1
夫為國為家者，莫不以穀貨為本。 故洪範八政，以食為首，其在易曰「聚人曰財」，周禮以九職任萬民，以九賦斂財賄。 是以古先哲王莫不敬授民時，務農重穀，躬親千畝，貢賦九州。 且一夫不耕，一女不織，或受其飢寒者。 飢寒迫身，不能保其赤子，攘竊而犯法，以至於殺身。 迹其所由，王政所陷也。 夫百畝之內，勿奪其時，易其田疇，薄其稅斂，民可使富也。 既飽且富，而仁義禮節生焉，亦所謂衣食足，識榮辱也。 晉末，天下大亂，生民道盡，或死於干戈，或斃於飢饉，其幸而自存者蓋十五焉。
Whoever rules a state or runs a household invariably treats grain and currency as the foundation of all else. In the Great Plan's eight domains of government, food ranks first; the Book of Changes says that gathering people is called wealth; and the Rites of Zhou charge the myriad people with nine occupations while levying wealth through nine taxes. For this reason the sage kings of old all reverently set the seasons for the people, put farming first and valued grain, plowed the ceremonial field themselves, and received tribute and taxes from the nine regions. When even one man leaves the field untilled or one woman the loom idle, someone will go hungry or cold. Pressed by hunger and cold, people cannot protect their own children; they steal and break the law, even unto death. Trace the cause back, and you find failures of royal government at the root. Within each hundred-mu plot, if you do not steal their seasons, reform their fields, and lighten taxes and levies, the people can be made prosperous. Once people are fed and prosperous, benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and decorum take root—as the saying goes, only when clothing and food are ample do people discern honor from shame. In the closing years of the Jin, the empire collapsed into chaos. The common people were all but extinguished—some fell to war, others to famine. Of those who by luck survived, scarcely one in fifteen remained.
2
太祖定中原，接喪亂之弊，兵革並起，民廢農業。 方事雖殷，然經略之先，以食為本，使東平公儀墾闢河北，自五原至于棝陽塞外為屯田。 初，登國六年破衞辰，收其珍寶、畜產，名馬三十餘萬、牛羊四百餘萬，漸增國用。 既定中山，分徙吏民及徒何種人、工伎巧十萬餘家以充京都，各給耕牛，計口授田。 天興初，制定京邑，東至代郡，西及善無，南極陰館，北盡參合，為畿內之田； 其外四方四維置八部帥以監之，勸課農耕，量校收入，以為殿最。 又躬耕籍田率先百姓。 自後比歲大熟，匹中八十餘斛。 是時戎車不息，雖頻有年，猶未足以久贍矣。
When the Taizu pacified the Central Plain, he took over a land ruined by devastation. War flared everywhere, and the people abandoned farming. Though military affairs were urgent, he put food first in grand strategy, sending the Eastern Peace Duke Yi to open Hebei for settlement and establish garrison farms from Wuyuan to beyond the Yuyang frontier pass. Early on, in the sixth year of Dengguo, he defeated Wei Chen and seized his treasures and herds—over three hundred thousand fine horses and more than four million head of cattle and sheep—steadily swelling the state's resources. After Zhongshan was secured, he resettled officials, commoners, Tuohe tribespeople, and skilled craftsmen—more than one hundred thousand households—to populate the capital region, issuing plow oxen to each and distributing land according to household size. At the opening of the Tianxing era he defined the capital domain: east to Dai Commandery, west to Shanyu, south to Yinyang, north to Canhe—all as farmland within the metropolitan circuit. Outside this belt he stationed eight division commanders in the four quarters to supervise farming, urge cultivation, and audit harvests, using the results to rank officials as foremost or last. He also plowed the ceremonial field himself, setting an example for the people. In the years that followed harvests were abundant year after year, with more than eighty hu per allotted field. War never ceased in those years; though harvests were frequent, the grain was still not enough to sustain the realm for long.
3
太宗永興中，頻有水旱，詔簡宮人非所當御及非執作伎巧，自餘出賜鰥民。 神瑞二年，又不熟，京畿之內，路有行饉。 帝以飢將遷都於鄴，用博士崔浩計乃止。 於是分簡尤貧者就食山東。 敕有司勸課留農者曰：「前志有之，人生在勤，勤則不匱。 凡庶民之不畜者祭無牲，不耕者祭無盛，不樹者死無槨，不蠶者衣無帛，不績者喪無衰。 教行三農，生殖九穀； 教行園囿，毓長草木； 教行虞衡，山澤作材； 教行藪牧，養蕃鳥獸； 教行百工，飭成器用； 教行商賈，阜通貨賄； 教行嬪婦，化治絲枲； 教行臣妾，事勤力役。」 自是民皆力勤，故歲數豐穰，畜牧滋息。
During Taizong's Yongxing era repeated floods and droughts struck. An edict screened out palace women not reserved for the emperor or skilled in crafts, and the rest were released to marry widowers among the people. In the second year of Shenrui crops failed again. Throughout the capital region people took food with them even on short journeys. Famine nearly drove the emperor to move the capital to Ye, but he abandoned the plan on the advice of the academician Cui Hao. He then singled out the poorest families and sent them east of the mountains to find food. He ordered the authorities to urge farming and keep peasants on the land, saying: 'The old records teach that life depends on diligence; the diligent never go wanting. Commoners who keep no livestock may offer no sacrificial animals; those who do not farm may present no full offerings; those who plant no trees go without coffins at death; those who raise no silkworms wear no silk; those who do not spin hemp have no mourning dress. Teach the three fields of agriculture and grow the nine grains; teach orchard and park cultivation and foster trees and plants; teach forestry and marsh management to draw timber from hills and wetlands; teach meadow and pasture keeping to breed birds and beasts in abundance; teach the hundred crafts to finish tools and wares; teach trade and commerce to enrich the flow of goods and wealth; teach palace women to work silk and hemp; teach servants and concubines to labor diligently at their tasks.' From then on the people worked with all their strength, and for years harvests were plentiful while herds and flocks multiplied.
4
泰常六年，詔六部民羊滿百口，調戎馬一匹。
In the sixth year of Taichang an edict levied one war horse for every hundred sheep among the people of the six divisions.
5
先是，禁網疏闊，民多逃隱。 天興中，詔採諸漏戶，令輸綸綿。 自後諸逃戶占為細繭羅縠者甚眾。 [1]於是雜營戶帥遍於天下，不隸守宰，賦役不周，戶口錯亂。 始光三年詔一切罷之，以屬郡縣。
Previously the regulatory net was loose, and many people evaded registration. During the Tianxing era an edict rounded up unregistered households and required them to pay silk floss in tax. Afterward a great many fugitive households registered as producers of fine silk, gauze, and patterned fabrics. Miscellaneous camp household chiefs then spread across the empire. They answered to no prefect or magistrate, taxes and corvée went uncollected, and household registers fell into chaos. In the third year of Shiguang an edict abolished them entirely and placed the households under commandery and county administration.
6
神䴥二年，帝親御六軍，略地廣漠。 分命諸將，窮追蠕蠕，東至澣海，西接張掖，北度燕然山，大破之，虜其種落及馬牛雜畜方物萬計。 其後復遣成周公萬度歸西伐焉耆，其王鳩尸卑那單騎奔龜茲，舉國臣民負錢懷貨，一時降款，獲其奇寶異玩以巨萬，駝馬雜畜不可勝數。 度歸遂入龜茲，復獲其殊方瓌詭之物億萬已上。 是時方隅未克，帝屢親戎駕，而委政於恭宗。 真君中，恭宗下令修農職之教，事在帝紀。 此後數年之中，軍國用足矣。
In the second year of Shenjue the emperor personally led the six armies on campaign across the northern steppe. He sent his generals in separate columns to run the Rouran to ground—east to the Han Sea, west to Zhangye, north across Mount Yanran—routing them utterly and capturing their tribes together with horses, cattle, herds, and regional goods beyond count. Later he sent the Duke of Cheng, Wandu Gui, west against Yanqi. Its king Jushibina fled alone to Kucha while the whole kingdom, laden with money and goods, surrendered at once. The army seized rare treasures by the myriad and camels, horses, and livestock beyond numbering. Wandu Gui then entered Kucha and seized yet more exotic marvels from distant lands—goods worth well over a hundred million. The frontier was not yet pacified. The emperor campaigned in person again and again while entrusting civil affairs to the Gongzong. During the Zhenjun era the Gongzong ordered the restoration of agricultural instruction; the details appear in the imperial annals. Within a few years the army and the state were fully supplied.
7
高宗時，牧守之官，頗為貨利。 太安初，遣使者二十餘輩循行天下，觀風俗，視民所疾苦。 詔使者察諸州郡墾殖田畝、飲食衣服、閭里虛實、盜賊劫掠、貧富強劣而罰之，自此牧守頗改前弊，民以安業。
Under Gaozong many provincial governors pursued illicit profit. At the opening of Taian he sent more than twenty envoys to tour the empire, observe local customs, and investigate the people's hardships. The envoys were ordered to inspect reclaimed land, food and clothing, the condition of villages, banditry, and the distribution of wealth and strength—and to punish offenders. From then on governors largely mended their ways, and the people lived in security.
