, but by special order he received a hundred blows, was tattooed on the face, and was sent to the Shangzhou mining works. Renya was flogged on the back and assigned to the Yingzhou garrison prison, while the full trail of the silver was never pursued.
81
初，王旦與欽若知舉，出拜樞密副使，以湛代領其事。 湛之入貢院，懿已試第三場畢，及官收湛贓，家實無物。 湛素與梁顥善，或假顥白金器，乃取以輸官。 六年，會赦移惠州，至化州調馬驛卒，年四十一。
Earlier Wang Dan and Qinruo had served as chief examiners. When Dan left to become Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Zhan was appointed to succeed him as chief examiner. When Zhan entered the examination hall, Yi had already completed the third session. When officials searched for Zhan's bribe goods, his household in fact possessed nothing. Zhan had long been friendly with Liang Hao; he borrowed Hao's white-gold vessels and then surrendered them to the authorities. In the sixth year, when an amnesty transferred him to Huizhou, he died at the Huazhou post station while requisitioning horses. He was forty-one.
82
湛時一子偕行，甚幼，州以聞，特詔賜錢二萬，官為護喪還揚州。 因詔命官配流嶺外而沒者，悉給緡錢，聽其歸葬，如親屬幼稚者，所在遣牙校部送之。 湛有集十卷。
Zhan had a very young son with him on the journey. The prefecture reported this, and a special edict granted twenty thousand cash and ordered officials to escort the coffin back to Yangzhou. An edict then provided that officials exiled beyond the Lingnan who died in exile should all receive cash and be allowed to return home for burial; where relatives were young and helpless, local officials were to dispatch clerks to escort them. Zhan left collected works in ten scrolls.
83
子鼎，大中祥符四年進士，至度支員外郎、直史館、鹽鐵判官。
His son Ding passed the jinshi examination in Dazhong Xiangfu 4 and rose to Outer-Director in the Ministry of Revenue, duty scholar in the Historiography Institute, and Salt and Iron Commission judge.
84
路振，字子發，永州祁陽人，唐相岩之四世孫。 岩貶死嶺外，其子琛避地湖湘間，遂居焉。 振父洵美事馬希杲，署連州從事，謝病終於家。 振幼穎悟，五歲誦《孝經》、《論語》。 十歲聽講《陰符》，裁百言而止，洵美責之，俾終其業。 振曰：「百言演道足矣，餘何必學？」 洵美大奇之。 十二丁外艱，母氏慮其廢業，日加誨激，雖隆冬盛署，未始有懈。
Lu Zhen, courtesy name Zifa, was a native of Qiyang in Yongzhou and a fourth-generation descendant of the Tang chancellor Yan. Yan was demoted and died in exile beyond the Lingnan; his son Chen took refuge in the lake country of Hunan and settled there. Zhen's father Xunmei served Ma Xiguo, was appointed an aide in Lianzhou, resigned on grounds of illness, and died at home. Zhen was precocious as a child; at five he could recite the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects. At ten he listened to lectures on the Yin Convergence Classic and stopped after only a hundred words. Xunmei rebuked him and made him complete the study. Zhen said: "A hundred words suffice to expound the Way—why learn the rest?" Xunmei was deeply astonished. At twelve he entered mourning for his father. His mother feared he would abandon his studies and daily urged him on, so that even in deep winter or blazing summer he never slackened.
