1
李琰之祖瑩常景
Li Yanzhi, Zu Ying, and Chang Jing
2
李琰之，字景珍，小字默蠡，隴西狄道人，司空韶之族弟。 早有盛名，時人號曰神童。 從父司空沖雅所歎異，每曰：「興吾宗者，其此兒乎？」 恒資給所須，愛同己子。
Li Yanzhi, whose style was Jingzhen and whose childhood name was Molü, came from Dida in Longxi and was a kinsman of Minister of Works Li Shao. He won renown while still young, and his contemporaries hailed him as a child prodigy. His uncle Li Chongya, who held the post of Minister of Works, was struck by his gifts and would often say, "Surely it is this boy who will raise our house again?" He always provided whatever Yanzhi required and cherished him as if he were his own son.
3
弱冠舉秀才，不行。 曾遊河內北山，便欲有隱遁意。 會彭城王勰辟為行臺參軍，[2]苦相敦引。 尋為侍中李彪啟兼著作郎，修撰國史。 稍遷國子博士，領尚書儀曹郎中，轉中書侍郎、司農少卿、黃門郎，修國史。 遷國子祭酒，轉祕書監、兼七兵尚書。 遷太常卿。 孝莊初，太尉元天穆北討葛榮，以琰之兼御史中尉，為北道軍司。 還，除征東將軍，仍兼太常。
When he came of age he was nominated as a xiucai but declined to serve. On a visit to the northern hills of Henei he conceived a desire to live in retirement. The Prince of Pengcheng, Xie, then recruited him as an aide on his field headquarters staff [2] and urged him insistently to take the post. Soon afterward Attendant-in-Ordinary Li Biao had him appointed as an associate historiographer charged with compiling the dynastic history. He rose in stages to become an Erudite of the Imperial University and head of the Protocol Section in the Secretariat, then served successively as Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat, Vice Minister of Agriculture, and Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, all the while working on the national history. He was appointed Chancellor of the Imperial University, then Director of the Palace Library with the additional title of Minister of the Seven Armies. He was promoted to Minister of Ceremonies. Early in the reign of Emperor Xiaozhuang, when Grand Marshal Yuan Tianmu campaigned north against Ge Rong, Yanzhi was given the concurrent post of Censor-in-Chief and appointed army supervisor for the northern column. After he came back he was named General Who Pacifies the East while retaining his concurrent duties as Minister of Ceremonies.
4
出為衞將軍、荊州刺史。 頃之，兼尚書左僕射、三荊二郢大行臺。 尋加散騎常侍。 琰之雖以儒素自業，而每語人言，吾家世將種，自云猶有關西風氣。 及至州後，大好射獵，以示威武。 尒朱兆入洛，南陽太守趙脩延以琰之莊帝外戚，誣琰之規奔蕭衍，襲州城，遂被囚執，脩延仍自行州事。 城內人斬脩延，還推琰之釐州任。 出帝初，徵兼侍中、車騎大將軍、左光祿大夫、儀同三司。 永熙二年薨。 贈侍中、驃騎大將軍、司徒公、雍州刺史，諡曰文簡。
He was sent out to serve as General of the Guard and governor of Jing Province. Before long he was also appointed Left Vice Director of the Secretariat and head of the grand mobile headquarters for the three Jing and two Ying circuits. He soon received the additional rank of Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry. Though Yanzhi built his reputation as a scholar of plain dress and manners, he often told others, "Our house has bred generals for generations," and claimed that he still carried something of the old Guanxi warrior temper. After he took up his post in the province he threw himself into archery and the chase to display his martial bearing. After Erzhu Zhao seized Luoyang, Zhao Xiuyan, prefect of Nanyang, denounced Yanzhi—who was related to Emperor Xiaozhuang by marriage—as planning to defect to Liang emperor Xiao Yan, stormed the provincial seat, and threw him in chains while he himself assumed control of the province. The townspeople killed Xiuyan and pressed Yanzhi to resume charge of the province. When Emperor Xiaowu first took the throne, Yanzhi was recalled to court as Attendant-in-Ordinary with the additional titles of General of Chariots and Cavalry, Left Grand Master of the Palace, and Holder of Honors Equal to the Three Excellencies. He died in the second year of Yongxi (534). Posthumously he was granted the titles of Attendant-in-Ordinary, General of Agile Cavalry, and Duke of the Secretariat, together with the governorship of Yong Province; his temple name was Wénjiǎn (Cultured and Unassuming).
5
琰之少機警，善談，經史百家無所不覽，朝廷疑事多所訪質。 每云：「崔博而不精，劉精而不博，我既精且博，學兼二子。」 謂崔光、劉芳也。 論者許其博，未許其精。 當時物議，咸共宗之。 又自誇文章，從姨兄常景笑而不許。 每休閑之際，恒閉門讀書，不交人事。 嘗謂人曰：「吾所以好讀書，不求身後之名，但異見異聞，心之所願，是以孜孜搜討，欲罷不能。 豈為聲名勞七尺也？ 此乃天性，非為力強。」 前後再居史職，無所編緝。 安豐王延明，博聞多識，每有疑滯，恒就琰之辨析，自以為不及也。 二子綱、惠，並從出帝入關。
From boyhood Yanzhi was sharp and articulate; he had read his way through the classics, histories, and every major school of thought, and the court frequently turned to him when a doubtful point arose. He liked to say, "Cui Guang is wide-ranging but lacks depth; Liu Fang is deep but lacks breadth. I am deep and broad alike—I unite the strengths of both." He was speaking of Cui Guang and Liu Fang. Commentators conceded his breadth but not his depth. Contemporary opinion united in treating him as a master. He was equally fond of praising his own writing, though his maternal cousin Chang Jing would only smile and withhold his assent. In his free hours he invariably shut himself in to read and kept clear of worldly entanglements. He once said to a friend, "I read not for posthumous fame but because every new sight and story is something my heart craves; that is why I hunt through books without rest and cannot bring myself to stop. Surely I am not wearing out my body merely for the sake of renown? It is my nature, not something I force upon myself." Yet though he twice held a post in the historiography office, he left nothing compiled. Prince Yanming of Anfeng, himself widely read, would bring every knotty question to Yanzhi for clarification and freely admitted that he could not match him. His sons Gang and Hui both followed Emperor Xiaowu west into the Guanzhong region.
6
祖瑩，字元珍，范陽遒人也。 曾祖敏，仕慕容垂為平原太守。 太祖定中山，賜爵安固子，拜尚書左丞。 卒，贈并州刺史。 祖嶷，字元達。 以從征平原功，進爵為侯，位馮翊太守，贈幽州刺史。 父季真，多識前言往行，位中書侍郎，卒於安遠將軍、鉅鹿太守。
Zu Ying, whose style was Yuanzhen, came from You in Fanyang. His great-grandfather Min had served Murong Chui as prefect of Pingyuan. After Emperor Daowu conquered Zhongshan, Min was ennobled as Viscount of Angu and appointed Left Vice Director of the Secretariat. When he died he was posthumously named governor of Bing Province. His grandfather Zu Ni, styled Yuanda. For his service in the Pingyuan campaign he was raised to marquis, served as prefect of Fengyi, and after death was granted the governorship of You Province. His father Jizhen knew the lore of earlier ages inside out; he had been Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat and died in office as General Who Pacifies the Distance and prefect of Julu.
