1
黃庭堅晁補之弟:詠之秦觀張耒陳師道李廌劉恕王無咎蔡肇李格非呂南公郭祥正米芾劉詵倪濤李公麟周邦彥朱長文劉弇
Huang Tingjian; Chao Buzhi's younger cousin Yongzhi; Qin Guan; Zhang Lei; Chen Shidao; Li Zhi; Liu Shu; Wang Wujiu; Cai Zhao; Li Gefei; Lu Nangong; Guo Xiangzheng; Mi Fei; Liu Shen; Ni Tao; Li Gonglin; Zhou Bangyan; Zhu Changwen; and Liu Yan
2
黃庭堅
Huang Tingjian
3
黃庭堅字魯直，洪州分寧人。 幼警悟，讀書數過輒成誦。 舅李常過其家，取架上書問之，無不通，常驚，以為一日千里。 舉進士，調葉縣尉。 熙甯初，舉四京學官，第文為優，教授北京國子監，留守文彥博才之，留再任。 蘇軾嘗見其詩文，以為超軼絕塵，獨立萬物之表，世久無此作，由是聲名始震。 知太和縣，以平易治。 時課頒鹽筴，諸縣爭占多數，太和獨否，吏不悅，而民安之。
Huang Tingjian, whose style name was Luzhi, came from Fenning in Hongzhou. As a boy he was exceptionally quick-witted; a few readings of any book were enough for him to recite it by heart. When his uncle Li Chang called at the house, he would take books from the shelf and quiz him; there was not one Huang could not answer. Chang marveled, saying the boy advanced a thousand li in a single day. He passed the jinshi examination and was posted as magistrate's assistant in Ye County. Early in the Xining reign he was chosen as an academic officer for the Four Capitals and placed first in the literary examination. He taught at the Northern Capital Directorate of Education, and the regional commissioner Wen Yanbo, impressed by his ability, kept him on for a second term. When Su Shi read his poetry and prose, he judged them to soar far above the common run, standing alone beyond all comparison — works the age had not seen in years — and from that moment Huang's fame began to resound. As magistrate of Taihe County, he governed in an unassuming, even-handed way. When salt-tax quotas were handed down, every county rushed to report inflated figures; Taihe alone declined. The clerks were unhappy, but the people were relieved.
4
哲宗立，召為校書郎、《神宗實錄》檢討官。 逾年，遷著作佐郎，加集賢校理。 《實錄》成，擢起居舍人。 丁母艱。 庭堅性篤孝，母病彌年，晝夜視顏色，衣不解帶。 及亡，廬墓下，哀毀得疾幾殆。 服除，為秘書丞，提點明道宮兼國史編修官。 紹聖初，出知宣州，改鄂州。 章惇、蔡卞與其黨論《實錄》多誣，俾前史官分居畿邑以待問，摘千餘條示之，謂為無驗證。 既而院吏考閱，悉有據依，所餘才三十二事。 庭堅書「用鐵龍爪治河，有同兒戲」，至是首問焉。 對曰：「庭堅時官北都，嘗親見之，真兒戲耳。」 凡有問，皆直辭以對，聞者壯之。 貶涪州別駕、黔州安置，言者猶以處善地為法。 以親嫌，遂移戎州。 庭堅泊然，不以遷謫介意。 蜀士慕從之遊，講學不倦，凡經指授，下筆皆可觀。
After Emperor Zhezong took the throne, Huang was summoned as collator and reviser for the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong. A year later he was promoted to assistant compiler and given the additional post of collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies. When the Veritable Records were finished, he was promoted to attendant in the Office for Recording the Emperor's Actions. He went into mourning for his mother. Huang was profoundly filial by nature. During his mother's illness, which lasted more than a year, he watched her face day and night and never undressed for bed. After her death he kept vigil at the tomb; his grief was so extreme that he fell gravely ill and nearly died. When mourning ended, he was made secretary of the Palace Library, put in charge of the Mingdao Palace, and appointed compiler of the national history as well. Early in the Shaosheng reign he was sent out to serve as prefect of Xuanzhou, then reassigned to Ezhou. Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, and their allies claimed the Veritable Records were full of slander. Former historiographers were scattered to towns around the capital to await questioning; more than a thousand passages were singled out and pronounced unsupported. When academy clerks reviewed the charges, every entry proved to have documentary support; only thirty-two items were left in question. Huang had written that "using iron dragon claws to control the Yellow River was child's play," and this was now the first charge put to him. He answered: "When I served at the Northern Capital I saw it with my own eyes — it really was child's play." To every question he gave a blunt, forthright answer, and those who heard him were heartened. He was demoted to vice-prefect of Fuzhou and exiled to Qianzhou, yet his critics still complained that the place was too mild a punishment. On grounds of a kinship conflict of interest, he was transferred to Rongzhou. Huang remained serene and took no account of his exile or demotion. Sichuan scholars flocked to study with him. He lectured without tiring, and whatever he had taught them, their compositions were invariably worth reading.
5
庭堅學問文章，天成性得，陳師道謂其詩得法杜甫，學甫而不為者。 善行、草書，楷法亦自成一家。 與張耒、晁補之、秦觀俱游蘇軾門，天下稱為四學士，而庭堅于文章尤長於詩，蜀、江西君子以庭堅配軾，故稱「蘇、黃」。 軾為侍從時，舉以自代，其詞有「瑰偉之文，妙絕當世，孝友之行，追配古人」之語，其重之也如此。 初，遊灊皖山谷寺、石牛洞，樂其林泉之勝，因自號山谷道人雲。
Huang's scholarship and writing seemed gifts of nature itself. Chen Shidao said his poetry had mastered Du Fu's method — he learned from Du Fu without becoming a mere imitator. He excelled in running and cursive script, and his regular script likewise formed a school of its own. Together with Zhang Lei, Chao Buzhi, and Qin Guan he studied under Su Shi, and the world called them the Four Academicians. Huang was especially renowned for poetry; scholars in Shu and Jiangxi ranked him alongside Su Shi, whence the pairing "Su and Huang." While serving at court, Su Shi recommended him as his own successor, writing that his "magnificent prose was unmatched in the age" and his "filial and brotherly conduct rivaled the ancients" — such was the esteem in which Su held him. Early on he visited the Valley Temple and Stone Ox Cave in the Qian-Wan region, charmed by their woods and springs, and took for himself the sobriquet Daoist of the Valley.
6
晁補之
Chao Buzhi
7
晁補之，字無咎，濟州钜野人，太子少傅迥五世孫，宗愨之曾孫也。 父端友，工于詩。 補之聰敏強記，才解事即善屬文，王安國一見奇之。 十七歲從父官杭州，稡錢塘山川風物之麗，著《七述》以謁州通判蘇軾。 軾先欲有所賦，讀之歎曰：「吾可以閣筆矣！」 又稱其文博辯雋偉，絕人遠甚，必顯於世。 由是知名。
Chao Buzhi, whose style name was Wujiu, came from Juye in Jizhou — a fifth-generation descendant of Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent Chao Jiong and great-grandson of Zong Que. His father Duanyou was accomplished in poetry. Buzhi was quick-witted with a formidable memory; as soon as he could grasp affairs he wrote well. Wang Anguo was astonished at first sight. At seventeen he accompanied his father to Hangzhou, gathered material on the splendors of Qiantang's landscape, and wrote the "Seven Accounts" to present to Vice-Prefect Su Shi. Su Shi had meant to write something of his own first; after reading it he sighed and said, "I can put away my brush!" He also declared that Buzhi's writing was learned, eloquent, and magnificent — far beyond ordinary men — and that he was bound to make his mark in the world. From that time his name spread.
8
舉進士，試開封及禮部別院，皆第一。 神宗閱其文曰：「是深於經術者，可革浮薄。」 調澶州司戶參軍，北京國子監教授。 元祐初，為太學正，李清臣薦堪館閣，召試，除秘書省正字，遷校書郎，以秘閣校理通判揚州，召還，為著作佐郎。 章惇當國，出知齊州，群盜晝掠途巷。 補之默得其姓名、囊橐皆審，一日宴客，召賊曹以方略授之，酒行未竟，悉擒以來，一府為徹警。 坐修《神宗實錄》失實，降通判應天府、亳州，又貶監處、信二州酒稅。 徽宗立，復以著作召。 既至，拜吏部員外郎、禮部郎中，兼國史編修、實錄檢討官。 黨論起，為諫官管師仁所論，出知河中府，修河橋以便民，民畫祠其像。 徙湖州、密州、果州，遂主管鴻慶宮。 還家，葺歸來園，自號歸來子，忘情仕進，慕陶潛為人。 大觀末，出黨籍，起知達州，改泗州，卒，年五十八。
He passed the jinshi examination and placed first in both the Kaifeng and Ministry of Rites qualifying rounds. Emperor Shenzong read his examination essay and said, "Here is a man deeply grounded in the classics — he can help cure the age of its shallowness." He was posted as revenue aide in Danzhou and appointed instructor at the Northern Capital Directorate of Education. Early in the Yuanyou reign he served as director of the Imperial University. Li Qingchen recommended him for the palace archives; after a court examination he was made rectifier of texts, then collator, and as Secret Archive collator he served as vice-prefect of Yangzhou. Recalled to the capital, he was made assistant compiler. When Zhang Dun dominated the government, Buzhi was sent out as prefect of Qizhou, where gangs of robbers looted the streets even in daylight. Buzhi had quietly identified every robber by name and traced their spoils. One day at a banquet he called in the bandit-catchers, gave them his plan, and before the wine had made a full round every culprit was seized; the whole prefecture was shaken. Charged with inaccuracies in the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong, he was demoted to vice-prefect of Yingtianfu and Bozhou, then reduced to supervising the wine tax in Chuzhou and Xinzhou. When Emperor Huizong took the throne, he was summoned back as compiler. On arrival he was made vice director in the Ministry of Personnel and bureau director in the Ministry of Rites, while also serving as national-history compiler and veritable-records reviser. When the factional purges began, remonstrance official Guan Shiren denounced him and he was sent out as prefect of Hezhongfu. He rebuilt river bridges to ease travel, and the people set up painted portraits of him in shrines. He was moved through Huzhou, Mizhou, and Guozhou, then placed in charge of the Hongqing Palace. Back home he laid out the Garden of Return, called himself the Returned One, put career ambition aside, and took Tao Qian as his model. Near the end of the Daguan reign he was cleared from the faction blacklist, recalled to serve as prefect of Dazhou, transferred to Sizhou, and died at fifty-eight.
