1
明克讓明克讓，字弘道，平原鬲人也。 父山賓，梁侍中。 克讓少好儒雅，善談論，博涉書史，所覽將萬卷。 《三禮》禮論，尤所研精，龜策曆象，咸得其妙。 年十四，釋褐湘東王法曹參軍。 時舍人朱異在儀賢堂講《老子》，克讓預焉。 堂邊有修竹，異令克讓詠之。 克讓攬筆輒成，其卒章曰：「非君多愛賞，誰貴此貞心。」 異甚奇之。 仕歷司徒祭酒、尚書都官郎中、散騎侍郎，兼國子博士、中書侍郎。 梁滅，歸於長安，周明帝引為麟趾殿學士，俄授著作上士，轉外史下大夫，出為衛王友，歷漢東、南陳二郡守。 武帝即位，復徵為露門學士，令與太史官屬正定新曆。 拜儀同三司，累遷司調大夫，賜爵曆城縣伯，邑五百戶。 高祖受禪，拜太子內舍人，轉率更令，進爵為侯。 太子以師道處之，恩禮甚厚。 每有四方珍味，輒以賜之。 于時東宮盛征天下才學之士，至於博物洽聞，皆出其下。 詔與太常牛弘等修禮議樂，當朝典故多所裁正。 開皇十四年，以疾去官，加通直散騎常侍。 卒，年七十。 上甚傷惜焉，賻物五百段，米三百石。 太子又贈絹布二千匹，錢十萬，朝服一具，給棺槨。 著《孝經義疏》一部，《古今帝代記》一卷，《文類》四卷，《續名僧記》一卷，集二十卷。
Ming Kerang, whose style name was Hongdao, came from Ge in Pingyuan commandery. His father Shanbin had served Liang as Attendant-in-ordinary. From youth Kerang delighted in classical learning, excelled in conversation, and ranged widely through books and histories until he had read nearly ten thousand scrolls. He devoted himself above all to the Three Rites and ritual theory, and in tortoise and milfoil divination, calendrics, and astronomy he mastered every subtle point. At fourteen he entered office as Legal Bureau Attendant on the staff of the Prince of Xiangdong. About that time Palace Attendant Zhu Yi was lecturing on the Laozi in the Hall for Honoring the Worthy, and Kerang was among those present. Tall bamboo grew beside the hall, and Yi asked Kerang to compose a poem on it. Kerang took up his brush and finished the piece on the spot; its closing lines ran, "Were it not for your discerning favor, who would value this steadfast heart?" Yi was deeply impressed. In his career he held the posts of Libationer under the Minister of Works, Director of the Bureau of Punishments in the Secretariat, and Gentleman Cavalier Attendant, while also serving concurrently as Erudite of the Imperial Academy and Secretariat Attendant. After Liang fell he made his way to Chang'an, where Emperor Ming of Zhou took him on as a scholar of the Linzhi Hall. He was soon made Senior Compiler, then promoted to Junior Grand Historian, later sent out as Companion to the Prince of Wei, and served in turn as prefect of Handong and Nanchen. When Emperor Wu came to the throne Kerang was summoned back as a Lumengate scholar and charged, together with the staff of the Grand Astrologer's office, to establish the new calendar. He received appointment as Commissioner with Protocol Equal to the Three Dukes, rose through successive promotions to Grand Master of Court Regulation, and was enfeoffed as Baron of Licheng with a fief of five hundred households. When Gaozu accepted the throne he was made Inner Gentleman to the Heir Apparent, then transferred to Director of Palace Works and raised to the rank of Marquis. The crown prince treated him with the deference owed a teacher, and showed him exceptional favor and courtesy. Whenever rare delicacies arrived from the four quarters, the prince would send them to him. The Eastern Palace at that time was recruiting learned men from across the empire, yet in breadth of learning and erudition none could match him. An edict appointed him, together with Minister of Rites Niu Hong and others, to revise ritual and music, and he corrected a great many precedents then in use at court. In Kaihuang 14 he resigned on account of illness and was given the additional title of Regular Attendant of Direct and Unimpeded Service. He died at the age of seventy. The emperor mourned him deeply and sent five hundred bolts of goods and three hundred piculs of grain as funeral gifts. The crown prince added two thousand bolts of silk and cloth, one hundred thousand cash, a full set of court robes, and provided the coffin and inner casket. His writings included an Exegesis on the Classic of Filial Piety, a Record of Emperors Ancient and Modern in one scroll, Literary Categories in four scrolls, a Continued Record of Eminent Monks in one scroll, and collected works in twenty scrolls.
2
子餘慶，官至司門郎。 越王侗稱制，為國子祭酒。 魏澹魏澹，字彥深，巨鹿下曲陽人也。 祖鸞，魏光州刺史。 父季景，齊大司農卿，稱為著姓，世以文學自業。 澹年十五而孤，專精好學，博涉經史，善屬文，詞采贍逸。 齊博陵王濟聞其名，引為記室。 及琅邪王儼為京畿大都督，以澹為鎧曹參軍，轉殿中侍御史。 尋與尚書左僕射魏收、吏部尚書陽休之、國子博士熊安生同修《五禮》。 又與諸學士撰《御覽》，書成，除殿中郎中、中書舍人。 復與李德林俱修國史。 周武帝平齊，授納言中士。 及高祖受禪，出為行台禮部侍郎。 尋為散騎常侍、聘陳主使。 還除太子舍人。 廢太子勇深禮遇之，屢加優錫，令注《庾信集》，復撰《笑苑》、《詞林集》，世稱其博物。 數年，遷著作郎，仍為太子學士。
His son Yuqing rose to the post of Gate Master. When Prince of Yue Yang Tong held the regency, Yuqing served as Libationer of the Imperial Academy. Wei Dan, whose style name was Yanshen, came from Xiaquyang in Julu commandery. His grandfather Luan had been Governor of Guangzhou under Northern Wei. His father Jijing served Qi as Grand Minister of Agriculture; the family was reckoned a distinguished clan that had pursued letters for generations. Orphaned at fifteen, Dan threw himself into study, ranged widely through the classics and histories, wrote with ease, and his prose was lush and fluent. When the Prince of Boling, Ji of Qi, heard of him, he took Dan on as Recorder. When Prince of Langye Yan became Metropolitan Commander of the Capital Region, he appointed Dan Armor Bureau Attendant and later transferred him to Palace Attendant Censor. He soon joined Left Vice Director Wei Shou, Minister of Personnel Yang Xiuzhi, and Erudite Xiong Ansheng in compiling the Five Rites. He also worked with other scholars on the Imperial Overview, and when that work was complete he was made Director in the Palace Bureau and Secretariat Draftsman. He again collaborated with Li Delin on the national history. After Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi, Dan was appointed Senior Clerk of the Palace Secretariat. When Gaozu took the throne Dan was sent out as Vice Director of the Rites Bureau on the Field Secretariat. He was soon made Regular Attendant Cavalier and chief envoy on a mission to Chen. On returning he was appointed Attendant to the Heir Apparent. The deposed crown prince Yong treated him with great respect and showered him with favors, commissioning him to annotate Yu Xin's collected works and to compile the Garden of Laughter and the Forest of Phrases; contemporaries acclaimed his encyclopedic learning. Several years later he was promoted to Compiler while continuing as a scholar in the heir apparent's household.
3
高祖以魏收所撰書褒貶失實，平繪為《中興書》事不倫序，詔澹別成《魏史》。 澹自道武下及恭帝，為十二紀，七十八傳，別為史論及例一卷，並《目錄》合九十二卷。 澹之義例與魏收多所不同：
Gaozu found Wei Shou's history unreliable in its judgments and Ping Hui's Book of the Restoration disorderly in its arrangement of events, and ordered Dan to compile a separate History of Wei. Dan's history ran from Emperor Daowu through Emperor Gong in twelve annals and seventy-eight biographies, with a separate scroll of historical discourse and precedents and a table of contents, ninety-two scrolls in all. Dan's historiographical principles differed in many ways from Wei Shou's:
4
其一曰，臣聞天子者，繼天立極，終始絕名。 故《穀梁傳》曰：「太上不名。」 《曲禮》曰：「天子不言出，諸侯不生名。」 諸侯尚不生名，況天子乎！ 若為太子，必須書名。 良由子者對父生稱，父前子名，禮之意也。 是以桓公六年九月丁卯，子同生，《傳》曰：「舉以太子之禮。」 杜預注云：「桓公子莊公也。」 十二公唯子同是嫡夫人之長子，備用太子之禮，故史書之於策。 即位之日，尊成君而不名，《春秋》之義，聖人之微旨也。 至如馬遷，周之太子並皆言名，漢之儲兩俱沒其諱，以尊漢卑周，臣子之意也。 竊謂雖立此理，恐非其義。 何者？ 《春秋》、《禮記》，太子必書名，天王不言出。 此仲尼之褒貶，皇王之稱謂，非當時與異代遂為優劣也。 班固、范曄、陳壽、王隱、沈約參差不同，尊卑失序。 至於魏收，諱儲君之名，書天子之字，過又甚焉。 今所撰史，諱皇帝名，書太子字，欲以尊君卑臣，依《春秋》之義也。
The first principle: I have heard that the Son of Heaven, who succeeds Heaven and establishes the cosmic pole, is never recorded by personal name from first to last. Thus the Guliang Commentary says, "The Supreme One is not named." The Record of Rites says, "The Son of Heaven is not said to 'go forth'; feudal lords are not named at birth." If even feudal lords go unnamed at birth, how much more the Son of Heaven! When the subject is the heir apparent, the name must be recorded. This is because a son, when addressing his father, uses his birth name; naming the son in the father's presence is the point of ritual propriety. Hence in Duke Huan's sixth year, on the ninth month's dingmao day, Zitong was born, and the Commentary says, "He was raised with the rites due an heir apparent." Du Yu's note explains, "This was Duke Huan's son, who became Duke Zhuang." Of the twelve dukes of Lu, only Zitong, eldest son of the principal wife, received the full rites of an heir apparent, which is why the annals record his name. From the day of accession he is honored as sovereign and left unnamed—this is the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the sage's subtle intent. Sima Qian, for instance, names every Zhou heir apparent while suppressing the personal names of Han heirs—elevating Han and diminishing Zhou, as a loyal subject would. I would argue that although this principle is asserted, it is probably not sound. Why is that? In the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Record of Rites, heirs apparent are always named, while the King of Heaven is never said to 'go forth.' These are Confucius's standards of praise and blame and the proper titles for sovereigns—not grounds for ranking one dynasty above another. Ban Gu, Fan Ye, Chen Shou, Wang Yin, and Shen Yue applied inconsistent rules, so the hierarchy of honor was lost. Wei Shou went further still, suppressing the heir's personal name while recording the emperor's style name. In the history I now compile, the emperor's personal name is suppressed and the heir's style name is recorded, honoring the sovereign over the subject in accordance with the Spring and Autumn Annals.