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瑩年八歲，能誦詩書，十二，為中書學生。 好學耽書，以晝繼夜，父母恐其成疾，禁之不能止，常密於灰中藏火，驅逐僮僕，父母寢睡之後，燃火讀書，以衣被蔽塞窗戶，恐漏光明，為家人所覺。 由是聲譽甚盛，內外親屬呼為「聖小兒」。 尤好屬文，中書監高允每歎曰：「此子才器，非諸生所及，終當遠至。」
At eight Ying could recite the Odes and Documents from memory; at twelve he entered the Palace Secretariat school. He was so devoted to study that he read on through the night; when his parents, fearing illness, forbade it he could not obey. He would hide embers in the ash-pit, send the servants away, and once his parents slept would kindle a lamp, muffling the windows with quilts so no gleam betrayed him to the household. His fame spread accordingly, and kinsmen near and far nicknamed him the "little sage." He was especially fond of writing, and Gao Yun, Director of the Palace Secretariat, would often exclaim, "This child's gifts outstrip every other student—he is bound to go far."
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時中書博士張天龍講尚書，選為都講。 生徒悉集，瑩夜讀書勞倦，不覺天曉。 催講既切，遂誤持同房生趙郡李孝怡曲禮卷上座。 博士嚴毅，不敢還取，乃置禮於前，誦尚書三篇，不遺一字。 講罷，孝怡異之，向博士說，舉學盡驚。 後高祖聞之，召入，令誦五經章句，並陳大義，帝嗟賞之。 瑩出後，高祖戲盧昶曰：「昔流共工於幽州北裔之地，那得忽有此子？」 昶對曰：「當是才為世生。」 以才名拜太學博士。 徵署司徒、彭城王勰法曹行參軍。 高祖顧謂勰曰：「蕭賾以王元長為子良法曹，今為汝用祖瑩，豈非倫匹也。」 敕令掌勰書記。 瑩與陳郡袁翻齊名秀出，時人為之語曰：「京師楚楚，袁與祖； 洛中翩翩，祖與袁。」 再遷尚書三公郎。 尚書令王肅曾於省中詠悲平城詩，云：「悲平城，驅馬入雲中。 陰山常晦雪，荒松無罷風。」 彭城王勰甚嗟其美，欲使肅更詠，乃失語云：「王公吟詠情性，聲律殊佳，可更為誦悲彭城詩。」 [3]肅因戲勰云：「何意悲平城為悲彭城也？」 勰有慚色。 瑩在座，即云：「所有悲彭城，王公自未見耳。」 肅云：「可為誦之。」 瑩應聲云：「悲彭城，楚歌四面起； 屍積石梁亭，血流睢水裏。」 肅甚嗟賞之。 勰亦大悅，退謂瑩曰：「即定是神口。 今日若不得卿，幾為吳子所屈。」
When Zhang Tianlong of the Palace Secretariat lectured on the Documents, Ying was chosen to serve as head discussant. The students had all gathered, but Ying, exhausted from a night of reading, failed to notice daybreak. Pressed to begin the lecture, he by mistake carried to the dais his roommate Li Xiaoyi's copy of the Record of Rites. The erudite was a stern man, and Ying dared not step down to fetch the right text; he laid the Rites on the desk and from memory recited three chapters of the Documents without missing a word. After the session Xiaoyi told the erudite what had happened, and the entire academy was astounded. When Emperor Xiaowen heard the story he summoned Ying to court, had him recite passages from the Five Classics and explain their larger meaning, and praised him warmly. After Ying withdrew, the emperor teased Lu Chang: "Did we not exile Gong Gong to the far north of You—whence this prodigy?" Lu Chang answered, "Surely genius appears when the times require it." On the strength of his reputation he was appointed Erudite of the Imperial University. He was recruited as acting aide in the legal bureau of the Prince of Pengcheng, Xie, who held the post of Minister of Works. The emperor turned to Xie and said, "Xiao Ze gave his son Ziliang Wang Yuanzhang as legal aide; I have given you Zu Ying—is that not a fair match?" He then ordered Ying to manage the prince's correspondence. Ying and Yuan Fan of Chen commandery stood equal in fame; contemporaries coined a rhyme: "In the capital, splendid pair—Yuan and Zu; in Luoyang, graceful pair—Zu and Yuan." He was promoted again to a secretariat post in the Three Excellencies section. Wang Su, Director of the Secretariat, once recited in the office his "Lament for Pingcheng": "Lament for Pingcheng—we drive our horses into Yunzhong. On the Yin Mountains snow never lifts; on the barren pines the wind never rests." The Prince of Pengcheng admired the verses and asked Wang Su to recite again, but in his enthusiasm he misspoke: "Your Lordship's feeling for verse and mastery of tone are superb—please recite once more your 'Lament for Pengcheng.'" [3] Wang Su teased the prince: "Since when is 'Lament for Pingcheng' the same as 'Lament for Pengcheng'?" The prince flushed with embarrassment. Ying, who was present, spoke up at once: "A 'Lament for Pengcheng' does exist—Your Lordship has simply never heard it." Wang Su said, "Then let us hear it." Ying answered without hesitation: "Lament for Pengcheng—Chu songs rise on every side; corpses heap at Shiliang Pavilion; the Sui River runs red with blood." Wang Su marveled and praised him warmly. The prince was delighted as well; afterward he told Ying, "You truly have a god's tongue. If you had not been here today, I would almost have been bested by that fellow from Wu."
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為冀州鎮東府長史，以貨賄事發，除名。 後侍中崔光舉為國子博士，仍領尚書左戶部。 李崇為都督北討，引瑩為長吏。 坐截沒軍資，除名。 未幾，為散騎侍郎。 孝昌中，於廣平王第掘得古玉印，敕召瑩與黃門侍郎李琰之令辨何世之物。 瑩云：「此是于闐國王晉太康中所獻。」 乃以墨塗字觀之，果如瑩言，時人稱為博物。 累遷國子祭酒，領給事黃門侍郎，幽州大中正，監起居事，又監議事。 元顥入洛，以瑩為殿中尚書。 莊帝還宮，坐為顥作詔，罪狀尒朱榮，免官。 後除祕書監，中正如故。 以參議律曆，賜爵容城縣子。 坐事繫於廷尉。 前廢帝遷車騎將軍。 初，莊帝末，尒朱兆入洛，軍人焚燒樂署，鍾石管弦，略無存者。 敕瑩與錄尚書事長孫稚、侍中元孚典造金石雅樂，三載乃就，事在樂志。 遷車騎大將軍。 及出帝登阼，瑩以太常行禮，封文安縣子。 天平初，將遷鄴，齊獻武王因召瑩議之。 以功遷儀同三司，進爵為伯。 薨，贈尚書左僕射、司徒公、冀州刺史。
As chief clerk of the Eastern Garrison in Ji Province he was stripped of office when a bribery scandal broke. Later Cui Guang, Attendant-in-Ordinary, had him appointed Erudite of the Imperial University while he continued to head the Left Household Section of the Secretariat. When Li Chong commanded the northern campaign he took Ying on as chief clerk. He was dismissed again for embezzling military stores. Before long he was reappointed Vice Director of the Scattered Cavalry. During the Xiaochang era an ancient jade seal was dug up at the mansion of the Prince of Guangping; the court ordered Ying and Gentleman of the Yellow Gate Li Yanzhi to determine its date. Ying said, "This was a gift from the king of Khotan, presented in the third year of Jin Taikang (282)." Ink was rubbed over the inscription to bring out the characters, and the result matched Ying's account exactly; contemporaries hailed him as a walking museum. He rose through successive posts to Chancellor of the Imperial University, Gentleman of the Yellow Gate in the Service Section, Grand Rectifier of You Province, overseer of the imperial diary, and overseer of court deliberations. When Yuan Hao seized Luoyang, Ying was appointed Director of the Palace Secretariat in the Hall. After Emperor Xiaozhuang regained the palace, Ying was dismissed for having drafted Yuan Hao's indictment of Erzhu Rong. He was later reappointed Director of the Palace Library while retaining his post as rectifier. For his work on the calendar reforms he was ennobled as Viscount of Rongcheng. He was later imprisoned on a criminal charge. Under Emperor Jiemin he was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry. Late in Emperor Xiaozhuang's reign, when Erzhu Zhao took Luoyang, his troops burned the Music Office and destroyed nearly every bell, stone chime, and orchestral instrument. The court charged Ying, together with Changsun Zhi, who recorded Secretariat affairs, and Attendant-in-Ordinary Yuan Fu, with rebuilding the court's bell-and-stone music; the work took three years and is recorded in the Treatise on Music. He was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry. When Emperor Xiaowu took the throne, Ying as acting Minister of Ceremonies conducted the accession rites and was enfeoffed as Viscount of Wen'an. Early in the Tianping era, as the court prepared to move the capital to Ye, Prince Xianwu of Qi summoned Ying to consult on the plan. For his service he was named Holder of Honors Equal to the Three Excellencies and raised to marquis. He died and was posthumously granted the titles of Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, Duke of the Secretariat, and governor of Ji Province.
