1
Lady Feng, consort of Cui Lan; Lady Liu, consort of Feng Zhuo; Lady Fang, consort of Wei Pu; Lady Zhang, consort of Hu Changming; Sun Nanyu of Pingyuan; Lady Cui, consort of Fang Aiqin; the chaste woman Sixian of Jing Prefecture; Lady Yang of the Yao household; Lady Liu, consort of Zhang Hongchu; Lady Zhang, consort of Dong Jingqi; Lady Gao, consort of Yang Ni; Lady Geng, consort of Shi Yingzhou; Grand Consort Meng of Rencheng; Lady Liu, consort of Gou Jinlong; Lady Li, consort of Lu Yuanli; the filial daughter Yao of Hedong; Lady Lu, consort of Diao Sizun.
2
Ordinarily, a married woman's duties extend no further than weaving, spinning, cord-making, and preparing wine, vinegar, and preserves. Cases such as Mo instructing in the Xuan Palace, E completing Shun's work, and the three mothers of Tushan bringing two realms to flourish scarcely belong to the category of ordinary wives. Then there are women of clear moral insight and conduct, equally skilled in letters and debate, whose renown rose from the inner quarters and whose names shone across the realm. Liu Xiang collected such figures in earlier times, and Yuan Kai compiled them afterward, recording them age by age—no generation has lacked them. This volume records those exemplary women known from the Wei period.
3
Lady Feng, consort of Cui Lan, Secretariat Gentleman of Qinghe, came from Bohai and was the daughter of Regular Attendant of Scattered Cavalry Kai. Gifted and discerning, quick-witted, eloquent, and possessed of a formidable memory, she had mastered a wide range of learning—no woman of her day could equal her. Even men as eminent as Li Fu and Gongsun Wenshu would seek her out whenever they were uncertain about recent precedents.
4
勃海封卓妻，彭城劉氏女也。 成婚一夕，卓官於京師，後以事伏法。 劉氏在家，忽然夢想，知卓已死，哀泣不輟。 諸嫂喻之不止，經旬，凶問果至，遂憤歎而死。 時人比之秦嘉妻。 中書令高允念其義高而名不著，為之詩曰：「兩儀正位，人倫肇甄。 爰制夫婦，統業承先。 雖曰異族，氣猶自然。 生則同室，終契黃泉。 〈其一〉 封生令達，卓為時彥。 內協黃中，外兼三變。 誰能作配，克應其選。 實有華宗，挺生淑媛。 〈其二〉 京野勢殊，山川乖互。 乃奉王命，載馳在路。 公務既弘，私義獲著。 因媒致幣，遘止一暮。 〈其三〉 率我初冠，眷彼弱笄。 形由禮比，情以趣諧。 忻願難常，影跡易乖。 悠悠言邁，戚戚長懷。 〈其四〉 時值險屯，橫離塵網。 伏鑕就刑，身分土壤。 千里雖遐，應如影響。 良嬪洞感，發於夢想。 〈其五〉 仰惟親命，俯尋嘉好。 誰謂會淺，義深情到。 畢志守窮，誓不二醮。 何以驗之？ 殞身是効。 〈其六〉 人之處世，孰不厚生。 必存於義，所重則輕。 結忿鍾心，甘就幽冥。 永捐堂宇，長辭母兄。 〈其七〉 茫茫中野，翳翳孤丘。 葛虆冥蒙，荊棘四周。 理苟不昧，神必俱游。 異哉貞婦，曠世靡疇。」 〈其八〉
The consort of Feng Zhuo of Bohai was a daughter of the Liu clan of Pengcheng. They had been married only one night when Zhuo took office in the capital; he was later executed for his crimes. Liu remained at home when she was suddenly visited by a dream and knew that Zhuo was dead; she wept without cease. Her sisters-in-law tried in vain to console her; ten days later the news of his death arrived, and she died of grief. Contemporaries compared her to the wife of Qin Jia. Director of the Secretariat Gao Yun, reflecting that her virtue was lofty yet her name obscure, composed a poem for her that begins: "Heaven and earth hold their stations; human bonds take their first form. Thus were husband and wife ordained to carry on the work of their forebears. Though called different clans, their spirits remain naturally joined. In life they share one roof; in death they are pledged in the underworld. 〈Part One〉 Feng was born gifted and discerning; Zhuo was a leading man of his time. Within he embodied the golden mean; without he mastered the three changes. Who could be his equal? She alone met that standard. From a noble house she rose, a lady of rare grace. 〈Part Two〉 Capital and countryside lay far apart; mountains and rivers divided them. He received the royal command and sped along the road. His public duties widened, yet private obligation was honored. Through a matchmaker betrothal gifts were exchanged, and they shared but a single evening. 〈Part Three〉 I had just come of age; she wore her maiden hairpin. Rite bound their forms together; inclination drew their hearts as one. Joy is hard to hold; shadow and footprint part all too soon. Words stretch into the distance; grief lodges in the heart. 