Volume 82 Biographies 42: Zhou Lang, Shen Huaiwen

周朗

Zhou Lang

周朗字義利，汝南安成人也。祖文，黃門侍郎。父淳，宋初貴達，官至侍中，太常。兄嶠，尚高祖第四女宣城德公主。二女適建平王宏、廬江王褘。以貴戚顯官，元嘉末，為吳興太守。賊劭弒立，隨王誕舉義於會稽，劭加嶠冠軍將軍，誕檄又至。嶠素懼怯，回惑不知所從，為府司馬丘珍孫所殺。朝庭明其本心，國婚如故。

Zhou Lang, whose courtesy name was Yili, came from Ancheng in Runan commandery. His grandfather Zhou Wen had served as Yellow Gate Attendant-in-ordinary. His father Zhou Chun rose to prominence in the early Song and eventually held the posts of Palace Attendant and Grand Minister of Ceremonies. His elder brother Zhou Qiao was married to Emperor Gaozu's fourth daughter, Princess Dexian of Xuancheng. Two of his daughters were married to Liu Hong, Prince of Jianping, and Liu Hui, Prince of Lujiang. On the strength of his exalted connections he became a conspicuous official and, late in the Yuanjia era, was appointed Administrator of Wuxing. After the usurper Liu Shao murdered the emperor and seized the throne, Prince Liu Dan of Suizhou raised a loyal rising in Kuaiji; Shao promoted Qiao to General Who Conquers the Army, and Dan's call to arms reached him as well. Qiao had always been timid and irresolute; torn between the two sides, he could not decide whom to follow, and was killed by the chief of staff, Qiu Zhensun. The court recognized that his true loyalty had lain with the rightful cause, and the family's marriage ties to the throne were left undisturbed.

朗少而愛奇，雅有風氣，與嶠志趨不同，嶠甚疾之。初為南平王鑠冠軍行參軍，太子舍人，司徒主簿，坐請急不待對，除名。又為江夏王義恭太尉參軍。元嘉二十七年春，朝議當遣義恭出鎮彭城，為北討大統。朗聞之解職。及義恭出鎮，府主簿羊希從行，與朗書戲之，勸令獻奇進策。朗報書曰：

From boyhood Lang delighted in the unconventional and carried himself with uncommon spirit; his aims diverged from Qiao's, and Qiao bore him a deep hatred. He began as acting staff officer on the staff of Liu Shuo, Prince of Nanping, then served as attendant to the heir apparent and secretary in the Ministry of Education; when he took emergency leave without waiting for approval, he was struck from the rolls. He was later appointed staff officer on the staff of Liu Yigong, Prince of Jiangxia, in his capacity as Grand Marshal. In the spring of 450, the court debated sending Yigong out to take command at Pengcheng as overall leader of the northern expedition. When Lang heard this, he resigned his office. After Yigong departed for his post, the chief secretary Yang Xi went with him and wrote Lang a teasing letter urging him to submit bold plans and fresh counsel. Lang answered in a letter that read:

:羊生足下：豈當適使人進哉，何卿才之更茂也。宅生結意，可復佳耳，屬華比綵，何更工邪。視已反覆，慰亦無已。觀諸紙上，方審卿復逢知己。動以何術，而能每降恩明，豈不為足下欣邪，然更憂不知卿死所處耳。

"Dear Yang: Was it really fitting for you to send a man to press ahead? How your talents have grown even more luxuriant!" You were born with a formed mind and can do fine work again; to match splendor with brocade—how could your craft become any finer? Seeing how you keep reversing yourself, I find my comfort never-ending. Reading what you wrote on the page, I see you have found another patron who appreciates you. By what art do you win renewed favor every time? Surely that must gladden you—yet I worry all the more that I cannot tell where you will meet your end.

:夫匈奴之不誅有日，皇居之亡辱舊矣。天下孰不憤心悲腸，以忿胡人之患，靡衣媮食，以望國家之師。自智士鉗口，雄人蓄氣，不得議圖邊之事者，良淹歲紀。今天子以炎、軒之德，冢輔以姬、呂之賢，故赫然發怒，將以匈奴釁旗，惻然動仁，欲使餘氓被惠。及取士之令朝發，宰士暮登英豪；調兵之詔夕行，主公旦升雄俊。延賢人者，固非一日，況復加此焉。夫天下之士，砥行磨名，欲不辱其志氣；選奇蓄異，將進善於所天。非但有建國之謀不及，安民之論不與，至反以孝潔生議於鄉曲，忠烈起謗於君寀。身不絓王臣之籙，名不厠通人之班，顛倒國門，湮銷丘里者，自數十年以往，豈一人哉。若吾身無他伎，而出值明君，變官望主，歲增恩價，竟不能柔心飾帶，取重左右。校於向士，則榮已多，料於今識，則笑亦廣。而足下方復廣吾以馳志之時，求予以安邊之術，何足下不知言也。若以賢未登，則今之登賢如此；以才應進，則吾之非才若是。豈可欲以殞海之鬐，望鼓鰓於豎鱗之肆；墜風之羽，覬振翮於軒毳之間。其不能俱陪淥水，並負青天，可無待於明見。若乃闕奇謀深智之術，無悅主狎俗之能，亦不可復稍為卿說。但觀以上國再毀之臣，望府一逐之吏，當復是天下才否，此皆足下所親知。

The day when the Xiongnu must be punished is near at hand; the throne's humiliation and shame are nothing new. Who in the empire does not burn with outrage and grief at the barbarian menace, going threadbare and hungry in hope of the state's armies? Wise men have been silenced and bold men have held their breath, unable to speak of frontier strategy—and that has gone on for years on end. Today the emperor possesses the virtue of the Yellow and Flame Emperors, and his chief ministers the wisdom of the Duke of Zhou and Jiang Ziya; he has therefore flared with righteous anger, ready to strike the Xiongnu under his battle banners, and moved by compassion wishes to extend his grace to the suffering people. As soon as the order to recruit talent went out in the morning, officials had enrolled outstanding men by evening; and when the decree to mobilize troops was issued at night, the commander had promoted bold and able men by dawn. The court had long been seeking worthy men; how much more so now, with measures such as these. Scholars throughout the empire hone their conduct and polish their reputations, determined not to dishonor their spirit; they gather their talents and hope to offer their best to the lord they serve. Yet not only are plans for building the state never heard, and proposals for securing the people never admitted—even filial integrity draws gossip in the villages, and loyal valor provokes slander at court. Men who never secured a place among the king's ministers, whose names never stood among the accomplished, who were cast out at the capital gate and forgotten in their home villages—for decades now, has that been only one man? As for myself, I have no other skills, yet I came forth in an age of a enlightened ruler, changed posts and looked to my lord, and year by year gained in his favor—yet I could never smooth my heart and polish my manner to win weight with those at his side. Compared with scholars of former times, I have already gained much honor; judged by men of today, I am also widely laughed at. Yet you now urge me on at the very moment when my spirit is most eager, and ask me for plans to secure the frontier—how little you understand what you are saying! If you say the worthy have not yet been promoted, look at who is promoted as worthy today; if talent is what should advance, then my lack of talent is plain enough. How could a fin that has perished in the sea hope to beat its gills in a market of fish with upright scales; or a feather dropped by the wind aspire to spread its wings among the down of the imperial carriage? That they cannot walk together beside clear water and bear up the blue sky together needs no further proof. As for lacking arts of bold stratagem and deep wisdom, and having no gift for pleasing one's lord or winning over the crowd—I need not say even a word more to you on that score. Only consider those ministers above who have twice brought the state to ruin, and those officials at the commandery gate who were once driven out—are they truly the empire's talents? You know them all yourself.

:吾雖疲冗，亦嘗聽君子之餘論，豈敢忘之。凡士之置身有三耳：一則雲戶岫寢，欒危桂榮，秣芝浮霜，翦松沈雪，憐肌蓄髓，寶氣愛魂，非但土石侯卿，腐鴆梁錦，實迺竚意天后，睨目羽人。次則刳心掃智，剖命驅生，橫議於雲臺之下，切辭於宣室之上，衍主德而批民患，進貞白而酖姦猾，委玉入而齊聲禮，揭金出而烹勍寇，使車軌一風，甸道共德，令功日濟而己無跡，道日富而君難名，致諸侯斂手，天子改觀。其末則饜𥹋而出，望旃而入，結冕兩宮之下，鼓袖六王之間，俛眉脅肩，言天下之道德，瞋目扼腕，陳從橫於四海，理有泰則止而進，調覺迕則反而還，閑居違官，交造頓罷，捐慕遺憂，夷毀銷譽，呼噏以補其氣，繕嚼以輔其生。凡此三者，皆志士仁人之所行，非吾之所能也。若吾幸病不及死，役不至身，蓬藜既滿，方杜長者之轍；穀稼是諮，自絕世豪之顧。塵生牀帷，苔積堦月，又檐中山木，時華月深，池上海草，歲榮日蔓。且室間軒左，幸有陳書十篋，席隅奧右，頗得宿酒數壺。按絃拭徽，讎方校石，時復陳局露初，奠爵星晚，驩然不覺是羲、軒後也。近春田三頃，秋園五畦，若此無災，山裝可具。候振飲之罷，俟封勒之畢，當敬觀邠、酆，肅尋伊、鄗，傍眺燕、隴，邪履遼、衞，覛我周之軫迹，弔他賢之憂天。當其少涉，未休此欲，但理實詭固，物好交加，或徵勢而笑其言，或觀謀而害其意。夫楊朱以此，猶見嗤於梁人，況才減楊子之器，物甚魏君之意者哉。若如漢宗之言李廣，此固許天下之有才，又知天下之時非也。豈若黨巷閭里之間，忌見貞士之遭遇，便謂是臧獲庸人之徒耳。士固願呈心於其主，露奇於所歸。卿相，末事也。若廣者，何用侯為。至迺復有致謁於為亂之日，被訕於害正之徒，心奇而無由露，事直而變為枉，豈不痛哉！豈不痛哉！