10
瑩以文學見重，常語人云：「文章須自出機杼，成一家風骨，何能共人同生活也。」 蓋譏世人好偷竊他文，以為己用。 而瑩之筆札，亦無乏天才，但不能均調，玉石兼有，製裁之體，減於袁、常焉。 性爽俠，有節氣，士有窮厄，以命歸之，必見存拯，時亦以此多之。 其文集行於世。 子珽，字孝徵，襲。
Ying was renowned for his literary gifts and often said, "A writer must weave from his own loom and forge a distinctive voice—how can one simply live off another man's lines?" He meant to mock those who pilfer other people's compositions and pass them off as their own. Ying's own writings were not without genius, yet he could not sustain an even tone: jade and pebble lay side by side, and in finish and control he fell short of Yuan Fan and Chang Jing. He was by nature open-handed and high-spirited; when scholars in distress placed their fate in his hands he always saved them, and contemporaries admired him for it. His collected works circulated widely. His son Ting, styled Xiaozheng, succeeded to his rank.
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常景，字永昌，河內人也。 父文通，天水太守。 景少聰敏，初讀論語、毛詩，一受便覽。 及長，有才思，雅好文章。 廷尉公孫良舉為律博士，高祖親得其名，既而用之。 後為門下錄事、太常博士。 正始初，詔尚書、門下於金墉中書外省考論律令，敕景參議。
Chang Jing, whose style was Yongchang, came from Henei. His father Wentong had been prefect of Tianshui. As a boy Jing was quick-witted; the first time he read the Analects and the Mao Odes he could recite them from memory. When he matured he showed literary gifts and a deep love of writing. Commandant of Justice Gongsun Liang recommended him as Erudite of Law; Emperor Xiaowen heard his name and soon took him into service. He later served as a recorder in the Chancellery and as an Erudite of the Imperial Sacrifices. Early in the Zhengshi era the court ordered the Secretariat and Chancellery to review the legal code at the outer secretariat office at Jinyong, and Jing was directed to take part.
12
世宗季舅護軍將軍高顯卒，其兄右僕射肇私託景及尚書邢巒、并州刺史高聰、通直郎徐紇各作碑銘，並以呈御。 世宗悉付侍中崔光簡之，光以景所造為最，乃奏曰：「常景名位乃處諸人之下，文出諸人之上。」 遂以景文刊石。 肇尚平陽公主，未幾主薨，肇欲使公主家令居廬制服，付學官議正施行。 尚書又以訪景，景以婦人無專國之理，家令不得有純臣之義，乃執議曰：「喪紀之本，實稱物以立情； 輕重所因，亦緣情以制禮。 雖理關盛衰，事經今古，而制作之本，降殺之宜，其實一焉。 是故臣之為君，所以資敬而崇重； 為君母妻，所以從服而制義。 然而諸侯大夫之為君者，謂其有地土，有吏屬，無服文者，言其非世爵也。 今王姬降適，雖加爵命，事非君邑，理異列土。 何者？ 諸王開國，備立臣吏，生有趨奉之勤，死盡致喪之禮； 而公主家令，唯有一人，其丞已下，命之屬官，既無接事之儀，實闕為臣之禮。 原夫公主之貴所以立家令者，蓋以主之內事脫須關外，理無自達，必也因人。 然則家令唯通內外之職，及典主家之事耳，無關君臣之理，名義之分也。 由是推之，家令不得為純臣，公主不可為正君明矣。 且女人之為君，男子之為臣，古禮所不載，先朝所未議。 而四門博士裴道廣、孫榮乂等以公主為之君，以家令為之臣，制服以斬，乖謬彌甚。 又張虛景、吾難羈等，不推君臣之分，不尋致服之情，[4]猶同其議，準母制齊，求之名實，理未為允。 竊謂公主之爵，既非食菜之君； 家令之官，又無純臣之式。 若附如母，則情義罔施； 若準小君，則從服無據。 案如經禮，事無成文； 即之愚見，謂不應服。」 朝廷從之。
When Emperor Xuanwu's uncle by marriage, General Who Protects the Army Gao Xian, died, his elder brother Gao Zhao, Right Vice Director of the Secretariat, privately asked Jing, Xing Luan of the Secretariat, Gao Cong the governor of Bing, and Xu He a direct attendant each to draft an epitaph; all four texts were submitted to the throne. The emperor gave all four to Attendant-in-Ordinary Cui Guang for judgment; Guang ranked Jing's piece highest and reported, "Chang Jing ranks below the others in office, yet his prose surpasses them all." Jing's text was carved on the stele. Zhao had married the Princess of Pingyang; when she died soon afterward he wanted her household steward to observe the full mourning rites in the mourning shed and referred the question to the ritual scholars for a ruling. The Secretariat also asked Jing's view; he held that no woman may hold sovereign authority and that a household steward cannot be a full minister in the ritual sense, and argued as follows: "The foundation of mourning law is to name things so as to express feeling; degrees of severity likewise follow feeling in shaping ritual. Though principle spans rise and fall and practice changes with the ages, the root of ritual making and the rule of graded increase and decrease are in essence the same. Thus when a subject serves a lord, the rites supply reverence and heighten esteem; serving a lord's mother or wife is to follow graded mourning and fix the proper measure of duty. When feudal lords and grandees are called 'lords,' it is because they hold land and retain officials; where no mourning text applies, it means they are not hereditary fiefs. When an imperial princess marries down, titles may be conferred, yet the case is not a lord's domain and differs in principle from a territorial fief. Why? Princes who receive states establish full ministerial staffs; in life their servants attend them, in death they perform the full mourning rites; but a princess's household steward is a single officer, and his assistants and subordinates are merely appointed staff; they lack the protocol of public service and truly lack the status of ministers. The reason a princess appoints a household steward is that domestic affairs sometimes require contact with the outside world, which she cannot manage alone and must delegate to another. The steward's charge is only to mediate between inner and outer quarters and manage the household—nothing to do with the lord-minister relation or the formal division of roles. It follows that the steward cannot be a full minister and that a princess cannot be a true sovereign—this is plain. Moreover, a woman as sovereign and a man as her minister appears nowhere in ancient ritual and was never debated by earlier courts. Yet Erudites Pei Daoguang and Sun Rongyi of the Four Gates treated the princess as sovereign and the steward as minister, prescribing the severest hemp mourning—an error all the graver. Zhang Xujing, Wu Nanji, and others likewise failed to weigh the lord-minister distinction or the grounds for mourning dress; [4] they still sided with that view, equating the case with mourning for a mother at the highest grade—in name and fact the ruling cannot stand. I submit that a princess's title is not a fief-holding lord; nor does the office of household steward fit the model of a full minister. If treated as mourning for a mother, feeling and duty have no proper object; if measured as mourning for a lord's principal wife, the graded mourning has no basis. According to the canonical rites, no established text covers this case; in my humble view, mourning should not be worn." The court adopted his ruling.
