Volume 458 Biographies 217: Recluses 2 - Wang Qiao, Zhang Yu, Huang Xi, Zhou Qiming, Dai Yuan, Chen Lie, Sun Mou, Liu Yi, Jiang Qian, Lian Shu, Zhang Cha, Yu Rushang, Yang Xiaoben, Deng Kaofu, Yuwen Zhishao, Wu Ying, Songjiang Yuweng, Du Sheng, Shunchang Shanren, Nan Anweng, Zhang Yu

隱逸中

Recluses (Part Two)

○王樵張愈黃晞周啟明代淵陳烈孫侔劉易薑潛連庶章詧俞汝尚陽孝本鄧考甫宇文之邵吳瑛鬆江漁翁杜生順昌山人南安翁張舉

Wang Qiao, Zhang Yu, Huang Xi, Zhou Qiming, Dai Yuan, Chen Lie, Sun Mou, Liu Yi, Jiang Qian, Lian Shu, Zhang Cha, Yu Rushang, Yang Xiaoben, Deng Kaofu, Yuwen Zhishao, Wu Ying, the Songjiang Fisherman, Du Sheng, the Shunchang Mountain Man, the Nan'an Old Man, and Zhang Ju

王樵，字肩望，淄州淄川人。居縣北梓桐山。博通群書，不治章句，尤善考《易》。與賈同、李冠齊名，學者多從之。咸平中，契丹遊騎度河，舉家被掠。樵即棄妻，挺身入契丹訪父母，累年不獲，還東山。刻木招魂以葬，立祠畫像，事之如生，服喪六年，哀動行路。又為屬之尊者次第成服，北望歎曰：「身世如此，自比於人可乎！」遂與俗絕，自稱贅世翁，唯以論兵擊劍為事。一驢負裝，徒步千里，晚年屢遊塞下。畫策幹何承矩、耿望，求滅遼復仇，不用。乃於城東南隅累磚自環，謂之「繭室」。銘其門曰：「天生王樵，薄命寡智，材不濟時，道號『贅世』。生而為室，以備不虞，死則藏形，不虞乃備。」病革，入室自掩戶卒。治平末，職方郎中向宗道知淄州，訪繭室，已構屋為民居。得樵甥牟氏子，乃知改葬。因而即其地復作繭室及祠堂，刻石以記之。

Wang Qiao, whose style was Jianwang, came from Zichuan in Zizhou. He made his home on Zitong Mountain, north of the county. He read widely across the classics but did not trouble himself with philological glosses, and was especially adept at studying the Book of Changes. His reputation stood alongside Jia Tong's and Li Guan's, and a great many scholars sought him out as their teacher. In the Xianping period, Khitan raiders crossed the river and seized his whole family. Qiao at once left his wife behind and went alone into Khitan lands in search of his parents. After years without success, he returned to his home on the eastern mountain. He carved wooden spirit tablets for a soul-summoning burial, built a shrine with painted portraits, and tended them as though his parents were still alive. He wore mourning for six years, and his grief moved all who passed along the road. He also arranged the proper graduated mourning for elder relatives under his care. Gazing northward, he sighed and said, "Given what my life and fate have become, how can I measure myself against ordinary men?" Thereupon he broke with the world, styled himself the Surplus-World Elder, and devoted himself solely to military strategy and swordsmanship. A single donkey carried his pack as he walked a thousand li on foot; in his old age he traveled the northern borderlands repeatedly. He presented stratagems to He Chengzu and Geng Wang, urging the destruction of Liao to avenge his family, but his proposals were rejected. He then built a circular enclosure of stacked bricks at the city's southeast corner and called it the Cocoon Chamber. He inscribed his doorway: "Heaven gave birth to Wang Qiao—ill-fated, little wit, talents ill-suited to the times, his Way-name 'Surplus-World. In life it is my dwelling against the unforeseen; in death it will conceal my body. Thus am I prepared for every contingency." When his illness turned critical, he entered the chamber, shut the door from within, and died. Near the end of the Zhiping reign, Xiang Zongdao of the Bureau of Military Appointments became prefect of Zizhou. When he visited the Cocoon Chamber, houses for ordinary residents had already been built on the site. Through Qiao's nephew, a Mou-clan youth, he learned that the remains had been reinterred elsewhere. He therefore rebuilt the Cocoon Chamber and memorial shrine on the original spot and set up a stone inscription to commemorate Qiao.

張愈字少愚，益州郫人，其先自河東徙。愈雋偉有大志，遊學四方，屢舉不第。寶元初，上書言邊事，請使契丹，令外夷相攻，以完中國之勢，其論甚壯。用使者薦，除試秘書省校書郎，願以授父顯忠而隱於家。文彥博治蜀，為置青城山白雲溪杜光庭故居以處之。丁內艱，鹽酪不入口。再期，植所持柳杖於墓，忽生枝葉，後合抱。六召不應。喜奕棋。樂山水，遇有興，雖數千里輒盡室往。遂浮湘、沅，觀浙江，升羅浮，入九疑，買石載鶴以歸。杜門著書，未就，卒。

Zhang Yu, styled Shao'en, came from Pi in Yizhou; his family had originally migrated from Hedong. Yu was tall and striking, with lofty ambitions. He traveled widely to study, yet repeatedly failed the civil service examinations. Early in the Baoyuan reign, he memorialized the throne on border policy, proposing that he be sent to Khitan to set the outer tribes fighting one another and thereby secure the Central States. His argument was bold and compelling. On an envoy's recommendation he was appointed provisional collator in the Secretariat, but he asked that the post be given to his father Xianzhong instead while he himself remained in retirement at home. When Wen Yanbo governed Shu, he arranged for Yu to live in Du Guangting's former home at Baiyun Stream on Mount Qingcheng. Upon his mother's death he took no salt or dairy whatsoever. When the second mourning period ended, he planted the willow staff he had carried at his mother's grave. It suddenly put forth branches and leaves and eventually grew thick enough to encircle with one's arms. He was summoned six times and never answered. He was fond of chess. He loved mountains and rivers, and whenever the spirit moved him he would take his entire household on journeys of thousands of li. He traveled the Xiang and Yuan by boat, visited the Zhe River, climbed Mount Luofu, entered Mount Jiuyi, and returned home laden with ornamental stones and cranes. He shut himself in to write, but died before his work was finished.