Though I am worn out and undistinguished, I have heard what gentlemen have said on such matters, and how could I forget it? Broadly speaking, there are three ways for a gentleman to place himself in the world. The first is to dwell among clouded gates and mountain peaks, to lodge in perilous heights and glory in cassia groves, to feed on spirit fungus borne on frost and trim pines buried in snow, to cherish the body and store the marrow, to treasure the breath and love the soul—not merely to disdain earthly rank, marquisates and ministerial posts, rotten finery and brocaded beams, but truly to fix his mind on Heaven's Queen and level his gaze at the feathered immortals. The second is to empty the heart and sweep the mind clear, to lay life on the line and drive oneself forward, to debate boldly below the Cloud Terrace and speak sharply in the Xuan Chamber, to extend the ruler's virtue and expose the people's woes, to advance pure integrity and poison crafty villains, to lay down jade on entering court so that all voices join in ritual, to raise the battle standard on going forth and cook fierce enemies, to make the empire's roads one in custom and its districts one in virtue, so that merit grows daily while one leaves no trace, the Way grows rich while the ruler's name is hard to speak, until the feudal lords draw in their hands and the Son of Heaven changes his regard. The last is to go out sated with grain and enter looking to banners, to knot the cap below the two palaces and flourish sleeves among the six kings, to lower one's brows and hunch one's shoulders while speaking of the world's morality, to glare and clutch one's wrist while setting forth grand strategy across the four seas—when principle is at peace one stops and advances, when the tune feels wrong one turns back, to dwell idly away from office, to break off social visits, to cast off ambition and leave worry behind, to level ruin and extinguish one's fame, to breathe deeply to replenish one's qi and chew slowly to sustain one's life. All three of these are paths for men of resolve and humane gentlemen—not paths I am capable of walking. If I am fortunate enough that illness does not carry me off and corvée labor does not reach me, when mugwort and brambles have overgrown my yard, I shall then bar the tracks of visiting elders; take grain and crops as my counsel, and cut myself off from the regard of worldly heroes. Dust gathers on my bed curtains and moss piles on the moonlit steps; mountain trees under the eaves bloom in their season as the months deepen, and sea grass in the pool grows greener day by day. In the room to the left of the hall I am fortunate to have ten cases of books laid up, and in the corner by the mat I have several jars of aged wine. I strum the strings and wipe the lute studs, collate texts and compare inscriptions; now and then I lay out a chessboard at first dew and set out wine cups as the stars grow late, happy without noticing that I live ages after Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor. Nearby I have three qing of spring fields and five beds in the autumn garden; barring disaster, my gear for the mountains can be made ready. When the season of toil and feasting is over and the sealing and inscribing are done, I shall respectfully visit Bin and Feng, solemnly trace Yi and Hao, gaze toward Yan and Long, walk the roads of Liao and Wei, glimpse the traces of our Zhou, and mourn those other worthies who grieved for Heaven. When I was young and ventured out a little, I did not give up this desire—but truth is stubborn and men's tastes cross and clash; some seize on power and laugh at one's words, others watch one's plans and harm one's intent. Even Yang Zhu, for this, was still mocked by the men of Liang—how much more one whose talent falls short of Yang Zhu's measure and whose aims greatly miss what Lord Wei would want! As when the Han emperor spoke of Li Guang, one may grant that the empire has talent—and yet know that the empire's time is wrong. How unlike the lanes and neighborhoods of faction, where men hate to see upright gentlemen succeed and at once call them mere slaves and mediocrities! Gentlemen naturally wish to lay bare their hearts to their lord and display their gifts to the one they serve. Minister and chancellor are the least of matters. For a man like Li Guang, what need is there to be made a marquis? And then there are those who pay court on days of rebellion, who are mocked by men who harm the upright—hearts full of wonders yet with no way to reveal them, affairs straight yet turned crooked—how is that not painful! How is that not painful!

:若足下可謂冠負日月，籍踐淵海，心支身首，無不通照。今復出入燕、河，交關姬、衞，整笏振豪，已議於帷筵之上，提鞭鳴劍，復呵於軍埸之間，身超每深恩之所集，心動必明主之所亮。可不直議正身，輔人君之過誤，明目張膽，謀軍家之得失，拔志勇之將，薦俊正之士，此迺足下之所以報也。不爾，便擐甲修戈，徘徊左右，衞君王之身，當馬首之鏑，關必固之壘，交死進之戰，使身分而主豫，寇滅而兵全，此亦報之次也。如是，則繫匈奴於北闕無日矣。亡但默默，窺寵而坐。謂子有心，敢書薄意。

You may be said to wear sun and moon upon your brow and tread the deepest seas; heart, limbs, body, and head—nothing escapes your penetrating gaze. Now you travel again through Yan and the Yellow River region, moving among the lands of Ji and Wei, straightening your tablet and rousing your bold spirit in council above the curtain, lifting whip and sounding sword again on the drill ground—your person rises wherever deep favor gathers, and your heart's stirrings are surely what the enlightened ruler discerns. Should you not speak frankly and stand upright, correct the ruler's errors, open your eyes and lay bare your heart, plan the army and state's gains and losses, promote bold and resolute generals, and recommend worthy and upright men? That is how you should repay your lord. If not, then don armor and sharpen your weapons, keep close at hand to guard the ruler's person, meet the arrowheads at the horse's head, hold the ramparts firm, join battles where men advance unto death, so that your body suffers while your lord rests easy, enemies are destroyed while the army remains whole—that is the next way to repay him. If you do this, the day when the Xiongnu are bound at the northern gate tower is not far off. Do not merely sit in silence, watching for favor from your seat. Believing you have heart for such things, I venture to set down these few thoughts.

朗之辭意倜戃，類皆如此。

Lang's language was bold and unconventional; his writings were mostly of this sort.

復起為通直郎。世祖即位，除建平王宏中軍錄事參軍。時普責百官讜言，朗上書曰：

He was later reappointed Attendant for Direct Communication. When Emperor Xiaowu took the throne, Lang was appointed recording army staff officer on the central army staff of Liu Hong, Prince of Jianping. At that time all officials were broadly urged to offer candid counsel; Lang submitted a memorial that read:

:昔仲尼有言：「治天下若寘諸掌。」豈徒言哉。方策之政，息舉在人，蓋當世之君之為之耳。況乃運鍾澆暮，世膺亂餘，重以宮廟遭不更之酷，江服被未有之痛，千里連死，萬井共泣。而秦、漢餘敝，尚行於今，魏、晉遺謬，猶布於民，是而望國安於今，化崇於古，卻行及前之言，積薪待然之譬，臣不知所以方。然陛下既基之以孝，又申之以仁，民所疾苦，敢不略薦。

Confucius once said, "Governing all under Heaven is like holding it in the palm of one's hand." That was no empty saying. The policies set down in documents rise and fall with the men who carry them out—it all depends on the ruler of the age. Moreover our age has fallen on decadent times and inherited the wreckage of rebellion; the imperial temples have suffered an unprecedented outrage, and the lands along the Yangtze a grief never known before—death linked for a thousand li, ten thousand hamlets weeping as one. Yet the abuses left over from Qin and Han still operate today, and the errors inherited from Wei and Jin still spread among the people—to hope on this basis that the state is secure today and civilization rises as in antiquity is like walking backward to catch up with what lies ahead, or piling firewood and waiting for it to catch fire by itself. Your subject does not know what to compare it to. Yet Your Majesty has founded your rule on filial piety and extended it with benevolence; what the people suffer—I dare not fail to offer at least a brief account.

:凡治者何哉？為教而已。今教衰已久，民不知則，又隨以刑逐之，豈為政之道歟。欲為教者，宜二十五家選一長，百家置一師。男子十三至十七，皆令學經；十八至二十，盡使修武。訓以書記圖律，忠孝仁義之禮，廉讓勤恭之則；授以兵經戰略，軍部舟騎之容，挽強擊刺之法。官長皆月至學所，以課其能。習經者五年有立，則言之司徒；用武者三年善蓺，亦升之司馬。若七年而經不明，五年而勇不達，則更求其言政置謀，迹其心術行履，復不足取者，雖公卿子孫，長歸農畝，終身不得為吏。其國學則宜詳考占數，部定子史，令書不煩行，習無糜力。凡學，雖凶荒不宜廢也。

What is governing, after all? Nothing but teaching. Teaching has long been in decline; the people no longer know what is right, and they are driven instead by punishments—is that the way to govern? To restore teaching, every twenty-five households should choose one headman, and every hundred households should have one teacher. Boys from thirteen to seventeen should all study the classics; from eighteen to twenty, all should train in martial arts. They should be instructed in writing, records, charts, and law, in the rites of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, and in the norms of integrity, yielding, diligence, and respect; and taught military classics and strategy, army regulations, the handling of boats and cavalry, and the arts of drawing the strong bow and thrusting with the spear. Local officials should visit the schools each month to test their pupils' progress. Those who study the classics and achieve mastery within five years should be reported to the Minister of Education; those who train in martial arts and excel within three years should likewise be advanced to the Minister of War. If after seven years they still do not master the classics, or after five years they still do not attain martial excellence, then examine their counsel on government and their conduct and character—if they are still unfit, even sons and grandsons of dukes and ministers should be sent back to the fields for good and barred from office for life. As for the National University, it should carefully examine the ancient numerological texts, arrange the Masters and Histories in proper order, and ensure that study is not burdensome or wasteful of effort. In all circumstances, learning—even in famine and disaster—must not be abandoned.