13
景淹滯門下積歲，不至顯官，以蜀司馬相如、王褒、嚴君平、揚子雲等四賢，皆有高才而無重位，乃託意以讚之。 其讚司馬相如曰：「長卿有艷才，直致不羣性。 鬱若春煙舉，皎如秋月映。 遊梁雖好仁，仕漢常稱病。 清貞非我事，窮達委天命。」 其讚王子淵曰：「王子挺秀質，逸氣干青雲。 明珠既絕俗，白鵠信驚羣。 才世苟不合，遇否途自分。 空枉碧鷄命，徒獻金馬文。」 其讚嚴君平曰：「嚴公體沉靜，立志明霜雪。 味道綜微言，端蓍演妙說。 才屈羅仲口，位結李強舌。 素尚邁金貞，清標陵玉徹。」 其讚揚子雲曰：「蜀江導清流，揚子挹餘休。 含光絕後彥，覃思邈前修。 世輕久不賞，玄談物無求。 當途謝權寵，置酒獨閑遊。」
Jing spent years in the Chancellery without reaching high office; thinking of the four Shu masters—Sima Xiangru, Wang Bao, Yan Junping, and Yang Xiong—each gifted yet never granted great rank, he wrote eulogies to express his sympathy. His eulogy for Sima Xiangru runs: "Changqing bore radiant genius and a nature upright, apart from the crowd. Rich as spring mist rising, bright as autumn moonlight. He wandered in Liang and loved virtue, yet serving Han he often pleaded illness. Integrity was not his concern; fortune and failure he left to fate." His eulogy for Wang Ziyuan runs: "The prince stood forth in splendid grace; his free spirit reached the azure clouds. A bright pearl beyond the common world, a white swan that truly startled the flock. When talent and the age fail to meet, fortune and misfortune each go their own way. In vain he answered the Green Cock summons; in vain he offered his writings at the Golden Horse Gate." His eulogy for Yan Junping runs: "Lord Yan was deep and still of bearing; his resolve shone clear as frost and snow. He savored the Way and gathered subtle teachings; with yarrow in hand he unfolded profound doctrine. Talent bowed to Luo Zhong's eloquence; rank silenced Li Qiang's tongue. In plain dress he surpassed golden integrity; his pure renown outshone jade's gleam." His eulogy for Yang Xiong runs: "The Shu River leads clear streams; Yangzi draws its lingering grace. Holding his light, he outshone later talents; in deep thought he left earlier sages behind. The age long slighted him without reward; in subtle discourse he sought nothing from the world. He declined power and favor on the high road, poured wine, and wandered alone at leisure."
14
景在樞密十有餘年，為侍中崔光、盧昶、游肇、元暉尤所知賞。 累遷積射將軍、給事中。 延昌初，東宮建，兼太子屯騎校尉，錄事皆如故。 其年受敕撰門下詔書，凡四十卷。 尚書元萇出為安西將軍、雍州刺史，請景為司馬，以景階次不及，除錄事參軍、襄威將軍，帶長安令。 甚有惠政，民吏稱之。
Jing served in the inner secretariat for more than a decade and won particular favor from Attendants-in-Ordinary Cui Guang, Lu Chang, You Zhao, and Yuan Hui. He rose through successive posts to General of Accumulated Archery and Supervising Attendant. Early in the Yan chang era, when the Eastern Palace was established, he was appointed concurrent Commandant of Cavalry for the Heir Apparent while retaining his recorder duties. That year he was ordered to compile Chancellery edicts, forty volumes in all. When Yuan Chang of the Secretariat went out as General Who Pacifies the West and governor of Yong, he asked for Jing as chief of staff; because Jing's rank was too low, he was named Recorder and Staff Officer and General Who Displays Might, with concurrent duties as magistrate of Chang'an. His rule was notably benevolent, and people and officials alike praised him.
15
先是，太常劉芳與景等撰朝令，未及班行。 別典儀注，多所草創，未成，芳卒，景纂成其事。 及世宗崩，召景赴京，還修儀注。 拜謁者僕射，加寧遠將軍。 又以本官兼中書舍人。 後授步兵校尉，仍舍人。 又敕撰太和之後朝儀已施行者，凡五十餘卷。 時靈太后詔依漢世陰鄧二后故事，親奉廟祀，與帝交獻。 景乃據正，以定儀注，朝廷是之。
Earlier, Minister of Ceremonies Liu Fang had worked with Jing and others on court ordinances that had not yet been issued. Separate ritual codes had been largely drafted but left unfinished; when Fang died, Jing completed the compilation. When Emperor Xuanwu died, Jing was recalled to the capital to resume work on the ritual codes. He was appointed Vice Director of the Imperial Messengers with the additional rank of General Who Pacifies the Distance. He was also made concurrent Palace Secretariat Attendant while retaining his original post. He was later appointed Commandant of Footsoldiers while continuing as attendant. He was again ordered to compile court ceremonies enacted after the Taihe era, more than fifty volumes in all. Empress Dowager Ling then ordered ritual following the Han precedents of Empresses Yin and Deng, whereby she would personally conduct temple sacrifices and exchange offerings with the emperor. Jing appealed to canonical precedent to fix the ritual regulations, and the court approved his ruling.
16
正光初，除龍驤將軍、中散大夫，舍人如故。 時肅宗行講學之禮於國子寺，[5]司徒崔光執經，敕景與董紹、張徹、馮元興、王延業、鄭伯猷等俱為錄義。 事畢，又行釋奠之禮，並詔百官作釋奠詩，時以景作為美。
Early in the Zhengguang era he was named General of the Dragon Cavalry and Grand Master of Palace Discourse while retaining his attendant post. When Emperor Xiaoming held the lecture rite at the Imperial University, [5] Minister of Works Cui Guang expounded the classic, and Jing was ordered together with Dong Shao, Zhang Che, Feng Yuanxing, Wang Yanye, and Zheng Boyou to record the interpretation. When the lecture ended, the libation ceremony was performed as well, and all officials were ordered to compose libation poems; Jing's piece was judged the finest.