8
自太祖定中原，世祖平方難，收獲珍寶，府藏盈積。 和平二年秋，詔中尚方作黃金合盤十二具，徑二尺二寸，鏤以白銀，鈿以玫瑰，其銘曰：「九州致貢，殊域來賓，乃作茲器，錯用具珍。 鍜以紫金，鏤以白銀，範圍擬載，吐燿含真。 纖文麗質，若化若神，皇王御之，百福惟新。」 其年冬，詔出內庫綾綿布帛二十萬匹，令內外百官分曹賭射。 四年春，詔賜京師之民年七十已上太官厨食以終其身。
From the Taizu's pacification of the Central Plain through the Shizu's conquest of rival powers, treasures poured in until the treasury overflowed. In autumn of the second year of Heping an edict ordered the imperial workshop to fashion twelve golden covered trays two feet two inches across, engraved in silver and inlaid with rose quartz. The inscription read: 'The nine provinces bring tribute; distant lands send guests—therefore this vessel is wrought, inlaid with every treasure. Forged in purple gold, engraved in white silver, its compass modeled on the celestial chariot, radiant with splendor and holding truth within. Fine patterns and noble substance, seeming transformed, seeming divine—the sovereign who uses it receives a hundred blessings made new.' That winter an edict released two hundred thousand bolts of damask, silk floss, and cloth from the inner treasury for officials inside and outside the palace to compete at archery by department. In spring of the fourth year an edict granted all residents of the capital aged seventy or older meals from the imperial kitchen for life.
9
顯祖即位，親行儉素，率先公卿，思所以賑益黎庶。 至天安、皇興間，歲頻大旱，絹匹千錢。 劉彧淮北青、冀、徐、兗、司五州告亂請降，命將率眾以援之。 既臨其境，青冀懷貳，進軍圍之，數年乃拔。 山東之民咸勤於征戍轉運，帝深以為念。 遂因民貧富，為租輸三等九品之制。 千里內納粟，千里外納米； 上三品戶入京師，中三品入他州要倉，下三品入本州。
When Xianzu came to the throne he lived frugally himself, setting an example for the nobility while seeking ways to relieve and benefit the people. During the Tianan and Huangxing eras drought struck year after year, and a bolt of silk cost a thousand cash. Liu Yu reported unrest in Qing, Ji, Xu, Yan, and Si—the five provinces north of the Huai—and offered to surrender. The emperor ordered generals to lead troops to their aid. Once the army arrived, Qing and Ji proved disloyal. The troops advanced, laid siege, and took the cities only after several years. The people east of the mountains bore the full burden of campaigning, garrison duty, and transport, and the emperor was deeply troubled on their account. He then graded rent payments into three tiers and nine ranks according to each household's wealth. within a thousand li households paid grain; beyond a thousand li they paid husked rice; the upper three ranks delivered to the capital, the middle three to key granaries in other provinces, and the lower three to their home province.
10
先是太安中，高宗以常賦之外雜調十五，頗為煩重，將與除之。 尚書毛法仁曰：「此是軍國資用，今頓罷之，臣愚以為不可。」 帝曰：「使地利無窮，民力不竭，百姓有餘，吾孰與不足。」 遂免之。 未幾，復調如前，至是乃終罷焉。 於是賦斂稍輕，民復贍矣。
Earlier, during the Taian era, Gaozong found that fifteen miscellaneous levies on top of the regular tax were unduly burdensome and planned to abolish them. Minister Mao Faren said: 'These supplies fund the army and the state. To abolish them all at once would, in my humble view, be unwise.' The emperor replied: 'Let the land yield without end and the people's strength never fail. When the people have plenty, how could I go wanting?' He exempted them nonetheless. Before long the levies were restored as before; only now were they abolished for good. Taxes eased somewhat, and the people were able to live securely again.
11
舊制，民間所織絹、布，皆幅廣二尺二寸，長四十尺為一匹，六十尺為一端，令任服用。 後乃漸至濫惡，不依尺度。 高祖延興三年秋七月，更立嚴制，令一準前式，違者罪各有差，有司不檢察與同罪。
Under the old rules, household-woven silk and cloth were two feet two inches wide; forty feet constituted one bolt and sixty feet one end-piece, and both were permitted for ordinary dress. In time quality declined and the standard measures were widely ignored. In the seventh month of autumn in Gaozu's third year of Yanxing, stricter rules were issued requiring full conformity to the old standard. Offenders were punished by degree, and officials who failed to inspect were guilty of the same offense.
12
太和八年，始準古班百官之祿，以品第各有差。 先是，天下戶以九品混通，戶調帛二匹、絮二斤、絲一斤、粟二十石； 又入帛一匹二丈，委之州庫，以供調外之費。 至是，戶增帛三匹，粟二石九斗，以為官司之祿。 後增調外帛滿二匹。 所調各隨其土所出。 其司、冀、雍、華、定、相、泰、[2]洛、豫、懷、兗、陝、徐、青、齊、濟、南豫、東兗、東徐十九州，貢綿絹及絲； 幽、平、并、肆、岐、涇、荊、涼、梁、汾、秦、安、營、豳、夏、光、郢、東秦，司州萬年、雁門、上谷、靈丘、廣寧、平涼郡，懷州邵上郡之長平、白水縣，[3]青州北海郡之膠東縣、平昌郡之東武平昌縣、高密郡之昌安高密夷安黔陬縣，泰州河東之蒲坂、汾陰縣，東徐州東莞郡之莒、諸、東莞縣，雍州馮翊郡之蓮芍縣、[4]咸陽郡之寧夷縣、北地郡之三原雲陽銅官宜君縣，華州華山郡之夏陽縣，徐州北濟陰郡之離狐豐縣、[5]東海郡之贛榆襄賁縣，皆以麻布充稅。
In the eighth year of Taihe salaries for all officials were first set according to ancient precedent, graded by rank. Previously households empire-wide were assessed in nine mixed ranks. The household levy was two bolts of silk, two jin of floss, one jin of raw silk, and twenty shi of grain; plus one bolt and two zhang of silk deposited in the provincial treasury for expenses beyond the regular levy. Now the household levy was increased by three bolts of silk and two shi nine dou of grain to fund official salaries. Later the supplemental levy was raised to a full two bolts of silk. Each levy was paid in whatever the local region produced. the nineteen provinces of Si, Ji, Yong, Hua, Ding, Xiang, Tai, Luo, Yu, Huai, Yan, Shan, Xu, Qing, Qi, Ji, Southern Yu, Eastern Yan, and Eastern Xu paid floss silk, damask, and raw silk; You, Ping, Bing, Si, Qi, Jing, Liang, Fen, Qin, An, Ying, Bin, Xia, Guang, Ying, and Eastern Qin, together with Wannian, Yanmen, Shanggu, Lingqiu, Guangning, and Pingliang in Si Province; Changping and Baishui in Shaoshang of Huai Province; Jiaodong in Beihai of Qing Province; Dongwu and Pingchang in Pingchang Commandery; Chang'an, Gaomi, Yi'an, and Qianqiu in Gaomi Commandery; Puban and Fenyin in Hedong of Tai Province; Ju, Zhu, and Dongguan in Dongguan of Eastern Xu Province; Lianjue in Fengyi of Yong Province; Ningyi in Xianyang; Sanyuan, Yunyang, Tongguan, and Yijun in Beidi; Xiayang in Huashan of Hua Province; Lihu and Feng in Northern Jiyin of Xu Province; and Ganyu and Xiangben in Donghai—all paid their levies in hemp cloth.
13
九年，下詔均給天下民田：
In the ninth year an edict ordered equal distribution of farmland to the people throughout the realm:
14
諸男夫十五以上，受露田四十畝，[6]婦人二十畝，奴婢依良。 丁牛一頭受田三十畝，限四牛。 所授之田率倍之，三易之田再倍之，以供耕作及還受之盈縮。
Every adult male aged fifteen or older received forty mu of open-field land; women received twenty mu; and slaves and servants were allotted land on the same terms as free persons. Each draft ox received thirty mu, up to a maximum of four oxen per household. Granted land was generally doubled in area; fields requiring rotation every three years were doubled again, to allow for cultivation and for surplus or shortfall when land was returned and re-allotted.
15
諸民年及課則受田，老免及身沒則還田。 奴婢、牛隨有無以還受。
People received land when they reached taxable age and returned it upon reaching old-age exemption or at death. Slaves, servants, and oxen were allotted or returned according to whether the household had them.