85
淳化中舉進士，太宗以詞場之弊，多事輕淺，不能該貫古道，因試《卮言日出賦》，觀其學術。 時就試者凡數百人，咸咢眙忘其所出，雖當時馳聲場屋者亦有難色。 振寒素，遊京師人罕知者，所作賦尤為典贍，太宗甚嘉之。 擢置甲科，釋褐大理評事，通判邠州，徙徐州。 召還，直史館，復遣之任，遷太子中允、知濱州。 一日，契丹至城下，兵少，民相恐，眾謂振文吏，無戰禦方略，環聚而泣。 振乃親加撫諭，且以敵盛不可與爭鋒，宜堅壁自守。 數日，契丹引去。 轉運使劉綜稱其能，詔書褒美。
In the Chunhua era he passed the jinshi examination. Taizong, finding examination essays too often trivial and shallow and unable to embrace the full ancient Way, set the theme "The Goblet Speaks: The Sun Rises" to test the candidates' learning. Several hundred candidates were taking the examination; all stared in astonishment and forgot what they were writing, and even those then famous in the examination halls showed distress. Zhen was poor and obscure; few in the capital knew him, yet his fu was especially classical and ample, and Taizong greatly praised it. He was placed in the top grade, entered service as an appraiser in the Court of Judicial Review, served as administrative coordinator of Bin Prefecture, and was transferred to Xuzhou. Recalled to court, he served as duty scholar in the Historiography Institute, was sent back to his post, and was promoted to Vice Director in the Crown Prince's Household and prefect of Bin Prefecture. One day the Khitan reached the city walls. The garrison was small and the people were terrified. The crowd said Zhen was a civil official with no strategy for battle or defense, and they gathered weeping. Zhen then went among them in person to reassure them, saying the enemy was too strong to meet in open battle and that they should hold the walls and defend themselves. After several days the Khitan withdrew. Transport Commissioner Liu Zong praised his competence, and an edict commended him.
86
常作《祭戰馬文》曰：
He once composed an "Elegy for War Horses," which reads:
87
咸平中，契丹犯高陽關，執大將康保裔，略河朔而去。 天子幸魏，特遣將王榮以五千騎追之。 榮無將材，但能走馬，以馳射為事，受命恇怯，數日不敢行，伺賊渡河而後發。 有剽淄、齊者數千騎尚屯泥沽，榮不欲見敵，遂以其騎略河南岸而還。 晝夜急騎，馬不秣而道斃者十有四五，天子憫之，遣使收瘞焉。 因作祭文曰：
In the Xianping era the Khitan breached Gaoyang Pass, captured the great general Kang Baoyi, and plundered the Hebei region before withdrawing. The emperor went in person to Wei and specially dispatched General Wang Rong with five thousand cavalry in pursuit. Rong had no talent as a commander; he could only ride fast and made mounted archery his occupation. When he received the order he was timid and for several days did not dare advance, waiting until the enemy had crossed the river before setting out. Several thousand cavalry raiding from Zi and Qi were still encamped at Nigu, but Rong did not wish to meet the enemy and instead led his horsemen to raid the south bank of the Yellow River before returning. They rode hard day and night without feeding the horses, and ten or fifteen in every hundred died on the road. The emperor took pity on them and sent envoys to gather and bury them. He therefore composed an elegy, which reads:
88
房駟之精，降為驪騂。 飲泉呀風，流沙激霆。 虎脊孤聳，龍媒鷙獰。 丹髦曉霞，的顙秋星。 茀方著幹，宜乘旋膺。 巉臚角起，方背珠明。
The essence of the Fang-star steeds descended and became bay and chestnut horses. They drank at springs and snorted into the wind; desert sand surged like streams and thunder was stirred. Tiger backs rose alone; dragon sires stared fierce and grim. Crimson manes were like dawn clouds; white foreheads like autumn stars. Square patterns marked their withers; fit to ride, they turned their chests upward. High foreheads and horns rose up; square backs gleamed like pearls.
89
爾其絕塞草荒，八月隕霜。 毛縮蹄堅，筋舒脈張。 獸惡恐噬，虯獰欲驤。 噴沙散沫，千里飛雪。 圉人負紖，武士索鐵。 前遮後突，雷動地裂。 急挽一而製百，終伏撾而受絏。 牧官劬劬，歲入券書。 蹄钜累累，通乎鬼區。 名駒大介，銜尾入塞。 勞其酋長，節以駔儈。 蜀錦吳繒，積如丘陵。 馬歸於我也重，幣入於彼也輕。
You crossed the frontier wastes where grass ran wild; in the eighth month frost fell. Coats drew tight and hooves hardened; sinews loosened and veins spread wide. Beasts snarled in fear of biting; horned dragons reared, eager to gallop. They sprayed sand and scattered foam; for a thousand li snow seemed to fly. Grooms bore the leading ropes; warriors sought the iron bits. Blocked in front and charged from behind, they thundered and split the earth. Pulling one rein to control a hundred, in the end they bowed to the whip and accepted the halter. Pasture officials toiled diligently; each year they entered tally records. Great hoofprints piled up one upon another, reaching into the demon lands. Famous colts and great steeds entered the frontier pass tail to tail. Their chieftains were wearied; horse brokers were sent to regulate them. Shu brocades and Wu silks piled up like hills and mounds. Horses returning to us were heavy in cost; tribute goods entering them were light.