5
其二曰，五帝之聖，三代之英，積德累功，乃文乃武，賢聖相承，莫過周室，名器不及後稷，追諡止于三王，此即前代之茂實，後人之龜鏡也。 魏氏平文以前，部落之君長耳。 太祖遠追二十八帝，並極崇高，違堯舜憲章，越周公典禮。 但道武出自結繩，未師典誥，當須南、董直筆，裁而正之。 反更飾非，言是觀過，所謂決渤澥之水，復去堤防，襄陵之災，未可免也。 但力微天女所誕，靈異絕世，尊為始祖，得禮之宜。 平文、昭成雄據塞表，英風漸盛，圖南之業，基自此始。 長孫斤之亂也，兵交御坐，太子授命，昭成獲免。 道武此時，後緡方娠，宗廟復存，社稷有主，大功大孝，實在獻明。 此之三世，稱諡可也。 自茲以外，未之敢聞。
The second principle: The Five Emperors were sages and the Three Dynasties produced heroes who amassed virtue and achievement in both civil and military arts, with sage succeeding sage—none surpassed the Zhou. Yet even Zhou did not grant full titles to Hou Ji, and posthumous honors stopped at the Three Kings. This is the model of antiquity and a mirror for posterity. Before Emperor Pingwen, the Wei were merely tribal chieftains. The Grand Ancestor posthumously ennobled twenty-eight distant forebears to the highest rank, violating the precedents of Yao and Shun and exceeding the ritual canon of the Duke of Zhou. Emperor Daowu arose from an age before written law and had not mastered the classical edicts; this called for historians in the mold of Nan Shi and Dong Hu to set the record straight with an honest brush. Instead the historians dressed up error as merit, calling it a charitable view of faults—like breaching the Bohai and tearing down the dikes again; a flood that submerges the hills cannot be avoided. Li Wei, however, was said to be born of a heavenly maiden and was miraculous beyond his age; honoring him as Founding Ancestor was ritually appropriate. Emperors Pingwen and Zhaocheng held the northern frontier with growing power, and the ambition to march south took root with them. During the rebellion of Changsun Jin, fighting reached the imperial throne; the crown prince passed on the command, and Zhaocheng escaped with his life. At that moment Daowu's consort was newly pregnant, the ancestral temple was preserved, and the realm again had a ruler; the great service and supreme filial act belonged truly to Xianming. These three generations may properly receive posthumous titles. Beyond them I would not venture to go.
6
其三曰，臣以為南巢桀亡，牧野紂滅，斬以黃鉞，懸首白旗，幽王死於驪山，厲王出奔於彘，未嘗隱諱，直筆書之，欲以勸善懲惡，貽誡將來者也。 而太武、獻文並皆非命，前史立紀，不異天年，言論之間，頗露首尾。 殺主害君，莫知名姓，逆臣賊子，何所懼哉！ 君子之過，如日月之食，圓首方足，孰不瞻仰？ 況復兵交御坐，矢及王屋，而可隱沒者乎！ 今所撰史，分明直書，不敢回避。 且隱、桓之死，閔、昭殺逐，丘明據實敘於經下，況復懸隔異代而致依違哉！
The third principle: When Jie fell at Nan-chao and Zhou at Muye they were struck down with the yellow axe and their heads displayed on white banners; when King You died at Mount Li and King Li fled to Zhi, the annalists did not conceal these facts but wrote them plainly to encourage virtue, punish wickedness, and warn posterity. Yet Emperors Taiwu and Xianwen both died by violence, while the earlier history treated their reigns like natural deaths, though its wording still betrayed the truth at both ends. When regicides go unnamed, what restraint is left for traitors and parricides? A nobleman's faults are like eclipses of the sun and moon—everyone under heaven sees them plainly. How much less can one conceal fighting at the throne itself and arrows striking the royal hall! In the history I now compile I write plainly and directly, without evasion. When Yin and Huan died and Min and Zhao were killed and driven out, Qiu Ming recorded the facts beneath the classic lines; how much less should one hedge when the ages are far apart!
7
其四曰，周道陵遲，不勝其敝，楚子親問九鼎，吳人來征百牢，無君之心，實彰行路，夫子刊經，皆書曰卒。 自晉德不競，宇宙分崩，或帝或王，各自署置。 當其生日，聘使往來，略如敵國，及其終也，書之日死，便同庶人。 存沒頓殊，能無懷愧！ 今所撰史，諸國凡處華夏之地者，皆書曰卒，同之吳、楚。
The fourth principle: As the Zhou Way declined beyond repair, the lord of Chu inquired after the Nine Cauldrons and men of Wu came to demand the hundred enclosures of sacrificial meat—their disloyalty was plain to every traveler, and when the Master edited the classics he recorded their ends simply as "died." Once Jin's virtue failed, the realm shattered, and men styled themselves emperor or king as they pleased. During their lives envoys exchanged visits almost as between rival states, yet at their deaths the annals wrote "died on such-and-such a day," reducing them to commoners. Such a gulf between life and death—how could one not blush at the inconsistency! In the history I now compile, every state within the Central Plains is recorded as having "died," on the same terms as Wu and Chu.
8
其五曰，壺遂發問，馬遷答之，義已盡矣。 後之述者，仍未領悟。 董仲舒、司馬遷之意，本雲《尚書》者，隆平之典，《春秋》者，撥亂之法，興衰理異，製作亦殊。 治定則直敘欽明，世亂則辭兼顯晦，分路命家，不相依放。 故云「周道廢，《春秋》作焉，堯、舜盛，《尚書》載之」是也。 「漢興以來，改正朔，易服色，臣力誦聖德，仍不能盡，餘所謂述故事，而君比之《春秋》，謬哉」。 然則紀傳之體出自《尚書》，不學《春秋》，明矣。 而范曄云：「《春秋》者，文既總略，好失事形，今之擬作，所以為短。 紀傳者，史、班之所變也，網羅一代，事義周悉，適之後學，此焉為優，故繼而述之。」 觀曄此言，豈直非聖人之無法，又失馬遷之意旨。 孫盛自謂鑽仰具體而放之。 魏收云：「魯史既修，達者貽則，子長自拘紀傳，不存師表，蓋泉源所由，地非企及。」 雖復遜辭畏聖，亦未思紀傳所由來也。
The fifth principle: When Hu Sui posed the question and Sima Qian answered it, the matter was already settled. Later historians still failed to grasp the point. Dong Zhongshu and Sima Qian held that the Documents record an age of peace and plenty, while the Spring and Autumn provides the method for restoring order in chaos; rise and decline follow different principles, and the two works were composed for different purposes. When order is secure one narrates plainly the virtues of the sage-kings; when the age is chaotic the language mixes clarity and concealment; each tradition follows its own path and does not borrow from the other. Hence the saying: "When the Zhou Way fell into ruin, the Spring and Autumn was composed; when Yao and Shun flourished, the Documents recorded them." "Since Han arose, calendars and ceremonial colors have been revised; I strive to proclaim the sage emperor's virtue yet cannot exhaust it. What I call recounting past events you compare to the Spring and Autumn—that is a mistake." It is clear, then, that the annal-and-biography format derives from the Documents, not from the Spring and Autumn. Yet Fan Ye wrote, "The Spring and Autumn is so summary in style that it often loses the concrete shape of events; modeling present work on it is therefore a defect. Annal-biography is the form developed by Sima Qian and Ban Gu; it encompasses a whole age with thorough coverage of events and meanings, and suits later students better, which is why I follow that model." Reading Fan Ye's words, he not only abandons the sage's method but also misses Sima Qian's intent entirely. Sun Sheng claimed to have studied the complete model closely and then adapted it. Wei Shou wrote, "After the Lu chronicle was completed, the wise left a standard for posterity; Sima Qian confined himself to annal-biography and did not preserve the master's model—the spring from which he drew lies on ground one cannot hope to reach." Even in his modest deference to the sage, he never considered where annal-biography actually came from.
9
澹又以為司馬遷創立紀傳以來，述者非一，人無善惡，皆為立論。 計在身行跡，具在正書，事既無奇，不足懲勸。 再述乍同銘頌，重敘唯覺繁文。 案丘明亞聖之才，發揚聖旨，言「君子曰」者，無非甚泰，其間尋常，直書而已。 今所撰史，竊有慕焉，可為勸戒者，論其得失，其無損益者，所不論也。
Dan also held that since Sima Qian created the annal-biography format, countless historians have written evaluative essays for figures good and bad alike. Since a person's conduct is already fully recorded in the main text, and the facts are nothing out of the ordinary, such essays add little by way of moral instruction. A second account reads like an inscription or eulogy, and repetition only makes the prose feel bloated. Qiu Ming, second only to the sage in talent, expounded the sage's intent; when he wrote "the noble man says," the judgment was always weighty, while ordinary matters he recorded plainly. In the history I now compile I follow this model: where moral instruction is possible, I discuss a person's merits and faults; where nothing is gained or lost, I pass over the matter.
10
澹所著《魏書》，甚簡要，大矯收、繪之失。 上覽而善之。 未幾，卒，時年六十五。 有《文集》三十卷行於世。 子信言，頗知名。
Dan's History of Wei was notably concise and corrected most of the faults of Wei Shou and Ping Hui. The emperor read it and was pleased. He died soon afterward, at the age of sixty-five. His collected works in thirty scrolls circulated widely. His son Xinyan achieved considerable renown.