16
諸桑田不在還受之限，但通入倍田分。 於分雖盈，沒則還田，不得以充露田之數。 [7]不足者以露田充倍。
Mulberry fields were not subject to return and re-allotment but were counted toward the doubled-field quota. Even if the allotment exceeded the quota, the land was returned at death and did not count toward open-field allotments. Shortfalls were made up with open-field land counted toward the doubled allotment.
17
諸初受田者，男夫一人給田二十畝，課蒔餘，種桑五十樹，棗五株，榆三根。 非桑之土，夫給一畝，依法課蒔榆、棗。 奴各依良。 限三年種畢，不畢，奪其不畢之地。 於桑榆地分雜蒔餘果及多種桑榆者不禁。
Those receiving land for the first time were allotted twenty mu per adult male, taxed on surplus planting, and required to plant fifty mulberry trees, five jujube trees, and three elms. On land unsuited to mulberries, each male received one mu and was required by law to plant elms and jujubes. Slaves followed the same rules as free persons. Planting had to be completed within three years; otherwise the unplanted land was confiscated. Within mulberry and elm allotments, interplanting other fruit trees and planting extra mulberry and elm were permitted.
18
諸應還之田，不得種桑榆棗果，種者以違令論，地入還分。
Land due to be returned could not be planted with mulberry, elm, jujube, or fruit trees. Violators were punished and the land reverted to the return pool.
19
諸桑田皆為世業，身終不還，恒從見口。 有盈者無受無還，不足者受種如法。 盈者得賣其盈，不足者得買所不足。 不得賣其分，亦不得買過所足。
All mulberry fields were hereditary property, never returned at death, and always passed with the living members of the household. Households with surplus received no additional land and returned none; those with shortfall received planting allotments according to the rules. Households with surplus could sell the excess; those with shortfall could buy what they needed. They could not sell their allotted quota, nor buy more than their allotment required.
20
諸麻布之土，男夫及課，別給麻田十畝，婦人五畝，奴婢依良。 皆從還受之法。
In hemp-producing regions, each taxable adult male received ten mu of hemp fields and each woman five mu; slaves and servants followed the same rules as free persons. All of this was subject to the rules governing return and re-allotment of land.
21
諸有舉戶老小癃殘無授田者，年十一已上及癃者各授以半夫田，年踰七十者不還所受，寡婦守志者雖免課亦授婦田。
Households consisting only of the old, young, infirm, or disabled with no land allotments were granted half a male's quota to each person aged eleven or above and to each disabled person. Those over seventy kept their allotments without returning them. Widows who remained chaste, though exempt from tax, still received woman's field allotments.
22
諸還受民田，恒以正月。 若始受田而身亡，及賣買奴婢牛者，皆至明年正月乃得還受。
Return and re-allotment of civilian land always took place in the first month of the year. If someone died upon first receiving land, or if slaves, servants, or oxen were bought or sold, land was not returned and re-allotted until the first month of the following year.
23
諸土廣民稀之處，隨力所及，官借民種蒔。 役有土居者，[8]依法封授。
In regions of abundant land and sparse population, the government lent seed for planting as far as local capacity allowed. Corvée laborers who owned residential land [8] received formal allotments under the law.
24
諸地狹之處，有進丁受田而不樂遷者，則以其家桑田為正田分，又不足不給倍田，又不足家內人別減分。 無桑之鄉準此為法。 樂遷者聽逐空荒，不限異州他郡，唯不聽避勞就逸。 其地足之處，不得無故而移。
In densely settled regions, if a newly adult son received land but refused to relocate, the household's mulberry fields counted as their regular field allotment. If that was still insufficient, no doubled fields were granted; if still insufficient, each household member's share was reduced accordingly. Districts without mulberry cultivation followed the same rule. Those willing to relocate might settle on vacant or abandoned land anywhere, across provinces and commanderies, but they were not permitted to shirk labor for an easier life. In regions where land was sufficient, relocation without good cause was forbidden.
25
諸民有新居者，三口給地一畝，以為居室，奴婢五口給一畝。 男女十五以上，因其地分，口課種菜五分畝之一。
Newly settled households received one mu of residential land for every three persons and one mu for every five slaves or servants. Men and women aged fifteen or above were taxed at half a mu per person for vegetable planting, based on their land allotment.
26
諸一人之分，正從正，倍從倍，不得隔越他畔。 進丁受田者恒從所近。 若同時俱受，先貧後富。 再倍之田，放此為法。
Each person's allotment had to keep regular and doubled fields separate; no one could encroach on another's boundaries. Newly adult sons received land from the nearest available plots. When allotments were made simultaneously, poor households received land before wealthy ones. The same rules applied to double and redouble allotments.
27
諸遠流配謫、無子孫、及戶絕者，墟宅、桑榆盡為公田，以供授受。 授受之次，給其所親； 未給之間，亦借其所親。
Land from exiles, households without descendants, and extinct families—including abandoned dwellings, mulberries, and elms—reverted to public land for re-allotment. when re-allotting, it went first to their relatives; pending allotment, it could be lent to those relatives.
28
諸宰民之官，各隨地給公田，[9]刺史十五頃，太守十頃，治中別駕各八頃，縣令、郡丞六頃。 更代相付。 賣者坐如律。
Local officials received salary land according to rank:[9] provincial inspectors fifteen qing, commandery administrators ten qing, aides and deputy administrators eight qing each, and county magistrates and commandery assistants six qing. Successors passed the land to their replacements upon taking office. Anyone who sold such land was punished according to law.
29
魏初不立三長，故民多蔭附。 蔭附者皆無官役，豪強徵斂，倍於公賦。 十年，給事中李沖上言：「宜準古，五家立一隣長，五隣立一里長，五里立一黨長，長取鄉人強謹者。 隣長復一夫，里長二，黨長三。 所復復征戍，餘若民。 三載亡愆則陟用，陟之一等。 其民調，一夫一婦帛一匹，粟二石。 民年十五以上未娶者，四人出一夫一婦之調； 奴任耕，婢任績者，八口當未娶者四； 耕牛二十頭當奴婢八。 其麻布之鄉，一夫一婦布一匹，下至牛，以此為降。 大率十匹為公調，[10]二匹為調外費，三匹為內外百官俸，此外雜調。 民年八十已上，聽一子不從役。 孤獨癃老篤疾貧窮不能自存者，三長內迭養食之。」
In the early Wei, because the three-heads system had not been established, many people placed themselves under powerful patrons. Patronage clients were exempt from official corvée, but strong households extracted levies more than double the state's tax burden. In the tenth year, Attendant Within the Yellow Gates Li Chong submitted a memorial: "We should follow ancient practice: appoint a neighborhood head for every five households, a hamlet head for every five neighborhoods, and a ward head for every five hamlets, selecting strong and conscientious local men. Neighborhood heads received exemption for one adult male, hamlet heads for two, and ward heads for three. The exempt males still owed military campaigning and garrison duty; all other obligations remained as for ordinary subjects. After three years without misconduct, they were promoted and appointed one rank higher. The household levy was one bolt of silk and two shi of grain per adult couple. unmarried men aged fifteen or above contributed one couple's levy for every four persons; eight farming slaves or weaving maidservants counted as four unmarried men; twenty plow oxen counted as eight slaves or servants. In hemp-producing regions, each couple paid one bolt of cloth, with reductions scaled down through unmarried men, slaves, and oxen by the same ratios. In general, ten bolts went to the public levy,[10] two to supplementary expenses, three to salaries for officials at court and in the provinces, with miscellaneous levies beyond these. Households with members aged eighty or above were permitted to exempt one son from corvée duty. Orphans, the solitary, the infirm, the aged, the seriously ill, and the destitute who could not support themselves were to be fed in rotation by the three-heads organization."