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補之才氣飄逸，嗜學不知倦，文章溫潤典縟，其淩麗奇卓出於天成。 尤精《楚詞》，論集屈、宋以來賦詠為《變離騷》等三書。 安南用兵，著《罪言》一篇，大意欲擇仁厚勇略吏為五管郡守，及修海上諸郡武備，議者以為通達世務。 從弟詠之。
Buzhi's spirit was buoyant and free, and he studied tirelessly. His prose was warm, polished, and richly patterned; its soaring brilliance seemed a gift of nature. He was especially masterful in the Songs of Chu and compiled fu and lyric poetry from Qu Yuan and Song Yu onward into three books, including Transformations of the Lisao. During the war in Annan he wrote an essay called "Words of Blame," arguing that benevolent yet bold officials should govern the Five Circuits and that coastal defenses must be strengthened. Commentators judged it proof of his grasp of practical statecraft. His younger cousin Yongzhi.
10
弟詠之
Younger Cousin Yongzhi
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詠之字之道，少有異材，以蔭入官。 調揚州司法參軍，未上。 時蘇軾守揚州，補之倅州事，以其詩文獻軾，軾曰：「有才如此，獨不令我一識面邪？」 乃具參軍禮入謁，軾下堂挽而上，顧坐客曰：「奇才也！」 復舉進士，又舉宏詞，一時傳誦其文。 為河中教授，元符末，應詔上書論事，罷官。 久之，為京兆府司錄事，秩滿，提點崇福宮，卒，年五十二，有文集五十卷。
Yongzhi, whose style name was Zhidao, showed unusual gifts early and entered office through hereditary privilege. He was appointed judicial aide in Yangzhou but had not yet reported for duty. Su Shi was then prefect of Yangzhou, with Buzhi assisting in prefectural affairs. Buzhi showed him Yongzhi's writings, and Su Shi said, "Talent like this — and you won't even let me meet the man?" Yongzhi was presented in formal aide's dress. Su Shi came down from the hall, took his arm, and escorted him up, then told the guests, "Here is a rare genius!" He passed the jinshi examination again and also the macro-elocution examination, and for a time his essays were on everyone's lips. He taught in Hezhong. Late in the Yuanfu reign he answered an imperial call with a memorial on public affairs and was dismissed. After some years he became recorder of the Metropolitan Prefecture. When his term ended he was placed in charge of the Chongfu Palace; he died at fifty-two, leaving collected works in fifty juan.
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秦觀，字少遊，一字太虛，揚州高郵人。 少豪雋，慷慨溢於文詞，舉進士不中。 強志盛氣，好大而見奇，讀兵家書與己意合。 見蘇軾于徐，為賦黃樓，軾以為有屈、宋才。 又介其詩于王安石，安石亦謂清新似鮑、謝。 軾勉以應舉為親養，始登第，調定海主簿、蔡州教授。 元祐初，軾以賢良方正薦於朝，除太學博士，校正秘書省書籍。 遷正字，而復為兼國史院編修官，上日有硯墨器幣之賜。
Qin Guan, whose style names were Shaoyou and Taixu, came from Gaoyou in Yangzhou. In youth he was bold and brilliant, his passionate spirit pouring into his writing. He failed the jinshi examination. Ambitious and high-spirited, he loved grand designs and the extraordinary. When he read military classics, they matched his own temperament. He met Su Shi at Xuzhou and wrote a fu on the Yellow Tower; Su Shi judged him the equal of Qu Yuan and Song Yu. He also introduced his poetry to Wang Anshi, who likewise praised its freshness, comparing it to Bao Zhao and Xie Lingyun. Su Shi urged him to sit for the examinations so he could support his parents; he finally passed and was posted as registrar in Dinghai and instructor in Caizhou. Early in the Yuanyou reign Su Shi recommended him to court as a worthy and upright scholar; he was made erudite of the Imperial University and corrector of Secretariat books. He was promoted to rectifier of texts and again served as compiler in the National History Academy; on days when he attended court he received gifts of inkstones, ink, vessels, and silks.
13
紹聖初，坐黨籍，出通判杭州。 以御史劉拯論其增損實錄，貶監處州酒稅。 使者承風望指，候伺過失，既而無所得，則以謁告寫佛書為罪，削秩徙郴州，繼編管橫州，又徙雷州。 徽宗立，復宣德郎，放還。 至藤州，出遊華光亭，為客道夢中長短句，索水欲飲，水至，笑視之而卒。 先自作挽詞，其語哀甚，讀者悲傷之。 年五十三，有文集四十卷。
Early in the Shaosheng reign he was listed among the faction and sent out as vice-prefect of Hangzhou. Censor Liu Cheng charged him with tampering with the veritable records, and he was demoted to supervising the wine tax in Chuzhou. Envoys followed the political wind and watched for any slip. When they found none, they charged him with copying Buddhist scriptures on personal leave, stripped his rank, and exiled him to Chenzhou, then placed him under restricted supervision at Hengzhou, and finally moved him to Leizhou. When Emperor Huizong took the throne, he was restored to Gentleman for Promoting Virtue and allowed to return home. At Tengzhou he visited the Huaguang Pavilion with guests, recited ci verses from a dream, asked for water to drink, and when it was brought smiled at the cup and died. He had already written his own elegy; its language was so mournful that readers were moved to grief. He was fifty-three and left collected works in forty juan.
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觀長於議論，文麗而思深。 及死，軾聞之歎曰：「少游不幸死道路，哀哉！ 世豈復有斯人乎！」 弟覿字少章，覯字少儀，皆能文。
Qin excelled at argument; his prose was elegant and his thought deep. When he heard of Qin's death, Su Shi sighed and said, "Shaoyou has died on the road — how pitiful! Will the world ever see his like again!" His younger brothers Di (Shaozhang) and Gou (Shaoyi) were both accomplished writers.
15
張耒，字文潛，楚州淮陰人。 幼穎異，十三歲能為文，十七時作《函關賦》，已傳人口。 遊學于陳，學官蘇轍愛之，因得從軾遊，軾亦深知之，稱其文汪洋沖澹，有一倡三歎之聲。
Zhang Lei, whose style name was Wenqian, came from Huaiyin in Chuzhou. As a boy he was exceptionally bright; at thirteen he could write essays, and at seventeen his "Fu on Hangu Pass" was already on everyone's lips. He studied in Chen, where academic officer Su Zhe took a liking to him and introduced him to Su Shi. Su Shi came to know him well and praised his writing as vast and serene, with the resonance of a single voice drawing sighs from all who heard.
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弱冠第進士，曆臨淮主簿、壽安尉、咸平縣丞。 入為太學錄，範純仁以館閣薦試，遷秘書省正字、著作佐郎、秘書丞、著作郎、史館檢討。 居三館八年，顧義自守，泊如也。 擢起居舍人。 紹聖初，請郡，以直龍圖閣知潤州。 坐黨籍，徙宣州，謫監黃州酒稅，徙復州。 徽宗立，起為通判黃州，知兗州，召為太常少卿，甫數月，復出知潁州、汝州。 崇甯初，復坐黨籍落職，主管明道宮。 初，耒在潁，聞蘇軾訃，為舉哀行服，言者以為言，遂貶房州別駕，安置于黃。 五年，得自便，居陳州。
At twenty he passed the jinshi examination and served in turn as registrar in Linhuai, sheriff in Shou'an, and assistant magistrate in Xianping. He entered the capital as recorder of the Imperial University. Fan Chunren recommended him for the palace archives examination, after which he rose through the posts of rectifier of texts, assistant compiler, secretary of the Palace Library, compiler, and History Academy reviser. He spent eight years in the Three Academies, mindful of duty and self-restraint, as tranquil as ever. He was promoted to attendant in the Office for Recording the Emperor's Actions. Early in the Shaosheng reign he asked for a provincial post and was made prefect of Runzhou with the title Directly Attached to the Dragon Diagram Hall. Listed among the faction, he was moved to Xuanzhou, demoted to supervising the wine tax in Huangzhou, then transferred to Fuzhou. When Emperor Huizong took the throne he was recalled as vice-prefect of Huangzhou and prefect of Yanzhou, then summoned as vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; after only a few months he was sent out again as prefect of Yingzhou and Ruzhou. Early in the Chongning reign he was again struck from office on the faction list and placed in charge of the Mingdao Palace. While serving in Yingzhou he heard of Su Shi's death and went into mourning dress. Critics denounced this as improper, and he was demoted to vice-prefect of Fangzhou and exiled to Huang. After five years he was allowed to move freely and settled in Chenzhou.