11
澹弟彥玄，有文學，歷揚州總管府記室、洧州司馬。 有子滿行。 陸爽陸爽，字開明，魏郡臨漳人也。 祖順宗，魏南青州刺史。 父概之，齊霍州刺史。 爽少聰敏，年九歲就學，日誦二千餘言。 齊尚書僕射楊遵彥見而異之，曰：「陸氏代有人焉。」 年十七，齊司州牧、清河王嶽召為主簿。 擢殿中侍御史，俄兼治書，累轉中書侍郎。 及齊滅，周武帝聞其名，與陽休之、袁叔德等十餘人俱征入關。 諸人多將輜重，爽獨載書數千卷。 至長安，授宣納上士。 高祖受禪，轉太子內直監，尋遷太子洗馬。 與左庶子宇文愷等撰《東宮典記》七十卷。 朝廷以其博學有口辯，陳人至境，常令迎勞。 開皇十一年，卒官，時年五十三，贈上儀同、宣州刺史，賜帛百匹。
Dan's younger brother Yanxuan was a man of letters who served as Recorder on the Yangzhou headquarters staff and later as Military Administrator of Weizhou. He had a son named Manxing. Lu Shuang, whose style name was Kaiming, came from Linzhang in Wei commandery. His grandfather Shunzong had served Wei as Governor of Southern Qingzhou. His father Gaizhi had served Qi as Governor of Huozhou. From youth Shuang was quick-witted; at nine he took up his studies and recited more than two thousand characters a day. Yang Zunyan, Vice Director of the Masters of Writing under Qi, saw him and exclaimed, "The Lu clan has produced worthy men in every generation. At seventeen he was summoned by Yue, Prince of Qinghe and Regional Governor of Sizhou, and appointed Chief Clerk on his staff. He was promoted to Palace Attendant Censor, soon held concurrent duty as Drafting Secretary, and rose through successive posts to Secretariat Vice Director. After Qi fell, Emperor Wu of Zhou summoned him, together with Yang Xiuzhi, Yuan Shude, and more than ten others, to enter the Pass. Most of the others brought wagonloads of goods, but Shuang alone carried several thousand scrolls of books. When he reached Chang'an he was appointed Xuan'na Upper Grandee. When Gaozu took the throne he was made Director of Inner Attendants to the Heir Apparent and soon promoted to Palace Stud Groom to the Heir Apparent. Together with Left Assistant to the Heir Apparent Yuwen Kai and others, he compiled the Eastern Palace Standard Records in seventy scrolls. Because the court regarded him as broadly learned and gifted in debate, whenever Chen envoys arrived at the frontier he was regularly sent to welcome and entertain them. In Kaihuang 11 he died in office at fifty-three; posthumously he was granted Senior Commissioner with Protocol Equal to the Three Dukes and Governor of Xuanzhou, with one hundred bolts of silk.
12
子法言，敏學有家風，釋褐承奉郎。 初，爽之為洗馬，嘗奏高祖云：「皇太子諸子未有嘉名，請依《春秋》之義，更立名字。」 上從之。 及太子廢，上追怒爽云：「我孫制名，甯不自解？ 陸爽乃爾多事！ 扇惑於勇，亦由此人。 其身雖故，子孫並宜屏黜，終身不齒。」 法言竟坐除名。 侯白爽同郡侯白，字君素，好學有捷才，性滑稽，尤辯俊。 舉秀才，為儒林郎。 通侻不恃威儀，好為誹諧雜說，人多愛狎之，所在之處，觀者如市。 楊素甚狎之。 素嘗與牛弘退朝，白謂素曰：「日之夕矣。」 素大笑曰：「以我為牛羊下來邪？」 高祖聞其名，召與語，甚悅之，令于秘書修國史。 每將擢之，高祖輒曰：「侯白不勝官」而止。 後給五品食，月餘而死，時人傷其薄命。 著《旌異記》十五卷，行於世。 杜臺卿杜臺卿，字少山，博陵曲陽人也。 父弼，齊衛尉卿。 臺卿少好學，博覽書記，解屬文。 仕齊奉朝請，歷司空西閤祭酒、司徒戶曹、著作郎、中書黃門侍郎。 性儒素，每以雅道自居。 及周武帝平齊，歸於鄉里，以《禮記》、《春秋》講授子弟。 開皇初，被征入朝。 臺卿嘗采《月令》，觸類而廣之，為書名《玉燭寶典》十二卷。 至是奏之，賜絹二百匹。 臺卿患聾，不堪吏職，請修國史。 上許之，拜著作郎。 十四年，上表請致仕，敕以本官還第。 數載，終於家。 有集十五卷，撰《齊記》二十卷，並行於世。 無子。
His son Fayán was quick in learning and carried on the family tradition; upon entering office he was appointed Gentleman of the Palace Reception. Earlier, while serving as Palace Stud Groom, Shuang memorialized Gaozu: "The crown prince's sons still have no auspicious names; I ask that new names be established according to the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals. The emperor approved the proposal. After the crown prince was deposed, the emperor turned on Shuang in anger and said, "When I name my grandsons, could I not decide that for myself? Lu Shuang had meddled far too much! That Yong was led astray also stemmed from this man. Though he himself was already dead, his descendants should all be cast out and banished from office, never to be received among their peers for life. Fayán was ultimately removed from the official rolls. Hou Bai, styled Junsu, came from the same commandery as Shuang. He loved learning and possessed quick talent; by nature he was comical and excelled in eloquence and wit. Recommended as Presented Scholar, he was appointed Erudite of the Forest of Classics. Unrestrained in manner, he cared little for formal dignity and loved satirical and humorous pieces; crowds gathered wherever he appeared as thick as at a market. Yang Su was especially fond of him. Once, as Su was leaving court with Niu Hong, Bai said to him, "The sun is setting. Su laughed aloud and said, "Do you take me for cattle and sheep coming down at dusk? Gaozu heard his name, summoned him for an audience, was greatly pleased, and ordered him to work on the national history in the Secretariat. Whenever a promotion was proposed, Gaozu would say, "Hou Bai is not fit for office," and the matter would go no further. Later he was granted the stipend of a fifth-rank official; a little more than a month afterward he died, and contemporaries mourned his ill-fated life. He wrote Records of Marvels and Anomalies in fifteen scrolls, which circulated widely. Du Taiqing, whose style name was Shaoshan, came from Quyang in Boling commandery. His father Bi had served Qi as Minister of the Guards. From youth Taiqing loved learning, read widely in books and records, and was accomplished at literary composition. Under Qi he served as Attendant at Court and held the posts of Libationer of the Western Pavilion, staff member in the Household Bureau, Drafting Gentleman, and Secretariat Yellow Gate Vice Director. Plain and upright by nature, he always held himself to the standards of refined conduct. After Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi, he returned home and lectured on the Record of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals. At the beginning of the Kaihuang era he was summoned to court. Taiqing drew on the Monthly Ordinances and, extending the material by analogous categories, produced the Jade Candle Precious Canon in twelve scrolls. He submitted it to the throne and was rewarded with two hundred bolts of silk. Afflicted with deafness, Taiqing could not manage administrative duties and asked instead to compile the national history. The emperor granted his request and appointed him Drafting Gentleman. In the fourteenth year he requested retirement; an edict permitted him to return home while retaining his former rank. Several years later he died at home. He left collected writings in fifteen scrolls and compiled Records of Qi in twenty scrolls; both circulated widely. He had no son.