30
書奏，諸官通議，稱善者眾。 高祖從之，於是遣使者行其事。 乃詔曰：「夫任土錯貢，所以通有無； 井乘定賦，所以均勞逸。 有無通則民財不匱，勞逸均則人樂其業。 此自古之常道也。 又隣里鄉黨之制，所由來久。 欲使風教易周，家至日見，以大督小，從近及遠，如身之使手，幹之總條，然後口算平均，義興訟息。 是以三典所同，隨世洿隆； 貳監之行，從時損益。 故鄭僑復丘賦之術，鄒人獻盍徹之規。 雖輕重不同，而當時俱適。 自昔以來，諸州戶口，籍貫不實，包藏隱漏，廢公罔私。 富強者并兼有餘，貧弱者餬口不足。 賦稅齊等，無輕重之殊； 力役同科，無眾寡之別。 雖建九品之格，而豐埆之土未融； 雖立均輸之楷，而蠶績之鄉無異。 致使淳化未樹，民情偷薄。 朕每思之，良懷深慨。 今革舊從新，為里黨之法，在所牧守，宜以喻民，使知去煩即簡之要。」 初，百姓咸以為不若循常，豪富并兼者尤弗願也。 事施行後，計省昔十有餘倍。 於是海內安之。
When the memorial was submitted, officials held a joint discussion and the praise was widespread. Gaozu accepted it and dispatched envoys to implement the reform. Then an edict proclaimed: "Assigning tribute according to local products is how surplus and shortage are balanced; setting levies by household and land is how burdens of labor and leisure are equalized. When surplus and shortage are balanced the people's wealth does not fail; when labor and leisure are equalized the people find contentment in their work. This has been the constant principle since antiquity. The system of neighborhoods, hamlets, and wards, moreover, has existed since long ago. It is meant to spread customs and instruction to every household, to govern the small through the great and the near through the far, as the body directs the hand and the trunk commands the branches—so that per-capita assessments are fair, virtue rises, and lawsuits cease. The Three Canons alike attest to this, adapting to the rise and fall of the times; and the work of the supervising officials has been adjusted to suit each age. Thus Zichan of Zheng restored the mound-levy method, and men of Zou offered the proposal to abolish the tithe. Though the burdens differed in weight, each suited its own age. For generations, provincial household registers have been false; concealment and evasion have cheated the state and served private interest. The powerful amassed more than they needed while the weak could barely feed themselves. taxes were levied equally, with no distinction between rich and poor; corvée fell equally on all, with no regard for household size. though the nine-rank scheme was established, fertile and barren lands were not treated alike; though the even-transport standard was set, silk-producing regions were taxed no differently. Pure custom has failed to take root, and popular morals have grown lax and grasping. Whenever I reflect on this, I am deeply troubled. Now, in reforming the old and adopting the new and establishing the hamlet-and-ward system, local governors and prefects should explain it to the people so they understand the principle of casting off burdens and embracing simplicity. At first the common people all believed the new system inferior to the old ways, and powerful landlords who had combined holdings were especially unwilling. Once the reform was implemented, administrative costs fell to less than a tenth of what they had been. Thereafter the realm was at peace.
31
十一年，大旱，京都民飢。 加以牛疫，公私闕乏，時有以馬驢及橐駝供駕輓耕載。 詔聽民就豐。 行者十五六，道路給糧稟，至所在，三長贍養之。 遣使者時省察焉。 留業者，皆令主司審覈，開倉賑貸。 其有特不自存者，悉檢集，為粥於術衢，以救其困。 然主者不明牧察，郊甸間甚多餧死者。 時承平日久，府藏盈積，詔盡出御府衣服珍寶、太官雜器、太僕乘具、內庫弓矢刀鉾十分之八、外府衣物繒布絲纊諸所供國用者，以其太半班齎百司，下至工商皂隸，逮于六鎮邊戍，畿內鰥寡孤獨貧癃者，皆有差。
In the eleventh year a great drought struck, and the people of the capital went hungry. Cattle plague compounded the crisis; public and private supplies ran short, and horses, donkeys, and camels were pressed into service for transport, plowing, and hauling. An edict permitted the people to migrate to regions where harvests were abundant. Roughly half to three-fifths of the people migrated; grain rations were provided on the road, and upon arrival the three-heads organization supplied their sustenance. The emperor dispatched envoys to inspect the situation periodically. Those who remained were registered by local authorities, and granaries were opened to provide relief grain on loan. Those utterly unable to support themselves were gathered and fed congee at major crossroads to relieve their distress. Yet local officials failed to supervise relief properly, and many starved to death in the capital outskirts. Peace had long prevailed and the treasuries were full, so an edict ordered the distribution of imperial robes and treasures, kitchen utensils, carriage fittings from the Director of Imperial Studs, eight-tenths of the bows, arrows, blades, and halberds from the inner armory, and clothing, silk, hemp, and all other state supplies from the outer treasury—more than half to the hundred offices, down to artisans, merchants, and menials, reaching the six frontier garrisons and border posts, and the widowed, orphaned, solitary, poor, and infirm within the capital region, each according to rank.
32
十二年，詔羣臣求安民之術。 有司上言：「請析州郡常調九分之二，京都度支歲用之餘，各立官司，豐年糴貯於倉，時儉則加私之一，糶之於民。 [11]如此，民必力田以買絹，積財以取粟。 官，年登則常積，歲凶則直給。 又別立農官，取州郡戶十分之一，以為屯民。 相水陸之宜，斷頃畝之數，以贓贖雜物市牛科給，令其肆力。 一夫之田，歲責六十斛，甄其正課并征戍雜役。 行此二事，數年之中則穀積而民足矣。」 帝覽而善之，尋施行焉。 自此公私豐贍，雖時有水旱，不為災也。
In the twelfth year an edict ordered the ministers to propose measures for securing the people's welfare. The responsible offices submitted a memorial: "We propose that two-ninths of the regular levies from provinces and commanderies, together with the surplus from the capital's annual budget, each be placed under separate offices; in years of abundance grain should be purchased and stored in granaries, and in years of scarcity sold to the people at a markup of one-tenth. [11] In this way the people will be compelled to work the fields to earn silk and save grain for lean years. The state will accumulate stores in good years and dispense grain directly in bad years. Separate agricultural offices should also be established, drafting one-tenth of households from each province and commandery as garrison colonists. Sites suited to water and land should be chosen, acreage quotas fixed, oxen purchased with fines and confiscated goods and distributed on schedule, and the colonists put to full labor. Each colonist's fields were assessed at sixty shi of grain per year, inclusive of regular tax, military campaigning, garrison duty, and miscellaneous corvée. If these two measures were implemented, within a few years grain stores would fill and the people would be secure." The emperor read the proposal and approved it, and it was soon put into effect. Thereafter both public and private stores were abundant; though drought and flood occurred from time to time, they no longer brought disaster.
33
世宗延昌三年春，有司奏長安驪山有銀鑛，二石得銀七兩。 其年秋，恒州又上言，白登山有銀鑛，八石得銀七兩，錫三百餘斤，其色潔白，有踰上品。 詔並置銀官，常令採鑄。 又漢中舊有金戶千餘家，常於漢水沙淘金，年終總輸。 後臨淮王彧為梁州刺史，奏罷之。 其鑄鐵為農器、兵刃，在所有之，然以相州牽口冶為工，故常鍊鍛為刀，送於武庫。
In the spring of the third year of Yanxing under Emperor Shizong, the responsible offices reported a silver mine at Mount Li near Chang'an yielding seven liang of silver from two shi of ore. That autumn Heng Province also reported a silver mine at Mount Bai near Pingcheng yielding seven liang of silver from eight shi of ore and more than three hundred jin of tin, white and lustrous, surpassing the highest grade. An edict ordered silver offices established at both sites for continuous mining and smelting. In Hanzhong more than a thousand gold-panning households had formerly worked the sands of the Han River and delivered the year's total at year's end. Later Prince Linhuai Yu, as Governor of Liang Province, submitted a memorial to abolish them. Iron was cast into farm tools and weapons wherever such offices existed, but because the Qian Kou smeltery in Xiang Province was the chief workshop, blades were regularly forged there and sent to the arsenal.
34
自魏德既廣，西域、東夷貢其珍物，充於王府。 又於南垂立互市，以致南貨，羽毛齒革之屬無遠不至。 神龜、正光之際，府藏盈溢。 靈太后曾令公卿已下任力負物而取之，又數賚禁內左右，所費無貲，而不能一丐百姓也。
Once Wei's power extended far, the Western Regions and Eastern Yi sent precious tribute to fill the imperial storehouse. Mutual-trade markets were also established on the southern frontier to obtain southern goods; feathers, ivory, and hides arrived from the farthest reaches. During the Shengui and Zhengguang eras the treasuries overflowed. Empress Dowager Ling once ordered officials from the rank of duke downward to carry loads according to their strength and take what they could; she also repeatedly bestowed gifts on those within the inner palace, spending without limit, yet could not spare even a bowl of gruel for the common people.
35
自徐揚內附之後，仍世經略江淮，於是轉運中州，以實邊鎮，百姓疲於道路。 乃令番戍之兵，營起屯田，又收內郡兵資與民和糴，積為邊備。 有司又請於水運之次，隨便置倉，乃於小平、石門、[12]白馬津、漳涯、黑水、濟州、陳郡、大梁凡八所，各立邸閣，每軍國有須，應機漕引。 自此費役微省。
After Xu and Yang submitted, successive campaigns along the Huai and Yang required transporting grain from the central provinces to supply the frontier garrisons, exhausting the people on the roads. Rotational garrison troops were then ordered to establish military colonies, and military provisions from the inner commanderies were used to purchase grain jointly with the people, building up frontier reserves. The responsible offices also requested granaries along water transport routes; at Xiaoping, Shimen, [12] White Horse Ford, the Zhang River bank, Blackwater, Jizhou, Chen Commandery, and Daliang—eight sites in all—depots were established so that whenever the army or state had need, grain could be transported and drawn as required. Thereafter transport costs and corvée labor were somewhat reduced.