:農桑者，實民之命，為國之本，有一不足，則禮節不興。若重之，宜罷金錢，以穀帛為賞罰。然愚民不達其權，議者好增其異。凡自淮以北，萬匹為市；從江以南，千斛為貨。亦不患其難也。今且聽市至千錢以還者用錢，餘皆用絹布及米，其不中度者坐之。如此，則墾田自廣，民資必繁，盜鑄者罷，人死必息。又田非疁水，皆播麥菽，地堪滋養，悉蓺紵麻，蔭巷緣藩，必樹桑柘，列庭接宇，唯植竹栗。若此令既行，而善其事者，庶民則叙之以爵，有司亦從而加賞。若田在草間，木物不植，則撻之而伐其餘樹，在所以次坐之。

Farming and sericulture are the life-breath of the people and the foundation of the state; if either falls short, rites and propriety cannot flourish. If they are to be truly valued, coinage should be abolished and grain and silk used for rewards and punishments instead. Yet the common people do not grasp its rationale, and debaters love to multiply objections. North of the Huai, ten thousand bolts of cloth serve as a standard of exchange; south of the Yangtze, a thousand hu of grain serve as currency. Nor need one worry that this would be difficult to carry out. For the present, allow coin to be used only for market transactions up to a thousand cash; all other payments should be in silk, cloth, and grain, and those who fail to meet the standard should be penalized. If this is done, reclaimed land will naturally expand, the people's wealth will surely grow, illicit coiners will stop, and the deaths they cause will cease. Moreover, fields that are not low-lying wet land should all be sown with wheat and beans; land fit for richer crops should all be planted with ramie and hemp; lanes and hedgerows must have mulberry and catalpa trees; courtyards adjoining dwellings should plant only bamboo and chestnut. Once this decree is in force, those commoners who excel at these tasks should be granted ranks of nobility, and the responsible officials should likewise be rewarded. If fields lie fallow among weeds and the required trees are not planted, offenders should be flogged and their superfluous trees cut down, and local authorities should punish them in due order.

:又取稅之法，宜計人為輸，不應以貲。云何使富者不盡，貧者不蠲。乃令桑長一尺，圍以為價，田進一畝，度以為錢，屋不得瓦，皆責貲實。民以此，樹不敢種，土畏妄墾，棟焚榱露，不敢加泥。豈有剝善害民，禁衣惡食，若此苦者。方今若重斯農，則宜務削茲法。

As for the method of taxation, assessments should be based on persons rather than on wealth. How can it be right for the rich not to pay their full share while the poor receive no relief? Yet now every mulberry tree a foot tall is measured and priced, every additional mu of field is assessed in cash, and houses may not even have tile roofs—all are taxed on their actual assets. Because of this the people dare not plant trees, fear to reclaim land recklessly, leave beams charred and rafters exposed, and dare not even add plaster to their roofs. Can there be any policy more bitter than one that strips the worthy, harms the people, forbids proper clothing, and condemns adequate food? If agriculture is to be truly valued today, this law should be sharply reduced.

:凡為國，不患威之不立，患恩之不下；不患土之不廣，患民之不育。自華、夷爭殺，戎、夏競威，破國則積屍竟邑，屠將則覆軍滿野，海內遺生，蓋不餘半。重以急政嚴刑，天災歲疫，貧者但供吏，死者弗望埋，鰥居有不願娶，生子每不敢舉。又戍淹徭久，妻老嗣絕，及淫奔所孕，皆復不收。是殺人之日有數途，生人之歲無一理，不知復百年間，將盡以草木為世邪，此最是驚心悲魂慟哭太息者。法雖有禁殺子之科，設蚤娶之令，然觸刑罪，忍悼痛而為之，豈不有酷甚處邪。今宜家寬其役，戶減其稅。女子十五不嫁，家人坐之。特雉可以娉妻妾，大布可以事舅姑，若待禮足而行，則有司加糾。凡宮中女隸，必擇不復字者。庶家內役，皆令各有所配。要使天下不得有終獨之生，無子之老。所謂十年存育，十年教訓，如此，則二十年間，長戶勝兵，必數倍矣。

In governing a state, one should not worry that authority fails to stand firm, but that grace fails to reach the people; one should not worry that the land is not broad enough, but that the people are not nurtured. Since Chinese and barbarians have slaughtered one another and the Rong and Xia have vied for power, broken states have left corpses piled to the city walls and butchered generals have left overturned armies strewn across the fields; survivors within the empire are probably fewer than half. Added to this are harsh policies and severe punishments, natural disasters and yearly plagues—the poor exist only to supply officials, the dead cannot hope for burial, widowers are unwilling to remarry, and parents often dare not raise the children they bear. Moreover garrison service drags on, corvée labor lasts for years, wives grow old and lines of descent are cut off, and even children conceived in illicit unions are not accepted. Thus there are many paths by which people die each day and scarcely any means by which life is preserved—who knows whether in another century the world will consist only of grass and trees? This is what most shocks the heart and draws forth grief, sobbing, and deep sighs. Although the law forbids infanticide and orders early marriage, people still break the law and endure grief and pain to do so—is there not something terribly cruel in this? Now each household's corvée should be eased and each family's taxes reduced. If a woman is not married by fifteen, her family should be punished. A single pheasant should suffice for betrothal, coarse cloth should suffice to honor parents-in-law—if one waits until full ceremonial propriety is observed, officials should intervene. All palace women servants should be chosen from those who will not marry again. Servants in common households should all be given proper matches in marriage. The aim should be that no one in the empire lives out life alone and no elder dies without descendants. With ten years devoted to preserving and nurturing life and ten years to teaching and instruction, within twenty years the number of households and able soldiers will surely multiply several times over.

:又亡者亂郊，饉人盈甸，皆是不為其存計，而任之遷流，故饑寒一至，慈母不能保其子，欲其不為寇盜，豈可得邪。既御之使然，復止之以殺，彼於有司，何酷至是。且草樹既死，皮葉皆枯，是其粱肉盡矣。冰霜已厚，苫蓋難資，是其衣裘敗矣。比至陽春，生其餘幾。今自江以南，在所皆穰，有食之處，須官興役，宜募遠近能食五十口一年者，賞爵一級。不過千家，故近食十萬口矣。使其受食者，悉令就佃淮南，多其長帥，給其糧種。凡公私遊手，歲發佐農，令堤湖盡修，原陸並起。仍量家立社，計地設閭，檢其出入，督其游惰。須待大熟，可移之復舊。淮以北悉使南過江，東旅客盡令西歸。

Moreover the dead litter the suburbs and the starving fill the countryside—all because no plan is made for their survival and they are left to drift; when hunger and cold arrive together, a loving mother cannot save her child, and to expect that they will not become bandits is impossible. The court has driven them to this, yet stops them with execution—for officials to be so cruel is beyond measure. Grass and trees are already dead and bark and leaves withered—their grain and meat are exhausted. Frost and ice lie deep, thatch for shelter is hard to obtain—their clothing and furs are ruined. By the time spring comes, how many will still be alive? South of the Yangtze the harvest is abundant everywhere; where food is available the government should act and recruit from near and far those able to feed fifty people for a year, rewarding them with one rank of nobility. No more than a thousand such households would be needed to feed nearly a hundred thousand people nearby. Those who receive relief should all be sent to farm in Huainan, provided with additional leaders, and given grain and seed. All idle persons, public and private, should yearly be sent to assist farming, with dikes and lakes fully repaired and plains and uplands brought under cultivation. Households should be organized into communities, land into neighborhood units, comings and goings inspected, and idleness supervised. Only after a great harvest should they be moved back to their former homes. All north of the Huai should be moved south across the river, and travelers from the east should all be sent back west.