13
有兄蕤，學業不如臺卿，而幹局過之。 仕至開州刺史。 子公贍，少好學，有家風，卒於安陽令。 公贍子之松，大業中，為起居舍人。 辛德源辛德源，字孝基，隴西狄道人也。 祖穆，魏平原太守。 父子馥，尚書右丞。 德源沉靜好學，年十四，解屬文。 及長，博覽書記，少有重名。 齊尚書僕射楊遵彥、殿中尚書辛術皆一時名士，見德源，並虛襟禮敬，因同薦之于文宣帝。 起家奉朝請，後為兼員外散騎侍郎，聘梁使副。 後曆馮翊、華山二王記室。 中書侍郎劉逖上表薦德源曰：「弱齡好古，晚節逾厲，枕藉六經，漁獵百氏。 文章綺豔，體調清華，恭慎表於閨門，謙捴著於朋執。 實後進之辭人，當今之雅器。 必能效節一官，騁足千里。」 由是除員外散騎侍郎，累遷比部郎中，復兼通直散騎常侍。 聘于陳，及還，待詔文林館，除尚書考功郎中，轉中書舍人。 及齊滅，仕周為宣納上士。 因取急詣相州，會尉迥作亂，以為中郎。 德源辭不獲免，遂亡去。 高祖受禪，不得調者久之，隱于林慮山，鬱鬱不得志，著《幽居賦》以自寄，文多不載。 德源素與武陽太守盧思道友善，時相往來。 魏州刺史崔彥武奏德源潛為交結，恐其有奸計。 由是謫令從軍討南寧，歲餘而還。 秘書監牛弘以德源才學顯著，奏與著作郎王劭同修國史。 德源每於務隙撰《集注春秋三傳》三十卷，注揚子《法言》二十三卷。 蜀王秀聞其名而引之，居數歲，奏以為掾。 後轉諮議參軍，卒官。 有集二十卷，又撰《政訓》、《內訓》各二十卷。 有子素臣、正臣，並學涉有文義。 柳䛒柳䛒，字顧言，本河東人也，永嘉之亂，徙家襄陽。 祖惔，梁侍中。 父暉，都官尚書。 抃少聰敏，解屬文，好讀書，所覽將萬卷。 仕梁，釋褐著作佐郎。 後蕭詧據荊州，以為侍中，領國子祭酒、吏部尚書。 及梁國廢，拜開府、通直散騎常侍，尋遷內史侍郎。 以無吏幹去職，轉晉王諮議參軍。 王好文雅，招引才學之士諸葛潁、虞世南、王胄、朱瑒等百餘人以充學士，而抃為之冠。 王以師友處之，每有文什，必令其潤色，然後示人。 嘗朝京師還，作《歸籓賦》，命抃為序，詞甚典麗。 初，王屬文，為庾信體，及見抃已後，文體遂變。 仁壽初，引抃為東宮學士，加通直散騎常侍，檢校洗馬，甚見親待。 每召入臥內，與之宴謔。 抃尤俊辯，多在侍從，有所顧問，應答如響。 性又嗜酒，言雜誹諧，由是彌為太子之所親狎。 以其好內典，令撰《法華玄宗》，為二十卷，奏之。 太子覽而大悅，賞賜優洽，儕輩莫與為比。 煬帝嗣位，拜秘書監，封漢南縣公。 帝退朝之後，便命入閣，言宴諷讀，終日而罷。 帝每與嬪後對酒，時逢興會，輒遣命之至，與同榻共席，恩若友朋。 帝猶恨不能夜召，於是命匠刻木偶人，施機關，能坐起拜伏，以像於抃。 帝每在月下對酒，輒令宮人置之於座，與相酬酢，而為歡笑。 從幸揚州，遇疾卒，年六十九。 帝傷惜者久之，贈大將軍，諡曰康。 撰《晉王北伐記》十五卷，有集十卷，行於世。 許善心許善心，字務本，高陽北新城人也。 祖懋，梁太子中庶子，始平、天門二郡守、散騎常侍。 父亨，仕梁至給事黃門侍郎，在陳曆羽林監、太中大夫、衛尉卿，領大著作。 善心九歲而孤，為母范氏所鞠養。 幼聰明有思理，所聞輒能誦記，多聞默識，為當世所稱。 家有舊書萬餘卷，皆遍通涉。 十五解屬文，箋上父友徐陵，陵大奇之，謂人曰：「才調極高，此神童也。」 起家除新安王法曹。 太子詹事江總舉秀才，對策高第，授度支郎中，轉侍郎，補撰史學士。 禎明二年，加通直散騎常侍，聘于隋。 遇高祖伐陳，禮成而不獲反命，累表請辭。 上不許，留縶賓館。 及陳亡，高祖遣使告之。 善心衰服號哭於西階之下，藉草東向，經三日。 敕書唁焉。 明日，有詔就館，拜通直散騎常侍。 賜衣一襲。 善心哭盡哀，入房改服，復出北面立，垂涕再拜受詔。 明日乃朝，伏泣于殿下，悲不能興。 上顧左右曰：「我平陳國，唯獲此人。 既能懷其舊君，即是我誠臣也。」 敕以本官直門下省，賜物千段，皁馬二十匹。 從幸太山，還授虞部侍郎。
He had an elder brother Rui, whose scholarship did not equal Taiqing's but whose practical capacity for affairs surpassed his. In office he rose to Prefect of Kaizhou. His son Gongshan loved learning from youth and carried on the family tradition; he died while serving as Magistrate of Anyang. Gongshan's son Zhison served as Attendant of the Palace during the Daye era. Xin Deyuan, whose style name was Xiaoji, came from Didao in Longxi commandery. His grandfather Mu had served Wei as Prefect of Pingyuan. His father Zifu served as Right Vice Director of the Masters of Writing. Calm and reserved, Deyuan loved learning and at fourteen was accomplished at literary composition. When he came of age he read widely in books and records and early on acquired a considerable reputation. Yang Zunyan, Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, and Xin Shu, Director within the Palace, were celebrated men of their age; on meeting Deyuan they received him with open courtesy and together recommended him to Emperor Wenxuan. He began as Attendant at Court, later served as Supernumerary Vice Director of the Cavalry-in-Attendance and went to Liang as deputy envoy. He later served in turn as Recorder on the staffs of the Princes of Fenyang and Huashan. Liu Ti, Vice Director of the Secretariat, recommended Deyuan: "From youth he loved antiquity, and in later life he grew ever more rigorous; he rests upon the Six Classics and ranges through the writings of the hundred schools. His writings are rich and brilliant, his literary tone clear and refined; reverence and caution mark his household, and modesty is evident among his friends. He is truly a literary talent among the rising generation and a refined man of the present age. He is sure to serve one office with full devotion and prove capable of far-reaching achievement. On this basis he was appointed Vice Director of the Cavalry-in-Attendance, rose to Director in the Ministry of Justice, and again served concurrently as Regular Attendant of Direct Communication and Cavalry. After serving as envoy to Chen, he was retained at the Wenlin Hall, appointed Director of Evaluations in the Ministry of Personnel, and then transferred to Drafting Secretary. After Qi fell, he served Northern Zhou as Xuan'na Upper Grandee. While on urgent leave on his way to Xiangzhou, he encountered Yu Jiong's rebellion and was appointed Middle Commander under him. Deyuan refused but could not avoid the appointment, and so fled. After Gaozu took the throne he long remained without appointment; he withdrew to Mount Linlü, depressed and unfulfilled, and wrote the Secluded Living Rhapsody—most of the text is not recorded here. Deyuan had long been close friends with Lu Sidao, Prefect of Wuyang, and they frequently visited one another. Cui Yanwu, Prefect of Weizhou, memorialized that Deyuan was secretly maintaining illicit contacts and might harbor treacherous designs. On this account he was demoted and ordered to join the army on the Nanning campaign; he returned after more than a year. Because Deyuan's talent and learning were outstanding, Director of the Secretariat Niu Hong memorialized that he compile the national history together with Drafting Gentleman Wang Shao. In spare moments from his duties Deyuan wrote Collected Commentaries on the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn in thirty scrolls and annotated Yang Xiong's Exemplary Words in twenty-three scrolls. Prince Xiu of Shu, having heard his reputation, summoned him; after several years he memorialized that Deyuan be appointed a staff officer. He was later transferred to Advisory Assistant and died in office. He left collected writings in twenty scrolls and also wrote Political Instruction and Inner Instruction, each in twenty scrolls. He had sons Suchén and Zhèngchén, both broadly learned and accomplished in letters. Liu Bian, whose style name was Guyán, was originally from Hedong; during the upheavals of the Yongjia era his family moved to Xiangyang. His grandfather Tan had served Liang as Attendant-in-ordinary. His father Hui served as Director of the Ministry of Justice. From youth Bian was quick-witted and skilled at literary composition; he loved reading and had perused nearly ten thousand scrolls. Under Liang he entered office as Assistant Drafting Gentleman. When Xiao Cha held Jingzhou, he was made Attendant-in-ordinary and concurrently Chancellor of the Imperial Academy and Director of the Ministry of Personnel. When the Liang state was abolished, he was appointed General of the Opening Office and Regular Attendant of Direct Communication and Cavalry, and soon promoted to Vice Director of the Inner Secretariat. Lacking administrative capacity, he left that post and was transferred to Advisory Assistant on the staff of the Prince of Jin. The prince loved refined letters and gathered more than a hundred men of talent and learning—among them Zhuge Ying, Yu Shinan, Wang Zhou, and Zhu Yang—with Bian foremost among them. The prince treated him as teacher and friend; whenever he wrote something, he always had Bian revise it before showing it to others. Once, on returning from an audience in the capital, he wrote the Return to the Fief Rhapsody and ordered Bian to compose its preface; the language was exceptionally classical and elegant. At first the prince wrote in the style of Yu Xin; after he came to know Bian, his literary style changed. At the beginning of the Renshou era he summoned Bian as an Eastern Palace scholar, granted him the additional title Regular Attendant of Direct Communication and Cavalry, and appointed him Supervisory Palace Stud Groom; he was greatly favored and treated with special intimacy. He would regularly summon Bian into his private quarters, where they feasted and exchanged witty banter. Bian was especially quick-witted and eloquent and spent most of his time in attendance; whatever was asked of him, he answered without hesitation. He was also fond of wine by nature, and his speech mingled satire and jest; for this reason the crown prince treated him with ever greater familiarity. Because he was devoted to Buddhist scriptures, the prince ordered him to compile Mystic Principles of the Lotus Sutra in twenty scrolls and submit it to the throne. The crown prince read it and was greatly pleased; the rewards were generous beyond anything granted to his peers. When Emperor Yang succeeded to the throne, he appointed Bian Director of the Secretariat and enfeoffed him as Duke of Hannan county. After court each day the emperor would summon him into the privy chambers, where they conversed, feasted, and recited poetry until evening. Whenever the emperor drank with his consorts and the empress, and the mood was right, he would send for Bian to join them on the same couch and mat, treating him with the warmth of a close friend. Still regretting that he could not summon Bian at night, the emperor ordered craftsmen to carve a wooden figure fitted with mechanisms so that it could sit, rise, bow, and prostrate—in Bian's likeness. When the emperor drank wine by moonlight, he would have palace women place the puppet at the table so that he could raise cups with it in mock conversation and burst into laughter. While accompanying the emperor on a tour to Yangzhou, he fell ill and died at the age of sixty-nine. The emperor mourned him for a long time, posthumously appointed him Grand General, and granted him the posthumous title Kang ("Healthy/Peaceful"). He wrote Record of the Prince of Jin's Northern Campaign in fifteen scrolls; he also left collected writings in ten scrolls, which circulated in his day. Xu Shanxin, whose style name was Wubén, came from Beixinchéng in Gaoyang commandery. His grandfather Mao had served as Junior Tutor to the Liang crown prince, as Prefect of the Shiping and Tianmen commanderies, and as Regular Attendant of the Cavalry. His father Heng had served Liang as Superintendent Clerk of the Yellow Gate Attendant-in-ordinary; under Chen he rose through the posts of Supervisor of the Forest of Feathered Guards, Grand Master of Palace Attendants, and Commandant of the Guard, and concurrently held the post of Grand Compiler. Shanxin lost his father at the age of nine and was raised by his mother, Lady Fan. From youth he was clever and thoughtful; whatever he heard he could recite from memory, storing vast learning silently in his mind, and was praised by contemporaries. The family owned more than ten thousand scrolls of old books, all of which he read through thoroughly. At fifteen he mastered literary composition and sent a letter to his father's friend Xu Ling; Ling was astonished and said to others, "His talent is extraordinary—this is a prodigy. Upon entering official life he was appointed Legal Officer on the staff of the Prince of Xin'an. Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince Jiang Zong recommended him as a Presented Scholar; he scored at the top of the palace examination and was appointed Lang of the Revenue Section, later promoted to Vice Director and appointed supplemental Drafting Historian. In the second year of the Zhenming era he was additionally appointed Regular Attendant of Direct Communication and Cavalry and sent as envoy to Sui. While he was there Gaozu launched his campaign against Chen; though the diplomatic ceremonies were completed, he received no permission to return home and repeatedly memorialized asking to be relieved of his post. The emperor would not agree and kept him detained in the guest lodge. When Chen fell, Gaozu sent an envoy to inform him of the news. Shanxin put on mourning garb and wailed below the western steps, spreading grass and facing east to mourn; he did so for three days. An imperial letter of condolence was sent to comfort him. The next day an edict came to the lodge appointing him Regular Attendant of Direct Communication and Cavalry. He was granted a set of robes. Having wept his fill, Shanxin withdrew to change his garments, then came out and stood facing north; with tears streaming down he bowed twice and received the edict. The next day he attended court, prostrating himself and weeping below the hall until grief left him unable to rise. The emperor turned to those beside him and said, "In pacifying Chen, the only prize I truly gained was this man. A man who can still cherish his former ruler is my true loyal minister." He was ordered to serve at his former rank in the Secretariat Chancellery and was granted a thousand bolts of goods and twenty black horses. After accompanying the emperor on a tour to Mount Tai, he was appointed Vice Director of the Parks Section upon their return.