妻蒲氏名芝，賢而有文，為之誄曰：「高視往古，哲士實殷，施及秦、漢，餘烈氛氳。挺生英傑，卓爾逸群，孰謂今世，亦有其人。其人伊何？白雲隱君。嘗曰丈夫，趨世不偶，仕非其志，祿不可苟，營營末途，非吾所守。吾生有涯，少實多艱，窮亦自固，困亦不顛。不貴人爵，知命樂天，脫簪散發，眠雲聽泉。有峰千仞，有溪數曲，廣成遺趾，吳興高躅。疏石通逕，依林架屋，麋鹿同群，晝遊夜息。嶺月破雲，秋霖灑竹，清意何窮，真心自得，放言遺慮，何榮何辱？孟春感疾，閉戶不出，豈期遂往，英標永隔。抒詞哽噎，揮涕汍瀾，人誰無死，惜乎材賢。已矣吾人，嗚呼哀哉！」

His wife, Lady Pu, whose given name was Zhi, was virtuous and accomplished in letters. She composed his dirge, which begins: "Gazing back upon antiquity, one sees that wise men were plentiful indeed; their influence extended through Qin and Han, and their lingering glory still hangs in the air. A towering hero arose, surpassing all his peers—who would have thought that our own age, too, could produce such a man? And who was this man? The Recluse of White Cloud Stream. He once said: A true man may press forward in the world yet never find his proper place. Office was not his desire, and salary was not to be grasped at casually. The scramble for petty advancement was not the path he chose to follow. My life has its limits; youth brought more hardship than ease. In poverty he held firm, and in adversity he did not fall. He did not prize human rank; knowing his fate, he took joy in Heaven's decree. He cast aside his hairpin and let his hair flow free, sleeping among the clouds and listening to mountain springs. There were peaks a thousand ren high and streams winding in many bends—the footprints of Guangchengzi, the lofty traces of the sages of Wu. He cleared stones to lay paths, built his dwelling against the forest, and ranged with deer as his companions—wandering by day and resting by night. Moonlight on the ridge breaking through clouds, autumn rain sprinkling the bamboo—his pure intent knew no end, his true heart found its own fulfillment. He spoke freely and cast cares aside: what glory, what disgrace? In early spring illness seized him; he shut his door and did not emerge. Who could have foreseen that he would depart so soon, his noble spirit parted from us forever? My words choke in my throat, my tears fall in torrents—all men must die, yet how grievous to lose such talent and virtue. He is gone, our beloved—alas, how mournful!"

黃晞，字景微，建安人。少通經，聚書數千卷，學者多從之遊，自號聱隅子。著《歔欷瑣微論》十卷，以謂聱隅者枿物之名，歔欷者歎聲，瑣微者述辭也。石介在太學，遣諸生以禮聘召，晞走匿鄰家不出。樞密使韓琦表薦之，以為太學助教致仕。受命一夕卒。

Huang Xi, whose style was Jingwei, came from Jian'an. In his youth he mastered the classics and amassed several thousand volumes. Many students came to study with him, and he styled himself the Obscure Corner Master. He wrote the ten-scroll Treatise on Sighs and Trifling Subtleties, explaining that 'obscure corner' names a sprouting plant, 'sighs' denotes lamentation, and 'trifling subtleties' refers to his mode of discourse. When Shi Jie was director of the Imperial Academy, he sent students with formal gifts to invite Xi to serve. Xi fled and hid at a neighbor's house, refusing to emerge. Privy Councillor Han Qi recommended him by memorial, and he was appointed assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy with permission to retire from active duty. He died the very night he accepted the appointment.

代淵，字蘊之，本代州人。唐末，避地導江，家世為吏，有陰德。淵性簡潔，事親以孝聞。受學於李畋、張達。年四十，鄉人更勸，舉進士甲科，得清水主簿。歎曰：「祿不及親，何所為耶？」還家教授，坐席常滿。安撫使舉鳳州團練推官，不就。知益州楊日嚴又薦之，遂以太子中允致仕。謝絕諸生，著《周易旨要》、《老佛雜說》數十篇。田況上其書，自太常丞改祠部員外郎。晚年日菜食，巾褐山水間，自號虛一子。長吏歲時致問，澹然與對，略不及私。嘉祐二年九月，有疾，召術士擇日，雲「丙申吉」，頷之，是日沐浴而絕。

Dai Yuan, whose style was Yunzhi, was originally from Daizhou. At the end of the Tang dynasty the family fled to Daojiang. For generations they had served as officials, and their line had accumulated hidden merit. Yuan was plain and unassuming in character, and was renowned for his filial devotion to his parents. He studied under Li Tian and Zhang Da. At forty, his fellow townsmen urged him once more. He passed the jinshi examination in the top class and was appointed registrar of Qingshui. He sighed and said, "This salary came too late for my parents—what was the point of it all?" He returned home to teach, and his lecture hall was always full. The pacification commissioner recommended him for the post of militia training push-official in Feng Prefecture, but he declined. Yang Riyan, prefect of Yizhou, recommended him again, and he was granted retirement with the title of vice director in the Crown Prince's household. He declined further students and wrote several dozen works, including Essentials of the Book of Changes and Miscellaneous Discourses on Laozi and Buddhism. Tian Kuang presented his writings to the throne, and Yuan was promoted from vice director of the Imperial Sacrifices to outer gentleman of the Ancestral Temples. In his later years he ate only vegetables, dressed in plain cloth and brown robes among the mountains and streams, and styled himself the Void-One Master. Local officials sent seasonal greetings; he responded calmly and scarcely mentioned private affairs. In the ninth month of the second year of Jiayou he fell ill. He summoned a diviner to choose an auspicious day; told that the day bingchen was favorable, he nodded assent, bathed on that day, and died.

陳烈字季慈，福州候官人。性介僻，篤於孝友。居親喪，勺飲不入於口五日，自壯及老，奉事如生。學行端飭，動遵古禮，平居終日不言，禦童仆如對賓客。里中人敬之，冠昏喪祭，請而後行。從學者常數百。賢父兄訓子弟，必舉烈言行以示之。

Chen Lie, whose style was Jici, came from Houguan in Fuzhou. He was upright and reserved by nature, and devoted to filial piety and brotherly affection. While mourning his parents he took not a spoonful of food or drink for five days. From his prime through old age he served them as though they were still alive. His scholarship and conduct were rigorous and proper; he followed ancient ritual in all his actions. In daily life he might go an entire day without speaking, and he treated servants and pages with the courtesy due to guests. His neighbors held him in deep respect; for capping ceremonies, weddings, funerals, and sacrifices they would invite him before proceeding. He regularly had several hundred students. Virtuous fathers and elder brothers instructing their sons and younger brothers invariably cited Lie's words and conduct as examples.

嘗以鄉薦試京師不利，即罷舉。或勉之求仕，則曰：「伊尹守道，成湯三聘以幣；呂望既老，文王載之俱歸。今天子仁聖好賢，有湯、文之心，豈無先覺如伊、呂者乎？」仁宗屢詔之，不起。人問其故，應曰：「吾學未成也。」公卿大夫、郡守、鄉老交章稱其賢。嘉祐中，以為本州教授，歐陽修又言之，召為國子直講，皆不拜。

Having been recommended by his district, he tried the metropolitan examinations without success and thereafter gave up competing. When others urged him to seek office, he said, "Yi Yin upheld the Way, and King Cheng of Shang invited him three times with gifts. Lü Wang was already old when King Wen of Zhou brought him home in his own carriage. Our present emperor is benevolent and sage, and loves worthy men—he has the hearts of Tang and Wen. Surely there must be foreknowing sages like Yi Yin and Lü Wang among us?" Emperor Renzong summoned him repeatedly, but he never accepted office. When asked why, he replied, "My learning is not yet complete." Ministers, grandees, prefects, and village elders submitted successive memorials praising his virtue. During the Jiayou reign he was appointed professor in his home prefecture. Ouyang Xiu spoke on his behalf again, and he was summoned as direct lecturer at the Imperial Academy—but he accepted none of these appointments.