17
是年九月，蠕蠕主阿那瓌歸闕，朝廷疑其位次。 高陽王雍訪景，景曰：「昔咸寧中，南單于來朝，晉世處之王公、特進之下。 今日為班，宜在蕃王、儀同三司之間。」 雍從之。 朝廷典章，疑而不決，則時訪景而行。
In the ninth month of that year the Rouran ruler Anagui came to court, and the court debated his ceremonial precedence. Prince Yong of Gaoyang consulted Jing, who said, "In the Xianning era, when the Southern Chanyu came to court, the Jin placed him below princes and dukes and holders of special advance. For today's seating he should rank between foreign princes and Holders of Honors Equal to the Three Excellencies." Yong followed his advice. Whenever court ritual or statute was in doubt, the court would consult Jing and follow his ruling.
18
初，平齊之後，光祿大夫高聰徙於北京，中書監高允為之娉妻，給其資宅。 聰後為允立碑，每云：「吾以此文報德，足矣。」 豫州刺史常綽以未盡其美。 景尚允才器，先為遺德頌，司徒崔光聞而觀之，尋味良久，乃云：「高光祿平日每矜其文，自許報允之德，今見常生此頌，高氏不得獨擅其美也。」 侍中崔光、安豐王延明受詔議定服章，敕景參修其事。 尋進號冠軍將軍。
After the conquest of Qi, Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Gao Cong was transferred to the Northern Capital; Gao Yun, Director of the Palace Secretariat, arranged his marriage and provided him a house and stipend. Cong later erected a stele for Yun and would say, "With this inscription I have repaid his kindness—that is enough." Governor Chang Chuo of Yu Province felt it did not do justice to Yun's virtues. Jing admired Yun's gifts and had already written a eulogy of his virtues; when Minister of Works Cui Guang read it he pondered it at length and said, "Gao Cong has always prided himself on his prose and claimed he had repaid Yun's kindness; now that Chang Jing has written this eulogy, the Gao family can no longer claim the credit alone." Attendant-in-Ordinary Cui Guang and Prince Yanming of Anfeng were ordered to fix court dress and insignia, and Jing was directed to assist. He was soon promoted to General Who Wins the Championship.
19
阿那瓌之還國也，境上遷延，仍陳窘乏。 遣尚書左丞元孚奉詔振恤，阿那瓌執孚過柔玄，奔于漠北。 遣尚書令李崇、御史中尉兼右僕射元纂追討，不及。 乃令景出塞，經瓫山，臨瀚海，宣敕勒眾而返。 景經涉山水，悵然懷古，乃擬劉琨扶風歌十二首。
When Anagui returned home he lingered at the frontier and again pleaded poverty and want. Left Vice Director Yuan Fu was sent with an edict to bring relief; Anagui seized him, carried him past Rouxuan, and fled into the northern desert. Director Li Chong and Censor-in-Chief Yuan Zuan, who was also Right Vice Director, were sent in pursuit but failed to catch him. Jing was then ordered beyond the frontier; he passed Mount Pi, reached the Hanhai, proclaimed the edict to restrain the troops, and returned. Passing through mountains and rivers, Jing grew wistful for the past and wrote twelve poems in the manner of Liu Kun's Songs of Fufeng.
20
進號征虜將軍。 孝昌初，兼給事黃門侍郎。 尋除左將軍、太府少卿，仍舍人。 固辭少卿不拜，改授散騎常侍，將軍如故。 徐州刺史元法僧叛入蕭衍，衍遣其豫章王蕭綜入據彭城。 時安豐王延明為大都督、大行臺，率臨淮王彧等眾軍討之。 既而蕭綜降附，徐州清復，遣景兼尚書，持節馳與行臺、都督觀機部分。 景經洛汭，乃作銘焉。 是時，尚書令蕭寶夤，都督崔延伯，都督、北海王顥，都督、車騎將軍元恒芝等並各出討，詔景詣軍宣旨勞問。 還，以本將軍授徐州刺史。
He was promoted to General Who Pacifies the Barbarians. Early in the Xiaochang era he was appointed concurrent Gentleman of the Yellow Gate in the Service Section. Soon afterward he was named Left General and Vice Minister of the Imperial Storehouse while retaining his attendant post. He firmly declined the vice ministership; he was instead appointed Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry while keeping his general's rank. Yuan Faseng, governor of Xu Province, defected to Liang emperor Xiao Yan, who sent his Prince of Yuzhang, Xiao Zong, to seize Pengcheng. Prince Yanming of Anfeng served as Grand Commander and head of the grand mobile headquarters, leading Prince Yu of Linhuai and other forces against them. Xiao Zong soon surrendered; Xu Province was restored, and Jing was sent as concurrent Director of the Secretariat with credentials to join the mobile headquarters and commander and assign forces as circumstances required. Passing the bend of the Luo, he composed an inscription. At that time Director Xiao Baoyin, Commander Cui Yanbo, Commander Prince Hao of Beihai, and Commander General of Chariots and Cavalry Yuan Hengzhi were each campaigning; Jing was ordered to visit the armies and convey the emperor's greetings. On his return he was appointed governor of Xu Province while retaining his general's rank.
21
杜洛周反於燕州，仍以景兼尚書為行臺，與幽州都督、平北將軍元譚以禦之。 景表求勒幽州諸縣悉入古城，山路有通賊之處，權發兵夫，隨宜置戍，以為防遏。 又以頃來差兵，不盡強壯，今之三長，皆是豪門多丁為之，今求權發為兵。 肅宗皆從之。 進號平北將軍。 別敕譚西至軍都關，北從盧龍塞，據此二嶮，以杜賊出入之路。 又詔景山中嶮路之處，悉令捍塞。 景遣府錄事參軍裴智成發范陽三長之兵以守白㠈，都督元譚據居庸下口。 俄而安州石離、冗城、斛鹽三戍兵反，[6]結洛周，有眾二萬餘落，自松岍赴賊。 [7]譚勒別將崔仲哲等截軍都關以待之。 仲哲戰沒，洛周又自外應之，腹背受敵，譚遂大敗，諸軍夜散。 詔以景所部別將李琚為都督，代譚征下口，降景為後將軍，解州任，仍詔景為幽安玄□四州行臺。 賊既南出，鈔掠薊城，景命統軍梁仲禮率兵士邀擊，破之，獲賊將禦夷鎮軍主孫念恒。 都督李琚為賊所攻，薊城之北軍敗而死。 率屬城人禦之，[8]賊不敢逼。 洛周還據上谷。 授景平北將軍、光祿大夫，行臺如故。 洛周遣其都督王曹紇真、馬叱斤等率眾薊南，以掠人穀，乃遇連雨，賊眾疲勞。 景與都督于榮、刺史王延年置兵粟園。 [9]邀其走路，大敗之，斬曹紇真。 洛周率眾南趨范陽，景與延年及榮復破之。 又遣別將重破之於州西虎眼泉，擒斬及溺死者甚眾。 後洛周南圍范陽，城人翻降，執刺史延年及景送於洛周。 洛周尋為葛榮所吞，景又入榮。 榮破，景得還朝。
When Du Luozhou rebelled in Yan Province, Jing was again made concurrent Director of the Secretariat on the mobile headquarters, together with Commander Yuan Tan of You Province, General Who Pacifies the North, to oppose him. Jing memorialized that every county in You Province should withdraw into old walled towns; wherever mountain paths gave bandits access, troops should be levied as needed to establish garrisons for defense. He also observed that recent levies had not produced enough able-bodied men: the Three Chiefs were all wealthy households with many sons, and he now asked leave to draft them for military service. Emperor Suzong approved every proposal. Jing was promoted to General Who Pacifies the North. A separate edict ordered Tan west to Jundu Pass and north through the Lulong Barrier, holding those two defiles to cut the rebels' lines of advance and retreat. Jing was also ordered to fortify and block every dangerous mountain pass. Jing sent his registrar Pei Zhicheng to raise the Fanyang militia and hold Bai'ao (White Cliff) Pass, while Commander Yuan Tan took the lower outlet of Juyong Pass. Before long the garrisons at Shili, Rongcheng, and Huyan in An Province mutinied, rallied to Luozhou, and with more than twenty thousand households marched from Songqian to join the rebels. Tan led detached generals including Cui Zhongzhe to block Jundu Pass and await them. Zhongzhe fell in battle; Luozhou attacked from outside as well, and Tan, caught between two forces, was routed and his troops scattered overnight. An edict made Li Ju, a detached general under Jing, commander in Tan's place at the lower pass; Jing was demoted to Rear General and stripped of his provincial post, but was still named head of the mobile headquarters for You, An, Xuan, and Ji provinces. When the rebels pushed south and plundered Ji, Jing ordered Commandant Liang Zhongli to intercept them; Liang