14
十六年，有神雀降于含章闥，高祖召百官賜宴，告以此瑞。 善心於座請紙筆，制《神雀頌》，其詞曰：
In the sixteenth year a divine sparrow descended at the Hanzhang Gate; Gaozu summoned the hundred officials to a feast and announced this auspicious omen. While still at the feast Shanxin requested paper and brush and composed "Ode to the Divine Sparrow," which reads:
15
:臣聞觀象則天，乾元合其德，觀法審地，域大表其尊。 雨施雲行，四時所以生殺，川流嶽立，萬物於是裁成。 出震乘離之君，紀雁司鳳之後，玉錘玉鬥而降，金版金縢以傳。 並陶冶性靈，含煦動植，眇玄珠於赤水，寂明鏡乎虛堂。 莫不景福氤氳，嘉貺'集，馳聲南董，越響《雲》《韶》。 粵我皇帝之君臨，闡大方，抗太極，負鳳邸，據龍圖。 不言行焉，攝提建指，不肅清焉，喉鈴啟閉。 括地復夏，截海翦商，就望體其尊，登咸昌其會。 綿區浹宇，遐至邇安，騰實飛聲，直暢傍施。 無體之禮，威儀布政之宮，無聲之樂，綴兆總章之觀。 上庠養老，躬問百年，下土字民，心為百姓。 月棲日浴，熱阪寒門，吹鱗沒羽之荒，赤蛇青馬之裔，解辮請吏，削衽承風。 豈止呼韓北場，頫勒狼居之岫，熄慎南境，近表不耐之城。 故使天弗愛道，地寧吝寶，川岳展異，幽明效靈。 狎素遊赬，團膏漱醴，半景青赤，孳曆虧盈。 足足懷仁，般般擾義，祥祐之來若此，升隆之化如彼。 而登封盛典，雲亭佇白檢之儀，致治成功，柴燎靡玄珪之告。 雖奉常定禮，武騎草文，天子抑而未行，推而不有。 允恭克讓，其在斯乎？ 七十二君，信蔑如也！ 故神禽顯賁，玄應特昭，白爵主鐵豸之奇，赤爵銜丹書之貴。 班固《神爵》之頌，履武戴文，曹植《嘉爵》之篇，棲庭集牖。 未若于飛武帳，來賀文棕，刷采青蒲，將翱赤罽。 玉幾朝禦，取玩軒楯之間，金門旦開，兼留暈翟之鑒。 終古曠世，未或前聞，福召冥徵，得之茲日。 歲次上章，律諧大呂，玄枵會節，玄英統時。 至尊未明求衣，晨興于含章之殿。 爰有瑞爵，翱翔而下。 載行載止，當扆甯而徐前，來集來儀，承軒墀而顧步。 夫瑞者符也，明主之休徵； 雀者爵也，聖人之大寶。 謹案《考異郵》云：「軒轅有黃爵赤頭，立日傍。」 占云：「土精之應。」 又《禮稽命徵》云：「祭祀合其宜，則黃爵集。」 昔漢集泰畤之殿，魏下文昌之宮，一見雍丘之祠，三入平東之府，並旁觀回矚，事陋人微，奚足稱矣。 抑又聞之，不刳胎剖卵，則鸞鳳馴鳴； 不漉浸焚原，則螭龍盤蜿。 是知陛下止殺，故飛走宅心，皇慈好生，而浮潛育德。 臣面奉綸綍，垂示休祥，預承嘉宴，不勝藻躍。 李虔僻處西土，陸機少長東隅，微臣慚於往賢，逢時盛乎曩代，輒竭庸瑣，敢獻頌云：
I have heard that by observing the celestial emblems one conforms to Heaven—the primal yang joining its virtue—and by observing the earthly law one examines the land—the great domain displaying its dignity. Rain bestowed and clouds adrift are how the four seasons grant life and take it away; rivers flowing and peaks standing are how the ten thousand things are shaped and brought to completion. Sovereigns rise from the trigram Zhen and take the seat of Li; dynasties chronicle the wild geese and maintain the charge of the phoenix—jade mace and jade dipper descend from heaven, and golden tablets bound in golden cords pass the mandate onward. All alike refine temperament and spirit and breathe warmth into living and rooted things—seeking the dark pearl in the Red Waters, holding the bright mirror in silent reverence within the empty hall. None failed to enjoy radiant blessings thick as mist and gracious gifts gathered all around—whose fame outran the historians Nan and Dong and whose triumphs surpassed the music of "Cloud" and "Shao." As for our emperor's reign over all, he opens the great domain, upholds the Grand Ultimate, bears the phoenix seat, and occupies the dragon chart. Without issuing commands he governs—the Sheti establishes its pointer; without harsh austerity he brings order—the throat bell opens and closes at his will. Embracing the earth he restores the legacy of Xia; spanning the seas he trims the domain of Shang—on Mount Wang his dignity is embodied, on Mount Xian his assembly flourishes. Far regions and the whole universe are steeped in his grace; the distant arrive and the near dwell in peace—solid virtue rises, fame spreads abroad, straight and openly extending to every side. Rites without visible form fill the palace where dignity is displayed and government is spread abroad; music without audible sound fills the Hall of Zongzhang where measures and signs are gathered. In the upper academy he nurtures the aged and personally inquires after centenarians; throughout the land he orders the people, holding the common folk in his heart. From lands where the moon roosts and the sun bathes—from Hot Slope and Cold Gate, from the wilds where fish scales are blown and bird feathers sink, from the descendants of the Red Serpent and Green Horse—they loosen their braids and petition for officials, trim their garments and submit to the transforming influence of civilization. And not only Huchuan of the northern pastures, bowing before Langju Mountain, or the Xishen of the southern marches, lately presenting the city of Bunei. Thus Heaven does not begrudge the Way, nor Earth withhold its treasures; rivers and peaks display wonders, and the realms of dark and light manifest their spiritual power. White mingles with crimson, blessings round as fat are rinsed in sweet wine; the green and red of the calendar turn, and successive cycles wax and wane. Double-footed beasts cherish benevolence, many-hued creatures embody righteousness—auspicious blessings arrive in such fashion, and the transformations of rise and fall unfold likewise. Yet though the grand ceremony of the Feng and Shan sacrifices awaits at Cloud Pavilion with the white tally rite, and though governance is achieved and success attained, the fire-offering finds no dark jade tablet to proclaim it. Although the Director of Ceremonies fixed the rites and the Martial Cavalry drafted the documents, the Son of Heaven restrained himself and did not carry them out, declining to claim them for himself. Sincere reverence and true capacity for yielding—is it not shown precisely here? Compared with him, the seventy-two ancient rulers are truly as nothing! Therefore the divine bird displays its splendor and the dark response is specially revealed—the white sparrow bears the marvel of the horned beast, and the crimson sparrow holds the precious dignity of the red writ. Ban Gu's "Ode to the Divine Sparrow" celebrated a ruler treading in martial glory and crowned in civil virtue; Cao Zhi's "Auspicious Sparrow" told of birds roosting in the courtyard and gathering at the window. None of these compare with this bird's flight to the martial canopy, its arrival to celebrate at the cultural palm—brushing emerald splendor amid green rushes, poised to soar in crimson brocade. At the jade throne screen he holds morning audience, delighting between the balustrades; at dawn the Golden Gate opens, and the haloed pheasant's mirror is likewise retained in view. From antiquity through the ages nothing like it was ever heard before; blessings summoned this hidden omen, and it was granted on this very day. The year stood at Shangzhang, the pitch accorded with Great Bud, Xuanyuan matched the season's node, and Xuanying governed the season. Before dawn the Sovereign rose to dress and came forth early in the Hall of Hanzhang. Then an auspicious sparrow appeared, soaring downward. Now advancing, now pausing, it calmly approached before the throne screen; coming to rest with dignified bearing, it stepped upon the courtyard before the hall and walked with graceful turns. An auspicious sign is a token—the felicitous omen of an enlightened sovereign; The sparrow is rank—the sage's greatest treasure. Respectfully consulting the Record of Strange Events, it states: "The Yellow Emperor had a yellow sparrow with a red head, standing beside the sun." Divination reads this as "the response of the spirit of earth." The Evidential Mandate of Rites also states: "When sacrifices accord with what is fitting, yellow sparrows gather." In Han the bird once appeared at the Tai altar hall; in Wei it descended at the Wenchang palace—once at the Yongqiu shrine, thrice at the Pingdong treasury—all merely observed from the sidelines. Those occasions were petty and the men involved insignificant—how could they be worth mentioning? I have also heard that if one does not cut open wombs or break eggs, the luan and phoenix come tame and sing; and if one does not drain ponds or burn marshlands, the hornless dragon and dragon coil and writhe in peace. From this one knows that because Your Majesty has ceased killing, flying and running creatures have found a home in your heart; because imperial compassion cherishes life, creatures of water and depth alike nurture your virtue. Your subject received your command face to face, was shown this felicitous omen, and was honored with this fine feast—I cannot contain my flourishing joy. Li Qian lived obscurely in the western lands and Lu Ji grew up in the eastern marches—your humble servant is shamed before such past worthies, yet encounters an age more glorious than any former dynasty; I have exhausted my poor talents and dare present this ode:
16
::太素式肇，大德資生，功玄不器，道要無名。 質文鼎革，沿習因成，祥圖瑞史，赫赫明明。 天保大定，於鑠我君，武義乃武，文教惟文。 橫塞宇宙，旁凝射、汾，軒物重造，姚風再薰。 煥發王策，昭彰帝道，御地七神，飛天五老。 山祗吐秘，河靈孕寶，黑羽升壇，青鱗伏皁。 丹烏流火，白雉從風，棲阿德劭，鳴岐祚隆。 未如神爵，近賀王宮，五靈何有，百福攸同。 孔圖獻赤，荀文表白，節節奇音，行行瑞跡。 化玉黼扆，銜環陛戟，上天之命，明神所格。 綏應在旃，伊臣預焉，永緝韋素，方流管弦。 頌歌不足，蹈儛無宣，臣拜稽首，億萬斯年。
From the Grand Simplicity the age begins; great virtue nourishes life—merit is profound and unbounded, the essentials of the Way beyond naming. Substance and ornament shift as the cauldron turns; customs follow and take form—auspicious charts and felicitous histories blaze bright and clear. Heaven protects and great stability reign—how radiant our sovereign! In martial affairs he is truly martial; in civil teaching he is truly civil. He spans and fills the cosmos, gathering strength at She and Fen—the vessels of the sage-kings are remade, and the transforming wind of Yao is breathed anew. Brilliantly he issues royal policies and clearly manifests the imperial Way—commanding the seven spirits of earth and summoning the five elders of heaven. Mountain spirits exhale their secrets, river spirits gestate their treasures—black-feathered omens ascend the altar and green-scaled signs crouch upon the dark earth. The crimson crow streams fire, the white pheasant follows the wind—they roost where virtue reaches its height and sing at the base of Mount Qi, where fortune flourishes. None match this divine sparrow, come to celebrate at the royal palace—what need of the five spirits when a hundred blessings gather as one? Kong's charts offered crimson, Xun's writings declared white—at every turn strange music sounds, at every step auspicious tracks appear. It transforms to jade before the embroidered throne screen, holds the ring at the hall steps among the halberds— Heaven's command, the bright spirits come to attend. The calm response rests upon the banner—and your servant shares in it; forever to compile on plain silk, now to flow through strings and pipes. Eulogy and song fall short, dance cannot convey it—your subject bows and kowtows: may you reign for ten thousand myriad years!