〈Part Four〉 Hard times came; he was torn from the web of mortal life. He bowed to the blade; body and self returned to earth. Though a thousand li lay between them, she answered like shadow to echo. The faithful bride felt it in her depths and knew it in a dream. 〈Part Five〉 She honored her parents' charge above and cherished their fine match below. Who could call their meeting brief? Duty bound her, and love ran deep. She held to her purpose in widowhood, vowing never to take another husband. How may this be proved? She gave her life as proof. 〈Part Six〉 Who among the living does not cherish life? She held to righteousness and made light of what others prized. Grief lodged in her heart; she willingly entered the shades. Forever she left the hall and home; long she bade farewell to mother and brothers. 〈Part Seven〉 Vast lies the open wild; dim stands the lonely mound. Kudzu and brambles lie dark and tangled; thorns ring it on every side. If truth is not dimmed, their spirits will wander together still. How rare this faithful wife—without equal in any age." 〈Part Eight〉
5
鉅鹿魏溥妻，常山房氏女也。 父堪，慕容垂貴鄉太守。 房氏婉順高明，幼有烈操。 年十六而溥遇病且卒，顧謂之曰：「人生如白駒過隙，死不足恨，但夙心往志，不聞於沒世矣。 良痛母老家貧，供奉無寄； 赤子矇眇，血祀孤危。 所以抱怨於黃墟耳。」 [4]房垂泣而對曰：「幸承先人餘訓，出事君子，義在自畢。 有志不從，命也。 夫人在堂，稚子襁褓，顧當以身少，相感長往之恨。」 俄而溥卒。 及大斂，房氏操刀割左耳，投之棺中，仍曰：「鬼神有知，相期泉壤。」 流血滂然，助喪者咸皆哀懼。 姑劉氏輟哭而謂曰：「新婦何至於此！」 房對曰：「新婦少年不幸，[6]實慮父母未量至情，覬持此自誓耳。」 聞知者莫不感愴。 於時子緝生未十旬，鞠育於後房之內，未曾出門。 遂終身不聽絲竹，不預座席。 緝年十二，房父母仍存，於是歸寧。 父兄尚有異議，緝竊聞之，以啟母。 房命駕紿云他行，因而遂歸，其家弗知之也。 行數十里方覺，兄弟來追，房哀歎而不反。 其執意如此。 訓導一子，有母儀法度。 緝所交游有名勝者，則身具酒飯； 有不及己者，輒屏臥不餐，須其悔謝乃食。 善誘嚴訓，類皆如是。 年六十五而終。 緝事在序傳。 緝子悅為濟陰太守，吏民立碑頌德。 金紫光祿大夫高閭為其文，序云：「祖母房年在弱笄，艱貞守志，秉恭妻之操，著自毀之誠。」 又頌曰：「爰及處士，遘疾夙凋。 伉儷秉志，識茂行高。 殘形顯操，誓敦久要。 誕茲令胤，幽感乃昭。」 溥未仕而卒，故云處士焉。
The consort of Wei Pu of Julu was a daughter of the Fang clan of Changshan. Her father Kan served as Administrator of Guixiang under Murong Chui. Lady Fang was gentle, compliant, and of lofty character; from childhood she possessed a resolute integrity. When she was sixteen, Pu fell mortally ill and said to her: "Life passes like a white colt through a crack—death itself is no grief, but the hopes I have cherished all my life will die unheard. I grieve that my mother is old, our household poor, and no one left to support her; our infant son is helpless, and the ancestral line stands in peril. That is why I lodge my complaint in the grave." [4] Fang wept as she answered: "I have been fortunate to receive my ancestors' teaching; having married a gentleman, my duty is to see it through to the end. To have the will yet fail to fulfill it—that is fate. Your mother is still in the hall and our child still in swaddling clothes; though I am young, I shall bear the burden of your long absence." Shortly afterward Pu died. At the encoffinment, Lady Fang took a knife, cut off her left ear, and cast it into the coffin, saying: "If the spirits have knowledge, let us meet in the underworld." Blood poured forth, and all who attended the funeral were stricken with grief and awe. Her mother-in-law Lady Liu stopped weeping and said, "Daughter-in-law, how could you go so far!" Fang answered, "Your daughter-in-law met misfortune young; [6] I feared my parents would not grasp the depth of my devotion and meant this act as a pledge to myself." All who heard were deeply moved. Her son Ji was then less than one hundred days old; she reared him within the inner quarters and never once left the house. For the rest of her life she would not listen to music or take her place at a feast. When Ji was twelve and Fang's parents were still living, she made a visit home. Her father and brothers still had doubts about her resolve; Ji overheard them and told his mother. Fang ordered the carriage prepared, pretended she was bound elsewhere, and returned home before her family realized what she had heard. After several tens of li her family realized what had happened and her brothers came in pursuit, but Fang wept and would not turn back. Such was the firmness of her purpose. She raised one son with the bearing and discipline of a true mother. When Ji's friends were men of distinction, she herself prepared wine and food; when they