36
三門都將薛欽上言：「計京西水次汾華二州、恒農、河北、河東、正平、平陽五郡年常綿絹及貲麻皆折公物，雇車牛送京。 道險人弊，費公損私。 略計華州一車，官酬絹八匹三丈九尺，別有私民雇價布六十匹； 河東一車，官酬絹五匹二丈，別有私民雇價布五十匹。 自餘州郡，雖未練多少，推之遠近，應不減此。 今求車取雇絹三匹，市材造船，不勞採斫。 計船一艘，舉十三車，車取三匹，合有三十九匹。 雇作手并匠及船上雜具食直，足以成船。 計一船剩絹七十八匹，布七百八十匹。 又租車一乘，官格四十斛成載； 私民雇價，遠者五斗布一匹，近者一石布一匹。 準其私費，一車布遠者八十匹，近者四十匹。 造船一艘，計舉七百石，準其雇價，應有一千四百匹。 今取布三百匹，造船一艘并船上覆治雜事，計一船有剩布一千一百匹。 又其造船之處，皆須鋸材人功，并削船茹，依功多少，即給當州郡門兵，不假更召。 汾州有租調之處，去汾不過百里，華州去河不滿六十，並令計程依舊酬價，車送船所。 船之所運，唯達㵢陂。 其陸路從㵢陂至倉庫，調一車雇絹一匹，租一車布五匹，則於公私為便。」
Commandant of Sanmen Xue Qin submitted a memorial: "It is calculated that the two provinces of Fen and Hua west of the capital and the five commanderies of Hengnong, Hebei, Hedong, Zhengping, and Pingyang annually deliver silk and hemp as public goods, hiring carts and oxen to transport them to the capital. The roads are perilous and the people exhausted; public expense harms private welfare. By rough calculation, for one cart from Hua Province the official payment is eight bolts three zhang nine chi of silk, and private citizens must additionally pay sixty bolts of cloth for hire; for one cart from Hedong the official payment is five bolts two zhang of silk, and private citizens must additionally pay fifty bolts of cloth for hire. For the remaining provinces and commanderies, though exact amounts are unknown, extrapolating by distance the costs should be no less. If three bolts of silk per cart were taken for hire, timber purchased to build boats, and no labor spent on felling trees, one boat would carry the load of thirteen carts; at three bolts per cart, the total would come to thirty-nine bolts. Wages for hired laborers, craftsmen, and miscellaneous shipboard supplies are enough to finish a boat. For one boat, the surplus comes to seventy-eight bolts of silk and seven hundred eighty bolts of cloth. One cart is also hired—the official standard is a full load of forty hu; Private hire rates are one bolt of cloth per five dou for distant routes and one bolt per one shi for near routes. At these private rates, one cart costs eighty bolts of cloth for distant hauls and forty for near hauls. Building one boat with a capacity of seven hundred shi, at hire rates the cost should be fourteen hundred bolts. If three hundred bolts of cloth are taken to build one boat, including shipboard outfitting and miscellaneous work, each boat would leave a surplus of eleven hundred bolts of cloth. At boat-building sites, sawing timber and trimming ship timbers all require labor; according to the work required, the local provincial and commandery gate guards may be assigned, without summoning additional men. In Fen Province, tribute collection points within a hundred li of Fen, and in Hua Province points less than sixty li from the river—all are ordered to calculate distance at the standard rates and cart goods to the boat depot. Boat transport reaches only as far as the Youbei reservoir. For the overland route from Youbei to the granaries, tribute carts would hire at one bolt of silk each and rent carts at five bolts of cloth each—convenient for both public and private interests."
37
尚書度支郎中朱元旭計稱：「效立於公，濟民為本； 政列於朝，潤國是先。 故大禹疏決，以通四載之宜； 有漢穿引，受納百川之用。 厥績顯於當時，嘉聲播於圖史。 今校薛欽之說，雖跡驗未彰，而指況甚善。 所云以船代車，是其策之長者。 若以門兵造舟，便為闕彼防禦，無容全依。 宜令取雇車之物，市材執作，及倉庫所須，悉以營辦。 七月之始，十月初旬，令州郡綱典各受租調於將所，[13]然後付之。 十車之中，留車士四人佐其守護。 粟帛上船之日，隨運至京，將共監慎，如有耗損，同其陪徵。 [14]河中缺失，專歸運司。 輸京之時，聽其即納，不得雜合，違失常體。 必使量上數下，謹其受入，自餘一如其列。 計底柱之難，號為天險，迅驚千里，未易其功。 然既陳便利，無容輒抑。 若效充其說，則附例酬庸，如其不驗，徵填所損。 今始開創，不可懸生減折，具依請營立。 一年之後，須知贏費。 歲遣御史校其虛實，脫有乖越，別更裁量。」 尚書崔休以為刳木為舟，用興上代； 鑿渠通運，利盡中古。 是以漕輓河渭，留侯以為偉談； 方舟蜀漢，酈生稱為口實。 豈直張純之奏，見美東都； 陳勰之功，事高晉世。 其為利益，所從來久矣。 案欽所列，實允事宜； 郎中之計，備盡公理。 但舟檝所通，遠近必至，苟利公私，不宜止在前件。 昔人乃遠通褒斜以利關中之漕，南達交廣以增京洛之饒。 況乃漳洹夷路，河濟平流，而不均彼省煩，同茲巨益。 且鴻溝之引宋衞，史牒具存； 討虜之通幽冀，古迹備在。 舟車省益，理實相懸； 水陸難易，力用不等。 昔忝東州，親逕□驗，斯損益不可同年而語。 請諸通水運之處，皆宜率同此式。 縱復五百、三百里，車運水次，校計利饒，猶為不少。 其欽所列州郡，如請興造。 東路諸州皆先通水運，今年租調，悉用舟檝。 若船數有闕，且賃假充事，比之僦車，交成息耗。 其先未通流，宜遣檢行，閑月修治，使理有可通，必無壅滯。 如此，則發召匪多，為益實廣，一爾暫勞，久安永逸。」 錄尚書、高陽王雍，尚書僕射李崇等奏曰：「運漕之利，今古攸同，舟車息耗，實相殊絕。 欽之所列，關西而已，若域內同行，足為公私巨益。 謹輒參量，備如前計，庶徵召有減，勞止小康。 若此請蒙遂，必須溝洫通流，即求開興修築。 或先以開治，或古跡仍在，舊事可因，用功差易。 此冬閑月，令疏通咸訖，比春水之時，使運漕無滯。」 詔從之，而未能盡行也。
Director of the Bureau of Revenue under the Ministry of Works Zhu Yuanxu calculated and stated: "Merit is measured by public benefit; relieving the people is the foundation; Policy is set forth at court, and enriching the state comes first. Therefore Yu the Great dredged and opened channels to suit the four modes of transport; In Han times canals were dug and linked to receive and use the waters of the hundred rivers. Their achievements stood out in their own day, and their praise spread through histories and records. Reviewing Xue Qin's proposal, though its results are not yet proven, its direction and prospects are excellent. His proposal to replace carts with boats is the strongest part of his plan. Using gate guards to build boats would leave defenses understaffed, and the plan cannot be adopted in full. Funds that would go to cart hire should be used to purchase timber and carry out construction, and everything the granaries need should be provided. At the start of the seventh month and in the first ten days of the tenth month, provincial and commandery overseers should each receive rent and tribute at the military command, [13] then deliver it onward. For every ten carts, four cart guards should remain to assist in protection. When grain and silk are loaded aboard, escort it to the capital under joint supervision; if there is loss or damage, commander and escort share liability for compensation. [14] Any shortfall on the middle Yellow River section falls solely under the transport office. When delivering to the capital, goods should be received on the spot without mixing categories or violating standard procedure. Measured amounts must match recorded receipts, with intake carefully controlled—the rest as already listed. The peril of Dipillar Gorge, called a heaven-sent barrier where waters surge for a thousand li, makes the task no easy feat. Yet since the advantages have already been set forth, the plan cannot lightly be rejected. If results match his proposal, reward him according to precedent; if they do not, levy compensation for the losses. At the outset, reductions cannot be imposed in advance; approve and establish the project as requested. After one year, surplus or expense must be determined. Each year censors should verify accounts; if discrepancies appear, reassess separately. Minister Cui Xiu held that hollowing wood to make boats dates to high antiquity; Digging channels for transport had brought full benefit by middle antiquity. Hence grain transport on the Yellow River and Wei—the Marquis of Liu took this as a grand achievement; Assembling boats in Shu and Han—Master Li made it a byword for success. Not to mention Zhang Chun's memorial, praised in the Eastern Capital; and Chen Shao's achievements, which surpassed those of Jin times. Its benefits have been known for a long time. Examining what Qin listed, it truly fits practical needs; The director's calculations fully set forth the public interest. But wherever boats can reach, near and far alike will benefit; if it serves both public and private interests, the plan should not stop at the cases listed above. Men of old opened the Baoxie route from afar to improve grain transport from Guanzhong, and reached Jiao and Guang in the south to increase Luoyang's abundance. All the more so for the easy routes of the Zhang and Huan and the smooth currents of the Yellow and Ji—yet the same burden is not lifted there to share in these great benefits. Moreover the Hong Canal's service to Song and Wei is fully recorded in historical documents; The Taolu route connecting You and Ji—ancient traces still remain. The savings from boats over carts differ vastly in principle and in fact; Land and water routes differ in difficulty, and labor and cost are unequal. When I served in the eastern provinces, I personally traveled the routes and verified the facts—the difference in gain and loss cannot be compared in the same breath. I request that everywhere water transport is possible adopt this model uniformly. Even at five hundred or three hundred li, carting goods to a water depot still yields considerable savings when the profit is calculated. The provinces and commanderies Qin listed should proceed with construction as requested. All eastern provinces should first open water transport, and this year's rent and tribute should all go by boat. If boats are insufficient, hire or borrow temporarily to meet needs—compared with renting carts, this would save costs on both sides. Where waterways are not yet open, inspectors should be sent; repair them in idle months so passage is feasible and nothing is blocked. Thus corvée summons would be limited, the benefits truly broad—a brief effort now, long peace and lasting ease thereafter. Record Director Prince Gaoyang Yong, Vice Director Li Chong, and others memorialized: "The benefits of grain transport are the same in every age; the savings between boats and carts truly differ vastly. What Qin listed covers only the western passes; if applied throughout the realm, it would bring great benefit to public and private interests alike. We respectfully submit our joint assessment, fully as in the prior plan, hoping corvée may be reduced and labor may find some relief. If this request is granted, channels must be opened for flow, and excavation and repair should begin at once. Some routes may be opened first; some ancient traces still remain and old precedents may be followed, making the labor easier. Use this winter's idle months to finish clearing the channels; when spring waters rise, grain transport will not be blocked. The edict approved the plan, but it could not be fully carried out.