:故毒之在體，必割其緩處，函、渭靈區，闃為荒窟，伊、洛神基，蔚成茂草，豈可不懷歟？歷下、泗間，何足獨戀。議者必以為胡衰不足避，而不知我之病甚於胡矣。若謂民之既徙，狄必就之，若其來從，我之願也。胡若能來，必非其種，不過山東雜漢，則是國家由來所欲覆育。既華得坐實，戎空自遠，其為來，利固善也。今空守孤城，徒費財役，亦行見淮北必非境服有矣，不亦重辱喪哉。使虜但發輕騎三千，更互出入，春來犯麥，秋至侵禾，水陸漕輸，居然復絕。於賊不勞，而邊已困，不至二年，卒散民盡，可蹻足而待也。設使胡滅，則中州必有興者，決不能有奉土地、率民人以歸國家矣。誠如此，則徐、齊終逼，亦不可守。

When poison is in the body, one must cut away the diseased flesh; the sacred lands of Hangu and the Wei River stand desolate as wasteland, the divine foundations of the Yi and Luo flourish only as wild grass—how can one not be deeply concerned? Lixia and the Si River region—why cling to them alone? Counselors will surely say the barbarians are in decline and not worth avoiding, yet they do not see that our own illness is worse than theirs. If one says that once the people have moved the Di will surely follow them—should they come and submit, that would be our wish. If the barbarians come, they will surely not be of their own stock but merely mixed Han from east of the mountains—people the state has long wished to shelter and nurture. Once the Chinese are securely settled, the Rong will keep their distance of themselves; if they come, the benefit would surely be great. To hold empty isolated cities in vain wastes wealth and labor, and one will soon see that the land north of the Huai will no longer remain within our borders—is this not a grave disgrace and loss? If the enemy merely sent three thousand light cavalry in rotation, raiding the wheat in spring and the grain in autumn, transport by water and land would plainly be cut off again. The enemy would scarcely need to exert themselves while the frontier would already be exhausted; within two years the troops would scatter and the people be gone—it could be awaited as a certainty. Even if the barbarians were destroyed, there would surely be uprisings in the central provinces, and certainly no one left to hold the land and lead the people back to the state. If that were so, Xu and Qi would in the end be pressed as well and could not be held.

:且夫戰守之法，當恃人之不敢攻。頃年兵之所以敗，皆反此也。今人知不以羊追狼，蟹捕鼠，而令重車弱卒，與肥馬悍胡相逐，其不能濟，固宜矣。漢之中年能事胡者，以馬多也，胡之後服漢者，亦以馬少也。既兵不可去，車騎應蓄。今宜募天下使養馬一匹者，蠲一人役，三匹者，除一人為吏，自此以進，階賞有差，邊亭徼驛，一無發動。

As for the methods of war and defense, one should rely on making the enemy not dare to attack. In recent years armies have been defeated precisely because they did the opposite. Today everyone knows not to send sheep to chase wolves or crabs to catch rats, yet heavy chariots and weak foot soldiers are sent to pursue the barbarians' fat horses and fierce horsemen—their failure is only to be expected. In the middle years of Han the empire could deal with the barbarians because it had many horses; later the barbarians submitted to Han because their horses had grown few. Since armies cannot be dispensed with, chariots and cavalry should be built up. The realm should now be recruited so that whoever raises one horse is exempted one person's corvée, whoever raises three is freed one person to become an official, with graded rewards above that, and border posts, beacons, and relay stations should not be mobilized at all.

:又將者，將求其死也。自能執干戈，幸而不亡，筋力盡於戎役，其於望上者，固已深矣。重有澄風掃霧之懃，驅波滌塵之力，此所自矜，尤復為甚。近所功賞，人知其濃，然似頗謬虛實，怨怒實眾。垂臂而反脣者，往往為部，耦語而觖望者，處處成羣。凡武人意氣，特易崩沮，設一旦有變，則向之怨者皆為敵也。今宜國財與之共竭，府粟與之同罄，去者應遣，濃加寵爵，發所在祿之，將秩未充，餘費宜闕，他事負輦，長不應與，唯可教以蒐狩之禮，習以鉦鼓之節。若假勇以進，務黜其身。老至而罷，賞延於嗣。

As for generals, a general asks his men to face death. From wielding weapons and surviving by fortune, their sinew and strength exhausted in military service—their expectations of reward from above are already deep indeed. Added to this are the labors of clearing wind and sweeping mist, of driving waves and washing away dust—these are what they pride themselves on, and the pride is especially great. Recent rewards for merit are known to be generous, yet they seem quite mistaken in substance, and resentment is truly widespread. Those who hang their arms and turn away in resentment form groups everywhere; those who whisper together in discontent gather in clusters at every post. Martial men's spirit is especially easy to break; if there were suddenly a crisis, all who now resent would become enemies. The state's wealth should now be spent together with them and the granaries emptied together with them; departing soldiers should be sent off with rich favor and noble ranks, salaries issued wherever they are posted, military ranks not yet filled and other expenses cut, long corvée and transport duties withheld—only the rites of hunt and review and the rhythms of bells and drums should be taught them. If one lends them courage to advance, strive to dismiss them afterward. When old age arrives, dismiss them, and let rewards extend to their heirs.

:又緣淮城壘，皆宜興復，使烽鼓相達，兵食相連。若邊民請師，皆宜莫許。遠夷貢至，止於報答，語以國家之未暇，示以何事而非君。須內教既立，徐料寇形，辦騎卒四十萬，而國中不擾，取穀支二十歲，而遠邑不驚，然後越淮窮河，跨隴出漠，亦何適而不可。

Moreover the fortresses along the Huai should all be restored so that beacon fires and drums reach one another and troops and provisions are linked. If border people request troops, none should be granted. When distant barbarians come with tribute, reply only in acknowledgment; tell them the state has no leisure and show them what affairs are not for the ruler to undertake. Only after internal order is established, the enemy's situation slowly assessed, four hundred thousand cavalry and infantry prepared without disturbing the realm, grain gathered to last twenty years without alarming distant districts—then cross the Huai, reach the Yellow River, stride over Longxi and go out to the desert; what direction could not be taken?

:又教之不敦，一至於是。今士大夫以下，父母在而兄弟異計，十家而七矣。庶人父子殊產，亦八家而五矣。凡甚者，乃危亡不相知，飢寒不相卹，又嫉謗讒害，其間不可稱數。宜明其禁，以革其風，先有善於家者，即務其賞，自今不改，則沒其財。

Moreover teaching has not been earnest—and matters have come to this pass. Today from scholar-officials downward, while parents still live brothers keep separate households—seven out of ten families. Among commoners, fathers and sons hold separate property—five out of eight families. In the worst cases they do not aid one another in danger or death, do not relieve one another in hunger or cold, and moreover envy, slander, and falsely accuse one another beyond count. The prohibitions should be made clear to reform this custom; those who first excel in family harmony should be rewarded at once, and from today onward those who do not reform should have their property confiscated.

:又三年之喪，天下之達喪，以其哀並衷出，故制同外興，日久均痛，故愈遲齊典。漢氏節其臣則可矣，薄其子則亂也。云何使衰苴之容盡，鳴號之音息。夫佩玉啟旒，深情弗忍，冕珠視朝，不亦甚乎。凡法有變於古而刻於情，則莫能順焉。至乎敗於禮而安於身，必遽而奉之，何乃厚於惡，薄於善歟。今陛下以大孝始基，宜反斯謬。

Moreover the three-year mourning is the universal mourning of the realm; because grief springs from the inner heart, the outward observance should match it; as time passes the pain is shared equally, and therefore the full rites are delayed accordingly. For the Han to reduce mourning for ministers was acceptable; to reduce it for sons is disorder. How can the appearance of sackcloth mourning be ended and the sounds of wailing silenced? To wear jade pendants and open court with tassels—deep feeling cannot bear it; to wear the beaded coronet and attend court—is that not excessive? When law departs from antiquity and cuts against human feeling, none can comply with it. To defeat ritual yet be at ease in one's person—men hasten to follow that; why be strict toward what is good and lenient toward what is evil? Now Your Majesty has founded your rule on great filial piety—it is fitting to reverse this error.

:且朝享臨御，當近自身始，妃主典制，宜漸加矯正。凡舉天下以奉一君，何患不給。或帝有集皁之陋，后有帛布之鄙，亦無取焉。且一體炫金，不及百兩，一歲美衣，不過數襲，而必收寶連櫝，集服累笥，目豈常視，身未時親，是為櫝帶寶，笥著衣，空散國家之財，徒奔天下之貨，而主以此惰禮，妃以此傲家，是何糜蠹之劇，惑鄙之甚。逮至婢豎，皆無定科，一婢之身，重婢以使，一豎之家，列豎以役。塗金披繡，漿酒藿肉者，故不可稱紀。至有列軿以遊遨，飾兵以驅叱，不亦重甚哉。若禁行賜薄，不容致此。且細作始并，以為儉節，而市造華怪，即傳於民。如此，則遷也，非罷也。凡天下得治者以實，而治天下者常虛，民之耳目，既不可誑，治之盈耗，立亦隨之。故凡厥庶民，制度日侈，商販之室，飾等王侯，傭賣之身，製均妃后。凡一袖之大，足斷為兩，一裾之長，可分為二，見車馬不辨貴賤，視冠服不知尊卑。尚方今造一物，小民明已䁹睨。宮中朝制一衣，庶家晚已裁學。侈麗之原，實先宮閫。又妃主所賜，不限高卑，自今以去，宜為節目。金魄翠玉，錦繡縠羅，奇色異章，小民既不得服，在上亦不得賜。若工人復造奇伎淫器，則皆焚之，而重其罪。