90
於是絡黃金之羈，浴天池之波。 鼓鬛雲衢，弄影星河。 或踶而齧，或嗅而吪。 原蠶申禁，駔駿何多。 帝念神物，來經遠道。 閱之於內殿，養之於外皂，飲以玉池，秣之瑤草。
Then they were bound with golden bridles and bathed in the waves of the Heavenly Pool. They shook their manes on the cloud roads and cast their shadows among the stars and rivers. Some kicked and bit; some sniffed and whinnied. Silkworms on the plain were forbidden by edict; yet how many fine steeds were there? The emperor thought on these divine creatures, come from distant roads. He reviewed them in the inner hall, kept them in the outer stable, gave them jade pools to drink from, and fed them jade grass.
91
窮冬邊塵，入我河漘。 羽書宵飛，龍馭北巡。 選仗下之名馬，屬閫外之武臣。 周戈電燭，禁旅星陳。 授以長策，帥以全軍。 壯士怒兮山可擘，猛馬哮兮虎可咋。 何嚄唶之無勇，反遷延而避敵。
At the bitter end of winter frontier dust rose and entered our river banks. Feathered dispatches flew by night; the dragon chariot toured north. Famous horses from the imperial stables were chosen and entrusted to military officers beyond the passes. Zhou halberds flashed like lightning; palace guards stood starlike in array. They were given long whips and put in command of the full army. Brave men were angry enough to split mountains; fierce horses roared as though tigers could be seized. Why were they clamorous yet without courage, instead delaying and avoiding the enemy?
92
冰霜淒淒，介甲而馳。 不飲不秣，載渴載饑。 駿馬餒死，行人嗟谘。 委天骨於衢路，反星精於雲霧。 報主恩之無及，齊戎力而何誤。 生芻致祭，弊帷成禮。 瘞於崇岡，全爾具體。 馬如有神，知帝之仁。 嗚呼！
Frost and ice were bitter cold; clad in armor they galloped on. They neither drank nor were fed; they bore thirst and hunger together. Fine horses starved to death; travelers sighed and lamented. Heaven-born bones were cast upon the highway; star essence returned to cloud and mist. Repaying the lord's grace was no longer possible; matching military strength—where lay the error? Fresh fodder was offered in sacrifice; worn curtains became the rites. Buried on a lofty hill, may your whole body be preserved. If horses have spirit, they know the emperor's benevolence. Alas!
93
又以西兵未弭，入判大理寺，改太常丞、知河中府，徙知鄧州。 代還，判吏部南曹三司催欠憑由司。 景德中使福建巡撫，俄判鼓司登聞院。 會修《兩朝國史》，以振為編修官。 大中祥符初，使契丹，撰《乘軺錄》以獻。 改太常博士、左司諫，擢知制誥。
Because western campaigns had not yet been settled, he entered to serve as vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, was changed to Assistant Director in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and prefect of Hezhong, and was transferred to be prefect of Deng Prefecture. When his replacement returned, he served as vice director of the Ministry of Personnel's Southern Bureau and of the Three Departments' voucher office for pressing overdue accounts. In the Jingde era he was sent to inspect Fujian; soon afterward he served as vice director of the Drum Office and Petition Court. When the Two-Reigns National History was being compiled, Zhen was appointed a compiling editor. At the beginning of Dazhong Xiangfu he was sent as envoy to the Khitan and presented his Record of a Carriage Journey. He was changed to Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Left Remonstrance Officer, and was promoted to drafter of edicts.