已而福建提刑王陶言其為妻林氏所訟，因詆烈貪詐，乞奪所受恩。司馬光為諫官，率同列爭曰：「臣等每患士無名檢，故舉烈以厲風俗。烈平生操守，出於誠實，雖有迂闊不合中道，猶為守節之士，當保而全之。若夫婦不相諧，則聽之離絕，毋使節行之士為橫辱所挫。」陶說遂不行。

Later Wang Tao, judicial commissioner of Fujian, reported that Lie had been sued by his wife, Lady Lin, and on that basis denounced him as greedy and deceitful, asking that the honors he had received be revoked. Sima Guang, serving as a remonstrance official, led his colleagues in protest, saying, "We are constantly troubled that scholars lack moral restraint, and for that reason we recommended Lie to encourage proper conduct. Lie has conducted himself with sincerity throughout his life. Though he may be somewhat rigid and not always conform to the golden mean, he remains a man of integrity who should be protected and preserved. If husband and wife cannot live in harmony, let them be permitted to separate—but do not let a man of integrity be crushed by base slander." Wang Tao's proposal was not adopted.

元祐初，部使者申薦之，詔從其尚，以宣德郎致仕。明年，復教授本州。在職不受廩奉，鄉里問遺絲毫無所受；家租有餘，則推以濟貧乏。卒，年七十六。

Early in the Yuanyou reign the regional commissioner recommended him; the court honored his wishes and granted him retirement with the rank of gentleman for extending virtue. The following year he was again appointed professor in his home prefecture. While in office he accepted no salary, and refused every gift offered by neighbors and townsfolk; when his household income exceeded his needs, he gave the surplus to relieve the poor. He died at the age of seventy-six.

孫侔，字少述，與王安石、曾鞏遊，名傾一時。早孤，事母盡孝。誌於祿養，故屢舉進士。及母病革，自誓終身不求仕。客居江、淮間，士大夫敬畏之。

Sun Mou, whose style was Shaoshu, was a companion of Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong, and his reputation stood at the forefront of his generation. Orphaned early, he devoted himself to his mother with the utmost filial piety. Determined to support her on official salary, he repeatedly sat for the jinshi examinations. When his mother fell critically ill, he vowed never to seek office for the rest of his life. He lived as a guest in the Yangzi and Huai regions, where scholar-officials held him in deep respect.

劉敞知揚州，言其孝弟忠信，足以扶世矯俗，求之朝廷，呂公著、王安石之流也。詔以為揚州教授，辭。敞守永興，辟入幕府，亦辭。英宗時，沈遘及王陶、韓維連薦之，授忠武軍推官、常州推官，皆不赴。

When Liu Chang became prefect of Yangzhou, he reported that Mou's filial piety, brotherly affection, loyalty, and trustworthiness were sufficient to uphold society and correct custom, and that the court should seek out such men—men of the caliber of Lü Gongzhu and Wang Anshi. He was appointed professor at Yangzhou by imperial edict but declined. When Liu Chang governed Yongxing, he invited Mou into his staff; Mou declined that as well. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong, Shen Kui, Wang Tao, and Han Wei recommended him in succession. He was appointed push-official of the Zhongwu Army and push-official of Changzhou, but accepted neither post.

少與安石友善，安石為相，過真州與相見，侔待之如布衣交。卒，年六十六。

In his youth he had been close friends with Wang Anshi. When Anshi became chief councillor and passed through Zhen Prefecture, they met, and Mou treated him exactly as he would any ordinary friend. He died at the age of sixty-six.

初，王回、王令、常秩與侔皆有盛名，回、令不壽，秩為隱不竟，唯侔以不仕始終。

In those days Wang Hui, Wang Ling, Chang Zhi, and Sun Mou all enjoyed great renown. Hui and Ling died young; Zhi took up reclusion but did not see it through. Only Mou, by refusing office from first to last, held true to that path throughout his life.

劉易，忻州人。性介烈，博學好古，喜談兵。韓琦知定州，上其所著《春秋論》，授太學助教、并州州學說書。不能屈誌仕進，寓居於虢之盧氏，習辟穀術。趙抃復薦其行誼，賜號退安處士。易作詩，琦每為書之石，或不可其意輒滌去，琦亦再書之。尹洙帥渭，延致尊禮，狄青代洙，遇之亦厚。治平末，卒，琦作文祭之云：「剛介之性，天下能合者有幾？淵源之學，古人不到者甚多。」其敬之如此。熙寧察訪定戶役，詔易家用處士如七品恩，得減半，示優禮雲。

Liu Yi came from Xinzhou. He was upright and fierce by nature, widely learned and devoted to antiquity, and fond of military discourse. When Han Qi was prefect of Dingzhou, Yi presented his Discourse on the Spring and Autumn Annals and was appointed assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy and lecturer at the Bingzhou prefectural school. Unable to bend his will to pursue an official career, he lodged in Lushi in Guo and practiced grain-avoidance techniques. Zhao Bian recommended him again for his conduct and integrity, and the court granted him the title Retired-and-Tranquil Recluse. When Yi wrote poetry, Han Qi would have it carved on stone; if Yi disapproved of the inscription he would wash it away, and Qi would have it carved again. When Yin Zhu commanded Wei, he invited Yi and treated him with honor; when Di Qing succeeded Zhu, he too treated Yi with great respect. Near the end of the Zhiping reign he died. Han Qi composed a funeral elegy that read, "A nature so firm and upright—how many men under Heaven can match it? Learning of such depth—much that even the ancients never attained." Such was the esteem in which he held him. During the Xining reign, when household corvée obligations were surveyed and fixed, an edict granted Yi's household the privileges accorded a seventh-rank recluse, allowing a fifty-percent reduction—a mark of special favor.

薑潛，字至之，兗州奉符人。從孫復學《春秋》。用田況舉召試學士院，為明州錄事參軍。以母思鄉求致仕，敕過門下，知封駁司吳奎封還之，而與韓絳共上章以薦，徙兗州錄事參軍。從奎辟鄆州教授，奎升堂拜其母，又薦為國子直講、韓王宮伴讀。謁宗正允弼，吏引趨庭，潛不答，呼馬欲去，遂以客禮見。

Jiang Qian, whose style was Zhizhi, came from Fengfu in Yanzhou. He studied the Spring and Autumn Annals under Sun Fu. On Tian Kuang's recommendation he was summoned to the Hanlin examination and appointed recording adjutant of Ming Prefecture. When his mother grew homesick he petitioned to retire. The edict passed through the Secretariat, where Wu Kui of the Sealing Office returned it sealed—but Wu and Han Jiang jointly memorialized recommending him, and he was transferred to recording adjutant of Yan Prefecture. He joined Wu Kui's staff as professor at Yan Prefecture. Kui entered the hall to pay respects to Qian's mother and recommended him again as direct lecturer at the Imperial Academy and companion reader in the Prince of Han's household. When he called on Director of the Imperial Clan Yunbi, an attendant tried to hurry him into the courtyard. Qian ignored him, called for his horse to leave, and Yunbi thereupon received him with the courtesy due a guest.