routed the force and captured the rebel general Sun Nianheng, garrison commander of Yuyi. Commander Li Ju was attacked by the rebels and killed north of Ji in a losing battle. He rallied the people of the outlying towns to defend Ji, and the rebels did not dare approach. Luozhou withdrew and reoccupied Shanggu. Jing was appointed General Who Pacifies the North and Grand Master of Splendor, retaining his mobile headquarters. Luozhou sent commanders including Wang, Cao Hezhen, and Ma Chijin south of Ji to seize grain, but unseasonable rains exhausted his troops. Jing, Commander Yu Rong, and Governor Wang Yannian deployed troops at Mil Garden. They cut off the rebels' retreat, routed them, and killed Cao Hezhen. Luozhou marched south on Fanyang, but Jing, Yannian, and Rong defeated him again. A detached force under his command routed them again at Tiger Eye Spring west of the province, killing or drowning a great number. Luozhou later besieged Fanyang from the south; the townspeople rebelled, seized Governors Yannian and Jing, and handed them over to Luozhou. Luozhou was soon swallowed up by Ge Rong, and Jing entered Ge Rong's camp as well. After Ge Rong's defeat, Jing returned to the capital.
22
永安初，詔復本官，兼黃門侍郎，又攝著作，固辭不就。 二年，除中軍將軍，正黃門。 先是，參議正光壬子曆，至是賜爵高陽子。 元顥內逼，莊帝北巡，景與侍中、大司馬、安豐王延明在禁中召諸親賓，安慰京師。 顥入洛，景仍居本位。 莊帝還宮，解黃門。 普泰初，除車騎將軍、右光祿大夫、祕書監。 以預詔命之勤，封濮陽縣子。 後以例追。 永熙二年，監議事。
At the start of the Yong'an era he was ordered back to his former post with concurrent service as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and acting Compiler of Documents, but he firmly declined. In the second year he was appointed General of the Central Army and regular Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. He had earlier helped revise the Zhengguang renchen calendar; now he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoyang. When Yuan Hao threatened the capital, Emperor Zhuang withdrew north; Jing joined Palace Attendant and Grand Marshal Prince Yanming of Anfeng in summoning kinsmen and guests inside the palace to steady the city. When Hao took Luoyang, Jing kept his existing office. When Emperor Zhuang returned to the palace, Jing was removed from the Yellow Gate. At the start of the Putai era he was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry, Right Grand Master of Splendor, and Director of the Secretariat. For his work drafting imperial edicts, he was enfeoffed as Viscount of Puyang County. The title was later revoked under the usual regulations. In the second year of Yongxi he oversaw deliberations on state business.
23
景自少及老，恒居事任。 清儉自守，不營產業，至於衣食，取濟而已。 耽好經史，愛玩文詞，若遇新異之書，殷勤求訪，或復質買，不問價之貴賤，必以得為期。 友人刁整每謂曰：「卿清德自居，不事家業，雖儉約可尚，將何以自濟也？ 吾恐摯太常方餧於栢谷耳。」 遂與衞將軍羊深矜其所乏，乃率刁雙、司馬彥邕、李諧、畢祖彥、畢義顯等各出錢千文而為買馬焉。
From youth to old age Jing was always in active service. He lived plainly and frugally, built no fortune, and took from his income no more than he needed for food and clothing. He loved the classics and histories and delighted in fine writing; whenever he found a new or unusual book he hunted it down, even pawning belongings to buy it, caring nothing for the price so long as he could possess it. His friend Diao Zheng often told him, "You hold yourself to pure conduct and keep no household estate; frugality is admirable, but how will you live? I fear you will go the way of Grand Master Zhi, starving in Baigu Valley." Yang Shen, General of the Palace Guard, took pity on his poverty and, with Diao Shuang, Sima Yanrong, Li Xie, Bi Zuyan, Bi Yixian, and others, each contributed a thousand coins and bought him a horse.
24
景善與人交，終始若一，其遊處者，皆服其深遠之度，未曾見其矜吝之心。 好飲酒，澹於榮利，自得懷抱，不事權門。 性和厚恭慎。 每讀書，見韋弦之事，深薄之危，乃圖古昔可以鑒戒，指事為象，讚而述之曰：
Jing made friends easily and kept them faithfully; those who knew him admired his depth of character and never saw a trace of meanness in him. He enjoyed wine, cared little for rank and gain, was at peace within himself, and never cultivated the great houses. His temperament was gentle, generous, and reverently cautious. Whenever he read of the bowstring's warning or the danger of leaning too far, he would draw on ancient examples that might serve as cautionary mirrors, take events as emblems, and compose a laudatory account, saying:
25
周雅云：「謂天蓋高，不敢不跼； 謂地蓋厚，不敢不蹐。」 有朝隱大夫監戒斯文，乃惕焉而懼曰：「夫道喪則性傾，利重則身輕。 是故乘和體遜，式銘方冊； 防微慎獨，載象丹青。 信哉辭人之賦，文晦而理明。 仰瞻高天，聽卑視諦； 俯測厚地，岳峻川渟。 誰其戴之，不私不畏。 誰其踐之，不陷不墜。 故善惡是徵，物罔同異。 論亢匪久，人咸敬忌。 嗟乎！ 唯地厚矣，尚亦兢兢。 浩浩名位，孰識其親。 搏之弗得，聆之無聞。 故有戒於顯而急乎微。 好爵是冒，聲奢是基。 身陷於祿利，言溺於是非。 或求欲而未厭，或知足而不辭。 是故位高而勢愈迫，正立而邪愈欺。 安有位極而危不萃，邪榮而正不凋。 故悔多於地厚，禍甚於天高。 夫悔未結，誰肯曲躬？ 夫禍未加，誰肯累足？ 固機發而後思圖，車覆而後改躅。 改之無及，故狡兔失穴； 思之在後，故逆鱗易觸。
The Odes of Zhou say: "Heaven is said to vault high—I dare not but bow low; Earth is said to lie deep—I dare not but step with care." A court recluse supervised this text as a warning and said in trembling dread: "When the Way is lost, character topples; when profit weighs heavy, the self grows light. Therefore embrace harmony and embody humility—inscribe them on the tablets of record; guard against the subtle and be watchful in solitude—paint them in red and blue. How true the poet's rhapsody: the wording is veiled, yet the principle shines clear. Look up at lofty Heaven—it listens below and sees with clarity; Look down upon deep Earth—its peaks rise steep, its rivers lie still. Who bears it up? Neither partial nor fearful. Who treads upon it? Neither sinking nor falling. Good and evil are thereby revealed—things are not all the same. Exalted standing does not last—every man alike holds it in reverence and dread. Alas! Though Earth is deep beyond measure, still one must walk in trembling care. Rank and title spread vast—who can grasp their true nature? Grasp them—you cannot hold them; listen—you hear nothing. Hence warning lies in what is plain, and urgency in what is slight. Men dare to grasp fine rank; they dare to build on lavish fame. The body sinks in salary and gain; speech drowns in dispute. Some chase desire and never have enough; some know when they have enough yet will not step back. Therefore the higher the rank, the fiercer the pressure; stand upright, and wickedness presses harder to deceive. Can anyone reach the summit without peril gathering, or exalt wickedness without the upright withering? Regret runs deeper than Earth; calamity rises higher than Heaven. Before regret has taken hold, who will bow low? Before disaster strikes, who will walk with gathered steps? Only after the bolt is loosed does one think to plan; only after the cart overturns does one change stride. Too late to mend—thus the cunning hare loses its burrow; To think only afterward—thus the dragon's scales are easily provoked.
