Volume 57 Biographies 22: Lu Sidao, Li Xiaozhen, Xue Daoheng

盧思道從父兄昌衡

Changheng, Lu Sidao's paternal cousin

盧思道，字子行，范陽人也。祖陽烏，魏秘書監。父道亮，隱居不仕。思道聰爽俊辯，通侻不羈。年十六，遇中山劉松，松為人作碑銘，以示思道。思道讀之，多所不解，於是感激，閉戶讀書，師事河間邢子才。後思道複為文，以示劉松，松又不能甚解。思道乃喟然歎曰：「學之有益，豈徒然哉！」因就魏收借異書，數年之間，才學兼著。然不持操行，好輕侮人。齊天保中，《魏史》未出，思道先已誦之，由是大被笞辱。前後屢犯，因而不調。其後左僕射楊遵彥薦之于朝，解褐司空行參軍，長兼員外散騎侍郎，直中書省。文宣帝崩，當朝文士各作挽歌十首，擇其善者而用之。魏收、陽休之、祖孝徵等不過得一二首，唯思道獨得八首。故時人稱為「八米盧郎」。後漏泄省中語，出為丞相西閤祭酒，曆太子舍人、司徒錄事參軍。每居官，多被譴辱。後以擅用庫錢，免歸於家。嘗於薊北悵然感慨，為五言詩為見意，人以為工。數年，複為京畿主簿，曆主客郎、給事黃門侍郎，待詔文林館。周武帝平齊，授儀同三司，追赴長安，與同輩陽休之等數人作《聽蟬鳴篇》，思道所為，詞意清切，為時人所重。新野庾信遍覽諸同作者，而深歎美之。未幾，以母疾還鄉，遇同郡祖英伯及從兄昌期、宋護等舉兵作亂，思道預焉。周遣柱國宇文神舉討平之，罪當法，已在死中。神舉素聞其名，引出之，令作露布。思道援筆立成，文無加點，神舉嘉而宥之。後除掌教上士。高祖為丞相，遷武陽太守，非其好也。為《孤鴻賦》以寄其情曰：

Lu Sidao, whose style was Zixing, came from Fanyang. His grandfather Yangwu had served as Director of the Secretariat in Northern Wei. His father Daoliang had withdrawn from public life and never held office. Sidao was bright, handsome, and quick-tongued, with an easy, unconstrained temperament. When he was sixteen he met Liu Song of Zhongshan, who showed him an epitaph he had written for someone. Sidao read it and found much of it beyond him; stung to shame, he shut himself in to study and became a pupil of Xing Zicai of Hejian. Later Sidao wrote another piece and showed it to Liu Song, who could no longer follow it very well either. Sidao sighed and said, "So learning really does pay—this was no empty effort!" He borrowed rare books from Wei Shou, and within a few years had won renown for both talent and learning. Yet he was careless of his conduct and prone to slighting others. During Qi’s Tianbao reign, before the History of Wei was officially released, Sidao had already memorized it and was flogged and humiliated for it. He kept giving offense, and was passed over for promotion. Later Yang Zunyan, Left Vice Director, recommended him at court; he entered office as Acting Attendant in the Ministry of Works, also served as Extraordinary Attendant Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, and was posted to the Secretariat. When Emperor Wenxuan died, each leading writer at court submitted ten dirges, and the best lines were selected for the service. Wei Shou, Yang Xiuzhi, and Zu Xiaozheng each had only one or two pieces chosen, whereas Sidao alone had eight accepted. People therefore nicknamed him "Eight-Bushel Lu." Later he was demoted for leaking Secretariat secrets, becoming Libationer in the Chancellor’s Western Pavilion, and also served as Attendant to the Heir Apparent and Recorder under the Minister of Education. In every post he held he was repeatedly censured and shamed. He was later dismissed and sent home for unauthorized use of treasury funds. Once, north of Ji, he gave way to melancholy and wrote a pentasyllabic poem to voice his mood; readers judged it finely done. Several years later he returned as Chief Clerk of the Capital Region, then served as Master of Guests and Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, and was retained as a writer at the Forest of Letters. When Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi, Sidao was made Pillar of State, Third Order, and summoned to Chang'an; he and peers such as Yang Xiuzhi wrote "On Hearing the Cicadas," and Sidao's contribution, lucid and piercing in diction, won great esteem. Yu Xin of Xinye read all the contributions and sighed in deep admiration of Sidao's. Soon afterward he went home because his mother was ill and became involved when Zu Yingbo of his commandery, his cousin Changqi, Song Hu, and others rose in arms; Sidao joined them. Zhou sent Pillar of State Yuwen Shenju to put down the revolt; the offense merited execution, and Sidao was already as good as dead. Shenju had long known his reputation, had him brought forth, and ordered him to draft a victory proclamation. Sidao wrote it at a stroke, flawless without emendation; Shenju was pleased and spared him. He was later appointed Senior Master of Instruction. When Gaozu was Chancellor, Sidao was moved to Administrator of Wuyang, a post that did not suit him. He wrote "Rhapsody on a Lone Goose" to express his feelings, which read:

餘志學之歲，自鄉里游京師，便見識知音，曆受群公之眷。年登弱冠，甫就朝列，談者過誤，遂竊虛名。通人楊令君、邢特進已下，皆分庭致禮，倒屣相接，翦拂吹噓，長其光價。而才本駑拙，性實疏懶，勢利貨殖，淡然不營。雖籠絆朝市且三十載，而獨往之心未始去懷抱也。攝生舛和，有少氣疾。分符坐嘯，作守東原。洪河之湄，沃野彌望，囂務既屏，魚鳥為鄰。有離群之鴻，為羅者所獲，野人馴養，貢之于餘。置諸池庭，朝夕賞玩，既用銷憂，兼以輕疾。《大易》稱「鴻漸于陸」，羽儀盛也。《揚子》曰「鴻飛冥冥」，騫翥高也。《淮南》雲「東歸碣石」，違溽暑也。平子賦曰「南寓衡陽」，避祁寒也。若其雅步清音，遠心高致，鵷鸞以降，罕見其儔，而鎩翮牆陰，偶影獨立，唼喋粃粺，雞鶩為伍，不亦傷乎！餘五十之年，忽焉已至，永言身事，慨然多緒，乃為之賦，聊以自慰雲。其詞曰：

In the year I began serious study I left my home for the capital, where I soon found patrons who understood me and won the regard of many great men in turn. By twenty I had barely joined the court; gossipers overrated me, and I came by a hollow fame. Learned men from Lord Yang and Special Advance Xing downward all treated me as an equal, hurried out shoeless to welcome me, polished my reputation, and inflated my standing. Yet my gifts were naturally mediocre, my nature truly slack and indolent; I cared nothing for profit or gain. Though the court held me fast for nearly thirty years, the wish to go my own way never left me. My regimen had gone awry, and I suffered a mild disorder of the breath. I took office with seal in hand and became magistrate of the eastern plain. Along the great river lay rich fields without end; the noise of office fell away, and fish and birds were my companions. A goose that had strayed from the flock was caught by a fowler; a rustic tamed it and presented it to me. I kept it in the pool and courtyard and admired it morning and evening; it eased my cares and lightened my mild ailment. The Book of Changes says, "The goose gradually reaches the shore"—a splendid display of pinions. Yang Xiong says, "The goose flies in the dim distance"—soaring to great heights. The Huainanzi says it "returns east to Jieshi," fleeing the oppressive summer. Zhang Heng's rhapsody says it "sojourns south at Hengyang," shunning bitter cold. In grace of step and clarity of call, in lofty spirit and distant aim, among the phoenix-kind one seldom finds its equal—yet with wings clipped in a courtyard corner, standing alone with only its shadow, pecking scraps beside chickens and ducks: how pitiful! My fiftieth year has come all at once; reflecting on my life's course, I am stirred to many thoughts, and so I wrote this rhapsody simply to comfort myself. The text runs:

惟此孤鴻，擅奇羽蟲，實稟清高之氣，遠生遼碣之東。氄毛將落，和鳴順風，壯冰雲厚，矯翅排空。出島嶼之綿邈，犯霜露之溟濛，驚絓魚之密網，畏落雁之虛弓。若其斗柄東指，女夷司月，乃遙集於寒門，遂輕舉于玄闕。至如天高氣肅，搖落在時，既嘯儔於淮浦，亦弄吭于江湄。摩赤霄以淩厲，乘丹氣之威夷，逆商飆之嫋嫋，玩陽景之遲遲。彭蠡方春，洞庭初綠，理翮整翰，群浮侶浴。振雪羽而臨風，掩霜毛而候旭，饜江湖之菁藻，飫原野之菽粟。行離離而高逝，響噰噰而相續，潔齊國之冰紈，皓密山之華玉。若乃晨沐清露，安趾徐步；夕息芳洲，延頸乘流；違寒競逐，浮沅水宿；避暑言歸，絕漠雲飛。望玄鵠而為侶，比硃鷺而相依，倦天衢之冥漠，降河渚之芳菲。忽值羅人設網，虞者懸機，永辭寥廓，蹈跡重圍。始則窘束籠樊，憂憚刀俎，靡軀絕命，恨失其所。終乃馴狎園庭，棲托池禦，稻粱為惠，恣其容與。於是翕羽宛頸，屏氣銷聲，滅煙霞之高想，悶江海之幽情。何時驤首奮翼，上淩太清，騫翥鼓舞，遠薄層城。惡禽視而不貴，小鳥顧而相輕，安控地而無恥，豈沖天之複榮！若夫圖南之羽，偉而去羨，棲睫之蟲，微而不賤，各遂性於天壤，弗企懷以交戰。不聽咸池之樂，不饗太牢之薦，匹晨雞而共飲，偶野鳧以同膳。匪揚聲以顯聞，寧校體而求見，聊寓形乎沼沚，且夷心於溏澱。齊榮辱以晏如，承君子之余眄。