17
耒儀觀甚偉，有雄才，筆力絕健，于騷詞尤長。 時二蘇及黃庭堅、晁補之輩相繼沒，耒獨存，士人就學者眾，分日載酒肴飲食之。 誨人作文以理為主，嘗著論云：「自《六經》以下，至於諸子百氏騷人辯士論述，大抵皆將以為寓理之具也。 故學文之端，急於明理，如知文而不務理，求文之工，世未嘗有也。 夫決水于江、河、淮、海也，順道而行，滔滔汨汨，日夜不止，沖砥柱，絕呂梁，放於江湖而納之海，其舒為淪漣，鼓為波濤，激之為風飆，怒之為雷霆，蛟龍魚鱉，噴薄出沒，是水之奇變也。 水之初，豈若是哉！ 順道而決之，因其所遇而變生焉。 溝瀆東決而西竭，下滿而上虛，日夜激之，欲見其奇，彼其所至者，蛙蛭之玩耳。 江、河、淮、海之水，理達之文也，不求奇而奇至矣。 激溝瀆而求水之奇，此無見於理，而欲以言語句讀為奇，反覆咀嚼，卒亦無有，文之陋也。」 學者以為至言。 作詩晚歲益務平淡，效白居易體，而樂府效張籍。
Zhang had an imposing presence, bold talent, and an exceptionally powerful pen, especially in sao-style verse. By then the two Sus, Huang Tingjian, Chao Buzhi, and their circle had all passed away; Zhang alone remained. Scholars flocked to study with him, taking turns to bring wine and food on appointed days. He taught that writing should be grounded in principle, and once argued in an essay: "From the Six Classics down through the hundred schools, sao poets, and debaters, nearly all writing is ultimately a vehicle for embodying principle. Thus the first step in learning to write is to grasp principle; anyone who pursues literary skill without grounding it in principle has never truly mastered the art. When water is directed into the great rivers and the sea, it follows its natural course—surging day and night without cease, striking the Pillar Rock, sweeping past Mount Liang, pouring into lakes and rivers and at last into the sea. At ease it spreads in ripples; stirred it rises in waves; quickened it becomes gales; enraged it becomes thunder; dragons, fish, and turtles burst forth and vanish—these are water's marvelous transformations. Water in its origin was never like this! Directed along its proper course, it takes on new forms according to whatever it meets. When ditches burst eastward and run dry in the west, brimming below and hollow above, stirred day and night to force marvels—what they amount to is play for frogs and leeches. The waters of the great rivers and sea are writing in which principle is fully realized; without chasing novelty, marvel appears of itself. To churn ditches in search of water's marvels shows no grasp of principle; to chase strangeness in phrasing and punctuation, chewing phrases over and over until nothing remains—that is the poverty of bad writing." Scholars took this as the last word on the subject. In his later years he increasingly sought plainness in poetry, following Bai Juyi's manner, while his yuefu ballads followed Zhang Ji.
18
久於投閑，家益貧，郡守翟汝文欲為買公田，謝不取。 晚監南嶽廟，主管崇福宮，卒，年六十一。 建炎初，贈集英殿修撰。
After long years out of office his family grew poorer still. Prefect Zhai Ruwen offered to buy him public farmland, but he refused. Late in life he oversaw the Southern Marchmount Temple and the Chongfu Palace; he died at sixty-one. Early in the Jianyan reign he was posthumously made Compiler of the Hall for Assembling Excellence.
19
陳師道
Chen Shidao
20
陳師道，字履常，一字無己，彭城人。 少而好學苦志，年十六，摎以文謁曾鞏，鞏一見奇之，許其以文著，時人未之知也，留受業。 熙甯中，王氏經學盛行，師道心非其說，遂絕意進取。 鞏典五朝史事，得自擇其屬，朝廷以白衣難之。 元祐初，蘇軾、傅堯俞、孫覺薦其文行，起為徐州教援，又用梁燾薦，為太學博士。 言者謂在官嘗越境出南京見軾，改教授潁州。 又論其進非科第，罷歸。 調彭澤令，不赴。 家素貧，或經日不炊，妻子慍見，弗恤也。 久之，召為秘書省正字，卒，年四十九，友人鄒浩買棺斂之。
Chen Shidao, courtesy name Lüchang, also known as Wuji, was a native of Pengcheng. From boyhood he loved learning and pursued it with fierce resolve. At sixteen he brought his writings to Zeng Gong; Zeng was astonished at first sight, assured him he would make his name through letters though the world had not yet heard of him, and kept him on as a student. During the Xining era the Wang clan's classical learning held sway; Shidao inwardly rejected its teachings and completely abandoned any thought of official advancement. Zeng Gong was compiling the histories of five dynasties and could choose his own assistants; the court balked at appointing a man who was still a commoner in plain robes. Early in the Yuanyou era Su Shi, Fu Yaoyu, and Sun Jue recommended his character and writing; he was appointed Instructor at Xuzhou, and on Liang Tao's recommendation was made Erudite of the Imperial Academy. Critics charged that while in office he had once crossed jurisdictional lines to leave Nanjing and visit Su Shi; he was reassigned as Instructor at Yingzhou. They also argued that his promotion had not come through the examination track, and he was dismissed to return home. He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Pengze but declined to take up the post. His family had always been poor; sometimes days would pass without a fire lit for cooking. His wife and children showed their anger plainly, but he paid no heed. After a long interval he was summoned as Corrector in the Secretariat; he died at forty-nine. His friend Zou Hao bought a coffin and laid him to rest.
21
師道高介有節，安貧樂道。 于諸經尤邃《詩》、《禮》，為文精深雅奧。 喜作詩，自雲學黃庭堅，至其高處，或謂過之，然小不中意，輒焚去，今存者才十一。 世徒喜誦其詩文，至若奧學至行，或莫之聞也。 嘗銘黃樓，曾子固謂如秦石。
Shidao was lofty in character and firm in principle, content in poverty and devoted to the Way. Among the classics he was especially profound in the Odes and the Rites; his prose was deep, refined, and recondite. He delighted in writing poetry and said himself that he studied Huang Tingjian; at his best some held he surpassed him, yet anything that fell even slightly short of his standard he burned—of what survives today barely one part in ten. The world merely delights in reciting his poems and essays; as for his deepest learning and highest conduct, many never heard of them at all. He once wrote an inscription for the Yellow Tower; Zeng Gong said it was like stone from Qin.
22
初，游京師逾年，未嘗一至貴人之門，傅堯俞欲識之，先以問秦觀，觀曰：「是人非持刺字、俯顏色、伺候乎公卿之門者，殆難至也。」 堯俞曰：「非所望也，吾將見之，懼其不吾見也，子能介於陳君乎？」 知其貧，懷金欲為饋，比至，聽其論議，益敬畏，不敢出。 章惇在樞府，將薦於朝，亦屬觀延致。 師道答曰：「辱書，諭以章公降屈年德，以禮見招，不佞何以得此，豈侯嘗欺之耶？ 公卿不下士，尚矣，乃特見於今而親於其身，幸孰大焉。 愚雖不足以齒士，猶當從侯之後，順下風以成公之名。 然先王之制，士不傳贄為臣，則不見於王公，所以成禮而其敝必至自鬻，故先王謹其始以為之防，而為士者世守焉。 師道於公，前有貴賤之嫌，後無平生之舊，公雖可見，禮可去乎？ 且公之見招，蓋以能守區區之禮也，若昧冒法義，聞命走門，則失其所以見招，公又何取焉。 雖然，有一於此，幸公之他日成功謝事，幅巾東歸，師道當禦款段，乘下澤，候公於東門外，尚未晚也。」 及惇為相，又致意焉，終不往。 官潁時，蘇軾知州事，待之絕席，欲參諸門弟子間，而師道賦詩有「向來一瓣香，敬為曾南豐」之語，其自守如是。
When he first traveled to the capital he stayed more than a year without once setting foot inside a powerful man's door. Fu Yaoyu wished to know him and first asked Qin Guan, who said, "This is not the sort who carries calling cards, bows his face, and waits on grandees at their gates—he will be hard to reach." Fu Yaoyu said, "That is not what I have in mind. I mean to go see him myself, for I fear he will not receive me. Can you introduce me to Master Chen?" Knowing how poor he was, Fu carried gold intending it as a gift; but when he arrived and heard him discourse, he grew only more awed and respectful and did not dare produce it. Zhang Dun was at the Bureau of Military Affairs and was about to recommend him to the court; he also asked Qin Guan to convey an invitation. Shidao replied, "I am honored by your letter, which tells me that Lord Zhang humbles his years and standing and summons me with courtesy—how could one so unworthy deserve this? Surely you have never misled me? That grandees do not descend to scholars is an ancient rule; yet now he receives me in person—what fortune could be greater? Though I am scarcely fit to rank among scholars, I ought still to follow in your lordship's train and bow to the lower wind to complete your lordship's renown. Yet the ancient kings ordained that unless a scholar presents his tribute token to become a minister, he does not appear before kings and dukes—this completes the ritual, and its abuse inevitably leads to selling oneself; therefore the ancient kings were strict at the outset to guard against it, and scholars through the ages have upheld it. Between Shidao and your lordship, beforehand there is the taint of noble and base, and afterward no lifelong bond—the lord may be seen, but can the rites be cast aside? Moreover, your lordship summons me surely because I can uphold this humble ritual; if I blindly violate law and duty, hear the command and run to your door, then I forfeit the very reason I was summoned—what would your lordship gain from that? Still, on one point: should your lordship one day succeed, retire from office, and return east in plain headcloth, Shidao will drive a piebald pony and ride a low swamp-cart to await your lordship outside the eastern gate—and that will not yet be too late." When Zhang Dun became chief councilor he again sent his regards; in the end Shidao never went. While he served at Ying, Su Shi managed prefectural affairs and treated him with the highest honor, wishing to have him counted among the disciples at his gate; yet Shidao wrote in a poem, "All along one stick of incense, offered in reverence to Zeng Nanfeng"—such was how he held himself.