fell short of her standards, she would withdraw to bed and refuse to eat until they repented. In gentle guidance and strict discipline alike, she acted thus in every matter. She died at the age of sixty-five. Ji's biography appears elsewhere in this work. Ji's son Yue became Administrator of Jiyin, and officials and commoners erected a stele in praise of his virtue. Grandee of the Golden Bell and Purple Radiance Gao Lu composed its inscription, writing in the preface: "Our grandmother Fang, still in her maiden years, bore hardship and held to her resolve, embodying the conduct of a devoted wife and the sincerity of her self-mutilation." He also wrote a eulogy: "When the retired gentleman fell ill, he perished before his time. The wedded pair held firm to their purpose, rich in understanding and lofty in conduct. She maimed her body to show her integrity and vowed to honor their lifelong bond. She bore this fine heir, and devotion hidden in the depths was brought to light." Pu died without ever taking office, hence he is called a retired gentleman.
6
Lady Zhang, consort of Bureau of Music Gentleman Hu Changming, served her mother-in-law Lady Wang with scrupulous devotion. During the Tai'an era, wine was banned in the capital; because her mother-in-law was old and ill, Zhang brewed wine for her in secret and was reported by the authorities. Lady Wang went to the authorities and confessed: "In my old age and illness I need wine; the brewing at home was my doing." Lady Zhang said, "My mother-in-law is old and ill; I manage the household—she knew nothing of the brewing. The guilt is mine." The presiding official could not determine who was guilty and did not know how to rule. Prince of Pingyuan Lu Li reported the matter to the throne; Emperor Gaozong, moved by their righteousness, pardoned them both.
7
Sun Nanyu, a woman of Suxian in Pingyuan, had a husband who was murdered by a man from Ling County. They seized the killer in pursuit; Nanyu wished to kill him herself, but her younger brother tried to stop her and she would not listen. Nanyu said, "A woman who marries takes her husband as her heaven; I must avenge him myself—how could I leave it to another's hand!" She then beat him to death with a staff. The authorities sentenced her to death and reported the case to the throne. Emperor Xianzu issued an edict: "Nanyu prized integrity above her own life and broke the law in the name of righteousness. Given the circumstances, she deserves mercy—let her be specially pardoned."
8
Lady Cui, consort of Fang Aiqin of Qinghe, was the daughter of Cui Yuansun of the same commandery. Stern, principled, and of lofty character, she had read widely in books and records and possessed deep learning. Her sons Jingbo and Jingxian received the classics directly from Lady Cui; [7] both became men of cultivated learning and conduct, renowned in their day. When Jingbo served as Administrator of Qinghe, he would consult her first whenever a difficult case arose. A man of Beiqiu named Liezi was accused of unfilial conduct, and the clerks wished to prosecute him. Jingbo was moved to pity and went to tell his mother. His mother said, "I have heard that hearing is not equal to seeing. These mountain folk have never been taught ritual propriety—how can we blame them? Summon his mother here; I shall live with her. Keep her son at your side and let him watch how you serve me—perhaps he will reform himself." Jingbo summoned the mother; Lady Cui seated her on a couch and shared meals with her. While Jingbo attended to her comfort, the son stood waiting in the hall below. Within ten days he repented and asked to return home. Lady Cui said, "His face shows shame, but I do not yet know whether his heart feels guilt. Let him wait awhile." After more than twenty days, the son kowtowed until it bled and his mother wept and begged to take him home; only then did she consent, and he became known for filial piety. Such was her insight and the authority with which she guided others; she lived to a full age.