This lone goose, singular among winged creatures, truly bears a lofty, pure nature, born far away east of the frontier passes. Its down about to molt, it sings in harmony with the wind; where ice and clouds lie heavy, it spreads its wings and cleaves the sky. It leaves distant isles behind, faces mist and frost, starts at the fisher's close-set nets, and dreads the bow that brings down the migrating goose. When the Dipper turns east and the moon-maid takes charge of the month, it gathers far off at the Cold Gate and lightly ascends to the Dark Tower. When heaven stands high and the air turns crisp and leaves fall in season, it calls with its flock along the Huai and sings along the riverbanks. It brushes the crimson sky in bold flight, rides the power of the red ether, meets the swirling autumn wind, and lingers in the slow-setting sun. When spring comes to Poyang and Dongting first greens, it preens its wings; the flock floats together and bathes as one. It shakes snow-white plumes in the wind, folds frost-gray down to await the dawn, feasts on the lush plants of rivers and lakes, and fills itself on beans and grain of the open country. It departs in lofty flight, its calls echoing on and on, pure as the ice-silk of Qi, bright as the fine jade of Mishan. At dawn it bathes in clear dew and walks at ease with measured steps; at evening it rests on a fragrant islet, stretching its neck upon the current; fleeing the cold it races in pursuit, drifts on the Yuan and roosts upon the stream; shunning the summer heat it turns homeward, flying through clouds across the desert. It takes the dark swan for companion, keeps company with the vermilion egret, wearies of heaven's trackless gloom, and alights on the fragrant river islet. Suddenly the fowler sets his net, the huntsman springs his trap; it bids farewell forever to the open sky and walks within a double cage. At first cramped in cage and pen, it dreads knife and block, would yield body and life, and grieves to have lost its proper realm. In time it grows tame in garden and court, lodges in the palace pool, accepts grain as a gift, and wanders at ease. Then it folds its wings and bows its neck, holds its breath and stills its cry, quenches lofty dreams of mist and glow, and smothers the deep longing of rivers and sea. When will it toss its head and spread its wings, soar to the highest heaven, rise in exultant flight, and reach the distant tiered walls? Base birds look on without respect; small birds glance and scorn it—content to be held to earth without shame: what glory could there be in piercing heaven again! The bird that charts the south is great yet envies none; the mite on an eyelash is tiny yet not despised: each follows its nature under heaven and does not harbor warring desires. It hears not the music of Xianchi, tastes not the grand sacrifice, drinks beside the morning cock, and shares its meal with the wild drake. It does not cry out for fame, but would rather measure its frame to be seen; for now it lodges in marsh and pool, and quiets its heart in muddy shallows. It treats honor and shame alike and stays serene, enjoying the gentleman's kindly regard.

開皇初，以母老，表請解職，優詔許之。思道自恃才地，多所陵轢，由是官途淪滯。既而又著《勞生論》，指切當時，其詞曰：

Early in the Kaihuang reign, citing his mother's age, he petitioned to resign, and the emperor graciously approved. Sidao trusted in his talent and pedigree and often rode roughshod over others, and his career therefore languished. He then wrote "On the Toils of Life," a pointed critique of his age, which begins:

《莊子》曰：「大塊勞我以生。」誠哉斯言也！餘年五十，羸老雲至，追惟疇昔，勤矣厥生。乃著茲論，因言時雲爾。

Zhuangzi says, "The great clod burdens me with life." How true those words are! I am fifty; frailty and age gather like clouds; looking back on the past, how laborious my life has been. I therefore wrote this essay to speak of the times as follows.

罷郡屏居，有客造餘者，少選之頃，盱衡而言曰：「生者天地之大德，人者有生之最靈，所以作配兩儀，稱貴群品，妍蚩愚智之辯，天懸壤隔，行己立身之異，入海頓山。今吾子生於右地，九葉卿族，天授俊才，萬夫所仰，學綜流略，慕孔門之游、夏，辭窮麗則，擬漢日之卿、雲。行藏有節，進退以禮，不諂不驕，無慍無懌，偃仰貴賤之間，從容語默之際，何其裕也！下走所欣羡焉。」

After leaving my post and living in retirement, a visitor called; presently he drew himself up and said, "Life is heaven and earth's greatest virtue; man is the most spirited of living things, paired with yin and yang and honored above all creatures. The gap between beauty and ugliness, folly and wisdom, is as wide as heaven from earth; differences in conduct and station are as vast as the sea or a mountain's halt. You, sir, were born in a noble region, of a ministerial house nine generations deep, gifted by heaven with talent ten thousand men admire; your learning spans the classics, you emulate Ziyou and Zixia of Confucius's school, your style exhausts elegance, and you rival Sima Xiangru and Yang Yun of Han. You act and withdraw with measure, advance and retire by ritual, neither fawning nor arrogant, free of anger and resentment; whether bowing high or low, in speech or silence—how spacious your bearing! Your humble servant admires this greatly."

餘莞爾而笑曰：「未之思乎？何所言之過也！子其清耳，請為左右陳之。夫人之生也，皆未若無生。在余之生，勞亦勤止，紈綺之年，伏膺教義，規行矩步，從善而登。巾冠之後，濯纓受署，韁鎖仁義，籠絆朝市。失翹陸之本性，喪江湖之遠情，淪此風波，溺於倒躓，憂勞總至，事非一緒。何則？地胄高華，既致嫌于管庫，才識美茂，亦受嫉於愚庸。篤學強記，聾瞽於焉側目，清言河瀉，木訥所以疚心。豈徒蟲惜春漿，鴟吝腐鼠，相江都而永歎，傅長沙而不歸，固亦魯值臧倉，楚逢靳尚，趙壹為之哀歌，張升於是慟哭。有齊之季，不遇休明，申脰就鞅，屏跡無地。段珪、張讓，金貝是視，賈謐、郭淮，腥臊可饜。淫刑以逞，禍近池魚，耳聽惡來之讒，足踐龍逢之血。周氏末葉，仍值僻王，斂笏升階，汗流浹背，莒客之踵躋焦原，匹茲非險，齊人之手執馬尾，方此未危。若乃羊腸、句注之道，據鞍振策，武落、雞田之外，櫛風沐雨，三旬九食，不敢稱弊，此之為役，蓋其小小者耳。今泰運肇開，四門以穆，冕旒司契於上，夔、龍佐命於下，岐伯、善卷，恥徇幽憂，卞隨、務光，悔從木石。餘年在秋方，已迫知命，情禮宜退，不獲晏安。一葉從風，無損鄧林之攢植，雙鳧退飛，不虧渤澥之游泳。耕田鑿井，晚息晨興，候南山之朝雲，攬北堂之明月。氾勝九穀之書，觀其節制，崔實四人之令，奉以周旋。晨荷蓑笠，白屋黃冠之伍，夕談穀稼，沾體塗足之倫。濁酒盈樽，高歌滿席，恍兮惚兮，天地一指。此野人之樂也，子或以是羨餘乎？」

I smiled and said, "Have you not thought this through? How far your praise goes! Listen closely, and let me explain it for you. Of all human conditions, none is better than never to have been born. In my own life, labor has never ceased; in my youth I embraced instruction, walked by the rule, and rose by following what was right. After I came of age I rinsed my cap-tassel and took office, bridled by benevolence and righteousness, bound to court and marketplace. I lost the nature of one who soars on land, forsook the freedom of rivers and lakes, was swallowed by these storms and drowned in missteps; cares and labors came all at once, and for many reasons. Why so? A lofty pedigree already draws suspicion from petty officials; fine talent and insight also draw envy from the dull and mediocre. Deep learning and a keen memory make the ignorant glare sidelong; eloquent speech flowing like a river makes the tongue-tied writhe with shame. It is not only that insects begrudge spring sap or ospreys begrudge rotten rats; not only that one sighs like Dong Zhongshu of Jiangdu or is banished to Changsha like Jia Yi and never returns—one also meets a Zang Cang in Lu, a Jin Shang in Chu; Zhao Yi sang his lament for this, and Zhang Sheng wept. In the last days of Qi one found no enlightened age; one bowed the neck to the yoke and had nowhere to hide. Duan Gui and Zhang Rang cared only for gold; Jia Mi and Guo Huai were glutted with corruption. Cruel punishments ran riot; disaster reached even the fish in the moat; men's ears heard slander like Fei Lian's, their feet trod blood like Long Feng's. In Zhou's last days one still served a wayward king; ascending the steps with tablet in hand, sweat soaked one's back—the peril when a Juchen envoy trod Jiaoyuan was nothing beside this; the danger when a man of Qi seized a horse's tail was mild by comparison. The passes of Yangchang and Gouzhu, riding hard with whip in hand; beyond Wuluo and Jitian, wind-combed and rain-soaked, nine meals in thirty days without daring to call it hardship—such labors were but trifles. Now a great age has dawned, the four gates stand serene; the emperor holds the tally on high, worthy ministers assist below; Qibo and Shan Juan would blush to nurse private grief, Bian Sui and Wu Guang would regret hiding like wood and stone. I am in the autumn of my life, already nearing the age when one knows one's allotted span; sentiment and propriety call for stepping back, and I cannot find rest. A single leaf blown by the wind does not diminish the great grove of Deng; two wild ducks flying away do not empty the vast waters of the Bohai. I plow and dig wells, rise at dawn and rest at dusk, watch the morning clouds over the southern hills, and enjoy the moonlight in my northern hall. I study Fan Sheng's treatise on the nine grains and heed its seasonal rules, and I live by Cui Shi's four-seasons ordinance in my daily round. In the morning I shoulder hoe and cloak among simple farmers in white cottages; in the evening I talk crops with neighbors whose clothes and feet are caked with mud. Rough wine fills the cup and hearty songs fill the mat until, in a daze, heaven and earth seem but a single span. That is the rustic's delight—perhaps you envy me for it?