23
與趙挺之友婿，素惡其人，適預郊祀行禮，寒甚，衣無綿，妻就假于挺之家，問所從得，卻去，不肯服，遂以寒疾死。
He was son-in-law to a friend of Zhao Tingzhi, a man he had always detested. Once, while taking part in suburban sacrifice rites in bitter cold, his clothes had no cotton padding; his wife borrowed garments from Tingzhi's household, and when she learned where they came from she returned them and refused to wear them; he consequently died of a cold-induced illness.
24
李廌，字方叔，其先自鄆徙華。 廌六歲而孤，能自奮立，少長，以學問稱鄉里。 謁蘇軾于黃州，贄文求知。 軾謂其筆墨瀾翻，有飛沙走石之勢，拊其背曰：「子之才，萬人敵也，抗之以高節，莫之能禦矣。」 廌再拜受教。 而家素貧，三世未葬，一夕，撫枕流涕曰：「吾忠孝焉是學，而親未葬，何以學為！」 旦而別軾，將客游四方，以蕆其事。 軾解衣為助，又作詩以勸風義者。 於是不數年，盡致累世之喪三十餘柩，歸窆華山下，範鎮為表墓以美之。 益閉門讀書，又數年，再見軾，軾閱其所著，歎曰：「張耒、秦觀之流也。」
Li Zhi, courtesy name Fangshu, was descended from a family that had moved from Yun to Hua. Zhi was orphaned at six yet could rouse himself to stand on his own; as he grew he won renown in his district for learning. He visited Su Shi at Huangzhou and presented a composition asking to be taken as a student. Su said his brush surged like flying sand and rushing stone, and patting his back said, "Your talent is a match for ten thousand men; set it against lofty integrity and none can overcome you." Zhi bowed again to receive the teaching. Yet his family had always been poor—three generations lay unburied. One night he stroked his pillow and wept, saying, "What I study is loyalty and filial piety, yet my kin lie unburied—what use is study!" At dawn he took leave of Su and set out to travel the realm as a guest, seeking to raise funds for the burials. Su took off his own robe to help and also wrote a poem urging men of principle to assist. Within a few years he had gathered more than thirty coffins of the dead accumulated over generations and buried them at the foot of Mount Hua; Fan Zhen wrote a tomb inscription to praise him. He shut his doors and read all the more diligently; after several years he saw Su again; Su read what he had written and sighed, "Of Zhang Lei and Qin Guan's company."
25
鄉舉試禮部，軾典貢舉，遺之，賦詩以自責。 呂大防歎曰：「有司試藝，乃失此奇才耶！」 軾與范祖禹謀曰：「廌雖在山林，其文有錦衣玉食氣，棄奇寶于路隅，昔人所歎，我曹得無意哉！」 將同薦諸朝，未幾，相繼去國，不果。 軾亡，廌哭之慟，曰：「吾愧不能死知己，至於事師之勤，渠敢以生死為間！」 即走許、汝間，相地卜兆授其子，作文祭之曰：「皇天后土，鑒一生忠義之心； 名山大川，還萬古英靈之氣。」 詞語奇壯，讀者為悚。 中年絕進取意，謂潁為人物淵藪，始定居長社，縣令李佐及裏人買宅處之。 卒，年五十一。
Nominated by his district he entered the Ministry of Rites examination; Su presided over the examinations and passed him over, writing a poem to reproach himself. Lü Dafang sighed and said, "The examiners tested literary skill—yet missed this extraordinary talent!" Su and Fan Zuyu took counsel together: "Though Zhi dwells in mountains and woods, his writing has the air of brocade robes and jade fare—to cast a wondrous treasure by the roadside, as the ancients lamented—can we be without scruple?" They were about to recommend him jointly to the court; before long they left office one after another and it never came to pass. When Su died, Zhi wept in deepest grief and said, "I am ashamed I could not die for my knower; as for serving my teacher with full devotion, how dare I let life and death stand between us!" He straightaway went to the region between Xu and Ru, chose ground and divined a burial site, entrusting it to Su's son; he wrote a memorial text saying, "Sovereign Heaven and Mother Earth, behold a lifetime's heart of loyalty and righteousness; mountains and great rivers, restore the heroic spirit of ten thousand ages." The language was marvelous and forceful; readers were shaken with awe. In mid-life he utterly abandoned thoughts of advancement, saying that Ying was a deep reservoir of talented men; he first settled at Changshe, where Magistrate Li Zuo and local people bought a house to lodge him. He died at fifty-one.
26
廌喜論古今治亂，條暢曲折，辯而中理。 當喧溷倉卒間如不經意，睥睨而起，落筆如飛馳。 元祐求言，上《忠諫書》、《忠厚論》並獻《兵鑒》二萬言論西事。 朝廷擒羌酋鬼章，將致法，廌深論利害，以為殺之無益，願加寬大，當時韙其言。
Zhi delighted in discussing order and chaos through the ages, laying out points in clear sequence with well-turned argument that yet struck the mark of reason. Amid clamor and haste he would seem to pay no mind, then glance up and set brush to paper as if flying. During the Yuanyou call for counsel he submitted the Book of Loyal Remonstrance and the Treatise on Loyalty and Thickness, and also presented Military Mirror—twenty thousand characters on western affairs. When the court captured the Qiang chieftain Guizhang and was about to punish him by law, Zhi argued at length on benefit and harm, holding that executing him would serve no purpose and urging clemency; at the time the court approved his view.
27
劉恕，字道原，筠州人。 父渙字凝之，為潁上令，以剛直不能事上官，棄去。 家于廬山之陽，時年五十。 歐陽修與渙，同年進士也，高其節，作《廬山高》詩以美之。 渙居廬山三十餘年，環堵蕭然，饘粥以為食，而遊心塵垢之外，超然無戚戚意，以壽終。
Liu Shu, courtesy name Daoyuan, was a native of Yunzhou. His father Liu Huan, courtesy name Ningzhi, served as magistrate of Yingshang; because of his upright rigidity he could not accommodate his superiors and resigned. The family settled on the southern slope of Mount Lu when Huan was fifty. Ouyang Xiu and Huan had passed the examinations in the same year; Xiu esteemed his integrity and wrote Mount Lu High to praise him. Huan lived on Mount Lu for more than thirty years in a single bare room, gruel his only food, yet his mind roamed beyond the dust of the world, utterly free of anxious care, and he died at a ripe old age.
28
恕少穎悟，書過目即成誦。 八歲時，坐客有言孔子無兄弟者，恕應聲曰：「以其兄之子妻之。」 一坐驚異。 年十三，欲應制科，從人假《漢》、《唐書》，閱月皆歸之。 謁丞相晏殊，問以事，反覆詰難，殊不能對。 恕在钜鹿時，召至府，重禮之，使講《春秋》，殊親帥官屬往聽。 未冠，舉進士，時有詔，能講經義者別奏名，應詔者才數十人，恕以《春秋》、《禮記》對，先列注疏，次引先儒異說，末乃斷以己意，凡二十問，所對皆然，主司異之，擢為第一。 他文亦入高等，而廷試不中格，更下國子試講經，復第一，遂賜第。 調钜鹿主簿、和川令，發強擿伏，一時能吏自以為不及。 恕為人重意義，急然諾。 郡守得罪被劾，屬吏皆連坐下獄，恕獨恤其妻子，如己骨肉，又面數轉運使深文峻詆。
Shu from youth was quick and perceptive; whatever book he saw once he could recite. When he was eight, a guest remarked that Confucius had no brothers; Shu answered on the spot, "He gave his brother's daughter in marriage." The whole company were astonished. At thirteen he wished to enter the Decree examination; borrowing the Han and Tang histories, within a month he had returned them. He visited Chief Councillor Yan Shu and was questioned on affairs; back and forth they pressed and challenged him until Yan could not answer. When Shu was at Julu he was summoned to the prefectural office, treated with the greatest respect, and made to lecture on the Spring and Autumn Annals; Yan himself led the officials to listen. Before his capping ceremony he passed the metropolitan examination; an edict then allowed those able to expound canonical meaning to be separately memorialized. Only several dozen candidates responded; Shu answered on the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Record of Rites, first citing the commentaries, then citing differing views of earlier masters, and finally judging with his own opinion—for twenty questions his answers were all of this kind. The examiners marveled and ranked him first. His other compositions also placed in the upper grade, but the palace examination did not meet the standard; he was sent down to the Directorate to try again on classics exposition, again placed first, and was then granted his degree. Posted as registrar at Julu and magistrate of Hechuan, he exposed the powerful and ferreted out what was hidden—for a time even the most capable officials considered themselves his inferior. As a man Shu set great weight on righteousness and was swift to keep his word. When a prefect had offended and was impeached, his subordinate officials were all implicated and thrown into prison; Shu alone comforted the man's wife and children as if they were his own flesh, and moreover openly reproached the transport commissioner for twisting the law with harsh words.