26
君子則不然，體舒則懷卷，視溺則思濟。 原夫人□之度，[10]𨗿於無階之天； 勢位之危，深於不測之地。 餌厚而躬不競，爵降而心不係。 守善於已成，懼愆於未敗。 雖盈而戒沖，通而慮滯。 以知命為遐齡，以樂天為大惠，以戢智而從時，以懷愚而遊世。 曲躬焉，累足焉。 苟行之晝已決矣，猶夜則思其計。 誦之口亦明矣，故心必賞其契。 故能不同不誘，而弭謗於羣小； 無毀無譽，而貽信於上帝。 託身與金石俱堅，立名與天壤相弊。 囂競無侵，優遊獨逝。 夫如是，故綺閣金門，可安其宅； 錦衣玉食，可頤其形。 柳下三黜，不慍其色； 子文三陟，不喜其情。
The gentleman is otherwise: at ease he keeps the classic scroll in mind; seeing one drowning, he thinks to save him. By the measure of the human heart, one transcends Heaven without steps; the peril of power and rank runs deeper than unfathomed ground. Though the bait is rich, the body does not strive; though rank falls, the heart is not tethered. He keeps to virtue when success is already won; he fears fault before ruin arrives. Though full, he guards against excess; though unimpeded, he considers stagnation. He takes knowing fate as long life, joy in Heaven as the greatest blessing, sheathes wisdom and follows the age, and embraces simplicity as he moves through the world. He bows his body; he gathers his steps. Though the day's course is already settled, at night he still weighs the plan. Though the mouth recites it plainly, the heart must prize the truth it holds. Thus he need neither conform nor be enticed, yet still quells slander among petty men; without ruin or renown, yet leave trust with High Heaven. He entrusts his person to stand firm as metal and stone; he establishes a name to endure until Heaven and Earth wear away. No clamorous rivalry touches him; at ease he passes on alone. If this is so, then brocade halls and golden gates may shelter his home; brocade robes and jade fare may nourish his person. Three dismissals of Liuxia Hui—and no anger on his face; Three promotions of Ziwen—and no joy in his countenance.
27
而惑者見居高可以持勢，欲乘高以據榮。 見直道可以修己，欲專道以邀聲。 夫去聲，然後聲可立，豈矜道之所宣。 慮危，然後安可固，豈假道之所全。 是以君子鑒恃道不可以流聲，故去聲而懷道； 鑒專道不可以守勢，故去勢以崇道。 何者？ 履道雖高，不得無亢； 求聲雖道，不得無悔。 然則聲奢繁則實儉凋； 功業進則身迹退。 如此，則精靈遂越，驕侈自親。 情與道絕，事與勢隣。 方欲役思以持勢，乘勢以求津。 故利欲誘其情，禍難嬰其身。 利欲交，則幽明以之變； 禍難構，則智術無所陳。 若然者，雖縻爵帝扃，焉得而寧之？ 雖結珮皇庭，焉得而榮之？ 故身道未究，而崇邪之徑已形。 成功未立，而修正之術已生。 福祿交蹇於人事，屯難頓萃於時情。 忠介剖心於白日，耿節沉骨於幽靈。 因斯愚智之所機，倚伏之所係，全亡之所依，其在遜順而已哉。 嗚呼鑒之！ 嗚呼鑒之！
But the deluded, seeing that height can hold power, wish to climb high and seize glory. Seeing that the straight Way can refine the self, they wish to monopolize the Way and court fame. Only by renouncing fame can fame be established—how could one boast of what the Way proclaims? Only by reckoning with peril can safety be secured—how could one borrow the Way to preserve oneself whole? Therefore the gentleman sees that leaning on the Way cannot spread one's fame, and so renounces fame and holds to the Way; He sees that monopolizing the Way cannot guard power, and so renounces power to exalt the Way. Why? Though one walks the Way on high, one cannot be without excess; Though one seeks fame by the Way, one cannot be without regret. When fame grows lavish and elaborate, substance and restraint wither; when merit and achievement advance, the person himself recedes. When this happens, the inner spirit slips away and arrogance and extravagance take hold. The heart is severed from the Way, and one's affairs cling to power. Just as one sets the mind to harness power and rides power to find a way forward, profit and desire seduce the heart, and calamity and disaster close in on the person. When profit and desire entwine, the realms of the living and the dead are overturned; when calamity and disaster take shape, wisdom and stratagem have nowhere to be deployed. If that is so, though one be shackled to noble rank at the emperor's gate, how could one find peace? Though one wear jade pendants in the imperial court, how could one find glory in it? Before the way of self-cultivation is fully pursued, the path of exalting perversity has already appeared. Before success is established, the means of correction have already sprung up. Fortune and rank meet obstruction in human affairs, and hardship suddenly gathers in the temper of the times. The loyal lay open their hearts under the bright sun, while upright integrity is buried among the shades. On this depend what fools and sages alike stake their fate, what rise and fall hang upon, and what preservation and destruction rest upon—surely it lies in yielding and compliance alone! Ah—take this as a warning! Ah—take this as a warning!
28
景所著述數百篇，見行於世，刪正晉司空張華博物志及撰儒林、列女傳各數十篇云。
Jing's writings numbered several hundred pieces in circulation; he revised the Jin Grand Marshal Zhang Hua's Records of Broad Learning and is said to have compiled several dozen chapters each of Biographies of Confucian Scholars and Biographies of Exemplary Women.
29
長子昶，少學識，有文才。 早卒。
His eldest son Chang was learned from youth and possessed literary talent. He died young.
30
昶弟彪之，永安中，司空行參軍。
Chang's younger brother Biaozhi served as Acting Staff Member under the Grand Marshal during the Yong'an era.
31
史臣曰：琰之好學博聞，鬱為邦彥。 祖瑩幹能藝用，實曰時良。 常景以文義見宗，著美當代。 覽其遺稿，可稱尚哉。
The historian writes: Yan Zhi loved learning and was widely informed, flourishing as a leading man of the state. Zu Ying's talent and practical ability truly made him a worthy man of the age. Chang Jing was honored for literary excellence and established a lasting reputation in his own age. Reading his surviving manuscripts, one can only admire them.