94
振文詞溫麗，屢奏賦頌，為名輩所稱，尤長詩詠，多警句。 及居文翰之職，深愜物議，自是彌加精厲。 從祀譙、亳，時同職分局掌事，振獨直行在，專典綸翰，箋奏填委，應用無滯，時推其敏贍。 七年，同修起居注，張復、崔遵度以書事誤失降秩，擇振與夏竦代之。 嗜酒得疾，其冬卒，年五十八。 錄其子綸為太常寺奉禮郎。
Zhen's literary style was warm and elegant; he repeatedly submitted fu and eulogies and was praised by leading figures, especially excelling in poetry, with many striking lines. Once he took up a literary post he deeply satisfied public opinion, and from then on applied himself all the more diligently. When he followed the emperor in sacrifice at Qiao and Bo, his colleagues at the same post divided the duties, but Zhen alone remained at the temporary palace and exclusively managed drafting; memorials and reports piled up, yet he answered every demand without delay, and contemporaries praised his quickness and fullness of talent. In the seventh year he was appointed co-compiler of the Veritable Records; Zhang Fu and Cui Zundu were reduced in rank for errors in recording affairs, and Zhen and Xia Song were chosen to replace them. He fell ill from heavy drinking and died that winter at the age of fifty-eight. His son Lun was recorded as a Ceremonial Officer in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
95
振純厚無城府，恂恂如也，時人惜其登用之晚。 有集二十卷。 又嘗采五代末九國君臣行事作世家、列傳，書未成而卒。
Zhen was pure, generous, and without hidden designs, always deferential and mild; men of the time regretted that he had been placed in office so late. He left collected works in twenty scrolls. He also once gathered the deeds of rulers and ministers of the nine states at the end of the Five Dynasties to compose house histories and biographies, but the book was unfinished when he died.
96
崔遵度，字堅白，本江陵人，後徙淄州之淄川。 純介好學，始七歲，授經於叔父憲，嘗以《春秋》編年、《史》、《漢》紀傳之例問於憲，憲曰：「此兒他日成令名矣。」 太平興國八年舉進士，解褐和州主簿，換臨汾。 饋芻糧，三抵綏州，涉無定河，河沙與水混流無定跡，陷溺相繼，遵度憫之，著銘以紀焉。 端拱初，轉運副使夏侯濤上其勤狀，召歸，對便坐，因獻文自薦。 時新建秘閣，命中書試作頌一首，擢著作佐郎。
Cui Zundu, courtesy name Jianbai, was originally a native of Jiangling and later moved to Zichuan in Zizhou. Pure, upright, and fond of learning, at only seven he received instruction from his uncle Xian and once asked Xian about the methods of the Spring and Autumn Annals in chronological form and of the Records and Han in annal-biography form. Xian said: "This boy will one day win a fine reputation." In Taiping Xingguo 8 he passed the jinshi examination, entered service as registrar of He Prefecture, and was transferred to Linfen. He supplied fodder and grain, making three trips to Suizhou. Crossing the Wuding River—where sand and water mixed in a current with no fixed channel—men drowned one after another. Zundu was moved by this and wrote an inscription to commemorate the events. At the beginning of the Duangong era, Assistant Transport Commissioner Xiahou Tao submitted a report praising Zundu's diligence. Zundu was summoned to court, received an informal audience, and took the occasion to present a literary work recommending himself. The Secret Pavilion had just been established, and the court ordered the Secretariat to test him by having him compose an eulogy. He was promoted to Assistant Editor in the Palace Library.
97
淳化中，吏部侍郎李至薦之，遷殿中丞，出知忠州。 李順之亂，賊遣其黨張餘來攻，遵度領甲士百餘背城而戰，賊逾堞以入，遵度投江中，賴州兵援之，得免。 坐失城池，貶崇陽令，移鹿邑。 咸平初，復為太子中允。 景德初，內出遵度名，引對崇政殿，詔索所著文，召試舍人院，改太常丞、直史館。 會修《兩朝國史》，與路振並為編修官。 大中祥符元年，命同修起居注。 東封，進博士，祀汾陰，是歲，真宗以兩省官絕少，故因覃慶選補之，命為左司諫。
During the Chunhua era, Vice Minister of Personnel Li Zhi recommended him. He was promoted to Palace Censor and appointed prefect of Zhong Prefecture. During Li Shun's rebellion, the rebels sent their partisan Zhang Yu to attack. Zundu led more than a hundred armored soldiers in a desperate fight with their backs to the wall, but the rebels scaled the parapet and broke in. Zundu threw himself into the river and was saved thanks to the prefectural troops who came to his aid. For the loss of the city he was demoted to magistrate of Chongyang, then transferred to Luyi. At the beginning of the Xianping era, he was restored as Palace Writer to the Heir Apparent. At the beginning of the Jingde era, the emperor issued Zundu's name from within the palace and summoned him for audience in Chongzheng Hall. An edict requested his writings, and he was tested at the Drafting Academy. He was appointed Assistant Director in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and a compiler attached to the History Office. When the Two-Reigns National History was being compiled, he and Lu Zhen were appointed co-compiling editors. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu, he was ordered to co-compile the Veritable Records. At the Eastern Ascension Sacrifice he was promoted to Erudite, and at the sacrifice at Fenyin. That year, because officials of the Two Departments were extremely scarce, Emperor Zhenzong took the occasion of a celebratory amnesty to fill vacancies and appointed Zundu Left Remonstrance Officer.