熙寧初，詔舉選人淹滯者與京官凡三十七人，潛在選中。神宗聞其賢，召對延和殿，訪以治道何以致之，對曰：「有《堯》、《舜》二《典》在，顧陛下致之之道何如。」知陳留縣，至數月，青苗令下，潛出錢，榜其令於縣門，已，徙之鄉落，各三日無應者。遂撤榜付吏曰：「民不願矣！」錢以是獨得不散。司農、開封疑潛沮格，各使其屬來驗，皆如令。而條例司劾祥符住散青苗錢，潛知且不免，移疾去，縣人詣府請留之，不得。家居卒，年六十六。

Early in the Xining reign an edict selected thirty-seven men from among stalled candidates and capital officials; Qian was among them. Emperor Shenzong, hearing of his virtue, summoned him to audience in the Yanhe Hall and asked how good governance might be achieved. Qian replied, "The Canons of Yao and Shun are at hand—it depends on what path Your Majesty chooses to follow." As magistrate of Chenliu County, within a few months the Green Sprouts order arrived. Qian disbursed the funds and posted the order at the county gate, then moved the notice to each village and hamlet. After three days at each location with no takers, he removed the notice and told the clerk, "The people do not wish it!" For that reason, the funds alone were never distributed. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Kaifeng authorities suspected Qian of obstruction and each sent subordinates to investigate; all confirmed that he had followed the regulations. But the Regulations Office impeached Xiangfu for halting the distribution of Green Sprouts funds. Qian knew he could not escape censure, pleaded illness, and resigned. The people of the county petitioned the prefecture to keep him, but to no avail. He died at home at the age of sixty-six.

連庶字居錫，安州應山人。舉進士，調商水尉、壽春令。興學，尊禮秀民，以勸其俗；開瀕淮田千頃，縣大治。淮南王舊壘在山間，會大水，州守議取其甓為城，庶曰：「弓矢舞衣傳百世，藏於王府，非為必可用，蓋以古之物傳於今，尚有典刑也。」壘因是得存。以母老乞監陳州稅。嘗送客出北門，見日西風塵，而冠蓋憧憧不已，慨然有感，即日求分司歸。久之，翰林學士歐陽修、龍圖閣直學士祖無擇言庶文學行義，宜在台閣。以知昆山縣，辭不行。累遷職方員外郎，卒。

Lian Shu, whose style was Juxi, came from Yingshan in An Prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed magistrate of Shangshui and prefect of Shouchun. He promoted schools and honored outstanding local scholars to encourage proper conduct in the district; reclaimed a thousand qing of fields along the Huai River, and the county flourished under his administration. The old fort of the King of Huainan stood in the mountains. When floods came, the prefect proposed dismantling it for bricks to repair the city wall. Shu objected: "Bows, arrows, and ceremonial garments are preserved for a hundred generations in the royal treasury—not because they must be used, but because objects handed down from antiquity to the present still carry exemplary force." The fort was preserved as a result. When his mother grew old he petitioned for the post of tax supervisor in Chen Prefecture. Once, while seeing a guest off through the north gate, he watched the sun set through wind and dust while official carriages streamed past without end. Deeply moved, he petitioned that very day for a branch-office appointment and returned home. Some time later, Hanlin Academician Ouyang Xiu and Dragon Diagram Hall Academician Zu Wuzhe reported that Shu's scholarship and conduct qualified him for service at court. He was appointed magistrate of Kunshan County but declined the post. He was eventually promoted to outer gentleman of the Bureau of Military Appointments and died in office.

庶始與弟庠在鄉里，時宋郊兄弟、歐陽修皆依之。及二宋貴達，不可其志，退居二十年。守道好修，非其人不交，非其義秋毫不可汙也。庶既死，宋郊之孫義年為應山令，緣邑人之意，作堂於法興僧舍，繪二宋及庶、庠之像祠事之。庠亦登科，敏於政事，號良吏，終都官郎中。

Shu and his younger brother Ku lived together in their home district, where the Song Jiao brothers and Ouyang Xiu all sought their company. When the two Song brothers rose to high office, Shu could not reconcile himself to their path and withdrew from public life for twenty years. He upheld the Way and loved self-cultivation; he would not associate with those he deemed unworthy, and would not let the slightest unrighteous matter stain him. After Shu died, Song Jiao's grandson Yinian became magistrate of Yingshan. At the townspeople's request he built a hall at the Faxing monastery and painted portraits of the two Song brothers together with Shu and Ku for veneration. Ku also passed the examinations, proved adept in government affairs, earned the reputation of a capable official, and ended his career as director of the Capital Bureau.

章詧字，隱之，成都雙流人。少孤，鞠於兄嫂，以所事父母事之。博通經學，尤長《易》、《太玄》，著《發隱》三篇，明用蓍索道之法，知以數寓道之用、三摹九據始終之變。蜀守蔣堂、楊察、張方平、何郯、趙抃咸以逸民薦，一賜粟帛，再命州助教，不就。嘉祐中，賜號衝退處士。王素時為州，因更其所居之鄉曰處士，裏曰通儒，坊曰衝退。詧由是益以道自裕，尊生養氣，憂喜、是非亦不以撓其心形。

Zhang Cha, whose style was Yinshi, came from Shuangliu in Chengdu. Orphaned in youth, he was raised by his elder brother and sister-in-law and served them with the devotion he would have shown his parents. He mastered the classics broadly and was especially adept in the Book of Changes and Yang Xiong's Supreme Mystery. He wrote three scrolls of Revealing the Hidden, elucidating the yarrow-and-cord divination method and showing how numbers embody the Way, and how three rubbings and nine reckonings trace the full cycle of change. The Shu prefects Jiang Tang, Yang Cha, Zhang Fangping, He Tan, and Zhao Bian all recommended him as a recluse. He was once granted grain and silks and twice offered appointment as prefectural assistant instructor, but accepted neither. During the Jiayou reign he was granted the title Rush-Forward Recluse. Wang Su was then prefect of the region and renamed Cha's home township Recluse Township, his lane Comprehensive Scholar Lane, and his ward Rush-Forward Ward. Cha thereafter cultivated the Way with ever greater devotion, honoring life and nurturing his vital energy so that neither joy nor sorrow, neither praise nor blame, could disturb his inner peace.

嘗訪里人範百祿，謂曰：「子辟穀二十餘年，今強力尚足，子亦嘗知以氣治疾之說乎？」百祿因從扣《太玄》，詧為解述大旨，再復《摛》詞曰：「『人之所好而不足者，善也；所醜而有餘者，惡也。君子能強其所不足，而拂其所有餘，《太玄》之道幾矣。』此子雲仁義之心，予之於《太玄》也，述斯而已。若苦其思，艱其言，迂溺其所以為數而忘其仁義之大，是惡足以語夫道哉？」熙寧元年，卒，年七十六。子禩，亦好古學，嘗應行義敦遣詔。仍世有隱德，其所居猶存。

Once, visiting his neighbor Fan Bailu, he said, "You have practiced grain avoidance for more than twenty years and your strength is still ample—have you also studied the doctrine of treating illness through vital energy?" Fan Bailu then pressed him on the Supreme Mystery. Cha explained its essential meaning and quoted from Unfolding: "'What people love yet lack is goodness; what they detest yet have in surplus is evil. The noble man strengthens what he lacks and brushes away what he has in surplus—the Way of the Supreme Mystery is nearly complete." This is Yang Xiong's heart of benevolence and righteousness. As for my reading of the Supreme Mystery, I describe no more than this. If one toils over its abstruse thought, strains at its difficult language, and becomes lost in numerology while forgetting the greater claims of benevolence and righteousness—how could that be enough to speak of the Way?" He died in the first year of Xining, at the age of seventy-six. His son Zhen also loved ancient learning and once responded to the edict summoning men of exemplary conduct. For generations the family preserved its reclusive virtue, and the place where Cha lived still stands.