29
篤好史學，自太史公所記，下至周顯德末，紀傳之外至私記雜說，無所不覽，上下數千載間，钜微之事，如指諸掌。 司馬光編次《資治通鑒》，英宗命自擇館閣英才共修之。 光對曰：「館閣文學之士誠多，至於專精史學，臣得而知者，唯劉恕耳。 即召為局僚，遇史事紛錯難治者，輒以諉恕。 恕于魏、晉以後事，考證差繆，最為精詳。
He devoted himself passionately to historical studies—from what Grand Historian Sima Qian recorded down to the end of the Xiande reign of Later Zhou, and beyond annals and biographies to private records and miscellaneous tales, there was nothing he did not read. Across several thousand years, matters great and small lay on his palm as if in plain sight. Sima Guang was compiling the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government; Emperor Yingzong ordered him to choose talented men from the palace institutes to compile it jointly. Guang replied, "Men of letters in the palace are indeed numerous; but as for those who specialize in history, of whom your servant is aware, there is only Liu Shu. He was at once summoned as a bureau assistant; whenever historical matters were tangled and hard to resolve, they were turned over to Shu. For events after Wei and Jin, in examining texts and correcting errors, he was the most precise and detailed.
30
王安石與之有舊，欲引置三司條例。 恕以不習金穀為辭，因言天子方屬公大政，宜恢張堯、舜之道以佐明主，不應以利為先。 又條陳所更法令不合眾心者，勸使復舊，至面刺其過，安石怒，變色如鐵，恕不少屈。 或稠人廣坐，抗言其失無所避，遂與之絕。 方安石用事，呼吸成禍福，高論之士，始異而終附之，面譽而背毀之，口順而心非之者，皆是也。 恕奮厲不顧，直指其事，得失無所隱。
Wang Anshi was an old friend and wished to appoint him to the Fiscal and Commercial Regulations Commission. Shu declined on the ground that he was not versed in revenue and grain accounts, and said, "The Son of Heaven now entrusts your lordship with great affairs; you ought to extend the way of Yao and Shun to assist the enlightened sovereign—not make profit the foremost concern." He also itemized revised statutes that did not accord with the people's hearts and urged that the old laws be restored; he even pointed out Anshi's faults to his face. Anshi was furious, his expression turning iron-hard; Shu did not yield in the slightest. Sometimes in crowded halls he spoke against Anshi's errors without the least avoidance; the two broke off relations entirely. When Anshi held power, a single breath could bring fortune or disaster; lofty debaters who at first stood apart in the end attached themselves to him—praising to his face yet slandering behind it, speaking agreeably yet dissenting in their hearts—such men were everywhere. Shu roused himself without looking back, pointing straight at the facts, concealing neither gain nor loss.
31
光出知永興軍，恕亦以親老，求監南康軍酒以就養，許即官修書。 光判西京御史台，恕請詣光，留數月而歸。 道得風攣疾，右手足廢，然苦學如故，少間，輒修書，病亟乃止。 官至秘書丞，卒，年四十七。
When Guang went out to serve as prefect of Yongxing, Shu too—his parents being elderly—requested appointment as supervisor of the Nan Kang military wine tax so he could support them nearby; he was permitted to take office while continuing to compile the book. When Guang served as judge of the Western Capital Censorate, Shu asked to visit him and stayed several months before returning. On the road he contracted wind spasms; his right hand and foot were crippled, yet he studied as bitterly as before—at every brief respite he would resume work on the book, stopping only when the illness grew critical. He rose to Secretariat Assistant and died at forty-seven.
32
恕為學，自歷數、地裏、官職、族姓至前代公府案牘，皆取以審證。 求書不遠數百里，身就之讀且抄，殆忘寢食。 偕司馬光游萬安山，道旁有碑，讀之，乃五代列將，人所不知名者，恕能言其行事始終，歸驗舊史，信然。 宋次道知亳州，家多書，恕枉道借覽。 次道日具饌為主人禮，恕曰：「此非吾所為來也，殊廢吾事。」 悉去之。 獨閉閣，晝夜口誦手抄，留旬日，盡其書而去，目為之翳。 著《五代十國紀年》以擬《十六國春秋》，又采太古以來至周威烈王時事，《史記》、《左氏傳》所不載者，為《通鑒外紀》。
In his scholarship, from calendrics, geography, offices, and clan names down to the archival documents of former dynasties' government bureaus, he took everything as material for examination and verification. In search of books he would travel several hundred li in person to read and copy them, nearly forgetting sleep and food. Once, traveling Mount Wan'an with Sima Guang, they came upon a stele by the roadside; reading it, they found it commemorated a general of the Five Dynasties whose name no one knew. Shu could recount his career from beginning to end; when they returned and checked against old histories, it proved true. When Song Cidao served as magistrate of Bozhou, his household held a great library. Shu made a detour to borrow books and read through them. Cidao daily prepared feasts in the manner of a host. Shu said, "This is not why I came—it greatly wastes my work." He had them all removed. He shut himself alone in the library pavilion, reciting aloud and copying by hand day and night. He stayed ten days, read through the entire collection, and departed with his eyes clouded over. He wrote Annals of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to emulate Spring and Autumn of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and also gathered events from deepest antiquity down to King Weilie of Zhou omitted from the Records of the Historian and the Zuo Tradition, compiling them as Outer Annals of the Comprehensive Mirror.
33
家素貧，無以給旨甘，一毫不妄取於人。 自洛南歸，時方冬，無寒具。 司馬光遺以衣襪及故茵褥，辭不獲，強受而別，行及潁，悉封還之。 尤不信浮屠說，以為必無是事，曰：「人如居逆旅，一物不可乏，去則盡棄之矣，豈得齎以自隨哉？」 好攻人之惡，每自訟平生有二十失、十八蔽，作文以自警，亦終不能改也。
His family had always been poor and could not provide delicacies for his parents; he never took so much as a single cent from others without just cause. On his return from south of the Luo River, it was deep winter and he had no winter clothing. Sima Guang sent him clothes, socks, and old bedding. He declined but could not refuse, was forced to accept them and departed; when he reached Ying he sealed everything and sent it all back. He especially did not believe Buddhist doctrine, holding that such things surely did not exist, and said, "People are like guests at an inn—not one thing can be lacking while you stay. When you leave you abandon everything. How could you carry it all away with you?" He loved attacking others' faults, often accusing himself of twenty faults and eighteen blind spots in his life, and wrote essays to warn himself—yet in the end he could not change.
34
死後七年，《通鑒》成，追錄其勞，官其子羲仲為郊社齋郎。 次子和仲有超軼材，作詩清奧，刻厲欲自成家，為文慕石介，有俠氣，亦摎死。
Seven years after his death the Comprehensive Mirror was completed; his merit was recorded posthumously, and his son Xizhong was appointed suburban-sacrifice attendant. His second son Hezhong had extraordinary talent; his poetry was clear and abstruse, and he strove fiercely to form his own school. In prose he admired Shi Jie and had a chivalrous spirit; he too died young.
35
王無咎
Wang Wujiu
36
王無咎，字補之，建昌南城人。 第進士，為江都尉、衛真主簿、天臺令，棄而從王安石學，久之，無以衣食其妻子，復調南康主簿，已又棄去。 好書力學，寒暑行役不暫釋，所在學者歸之，去來常數百人。 王安石為政，無咎至京師，士大夫多從之遊，有卜鄰以考經質疑者。 然與人寡合，常閉門治書，惟安石言論莫逆也。 安石上章薦其才行該備，守道安貧，而久棄不用，詔以為國子直講，命未下而卒，年四十六。
Wang Wujiu, whose style name was Bu Zhi, came from Nancheng in Jianchang. He passed the jinshi examination and served as lieutenant of Jiangdu, registrar of Weizhen, and magistrate of Tiantai, then left office to study with Wang Anshi. After a long interval, unable to support his wife and children, he was reassigned as registrar of Nankang—then abandoned that post as well. He loved books and studied with relentless effort; on journeys in heat or cold he never set his books aside. Scholars wherever he went gathered around him—several hundred at a time coming and going. When Wang Anshi held power, Wujiu came to the capital, and many scholar-officials joined him in study. Some even chose neighboring residences so they could examine the classics and resolve doubts with him. Yet he seldom harmonized with others, usually shutting his door to work on his books; only with Anshi were his words in perfect accord. Anshi memorialized recommending his comprehensive conduct and ability, his adherence to the Way and contentment in poverty—yet he had long gone unused. An edict appointed him Erudite of the Directorate of Education, but before the order was issued he died at forty-six.