98
遵度與物無競，口不言是非，淳澹清素，於勢利泊如也。 掌右史十餘歲，立殿墀上，常退匿楹間，慮上之見。 善鼓琴，得其深趣。 所僦舍甚湫隘，有小閣，手植竹數本，朝退，默坐其上，彈琴獨酌，翛然自適。 嘗著《琴箋》云：
Zundu did not contend with others, never spoke of right and wrong, and lived in pure, unadorned simplicity; toward power and profit he was utterly indifferent. He served as Right Historian for more than ten years. When standing on the hall terrace he often withdrew to hide among the pillars, fearing that the emperor would notice him. He was skilled at the qin and grasped its deepest meaning. His rented dwelling was damp and cramped, but it had a small loft where he had planted several stalks of bamboo with his own hands. After court each morning he would sit there in silence, playing the qin and drinking alone in tranquil contentment. He once wrote his Notes on the Qin, saying:
99
世之言琴者，必曰長三尺六寸象期之日，十三徽象期之月，居中者象閏，前世未有辨者。 至唐協律郎劉貺以樂器配諸節候，而謂琴為夏至之音。 至於泛聲，卒無述者，愚嘗病之。 因張弓附案，泛其弦而十三徽聲具焉，況琴瑟之弦乎！ 是知非所謂象者，蓋天地自然之節耳，又豈止夏至之音而已。
Those who discuss the qin invariably say that its length of three chi and six cun represents the days of a year, its thirteen stopping positions represent the months, and the center position represents the intercalary month—yet no one in earlier ages had truly explained this. By the Tang dynasty, the Harmony Officer Liu Kuang matched musical instruments to the seasonal divisions and held that the qin was the sound of the summer solstice. As for harmonics, no one had ever adequately explained them—a deficiency I have long lamented. So I stretched a bow against a table, touched harmonics on its string, and all thirteen stopping positions sounded forth—how much more must this be true of the strings of qin and se! From this one knows that what are called symbols are in fact the natural divisions of Heaven and Earth—and not merely the sound of the summer solstice alone.
100
夫《易》有太極，是生兩儀。 兩儀者，太極之節也； 四時者，兩儀之節也； 律呂者，四時之節也； 晝夜者，律呂之節也； 刻漏者，晝夜之節也。 節節相交，自細至大而歲成焉。 既不可使之節，亦不可使之不節，氣之自然者也。 氣既節矣，聲同則應，既不可使之應，亦不可使之不應，數之自然者也。 既節且應，則天地之文成矣。 文之義也，或任形而著，或假物而彰。 日星文乎上，山川理乎下，動物植物，花者節者，五色具矣。 斯任形者也。 至於人常有五性而不著，以事觀之然後著； 日常有五色而不見，以水觀之然後見； 氣常有五音而不聞，以弦考之然後聞。 斯假物者也。
In the Changes there is the Supreme Pole, and from it the Two Forms are generated. The Two Forms are the divisions of the Supreme Pole; the four seasons are the divisions of the Two Forms; the pitch pipes are the divisions of the four seasons; day and night are the divisions of the pitch pipes; the clepsydra marks are the divisions of day and night. Each division intersects with the next, from the smallest to the greatest, until the year is complete. It cannot be forced to divide, nor can it be forced not to divide—such is the natural course of qi. Once qi has divided, like sounds respond to one another; response cannot be forced, nor can it be prevented—such is the natural course of number. When division and response are both present, the pattern of Heaven and Earth is complete. The meaning of pattern is this: sometimes it manifests through form, sometimes it is revealed through things. Sun and stars pattern the heavens above, mountains and rivers order the earth below; among moving creatures and plants, flowers and seasonal growth—all five colors are present. This is manifesting through form. Human beings always possess the five natures, yet they are not visible; only when observed through conduct do they become manifest; the sun always holds five colors, yet they cannot be seen; only when observed through water do they become visible; qi always holds the five tones, yet they cannot be heard; only when tested on strings do they become audible. This is revealing through things.