9
涇州貞女兕先氏，許嫁彭老生為妻，娉幣既畢，未及成禮。 兕先率行貞淑，居貧常自舂汲，以養父母。 老生輒往逼之，女曰：「與君禮命雖畢，二門多故，未及相見。 何由不禀父母，擅見陵辱！ 若苟行非禮，正可身死耳。」 遂不肯從。 老生怒而刺殺之，取其衣服。 女尚能言，臨死謂老生曰：「生身何罪，與君相遇。 我所以執節自固者，寧更有所邀？ 正欲奉給君耳。 今反為君所殺，若魂靈有知，自當相報。」 言終而絕。 老生持女珠瓔至其叔宅，以告叔。 叔曰：「此是汝婦，奈何殺之，天不祐汝！」 遂執送官。 太和七年，有司劾以死罪。 詔曰：「老生不仁，侵陵貞淑，原其強暴，便可戮之。 而女守禮履節，沒身不改，雖處草萊，行合古跡，宜賜美名，以顯風操。 其標墓旌善，號曰『貞女』。」
The chaste woman Sixian of Jing Prefecture had been betrothed to Peng Laosheng; the betrothal gifts were complete, but the wedding had not yet taken place. Sixian conducted herself with chaste purity; though poor, she pounded grain and drew water herself to support her parents. Laosheng repeatedly tried to force himself upon her; she said, "Though our betrothal is settled, both our families have suffered many troubles and we have not yet met. How dare you come to violate me without informing our parents! If you insist on violating propriety, I would rather die." She refused to yield. Laosheng in a rage stabbed her to death and took her clothing. She could still speak; dying, she said to Laosheng, "What crime did I commit in being born, that I should meet you? The reason I held firm to my integrity—was it that I sought anything else? I wished only to serve you properly. Now you have killed me instead; if spirits have knowledge, they will surely repay you." With these words she died. Laosheng took the girl's pearl ornaments to her uncle's house and told him what had happened. The uncle said, "She was your betrothed—how could you kill her? Heaven will not protect you!" He seized him and handed him over to the authorities. In the seventh year of Taihe, the authorities charged him with a capital offense. An edict declared: "Laosheng was cruel and violated a chaste woman; given his violence, let him be executed. The girl upheld ritual and integrity to the end; though she lived among common folk, her conduct matched the ancients—grant her a fine name to display her virtue. Mark her tomb and proclaim her virtue, styling her the 'Chaste Woman.'"
10
姚氏婦楊氏者，閹人苻承祖姨也。 家貧無產業。 及承祖為文明太后所寵貴，親姻皆求利潤，唯楊獨不欲。 常謂其姊曰：「姊雖有一時之榮，不若妹有無憂之樂。」 姊每遺其衣服，多不受，強與之，則云：「我夫家世貧，好衣美服，則使人不安。」 與之奴婢，則云：「我家無食，不能供給。」 終不肯受。 常著破衣，自執勞事。 時受其衣服，多不著，密埋之，設有著者，污之而後服。 承祖每見其寒悴，深恨其母，謂不供給之。 乃啟其母曰：「今承祖一身何所乏少，而使姨如是？」 母具以語之。 承祖乃遣人乘車往迎之，則厲志不起，遣人強舁於車上，則大哭，言：「爾欲殺我也！」 由是苻家內外皆號為癡姨。 及承祖敗，有司執其二姨至殿庭。 一姨致法，以姚氏婦衣裳弊陋，特免其罪。 其識機雖呂嬃亦不過也。
Lady Yang of the Yao household was the aunt of the eunuch Fu Chengzu. Her family was poor and owned no property. When Chengzu won favor and rank from Empress Dowager Wenming, all his kin by marriage sought profit—only Yang refused. She often told her elder sister, "Sister, your momentary glory is nothing beside my carefree peace." When her sister sent her clothing, she usually refused it; if pressed to accept, she said, "My husband's family has been poor for generations—fine clothes would make us uneasy." When given servants, she said, "We have no food at home and cannot support them." In the end she would accept nothing. She wore worn clothing and performed labor with her own hands. When she did accept clothing, she rarely wore it, burying it in secret; if she wore any at all, she soiled it first. Whenever Chengzu saw her thin and shivering with cold, he blamed his mother for not providing for her. He told his mother, "I myself lack for nothing now—why should my aunt live like this?" His mother told him the full story. Chengzu sent men in a carriage to fetch her, but her resolve was firm and she would not go; when they forced her into the carriage, she wept and cried, "You mean to kill me!" From then on, everyone in the Fu household called her the mad aunt. When Chengzu fell from power, the authorities seized both his aunts and brought them before the throne. One aunt was punished; because the Yao daughter-in-law's clothing was worn and shabby, her guilt was specially remitted. Her foresight—even Empress Lü could not have surpassed it.