37
蔡肇，字天啟，潤州丹陽人。 能為文，最長歌詩。 初事王安石，見器重。 又從蘇軾遊，聲譽益顯。 第進士，曆明州司戶參軍、江陵推官。 元祐中，為太學正，通判常州，召為衛尉寺丞，提舉永興路常平。 徽宗初，入為戶部員外郎，兼編修國史，言者論其學術反覆，提舉兩浙刑獄。 張商英當國，引為禮部員外，進起居郎，拜中書舍人。 前此，試三題，率以宰相上馬為之候，肇援筆立就，不加潤飾，商英讀之擊節。 才逾月，以草御史幸義責詞不稱，罷為顯謨閣待制、知明州，言者又論其包藏異意，非議辟雍以為不當立，奪職，提舉洞霄宮。 會赦，復之，卒。
Cai Zhao, whose style name was Tianqi, came from Danyang in Run Prefecture. He could write, and was especially accomplished in songs and poetry. At first he served Wang Anshi and was held in esteem. Later he associated with Su Shi, and his reputation grew still greater. He passed the jinshi examination and served successively as registrar assistant of Ming Prefecture and legal examiner of Jiangling. During the Yuanyou era he served as Erudite of the Directorate of Education and Tongpan of Changzhou, was summoned as Vice Director of the Imperial Guard, and was made intendant of Yongxing circuit grain transport. Early in Huizong's reign he entered service as Vice Director of the Revenue Ministry, concurrently compiling the national history; critics charged that his scholarship was erratic, and he was made intendant of judicial affairs in the two Zhe circuits. When Zhang Shangying held power, he was brought in as Vice Director of Rites, advanced to Attendant of the Heir Apparent, and appointed Drafting Attendant within the Secretariat. Before this, when trialing three topics, candidates generally waited on the prime minister's mounting of his horse to copy his answers. Zhao took up his brush and finished at once without polish; Shangying read it and beat the table in applause. After barely a month, because a draft reproaching the censor Xing Yi used unsuitable language, he was demoted to Gentleman of the Hall of Displayed Brilliance and prefect of Mingzhou. Critics again charged that he harbored contrary intent, disputing the establishment of the Imperial Academy as improper; his post was stripped and he was made intendant of the Cave Heaven Palace. When an amnesty was proclaimed he was restored to office, then died.
38
李格非
Li Gefei
39
李格非，字文叔，濟南人。 其幼時，俊警異甚。 有司方以詩賦取士，格非獨用意經學，著《禮記說》至數十萬言，遂登進士第。 調冀州司戶參軍，試學官，為鄆州教授，郡守以其貧，欲使兼他官，謝不可。 入補太學錄，再轉博士，以文章受知于蘇軾。 常著《洛陽名園記》，謂「洛陽之盛衰，天下治亂之候也」。 其後洛陽陷於金，人以為知言。 紹聖立局編元祐章奏，以為檢討，不就，戾執政意，通判廣信軍。 有道士說人禍福或中，出必乘車，氓俗信惑，格非遇之途，叱左右取車中道士來，窮治其奸，杖而出諸境。 召為校書郎，遷著作佐郎、禮部員外郎，提點京東刑獄，以黨籍罷，卒，年六十一。
Li Gefei, whose style name was Wenshu, came from Jinan. As a child he was extraordinarily sharp and alert. The authorities were then selecting candidates by fu poetry; Gefei alone devoted himself to classical learning, composing a Commentary on the Record of Rites of several hundred thousand characters, and thus passed the jinshi examination. He was posted as registrar assistant in Ji Prefecture, trialed as academic officer, and appointed professor at Yan Prefecture. The prefect, seeing his poverty, wished him to hold another office concurrently; he declined. He entered to fill a post as Recorder of the Directorate of Education, was twice promoted to Erudite, and came to be known for his writing through Su Shi. He often wrote Record of Famous Gardens of Luoyang, stating that "the rise and fall of Luoyang is the barometer of order and disorder under Heaven." Later Luoyang fell to the Jin; men considered him prescient. During the Shaosheng era a bureau was established to compile Yuanyou memorials; he was named collator but did not accept, offending those in power, and was made Tongpan of Guangxin Army. A Daoist priest who told people's fortunes sometimes hit the mark and always went out in a carriage; the populace believed and were deluded. Gefei met him on the road, ordered his attendants to take the priest from the carriage, investigated his fraud thoroughly, beat him, and expelled him beyond the border. He was summoned as Proofreader, promoted to Assistant Compiler and Vice Director of Rites, and made intendant of judicial affairs in the eastern capital region; dismissed on party rolls, he died at sixty-one.
40
格非苦心工於詞章，陵轢直前，無難易可否，筆力不少滯。 嘗言：「文不可以苟作，誠不著焉，則不能工。 且晉人能文者多矣，至劉伯倫《酒德頌》、陶淵明《歸去來辭》，字字如肺肝出，遂高步晉人之上，其誠著也。」
Gefei labored at his craft in lyric prose, pressing forward relentlessly without regard to difficulty, ease, or feasibility—his brush never slackened. He once said, "Literature cannot be written perfunctorily; where sincerity does not show, the work cannot be accomplished. And: "Men of the Jin who could write were many, yet when one reaches Liu Bolun's Ode on the Virtue of Wine or Tao Yuanming's Return, every word seems to issue from the lungs and liver, and they stride above other Jin writers—their sincerity shows."
41
女清照
Daughter Qingzhao
42
妻王氏，拱辰孫女，亦善文。 女清照，詩文尤有稱于時，嫁趙挺之之子明誠，自號易安居士。
His wife was of the Wang clan, granddaughter of Gongchen, and she too excelled at writing. His daughter Qingzhao was especially renowned in her day for poetry and prose; she married Zhao Mingcheng, son of Zhao Tingzhi, and styled herself Lady An Yi.
43
呂南公
Lu Nangong
44
呂南公，字次儒，建昌南城人。 於書無所不讀，于文不肯綴緝陳言。 熙甯中，士方推崇馬融、王肅、許慎之業，剽掠補拆臨摹之藝大行，南公度不能逐時好，一試禮闈不偶，退築室灌園，不復以進取為意。 益著書，且借史筆以褒善貶惡，遂以「袞斧」名所居齋。 嘗謂士必不得已於言，則文不可以不工，蓋意有餘而文不足，則如吃人之辨訟，必未始不虛，理未始不直，然而或屈者，無助於辭而已。 觀書契以來，特立之士，未有不善於文者。 士無志於立則已，必有志焉，則文何可以卑賤而為之？ 故毅然盡心，思欲與古人並。
Lu Nangong, whose style name was Ciru, came from Nancheng in Jianchang. He read every sort of book; in writing he would not patch together worn phrases. In the Xining era scholars prized the learning of Ma Rong, Wang Su, and Xu Shen; the arts of plundering, mending, splitting, and copying flourished. Nangong judged that he could not chase the fashion; one attempt at the civil-service examinations failed, so he retired to build a lodge and tend a garden, no longer aiming at advancement. He wrote all the more, and on the model of the historiographer's brush to praise good and condemn evil, hence named his studio Imperial Robe and Axe. He once said that if a gentleman must resort to words, then literature cannot be unaccomplished: where thought overflows but words fall short, it is like a stammerer's lawsuit—never without some falsehood, never without some justice, yet sometimes defeated, simply for lack of aid in rhetoric. Looking from the age of written contracts onward, men who stood apart have never been poor at writing. If a gentleman has no ambition to establish himself, so be it; but if he has ambition, how can literature be made meanly? Therefore he resolved wholeheartedly, thinking to stand alongside the ancients.
45
元祐初，立十科薦士，中書舍人曾肇上疏，稱其讀書為文，不事俗學，安貧守道，志希古人，堪充師表科，一時廷臣亦多稱之。 議欲命以官，未及而卒。 遺文曰《灌園先生集》，傳於世。
Early in Yuanyou, when the ten categories for recommending scholars were established, Drafting Attendant Zeng Zhao memorialized, praising that in reading and writing he shunned vulgar learning, kept poverty and held the Way, his ambition aspiring to the ancients—fit for the Exemplary Teacher category; court officials at the time also praised him widely. Discussion was underway to appoint him to office, but before the order came he died. His posthumous writings are titled Collected Works of the Garden Master and have been transmitted in the world.