38
正光後，四方多事，加以水旱，國用不足，預折天下六年租調而徵之。 百姓怨苦，民不堪命。 有司奏斷百官常給之酒，計一歲所省合米五萬三千五十四斛九升，孽穀六千九百六十斛，麪三十萬五百九十九斤。 其四時郊廟、百神羣祀依式供營，遠蕃使客不在斷限。 爾後寇賊轉眾，諸將出征，相繼奔敗，所亡器械資糧不可勝數，而關西喪失尤甚，帑藏益以空竭。 有司又奏內外百官及諸蕃客稟食及肉悉二分減一，計終歲省肉百五十九萬九千八百五十六斤，米五萬三千九百三十二石。
After the Zhengguang era, turmoil spread on every side, compounded by flood and drought; state revenues fell short, and six years of rent and tribute were collected in advance throughout the empire. The people groaned in bitterness and could not bear the burden. The responsible offices memorialized to cut the regular wine rations of officials at all levels—in one year this would save 53,054 hu 9 sheng of rice, 6,960 hu of fermented grain, and 305,599 jin of flour. Seasonal sacrifices, suburban rites, and mass offerings to the hundred spirits would still be supplied as prescribed; distant foreign envoys were exempt from the cut. Thereafter bandits and rebels multiplied; generals marched out and fell in defeat one after another; weapons, supplies, and grain lost were beyond counting, while losses in the western passes were especially severe and treasuries grew ever emptier. The responsible offices again memorialized that grain rations and meat for officials inside and outside the court and for all foreign guests would be cut by one-third—in a full year this would save 1,599,856 jin of meat and 53,932 shi of rice.
39
孝昌二年冬，[15]稅京師田租畝五升，借賃公田者畝一斗。 又稅市，入者人一錢，其店舍又為五等，收稅有差。
In the winter of the second year of Xiaochang, [15] a land tax of five sheng per mu was levied in the capital region; those leasing public fields paid one dou per mu. A market tax was also levied: one coin per person entering the market; shops were further divided into five grades, with tax collected at differing rates.
40
莊帝初，承喪亂之後，倉廩虛罄，遂班入粟之制。 輸粟八千石，賞散侯； 六千石，散伯； 四千石，散子； 三千石，散男。 職人輸七百石，賞一大階，授以實官。 白民輸五百石，聽依第出身，一千石，加一大階； 無第者輸五百石，聽正九品出身，一千石，加一大階。 諸沙門有輸粟四千石入京倉者，授本州統，若無本州者，授大州都； [16]若不入京倉，入外州郡倉者，三千石，畿郡都統，依州格； 若輸五百石入京倉者，授本郡維那，其無本郡者，授以外郡； 粟入外州郡倉七百石者，京倉三百石者，授縣維那。
At the start of Emperor Zhuang's reign, after the age of chaos left granaries empty, a system of submitting grain for rewards was instituted. Submit eight thousand shi of grain and receive the rank of honorary marquis; Six thousand shi earns the rank of honorary earl; Four thousand shi earns the rank of honorary viscount; Three thousand shi earns the rank of honorary baron. Officials who submit seven hundred shi receive one major rank and appointment to an actual office. Commoners who submit five hundred shi may enter office according to family rank; one thousand shi adds one major rank; Those without family rank who submit five hundred shi may enter at the ninth regular rank; one thousand shi adds one major rank. Buddhist monks who submit four thousand shi of grain to the capital granary receive the provincial superintendent of their home province, or the metropolitan superintendent of a major province if they have no home province; [16] If grain is submitted not to the capital granary but to an outer provincial or commandery granary, three thousand shi earns the metropolitan superintendent of an inner commandery, according to provincial standards; Submit five hundred shi to the capital granary and receive the commandery superintendent of one's home commandery, or an outer commandery if one has no home commandery; Seven hundred shi to an outer provincial or commandery granary, or three hundred shi to the capital granary, earns the county superintendent.
41
孝靜天平初，以遷民草創，資產未立，詔出粟一百三十萬石以賑之。 三年夏，又賑遷民稟各四十日。 其年秋，并、肆、汾、建、晉、泰、陝、東雍、南汾九州霜旱，民飢流散。 四年春，詔所在開倉賑恤之，而死者甚眾。 時諸州調絹不依舊式，齊獻武王以其害民，興和三年冬，請班海內，悉以四十尺為度。 天下利焉。
At the start of Tianping under Emperor Xiaojing, because resettled people were still establishing their livelihoods and had not yet acquired assets, an edict issued 1,300,000 shi of grain for relief. In the summer of the third year, resettled people were also given forty days' grain rations. That autumn, frost and drought struck Bing, Si, Fen, Jian, Jin, Tai, Shan, Eastern Yong, and Southern Fen; the people went hungry and scattered. In the spring of the fourth year, an edict ordered granaries opened everywhere for relief, but deaths were very numerous. At that time provinces did not follow the old standard for tribute silk; Prince Xianwu of Qi, finding this harmful to the people, in the winter of the third year of Xinghe requested that throughout the realm the standard length be uniformly forty chi. The realm benefited thereby.