客曰：「吾子之事，既聞之矣。他人有心，又請論其梗概。」餘答曰：「雲飛泥沉，卑高異等，圓行方止，動息殊致。是以摩霄運海，輕罻羅於藪澤，五衢四照，忽斤斧于山林。餘晚值昌辰，遂其弱尚，觀人事之隕獲，睹時路之邅危。玄冬修夜，靜言長想，可以累歎悼心，流涕酸鼻。人之百年，脆促已甚，奔駒流電，不可為辭。顧慕周章，數紀之內，窮通榮辱，事無足道。而有識者鮮，無識者多，褊隘凡近，輕險躁薄。居家則人面獸心，不孝不義，出門則諂諛讒佞，無愧無恥。退身知足，忘伯陽之炯戒，陳力就列，棄周任之格言。悠悠遠古，斯患已積，迄於近代，此蠹尤深。範卿捴讓之風，搢紳不嗣，《夏書》昏墊之罪，執政所安。朝露未晞，小車盈董、石之巷，夕陽且落，皁蓋填閻、竇之裡。皆如脂如韋，俯僂匍匐，啖惡求媚，舐痔自親。美言諂笑，助其愉樂，詐泣佞哀，恤其喪紀。近通旨酒，遠貢文蛇，豔姬美女，委如脫屣，金銑玉華，棄同遺跡。及鄧通失路，一簪之賄無餘，梁冀就誅，五侯之貴將起。向之求官買職，晚謁晨趨，刺促望塵之舊游，伊優上堂之夜客，始則亡魂褫魄，若牛兄之遇獸，心戰色沮，似葉公之見龍；俄而抵掌揚眉，高視闊步，結侶棄廉公之第，攜手哭聖卿之門。華轂生塵，來如激矢，雀羅暫設，去等絕弦。飴蜜非甘，山川未阻，千變萬化，鬼出神入。為此者皆衣冠士族，或有藝能，不恥不仁，不畏不義，靡愧友朋，莫慚妻子。外呈厚貌，內蘊百心，繇是則紆青佩紫，牧州典郡，冠幘劫人，厚自封殖。妍歌妙舞，列鼎撞鐘，耳倦絲桐，口飫珍旨。雖素論以為非，而時宰之不責，末俗蚩蚩，如此之敝。余則違時薄宦，屏息窮居，甚恥驅馳，深畏乾沒。心若死灰，不營勢利，家無儋石，不費囊錢。偶影聯官，將數十載，駑拙致笑，輕生所以告勞也。真人禦宇，斫雕為樸，人知榮辱，時反邕熙。風力上宰，內敷文教，方、邵重臣，外揚武節。被之大道，洽以淳風，舉必以才，爵無濫授。稟斯首鼠，不預衣簪，阿党比周，掃地俱盡，輕薄之儔，滅影竄跡。礫石變成瑜瑾，莨莠化為芝蘭。曩之扇俗攪時，駭耳穢目，今悉不聞不見，莫餘敢侮。《易》曰：'聖人作而萬物睹'，斯之謂乎！」

The guest said, "I have already heard your account, sir. Others have their own concerns; please also give me the gist of theirs. I replied, "Clouds rise and mud sinks—high and low are not the same rank; what is round rolls on and what is square stays put—motion and rest follow different laws. Those who range the heavens and cross the seas will still cast a light net in some marsh; where every road is bright with traffic, the axe suddenly falls in the hills. I have lately lived in a prosperous age yet clung to my modest tastes, watching how men rise and fall and how perilous the roads of the times can be. On deep-winter nights, when I sit in silence and think at length, sighs pile up in my heart and tears sting my nose. A human life of a hundred years is frail and short beyond telling—like a galloping horse or a flash of lightning, it defies words. Looking back in restless longing, I find that within a few decades poverty and wealth, honor and disgrace, are scarcely worth mentioning. Men of insight are few and the ignorant many; most are narrow, vulgar, reckless, and shallow. At home they wear a human face but harbor a beast's heart, failing in filial piety and righteousness; abroad they fawn, slander, and flatter, without shame or decency. They forget Laozi's teaching to withdraw and be content, and they cast aside the Zhou maxim that one should serve only while able. This evil has accumulated since remote antiquity, and in recent times the rot has grown especially deep. The spirit of humble yielding that Fan Li embodied is no longer passed on among officials, while the deluded conduct condemned in the Documents of Xia is treated as harmless by those in power. Before the morning dew has dried, carriages crowd the lanes of the Dong and Shi mansions; as the sun sets, black-canopied coaches pack the wards of Yan and Dou. They are supple as grease or leather, bowing and crawling, swallowing filth to win favor and fawning in the vilest ways to draw near. With honeyed words and flattering smiles they heighten his pleasures; with feigned tears and hypocritical sorrow they console his bereavements. They send fine wine from nearby and tribute serpents from afar, casting off beautiful women as one kicks off a shoe and discarding gold and jade as though they were nothing. When Deng Tong fell, not even a hairpin's worth of his gifts remained; when Liang Ji was executed, the power of the Five Marquises was already rising. Those who once bought office and scurried to pay court—old hangers-on who raced after carriage dust and fawning night visitors at the great man's door—at first lost their wits in terror, like a man who meets a beast, or turned pale as Lord Ye at the sight of a dragon; then suddenly they clap their hands and swagger, strut with lofty air, band together to shun the house of Lord Lian, and join hands to mourn at Lord Sheng's gate. Gilded wheels raise dust as they arrive like a flying arrow; the sparrow net is hung for a moment, then they are gone as though a string had snapped. No sweetness binds them, no distance holds them back; they shift by the thousand, appearing and vanishing like spirits. Those who behave thus are men of pedigree, some even gifted—yet they feel no shame at lacking benevolence or righteousness, and neither friends nor wives can make them blush. Outwardly respectable, inwardly treacherous, they win purple robes and green sashes, rule provinces and prefectures, and under official caps plunder and fatten themselves. They fill their halls with song and dance, cauldrons and bells, until their ears are weary of lute strings and their mouths are glutted with delicacies. Right-minded men condemn such conduct, yet the rulers of the day do not reprove it; the vulgar age wallows in evils like these. I have gone against the age in a humble post, living quietly in seclusion, ashamed of the chase for office and deeply afraid of grasping gain. My heart is like dead ash, untouched by power or profit; I keep no surplus at home and spend nothing from my purse. By chance I have held office for some decades, and my dullness has been laughed at—that is why I speak of the toils of a modest life. Our sage sovereign rules the realm, stripping ornament back to simplicity, so that men again know honor from shame and the age returns to peace. Within, the chief minister spreads culture and learning; without, great ministers like Fang and Shao display martial authority. The great Way covers all, pure customs prevail, appointments go only to the capable, and ranks are never handed out lightly. In such a time I have kept to the sidelines and never joined the gowned officials; cliques of flatterers have been swept away, and the frivolous have vanished without a trace. Pebbles are transformed into jade, and weeds into orchids and sacred fungus. What once shocked the ear and offended the eye no longer stirs the age; such things are neither heard nor seen, and none dares treat me with contempt. The Book of Changes says, "When the sage appears, all things look up to him"—is that not exactly this?"

歲餘，被征，奉詔郊勞陳使。頃之，遭母憂，未幾，起為散騎侍郎，奏內史侍郎事。于時議置六卿，將除大理。思道上奏曰：「省有駕部，寺留太僕，省有刑部，寺除大理，斯則重畜產而賤刑名，誠為未可。」又陳殿庭非杖罰之所，朝臣犯笞罪，請以贖論，上悉嘉納之。是歲，卒于京師，時年五十二。上甚惜之，遣使弔祭焉。有集三十卷，行于時。子赤松，大業中，官至河東長史。

A year or so later he was recalled and ordered to welcome the Chen envoys at the suburban ceremony. Soon afterward his mother died; before long he was recalled as Attendant-in-Ordinary and reported on the duties of the Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat. At that time the court debated establishing the Six Ministries and was about to abolish the Court of Judicial Review. Sidao submitted a memorial saying, "If the ministry keeps the Bureau of Carriages while the court retains the Imperial Stud, and the ministry has a Bureau of Punishments while the court abolishes the Court of Judicial Review, then livestock will be prized above the law—that truly will not do. He also argued that the palace was no place for corporal punishment and asked that court officials who merited beating be allowed to redeem the penalty instead; the emperor approved all of this. That year he died in the capital, aged fifty-two. The emperor deeply mourned him and sent envoys to offer condolences. He left a collected works of thirty fascicles that circulated in his day. His son Chisong, in the Daye era, rose to be administrator of Hedong.