32
校勘記
Collation Notes
33
魏書卷八十二諸本目錄此卷注「闕」，百衲本卷末有宋人校語云「魏收書列傳七十」，語未完，當脫「亡」字。 殿本考證云：「魏收書闕，後人所補。」 按北史，祖瑩卷四七有傳，常景附卷四二常爽傳，李琰之見卷一００序傳。 檢此卷傳文大體與北史同，間有溢出語。 當是後人以北史相同諸人傳補，而增入高氏小史等他書中文句。
The tables of contents in various editions of the Book of Wei mark juan 82 as deficient. At the end of the Baibaina edition a Song-dynasty collation note reads "Wei Shou's book, Biographies seventy"; the sentence is incomplete and the word "lost" is probably missing. The Dian edition's textual verification states: "Wei Shou's text is deficient; this was supplied by later hands. According to the History of the Northern Dynasties, Zu Ying has a biography in juan 47; Chang Jing is appended to the biography of Chang Shuang in juan 42; and Li Yan Zhi appears in the chronological biography in juan 100. Examination shows that the biographical texts in this volume largely agree with the History of the Northern Dynasties, though occasional stray phrases appear. This volume was likely restored by later hands from the matching biographies in the History of the Northern Dynasties, with added passages drawn from the Xiaoshi compiled by the Gao family and other works.
34
彭城王勰辟為行臺參軍北史卷一００序傳「臺」作「軍」。 按彭城王勰未曾為行臺，且行臺屬僚皆同尚書省，不聞有參軍。 但「行軍參軍」也罕見。 「臺」或「軍」字或是衍文。
Regarding "the Prince of Pengcheng, Xie, recruited him as Acting Staff Member of the Mobile Headquarters": the chronological biography in juan 100 of the History of the Northern Dynasties reads "tai" (headquarters) as "jun" (army). The Prince of Pengcheng, Xie, never served as head of a mobile headquarters, and the subordinates of a mobile headquarters all correspond to the Secretariat; there is no record of a staff member (canjun) among them. But "Acting Army Staff Member" is also rarely attested. Either "tai" or "jun" may be a spurious addition.
35
可更為誦悲彭城詩諸本「更」作「便」，北史卷四七祖瑩傳、冊府卷八五０ 〈一０一一二頁〉 作「更」。 按上稱「勰欲使肅更詠」。 「便」字訛，今據改。
Regarding "he could again recite the Lament for Pengcheng": various editions read "geng" (again) as "bian" (then); the biography of Zu Ying in juan 47 of the History of the Northern Dynasties and Cefu Yuan Gui, juan 850 〈p. 10112〉 read "geng" (again). Above the text reads "Xie wished to have Su recite again." The character "bian" is erroneous; the text is corrected here on that authority.
36
不尋致服之情北史卷四二常爽附常景傳、冊府卷五八一 〈六九六二頁〉 「致」作「制」。 按所論即在「制服」，疑作「制」是。
Regarding "does not pursue the feelings of mourning garments": the biography of Chang Jing appended to Chang Shuang in juan 42 of the History of the Northern Dynasties and Cefu Yuan Gui, juan 581 〈p. 6962〉 read "zhi" (bring about) as "zhi" (prescribe). The passage concerns "prescribing mourning garments"; "zhi" (prescribe) is probably correct.
37
時肅宗行講學之禮於國子寺諸本「行」訛「以」，今據北史卷四二常爽附常景傳改。
Regarding "at that time Emperor Suzong conducted the rite of lecturing at the Imperial Academy": various editions wrongly read "xing" (conduct) as "yi" (by); the text is corrected here according to the biography of Chang Jing appended to Chang Shuang in juan 42 of the History of the Northern Dynasties.
38
俄而安州石離冗城斛鹽三戍兵反冊府卷三五四 〈四一九九頁〉 「冗城」作「宛城」。 通鑑卷一五一 〈四七一０頁〉 作「穴城」，胡注以見於水經注卷一四鮑丘水篇的「孔山」當之。 按水經注稱孔山「上有洞穴開明」，其地與斛鹽戍鄰接。 百衲本「冗」字末筆稍直，疑實是「穴」字缺上點，冊府作「宛」雖誤，上也作「宀」可證。
Regarding "soon afterward the garrisons of Shili, Rongcheng, and Huyan in An Province rebelled": Cefu Yuan Gui, juan 354 〈p. 4199〉 reads "Rongcheng" as "Wancheng." Zizhi Tongjian, juan 151 〈p. 4710〉 reads "Xuecheng" (Cave City); Hu Sanxing's note identifies it with "Kong Mountain" mentioned in the Baoqiu River chapter, juan 14, of the Commentary on the Water Classic. The Commentary on the Water Classic says of Kong Mountain that "above it are caves opening to the light"; that place adjoins the Huyan garrison. In the Baibaina edition the final stroke of "rong" is slightly straight; it is likely "xue" (cave) with the upper dot missing. Although Cefu reads "wan," which is wrong, its upper component is also "mi" (roof radical), which supports this.
39
自松岍赴賊通鑑卷一五一 〈四七一０頁〉 胡注：「或曰：『岍』『𡶭』字之誤也，讀作『陘』。 唐志 〈唐書卷四三下地理志下載入四夷道路〉 營州西北有松陘嶺。」
Regarding "he set out from Songqian to meet the rebels": Zizhi Tongjian, juan 151 〈p. 4710〉 Hu Sanxing's note: "Some say 'qian' and '𡶭' are erroneous characters and should be read as 'xing' (pass). The Tang Geographic Treatise 〈New Book of Tang, juan 43B, Geographic Treatise, section on Roads into the Four Barbarian Regions〉 Northwest of Ying Province is Songxing Ridge."
40
率屬城人禦之通志卷一五０上常景傳「率」上有「景」字。 按此字不宜省，當是脫文。
Regarding "he led the people of the subordinate city to resist them": the biography of Chang Jing in juan 150, part 1, of the Tongzhi has the character "Jing" before "led." This character should not be omitted; it is probably a lacuna in the text.
41
景與都督于榮刺史王延年置兵粟園諸本「粟園」作「粟國」，卷九肅宗紀孝昌二年七月作「粟園」，通鑑卷一五一 〈四七一四頁〉 作「栗園」。 按「國」字必訛，今據改。 「粟」疑亦當作「栗」，但諸本及紀皆同，今仍之。 參卷九校記粟園條。
Regarding "Jing, together with Commander-in-Chief Yu Rong and Prefect Wang Yannian, deployed troops at Sugarden": various editions read "Sugarden" as "Suguo"; the annals of Emperor Suzong in juan 9, seventh month of the second year of Xiaochang, read "Sugarden"; Zizhi Tongjian, juan 151 〈p. 4714〉 reads "Liyuan" (Chestnut Garden). The character "guo" (state) is certainly erroneous; the text is corrected here on that authority. "Su" (millet) may also read "li" (chestnut), but all editions and the annals agree; the text is left unchanged. See the collation note on Sugarden in juan 9.
42
原夫人□之度諸本「人」下不空格，北史卷四二注「闕」字。 按若如諸本，與下「勢位之危」句不相對，「人」下當闕一字，今作方圍。
Regarding "the original lady □'s measure": various editions leave no blank space after "ren" (person); juan 42 of the History of the Northern Dynasties marks a character as deficient. If the various editions are followed, the line does not parallel the following phrase "the peril of rank and position"; one character after "ren" must be missing, and a square is used here to mark the lacuna.