Moreover court audiences and imperial conduct should begin with correction close at hand; the regulations governing consorts and imperial ladies should gradually be reformed. The whole realm supports one ruler—what worry is there of insufficiency? Even if the emperor were reduced to gathering soap or the empress to plain cloth, that would be unworthy. A single body's adornment in gold does not reach a hundred taels, a year's fine clothes no more than several suits—yet treasures are collected in linked cases and garments piled in boxes, seldom seen and seldom worn; this is to belt cases with jewels and box clothes away, scattering the state's wealth in vain and driving the realm's goods to waste, while the ruler grows idle in ritual and consorts grow proud in their households—how extreme is this waste, how great this folly! Down to maidservants and attendants, all have no fixed regulations; one maid has secondary maids to serve her, one attendant's household has ranked attendants under him. Those who gild their halls and wear brocade, who drink fine wine and eat delicacies—cannot be numbered. Some even array carriages for pleasure outings and adorn weapons to drive and shout at others—is that not gravely excessive? If travel and gifts were forbidden and kept meager, this could not come about. Fine crafts begin at the palace as thrift and restraint, yet the market makes splendor and strangeness, which is immediately transmitted to the people. If so, this is shifting the problem, not abolishing it. Those who bring order to the realm do so through substance, while those who govern the realm are often hollow; the people's eyes and ears cannot be deceived, and the fullness or exhaustion of governance follows immediately. Therefore among common people institutions grow more extravagant daily; merchants' houses adorn themselves like those of kings and marquises, and hired laborers dress like consorts and empresses. One sleeve is large enough to cut in two, one skirt long enough to divide in two—seeing carriages and horses one cannot distinguish noble from base, viewing caps and garments one cannot tell honor from lowliness. When the Imperial Workshop makes a new object today, by dawn common people are already copying and envying it. The palace designs one garment for morning audience, and by evening common households have already cut and copied it. The source of extravagance truly begins at the palace gates. Moreover gifts from consorts and imperial ladies are not limited by rank—from today forward there should be regulated limits. Gold inlay, green jade, brocade and fine silk gauze, strange colors and unusual patterns—common people may not wear them, and those above may not bestow them. If craftsmen again make strange devices and licentious utensils, they should all be burned and the craftsmen heavily punished.

:又置官者，將以燮天平氣，贊地成功，防姦御難，治煩理劇，使官稱事立，人稱官置，無空樹散位，繁進宂人。今高卑貿實，大小反稱，名之不定，是謂官邪。而世廢姬公之制，俗傳秦人之法，惡明君之典，好闇主之事，其憎聖愛愚，何其甚矣。今則宜先省事，從而并官，置位以周典為式，變名以適時為用，秦、漢末制，何足取也。當使德厚者位尊，位尊者祿重；能薄者官賤，官賤者秩輕。纓冕紱佩，稱官以服；車騎容衞，當職以施。

Moreover offices are established to harmonize Heaven and level the qi, assist the earth in accomplishing its work, guard against treachery and repel difficulty, and govern troubles and urgent affairs—so that offices match their tasks and men match their offices, with no empty posts planted or redundant men advanced in numbers. Today rank and reality are reversed, great and small titles stand at odds with their substance—when names are unsettled, the offices themselves are corrupt. Yet the age has abandoned the institutions of the Duke of Zhou; custom perpetuates Qin methods. People hate the standards of enlightened rulers yet welcome the practices of worthless ones—how extreme their loathing of wisdom and fondness for folly! Now one should first streamline government, then consolidate offices, establish posts on the model of Zhou institutions, and change titles to suit the times—the late systems of Qin and Han are hardly worth adopting. Those of deep virtue should hold honored rank, and those of honored rank should receive generous emoluments. Those of slight ability should hold humble offices, and humble offices should carry light rank. Tassels, caps, sashes, and pendants should accord with one's office in dress. Carriages, mounts, guards, and escorts should be granted according to one's duties.

:又寄土州郡，宜通廢罷，舊地民戶，應更置立。豈吳邦而有徐邑，揚境而宅兗民，上淆辰紀，下亂畿甸。其地如朱方者，不宜置州，土如江都者，應更建邑。

Moreover the 'attached territory' provinces and commanderies should be abolished outright, and the original lands and households should be re-established afresh. How can the state of Wu contain Xu districts, or Yang territory be home to Yan people—above it confuses the celestial domains, below it disorders the capital region? Regions like Zhufang should not be made into provinces; regions like Jiangdu should have new administrative seats established.

:又民少者易理，君近者易歸，凡吏皆宜每詳其能，每厚其秩，為縣不得復用恩家之貧，為郡不得復選勢族之老。

Moreover where populations are small they are easier to govern, and where the ruler is near the people are easier to win back—all officials should have their abilities thoroughly assessed and their rank generously maintained. As county magistrate one must not again appoint impoverished dependents of favored families; as prefect one must not again select aged men from powerful clans.

:又王侯識未堪務，不應強仕，須合冠而啟封，能政而議爵。且帝子未官，人誰謂賤。但宜詳置賓友，選擇正人，亦何必列長史、參軍、別駕、從事，然後為貴哉。又世有先後，業有難易，明帝能令其兒不匹光武之子，馬貴人能使其家不比陰后之族，盛矣哉，此於後世不可忘也。至當輿抑碎首之忿，陛殿延辟戟之威，此亦復不可忘也。

Moreover princes and marquises whose understanding is not yet equal to affairs should not be forced into office—they must reach adulthood before their fiefs are opened and demonstrate capacity for government before titles are conferred. Besides, when an imperial son holds no office, who will deem him lowly? One need only carefully assign advisers and companions and select upright men—why must one be arrayed with Chief Clerk, Aide, Separate Chariot, and Attendant before being considered honored? Generations have their order of precedence and achievements vary in difficulty—Emperor Ming kept his sons from rivaling Emperor Guangwu's sons, and Lady Ma kept her family from equaling Empress Yin's clan—how exemplary! Later ages must not forget this. Likewise one must not forget checking rage that would dash one's head against the carriage steps, or wielding at the palace hall the intimidating authority of halberds at the threshold.

:內外之政，實不可雜。若妃主為人請官者，其人宜終身不得為官，若請罪者，亦終身不得赦罪。

Inner and outer government truly cannot be mingled. If a consort or imperial lady intercedes for someone's appointment, that person should never hold office for life; if she intercedes for pardon, he should never be pardoned for life.

:凡天下所須者才，而才誠難知也。有深居而言寡，則蘊學而無由知；有卑處而事隔，則懷奇而無由進。或復見忌於親故，或亦遭讒於貴黨，其欲致車右而動御席，語天下而辯治亂，焉可得哉。漫言舉賢，則斯人固未得矣。宜使世之所稱通經達史、辨詞精數、吏能將謀、偏術小道者，使獵纓危膝，博求其用。制內外官與官之遠近及仕之類，令各以所能而造其室，降情以誘之，卑身以安之，然後察其擢脣吻，樹頰胲，動精神，發意氣，語之所至，意之所執，不過數四間，不亦盡可知哉。若忠孝廉清之比，強正惇柔之倫，難以檢格立，不可須臾定，宜使鄉部求其行，守宰察其能，竟皆見之於選貴，呈之於相主，然後處其職宜，定其位用。如此，故應愚鄙盡捐，賢明悉舉矣。又俗好以毀沈人，不知察其所以致毀；以譽進人，不知測其所以致譽。毀徒皆鄙，則宜擢其毀者；譽黨悉庸，則宜退其譽者。如此，則毀譽不妄，善惡分矣。又既謂之才，則不宜以階級限，不應以年齒齊。凡貴者好疑人少，不知其少於人矣。老者亦輕人少，不知其不及少矣。

What the realm requires above all is talent, yet talent is truly hard to discern. Some live in deep seclusion and speak little—learned yet with no way to be discovered. Some remain in humble stations with affairs blocked off—endowed with rare gifts yet with no path to advancement. Some are resented by kin and friends, others slandered by noble factions—for them to reach the emperor's side, move the imperial seat, speak of the realm and debate governance—how can this be achieved? Merely talking of elevating the worthy will never actually bring such people forward. Those famed for mastering the classics and histories, skilled in rhetoric and reckoning, capable in administration and strategy, or versed in specialized arts should be summoned to tie their caps and kneel in audience, and broadly sought for employment. Set rules for inner and outer offices by the distance between posts and kinds of service; have each come to audience according to his abilities. Lower one's bearing to draw them out, humble oneself to put them at ease—then observe their speech and expression, their spirit and intent; within three or four exchanges, could not everything be fully discerned? Qualities like loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and purity, or forceful uprightness and steadfast gentleness, cannot be measured by fixed criteria or decided in an instant. Local communities should report on conduct, magistrates should assess ability; all should finally be shown to selection officers and presented to the chief minister—then they should be assigned suitable duties and fixed rank. Thus the foolish and base would all be set aside, and the worthy and capable all elevated. Moreover custom readily uses slander to ruin people, without examining why the slander arose. It uses praise to promote people, without gauging why the praise arose. If all who slander are base, then one should elevate those who slander them. If all who praise are mediocre, then one should dismiss those they praise. Thus slander and praise would not be arbitrary, and good and evil would be clearly distinguished. Moreover once we speak of talent, we should not limit it by rank, nor equalize it by age. Those of high rank tend to doubt the young—unaware that they themselves fall short of the young. The elderly also look down on the young—not realizing they themselves cannot match them.