17
頌成，奏之，高祖甚悅，曰：「我見神雀，共皇后觀之。 今旦召公等入，適述此事，善心於座始知，即能成頌，文不加點，筆不停毫，常聞此言，今見其事。」 因賜物二百段。 十七年，除秘書丞。 于時秘藏圖籍尚多淆亂，善心放阮孝緒《七錄》，更制《七林》，各為總敘，冠於篇首。 又於部錄之下，明作者之意，區分其類例焉。 又奏追李文博、陸從典等學者十許人，正定經史錯謬。 仁壽元年，攝黃門侍郎。 二年，加攝太常少卿，與牛弘等議定禮樂，秘書丞、黃門，並如故。 四年，留守京師。 高祖崩于仁壽宮，煬帝秘喪不發，先易留守官人，出除岩州刺史。 逢漢王諒反，不之官。
When the ode was finished Shanxin presented it; Gaozu was greatly pleased and said, "I saw the divine sparrow and watched it together with the empress. This morning I summoned you here and had just begun to describe the event; Shanxin only then learned of it from his seat at the feast, yet completed the ode at once—without emendation, without the brush pausing. I have often heard such praise said of men of letters; today I have seen it with my own eyes." He then granted two hundred bolts of goods. In the seventeenth year he was appointed Assistant Director of the Secretariat. At that time the imperial library's charts and books remained largely disordered; Shanxin drew on Ruan Xiaoxu's Seven Records to compile a new work, Seven Forests, providing a general preface for each category at the head of every section. Beneath the catalog of each section he also clarified each author's intent and distinguished categories and precedents. He also memorialized requesting that some ten scholars, including Li Wenbo and Lu Congdian, be recalled to correct errors in the classics and histories. In the first year of the Renshou era he served as Acting Vice Director of the Yellow Gate. In the second year he was additionally appointed Acting Vice Minister of the Chamberlain for Ceremonials; together with Niu Hong and others he deliberated on rites and music, while retaining his posts as Assistant Director of the Secretariat and Vice Director of the Yellow Gate. In the fourth year he was left behind to serve as custodian of the capital. When Gaozu died at Renshou Palace, Emperor Yang concealed the death and delayed the announcement; he first replaced the capital custodians, then issued Shanxin an appointment as Prefect of Yanzhou. When Prince of Han Yang Liang rose in rebellion, he never took up the appointment.
18
，轉禮部侍郎，奏薦儒者徐文遠為國子博士，包愷、陸德明、褚徽、魯世達之輩並加品秩，授為學官。 其年，副納言楊達為冀州道大使，以稱旨，賜物五百段。 左衛大將軍宇文述每旦借本部兵數十人以供私役，常半日而罷。 攝御史大夫梁毗奏劾之。 上方以腹心委述，初付法推，千餘人皆稱被役。 經二十餘日，法官候伺上意，乃言役不滿日，其數雖多，不合通計，縱令有實，亦當無罪。 諸兵士聞之，更雲初不被役。 上欲釋之，付議虛實，百僚咸議為虛。 善心以為述于仗衛之所抽兵私役，雖不滿日，闕于宿衛，與常役所部，情狀乃殊。 又兵多下番，散還本府，分道追至，不謀同辭。 今殆一月，方始翻覆，奸狀分明，此何可舍。 蘇威、楊汪等二十餘人，同善心之議。 其餘皆議免罪。 煬帝可免罪之奏。 後數月，述譖善心曰：「陳叔寶卒，善心與周羅睺、虞世基、袁充、蔡徵等同往送葬。 善心為祭文，謂為陛下，敢於今日加叔寶尊號。」 召問有實，自援古例，事得釋，而帝甚惡之。 又太史奏帝即位之年，與堯時符合，善心議，以國哀甫爾，不宜稱賀。 述諷御史劾之，左遷給事郎，降品二等。 四年，撰《方物志》奏之。 七年，從至涿郡，帝方自禦戎以東討，善心上封事忤旨，免官。 其年復徵為守給事郎。 九年，攝左翊衛長史，從渡遼，授建節尉。 帝嘗言及高祖受命之符，因問鬼神之事，敕善心與崔祖濬撰《靈異記》十卷。
He was transferred to Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites and memorialized recommending the scholar Xu Wenyuan as Erudite of the Directorate of Education; Bao Kai, Lu Deming, Chu Hui, Lu Shida, and others were all promoted in rank and appointed instructors. That year he served as deputy to Palace Aide Yang Da, Commissioner of the Jizhou Circuit; because he pleased the emperor, he was granted five hundred bolts of goods. Left Guard General Yuwen Shu borrowed several dozen soldiers from his command every morning for private labor, usually releasing them after half a day. Acting Censor-in-Chief Liang Pi memorialized an impeachment against him. The emperor had entrusted Yuwen Shu as a close confidant; when the case was first referred for legal investigation, more than a thousand men all testified that they had been pressed into service. After more than twenty days the judges, reading the emperor's mood, ruled that the labor had not filled a full day; though the number was large, the days could not be totaled together, and even if the facts were true, Yuwen Shu should be held guiltless. When the soldiers heard this, they changed their testimony and claimed they had never been conscripted at all. The emperor wished to exonerate him and ordered a deliberation on whether the charges were true or false; the officials all declared them false. Shanxin argued that Yuwen Shu had drawn soldiers from the palace guard for private service; even if each stint lasted less than a day, it still left the night watch understrength—a very different matter from ordinary conscript labor. Moreover, many of the soldiers had been off rotation and had already scattered back to their home offices; they were tracked down separately along different routes and had no chance to agree on a story. Nearly a month had passed before their testimony turned; the fraud was plain—how could such a case be dismissed? Su Wei, Yang Wang, and more than twenty others sided with Shanxin. All the rest argued that he should be acquitted. Emperor Yang approved the memorial recommending acquittal. Some months later Yuwen Shu slandered Shanxin, saying, "When Chen Shubao died, Shanxin went with Zhou Luohou, Yu Shiji, Yuan Chong, Cai Zheng, and others to attend the funeral. Shanxin composed the sacrificial text and addressed Shubao as 'Your Majesty'—daring, in the present reign, to bestow on him an imperial honorific." Shanxin was summoned and questioned; the facts were confirmed, but he cited ancient precedents in his own defense and the matter was dropped—though the emperor came to loathe him for it. When the Grand Astrologer memorialized that the year of the emperor's accession matched the era of Yao, Shanxin argued that the realm was still in mourning and congratulations would be inappropriate. Yuwen Shu prompted the censors to impeach him; Shanxin was demoted to Gentleman Attendant and his rank was lowered two grades. In the fourth year he compiled the Records of Regional Products and submitted it to the throne. In the seventh year he accompanied the emperor to Zhuo commandery while the emperor personally led the eastern campaign; Shanxin submitted a sealed memorial that displeased him and was dismissed from office. That same year he was recalled to serve as acting Gentleman Attendant. In the ninth year he served as acting chief clerk of the Left Wing Guard, followed the emperor across the Liao, and was granted the title Commandant Bearing the Staff. Once when the emperor spoke of the token of Gaozu's mandate and then asked about spirits and ghosts, he ordered Shanxin and Cui Zujun to compile the Records of Miracles and Omens in ten scrolls.