昌衡字子均。父道虔，魏尚書僕射。昌衡小字龍子，風神淡雅，容止可法，博涉經史，工草行書。從弟思道，小字釋奴，宗中俱稱英妙。故幽州為之語曰：「盧家千里，釋奴、龍子。」年十七，魏濟陰王元暉業召補太尉參軍事，兼外兵參軍。齊氏受禪，曆平恩令、太子舍人。尋為僕射祖孝徵所薦，遷尚書金部郎。孝徵每曰：「吾用盧子均為尚書郎，自謂無愧幽州矣。」其後兼散騎侍郎，迎勞周使。武帝平齊，授司玉中士，與大宗伯斛斯徵修禮令。開皇初，拜尚書祠部侍郎。高祖嘗大集群下，令自陳功績，人皆競進，昌衡獨無所言。左僕射高熲目而異之。陳使賀徹、周濆相繼來聘，朝廷每令昌衡接對之。未幾，出為徐州總管長史，甚有能名。吏部尚書蘇威考之曰：「德為人表，行為士則。」論者以為美談。嘗行至浚儀，所乘馬為他牛所觸，因致死。牛主陳謝，求還價直，昌衡謂之曰：「六畜相觸，自關常理，此豈人情也，君何謝？」拒而不受。性寬厚不校，皆此類也。轉壽州總管長史。總管宇文述甚敬之，委以州務。歲餘，遷金州刺史。仁壽中，奉詔持節為河南道巡省大使，及還，以奉使稱旨，授儀同三司，賜物三百段。昌衡自以年在懸車，表乞骸骨，優詔不許。大業初，征為太子左庶子，行詣洛陽，道卒，時年七十二。子寶素、寶胤。

Lu Changheng, courtesy name Zijun. His father Daoxian had been Vice Director of the Ministry of Works under Wei. Changheng's childhood name was Longzi. He was refined and composed, his bearing a model to others; he read widely in the classics and histories and excelled at cursive and running script. His cousin Sidao, childhood name Shinu, was with him acclaimed in the clan as the family's finest talents. Youzhou therefore had a saying: "For a thousand li around, the Lu clan means Shinu and Longzi. At seventeen he was summoned by Yuan Ye, Prince of Jiyin of Wei, and appointed attendant in the Grand Minister of War's office, with a concurrent post in external military affairs. When Qi received the mandate, he served successively as magistrate of Ping'en and attendant to the crown prince. Soon afterward he was recommended by Vice Director Zuxiao and promoted to Director of the Gold Bureau in the Ministry of Revenue. Zuxiao often said, "When I appointed Lu Zijun to the ministry, I felt I had done no disgrace to Youzhou. Later he also served concurrently as General Attendant and received envoys from Zhou. When Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou conquered Qi, he was made Attendant of the Jade Bureau and, with Grand Minister Hesixi, revised the ritual codes. At the beginning of the Kaihuang era he was appointed Vice Minister of Rites in charge of ancestral temples. Emperor Gaozu once assembled his ministers and ordered each to recount his achievements; everyone pressed forward except Changheng, who remained silent. Vice Director Gao Feng regarded him with surprise. When the Chen envoys He Che and Zhou Fen came on successive missions, the court each time assigned Changheng to receive them. Before long he was sent out as chief administrator under the Xuzhou commandery and won a strong reputation for competence. Su Wei, Minister of Personnel, assessed him thus: "His virtue is the people's measure; his conduct is the scholar's pattern. Commentators treated the remark as a celebrated saying. Once, while passing through Junyi, the horse he was riding was struck by another man's ox and killed. The ox's owner apologized and offered to pay compensation, but Changheng said, "When livestock collide it is only nature—what has that to do with human intent? Why apologize? He refused and would take nothing. By nature he was magnanimous and never quarreled; this was typical of him. He was transferred to chief administrator under the Shouzhou commandery. The regional commander Yuwen Shu greatly respected him and entrusted him with the prefecture's affairs. A year or so later he was promoted to governor of Jinzhou. In the Renhou period he was commissioned with imperial insignia as touring inspector of Henan; on his return, because his mission had pleased the throne, he was granted the rank of Master of the Same Third Order and three hundred rolls of goods. Changheng, feeling himself near seventy, submitted a memorial asking to retire, but a gracious edict refused permission. At the beginning of the Daye era he was summoned as Left Attendant of the Heir Apparent, but died on the road to Luoyang at the age of seventy-two. His sons were Baosu and Baoyin.

○李孝貞

Li Xiaozhen

李孝貞，字元操，趙郡柏人人也。父希禮，齊信州刺史，世為著姓。孝貞少好學，能屬文。在齊釋褐司徒府參軍事。簡靜不妄通賓客，與從兄儀曹郎中騷、太子舍人季節、博陵崔子武、范陽盧詢祖為斷金之契。後以射策甲科拜給事中。于時黃門侍郎高乾和親要用事，求婚於孝貞。孝貞拒之，由是有隙，陰譖之，出為太尉府外兵參軍。後曆中書舍人、博陵太守、司州別駕，複兼散騎常侍、聘周使副，還除給事黃門侍郎。周武帝平齊，授儀同三司、少典祀下大夫。宣帝即位，轉吏部下大夫。高祖為丞相，尉迥作亂相州，孝貞從韋孝寬擊之，以功授上儀同三司。開皇初，拜馮翊太守，為犯廟諱，於是稱字。後數歲，遷蒙州刺史，吏民安之。自此不復留意於文筆，人問其故，慨然歎曰：「五十之年，倏焉而過，鬢垂素髮，筋力已衰，宦意文情，一時盡矣，悲夫！」然每暇日，輒引賓客弦歌對酒，終日為歡。征拜內史侍郎，與內史李德林參典文翰。然孝貞無干劇之用，頗稱不理，上譴怒之，敕禦史劾其事，由是出為金州刺史。卒官。所著文集二十卷，行於世。有子允玉。

Li Xiaozhen, courtesy name Yuancao, was a native of Bo in Zhao commandery. His father Xili had been Inspector of Xin under Qi; the family had for generations been a prominent clan. From youth Xiaozhen loved learning and could write well. Under Northern Qi he entered service as an attendant in the Ministry of Education. Calm and reserved, he did not casually receive guests; with his cousins Li Sao of the Personnel Bureau and Li Jijie, attendant to the crown prince, together with Cui Ziwu of Boling and Lu Xunzu of Fanyang, he formed friendships as firm as sworn brotherhood. Later, having placed first in the archery examination, he was appointed Attendant Gentleman. At that time Gao Qianhe, Vice Director of the Yellow Gate, was a powerful favorite of the ruler and sought a marriage alliance with Xiaozhen. Xiaozhen refused him; a breach followed, and Gao secretly slandered him until he was sent out as external troops attendant in the Grand Minister's office. He later served in succession as attendant of the Central Secretariat, grand administrator of Boling, and vice governor of Su prefecture, then again as General Palace Attendant and deputy envoy to Zhou; on his return he was appointed Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. When Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi, he was granted the rank of Master of the Same Third Order and made Lower Minister of Lesser Ceremonial. When Emperor Xuan succeeded to the throne, he was transferred to Lower Minister in the Ministry of Personnel. When Gaozu was chief minister, Wei Cong rebelled at Xiangzhou; Xiaozhen followed Wei Xiaokuan in the campaign and, for his merit, was granted Senior Master of the Same Third Order. At the beginning of Kaihuang he was appointed grand administrator of Fengyi; because his name violated an imperial taboo, he thereafter used his courtesy name. Several years later he was promoted to governor of Mengzhou, where officials and people lived in peace under him. From then on he no longer cared for writing; when people asked why, he sighed and said, "Fifty years pass in a blink; my temples are white and my strength is spent—office and letters are gone at once. How sad! Yet on his free days he would gather guests, sing to the lute, and drink with them, making merry all day long. He was summoned as Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat and, with Li Delin, shared responsibility for drafting state documents. Yet Xiaozhen proved unfit for demanding administrative work; many said he neglected his duties. The emperor rebuked him in anger and ordered the censor to investigate, whereupon he was sent out as governor of Jinzhou. He died while still serving in office. A twenty-fascicle collection of his writings circulated widely. He left a son named Yunyu.

孝貞弟孝威，亦有雅望，大業中，官至大理少卿。

Xiaozhen's younger brother Xiaowei likewise enjoyed a fine literary reputation and, during Emperor Yang's Daye reign, rose to serve as Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review.

○薛道衡從弟孺

Biography: Xue Daohheng. (His younger cousin Ru is treated later in the chapter.)

薛道衡，字玄卿，河東汾陰人也。祖聰，魏濟州刺史。父孝通，常山太守。道衡六歲而孤，專精好學。年十三，講《左氏傳》，見子產相鄭之功，作《國僑贊》，頗有詞致，見者奇之。其後才名益著，齊司州牧、彭城王浟引為兵曹從事。尚書左僕射弘農楊遵彥，一代偉人，見而嗟賞。授奉朝請。吏部尚書隴西辛術與語，歎曰：「鄭公業不亡矣。」河東裴讞目之曰：「自鼎遷河朔，吾謂關西孔子罕值其人，今複遇薛君矣。」武成作相，召為記室，及即位，累遷太尉府主簿。歲餘，兼散騎常侍，接對周、陳二使。武平初，詔與諸儒修定《五禮》，除尚書左外兵郎。陳使傅縡聘齊，以道衡兼主客郎接對之。縡贈詩五十韻，道衡和之，南北稱美。魏收曰：「傅縡所謂以蚓投魚耳。」待詔文林館，與范陽盧思道、安平李德林齊名友善。複以本官直中書省，尋拜中書侍郎，仍參太子侍讀。後主之時，漸見親用，于時頗有附會之譏。後與侍中斛律孝卿參預政事，道衡具陳備周之策，孝卿不能用。及齊亡，周武引為禦史二命士。後歸鄉里，自州主簿入為司祿上士。