:自釋氏流教，其來有源，淵檢精測，固非深矣。舒引容潤，既亦廣矣。然習慧者日替其修，束誡者月繁其過，遂至糜散錦帛，侈飾車從。復假精醫術，託雜卜數，延姝滿室，置酒浹堂，寄夫託妻者不無，殺子乞兒者繼有。而猶倚靈假像，背親傲君，欺費疾老，震損宮邑，是乃外刑之所不容戮，內教之所不悔罪，而橫天地之間，莫之糾察。人不得然，豈其鬼歟。今宜申嚴佛律，裨重國令，其疵惡顯著者，悉皆罷遣，餘則隨其蓺行，各為之條，使禪義經誦，人能其一，食不過蔬，衣不出布。若應更度者，則令先習義行，本其神心，必能草腐人天，竦精以往者，雖侯王家子，亦不宜拘。

Since Buddhist teaching spread, it has had its sources; yet close scrutiny shows its profundity is not so deep after all. Its expansive doctrine and accommodating polish have also grown very broad. Yet the clever daily slacken their discipline, while the ostensibly restrained monthly multiply their transgressions, until they squander silk and brocade and lavishly adorn carriages and retinues. They also borrow medical skills and rely on mixed divination; beauties fill their chambers and wine flows across the hall. Some abandon husbands to lodge wives with monks, and cases of killing children to beg for more follow one after another. Yet they still rely on spirits and false images, turn against kin and scorn the ruler, cheat the sick and elderly and drain the treasury, shocking palace and capital—deeds outer law cannot punish and inner teaching cannot reform, yet they walk the world with none to investigate. If people cannot act so, can their ghosts be responsible? Now Buddhist precepts should be strictly enforced and state orders given greater weight; those whose faults are conspicuous should all be dismissed; the rest should be regulated according to their practice—requiring mastery of one among meditation, doctrine, or sutra recitation; food limited to vegetables, clothing to plain cloth. If someone is to be ordained anew, he should first study righteous conduct and examine his inner spirit; only if he can truly renounce worldly life and devote his whole being to the path—even a prince or marquis's son should not be detained.

:凡鬼道惑眾，妖巫破俗，觸木而言怪者不可數，寓采而稱神者非可算。其原本是亂男女，合飲食，因之而以祈祝，從之而以報請，是亂不誅，為害未息。凡一苑始立，一神初興，淫風輒以之而甚，今修隄以北，置園百里，峻山以右，居靈十房，糜財敗俗，其可稱限。又針藥之術，世寡復修，診脈之伎，人鮮能達，民因是益徵於鬼，遂棄於醫，重令耗惑不反，死夭復半。今太醫宜男女習教，在所應遣吏受業，如此故當愈於媚神之愚，懲艾腠理之敝矣。

Ghostly cults delude the masses; sorcerers and witches ruin custom. Those who touch trees and speak of marvels are beyond number; those who feign portents and claim divinity are incalculable. At root they mix men and women and combine feasting with worship; from this they pray and offer sacrifice, then seek divine response—if such disorder goes unpunished, the harm will never cease. Whenever a park is first established or a shrine first erected, licentious custom immediately grows worse. Now north of the repaired dike a garden of a hundred li is laid out, and to the right of steep mountains ten spirit halls are built—squandering wealth and ruining custom: this has gone beyond all limit. Moreover acupuncture and medicine are rarely practiced today; pulse diagnosis is seldom mastered. The people therefore turn increasingly to ghosts and abandon physicians, greatly increasing waste and delusion, and premature death by half again. The Imperial Physicians should now train both men and women; officials should be dispatched wherever appropriate to receive instruction—thus surpassing the folly of flattering spirits and remedying the neglect of medicine.

:凡無世不有言事，無時不有令下，然而升平不至，昏危是繼，何哉？蓋設令之本非實也。又病言不出於謀臣，事不便於貴黨，輕者抵訾呵駭，重者死壓窮擯，故西京有方調之誅，東都有黨錮之戮。陛下若欲申常令，循末典，則羣臣在焉；若欲改舊章，興王道，則微臣存矣。敢昧死以陳，唯陛下察之。

No age lacks memorials, no season lacks edicts—yet peace never arrives and decline and danger follow in succession. Why? Because the foundation of issuing orders is not genuine. Counsel does not come from planning ministers, and measures inconvenient to noble factions meet with light rebuke and shouting at best, or death and exile at worst. Hence the Western Capital saw punishments for regional adjustment, and the Eastern Capital the slaughter of factional imprisonment. If Your Majesty wishes to maintain ordinary orders and follow established precedents, your ministers are at hand. If you wish to reform old statutes and establish the kingly Way, this humble minister still stands ready. I dare risk death to state this—may Your Majesty consider it.

書奏忤旨，自解去職。

The memorial offended the emperor, and Lang resigned his office of his own accord.

又除太子中舍人，出為廬陵內史。郡後荒蕪，頻有野獸，母薛氏欲見獵，朗乃合圍縱火，令母觀之。火逸燒郡廨，朗悉以秩米起屋，償所燒之限，稱疾去官，遂為州司所糾。還都謝世祖曰：「州司舉臣愆失，多有不允。臣在郡，虎三食人，蟲鼠犯稼，以此二事上負陛下。」上變色曰：「州司不允，或可有之。蟲虎之災，寧關卿小物。」朗尋丁母艱，有孝性，每哭必慟，其餘頗不依居喪常節。大明四年，上使有司奏其居喪無禮，請加收治。詔曰：「朗悖禮利口，宜令翦戮，微物不足亂典刑，特鏁付邊郡。」於是傳送寧州，於道殺之，時年三十六。

He was again appointed Palace Aide to the Heir Apparent, then sent out as Administrator of Luling. The commandery was afterward desolate and overrun with wild beasts. His mother Lady Xue wished to see a hunt, so Lang enclosed the area, set fires, and had his mother watch. The fire spread and burned the commandery offices. Lang used all his salary grain to rebuild and compensate for the damage. He claimed illness and resigned, and was then impeached by the provincial officials. Returning to the capital he apologized to Emperor Shizu, saying: "The provincial officials reported my faults—many were unfounded. In my commandery tigers devoured people three times and insects and rodents damaged the crops—in these two matters I have failed Your Majesty above." The Emperor changed color and said: "That the provincial officials' charges were unfounded may perhaps be so. Insects and tigers—how could that concern a petty man like you?" Lang soon entered mourning for his mother. He had a filial nature and wept convulsively each time, but otherwise largely did not follow the usual rites of mourning. In the fourth year of Daming the emperor had the relevant offices memorialize that his mourning lacked propriety and request formal punishment. An edict said: "Lang violates ritual and is glib—he ought to be cut down and executed; petty matters are not worth disturbing statutory punishments—he is specially sent in chains to the border commandery." He was then sent under escort to Ning Province and killed on the road, aged thirty-six.

子仁昭，順帝昇明末為南海太守。

His son Renzhao served as Administrator of Nanhai at the end of Emperor Shun's Shengming reign.

沈懷文

Shen Huaiwen

沈懷文字思明，吳興武康人也。祖寂，晉光祿勳。父宣，新安太守。

Shen Huaiwen, style name Siming, was a native of Wukang in Wuxing. His grandfather Ji was Director of the Imperial Secretariat. His father Xuan was Administrator of Xin'an.

懷文少好玄理，善為文章，嘗為楚昭王二妃詩，見稱於世。初州辟從事，轉西曹，江夏王義恭司空行參軍，隨府轉司徒參軍事，東閤祭酒。丁父憂，新安郡送故豐厚，奉終禮畢，餘悉班之親戚，一無所留。太祖聞而嘉之，賜奴婢六人。服闋，除尚書殿中郎。隱士雷次宗被徵居鍾山，後南還廬岳，何尚之設祖道，文義之士畢集，為連句詩，懷文所作尤美，辭高一座。以公事例免，同輩皆失官，懷文乃獨留。隨王誕鎮襄陽，出為後軍主簿，與諮議參軍謝莊共掌辭令，領義成太守。元嘉二十八年，誕當為廣州，欲以懷文為安南府記室，先除通直郎，懷文固辭南行，上不悅。

Huaiwen in youth loved arcane principles and excelled at literary composition. He once composed a poem on the two consorts of King Zhao of Chu and was praised in his day. At first the province recruited him as an aide; he transferred to Western Bureau Aide, then served as Aide on the staff of Prince Jiangxia Yigong as Director of Works, followed the princely establishment as Staff Aide of the Minister of Works, and became Eastern Pavilion Libationer. When his father's mourning ended, Xin'an Commandery sent generous funeral gifts; when the burial rites were complete, he distributed the remainder entirely among kin and kept nothing for himself. Emperor Taizu heard of this and commended him, bestowing six male and female servants. When mourning ended he was appointed Palace Gentleman of the Masters of Writing. The recluse Lei Cizong was summoned to dwell on Zhongshan, then later returned south to Mount Lu. He Shangzhi held a farewell banquet; men of letters all gathered and composed linked-verse poetry. Huaiwen's composition was especially fine, and his words topped the assembly. Through a general precedent he was dismissed; all his peers lost office, but Huaiwen alone remained. When Prince Suizhi Dan garrisoned Xiangyang, Huaiwen went out as Senior Clerk of the Rear Army, shared charge of documents and orders with Advisory Aide Xie Zhuang, and concurrently served as Administrator of Yicheng. In the twenty-eighth year of Yuanjia, Dan was to go to Guangzhou and wished to appoint Huaiwen Recorder of the Pacification of the South staff; he was first appointed Direct Attendant, but Huaiwen firmly declined the southern journey and the emperor was displeased.