19
初，善心父撰著《梁史》，未就而歿。 善心述成父志，修續家書，其《序傳》末，述製作之意曰：
At the outset Shanxin's father had begun compiling the History of Liang but died before completing it. Shanxin carried out his father's design, continued the family history, and at the end of the Preface and Biography explained the purpose of the work, saying:
20
:謹案太素將萌，洪荒初判，乾儀資始，辰象所以正時，巛載厚生，品物於焉播氣。 參三才而育德，肖二統而降靈。 有人民焉，樹之君長，有貴賤矣，為其宗極。 保上天之眷命，膺下土之樂推，莫不執大方，振長策，感召風雲，驅馳英俊。 干戈揖讓，取之也殊功，鼎玉龜符，成之也一致。 革命創制，竹素之道稍彰，紀事記言，筆墨之官漸著。 炎農以往，存其名而漏其跡，黃軒以來，晦其文而顯其用。 登丘納麓，具訓誥及典謨，貫昴入房，傳夏正與殷祀。 洎辨方正位，論時訓功，南北左右，兼四名之別，檮杌乘車，擅一家之稱。 國惡雖諱，君舉必書，故賊子亂臣，天下大懼，元龜明鏡，昭然可察。 及三郊遞襲，五勝相沿，俱稱百穀之主，並以四海自任，重光累德，何世無哉！
Humbly I observe: when primordial chaos first divided and the cosmos began to stir, Heaven's patterns gave the world its beginning, the stars and seasons their measure, Earth its sustaining bulk, and the myriad creatures their breath of life. Heaven, Earth, and Man together nurture virtue; the two royal lines descend their sacred power. Where there are people, a ruler is set over them; where there are high and low, one is made their summit. Those who secured Heaven's favor, who received the willing acclaim of the realm, all grasped the great design, raised far-reaching plans, summoned wind and cloud, and drove forth the worthy. Whether empire was won by war or yielded in courtesy, the means differed; yet the cauldron, the jade scepter, and the tortoise tally mark one and the same completion. With each revolution and new founding, the way of writing on bamboo and silk grew clearer; as events and words were recorded, the offices of the historian gradually took shape. From the Flame Emperor and Farmer Emperor onward, names survived but deeds were lost; from the Yellow Emperor onward, texts were hidden yet their purpose remained visible. On Mount Tai the sage received the charge of Heaven and preserved the Instructions and Counsels; through the stars he fixed Xia's calendar and transmitted Yin's rites of sacrifice. When directions were fixed and seasons weighed for merit, south, north, left, and right each had its name; yet Tao Wu alone rode in state and claimed a historiographic title for his house alone. Though a state's disgrace may be concealed in speech, a ruler's deeds must be written; thus traitors and rebels fill the world with dread—the sacred tortoise and bright mirror make all plain. As the three suburban rites passed from hand to hand and the five victories followed one upon another, every ruler called himself lord of the hundred grains and master of the four seas—what age has not boasted repeated glory and piled-up virtue?
21
:逮有梁之君臨天下，江左建國，莫斯為盛。 受命在於一君，繼統傳乎四主，克昌四十八載，餘祚五十六年。 武皇帝出自諸生，爰升寶曆，拯百王之弊，救萬姓之危，反澆季之末流，登上皇之獨道。 朝多君子，野無遺賢，禮樂必備，憲章咸舉。 弘深慈於不殺，濟大忍于無刑，蕩蕩巍巍，可為稱首。 屬陰戎入潁，羯胡侵洛，沸騰磣黷，三季所未聞，掃地滔天，一元之巨厄。 廊廟有序，翦成狐兔之場，珪帛有儀，碎夫犬羊之手。 福善積而身禍，仁義在而國亡。 豈天道歟？ 豈人事歟？ 嘗別論之，在《序論》之卷。
When Liang ruled the realm and founded its state east of the Yangtze, no kingdom of the age was greater. One ruler received the mandate; four sovereigns succeeded in turn; the dynasty flourished for forty-eight years and endured in all for fifty-six. Emperor Wu rose from the ranks of scholars to the throne; he rescued the failings of a hundred kings, delivered the people from peril, turned back the ebbing tide of a decadent age, and ascended the exalted Way of the sage-kings. The court abounded in worthy men; no talent was neglected in the land; rites and music were complete and laws and statutes fully enforced. He extended deep mercy in sparing life and practiced great forbearance in dispensing with punishment—vast and lofty, he may truly be called foremost among rulers. Then the northern barbarians entered the Ying and the Jie raiders stormed Luoyang—filth and outrage such as the three degenerate ages had never known, a calamity that seemed to sweep the earth and flood the heavens. Ordered halls became fields for foxes and hares; jade tokens and ceremonial silks were trampled in the hands of dogs and sheep. Blessings for the good were heaped up, yet the ruler himself met disaster; benevolence and righteousness remained, yet the state was lost. Was this Heaven's decree? Or was it the fault of men? I have discussed this at length elsewhere, in the volume Prefatory Discourses.
22
:先君昔在前代，早懷述作，凡撰《齊書》為五十卷； 《梁書》紀傳，隨事勒成，及闕而未就者，《目錄》注為一百八卷。 梁室交喪，墳籍銷盡。 塚壁皆殘，不准無所盜，帷囊同毀，陳農何以求！ 秦儒既坑，先王之道將墜，漢臣徒請，口授之文亦絕。 所撰之書，一時亡散。 有陳初建，詔為史官，補闕拾遺，心識口誦。 依舊目錄，更加修撰，且成百卷，已有六帙五十八卷，上秘閣訖。
My late father, in the former dynasty, long cherished the work of writing and composed the History of Qi in fifty scrolls; the annals and biographies of the History of Liang, written as events allowed; what remained unfinished was noted in the catalog as one hundred and eight scrolls. When the house of Liang fell, tombs and archives were destroyed together. Tomb walls lay in ruins, so even Buzun had nothing left to plunder; book bags were burned as well—how could Chen Nong recover what was lost? After Qin buried the scholars alive, the Way of the former kings nearly collapsed; Han officials could only petition—the orally transmitted texts perished as well. The books he had written were lost and scattered in a single stroke. When Chen was first founded, an edict appointed him historiographer; mending omissions and gathering what was lost, he worked from memory and oral recitation. Following the old catalog he continued revising and compiling; nearing one hundred scrolls, he had already completed six fascicles totaling fifty-eight scrolls and submitted them to the Secret Archive.
23
:善心早嬰荼蓼，弗荷薪構，太建之末，頻抗表聞，至德之初，蒙授史任。 方願油素採訪，門庭記錄，俯勵弱才，仰成先志； 而單宗少強近，虛室類原、顏，退屏無所交遊，棲遲不求進益。 假班嗣之書，徒聞其語，給王隱之筆，未見其人。 加以庸瑣涼能，孤陋末學，忝職郎署，兼撰《陳史》，致此書延時，未即成續。 ，以臺郎入聘，值本邑淪覆，他鄉播遷，行人失時，將命不復。 望都亭而長慟，遷別館而懸壺。 家史舊書，在後焚蕩。 今止有六十八卷在，又並缺落失次。 自入京已來，隨見補葺，略成七十卷。 《四帝紀》八卷，《后妃》一卷，《三太子錄》一卷，為一帙十卷。 《宗室王侯列傳》一帙十卷。 《具臣列傳》二帙二十卷。 《外戚傳》一卷，《孝德傳》一卷，《誠臣傳》一卷，《文苑傳》二卷，《儒林傳》二卷，《逸民傳》一卷，《數術傳》一卷，《籓臣傳》一卷，合一帙十卷。 《止足傳》一卷，《列女傳》一卷，《權幸傳》一卷，《羯賊傳》二卷，《逆臣傳》二卷，《叛臣傳》二卷，《敘傳論述》一卷，合一帙十卷。 凡稱史臣者，皆先君所言，下稱名案者，並善心補闕。 別為《敘論》一篇，託於《敘傳》之末。
Shanxin had known hardship from youth and did not share in founding the state; at the end of the Taijian era he repeatedly submitted memorials, and at the beginning of the Zhide era received appointment as historiographer. He hoped to travel with ink and silk to gather materials, to record what came to his door, to bend his modest talent to the task and fulfill his father's design; yet his branch of the family had few powerful connections; his rooms stood empty like those of Yan Hui and Yuan Xian; he lived in retirement without companions and made no effort to advance. He could borrow Ban Si's book but only hear his words secondhand; he might be given Wang Yin's brush yet never meet the man himself. To this were added his mediocre talents, his narrow late learning, his unworthy service in the Secretariat, and his concurrent work on the History of Chen—all of which delayed this book and kept it from completion. Sent abroad as a secretariat gentleman on embassy, he was caught when the capital fell; scattered to a foreign land, the envoy lost his season and the mission was never resumed. He gazed toward the capital pavilion and wept bitterly; lodged in a foreign inn, he hung out his gourd as a physician. The family history and old books were afterward burned and lost. Only sixty-eight scrolls survive today, all incomplete and out of order. Since coming to the capital he has patched and repaired what he could find, completing roughly seventy scrolls. Basic Annals of the Four Emperors, eight scrolls; Consorts, one scroll; Record of the Three Crown Princes, one scroll—one fascicle of ten scrolls. Biographies of Imperial Clansmen, Princes, and Marquises, one fascicle of ten scrolls. Biographies of Established Ministers, two fascicles of twenty scrolls. Biographies of Consort Kin, one scroll; Biographies of Filial Virtue, one scroll; Biographies of Loyal Ministers, one scroll; Biographies of Literary Circles, two scrolls; Biographies of the Confucian School, two scrolls; Biographies of Recluses, one scroll; Biographies of Diviners, one scroll; Biographies of Frontier Lords, one scroll—together one fascicle of ten scrolls. Biographies of Those Who Know When to Stop, one scroll; Biographies of Exemplary Women, one scroll; Biographies of the Powerful and Favored, one scroll; Biographies of Jie Bandits, two scrolls; Biographies of Rebellious Ministers, two scrolls; Biographies of Defecting Ministers, two scrolls; Narrative Discourses, one scroll—together one fascicle of ten scrolls. Passages marked 'the historiographer' are all my late father's words; passages marked 'Shanxin notes' are my own additions and corrections. I have also written a separate Discursive Preface, appended to the end of the Narrative Biography.