46
郭祥正
Guo Xiangzheng
47
郭祥正，字功父，太平州當塗人，母夢李白而生。 少有詩聲，梅堯臣方擅名一時，見而歎曰：「天才如此，真太白後身也！」 舉進士，熙甯中，知武岡縣，簽書保信軍節度判官。 時王安石用事，祥正奏乞天下大計專聽安石處畫，有異議者，雖大臣亦當屏黜。 神宗覽而異之，一日問安石曰：「卿識郭祥正乎？ 其才似可用。」 出其章以示安石，安石恥為小臣所薦，因極口陳其無行。 時祥正從章惇察訪辟，聞之，遂以殿中丞致仕。 後復出，通判汀州。 知端州，又棄去，隱于縣青山，卒。
Guo Xiangzheng, whose style name was Gongfu, came from Dangtu in Taiping Prefecture; his mother dreamed of Li Bai and bore him. In youth he had a poetic reputation; Mei Yaochen then dominated the age alone. Seeing him, he sighed, "Genius such as this—truly a reincarnation of Taibai!" He passed the jinshi examination; in the Xining era he was magistrate of Wugang County and signed as military coordinator for Baixin Army. When Wang Anshi held power, Xiangzheng memorialized asking that the empire's grand strategy be entrusted entirely to Anshi's planning, and that dissenters—even grand ministers—be dismissed. The emperor read it and was struck; one day he asked Anshi, "Do you know Guo Xiangzheng? His talent seems usable." The emperor produced the memorial for Anshi; Anshi was ashamed to be recommended by a petty official and therefore spoke at length of his want of conduct. At the time Xiangzheng was following Zhang Dun on an investigative commission; hearing this, he resigned as Palace Attendant. Later he came out again as Tongpan of Ting Prefecture. As prefect of Duan he abandoned the post again, retired to Green Mountain in the county, and died.
48
米芾，字元章，吳人也。 以母侍宣仁後藩邸舊恩，補浛光尉。 曆知雍丘縣、漣水軍，太常博士，知無為軍，召為書畫學博士，賜對便殿，上其子友仁所作《楚山清曉圖》，擢禮部員外郎，出知淮陽軍。 卒，年四十九。
Mi Fu, whose style name was Yuanzhang, was a man of Wu. Through his mother's service in the old household of Empress Dowager Xuanren in the princely residence, he was appointed district captain of Hangguang. He successively served as magistrate of Yongqiu and Lianshui Army, Erudite of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and prefect of Wuwei Army; was summoned as Erudite of the Painting Academy; was granted audience in the side hall and presented his son Youran's Dawn over the Chu Mountains; was promoted to Vice Director of Rites; and went out as prefect of Huaiyang Army. He died at forty-nine.
49
芾為文奇險，不蹈襲前人軌轍。 特妙于翰墨，沈著飛翥，得王獻之筆意。 畫山水人物，自名一家，尤工臨移，至亂真不可辨。 精于鑒裁，遇古器物書畫則極力求取，必得乃已。 王安石嘗摘其詩句書扇上，蘇軾亦喜譽之。 冠服效唐人，風神蕭散，音吐清暢，所至人聚觀之。 而好潔成癖，至不與人同巾器。 所為譎異，時有可傳笑者。 無為州治有巨石，狀奇醜，芾見大喜曰：「此足以當吾拜！」 具衣冠拜之，呼之為兄。 又不能與世俯仰，故從仕數困。 嘗奉詔仿《黃庭》小楷作周興嗣《千字韻語》。 又入宣和殿觀禁內所藏，人以為寵。
Fu's writing was singular and perilous, not treading in the tracks of predecessors. He was especially marvelous at brushwork—grave yet soaring, capturing Wang Xianzhi's brush intention. In landscape and figures he formed a school of his own, especially skilled at copying, to the point that true and false could not be told apart. Expert in appraisal, whenever he encountered antiquities, books, or paintings he strove with utmost effort to obtain them, stopping only when he had them. Wang Anshi once copied out his verses on a fan; Su Shi too praised him with pleasure. His hat and robes imitated Tang style; his bearing was remote and loose, his utterance clear and fluent—wherever he went people gathered to watch. Yet fastidiousness became a compulsion, to the point that he would not share towel or vessel with others. What he did was bizarre; often there were things fit for laughter. At the Wuwei prefectural seat was a huge stone, grotesque in shape; Fu saw it and rejoiced greatly, saying, "This is worthy of my bow!" He put on cap and robes and bowed to it, calling it elder brother. Again he could not bend with the age, so in office he was often thwarted. Once by imperial order he imitated small regular script after the Huangting Scripture to compose Zhou Xingsi's Thousand-Character Prosody. He also entered the Hall of Xuanhe to view treasures stored within the palace; people regarded this as favor.
50
子友仁字元暉，力學嗜古，亦善書畫，世號小米，仕至兵部侍郎、敷文閣直學士。
His son Youran, whose style name was Yuanhui, studied ardently and loved antiquity, and was also skilled at painting and calligraphy; the age called him Little Mi. He served up to Vice Minister of War and Academician of the Hall for Diffusing Culture.
51
劉詵，字應伯，福州福清人。 中進士第，曆莆田主簿、知廬江縣。 崇寧中，為講議司檢討官，進軍器、大理丞，大晟府典樂。 詵通音律，嘗上歷代雅樂因革及宋製作之旨，故委以樂事。 又言：「《周官》大司樂禁淫聲、慢聲，蓋孔子所謂放鄭聲者。 今燕樂之音，失于高急，曲調之詞，至於鄙俚，恐不足以召和氣。 宋，火德也，音尚徵，徵調不可闕。 臣按古制，旋十二宮以七聲，得正徵一調，惟陛下才取。」 徽宗曰：「卿言是也，五聲闕一不可，《徵招》、《角招》為君臣相說之樂，此朕所欲聞而無言者，卿宜為朕典司之。」 他日，禁中出古鐘二，詔執政召詵按於都堂，詵曰：「此與今太簇、大呂聲協。」 命取大晟鐘扣之，果應。 又曰：「鐘擊之無餘韻，不如石聲，《詩》所雲'依我磬聲'者，言其清而定也。 復取以合之，聲益諧。 曆宗正、鴻臚、衛尉、太常寺少卿，纂《續因革禮》，卒。
Liu Shen, whose style name was Yingbo, came from Fuqing in Fuzhou. He passed the jinshi examination and served successively as registrar of Putian and magistrate of Lujiang. In the Chongning era he served as collator of the Discussion Office, was advanced to Director of Armaments and Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review, and was made master of music at the Great Accomplishment Bureau. Shen was versed in pitch and mode; he once memorialized on the changes in elegant music through the ages and the aim of Song composition, so he was entrusted with music affairs. He also said, "The Grand Music Master in the Offices of Zhou forbade licentious and slow sounds—this is what Confucius meant by 'banish the sounds of Zheng. Today's banquet music is pitched too high and hurried; the words of the tunes sink to vulgarity—I fear it cannot summon harmonious qi. Song is the virtue of Fire; tones should honor the zhi mode, and the zhi mode must not be lacking. Your servant, following ancient regulations, rotates the twelve palaces with the seven tones and obtains one correct zhi mode—may Your Majesty with your talent select it." Huizong said, "Your words are right; of the five tones none may be lacking. Summons of the Zhi and Summons of the Jiao are music for ruler and minister to rejoice together—what I wished to hear but had no words for; you should oversee it for Us." Another day, two ancient bells were brought from within the palace; the edict summoned the chief ministers and Shen to examine them in the main hall. Shen said, "These harmonize with today's Taicu and Dalü pitches." Ordered to strike the Great Accomplishment bells, they responded as predicted. He also said, "When bells are struck there is no lingering resonance, unlike stone sound; as the Odes says, 'listen to my sounding-stone'—meaning clarity and steadiness. He had them struck again together, and the tones harmonized still more perfectly. He rose through vice-directorships of the imperial clan bureau, diplomatic reception, the imperial stud, and imperial sacrifices, compiled the Continuation of Reforms in Ritual, and died.
52
詵居母喪盡禮，有雙芝生墓側，人以為孝感。
When Shen observed his mother's mourning with full propriety, twin lingzhi fungi appeared beside the tomb—people took it as a mark of filial devotion moved by Heaven.
53
倪濤，字巨濟，廣德軍人。 丱角能屬文，博學強記。 年十五，試太學第一，遂擢進士，調廬陵尉、信陽軍教授。 入為太學正，秘書省校書郎、著作佐郎，司勳、左司員外郎。 朝廷議有事燕雲，大臣爭先決策，為固位計，皆心知不可，無敢一出口，濤獨言其非。 且曰：「景德以來，遼守約不犯邊，盟誓固在，不可渝也。 天下久平，士不習戰，軍儲又屈，毋輕議以詒後患。」 王黼怒曰：「君敢沮軍事邪！」 於是言者論其鼓唱撰造，貶監朝城縣酒稅，再徙茶陵船場，卒，年三十九。 死之明年，金人犯闕，朝廷憶濤言，官其一子。 有《雲陽集》傳於世。
Ni Tao, style Juji, was a native of Guangde Army. Even in childhood he could compose prose, and he was broadly learned with a powerful memory. At fifteen he ranked first in the Imperial University examination, was then selected as jinshi, and was appointed Luling assistant magistrate and Xinyang Circuit instructor. He entered service as Director of the Imperial University, Secretariat collator, and Assistant in the Compilation Bureau, and served as outer-section director in the Ministry of Personnel and in the Left Bureau. When the court debated action in Yan-Yun, great ministers raced to decide first to secure their posts; all knew in their hearts it was wrong yet none dared speak—Tao alone said it was mistaken. Moreover he said, "Since the Jingde era the Liao have kept the treaty and not violated the border; the sworn alliance still stands and must not be broken. The realm has long been at peace; scholars are unused to war, and military stores are strained—do not lightly debate this and bequeath trouble to posterity." Wang Fu angrily said, "Sir, you dare obstruct the military campaign!" Thereupon critics accused him of agitating and fabricating slander; he was demoted to supervise wine tax at Chaocheng County, then transferred again to the Chaoling shipping station, and died at thirty-nine. The year after his death the Jurchens assaulted the capital; the court recalled Tao's words and appointed one of his sons to office. His Cloud Yang Collection circulated in the world.