弟懷遠納東陽公主養女王鸚鵡為妾，元凶行巫蠱，鸚鵡預之，事泄，懷文因此失調，為治書侍御史。元凶弒立，以為中書侍郎。世祖入討，劭呼之使作符檄，懷文固辭，劭大怒，投筆於地曰：「當今艱難，卿欲避事邪！」旨色甚切。值殷沖在坐，申救得免。託疾落馬，間行奔新亭。以為竟陵王誕衞軍記室參軍、新興太守。又為誕驃騎錄事參軍、淮南太守。時國哀未釋，誕欲起內齋，懷文以為不可，乃止。尋轉揚州治中從事史。

His younger brother Huaiyuan took as concubine the foster daughter of the Princess of Dongyang, Wang Yingwu; when the Crown Prince practiced witchcraft, Yingwu was involved, and when the affair was exposed Huaiwen lost favor thereby and was made Imperial Secretary for Investigation. When the Crown Prince usurped the throne, Huaiwen was made Palace Gentleman of the Secretariat. When Emperor Xiaowu marched to suppress him, Shao summoned Huaiwen to draft proclamations and orders; Huaiwen firmly declined. Shao was greatly enraged, threw his brush to the ground and said: "In today's hardship, do you wish to avoid affairs!" His tone and expression were very urgent. Yin Chong happened to be present and interceded, so he was spared. He claimed illness, fell from his horse, and fled by secret route to Xinting. He was appointed Recorder on the staff of Prince Jingling Dan as Defender of the Army and Administrator of Xinxing. He again served Dan as Chief Clerk of the Flying Cavalry and Administrator of Huainan. At the time national mourning had not yet ended; Dan wished to hold an inner fast, but Huaiwen thought it improper and he stopped. Soon he transferred to Senior Clerk of Yang Province.

時議省錄尚書，懷文以為非宜，上議曰：「昔天官正紀，六典序職，載師掌均，七府成務，所以翼平辰衡，經贊邦極。故總屬之原，著夫官典，和統之要，昭于國言。夏因虞禮，有深冢司之則；周承殷法，無損掌邦之儀。用乃調佐王均，緝亮帝度。而式憲之軌，弘正漢庭；述章之範，崇明魏室。雖條錄之名，立稱於中代，總釐之實，不愆於自古，比代相沿，歷朝罔貳。及乎爵以事變，級以時改，皆興替之道，無害國章，八統元任，靡或省革。按台輔之職，三曰禮典，以和邦國，以統百官。四曰政典，以平邦國，以正百官。鄭康成云：『冢宰之於庶僚，無所不總也。』考于茲義，備於典文，詳古準今，不宜虛廢。」不從。遷別駕從事史，江夏王義恭遷，西陽王子尚為揚州，居職如故。

When the court discussed abolishing the Recording Secretary of the Masters of Writing, Huaiwen thought it inadvisable and submitted a memorial saying: "In antiquity the Heavenly Offices kept correct records; the six canons ordered duties; the Director of Multitudes managed equalization; the seven ministries fulfilled tasks—thereby to assist in balancing the celestial scale and sustain the pole of the state. Therefore the origin of general subordination is set forth in the offices canon; the essentials of harmonious coordination are made clear in the state's pronouncements. Xia following Yu's rites had the profound rules of the Chief Minister; Zhou received Yin's law without diminishing the rites of governing the realm. By this one harmonizes and assists the king's balance, collects and illuminates the emperor's measures. And the tracks of constitutional law were grandly upheld in the Han court; the models of declared statutes exalted the Wei house. Although the name 'recording by articles' arose in the middle ages, the substance of general oversight did not depart from antiquity—generations compared transmitted it, dynasties without change. When ranks changed with affairs and grades altered with the times—all paths of rise and decline, without harming the state's statutes—the eight domains and original duties saw none abolished or reformed. Examining the duties of the terrace ministers: the third is the Ritual Canon—to harmonize the states and command the hundred officials. The fourth is the Administrative Canon—to bring peace to the realm's states and set the hundred officials aright. Zheng Xuan said: "The Chief Minister oversees all ordinary officials—nothing falls outside his authority." Examining this meaning as preserved in the canonical texts, weighing antiquity against the present—it should not be abolished without cause." The emperor did not heed it. He was promoted to Vice-Prefect Attendant Clerk. When Prince Jiangxia Yigong was reassigned and Prince Xiyang Zishang was appointed Governor of Yang Province, Huaiwen continued in the same office.

時熒惑守南斗，上乃廢西州舊館，使子尚移居東城以厭之。懷文曰：「天道示變，宜應之以德。今雖空西州，恐無益也。」不從，而西州竟廢矣。大明二年，遷尚書吏部郎。時朝議欲依古制置王畿，揚州移治會稽，猶以星變故也。懷文曰：「周制封畿，漢置司隸，各因時宜，非存相反，安民寧國，其揆一也。苟民心所安，天亦從之，未必改今追古，乃致平壹。神州舊壤，歷代相承，異於邊州，或罷或置，既物情不說，容虧化本。」又不從。三年，子尚移鎮會稽，遷撫軍長史，行府州事。時囚繫甚多，動經年月，懷文到任，訊五郡九百三十六獄，眾咸稱平。

Mars had lodged in the Southern Dipper. The emperor abandoned the old Western Prefecture residence and moved Zishang to the Eastern City to counter the omen. Huaiwen said: "Heaven is showing a sign of change; the proper response is virtue. Even if we abandon Western Prefecture now, I fear it will accomplish nothing." The emperor refused. Western Prefecture was abolished after all. In the second year of Daming (458), he was appointed Director in the Ministry of Personnel. The court was debating establishing a Royal Domain on the ancient model and moving Yang Province's capital to Kuaiji—all still on account of the celestial portent. Huaiwen said: "Zhou created the royal domain and Han established the Directorate of Retainers—each adapted to its age, not as opposing models. The aim of both is the same: securing the people and stabilizing the realm. If the people's hearts are content, Heaven will follow suit. Replacing present arrangements with ancient ones is not necessarily the path to harmony. The heartland has been governed continuously for generations, unlike the frontier where offices are routinely added or cut. The people are already unsettled; such changes could erode the foundations of good government." Again the emperor would not hear of it. In the third year (459), when Zishang moved his headquarters to Kuaiji, Huaiwen was appointed Senior Administrator of the Army of Pacification with concurrent charge of commandery and provincial affairs. Prisoners were numerous, many cases lingering for years. When Huaiwen took office, he reviewed nine hundred thirty-six pending cases across five commanderies. Everyone praised the justice of his rulings.

入為侍中，寵待隆密，將以為會稽，其事不行。竟陵王誕據廣陵反，及城陷，士庶皆臝身鞭面，然後加刑，聚所殺人首於石頭南岸，謂之髑髏山。懷文陳其不可，上不納。揚州移會稽，上忿浙江東人情不和，欲貶其勞祿，唯西州舊人不改。懷文曰：「揚州徙治，既乖民情，一州兩格，尤失大體。臣謂不宜有異。」上又不從。

He was summoned to serve as Palace Attendant and received exceptional favor. The emperor intended to appoint him to Kuaiji, but the plan never materialized. When Prince Jingling Dan rebelled at Guangling and the city fell, soldiers stripped the gentry and commoners naked, flayed their faces, and only then applied punishment. The severed heads were piled on the south bank of Stone City into a heap called Skull Mountain. Huaiwen protested that this was unacceptable. The emperor paid no heed. After Yang Province moved to Kuaiji, the emperor, angry that the people east of the Zhe River were discontented, wanted to cut their salaries and stipends—except for the old Western Prefecture retainers, who would keep their original terms. Huaiwen said: "Moving the provincial capital already alienates the people. Applying two different standards within one province violates every principle of governance. I submit that they should be treated alike." The emperor again refused.