24
十年，又從至懷遠鎮，加授朝散大夫。 突厥圍雁門，攝左親衛武賁郎將，領江南兵宿衛殿省。 駕幸江都郡，追敘前勳，授通議大夫。 詔還本品，行給事郎。 十四年，化及殺逆之日，隋官盡詣朝堂謁賀，善心獨不至。 許弘仁馳告之曰：「天子已崩，宇文將軍攝政，合朝文武莫不咸集。 天道人事，自有代終，何預于叔而低徊若此！」 善心怒之，不肯隨去。 弘仁反走上馬，泣而言曰：「將軍于叔全無惡意，忽自求死，豈不痛哉！」 還告唐奉義，以狀白化及，遣人就宅執至朝堂。 化及令釋之，善心不舞蹈而出。 化及目送之曰：「此人大負氣。」 命捉將來，罵云：「我好欲放你，敢如此不遜！」 其黨輒牽曳，因遂害之，時年六十一。 及越王稱制，贈左光祿大夫、高陽縣公，諡曰文節。
In the tenth year he again accompanied the emperor to Huaiyuan garrison and was additionally granted the title Gentleman for Spreading Illumination. When the Turks besieged Yanmen, he served as acting colonel of the Valiant Guards of the Left Guard and led Jiangnan troops in night guard of the palace halls. When the emperor traveled to Jiangdu commandery, his earlier service was reviewed and he was granted the title Grand Master for Discussion. An edict restored his original rank while he continued to serve as acting Gentleman Attendant. In the fourteenth year, on the day Yuwen Huaji murdered the emperor, every Sui official went to the court hall to offer congratulations—Shanxin alone did not appear. Xu Hongren rode to tell him, "The Son of Heaven is dead; General Yuwen holds the regency; every civil and military official at court has already assembled. Heaven and men each have their turning—what is that to you, uncle, that you linger so?" Shanxin grew angry and refused to go. Hongren wheeled his horse and, weeping, cried, "The general bears you no ill will at all, yet you would throw your life away—how can that not grieve me?" He returned and reported to Tang Fengyi, who told Huaji; Huaji sent men to seize Shanxin at his house and bring him to the court hall. Huaji ordered him released, but Shanxin departed without performing the ritual dance of submission. Huaji watched him leave and said, "This man is stiff with pride." He ordered him seized and brought back, shouting, "I meant to spare you—how dare you show such insolence!" His followers dragged him away and killed him. He was sixty-one. When the Prince of Yue assumed power, Shanxin was posthumously granted Left Grand Master of the Bright Hall and Duke of Gaoyang, with the posthumous title Wenjie.
25
善心母范氏，梁太子中舍人孝才之女，少寡養孤，博學有高節。 高祖知之，敕尚食每獻時新，常遣分賜。 嘗詔範入內，侍皇后講讀，封永樂郡君。 及善心遇禍，範年九十有二，臨喪不哭，撫柩曰：「能死國難，我有兒矣。」 因臥不食，後十餘日亦終。 李文博博陵李文博，性貞介鯁直，好學不倦，至於教義名理，特所留心。 每讀書至治亂得失，忠臣列士，未嘗不反覆吟玩。 開皇中，為羽騎尉，特為吏部侍郎薛道衡所知，恆令在聽事帷中披檢書史，並察己行事。 若遇治政善事，即抄撰記錄，如選用疏謬，即委之臧否。 道衡每得其語，莫不欣然從之。 後直秘書內省，典校墳籍，守道居貧，晏如也。 雖衣食乏絕，而清操逾厲，不妄通賓客，恆以禮法自處，儕輩莫不敬憚焉。 道衡知其貧，每延於家，給以資費。 文博商略古今，治政得失，如指諸掌，然無吏幹。 稍遷校書郎。 後出為縣丞，遂得下考，數歲不調。 道衡為司隸大夫，遇之於東都尚書省，甚嗟湣之，遂奏為從事。 因為齊王司馬李綱曰：「今日遂遇文博，得奏用之。」 以為歡笑。 其見賞知音如此。 在洛下，曾詣房玄齡，相送于衢路。 玄齡謂之曰：「公生平志尚，唯在正直，今既得為從事，故應有會素心。 比來激濁揚清，所為多少？」 文博遂奮臂厲聲曰：「夫清其流者必潔其源，正其末者須端其本。 今治源混亂，雖日免十貪郡守，亦何所益！」 其瞽直疾惡，不知忌諱，皆此類也。 于時朝政浸壞，人多贓賄，唯文博不改其操，論者以此貴之。 遭離亂播遷，不知所終。
Shanxin's mother, Lady Fan, was the daughter of Liang's Palace Secretariat Gentleman Xiaocai; widowed young, she raised her son alone; she was broadly learned and of lofty character. Gaozu learned of her and ordered that whenever the Imperial Kitchen presented seasonal delicacies, a portion be sent to her. Once she was summoned by edict into the palace to attend the empress in lectures and reading, and was enfeoffed as Lady of Yongle commandery. When Shanxin met his death, Lady Fan was ninety-two; at the coffin she did not weep, but stroking the bier said, "To die in the nation's crisis—I have borne such a son." Then she took to her bed and refused food; more than ten days later she died as well. Li Wenbo of Boling was upright, uncompromising, and plain-spoken; he loved learning tirelessly and gave special heed to moral teaching and the principles of names. Whenever he read of the rise and fall of states, or of loyal ministers and exemplary men, he would turn the passages over again and again in silent admiration. During the Kaihuang era he served as Feathered Cavalry Guard and came to the special notice of Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel Xue Daoheng, who kept him behind the curtain in the reception hall to examine books and histories and observe his own conduct. When he found examples of good governance he copied and recorded them; when he found errors in appointments he did not hesitate to praise or blame. Whenever Daoheng heard his counsel, he gladly followed it. He later served in the Secretariat Inner Office, where he oversaw the collation of ancient texts; he held to the Way and lived in poverty, yet remained content. Though he lacked food and clothing, his integrity grew only stricter; he did not receive guests casually and always held himself to ritual propriety, so his peers respected and stood in awe of him. Daoheng knew he was poor and often had him to his home, providing him with funds. Wenbo could discuss antiquity and the present and the gains and losses of governance as clearly as if they lay in his palm—yet he lacked administrative talent. He was gradually promoted to Collator. Later sent out as Assistant Magistrate, he received a poor performance rating and went several years without a new appointment. When Daoheng became Minister of the Capital Metropolitan Court, he met Wenbo at the Eastern Capital office of the Masters of Writing, sighed in pity, and memorialized to appoint him as Staff Officer. He then said to Li Gang, Military Administrator of the Prince of Qi, "Today I have at last met Wenbo and secured a memorial for his appointment. He said this with evident delight. Such was the esteem in which he was held by those who knew him. While in Luoyang he once called on Fang Xuanling, who walked with him into the street to see him off. Xuanling said to him, "Your lifelong aspiration has been nothing but uprightness; now that you are a Staff Officer, you should at last be able to act on your true convictions. In recent times, in stirring the muddy and lifting the clear, how much have you actually accomplished? Wenbo flung up his arms and said sharply, "He who clears the stream must cleanse the source; he who straightens the branch must square the root. Today the sources of government are chaotic; even if ten corrupt prefects were dismissed every day, what good would it do!" His bluntness, his hatred of evil, and his disregard for what was forbidden were all of this kind. Court governance was then gradually decaying and many took bribes; Wenbo alone did not alter his conduct, and critics honored him for it. He was swept away in the chaos of dispersal, and his final fate is unknown.
26
初，文博在內校書，虞世基子亦在其內，盛飾容服，而未有所卻。 文博因從容問之年紀，答云：「十八。」 文博乃謂之曰：「昔賈誼當此之年，議論何事？ 君今徒事儀容，故何為者！」 又秦孝王妃生男，高祖大喜，頒賜群官各有差。 文博家道屢空，人謂其悅，乃云：「賞罰之設，功過所歸，今王妃生男，于群官何事，乃妄受賞也！」 其循名責實，錄過計功，必使賞罰不濫，功過無隱者皆爾。 文博本為經學，後讀史書，于諸子及論尤所該洽。 性長議論，亦善屬文，著《治道集》十卷，大行於世。
Earlier, while Wenbo was collating books in the palace, Yu Shiji's son was also among the collators, richly dressed yet having accomplished nothing. Wenbo calmly asked his age; the youth answered, "Eighteen. Wenbo then said to him, "When Jia Yi was this age, what great affairs was he debating? You now attend only to appearance and dress—for what purpose! When the consort of Prince Xiao of Qin bore a son, Gaozu was greatly pleased and distributed rewards among the officials according to rank. Wenbo's household was repeatedly destitute; people assumed he would be pleased, but he said, "Rewards and punishments reflect merit and fault; the prince's consort bore a son today—what affair is that of the officials, that we should accept rewards without cause! In adhering to names and demanding realities, recording faults and reckoning merit, he insisted that rewards and punishments should not be misapplied and that merit and fault should not be concealed—his conduct was always of this kind. Wenbo had originally studied the classics and later read historical works; among the masters and various treatises he was especially well versed. By nature he excelled at discourse and was skilled at literary composition; he wrote Ten Scrolls on the Governance of the Way, which circulated widely.
27
史臣曰：明克讓、魏澹等，或博學洽聞，詞藻贍逸，既稱燕趙之俊，實曰東南之美。 所在見寶，咸取祿位，雖無往非命，蓋亦道有存焉。 澹之《魏書》，時稱簡正，條例詳密，足傳於後。 此外諸子，各有記述，雖道或小大，皆志在立言，美矣。
The historiographer remarks: Ming Kerang, Wei Dan, and the others were either broadly learned or gifted with lush prose—they were acclaimed as talents of Yan and Zhao and truly as the finest scholars of the southeast. Wherever they went they were valued and all obtained office and rank; though fortune did not always favor them, the Way surely had a place in their lives. Dan's History of Wei was acclaimed in its day as concise and correct, with detailed and rigorous regulations, sufficient to pass to posterity. Beyond this, each of the others left writings of his own; though their paths differed in scope, all aspired to establish a literary legacy—admirable indeed.