101
是故聖人不能作《易》而能知自然之數，不能作琴而能知自然之節。 何則？ 數本於一而成於三，因而重之，故《易》六畫而成卦。 及其應也，一必於四，二必於五，三必於六焉。 氣氣相召，其應也必矣。 卦既畫矣，故畫琴焉。 始以一弦泛桐，當其節則清然而號，不當其節則泯然無聲，豈人力也哉！ 且徽有十三，而居中者為一。 自中而左泛有三焉，又右泛有三焉，其聲殺而已，弦盡則聲減。 及其應也，一必於四，二必於五，三必於六焉，節節相召，其應也必矣。
Therefore the sage need not compose the Changes to know the numbers of nature, nor compose the qin to know the divisions of nature. Why is this? Number originates in one and is completed in three; doubled again, the Changes uses six lines to form a hexagram. In response, the first corresponds to four, the second to five, the third to six. Qi calls to qi—the response is inevitable. Once the hexagram is drawn, the qin is marked accordingly. At first, touching harmonics on a single paulownia string—when it hits the proper division it rings clearly, when it misses the division it falls utterly silent—is this the work of human power alone! There are thirteen stopping positions, and the one at the center counts as the first. From the center, three harmonics lie to the left and three to the right; the sound simply diminishes, and when the string is exhausted the sound fades away. In response, the first corresponds to four, the second to five, the third to six; division calls to division—the response is inevitable.
102
《易》之書也，偶三為六，三才之配具焉，萬物由之而出。 雖曰六畫，及其數也，止三而已矣。 琴之畫也，偶六而根於一，一鍾者，道之所生也。 在數為一，在律為黃，在音為宮，在木為根，在四體為心，眾徽由之而生。 雖曰十三，及其節也，止三而已矣。 卦之德方，經也； 蓍之德圓，緯也； 故萬物不能逃其象。 徽三其節，經也； 弦五其音，緯也； 故眾音不能勝其文。 先儒謂八音以絲為君，絲以琴為君。 愚謂琴以中徽為君，盡矣。 夫徽十三者，蓋盡昭昭可聞者也。 苟盡弦而考之，乃總有二十三徽焉，是一氣也。 丈弦具之，尺弦亦具之，豈有長短大小之限哉！
The book of the Changes pairs three to make six; the pairing of the Three Powers is complete therein, and the myriad things emerge from it. Although it is called six lines, in number it amounts to three alone. The markings of the qin pair six yet are rooted in one; the single bell-tone is what the Way generates. In number it is one, in pitch it is yellow bell, in tone it is gong, in wood it is root, in the four limbs it is the heart—from it all stopping positions are generated. Although it is called thirteen, in divisions it amounts to three alone. The virtue of the hexagram is square—it is the warp; the virtue of the yarrow stalks is round—it is the woof; Therefore the myriad things cannot escape its images. Three stopping positions triple the divisions—they are the warp; five strings multiply the tones—they are the woof; Therefore the multitude of tones cannot surpass its pattern. Former scholars held that among the eight sounds silk is sovereign, and among silk the qin is sovereign. I hold that in the qin the center stopping position is sovereign—and that is the whole of it. The thirteen stopping positions encompass all that can be clearly heard. If one tests every string thoroughly, there are twenty-three stopping positions in all—it is a single qi. The ten-foot string possesses them, and the one-foot string does as well—what limit of long or short, large or small could there be!