俞汝尚，字退翁，湖州烏程人。少時讀書於鄣南之昆山。為人溫溫有禮，議論不苟。不可於意，有所不言，言之未嘗妄也。不肯料理生事，不以貧乏撓其懷，澹於勢利。聞人善言善行，記之不忘，時時為人道之。擢進士第，涉曆州縣，無少營進取之心。嘗知導江縣，新繁令卒，使者使承其乏，將資以公田，辭，不許，至則悉以周舊令之家。熙寧初，簽書劍南西川判官。趙抃守蜀，以簡靜為治，每旦退坐便齋，諸吏莫敢至，唯汝尚來輒排闥徑入，相對清談竟暮。

Yu Rushang, whose style was Tuiweng, came from Wucheng in Huzhou. In his youth he studied at Kunshan, south of Zhang. He was gentle and courteous by nature, and never careless in his opinions. What did not accord with his principles he would not say; what he did say was never spoken lightly. He would not trouble himself with worldly affairs, was untroubled by poverty, and indifferent to power and profit. Whenever he heard good words or witnessed good deeds, he remembered them and often recounted them to others. He passed the jinshi examination and served in various prefectures and counties, yet never showed the slightest ambition for advancement. He once served as magistrate of Daojiang County. When the magistrate of Xinfan died, an envoy appointed him to fill the vacancy and offered him public fields for support. He declined but was overruled; upon taking office he gave the entire allotment to the bereaved family of his predecessor. Early in the Xining reign he served as signing officer and judicial commissioner of Southwest Sichuan. Zhao Bian governed Shu with simplicity and restraint. Each morning after court he retired to his private study, and none of his clerks dared disturb him—only Rushang would push open the door and enter unannounced, and the two would converse in leisurely talk until evening.

王安石當國，患一時故老不同己，或言汝尚清望，可置之御史，使以次彈擊。驛召詣京師，既知所以薦用意，力辭，章再上得免。親故有責以不能與子孫為地者，汝尚笑曰：「是乃所以為其地也。」還家苦貧，未能忘祿養。又從趙抃於青州，遂以屯田郎中致仕。蘇軾、蘇轍、孫覺、李常皆賦詩文歎美之。

When Wang Anshi dominated the government, troubled that veteran officials opposed his reforms, some suggested that Rushang's sterling reputation made him suitable for the Censorate, where he could be used to impeach opponents one by one. He was summoned to the capital by urgent dispatch. Once he understood the purpose behind the recommendation, he declined forcefully and, after submitting further memorials, was released from the appointment. Relatives and friends reproached him for failing to secure official position for his descendants. Rushang smiled and said, "This is precisely how I secure their future." He returned home in bitter poverty, yet could not bring himself to abandon the hope of official salary. He again followed Zhao Bian to Qing Prefecture and thereafter retired with the rank of director of the agricultural colonies. Su Shi, Su Zhe, Sun Jue, and Li Chang all wrote poetry and prose in praise of him.

優遊數年，當六月徂暑，寢室不可居，出舍於門，妻黃就視之，汝尚曰：「人生七十者希，吾與夫人皆過之，可以行矣。」妻應曰：「然則我先去。」後三日卒。汝尚庀其喪，為作銘，召諸子告曰：「吾亦從此逝矣。」隱幾而終，相去才十日。孫侔，紹興中敷文閣直學士。

He lived at ease for several years. In the sixth month, when the summer heat made his bedchamber unbearable, he moved outside to lodge by the gate. His wife Lady Huang came to see him, and Rushang said, "Few people live to seventy—we have both passed that mark. It is time to go." His wife replied, "Then I shall go first." Three days later she died. Rushang arranged her funeral, composed an epitaph, summoned his sons, and told them, "I too shall follow her now." He died leaning on his armrest, only ten days after his wife. Sun Mou—a different man—served as academician of the Fuwen Pavilion during the Shaoxing reign.

陽孝本，字行先，虔州贛人。學博行高，隱於城西通天岩。蘇頌、蒲宗孟皆以山林特起薦之。蘇軾自海外歸，過而愛焉，號之曰玉岩居士。嘗直造其室，知其不娶，戲以為元德秀之流。孝本自言為陽城之裔，故軾詩有云：「眾謂元德秀，自稱陽道州。」嘉之也。隱遁二十年，一時名士多從之遊。崇寧中，舉八行，解褐為國子錄，再轉博士。以直秘閣歸，卒，年八十四。

Yang Xiaoben, whose style was Xingxian, came from Gan in Qian Prefecture. His learning was broad and his conduct exemplary; he lived in seclusion at Tongtian Cliff west of the city. Su Song and Pu Zongmeng both recommended him as a worthy man raised from reclusion. When Su Shi returned from exile overseas, he visited Xiaoben and came to admire him, styling him the Jade Cliff Recluse. Once Su Shi went straight to his dwelling, learned that he had never married, and jested that he was another Yuan Dexiu. Xiaoben claimed descent from Yang Cheng, which inspired Su Shi's line: "Others call him Yuan Dexiu, but he styles himself Yang of Daozhou." Su Shi meant this as praise. He lived in seclusion for twenty years, and many celebrated scholars of the day sought his company. During the Chongning reign he was recommended for the Eight Conducts, entered office as recorder of the Imperial Academy, and was later promoted to erudite. He retired with the rank of direct attendant of the Secretariat Pavilion and died at the age of eighty-four.

鄧考甫，字成之，臨川人。第進士，曆陳留尉、萬載永明令、知上饒縣，積官奉議郎，提點開封府界河渠，坐事去官，遂閉戶著書，不復言仕。

Deng Kaofu, whose style was Chengzhi, came from Linchuan. He passed the jinshi examination and served as magistrate of Chenliu, prefect of Yongming in Wanzai, and magistrate of Shangrao County, eventually rising to gentleman for discussion and supervisor of river works on the Kaifeng prefectural border. Dismissed for an offense, he shut his doors to write and never spoke of office again.

元符末，詔求直言。考甫年八十一，上書云：「亂天下者，新法也，末流之禍，將不可勝言。今宜以時更化，純法祖宗。」因論熙寧而下，權臣迭起，欺世誤國，曆指其事而枚數其人。蔡京嫉之，謂為詆訕宗廟，削籍羈筠州。崇寧去黨碑，釋逐臣，同類者五十三人，其五十人得歸，惟考甫與範柔中、封覺民獨否，遂卒於筠。且死，命幼孫名世執筆，口占百餘言，其略曰：「予自謂山中宰相，虛有其才也；自謂文昌先生，虛有其詞也。不得大用於盛世，亦無憾焉，蓋有天命爾。」所論述有《卜世大寶龜》、《伊周素蘊》、《義命雜著》、《太平策要》等，凡二百五十餘篇。

Near the end of the Yuanfu reign, an edict called for candid memorials. At eighty-one, Kaofu submitted a memorial stating, "What has thrown the realm into disorder is the New Policies; the calamities of their later consequences will be beyond reckoning. The court should now reform in keeping with the times and return to the pure models of our ancestors." He went on to discuss how, from the Xining reign onward, powerful ministers had risen in succession, deceiving the age and misleading the state, enumerating their deeds and naming each man in turn. Cai Jing resented the memorial, denounced it as slander of the ancestral temple, struck Kaofu from the official rolls, and exiled him to Yun Prefecture. During Chongning the faction stele was removed and exiled officials were pardoned. Of fifty-three men in the same category, fifty were allowed to return—only Kaofu, Fan Rouzhong, and Feng Juemin were excluded, and Kaofu died in Yun Prefecture. Near death he had his young grandson Mingshi take dictation of more than a hundred words, which in essence read: "I called myself a mountain chancellor, but my talent was hollow; I styled myself Master Wenchang, but that too was empty talk. Not to be greatly employed in an age of prosperity—I have no regret, for such is Heaven's decree." His writings included Divining the Age's Great Treasure Tortoise, Plain Substance of Yi and Zhou, Miscellaneous Writings on Righteousness and Fate, Essentials of the Great Peace, and others—more than two hundred and fifty works in all.