懷文與顏竣、周朗素善，竣以失旨見誅，朗亦以忤意得罪，上謂懷文曰：「竣若知我殺之，亦當不敢如此。」懷文默然。嘗以歲夕與謝莊、王景文、顏師伯被敕入省，未及進，景文因言次稱竣、朗人才之美，懷文與相酬和，師伯後因語次白上，敍景文等此言。懷文屢經犯忤，至此上倍不說。上又壞諸郡士族，以充將吏，並不服役，至悉逃亡，加以嚴制不能禁。乃改用軍法，得便斬之，莫不奔竄山湖，聚為盜賊。懷文又以為言。齋庫上絹，年調鉅萬匹，緜亦稱此。期限嚴峻，民間買絹一匹，至二三千，緜一兩亦三四百，貧者賣妻兒，甚者或自縊死。懷文具陳民困，由是緜絹薄有所減，俄復舊。子尚諸皇子皆置邸舍，逐什一之利，為患徧天下。懷文又言之曰：「列肆販賣，古人所非，故卜式明不雨之由，弘羊受致旱之責。若以用度不充，頓止為難者，故宜量加減省。」不聽。孝建以來，抑黜諸弟，廣陵平後，復欲更峻其科。懷文曰：「漢明不使其子比光武之子，前史以為美談。陛下既明管、蔡之誅，願崇唐、衞之寄。」及海陵王休茂誅，欲遂前議，太宰江夏王義恭探得密旨，先發議端，懷文固謂不可，由是得息。

Huaiwen had long been close to Yan Jun and Zhou Lang. Jun was executed for falling from favor; Lang, too, offended the emperor and was punished. The emperor told Huaiwen: "If Jun had known I would have him killed, he surely would not have been so bold." Huaiwen said nothing. On one New Year's Eve, Huaiwen was summoned to the Secretariat along with Xie Zhuang, Wang Jingwen, and Yan Shibo. Before they could enter, Jingwen praised Jun and Lang's talents in passing, and Huaiwen chimed in. Later, Shibo reported their words to the emperor. Huaiwen had crossed the emperor many times; now his displeasure doubled. The emperor also conscripted gentry families from every commandery as military officers. They refused service and fled en masse; even harsh penalties could not stop them. The court then applied military law, allowing summary execution. Men fled into the hills and marshes and banded together as outlaws. Huaiwen raised the matter again. The palace treasury required silk tribute amounting to tens of thousands of bolts each year, with cotton floss taxed in proportion. Deadlines were merciless. One bolt of silk on the open market cost two or three thousand cash; an ounce of floss, three or four hundred. The poor sold wives and children to comply; some hanged themselves. Huaiwen laid out the people's suffering in full. Taxes on floss and silk were trimmed slightly, but soon reverted to former levels. Zishang and the other princes all maintained commercial lodges, extracting ten-percent profits—a plague that spread across the empire. Huaiwen spoke out again: "Ancient sages condemned princes who traded openly—remember how Bu Shi identified commercial greed as the cause of drought, and Sang Hongyang was blamed for inviting famine. If stopping outright is impossible given budget shortfalls, at least reduce the levies incrementally." The emperor would not hear it. Since the Xiaojian reign the emperor had suppressed and demoted his younger brothers. After Guangling was pacified, he wanted to tighten restrictions on them further. Huaiwen said: "Emperor Ming of Han did not let his sons rival the sons of Guangwu—a story the histories praise. Your Majesty already knows why Guan and Cai were punished; I ask that you honor the trust the Duke of Zhou placed in Tang and Wei instead." After Prince Hailing Xiumao was executed, the emperor tried to revive the earlier proposal. Grand Tutor Prince Jiangxia Yigong learned of the secret plan and opened the debate. Huaiwen firmly objected, and the matter was dropped.

時游幸無度，太后及六宮常乘副車在後，懷文與王景文每陳不宜亟出。後同從坐松樹下，風雨甚驟。景文曰：「卿可以言矣。」懷文曰：「獨言無係，宜相與陳之。」江智淵臥草側，亦謂言之為善。俄而被召俱入雉場，懷文曰：「風雨如此，非聖躬所宜冒。」景文又曰：「懷文所啟宜從。」智淵未及有言，上方注弩，作色曰：「卿欲效顏竣邪？何以恒知人事。」又曰：「顏竣小子，恨不得鞭其面！」上每宴集，在坐者咸令沈醉，懷文素不飲酒，又不好戲調，上謂故欲異己。謝莊嘗誡懷文曰：「卿每與人異，亦何可久。」懷文曰：「吾少來如此，豈可一朝而變。非欲異物，性所得耳。」

The emperor hunted and traveled without restraint. The Empress Dowager and the ladies of the six palaces followed in spare carriages. Huaiwen and Wang Jingwen repeatedly urged him not to go out so often. On one outing they all sat together under a pine tree as a violent storm broke. Jingwen said: "This is your chance to speak." Huaiwen said: "One voice alone carries no weight. We should speak together." Jiang Zhiyuan, reclining in the grass nearby, agreed that they should speak up. Soon they were all summoned to the pheasant hunt. Huaiwen said: "In weather like this, Your Majesty should not be out in it." Jingwen added: "Your Majesty should heed Huaiwen's advice." Before Zhiyuan could speak, the emperor—crossbow in hand—darkened and said: "Are you trying to be another Yan Jun? Why do you always have opinions on how I should act?" He went on: "That wretch Yan Jun—I wish I could have flogged his face myself!" At every banquet the emperor insisted everyone drink until drunk. Huaiwen never drank and disliked coarse banter. The emperor took this as deliberate defiance. Xie Zhuang once warned him: "You always insist on being different—how long can you keep that up?" Huaiwen replied: "I have always been this way. I cannot change overnight. It is not contrariness—it is simply my nature."

五年，乃出為晉安王子勛征虜長史、廣陵太守。明年，坐朝正，事畢被遣還北，以女病求申。臨辭，又乞停三日，訖猶不去。為有司所糾，免官，禁錮十年。既被免，賣宅欲還東。上大怒，收付廷尉，賜死，時年五十四。三子：淡、淵、沖。

In the fifth year (461) he was sent out to serve as Senior Administrator on Prince Jin'an Zixun's staff and as Administrator of Guangling. The following year, after the New Year's court audience, he was ordered to return north. He asked to stay, citing his daughter's illness. On the eve of departure he requested three more days. When those expired, he still would not go. The authorities impeached him. He was dismissed from office and confined for ten years. After his dismissal he sold his house, planning to return east. The emperor flew into a rage, had him arrested and turned over to the Court of Justice, and ordered him to take poison. He was fifty-four. He had three sons: Dan, Yuan, and Chong.

弟懷遠，為始興王濬征北長流參軍，深見親待。坐納王鸚鵡為妾，世祖徙之廣州，使廣州刺史宗慤於南殺之。會南郡王義宣反，懷遠頗閑文筆，慤起義，使造檄書，并銜命至始興，與始興相沈法系論起義事。事平，慤具為陳請，由此見原。終世祖世不得還。懷文雖親要，屢請終不許。前廢帝世，流徙者並聽歸本，官至武康令。撰南越志及懷文文集，並傳於世。

His younger brother Huaiyuan served as Senior Clerk on Prince Shixing Jun's northern campaign staff and was warmly favored. For taking Wang Yingwu as a concubine, Emperor Xiaowu exiled him to Guangzhou and ordered Governor Zong Que to execute him there. When Prince Nanjun Yixuan rebelled, Huaiyuan, who was skilled with the pen, was enlisted by Que in the loyalist cause to draft the proclamation. Que also dispatched him to Shixing to discuss the uprising with Administrator Shen Falü. After the rebellion was suppressed, Que petitioned fully on his behalf, and he was pardoned. He was not allowed to return home for the rest of Emperor Xiaowu's reign. Though Huaiwen held great influence, his repeated pleas on his brother's behalf were always refused. Under the Former Deposed Emperor, exiles were allowed to return home. Huaiyuan eventually reached the office of Magistrate of Wukang. He wrote the Record of Southern Yue and compiled Shen Huaiwen's collected works, both of which circulated after his death.

史評

Historical Commentary

史臣曰：昔婁敬戍卒，委輅而遷帝都；馮唐老賤，片詞以悟明主。素無王公卿士之貴，非有積譽取信之資，徒以一言合旨，仰感萬乘。自此山壑草萊之人，布衣韋帶之士，莫不踵闕縣書，煙霏霧集。自漢至魏，此風未爽。暨于晉氏，浮偽成俗，人懷獨善，仕貴遺務。降及宋祖，思反前失，雖革薄捐華，抑揚名教，而闢聰之路未啟，采言之制不弘。至於賤隸卑臣，義合朝算，徒以事非己出，知允莫從。昔之開之若彼，今之塞之若此，非為徐樂、嚴安，偏富漢世，東方，主父，獨闕宋時，蓋由用與不用也。徒置乞言之旨，空下不諱之令，慕古飾情，義非側席，文士因斯，各存炫藻。周朗辯博之言，多切治要，而意在摛詞，文實忤主。文詞之為累，一至此乎。

The historian writes: Long ago Lou Jing, a mere garrison soldier, set aside his cart and persuaded the court to move the capital; Feng Tang, old and obscure, moved a clear-sighted emperor with a single memorial. Neither held noble rank nor had long-standing reputations to recommend them—they moved the Son of Heaven with a single well-placed word. After that, hermits from hills and marshes, scholars in plain hemp and leather—all thronged to the palace gates with memorials, gathering thick as mist. From Han through Wei, the tradition held strong. By the Jin dynasty, hollow posturing had become the norm. Men cultivated private virtue rather than public service; office became an excuse to shirk real work. When Emperor Wu founded the Liu Song, he tried to undo these failings—stripping away hollow display and restoring moral teaching. Yet he never truly opened the channels for candid counsel or broadened the system for gathering remonstrances. Even when low-born officials offered advice that served the state's interests, if the idea was not the emperor's own, he would not heed it. In earlier ages the gates stood open; now they are shut tight. It is not that Xu Yue and Yan An flourished only in Han while Dongfang Shuo and Zhufu Yan had no place in Song—the difference is simply whether counsel is heeded or ignored. Emperors proclaimed that they welcomed advice and issued edicts of frank speech—empty gestures borrowing the language of antiquity, without the earnestness of rulers who left their seats to receive counsel. Scholars responded with ornamental prose rather than honest remonstrance. Zhou Lang's eloquent memorials often addressed vital matters of governance, but he wrote to display his literary skill—and that very artistry offended the emperor. To think that one's very eloquence could prove fatal—has it truly come to this?

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