11
Lady Liu, consort of Zhang Hongchu of Jing County in Xingyang, was seventeen when her husband died; she bore a posthumous son who died at age three. Her parents-in-law were elderly; morning and evening she cared for them, observing every propriety. Her elder brother pitied her youth and widowhood and wished to marry her off again. Lady Liu vowed never to consent and remained a widow for life.
12
Lady Zhang, consort of Dong Jingqi of Chenliu. Jingqi died young; Zhang was then sixteen and mourned her husband's early death with grief beyond what ritual required. Her appearance wasted away; she never bathed, ate only vegetables, and kept perpetual fasts. She had no children and held to chaste integrity alone, resolved to share his coffin at the end. Her neighbors held her in high esteem, and in the end she was publicly honored.
13
Lady Gao, consort of Yang Ni, Administrator of Yuyang, was a native of Bohai. Learned and gifted with literary talent, Emperor Gaozu ordered her to serve in the inner palace. The memorials and reports of Empress You were entirely composed by her.
14
Lady Geng, consort of Shi Yingzhou of Xingyang, was a daughter of the Geng clan of the same commandery; at seventeen she married Yingzhou. In the twenty-third year of Taihe, Yingzhou died. Lady Geng feared her parents would force her to remarry; as Yingzhou was buried, she wept beside his coffin. All who witnessed it were moved to tears. When an imperial envoy came to observe local customs, her case was reported to the throne; an edict ordered her gate and lane marked with honor.
15
Grand Consort Meng of Rencheng was a native of Julu and mother of Director of the Secretariat and Prince of Rencheng Cheng. When Cheng served in Yangzhou, he led troops out on campaign. Afterward the rebel leader Jiang Qingzhen secretly joined traitors and seized Luocheng in a surprise attack. Chief Clerk Wei Zuan was caught unprepared and could think of no plan. Meng then rallied the troops onto the battlements and secured the strategic points. She roused the civil and military officers, comforted old and new alike, urged them with rewards and punishments, and taught them the difference between loyalty and treason; all were stirred to fight. She personally made the rounds on the walls, heedless of arrows and stones. The rebels could not take the city, and the whole fortress was preserved. Cheng reported the matter to the throne, but Emperor Shizong died [8] and the matter was set aside. Empress Dowager Ling later ordered: "Such great merit and splendid virtue ought to be handed down through the ages." She then ordered the authorities to erect a stele in her honor.