54
李公麟
Li Gonglin
55
李公麟，字伯時，舒州人。 第進士，曆南康、長垣尉，泗州錄事參軍，用陸佃薦，為中書門下後省冊定官、御史檢法。 好古博學，長於詩，多識奇字，自夏、商以來鐘、鼎、尊、彝，皆能考定世次，辨測款識，聞一妙品，雖捐千金不惜。 紹聖末，朝廷得玉璽，下禮官諸儒議，言人人殊。 公麟曰：「秦璽用藍田玉，今玉色正青，以龍蚓鳥魚為文，著'帝王受命之符'，玉質堅甚，非昆吾刀、蟾肪不可治，琱法中絕，此真秦李斯所為不疑。」 議由是定。
Li Gonglin, style Boshi, was a native of Shuzhou. He placed as jinshi, served as assistant magistrate of Nankang and Changyuan and as recording secretary of Sizhou, and on Lu Dian's recommendation was made collation officer of the Rear Secretariat and investigation officer under the censorate. Fond of antiquity and broadly learned, he was skilled in poetry and knew many rare characters; from Xia and Shang down, bells, tripods, wine vessels, and ritual bronzes—he could fix their chronological sequence and decipher inscriptions, and hearing of a fine piece he would not spare a thousand in gold. Near the end of Shaosheng, the court obtained a jade seal and sent it down to the ritual officials and various scholars for debate, but each man's words differed. Gonglin said, "The Qin seal used Lantian jade; today's jade color is pure green, with dragon, earthworm, bird, and fish patterns, bearing the inscription 'the talisman of the emperor and king receiving the Mandate'; the jade substance is extremely hard—only the Kunwu blade or toad-fat technique could work it; the carving method is obsolete—this is truly the work of Qin's Li Si, without doubt." The debate was settled thereby.
56
元符三年，病痹，遂致仕。 既歸老，肆意于龍眠山岩壑間。 雅善畫，自作《山莊圖》，為世寶。 傳寫人物尤精，識者以為顧愷之、張僧繇之亞。 襟度超軼，名士交譽之，黃庭堅謂其風流不減古人，然因畫為累，故世但以藝傳雲。
In the third year of Yuanfu he fell ill with paralysis and resigned from office. After returning in old age he roamed freely among the cliffs and ravines of Longmian Mountain. He excelled at painting; his self-painted Mountain Villa scroll was a treasure of the age. His figure painting in particular was masterly; connoisseurs held him second only to Gu Kaizhi and Zhang Sengyou. His bearing and breadth surpassed the common run; eminent men praised him together, and Huang Tingjian said his elegance was not less than the ancients—yet because painting weighed on him, the world passes down only his art.
57
周邦彥
Zhou Bangyan
58
周邦彥，字美成，錢塘人。 疏雋少檢，不為州裏推重，而博涉百家之書。 元豐初，游京師，獻《汴都賦》余萬言，神宗異之，命侍臣讀于邇英閣，召赴政事堂，自太學諸生一命為正，居五歲不遷，益盡力於辭章。 出教授廬州，知溧水縣，還為國子主簿。 哲宗召對，使誦前賦，除秘書省正字。 曆校書郎、考功員外郎，衛尉、宗正少卿，兼議禮局檢討，以直龍圖閣知河中府。 徽宗欲使畢禮書，復留之。 逾年，乃知隆德府，徙明州，入拜秘書監，進徽猷閣待制、提舉大晟府。 未幾，知順昌府，徙處州，卒，年六十六，贈宣奉大夫。
Zhou Bangyan, style Meicheng, was a native of Qiantang. Unconventional and little restrained, he was not esteemed by his prefecture, yet he ranged through the writings of the hundred schools. In the early Yuanfeng era he traveled to the capital and presented his Ode to the Bian Capital of more than ten thousand characters; Shenzong was struck by it, ordered attendants to read it in the Erying Pavilion, summoned him to the Secretariat Chancellery, and from among ordinary university students promoted him in one step to Director of Studies; for five years he received no further promotion, and threw himself still more into belles lettres. He went out as instructor in Luzhou, served as magistrate of Lishui County, then returned as registrar of the Directorate of Education. Zhezong summoned him for audience and had him recite his former ode; he was made Secretariat collator. He served as collator, outer-section director of the Ministry of Personnel, vice-director of the Court of Imperial Regalia and of the imperial clan directorate, and concurrently note-taker on the Ritual Revision Board; with the office of Bureau of Illustrated Documents Directly in attendance he governed Hezhong prefecture. Huizong wished him to finish the ritual compendium and detained him again. After more than a year he was made prefect of Longde, then transferred to Mingzhou; he entered the capital as Director of the Secretariat, was advanced to Gentleman-in-Waiting of the Splendid Virtue Pavilion, and made supervisor of the Great Accomplishment Music Office. Before long he governed Shunchang prefecture, then moved to Chuzhou; he died at sixty-six and was posthumously enfeoffed as Grandee Who Upholds the Foundation.
59
邦彥好音樂，能自度曲，制樂府長短句，詞韻清蔚，傳於世。
Bangyan loved music, could compose tunes himself, and wrote long and short ci in the Music Bureau mode with limpid, elegant rhyme; they circulate in the world.
60
朱長文
Zhu Changwen
61
朱長文，字伯原，蘇州吳人。 年未冠，舉進士乙科，以病足不肯試吏，築室樂圃坊，著書閱古，吳人化其賢。 長吏至，莫不先造請，謀政所急，士大夫過者以不到樂圃為恥，名動京師，公卿薦以自代者眾。 元祐中，起教授于鄉，召為太學博士，遷秘書省正字。 元符初，卒。 哲宗知其清，賻絹百。
Zhu Changwen, style Boyuan, was a native of Wu in Suzhou. Before he came of age he passed the jinshi examination in the second rank; because of crippled feet he refused to test for office, built a studio in the Pleasure Garden Ward, and wrote books while examining antiquities—the people of Wu were transformed by his worth. Whenever the prefect arrived, all would first call on him to discuss what the government most urgently needed; scholars who passed through were ashamed not to reach the Pleasure Garden—his name stirred the capital, and many ministers recommended him to succeed themselves. In the Yuanyou era he was raised as local instructor, summoned as Erudite of the Imperial University, and promoted to Secretariat collator. At the beginning of Yuanfu he died. Zhezong knew his integrity and granted a hundred rolls of silk as funeral gifts.
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有文三百卷，《六經》皆為辨說。 又著《琴史》而序其略曰：「方朝廷成太平之功，制禮作樂，比靈斯商、周，則是書也，豈虛文哉！」 蓋立志如此。
He left three hundred juan of writings; all Six Classics had explications from him. He also wrote A History of the Qin, and in its preface said in summary, "When the court accomplishes the work of great peace, orders ritual and composes music, matching the numinous glory of Shang and Zhou—then this book will be no empty text!" His ambition was thus.
63
劉弇，字偉明，吉州安福人。 兒時警穎，日誦萬餘言。 登元豐二年進士第，繼中博學宏詞科。 曆官知嘉州峨眉縣，改太學博士。 元符中，有事於南郊，弇進《南郊大禮賦》，哲守覽之動容，以為相如、子雲復出，除秘書省正字。 徽宗即位，改著作佐郎、實錄院檢討官，以疾卒於官。
Liu Yan, style Weiming, was a native of Anfu in Jizhou. As a child he was alert and quick; each day he could recite more than ten thousand words. In the second year of Yuanfeng he passed the jinshi examination, then also passed the Erudite in Comprehensive Learning and Great Literary Learning examination. He served as magistrate of Emei County in Jiazhou and was later made Erudite of the Imperial University. In Yuanfu, when the southern suburban sacrifice was held, Yan submitted his Great Rites Ode for the Southern Suburb; Zhezong read it and was moved in countenance, thinking Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong had come again—he was made Secretariat collator. When Huizong took the throne he was made Assistant in the Compilation Bureau and note-taker of the Veritable Records Institute; he died of illness in office.
64
弇少嗜酒，不事拘檢。 為文辭剷剔瑕纇，卓詭不凡。 有《龍雲集》三十卷，周必大序其文，謂「廬陵自歐陽文忠公以文章續韓文公正傳，遂為一代儒宗，繼之者弇也」。 其相推重如此雲。
Yan from youth loved wine and did not trouble himself with restraint. In literary composition he scraped away flaws and defects, standing out with the extraordinary. He had thirty juan of the Dragon Cloud Collection; Zhou Bida prefaced his writing, saying, "From the time Ouyang Wenzhong of Luling continued the orthodox line of Han Yu in letters and became the Confucian exemplar of a generation, Yan was his successor." He was esteemed to this degree.