Xue Daohheng, courtesy name Xuanqing, came from Fenyin in Hedong. His grandfather Cong had served as Governor of Jizhou under the Northern Wei. His father Xiaotong had been Governor of Changshan. Daohheng lost his father at the age of six and threw himself into his studies with single-minded devotion. At thirteen, while studying the Zuo Commentary, he read of Zichan's statesmanship in Zheng and wrote an "Encomium on Guo Qiao" of real literary polish; all who saw it were astonished. His literary reputation soon spread further, and the Prince of Pengcheng, You, governor of Sizhou, appointed him an aide in the military bureau. Yang Zunyan of Hongnong, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and a towering figure of his generation, met him and exclaimed in admiration. He received appointment as Attendant at Court. Xin Shu of Longxi, Director of the Ministry of Personnel, spoke with him and sighed, "The legacy of the Lord of Zheng lives on. Pei Yan of Hedong looked him over and declared, "Since the royal house moved north of the Yellow River, I had thought a sage of the western passes a rarity indeed—yet here I meet Master Xue again." When Emperor Wucheng was still chancellor, he summoned Daohheng as his recorder; after Wucheng took the throne, Daohheng rose in due course to chief clerk of the Grand Marshal's office. A year later he was also made Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry and charged with receiving envoys from Northern Zhou and Chen. Early in the Wuping era he was ordered, together with other scholars, to help revise the Five Rites, and was appointed Left Outer Military Officer in the Department of State Affairs. When Chen sent Fu Zuan on a mission to Qi, Daohheng was appointed concurrent Chief of Guests to receive him. Fu Zuan presented a fifty-rhyme poem, which Daohheng answered in matching verse; both north and south acclaimed the exchange. Wei Shou remarked, "Fu Zuan was like a man baiting a fishhook with a worm—hopelessly outmatched. He served as a literary attendant at the Wulin Pavilion and was ranked alongside Lu Sidao of Fanyang and Li Delin of Anping, with whom he was on close terms. He continued in his post while serving on duty at the Secretariat, and was soon appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat, remaining a reader-attendant to the crown prince. Under the Last Ruler he came increasingly into favor, though many at the time accused him of sycophancy. He later joined Attendant-in-Chief Hulu Xiaoxiao in deliberating state affairs and laid out a full plan for defending against Zhou, but Xiaoxiao would not adopt it. After the fall of Qi, Emperor Wu of Zhou appointed him Second-Rank Gentleman of the Censorate. He later returned home and, after serving as a provincial chief clerk, entered the capital as Senior Gentleman of the Bureau of Revenues.

高祖作相，從元帥梁睿擊王謙，攝陵州刺史。大定中，授儀同，攝邛州刺史。高祖受禪，坐事除名。河間王弘北征突厥，召典軍書，還除內史舍人。其年，兼散騎常侍，聘陳主使。道衡因奏曰：「江東蕞爾一隅，僭擅遂久，實由永嘉已後，華夏分崩。劉、石、符、姚、慕容、赫連之輩，妄竊名號，尋亦滅亡。魏氏自北徂南，未遑遠略。周、齊兩立，務在兼併，所以江表逋誅，積有年祀。陛下聖德天挺，光膺寶祚，比靈斯三代，平一九州，豈容使區區之陳，久在天網之外？臣今奉使，請責以稱籓。」高祖曰：「朕且含養，置之度外，勿以言辭相折，識朕意焉。」江東雅好篇什，陳主尤愛雕蟲，道衡每有所作，南人無不吟誦焉。及八年伐陳，授淮南道行台尚書吏部郎，兼掌文翰。王師臨江，高熲夜坐幕下，謂之曰：「今段之舉，克定江東已不？君試言之。」道衡答曰：「凡論大事成敗，先須以至理斷之。《禹貢》所載九州，本是王者封域。後漢之季，群雄競起，孫權兄弟遂有吳、楚之地。晉武受命，尋即吞併，永嘉南遷，重此分割。自爾已來，戰爭不息，否終斯泰，天道之恆。郭璞有雲：'江東偏王三百年，還與中國合。 '今數將滿矣。以運數而言，其必克一也。有德者昌，無德者亡，自古興滅，皆由此道。主上躬履恭儉，憂勞庶政，叔寶峻宇雕牆，酣酒荒色。上下離心，人神同憤，其必克二也。為國之體，在於任寄，彼之公卿，備員而已。拔小人施文慶委以政事，尚書令江總唯事詩酒，本非經略之才，蕭摩訶、任蠻奴是其大將，一夫之用耳。其必克三也。我有道而大，彼無德而小，量其甲士，不過十萬。西自巫峽，東至滄海，分之則勢懸而力弱，聚之則守此而失彼。其必克四也。席捲之勢，其在不疑。」熲忻然曰：「君言成敗，事理分明，吾今豁然矣。本以才學相期，不意籌略乃爾。」還除吏部侍郎。後坐抽擢人物，有言其党蘇威，任人有意故者，除名，配防嶺表。晉王廣時在揚州，陰令人諷道衡從揚州路，將奏留之。道衡不樂王府，用漢王諒之計，遂出江陵道而去。尋有詔征還，直內史省。晉王由是銜之，然愛其才，猶頗見禮。後數歲，授內史侍郎，加上儀同三司。

When Gaozu was chancellor, he followed the commander Liang Rui against Wang Qian and served as acting governor of Lingzhou. During the Dading era he was made Palace Attendant of the First Rank and served as acting governor of Qiongzhou. When Gaozu took the throne, Daohheng was dismissed from office for an offense. When the Prince of Hejian, Hong, marched north against the Turks, he summoned Daohheng to manage military correspondence; on his return Daohheng was appointed Secretary of the Palace Secretariat. That same year he was also made Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry and sent as envoy to the Chen court. Daohheng then submitted a memorial: "The southeast is but a petty corner of the realm, yet it has long played at kingship—ever since the Yongjia reign, when the heartland fell apart. The Liu, Shi, Fu, Yao, Murong, and Helian regimes all seized titles without right and were extinguished in their turn. When the Wei moved southward they had no leisure to pursue distant conquests. Northern Zhou and Qi were locked in rivalry for supremacy, so the south escaped punishment year after year. Your Majesty's sacred virtue matches Heaven itself; you have taken the throne and may be compared with the sage kings of antiquity in unifying the realm—how can petty Chen be left outside the imperial net any longer? On this mission I ask leave to demand that Chen acknowledge vassal status. Gaozu replied, "For now I mean to show forbearance and set them outside my immediate concern. Do not press them with harsh words; understand my intent." The southeast had always prized poetry, and the Chen ruler was especially fond of ornamental verse; whatever Daohheng wrote was soon on everyone's lips south of the Yangtze. When the campaign against Chen was launched in the eighth year, he was appointed Director of Personnel on the Huainan campaign staff and also took charge of official correspondence. As the imperial army reached the Yangtze, Gao Jiong sat in his tent one night and asked him, "Will this campaign succeed in pacifying the southeast? Give me your view. Daohheng replied, "In judging any great undertaking, one must first weigh it by the highest principles of right. The nine provinces listed in the Tribute of Yu were originally the domain of the true sovereign. At the end of the Later Han, rival warlords sprang up, and Sun Quan and his brothers seized the Wu and Chu regions. When Emperor Wu of Jin took the throne he soon reunified the realm, but the southward flight at Yongjia split the empire once again. Since then war has never ceased, yet when adversity reaches its limit, prosperity returns—such is the constant way of Heaven. Guo Pu once prophesied, 'The separatist rulers of the southeast will hold sway for three hundred years, then reunite with the heartland.' That term is almost complete. Judged by the turn of destiny, conquest is assured—that is the first reason. The virtuous prosper and the wicked perish; the rise and fall of states has always obeyed this law. Our sovereign is personally frugal and diligent in government, while Chen Shubao lives in palaces of carved splendor, drowning in wine and debauchery. Ruler and subjects are divided, and both men and gods are incensed—that is the second assurance of victory. A state's strength lies in whom it appoints; Chen's ministers are mere figureheads. They have elevated the petty official Shi Wenqing to run the government, while Director Jiang Zong cares only for wine and verse and has no gift for strategy; their chief generals Xiao Mohe and Ren Mannu are worth no more than a single soldier each. That is the third assurance of victory. We possess the Way and are mighty; they lack virtue and are weak—and their armed forces number no more than a hundred thousand. From the Wu Gorges in the west to the eastern sea, if their forces are divided their strength is feeble, and if massed together they cannot defend every point at once. That is the fourth assurance of victory. A sweeping victory is beyond doubt." Gao Jiong said with delight, "Your analysis of victory and defeat is lucid in both principle and fact—I understand it perfectly now. I had valued you for literary talent alone—I never expected such strategic insight." After the campaign he was appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel. He was later dismissed for favoring certain appointees; critics said he sided with Su Wei and chose officials for private reasons, and he was stripped of rank and sent to serve on the southern frontier. The Prince of Jin, Guang, was then in Yangzhou and secretly had someone suggest that Daohheng travel by way of Yangzhou, planning to petition the throne to keep him there. Daohheng had no wish to join a prince's household and, following a plan of the Prince of Han, Liang, took the Jiangling road instead. He was soon recalled by imperial order and resumed duty at the Palace Secretariat. The Prince of Jin bore a grudge over this, yet still valued his talent and treated him with considerable respect. Some years later he was made Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat and additionally granted the rank of Palace Attendant of the Third Rank.

道衡每至構文，必隱坐空齋，蹋壁而臥，聞戶外有人便怒，其沉思如此。高祖每曰：「薛道衡作文書稱我意。」然誡之以迂誕。後高祖善其稱職，謂楊素、牛弘曰：「道衡老矣，驅使勤勞，宜使其硃門陳戟。」於是進位上開府，賜物百段。道衡辭以無功，高祖曰：「爾久勞階陛，國家大事，皆爾宣行，豈非爾功也？」道衡久當樞要，才名益顯，太子諸王爭相與交，高熲、楊素雅相推重，聲名籍甚，無競一時。

Whenever Daohheng set out to write, he would shut himself in an empty room, lie against the wall, and fly into a rage if he heard anyone outside—so intensely did he concentrate. Gaozu often remarked, "Xue Daohheng's official writings always suit my meaning. Yet he also warned him against being ponderous and overwrought. Later, pleased with his service, Gaozu told Yang Su and Niu Hong, "Daohheng is growing old yet still toils diligently for the court—it is time he had halberds set before his gate as a mark of honor. He was accordingly promoted to Upper Defender of the Office and rewarded with a hundred lengths of silk. Daohheng protested that he had earned no such honor, but Gaozu said, "You have long labored at court, and the great affairs of state are all drafted and proclaimed through you—is that not achievement enough? Daohheng had long held key posts at court, and his fame only grew; the crown prince and imperial princes competed for his friendship, while Gao Jiong and Yang Su held him in the highest regard. His reputation in that age had no equal.