宇文之邵，字公南，漢州綿竹人。舉進士，為文州曲水令。轉運以輕縑高其價，使縣鬻於民。之邵言：「縣下江上山，地狹人貧，耕者亡幾，方歲儉饑，羌夷數入寇，不可復困之以求利。」運使怒。

Yuwen Zhishao, whose style was Gongnan, came from Mianzhu in Han Prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed magistrate of Qushui in Wen Prefecture. The transport commissioner inflated the price of light silk gauze and ordered the county to sell it to the populace. Zhishao protested: "This county lies between river and mountain—land is scarce and the people poor, with few cultivators to speak of. The year is lean and famine threatens, while Qiang and Yi raiders strike repeatedly. We cannot squeeze them further for profit." The transport commissioner was furious.

會神宗即位求言，乃上疏曰：「天下一家也。祖宗創業、守成之法具在。陛下方居諒陰，諂諛奸佞之人屏伏未動，正可念五聖之功德，常若左右前後。京師者，諸夏之視效，俗宜敦厚，而勿憸薄浮侈是尚。公卿大夫，民之表也，宜以名節自勵，而勢利合雜是先。願以節義廉恥風導之，使人知自重。千里之郡，有利未必興，有害未必除者，轉運使、提點刑獄製之也。百里之邑，有利未必興，有害未必除者，郡製之也。前日赦令，應在公逋負一切蠲除，而有司操之益急，督之愈甚，使上澤不下流，而細民益困。如擇賢才以為三司之官，稍假郡縣以權，則民瘼除矣。然後監番、棸、蹶、楀之盛以保安外戚，考《棠棣》、《角弓》之義以親睦九族，興墜典，拔滯淹，遠誇毗，來忠讜。凡所建置，必與大臣共議以廣其善，號令威福則專製之。如此，則天下之人思見太平可拱而俟也。」

When Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne and called for candid advice, Zhishao submitted a memorial: "All under Heaven is one family. The methods by which our ancestors founded and preserved the realm stand fully before us. Your Majesty is still in mourning; flatterers and schemers lie low and have not yet stirred. This is the moment to keep the merit and virtue of the Five Sages ever in mind, as though they stood at your side. The capital is what all the realm looks to for example. Its customs should be sincere and substantial, not frivolous, mean, or extravagant. Grandees and ministers are the people's model; they should take reputation and integrity as their standard, yet too often they chase power and profit first. Let integrity, righteousness, and shame guide them, so that people learn to value themselves. In a prefecture spanning a thousand li, what is beneficial may not be enacted and what is harmful may not be removed—transport commissioners and judicial intendants hold that power. In a county of a hundred li, the same holds true—the prefect controls what is done. The recent amnesty should have canceled all public debts in full, yet officials enforce collection ever more harshly, so that the sovereign's grace never reaches the people and the common folk grow more desperate. If worthy talent were placed in the Three Offices and prefectures and counties granted somewhat more authority, the people's afflictions would be relieved. Then oversee the great clans to secure the outer kin; study the lessons of the Book of Songs to draw the nine clans close; revive fallen rites, elevate the long overlooked, keep flattery at bay, and welcome loyal remonstrance. In all you establish, deliberate with your great ministers to extend what is good; reserve commands, authority, and favor to yourself alone. Then the people of the realm will await great peace with folded arms."

疏奏不報。喟然曰：「吾不可仕矣。」遂致仕，以太子中允歸，時年未四十。自強於學，不易其志，日與交友為經史琴酒之樂，退居十五年而終。司馬光曰：「吾聞誌不行，顧祿位如錙銖；道不同，視富貴如土芥。今於之邵見之矣。」範鎮亦曰：「之邵位下而言高，學富而行篤，少我二十一歲而先我掛冠，使吾慊然。」其為兩賢所推尚如此。

The memorial received no response. He sighed and said, "I can no longer serve in office." He retired and returned home with the rank of vice director in the Crown Prince's household, not yet forty years old. He devoted himself to learning without wavering, sharing daily with friends the pleasures of classics, history, music, and wine. He lived in retirement for fifteen years before he died. Sima Guang said, "I have heard that when one's will cannot be fulfilled, one regards salary and rank as dust; when the Way differs, one views wealth and honor as weeds. Today I see this in Zhishao." Fan Zhen also said, "Zhishao held low rank yet spoke with lofty purpose; his learning was rich and his conduct earnest. Twenty-one years my junior, he retired before me—and that leaves me abashed." Such was the esteem in which these two worthies held him.

吳瑛，字德仁，蘄州蘄春人。以父龍圖閣學士遵路任補太廟齋郎，監西京竹木務，簽書淮南判官，通判池州、黃州，知郴州，至虞部員外郎。治平三年，官滿如京師，年四十六，即上書請致仕。公卿大夫知之者相與出力挽留之，不聽，皆歎服以為不可及，相率賦詩飲餞於都門，遂歸。

Wu Ying, whose style was Deren, came from Qichun in Qi Prefecture. Through his father Zunlu's position as Dragon Diagram Hall academician, he entered service as supplicant at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, supervised the Western Capital bamboo and timber office, served as signing judicial commissioner of Huainan, as vice prefect of Chi and Huang prefectures, and as prefect of Chen Prefecture, eventually rising to outer gentleman of the Ministry of Works. In the third year of Zhiping, when his term ended he traveled to the capital. At forty-six he immediately petitioned to retire. Grandees and ministers who knew him joined in urging him to stay, but he would not listen. All sighed that he was beyond their reach, composed poems, and held a farewell feast at the capital gate before he returned home.

蘄有田，僅足自給。臨溪築室，種花釀酒，家事一付子弟。賓客至必飲，飲必醉，或困臥花間，客去亦不問。有臧否人物者，不酬一語，但促奴益行酒，人莫不愛其樂易而敬其高。嘗有貴客過之，瑛酒酣而歌，以樂器扣其頭為節，客亦不以為忤。視財物如糞土，妹婿輒取家財數十萬貸人，不能償，瑛哀之曰：「是人有母，得無重憂！」召而焚其券。門生為治田事曆歲，忽謝去，曰：「聞有言某簿書為欺者，誼不可留。」瑛命取前後文書示之，蓋未嘗發封也。盜入室，覺而不言，且取其被，乃曰：「他物唯所欲，夜正寒，幸舍吾被。」其真率曠達類此。

He had fields in Qi, barely enough to support himself. He built a dwelling by the stream, planted flowers and brewed wine, and left all household affairs to his sons and nephews. When guests arrived he always drank, and always drank until drunk. Sometimes he fell asleep among the flowers; when guests departed he never noticed. If someone praised or condemned others in his presence, he answered not a word but urged his servant to pour more wine. Everyone loved his easy manner and revered his lofty spirit. Once a distinguished guest visited while Ying was deep in his cups. He sang and beat time on the guest's head with a musical instrument—the guest took no offense. He regarded wealth as dung and soil. His sister's husband would lend out hundreds of thousands from the family fortune to borrowers who could not repay. Ying pitied them and said, "This man has a mother—how can he not be deeply troubled!" He summoned the borrowers and burned their IOUs. A student managed his fields for a year, then suddenly resigned, saying, "I hear that certain account books involve fraud—by principle I cannot remain." Ying had all the documents brought out—they had never even been unsealed. A thief entered his room. Ying noticed but said nothing. When the thief took his quilt, he said, "Take whatever else you wish—the night is bitter cold; please leave me my quilt." His genuineness and free-spiritedness were of this sort.