103
是則萬物本於天地，天地本於太極，太極之外以至於萬物，聖人本於道，道本於自然，自然之外以至於無為，樂本於琴，琴本於中徽，中徽之外以至於無聲。 是知作《易》者，考天地之象也； 作琴者，考天地之聲也。 往者藏音而未談，來者專聲而忘理。 《琴箋》之作也，庶乎近之。 苟其闕也，請俟君子。
Thus the myriad things are rooted in Heaven and Earth, and Heaven and Earth in the Supreme Pole; beyond the Supreme Pole one reaches the myriad things. The sage is rooted in the Way, and the Way in nature; beyond nature one reaches non-action. Music is rooted in the qin, and the qin in the center stopping position; beyond the center stopping position one reaches silence. From this one knows that he who composed the Changes examined the images of Heaven and Earth; and he who composed the qin examined the sounds of Heaven and Earth. Those of old hid the tones and did not discuss them; those who came after focused on sound alone and forgot principle. The writing of Notes on the Qin was intended, perhaps, to come close to the truth. Where it falls short, I leave it to better men to complete.
104
世稱其知言。
Contemporaries praised him for understanding these matters.
105
七年，東郊，建壇恭謝。 壇上設正坐奉天地，配坐奉二聖。 遵度時與張復同典記注，書昊天為天皇，又增聖祖配位，坐謬誤，降為右正言，復亦責為工部郎中。 逾歲，並復其秩。
In the seventh year, at the Eastern Suburb, an altar was built for a reverent thanksgiving sacrifice. On the altar a central seat was set to honor Heaven and Earth, and paired seats to honor the Two Sages. At that time Zundu and Zhang Fu jointly managed the record-keeping. Zundu wrote Haotian as Heavenly Sovereign and also added a paired seat for the Sacred Ancestor. For errors in the seating arrangement he was demoted to Right Rectifier of Speech, and Fu was likewise penalized with appointment as Director in the Ministry of Works. After a year, both were restored to their former ranks.
106
九年，仁宗以壽春郡王開府，詔宰相擇耆德方正有學術之士，咸曰遵度力學，有士行，時稱長者，遂命與張士遜並為王友。 改戶部員外郎，賜服金紫，又賚襲衣、犀帶、緡錢。 上作七言詩寵之。 因謂左右曰：「翊善、記室，皆府屬也，故王皆受拜，今賓友之禮，當令答拜。」 府中文翰皆遵度所作。 王讀《孝經》徹章，復以禦詩賜之。 國史成，拜吏部員外郎，升邸進封，改禮部郎中，充諮議參軍。 儲宮建，又加吏部兼左諭德。 未幾，命使契丹，判司農寺。
In the ninth year, when the Prince of Shouchun Commandery opened his princely establishment, the chief councillors were ordered to select elders of virtue, integrity, and scholarly attainment. All agreed that Zundu was diligent in study, possessed the conduct of a scholar, and was widely regarded as a man of mature years. He was therefore appointed together with Zhang Shixun as Friend of the Prince. He was promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue, granted gold-purple robes, and also bestowed court robes, a rhinoceros-horn belt, and cash. The emperor composed a seven-character poem in his honor. Thereupon he said to those around him: "The Tutor and Record-keeper are both staff of the princely establishment, so the prince always received their bows. But with the rites for Guest and Friend, the prince should now return the bow." All literary documents of the establishment were composed by Zundu. When the prince finished reading the final chapter of the Classic of Filial Piety, the emperor again bestowed an imperial poem upon him. When the National History was completed, he was appointed Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel. When the princely residence was advanced in rank, he was promoted to Director in the Ministry of Rites and appointed Consulting Staff Officer. When the Heir Apparent's establishment was created, he was further made Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Left Mentor. Before long, he was sent as envoy to the Khitan and appointed vice director of the Directorate of Agriculture.
107
遵度性寡合，喜讀《易》，嘗云：「意有疑，則彈琴辨其數，筮《易》觀其象，無不究也。」
Zundu was by nature reserved and sparing in company, fond of reading the Changes. He once said: "When my mind harbored doubt, I would play the qin to discern the number and consult the Changes to observe the image—there was nothing I did not investigate."
108
天禧四年八月卒，年六十七。 其子拜官者二人。 仁宗即位，特詔贈工部侍郎，又授其二孫官，有集二十卷。
In the eighth month of the fourth year of Tianxi he died at the age of sixty-seven. Two of his sons were granted official posts. When Emperor Renzong took the throne, a special edict posthumously appointed him Vice Director in the Ministry of Works and granted office to two of his grandsons. He left collected works in twenty scrolls.