16
苟金龍妻劉氏，平原人也。 廷尉少卿劉叔宗之姊。 世宗時，金龍為梓潼太守，郡帶關城戍主。 [9]蕭衍遣眾攻圍，值金龍疾病，不堪部分，眾甚危懼。 劉遂率厲城民，修理戰具，一夜悉成。 拒戰百有餘日，兵士死傷過半。 戍副高景陰圖叛逆，劉斬之，及其黨與數十人。 自餘將士，分衣減食，勞逸必同，莫不畏而懷之。 井在外城，尋為賊陷，城中絕水，渴死者多。 劉乃集諸長幼，喻以忠節，遂相率告訴於天，俱時號叫，俄而澍雨。 劉命出公私布絹及至衣服，懸之城中，絞而取水，所有雜器悉儲之。 於是人心益固。 會益州刺史傅豎眼將至，賊乃退散。 豎眼歎異，具狀奏聞，世宗嘉之。 正光中，賞平昌縣開國子，邑二百戶，授子慶珍，又得二子出身。 慶珍卒，子純陀襲。 齊受禪，爵例降。
Lady Liu, consort of Gou Jinlong, was a native of Pingyuan. She was the elder sister of Vice Director of Justice Liu Shuzong. During Emperor Shizong's reign, Jinlong served as Administrator of Zitong and commander of the garrison at Guancheng. [9] Xiao Yan sent troops to besiege the city; Jinlong fell ill and could not command—the garrison was gripped with fear. Liu rallied the townspeople, repaired the weapons of war, and finished everything in a single night. They held out for more than a hundred days; more than half the soldiers were killed or wounded. Deputy commander Gao Jing secretly plotted treason; Liu beheaded him and several dozen of his followers. She shared clothing and reduced rations among the remaining troops, sharing hardship and ease alike; all revered and embraced her. The wells lay outside the outer wall and soon fell to the enemy; water inside the city ran out and many died of thirst. Liu gathered young and old, taught them loyalty and integrity, and led them in crying out to Heaven together; shortly afterward a soaking rain fell. Liu ordered cloth, silk, and even clothing brought out, hung within the city, and wrung for water; every vessel was put to use. The people's resolve grew firmer still. Just then Inspector of Yizhou Fu Shuyan was approaching, and the enemy dispersed. Shuyan marveled at her deeds and reported them to the throne; Emperor Shizong praised her. In the Zhengguang era, her son Qingzhen was granted the title Viscount of Pingchang with a fief of two hundred households, and two other sons received entry into office. When Qingzhen died, his son Chuntuo inherited the title. When Qi received the abdication, noble ranks were reduced accordingly.
17
Qingzhen's younger brother Fu, at the end of Wuding, served as Chief Clerk of the Equal in Attendance Opening Office.
18
貞孝女宗者，趙郡栢仁人，趙郡太守李叔胤之女，范陽盧元禮之妻。 性至孝，聞於州里。 父卒，號慟幾絕者數四，賴母崔氏慰勉之，得全。 三年之中，形骸銷瘠，非人扶不起。 及歸夫氏，與母分隔，便飲食日損，涕泣不絕，日就羸篤。 盧氏合家慰喻，不解，乃遣歸寧。 還家乃復故，如此者八九焉。 後元禮卒，李追亡撫存，禮無違者，事姑以孝謹著。 母崔，以神龜元年終於洛陽，凶問初到，舉聲慟絕，一宿乃蘇，水漿不入口者六日。 其姑慮其不濟，親送奔喪。 而氣力危殆，自范陽向洛，八旬方達，攀櫬號踴，遂卒。 有司以狀聞。 詔曰：「孔子稱毀不滅性，蓋為其廢養絕類也。 李既非嫡子，而孝不勝哀，雖乖俯就，而志厲義遠，若不加旌異，則無以勸引澆浮。 可追號曰『貞孝女宗』，易其里為孝德里，標李盧二門，以惇風俗。」
The filial and chaste woman Zong was a native of Boren in Zhao Commandery, daughter of Administrator of Zhao Li Shuyin, and consort of Lu Yuanli of Fanyang. Renowned throughout her commandery for supreme filial devotion. When her father died, she wailed until she nearly expired four times; only her mother Lady Cui's comfort saved her. For three years her body wasted away; she could not rise without support. When she joined her husband's household and was separated from her mother, she ate less each day, wept without cease, and grew steadily weaker. The entire Lu household tried in vain to console her and sent her home for a visit. At home she would recover, only to decline again when she returned—this happened eight or nine times. After Yuanli died, Zong mourned him and cared for the living with scrupulous observance of ritual, becoming known for devoted service to her mother-in-law. Her mother Cui died in Luoyang in the first year of Shengui; when the news arrived, Zong cried out and collapsed, reviving only after a night; for six days she took no food or water. Fearing she would not survive the journey, her mother-in-law personally escorted her to the funeral. Her strength failing, she took eighty days to travel from Fanyang to Luoyang; clinging to her mother's coffin, she wailed and stamped—and died. The authorities reported her case to the throne. An edict declared: "Confucius said that grief must not destroy one's nature, for excessive mourning abandons the living and cuts off one's line. Though Zong was not a legitimate male heir, her filial devotion could not overcome her grief; though she departed from due moderation, her resolve was fierce and her righteousness profound. Without special honor, how may we guide those adrift in shallow ways? Let her be posthumously styled the 'Filial and Chaste Woman Zong,' her lane renamed Filial Virtue Lane, and the Li and Lu households honored to enrich the customs of the realm."