哲宗朝有薦之者，召為吏部郎中，就知蘄州，皆不起。崇寧三年感疾，即閉閤謝醫藥，至垂絕不亂。卒，年八十四。

During the reign of Emperor Zhezong he was recommended and summoned as director of the Ministry of Personnel and offered immediate appointment as prefect of Qi Prefecture—but he accepted none of these posts. In the third year of Chongning he fell ill, shut his doors, and refused medicine. Even at the point of death he remained composed. He died at the age of eighty-four.

鬆江漁翁者，不知其姓名。每棹小舟遊長橋，往來波上，扣舷飲酒，酣歌自得。紹聖中，閩人潘裕自京師調官回，過吳江，遇而異焉，起揖之曰：「予視先生氣貌，固非漁釣之流，願丐緒言，以發蒙陋。」翁瞪視曰：「君不凡，若誠有意，能過小舟語乎？」裕欣然過之。翁曰：「吾厭喧煩，處閑曠，遁跡於此三十年矣。幼喜誦經史百家之言，後觀釋氏書，今皆棄去。唯飽食以嬉，尚何所事？」裕曰：「先生澡身浴德如此。今聖明在上，盍出而仕乎？」笑曰：「君子之道，或出或處，吾雖不能棲隱岩穴，追園、綺之蹤，竊慕老氏曲全之義。且養誌者忘形，養形者忘利，致道者忘心，心形俱忘，其視軒冕如糞土耳，與子出處異趣，子勉之。」裕曰：「裕也不才，幸聞先生之高義，敢問舍所在。」曰：「吾姓名且不欲人知，況居室耶！」飲畢，長揖使裕反其所，鼓枻而去。

The Songjiang Fisherman—his name is unknown. Each day he poled a small boat around Long Bridge, drifting on the waves, beating the gunwale as he drank and sang freely in contentment. During the Shaosheng reign, Pan Yu of Fujian, returning from the capital on a transfer assignment, passed through Wujiang and was struck by the fisherman. He rose and bowed, saying, "Your bearing, sir, is surely not that of an ordinary fisherman. I beg a few words to enlighten my ignorance." The old man stared at him and said, "You are no ordinary man. If you are truly sincere, will you come aboard my little boat to talk?" Yu gladly went aboard. The old man said, "I weary of clamor and trouble and dwell in open quiet. I have hidden myself here for thirty years. In youth I loved the classics, histories, and the hundred schools; later I read Buddhist texts—now I have cast all of them aside. I eat my fill and amuse myself—what else is there to do?" Yu said, "Sir, you have cultivated body and virtue to such a degree. A sage emperor reigns above—why not emerge and serve?" He laughed and said, "The noble man's Way may lead outward or inward. Though I cannot dwell in mountain caves and follow the tracks of the recluses of the Qin, I privately admire Laozi's teaching of bending to preserve wholeness. He who nurtures the will forgets the body; he who nurtures the body forgets profit; he who attains the Way forgets the mind. When mind and body are both forgotten, carriage and cap are dung and soil. Your path differs from mine—press on with yours." Yu said, "I am without talent, but fortunate to hear your lofty conduct—may I ask where your dwelling lies?" He said, "I do not wish people to know even my name—how much less where I live!" When they had finished drinking, he bowed deeply, sent Yu back to shore, and poled his boat away.

杜生者，潁昌人。不知其名，縣人呼為杜五郎。所居去縣三十里，有屋兩間，與其子並居，前有空地丈餘，即為籬門，生不出門者三十年。

Du Sheng came from Yingchang. His name is unknown; locals called him Du the Fifth. He lived thirty li from the county seat in two rooms shared with his son. A strip of open ground more than a zhang wide before the house served as his hedge gate. He had not left home for thirty years.

黎陽尉孫軫往訪之。其人頗灑落，自陳村人無所能，官人何為見顧。軫問所以不出門之因，笑曰：「以告者過也。」指門外一桑曰：「憶十五年前，亦曾納涼其下，何謂不出？但無用於時，無求於人，偶自不出耳，何足尚哉。」問所以為生，曰：「昔時居邑之南，有田五十畝，與某兄同耕。迨兄子娶婦，度所耕不足贍，乃盡以與兄，而攜妻子至此，蒙鄉人借屋，遂居之。唯與人擇日，又賣醫藥以給飦粥，亦有時不繼。後子能耕，荷長者見憐，與田三十畝使之耕，尚有餘力，又為人傭耕，自此食足。鄉人貧，以醫術自業者多。念己食既足，不當更兼他利，由是擇日賣藥，一切不為。」問常日何所為，曰：「端坐耳。」「頗觀書否？」曰：「二十年前，曾有人遺一書策，無題號，其間多說浮名經，當時極愛其議論，今忘之，並書亦不知所在矣。」時盛寒，布袍草屩，室中枵然，而氣韻閑曠，言詞精簡，蓋有道之士也。問其子之為人，曰：「村童也，然性質甚淳厚，不妄言，不敢嬉。唯間一至縣買鹽酪，可數行跡以待其歸，徑往徑還，未嘗旁遊一步也。」軫嗟歎，留連久之，乃去。後至延安幕府，為沈括言之。括時理軍書，迨夜半，疲極未臥，聞軫談及此，及頓忘其勞。

Sun Zhen, magistrate of Liyang, went to visit him. The man was quite at ease, saying he was only a villager without ability—why should an official trouble to visit? Zhen asked why he never went out. He laughed and said, "Those who told you exaggerated." He pointed to a mulberry outside and said, "Fifteen years ago I took shade beneath it—what do you mean, never going out? I am simply of no use to the age and ask nothing of others—I happen not to go out. What is there to admire?" Asked how he made a living, he said, "Formerly I lived south of the town with fifty mu of fields, which I farmed together with my elder brother. When my brother's son married, I saw that our fields could not support them all, so I gave everything to my brother and brought my wife and children here. Neighbors lent us this house, and we settled. I chose auspicious days for others and sold medicines to buy gruel—sometimes we still went without. Later my son learned to farm. A local elder took pity and gave him thirty mu. With strength to spare he also hired out as a laborer—since then we have had enough to eat. The townspeople are poor; many make a living from medicine. Since we had enough to eat, I should not take other profit as well. I stopped choosing days and selling medicine, and do nothing else." Asked what he did on ordinary days, he said, "Just sit upright." "Do you read much?" He said, "Twenty years ago someone left me a book without a title, much of it about the Floating Name Classic. I loved its arguments then—now I have forgotten them, and the book itself is lost." It was bitter cold. He wore a cloth robe and straw sandals in a bare room—yet his bearing was serene and his words concise and refined. He was surely a man of the Way. Asked about his son, he said, "A village lad, but very sincere—he does not speak rashly and dares not idle about. Only occasionally he goes to the county for salt and dairy. You can count his footprints waiting for his return—he goes straight there and straight back, never wandering aside." Zhen sighed in admiration, lingered a long while, and departed. Later, at the Yan'an military headquarters, he told Shen Kuo the story. Shen Kuo was handling military documents. Near midnight, utterly weary and still not abed, he heard Zhen's account and instantly forgot his fatigue.