42
河東郡有鹽池，舊立官司以收稅利，是時罷之，[17]而民有富強者專擅其用，貧弱者不得資益。 延興末，復立監司，量其貴賤，節其賦入，於是公私兼利。 世宗即位，政存寬簡，復罷其禁，與百姓共之。 其國用所須，別為條制，取足而已。 自後豪貴之家復乘勢占奪，近池之民，又輒障吝。 強弱相陵，聞於遠近。 神龜初，太師、高陽王雍，太傅、清河王懌等奏：「鹽池天藏，資育羣生。 仰惟先朝限者，亦不苟與細民競茲贏利。 但利起天池，取用無法，或豪貴封護，或近者吝守，卑賤遠來，超然絕望。 是以因置主司，令其裁察，強弱相兼，務令得所。 且十一之稅，自古及今，取輒以次，所濟為廣。 自爾霑洽，遠近齊平，公私兩宜，儲益不少。 及鼓吹主簿王後興等詞稱請供百官食鹽二萬斛之外，歲求輸馬千匹、牛五百頭。 以此而推，非可稍計。 後中尉甄琛啟求罷禁，被敕付議。 尚書執奏，稱琛啟坐談則理高，行之則事闕，請依常禁為允。 詔依琛計。 乃為繞池之民尉保光等擅自固護，語其障禁，倍於官司，取與自由，貴賤任口。 若無大宥，罪合推斷。 詳度二三，深乖王法。 臣等商量，請依先朝之詔，禁之為便。 防姦息暴，斷遣輕重，亦準前旨。 所置監司，一同往式。」 於是復置監官以監檢焉。 其後更罷更立，以至於永熙。
Hedong Commandery has a salt pond; formerly an official office collected tax profits, but at this time it was abolished, [17] and wealthy and powerful men monopolized its use while the poor and weak could not share the benefit. At the end of Yanxing, a supervisory office was reestablished to gauge price by quality and regulate levies, and thereafter both public and private interests were served. When Emperor Shizong took the throne, his policy favored leniency and simplicity, and the prohibition was again lifted so the people might share the salt pond jointly. What the state required was separately regulated, taking only what was needed. Thereafter powerful and noble families again seized it by force, and people near the pond also arbitrarily blocked access. The strong oppressed the weak, and word spread far and near. At the start of Shengui, Grand Tutor Prince Gaoyang Yong, Grand Preceptor Prince Qinghe Yi, and others memorialized: "The salt pond is a heaven-sent storehouse, nourishing all living things. Reflecting on how former courts limited access, they too did not lightly compete with common people for this profit. But profit arose at the heavenly pool with no fixed rules; powerful families walled it off, or those nearby guarded it jealously, so the humble and distant came and despaired utterly. Therefore a chief office was established to oversee and judge, so strong and weak might share alike and each receive what was due. Moreover the one-tenth tax, from antiquity to the present, has been collected in order, and the benefit it provides is broad. From then on the benefits spread everywhere; near and far were brought into balance, public and private interests were both served, and state reserves grew substantially. Moreover Wang Houxing, director of the imperial music bureau, and others petitioned that, beyond supplying twenty thousand hu of salt for officials' rations, they should each year deliver one thousand horses and five hundred head of cattle. Extrapolating from this, the burden cannot be dismissed as trivial. Later Commandant of Justice Zhen Chen memorialized asking that the prohibition be lifted, and an edict referred the matter for deliberation. The Ministry of State Affairs submitted a firm memorial arguing that Zhen Chen's proposal sounded fine in theory but would fail in practice, and asking that the usual prohibition be kept in place. An edict approved Zhen Chen's plan. Thereupon people around the pond such as Wei Baoguang took it upon themselves to fortify and guard the site; their barriers and restrictions were twice as strict as the government's; they traded as they pleased and set prices at will for rich and poor alike. Without a general amnesty, these offenses warrant prosecution and punishment. On careful reconsideration, this flagrantly violates the law of the realm. We your ministers have deliberated and ask that the prohibition be restored according to the former dynasty's edict, which would be the prudent course. Preventing abuse, suppressing violence, and determining sentences according to severity should likewise follow the earlier policy. The supervisory offices to be established should all follow the former model." Thereupon supervisory officials were again appointed to inspect and oversee the pond. Afterward the offices were repeatedly abolished and reestablished, a cycle that continued until the Yongxi era.
43
自遷鄴後，於滄、瀛、幽、青四州之境，傍海煑鹽。 滄州置竈一千四百八十四，瀛州置竈四百五十二，幽州置竈一百八十，青州置竈五百四十六，又於邯鄲置竈四，計終歲合收鹽二十萬九千七百二斛四升。 軍國所資，得以周贍矣。
After the capital was moved to Ye, salt was boiled along the coast in the territories of the four prefectures of Cang, Ying, You, and Qing. Cang Prefecture had 1,484 furnaces, Ying 452, You 180, and Qing 546; four more were placed at Handan; in all, the year's salt yield came to 209,702 hu and 4 sheng. The needs of army and state could thus be fully met.
44
魏初至於太和，錢貨無所周流，高祖始詔天下用錢焉。 十九年，冶鑄粗備，文曰「太和五銖」，詔京師及諸州鎮皆通行之。 內外百官祿皆準絹給錢，絹匹為錢二百。 在所遣錢工備爐冶，民有欲鑄，聽就鑄之，銅必精練，無所和雜。 世宗永平三年冬，又鑄五銖錢。 肅宗初，京師及諸州鎮或鑄或否，或有止用古錢，不行新鑄，致商貨不通，貿遷頗隔。
From the founding of Wei until the Taihe era, money scarcely circulated at all; Emperor Gaozu was the first to decree that coin should be used throughout the realm. In the nineteenth year smelting and casting were largely in place; the coins were inscribed "Taihe Five Zhu," and an edict ordered them circulated throughout the capital and all prefectures and garrison towns. Salaries for all officials inside and outside the court were converted from silk to coin at two hundred coins per bolt. Wherever coin workers were dispatched, furnaces were set up; those who wished to cast coin were permitted to do so on site, provided the copper was finely refined and nothing was mixed in. In the winter of the third year of Yongping under Emperor Shizong, Five Zhu coins were cast again. At the start of Emperor Suzong's reign, some prefectures and garrison towns cast coin and some did not; some accepted only old coin and rejected new issues, so commerce stalled and trade was badly disrupted.
45
熙平初，尚書令、任城王澄上言：「臣聞洪範八政，貨居二焉。 易稱：『天地之大德曰生，聖人之大寶曰位，何以守位曰仁，何以聚人曰財。』 財者，帝王所以聚人守位，成養羣生，奉順天德，治國安民之本也。 夏殷之政，九州貢金，以定五品。 周仍其舊。 太公立九府之法，於是圜貨始行，[18]定銖兩之楷。 齊桓循用，以霸諸侯。 降及秦始、漢文，遂有輕重之異。 吳濞、鄧通之錢，收利遍於天下，河南之地，猶甚多焉。 逮于孝武，乃更造五銖，其中毀鑄，隨利改易，故使錢有小大之品。 竊尋太和之錢，高祖留心創制，後與五銖並行，此乃不刊之式。 但臣竊聞之，君子行禮，不求變俗，因其所宜，順而致用。 『太和五銖』雖利於京邑之肆，而不入徐揚之市。 土貨既殊，貿鬻亦異，便於荊郢之邦者，則礙於兗豫之域。 致使貧民有重困之切，王道貽隔化之訟。 去永平三年，都座奏斷天下用錢不依準式者，時被敕云：『不行之錢，雖有常禁，其先用之處，權可聽行，至年末悉令斷之。』 延昌二年，徐州民儉，刺史啟奏求行土錢，旨聽權依舊用。 謹尋不行之錢，律有明式，指謂雞眼、[19]鐶鑿，更無餘禁。 計河南諸州，今所行者，悉非制限。 昔來繩禁，愚竊惑焉。 又河北州鎮，既無新造五銖，設有舊者，而復禁斷，並不得行，專以單絲之縑，疏縷之布，狹幅促度，不中常式，裂匹為尺，以濟有無。 至今徒成杼軸之勞，[20]不免飢寒之苦，良由分截布帛，壅塞錢貨。 實非救恤凍餒，子育黎元。 謹惟自古以來，錢品不一，前後累代，易變無常。 且錢之為名，欲泉流不已。 愚意謂今之太和與新鑄五銖，及諸古錢方俗所便用者，雖有大小之異，並得通行。 貴賤之差，自依鄉價。 庶貨環海內，公私無壅。 其不行之錢，及盜鑄毀大為小，巧偽不如法者，據律罪之。」 詔曰：「錢行已久，今東尚有事，[21]且依舊用。」
At the start of Xiping, Minister of State Affairs Prince of Rencheng Cheng submitted: "Your subject has heard that among the eight administrative concerns in the Hong Fan, goods and currency rank second. The Changes says: 'The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is to give life; the great treasure of the sage is his throne; by what does he hold his throne? By benevolence. By what does he gather the people? By wealth.' Wealth is what emperors and kings use to gather the people and hold their thrones, to nurture all living beings and obey Heaven's virtue—it is the foundation of governing the state and securing the people. Under Xia and Yin, the nine provinces paid tribute in gold, and by this the five ranks were established. Zhou continued the old practice. The Duke of Zhou established the law of the nine treasuries, and round currency first came into use, [18] fixing the standard of zhu and liang. Duke Huan of Qi adopted it and thereby dominated the feudal lords. By the time of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wen of Han, differences in weight had appeared. The coin of Liu Pi and Deng Tong spread their profits across the realm, and south of the Yellow River there were still very many in circulation. Under Emperor Wu of Han the Five Zhu was remade, but coins were melted down and recast for profit as circumstances dictated, so money came in large and small denominations. Reflecting on the Taihe coin, Emperor Gaozu took care to create it anew; afterward it circulated alongside the Five Zhu. This is an immutable standard. But your subject has heard it said that when the superior man practices ritual, he does not seek to change local custom; he adapts to what is suitable and puts things to use accordingly. Although the "Taihe Five Zhu" serves the shops of the capital well, it does not circulate in the markets of Xu and Yang. Local products differ, and trade differs with them; what works in the lands of Jing and Ying proves awkward in the region of Yan and Yu. This leaves the poor in acute distress and brings disputes that alienate the people from the kingly way. In the third year of Yongping the chief seat memorialized to ban throughout the realm coin that did not conform to the standard; the response was an edict saying: 'Non-standard coin, though regularly prohibited, may for the time being be tolerated where it is already in use, but by year's end all such use is to cease.' In the second year of Yanzhang the people of Xu Province were impoverished; the governor memorialized asking to use local coin, and the throne permitted temporary continued use of the old currency. On careful review, the law defines non-standard coin clearly: it refers specifically to chicken-eye, [19] ring-chisel coins, and nothing else is forbidden. Yet in the provinces south of the Yellow River, what is now in circulation falls entirely outside the prescribed limits. The prohibitions enforced until now leave your subject privately perplexed. Moreover in the garrison towns north of the Yellow River, where no new Five Zhu has been cast, even old coin is banned and may not circulate; people rely solely on single-thread silk and loosely woven cloth of narrow width and short measure—not conforming to the usual standard—tearing bolts into foot-lengths to meet their needs. To this day they merely incur the labor of loom and spindle, [20] yet cannot escape hunger and cold—the real cause being the cutting up of cloth and silk and the blocking of coin. This is hardly the way to relieve the cold and hungry or nurture the common people. Reflecting from antiquity to the present, coin types have never been uniform; dynasty after dynasty they have changed without fixed rule. Moreover the very name of coin signifies the wish that it flow like a spring without end. Your subject's humble opinion is that the present Taihe and newly cast Five Zhu, together with all old coins that local custom finds convenient, though they differ in size, should all be permitted to circulate. Differences in value should follow local market prices. Thus goods may circulate throughout the realm, and neither public nor private interest will be blocked. Non-standard coin, illicit casting, melting large coins into small ones, and clever counterfeits that fail to meet the law should all be punished according to statute." The edict replied: "Coin has circulated for a long time; affairs in the east are still unsettled, [21] so for now continue using the old currency."