19
The daughter of the Yao clan of Hedong, styled Nüsheng, lost her father in childhood; having no brothers, her mother kept and reared her alone. At six or seven she already showed filial feeling; whenever anyone spoke of her father, she wept. Her neighbors marveled at it. During the Zhengguang era her mother died; Nüsheng was fifteen and wept without cease, taking no food or water for days; overcome by grief, she died. Administrator Cui You petitioned to build her tomb and erect a stele, composing the inscription himself, honoring her gate and lane, comparing her to Cao E, and renaming her lane Shangyu Lane. Her tomb lies six li east of the commandery seat on the north side of the main road; to this day it is called the Tomb of the Filial Daughter.
20
The consort of Diao Sizun of Xingyang was a daughter of the Lu clan. Just as she came of age, she was betrothed to Sizun; before a month had passed, he died. His family pitied her youth and arranged another marriage; when Lu heard of it, she vowed to die rather than remarry. Her parents did not understand her purpose and appealed to the commandery, claiming the Diao clan was keeping the young widow from visiting her parents. Lu then walked on foot with her aged mother-in-law to the Office of the Minister over the Masses and reported the truth herself. In the early Putai era the authorities reported the case; Emperor Fei decreed: "Chaste husbands and faithful wives have been honored in every age—let this office mark her gate according to precedent."
21
史臣曰。 〈闕〉
The historian remarks: 〈Missing〉
22
校勘記
Textual collation notes
23
24
25
魏書卷九十二諸本目錄此卷注「不全」，卷末有宋人校語云：「此傳雖差多於北史、小史，然亦不完。」 殿本考證云：「魏收書不全。」
Weishu juan 92: various edition catalogues mark this juan as "incomplete"; a Song-dynasty collation note at the end of the juan reads: "This biography, though somewhat fuller than in the Northern History and the Minor History, is still incomplete." The Palace Edition's textual verification notes: "Wei Shou's book is incomplete."
26
"This is why I lodge my complaint in the yellow mound": in the biography of Wei Pu's wife Lady Fang in juan 91 of the History of the Northern Dynasties, "mound (xu)" appears as "barrow (lu)." Note: "Yellow barrow" appears in the Military Strategy chapter of the Huainanzi and means the underworld. "Yellow mound" has no known source; "mound (xu)" is likely a corrupt reading.
27
顧當以身少相感長往之恨北史卷九一「長往」上有「永深」二字，疑此脫，但「相感」屬下讀亦可通，今不補。
"Considering that I am younger, share in the long grief of your departure": juan 91 of the History of the Northern Dynasties has "ever deep" before "long departure," possibly omitted here, but the text reads coherently without it—no supplementation is made.
28
新婦少年不幸北史卷九一「不幸」下有「早寡」二字，疑此脫，但無亦通，今不補。
"Your daughter-in-law met misfortune young": juan 91 of the History of the Northern Dynasties adds "early widowhood" after "misfortune," possibly omitted here, but the text reads well without it—no supplementation is made.
29
"Her sons Jingbo and Jingxian received the classics from Lady Cui": various editions and juan 91 of the History of the Northern Dynasties read "Jingguang" instead of "Jingxian." Note: juan 43's biography of Fang Fashou includes biographies of Jingbo and Jingxian; Jingxian's biography states: "His mother personally taught him the Mao Odes and the Record of Rites in One Volume." This agrees with the present biography. "Guang" is a corruption of "xian"; the text is corrected accordingly.
30
"As it happened Emperor Shizong died": various editions read "Ancestor" instead of "Shizong." Note: juan 8's annals of Emperor Shizong date the event to the second month of the first year of Zhengshi; "Ancestor" is a corrupt reading and is corrected here.
31
"Jinlong was Administrator of Zitong, commander of the garrison at Guancheng": Zhang Senkai notes: "The character for 'commandery' is superfluous." Note: juan 91 of the History of the Northern Dynasties opens this biography with "Lady Liu, consort of Gou Jinlong, Administrator of Zitong," and below reads "Jinlong held office in the commandery as garrison commander at Guancheng." "Held the commandery" means "served as administrator." In this book's biographies, when the husband held office, his title usually appears at the opening, as in "consort of Cui Lan, Secretariat Gentleman of Qinghe" and "consort of Hu Changming, Bureau of Music Gentleman." The original text likely agreed with the Northern History, opening with "consort of Gou Jinlong, Administrator of Zitong"; the four characters "Administrator of Zitong" were probably misplaced here, or a later editor rearranged the text and forgot to delete the superfluous "commandery."