順昌山人。靖康末，有避亂於順昌山中者，深入得茅舍，主人風裁甚整，即之語，士君子也。怪而問曰：「諸君何事挈妻孥能至是耶？」因語之故。主人曰：「亂何自而起耶？」眾爭為言，主人嗟惻久之，曰：「我父為仁宗朝人也，自嘉祐末卜居於此，因不復出。以我所聞，但知有熙寧紀年，亦不知於今幾何年矣。」

The Shunchang Mountain Man. At the end of the Jingkang reign, refugees fleeing turmoil in the Shunchang mountains found a thatched hut deep in the hills. The master's bearing was dignified; on speaking with him, they found a true gentleman. Astonished, they asked, "How is it that you gentlemen can bring wives and children to such a remote place?" They told him their story. The master asked, "From what did this turmoil arise?" They all spoke at once. The master sighed compassionately for a long while and said, "My father lived in the reign of Emperor Renzong. We settled here at the end of Jiayou and have not gone out since. As far as I know, there is only the Xining reign era—I have no idea how many years have passed since then."

南安翁者。漳州陳元忠客居南海日，嘗赴省試過南安，會日暮，投宿野人家，茅茨數椽，竹樹茂密可愛。主翁雖麻衣草屨，而舉止談對宛若士人。几案間有文籍散亂，視之皆經、子也。陳叩之曰：「翁訓子讀書乎？」曰：「種園為生耳。」「亦入城市乎？」曰：「十五年不出矣。」問：「藏書何用？」曰：「偶有之耳。」因雜以他語。少焉，風雨暴作，其二子歸，舍鉏揖客，人物不類農家子。翁進豆羹享客，不復共談，遲明別去。

The Nan'an Old Man. When Chen Yuanzhong of Zhangzhou was living in the south, he once traveled to the provincial examination and passed through Nan'an. At dusk he lodged at a rustic home—a few thatched rooms amid dense, lovely bamboo and trees. Though the host wore hemp robe and straw sandals, his bearing and conversation were those of a gentleman. Books lay scattered on the table—all classics and masters. Chen asked, "Sir, do you teach your son to read?" He replied, "We make our living from gardening, that's all." "Do you also go into town?" He said, "I have not gone into town for fifteen years." Chen asked, "What are the books for?" He said, "I happen to have a few, that's all." He then turned the conversation to other matters. Before long a storm broke. His two sons returned, set down their hoes, and bowed to the guest—their bearing was nothing like that of farm boys. The old man served bean soup and spoke no further with him. At dawn Chen departed.

陳以事留城中，翌日，見翁倉遑而行，陳追詰之曰：「翁雲十五年不出城，何為到此？」曰：「吾以急事不容不出。」問之，乃大兒於關外鬻果失稅，為關吏所拘。陳為謁監征，至則已捕送郡。翁與小兒偕詣庭下，長子當杖，翁懇白郡守曰：「某老鈍無能，全藉此子贍給。若渠不勝杖，則翌日乏食矣。願以身代之。」小兒曰：「大人豈可受杖，某願代兄。」大兒又以罪在己，甘心焉，三人爭不決。小兒來父耳旁語，若將有所請，翁叱之，兒必欲前。郡守疑之，呼問所以，對曰：「大人元係帶職正郎，宣和間累典州郡。」翁急拽其衣使退，曰：「兒狂，妄言。」守詢誥敕在否，兒曰：「見作一束置甕中，埋於山下。」守立遣吏隨兒發取，果得之，即延翁上坐，謝而釋其子。次日，枉駕訪之，室已虛矣。

Chen was detained in town on business. The next day he saw the old man hurrying along in distress. Chen caught up with him and asked, "You said you had not entered the city for fifteen years—why are you here?" He said, "An urgent matter left me no choice but to come out." On inquiry he learned that his elder son, selling fruit outside the pass, had failed to pay tax and been detained by the pass officer. Chen interceded with the tax supervisor, but by the time he arrived the son had already been sent to the prefectural seat. The old man went with his younger son to the yamen. The elder son was to be beaten. The old man pleaded with the prefect, "I am old and useless—all our support depends on this son. If he cannot bear the beating, we will have no food tomorrow. Let me take the punishment in his place." The younger son said, "Father cannot be beaten—I will take my brother's place." The elder son, knowing the fault was his, accepted it willingly. The three argued without reaching agreement. The younger son whispered at his father's ear as though to make a request. The old man scolded him, but the boy pressed forward anyway. The prefect grew suspicious and summoned the boy to ask why. He replied, "Father was originally a ranked right gentleman with concurrent appointment, and during the Xuanhe reign repeatedly governed prefectures." The old man hastily pulled him back, saying, "The boy is mad—he speaks nonsense." The prefect asked whether the patent edicts still existed. The boy said, "They are bundled in a jar buried beneath the mountain." The prefect immediately sent an official with the boy to dig them up—and found them. He invited the old man to the seat of honor, apologized, and released his son. " The next day he went in person to visit, but the dwelling was already empty.

張舉字子厚，常州人。登進士甲科。以無他兄弟，獨養其親，不忍斯須去左右。親友強之仕，乃調青溪主簿，亦不之官。閉戶讀書四十年，手校數萬卷，無一字舛。窮經著書，至夜分不寐。元豐中，近臣薦其高行。至於元祐，大臣復薦之，起教授潁州，辭不就。於是孫覺、胡宗愈、范祖禹交章言曰：「舉且死草萊，後世必以為朝廷失士。」蘇軾言之尤切。詔拜秘書省校書郎，敕郡縣致禮敦遣，竟不出。

Zhang Ju, whose style was Zihou, came from Changzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the top class. Having no other brothers, he alone supported his parents and could not bear to leave their side even for a moment. Relatives and friends urged him to serve. He was assigned registrar of Qingxi but never took up the post. He shut himself in to read for forty years, collating tens of thousands of scrolls by hand without a single erroneous character. He exhaustively studied the classics and wrote books, often not sleeping until midnight. During the Yuanfeng reign, court intimates recommended his exemplary conduct. By the Yuanyou reign great ministers recommended him again. He was summoned as professor at Ying Prefecture but declined. Thereupon Sun Jue, Hu Zongyu, and Fan Zuyu submitted successive memorials saying, "Ju is about to die in obscurity—posterity will surely judge that the court has lost a worthy man." Su Shi spoke on the matter with especial urgency. An edict appointed him collator in the Secretariat and ordered prefectures and counties to extend ceremonial courtesy and urge him to serve—he never emerged.

舉孝弟修於家，忠信行於友，聲名聞於人，蹈中守常，從容不迫，為當時名流所慕，以不造門為恥。崇寧四年，卒。明年，詔以舉隱德丘園，聲聞顯著，賜諡曰正素先生。

Ju cultivated filial piety and brotherly affection at home and loyalty and trustworthiness among friends; his reputation spread widely. He held to the golden mean with calm unhurried grace. The celebrated men of his age admired him, and regarded failure to visit his door as a mark of shame. He died in the fourth year of Chongning. The following year an edict cited his hidden virtue in retirement and his conspicuous reputation, and granted the posthumous title Master Upright-and-Plain.

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