仁壽中，楊素專掌朝政，道衡既與素善，上不欲道衡久知機密，因出檢校襄州總管。道衡久蒙驅策，一旦違離，不勝悲戀，言之哽咽。高祖愴然改容曰：「爾光陰晚暮，侍奉誠勞。朕欲令爾將攝，兼撫萌俗。今爾之去，朕如斷一臂。」於是賚物三百段，九環金帶，並時服一襲，馬十匹，慰勉遣之。在任清簡，吏民懷其惠。

During the Renshou era Yang Su dominated the government; because Daohheng was close to him, the emperor did not want him privy to state secrets for too long and sent him out as acting administrator of Xiang prefecture. Daohheng had served at court for many years, and the sudden parting overwhelmed him with grief; he could hardly speak for weeping. Gaozu's face fell with sorrow as he said, "You are in the evening of your years, and your service to me has been unstinting. I mean to have you govern there and nurture the people as well. Your departure feels to me like losing an arm. He then granted him three hundred lengths of goods, a nine-ring gold belt, a suit of court dress, and ten horses, comforted him warmly, and sent him on his way. In office he governed with simplicity and restraint, and officials and commoners alike cherished his benevolence.

煬帝嗣位，轉番州刺史。歲餘，上表求致仕。帝謂內史侍郎虞世基曰：「道衡將至，當以秘書監待之。」道衡既至，上《高祖文皇帝頌》，其詞曰：

When Emperor Yang succeeded to the throne, Daohheng was transferred to governor of Panyu. After a little more than a year he petitioned to retire from office. The emperor told Vice Director Yu Shiji, "When Daohheng arrives, I shall appoint him Director of the Imperial Library. When Daohheng arrived, he presented his "Eulogy for Emperor Wen, the Literary High Ancestor." It begins:

太始太素，荒茫造化之初；天皇地皇，杳冥書契之外。其道絕，其跡遠，言談所不詣，耳目所不追。至於入穴登巢，鶉居鷇飲，不殊於羽族，取類于毛群，亦何貴於人靈，何用於心識？羲、軒已降，爰暨唐、虞，則乾象而施法度，觀人文而化天下，然後帝王之位可重，聖哲之道為尊。夏後、殷、周之國，禹、湯、文、武之主，功濟生民，聲流《雅頌》，然陵替於三五，慚德於干戈。秦居閏位，任刑名為政本，漢執靈圖，雜霸道而為業。當塗興而三方峙，典午末而四海亂。九州封域，窟穴鯨鯢之群；五都遺黎，蹴踏戎馬之足。雖玄行定嵩、洛，木運據崤、函，未正滄海之流，詎息昆山之燎！協千齡之旦暮，當萬葉之一朝者，其在大隋乎？

In the Great Beginning and Great Simplicity, at the vast dawn of creation— the Heavenly and Earthly Sovereigns, in the dim reaches before any written record. Their way is beyond reach and their traces remote—beyond the reach of words, beyond what eye or ear can follow. When men lived in caves and nests, dwelling like quail and drinking like nestlings, they differed little from birds and beasts—what then made the human spirit precious, or reason of any use? From Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor down to Yao and Shun, rulers modeled themselves on Heaven, established laws, and cultivated civilization—only then did the throne gain its dignity and the sage's Way its authority. The dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou, and rulers such as Yu, Tang, King Wen, and King Wu, brought benefit to the people and won praise in the Book of Odes—yet even they declined in the Three Dynasties and Five Emperors era, their virtue shamed by ceaseless war. Qin seized power between dynasties and made legalist punishment the foundation of rule; Han held the Mandate yet mingled hegemonic methods with true kingship. When the Wei rose, three kingdoms confronted one another; by the end of the Jin, the empire was torn by chaos. Within the nine provinces, monsters and rebels lurked in their lairs; the surviving peoples of the great cities trampled beneath the hooves of war. Though the Northern Wei settled Song and Luoyang and the Liang held the passes of Xiao and Han, none could set the eastern sea in order or quench the fires of civil war! To gather the turning of a thousand years into a single dawn, to unite ten thousand generations in one reign—is this not the destiny of Great Sui?

粵若高祖文皇帝，誕聖降靈，則赤光照室，韜神晦跡，則紫氣騰天。龍顏日角之奇，玉理珠衡之異，著在圖籙，彰乎儀錶。而帝系靈長，神基崇峻，類邠、岐之累德，異豐、沛之勃起。俯膺曆試，納揆賓門，位長六卿，望高百辟，猶重華之為太尉，若文命之任司空。蒼曆將盡，率土糜沸，玉弩驚天，金芒照野。奸雄挺禍，據河朔而連海岱；猾長縱惡，杜白馬而塞成皋。庸、蜀逆命，憑銅梁之險；鄖、黃背誕，引金陵之寇。三川已震，九鼎將飛。高祖龍躍鳳翔，濡足授手，應赤伏之符，受玄狐之籙，命百下百勝之將，動九天九地之師，平共工而殄蚩尤，翦犬契窳而戮鑿齒。不煩二十八將，無假五十二征，曾未逾時，妖逆鹹殄，廓氛霧于區宇，出黎元於塗炭。天柱傾而還正，地維絕而更紐。殊方稽顙，識牛馬之內向；樂師伏地，懼鐘石之變聲。萬姓所以樂推，三靈於是改卜。壇場已備，猶弘五讓之心；億兆難違，方從四海之請。光臨寶祚，展禮郊丘，舞六代而降天神，陳四圭而饗上帝，乾坤交泰，品物鹹亨。酌前王之令典，改易徽號；因庶萌之子來，移創都邑。天文上當硃鳥，地理下據黑龍，正位辨方，揆影於日月，內宮外座，取法於辰象。懸政教于魏闕，朝群後於明堂，除舊佈新，移風易俗。天街之表，地脈之外，獯獫孔熾，其來自久，橫行十萬，樊噲於是失辭，提步五千，李陵所以陷沒。周、齊兩盛，競結旄頭，娉狄後於漠北，未足息其侵擾，傾珍藏于山東，不能止其貪暴。炎靈啟祚，聖皇馭宇，運天策於帷扆，播神威于沙朔，柳室、氈裘之長，皆為臣隸，瀚海、蹛林之地，盡充池苑。三吳、百越，九江五湖，地分南北，天隔內外，談黃旗紫蓋之氣，恃龍蟠獸據之險，恆有僭偽之君，妄竊帝王之號。時經五代，年移三百，爰降皇情，永懷大道，湣彼黎獻，獨為匪人。今上利建在唐，則哲居代，地憑宸極，天縱神武，受脤出車，一舉平定。於是八荒無外，九服大同，四海為家，萬里為宅。乃休牛散馬，偃武修文。

Such was Gaozu, the Cultured Emperor: at his birth heaven sent a sage, and crimson light flooded the room; when he kept his powers hidden, purple mist climbed the sky. His dragon-like face and sun-cornered brow, the jade lines of his forehead and pearl-like ridges—marvels set down in prophecy and plain to see in his person. His house was long in sacred favor, its foundation towering—like the layered virtue of the Zhou at Bin and Qi, not like the abrupt ascent from Feng and Pei. He humbly underwent heaven's trials, took up governance at the court gate, headed the six ministers, and outshone every lord—like Shun as Grand Marshal, like Yu as Minister of Works. The old mandate was failing; the realm boiled with strife; omens flashed in heaven and golden light swept the fields. Villainous warlords rose in rebellion, holding the north country from the river to the eastern sea; Cunning leaders ran riot, shutting the crossings at White Horse and Chenggao. Yong and Shu defied the throne, trusting in the narrows of Copper Beam; The Yun and Huang regions rebelled, beckoning invaders from Jinling. The heartland trembled; the imperial cauldrons seemed ready to pass from hand to hand. Gaozu rose like dragon and phoenix, plunged through flood and battle, fulfilled the Red Submerged prophecy and took heaven's mandate, set a hundred ever-victorious commanders in the field and roused hosts from every quarter—quelling rebels as ancient kings had quelled Gonggong and Chiyou, cutting down barbarian foes root and branch. Without needing Han's twenty-eight generals or Zhou's fifty-two expeditions, he ended the revolt almost at once, cleared the land of turmoil, and rescued the people from ruin. He righted the tilted pillar of heaven and retied the broken cords of earth. Far lands bowed low, knowing their herds and horses belonged once more to the center; Musicians prostrated themselves, dreading that bells and chimes might never sound the old harmonies again. The people gladly pressed him to rule; heaven, earth, and the spirits cast their lots anew in his favor. Though the altar stood ready, he still held to the fivefold refusal of the throne; Only when the myriad hosts could not be refused did he yield to the plea of all within the four seas. He took the throne, offered rites at the suburban altar, danced the ancient sixfold rites to summon heaven, laid out the four jades to feast the Lord on High—and heaven and earth met in harmony, and every thing under them flourished. He weighed the good ordinances of earlier kings and changed the dynastic name; Because the people came to him from every quarter, he moved the capital and built anew. He aligned the capital with the Vermilion Bird in heaven and the Black Dragon on earth, set every quarter in its place by the sun and moon, and patterned inner palace and outer court on the stars. He proclaimed his rule from the imperial gate, gathered the lords in the Bright Hall, swept away the old and set up the new, and transformed the manners of the age. Beyond the frontier, the northern tribes had raged for ages; when a hundred thousand swept the border even Fan Kuai could find no answer, and five thousand men on the march were swallowed as Li Ling's army had been. Even Zhou and Qi at their height courted barbarian queens beyond the desert and could not end the raids, poured out treasure from Shandong and could not satisfy their greed. When Han's fiery mandate rose, the sage emperor held the realm: he plotted from the throne room and sent his might across the northern sands; chiefs of yurt and fur became his subjects, and steppe and forest became his hunting parks. In Wu, Yue, and the lands of the great rivers and lakes, north and south were sundered; men boasted of imperial omens and trusted in mountain fastnesses, and usurpers again and again seized the name of emperor. Five dynasties and three hundred years went by; then heaven's mercy descended, ever mindful of the Way, grieving that the people alone were left outside the human order. The present emperor, raised at Tang and wise in Dai, stood on the pivot of the realm with heaven-given martial genius; he took the war sacrifice and rode out, and in a single campaign brought all to order. Then nothing lay beyond the realm, the nine provinces were one, the four seas were a single home, and ten thousand li were one domain. Then he put the oxen to pasture and freed the horses, sheathed the sword and turned to civil rule.