109
陳越，字損之，開封尉氏人。 祖守危，興道令。 父夏，虞部員外郎。 越少好學，尤精歷代史。 善屬文，辭氣俊拔。 咸平中，詔舉賢良，刑部侍郎郭贄薦之，策入第四等，解褐將作監丞、通判舒州，徙知端州，又徙袁州。 未幾召還，遷著作佐郎、直史館，掌鼓司登聞院。 預修《冊府元龜》，與陳從易、劉筠尤為勤職。 真宗以其奉薄，並命月增錢五千。 車駕朝陵，掌留司名表，時稱為工。 自是兩府箋奏多命草之，勳貴家以銘誌為請者甚眾。 遷太常丞、群牧判官。 祀汾陰，擢為左正言。
Chen Yue, courtesy name Sunzhi, was a native of Weishi in Kaifeng. His grandfather Shouwei served as magistrate of Xingdao. His father Xia served as Vice Director in the Directorate of Forestry. From youth Yue was fond of learning and especially skilled in dynastic history. He was skilled at composing prose, and his diction was lofty and forceful. During the Xianping era, an edict summoned men of talent and virtue, and Vice Minister of Justice Guo Zi recommended him. His examination essay placed in the fourth rank. He entered service as Assistant Director in the Directorate of Public Works and transit intendant of Shuzhou, was transferred to be prefect of Duan Prefecture, and then to Yuan Prefecture. Before long he was recalled to court, promoted to Assistant Editor in the Palace Library and compiler attached to the History Office, and put in charge of the Drum Office and Petition Court. He participated in compiling the Prime Tortoise of the Archive of Books, and with Chen Congyi and Liu Yun was especially diligent in his duties. Because their salaries were meager, Emperor Zhenzong ordered their monthly pay increased by five thousand cash. When the emperor went to pay respects at the imperial tombs, Yue managed the memorials of the capital office in the emperor's absence and was praised at the time for his skill. From then on the Two Departments' memorials and reports were often assigned to him for drafting, and many families of meritorious nobles requested epitaphs and inscriptions from him. He was promoted to Assistant Director in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and judge of the Pasturage Commission. At the sacrifice at Fenyin, he was promoted to Left Rectifier of Speech.
110
越耿概任氣，喜箴切朋友，放曠杯酒間，家徒壁立，不以屑意。 然嗜酒過差，每食必先引數升，罕有醒日，亦用是遘疾。 大中祥符五年卒，年四十。 無子，母老，人皆傷之。
Yue was high-minded and free-spirited, fond of admonishing friends frankly. Unrestrained over wine, he lived in a house bare as its walls and gave it no heed. Yet he drank to excess; before every meal he would down several sheng of wine, rarely enjoyed a sober day, and for this reason also fell ill. In the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu he died at the age of forty. He left no sons, and his mother was old; everyone grieved for him.
111
越兄咸，嘗舉進士未第，楊億、杜鎬、陳彭年列奏為言，真宗憫之。 及《冊府元龜》奏禦，特賜咸同《三傳》出身。
Yue's elder brother Xian had once taken the jinshi examination without passing. Yang Yi, Du Hao, and Chen Pengnian jointly memorialized on his behalf, and Emperor Zhenzong took pity on him. When the Prime Tortoise of the Archive of Books was presented to the throne, Xian was specially granted the same standing as a graduate of the Three Commentaries.
112
故事，中書章表皆舍人為之，東封後，朝廷多慶禮，舍人或以他務所嬰，乃擇館閣官，得盛度、路振、劉筠、夏竦、宋綬洎越分撰表奏，宰相嘗以名聞，其後皆相次掌外製，唯越不及登擢，時論惜之。
By precedent, all memorials and reports of the Secretariat were drafted by drafting academicians. After the Eastern Ascension Sacrifice the court held many celebratory rites, and when drafting academicians were occupied with other duties, officials of the Hall and Pavilion were selected—Sheng Du, Lu Zhen, Liu Yun, Xia Song, Song Shou, and Yue among them—to divide the drafting of memorials and reports. The chief councillors once submitted their names to the throne, and afterward all were in succession put in charge of external drafting, but Yue alone never attained promotion—a loss widely regretted at the time.