自華夏亂離，綿積年代，人造戰爭之具，家習澆偽之風，聖人之遺訓莫存，先王之舊典鹹墜。爰命秩宗，刊定《五禮》，申敕太子，改正六樂。玉帛樽俎之儀，節文乃備；金石匏革之奏，雅俗始分。而留心政術，垂神聽覽，早朝晏罷，廢寢忘食，憂百姓之未安，懼一物之失所。行先王之道，夜思待旦；革百王之弊，朝不及夕。見一善事，喜彰于容旨；聞一愆犯，歎深於在予。薄賦輕徭，務農重穀，倉廩有紅腐之積，黎萌無阻饑之慮。天性弘慈，聖心惻隱，恩加禽獸，胎卵於是獲全，仁沾草木，牛羊所以勿踐。至於憲章重典，刑名大辟，申法而屈情，決斷於俄頃，故能彝倫攸敘，上下齊肅。左右絕諂諛之路，縉紳無勢力之門。小心翼翼，敬事於天地；終日乾乾，誡慎於亢極。陶黎萌於德化，致風俗于太康，公卿庶尹，遐邇嶽牧，僉以天平地成，千載之嘉會，登封降禪，百王之盛典，宜其金泥玉檢，展禮介丘，飛聲騰實，常為稱首。天子為而不恃，成而不居，沖旨凝邈，固辭弗許。而雖休勿休，上德不德，更乃潔誠岱岳，遜謝愆咎。方知六十四卦，謙捴之道為尊，七十二君，告成之義為小，巍巍蕩蕩，無得以稱焉。而深誠至德，感達於穹壤，和氣薰風，充溢於宇宙。二儀降福，百靈薦祉，日月星象，風雲草樹之祥，山川玉石，鱗介羽毛之瑞，歲見月彰，不可勝紀。至於振古所未有，圖籍所不載，目所不見，耳所未聞。古語稱聖人作，萬物睹，神靈滋，百寶用，此其效矣。

Ever since the heartland split in long disorder, generation after generation forged weapons of war and every house learned deceit; the sages' teaching was lost and the ancient kings' rites lay in ruins. He charged the Minister of Rites to compile the Five Rites and instructed the crown prince to restore the six classical modes. The rites of jade, silk, and sacrificial vessels were complete in every detail; Music of bell, stone, pipe, and drum was ordered, and courtly and popular styles were set apart. He gave his heart to governance, bent his attention to every petition, rose early and retired late, slept little and ate sparingly, anxious until the people were secure and fearful lest even one thing go wrong. He walked in the way of the ancient kings, pondering through the night until daybreak; He reformed the failings of a hundred reigns, reforming today what had been wrong yesterday. At the least good deed his face brightened with pleasure; At the least offense he sighed that the fault was his own. He cut taxes and lightened labor service, put agriculture first and treasured grain; the granaries overflowed until grain spoiled, and the people no longer feared famine. His nature was vast in mercy, his heart tender toward all; his kindness spared even beasts in the egg and womb, his benevolence reached grass and trees, and cattle and sheep went unharmed. In law and capital punishment he upheld the code over private feeling and judged in an instant, so that human relations were ordered and court and people alike stood in awe. Flattery found no path to his side; the great families could buy no favor at court. With utmost care he served heaven and earth; All day he strove without slackening, ever watchful at the peak of power. He shaped the people through virtue until the age knew great peace; every minister and border lord agreed that heaven and earth were in harmony—a moment that comes once in a thousand years. The feng and shan on Mount Tai, the supreme rite of a hundred kings, with seals of gold and cases of jade, were his by right; his fame and deeds should have led all others. He acted yet claimed no credit, achieved yet would not rest in glory; his humble purpose ran deep, and he steadfastly refused. Though he might have ceased labor he did not; the highest virtue claims no virtue. Instead he purified himself at Mount Tai and humbly confessed his faults. Then men saw that among the sixty-four hexagrams humility was supreme, and that for the seventy-two kings who performed the feng sacrifice such announcement was a small thing—so towering and boundless that no words could measure him. His deepest sincerity and highest virtue touched heaven and earth; harmonious breath and gentle winds filled the universe. Heaven and earth showered blessings; the hundred spirits offered good omens—in sun and moon, stars and sky, wind and cloud, grass and tree; in mountains, rivers, jade and stone, in every scaled and feathered creature. Year after year, month after month, they appeared beyond counting. Things never known since antiquity, unrecorded in any book, unseen by any eye, unheard by any ear— As the ancients said: when a sage appears, all things look to him, the spirits thrive, and every treasure finds its use—so it was with him.

既而游心姑射，脫屣之志已深；鑄鼎荊山，升天之駕遂遠。凡在黎獻，具惟帝臣，慕深考妣，哀纏弓劍，塗山幽峻，無複玉帛之禮，長陵寂寞，空見衣冠之遊。若乃降精熛怒，飛名帝籙，開運握圖，創業垂統，聖德也；撥亂反正，濟國寧人，六合八紘，同文共軌，神功也；玄酒陶匏，雲和孤竹，禋祀上帝，尊極配天，大孝也；偃伯戢戈，正禮裁樂，納民壽域，驅俗福林，至政也。張四維而臨萬宇，侔三皇而並五帝，豈直錙銖周、漢，麼麽魏、晉而已。雖五行之舞，每陳於清廟，九德之歌，無絕於樂府，而玄功暢洽，不局於形器，懿業遠大，豈盡於揄揚。

Soon his heart turned to the immortal peaks, and his wish to leave the world grew strong; As Yu cast the cauldron at Mount Jing, his ascent to heaven carried him beyond reach. All the people were his subjects still; they mourned their lost father and mother, grief clinging to bow and sword. At Mount Tu no tribute came; at Changling only empty processions of court dress passed by. His descent of sacred essence, his name inscribed in heaven's book, his opening of fortune and grasp of the mandate, his founding of the house and legacy for ages—this was sage virtue; He quelled disorder and restored order, saved the realm and gave the people peace, united the six directions in one script and one measure—this was divine achievement; With dark wine in earthen vessels and ancient music he sacrificed to the Lord on High, honoring heaven as his partner—this was the greatest filial piety; He sheathed the sword and stilled the drums, set rites right and trimmed music, brought the people into a realm of long life and led custom into abundance—this was government at its height. He held the four pillars of rule over all the world, equaled the Three Sovereigns and stood with the Five Emperors—far more than a mere notch above Zhou and Han, infinitely beyond the petty ages of Wei and Jin. Though the Dance of the Five Agents was offered in the ancestral temple and the Song of Nine Virtues never left the music bureau, his subtle achievement could not be bound in ritual form, his glorious work was too vast for any eulogy to exhaust.

臣輕生多幸，命偶興運，趨事紫宸，驅馳丹陛，一辭天闕，奄隔鼎湖，空有攀龍之心，徒懷蓐蟻之意。庶憑毫翰，敢希贊述！昔堙海之禽不增於大地，泣河之士非益於洪流，盡其心之所存，望其力之所及，輒緣斯義，不覺斐然。乃作頌曰：

I, a humble man most fortunate, was born into this glorious age; I served at the purple court and hurried along the scarlet steps—yet one farewell at the heavenly gate, and suddenly the emperor was gone beyond Dinghu. I can only yearn to follow the ascending dragon, can only grieve like ants upon his bier. With brush in hand I dare hope to offer this praise! As the bird that tried to fill the sea could not enlarge the earth, nor the man who wept before the river swell the flood, I give all my heart allows and all my strength can reach; moved by this duty, I have written at length unawares. Thereupon he composed the eulogy:

悠哉邃古，邈矣季世，四海九州，萬王千帝。三代之後，其道逾替，爰逮金行，不勝其弊。戎狄猾夏，群凶縱慝，竊號淫名，十有餘國。怙威逞暴，悖禮亂德，五嶽塵飛，三象霧塞。玄精啟曆，發跡幽方，併吞寇偽，獨擅雄強。載祀二百，比祚前王，江湖尚阻，區域未康。句吳閩越，河朔渭涘，九縣瓜分，三方鼎跱。狙詐不息，干戈競起，東夏雖平，亂離瘼矣。五運葉期，千年肇旦，赫矣高祖，人靈攸贊。聖德迥生，神謀獨斷，癉惡彰善，夷凶靜難。宗伯撰儀，太史練日，孤竹之管，雲和之瑟。展禮上玄，飛煙太一，珪璧朝會，山川望秩。占揆星景，移建邦畿，下憑赤壤，上葉紫微。布政衢室，懸法象魏，帝宅天府，固本崇威。匈河瀚海，龍荒狼望，種落陸梁，時犯亭障。皇威遠懾，帝德遐暢，稽顙歸誠，稱臣內向。吳越提封，鬥牛星象，積有年代，自稱君長。大風未繳，長鯨漏網，授鉞天人，豁然清蕩。戴日戴鬥，太平太蒙，禮教周被，書軌大同。複禹之跡，成舜之功，禮以安上，樂以移風。憂勞庶績，矜育黔首，三面解羅，萬方引咎。納民軌物，驅時仁壽，神化隆平，生靈熙阜。虔心恭己，奉天事地，協氣橫流，休徵紹至。壇場望幸，雲亭虛位，推而不居，聖道彌粹。齊跡姬文，登發嗣聖，道類漢光，傳莊寶命。知來藏往，玄覽幽鏡，鼎業靈長，洪基隆盛。崆峒問道，汾射窅然，禦辯遐逝，乘雲上仙。哀纏率土，痛感穹玄，流澤萬葉，用教百年。尚想睿圖，永惟聖則，道洽幽顯，仁沾動植。爻象不陳，乾坤將息，微臣作頌，用申罔極。

How distant deep antiquity, how remote the fallen age—the four seas, nine provinces, ten thousand kings and a thousand emperors. After the Three Dynasties the Way declined ever further; when the Jin came, the rot could no longer be borne. Barbarians ravaged the heartland; villains ran wild, stealing imperial titles—more than a dozen kingdoms. They trusted in force and trampled rites and virtue; dust rose on the five peaks, mist shrouded the three emblems of rule. Heaven's dark mandate opened a new age; from a distant land he rose, swallowed rebels and usurpers, and stood alone in power. Two hundred years of rule matched the great dynasties of old, yet rivers and lakes were still divided and the land not yet whole. Wu, Min, and Yue; the north country and the Wei shore—the nine provinces were split apart, three powers stood like tripods. Deceit never ceased, arms clashed without end; though the east was pacified, the land still groaned under division. The five phases turned to their hour; at the dawn of a new millennium Gaozu rose in splendor, and men and spirits acclaimed him. Sacred virtue arose anew; his counsel was heaven's alone—he punished the wicked, honored the good, swept away foes and stilled disaster. The Minister of Rites drew up the rites, the Grand Historian chose the day; Guzhu pipes and Yunhe zithers sounded. He offered rites to heaven, sent smoke to the Grand Unity; jades were presented at court, mountains and rivers received their due sacrifice. He read the stars and moved the capital, rooted on the red earth below, aligned with the Purple Palace above. He governed from the great hall, proclaimed law from the tower gate; the imperial city was heaven's treasury, firming the foundation and lifting his awe. From the northern rivers to the desert sea, across the frontier wastes, tribes rose in rebellion and raided the border posts. His majesty awed the far lands, his virtue reached every frontier; they bowed low and came in loyalty, calling themselves his subjects. Wu and Yue held their territories under southern stars; for generations they styled themselves kings. The storm had not yet been stilled, the great whale still escaped the net—then the commander of heaven received the axe, and all was suddenly swept clear. Under sun and stars, in vast peace, ritual reached every corner; writing and law were one throughout the realm. He retraced Yu's path and fulfilled Shun's work—rites to secure the throne, music to transform the people. He toiled over every duty of state, nurtured the common people, opened the nets on three sides, and took blame upon himself from every quarter. He brought the people within law and custom, led the age toward benevolence and long life; his transforming power made harvests rich and the people prosper. With reverent heart he governed himself, served heaven and earth; harmony spread abroad, and good omens followed one upon another. The altar awaited him, Cloud Pavilion stood empty; he yielded and would not ascend—the sage Way grew ever purer. He walked in the steps of King Wen of Zhou, raised up the sage who followed; his Way was like Guangwu of Han, passing on the sacred mandate. He knew the future and held the past, saw with heaven's mirror; his house was enduring, his foundation vast and bright. As the Yellow Emperor sought the Way at Kongtong, as Yao vanished by the Fen—his imperial carriage passed beyond, riding the clouds to heaven. Grief bound the whole land, sorrow touched heaven itself; his bounty flows through ten thousand generations, his teaching for a hundred years. We still ponder his wise design, forever hold his sacred example; his Way reached hidden and visible realms, his kindness touched all that live and grow. The oracle is stilled, heaven and earth fall silent; this humble servant writes the eulogy to voice grief beyond measure.

帝覽之不悅，顧謂蘇威曰：「道衡致美先朝，此《魚藻》之義也。」於是拜司隸大夫，將置之罪。道衡不悟。司隸刺史房彥謙素相善，知必及禍，勸之杜絕賓客，卑辭下氣，而道衡不能用。會議新令，久不能決，道衡謂朝士曰：「向使高熲不死，令決當久行。」有人奏之，帝怒曰：「汝憶高熲邪？」付執法者勘之。道衡自以非大過，促憲司早斷。暨于奏日，冀帝赦之，敕家人具饌，以備賓客來候者。及奏，帝令自盡。道衡殊不意，未能引訣。憲司重奏，縊而殺之，妻子徙且末。時年七十。天下冤之。有集七十卷，行於世。

The emperor read it and was displeased; turning to Su Wei he said, "Daoheng heaps praise on the former reign—this is the sense of the 'Fish and Waterweeds' ode. Thereupon he appointed him Director of the Capital District and was about to have him executed. Daoheng did not perceive his meaning. Fang Yanqian, Inspector of the Capital Region, was an old friend who saw calamity coming and urged him to shut his doors to guests and speak humbly—but Daoheng would not listen. During a prolonged debate over a new ordinance, Daoheng told his colleagues, "Had Gao Jiong still lived, this measure would already be firmly in place." Someone reported him; the emperor raged, "Are you pining for Gao Jiong?" He turned him over to the judicial authorities for investigation. Daoheng assumed the fault was minor and pressed the court to rule promptly. On the day of sentencing he still hoped for pardon and told his household to prepare a feast for friends who might call. When the verdict was reported, the emperor ordered him to kill himself. Daoheng was utterly unprepared and could not bring himself to bid farewell. The court reported again; he was strangled, and his wife and children were exiled to Qimo. He was seventy at the time. The empire regarded his death as a grievous wrong. His collected works ran to seventy juan and circulated widely.

有子五人，收最知名，出繼族父孺。孺清貞孤介，不交流俗，涉歷經史，有才思，雖不為大文，所有詩詠，詞致清遠。開皇中，為侍御史、揚州總管司功參軍。每以方直自處，府僚多不便之。及滿，轉清陽令、襄城郡掾，卒官。所經並有惠政。與道衡偏相友愛，收初生，即與孺為後，養於孺宅。至於成長，殆不識本生。太常丞胡仲操曾在朝堂，就孺借刀子割爪甲。孺以仲操非雅士，竟不與之。其不肯妄交，清介獨行，皆此類也。

He had five sons; Shou was the best known, having been adopted by his kinsman Ru. Ru was upright and solitary, shunning vulgar company; versed in the classics and histories, he possessed literary gifts; though he wrote no major pieces, his poems were lucid and refined. In the Kaihuang era he served as Attending Censor and Recorder under the Yangzhou Area Command. He always held himself to strict integrity, which many colleagues in the prefectural staff found awkward. When his term ended he became Magistrate of Qingyang and aide in Xiangcheng Commandery, and died in office. Wherever he served he left benevolent rule behind. He was especially close to Daoheng; as soon as Shou was born he was given to Ru as heir and raised in Ru's home. By adulthood he scarcely knew his birth parents. Hu Zhongcao, an aide in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, once asked Ru in court to lend him a knife to trim his nails. Ru judged Zhongcao no gentleman of taste and refused him outright. His refusal of casual acquaintance and his austere, solitary ways were all of this sort.

道衡兄子邁，官至選部郎，從父弟道實，官至禮部侍郎、離石太守，並知名於世。從子德音，有雋才，起家為游騎尉。佐魏澹修《魏史》，史成，遷著作佐郎。及越王侗稱制東都，王世充之僭號也，軍書羽檄，皆出其手。世充平，以罪伏誅。所有文筆，多行于時。

Daoheng's nephew Mai rose to a post in the Selection Department; his cousin Daoshi became Vice Minister of Rites and Administrator of Lishi—both won fame in their day. His nephew Deyin possessed outstanding talent and began his career as Cavalry Commandant of the Guard. He assisted Wei Dan in compiling the History of Wei and, when the work was finished, was promoted to Assistant Editor. When Prince Yue of Dong held regency in the eastern capital and Wang Shichong seized the throne, all military orders and urgent proclamations issued from his pen. When Shichong fell, he was executed for his offenses. Many of his writings circulated widely in his day.

史臣曰：二三子有齊之季，皆以辭藻著聞，爰曆周、隋，鹹見推重。李稱一代俊偉，薛則時之令望，握靈蛇以俱照，騁逸足以並驅，文雅縱橫，金聲玉振。靜言揚榷，盧居二子之右。李、薛紆青拖紫，思道官途寥落，雖窮通有命，抑亦不護細行之所致也。

The historiographer writes: In the last days of Qi these men all won fame for literary brilliance; through Zhou and Sui alike they were held in high regard. Li was hailed as the age's towering talent, Xue as its leading hope; each wielded the brush like a spirit serpent, each kept pace in swift excellence; their prose ranged freely, their voices rang clear as gold and jade. On calm reflection, Lu ranks above the other two. Li and Xue rose to high office in purple and green, while Sidao's career languished; though fortune has its decree, this also came of his neglect of small proprieties.

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