46
澄又奏：「臣猥屬樞衡，庶罄心力，常願貨物均通，書軌一範。 謹詳周禮，外府掌邦布之入出。 布猶泉也，其藏曰泉，其流曰布。 然則錢之興也始於一品，欲令世匠均同，圜流無極。 爰暨周景，降逮亡新，易鑄相尋，參差百品，遂令接境乖商，連邦隔貿。 [22]臣比奏求宣下海內，依式行錢。 登被旨敕，『錢行已久，且可依舊』。 謹重參量，以為『太和五銖』乃大魏之通貨，不朽之恒模，寧可專貿於京邑，不行於天下！ 但今戎馬在郊，江疆未一，東南之州，依舊為便。 至於京西、京北域內州鎮未用錢處，行之則不足為難，塞之則有乖通典。 何者？ 布帛不可尺寸而裂，五穀則有負檐之難，錢之為用，貫繈相屬，不假斗斛之器，不勞秤尺之平，濟世之宜，謂為深允。 請並下諸方州鎮，其太和及新鑄五銖并古錢內外全好者，不限大小，悉聽行之。 雞眼、鐶鑿，依律而禁。 河南州鎮先用錢者，既聽依舊，不在斷限。 唯太和、五銖二錢得用公造新者，其餘雜種，一用古錢，生新之類，普同禁約。 諸方之錢，通用京師，其聽依舊之處，與太和錢及新造五銖並行，若盜鑄者罪重常憲。 既欲均齊物品，廛井斯和，若不繩以嚴法，無以肅茲違犯。 符旨一宣，仍不遵用者，刺史守令依律治罪。」 詔從之。 而河北諸州，舊少錢貨，猶以他物交易，錢略不入市也。
Cheng memorialized again: "Your subject, unworthy though he is of his post at the pivot of government, hopes to give his full strength to the wish that goods circulate freely and that writing and wheel ruts share one standard throughout the realm. On careful review of the Rites of Zhou, the outer treasury manages the receipt and disbursement of the state's currency. Currency is like a spring: what is stored is called a spring, and what flows is called currency. Thus coin arose as a single standard, so that craftsmen throughout the age would make it uniformly and it would circulate without limit. From the time of King Jing of Zhou down to the Xin dynasty, recastings followed one after another in a hundred irregular types, until neighboring borders fell out of commerce and adjoining states were cut off from trade. [22] Your subject recently memorialized asking that coin be proclaimed throughout the realm and circulated according to the standard. The response was an imperial directive: 'Coin has circulated for a long time; for now continue according to the old practice.' On reconsideration, your subject holds that the "Taihe Five Zhu" is Great Wei's general currency, an immutable constant model—how can it circulate only in the capital and not throughout the realm! But war-horses are at the gates, the Yangtze frontier is not yet unified, and in the southeastern provinces the old practice remains the practical choice. As for the prefectures and garrison towns west and north of the capital where coin is not yet used, introducing it would not be difficult, but blocking it would violate the universal norm. Why? Cloth and silk cannot conveniently be torn by the inch; grain is hard to carry on the shoulder; but coin passes from hand to hand in linked strings—it needs no bushel measure, no labor of scales and rulers—and for serving the age, nothing could be more apt. Your subject asks that orders be sent to all prefectures and garrison towns permitting Taihe and newly cast Five Zhu, together with old coin that is intact inside and out, regardless of size, to circulate freely. Chicken-eye and ring-chisel coins should be banned according to law. Prefectures and garrison towns south of the Yellow River that already use coin are permitted to continue as before and are not subject to the cutoff. Only Taihe and Five Zhu may be newly minted by the state; all other miscellaneous types, whether old coin alone or privately made new coin, should be universally prohibited. Coin from all regions should circulate in the capital; where old practice is permitted, it should circulate alongside Taihe coin and newly cast Five Zhu; illicit casters should be punished more heavily than ordinary law provides. Since the aim is to equalize goods and harmonize markets, without strict law there is no way to discipline these violations. Once the directive is proclaimed, governors, prefects, and magistrates who still fail to comply should be punished according to law." The edict approved the proposal. But in the provinces north of the Yellow River coin had long been scarce; people still traded in other goods, and coin scarcely entered the markets at all.
47
二年冬，尚書崔亮奏：「恒農郡銅青谷有銅鑛，計一斗得銅五兩四銖； 葦池谷鑛，計一斗得銅五兩； 鸞帳山鑛，計一斗得銅四兩； 河內郡王屋山鑛，計一斗得銅八兩； 南青州苑燭山、齊州商山並是往昔銅官，舊迹見在。 謹按鑄錢方興，用銅處廣，既有冶利，並宜開鑄。」 詔從之。 自後所行之錢，民多私鑄，稍就小薄，價用彌賤。
In the winter of the second year, Minister Cui Liang memorialized: "Tongqing Valley in Hengnong Commandery has a copper mine; one dou of ore yields five liang and four zhu of copper; Weichi Valley mine: one dou of ore yields five liang of copper; Luanzhang Mountain mine: one dou of ore yields four liang of copper; Wangwu Mountain mine in Henei Commandery: one dou of ore yields eight liang of copper; Yuanzhu Mountain in Southern Qing Province and Shang Mountain in Qi Province were both former state copper offices; their traces still remain. Since coin casting is just beginning and copper is needed widely, and smelting yields profit, all these sites should be opened for casting." The edict approved the proposal. Afterward much of the coin in circulation was privately cast; it gradually grew smaller and thinner, and its value ever cheaper.
48
建義初，重盜鑄之禁，開糾賞之格。 至永安二年秋，詔更改鑄，文曰「永安五銖」，官自立爐，起自九月至三年正月而止。 官欲貴錢，乃出藏絹，分遣使人於二市賣之，[23]絹匹止錢二百，而私市者猶三百。 利之所在，盜鑄彌眾，巧偽既多，輕重非一，四方州鎮，用各不同。
At the start of Jianyi the prohibition on illicit casting was strengthened and rewards for informants were established. By the autumn of the second year of Yong'an an edict ordered recoining; the inscription read "Yong'an Five Zhu"; the government set up its own furnaces, operating from the ninth month until the first month of the third year. Wishing to raise the value of coin, the government released silk from the treasury and dispatched envoys to sell it in the two markets, [23] at two hundred coins per bolt, while in private markets it still fetched three hundred. Where profit lay, illicit casting multiplied; counterfeits grew numerous; weights varied; and prefectures and garrison towns everywhere used coin differently.
49
遷鄴之後，輕濫尤多。 武定初，齊文襄王奏革其弊。 於是詔遣使人詣諸州鎮，收銅及錢，悉更改鑄，其文仍舊。 然姦僥之徒，越法趨利，未幾之間，漸復細薄。 六年，文襄王以錢文五銖，名須稱實，宜稱錢一文重五銖者，聽入市用。 計百錢重一斤四兩二十銖，自餘皆準此為數。 其京邑二市、天下州鎮郡縣之市，各置二稱，懸於市門，私民所用之稱，皆準市稱以定輕重。 凡有私鑄，悉不禁斷，但重五銖，然後聽用。 若入市之錢，重不五銖，或雖重五銖而多雜鉛鑞，並不聽用。 若有輒以小薄雜錢入市，有人糾獲，其錢悉入告者。 其小薄之錢，若即禁斷，恐人交乏絕。 畿內五十日，外州百日為限。 羣官參議，咸以時穀頗貴，請待有年。 上從之而止。
After the move to Ye, debased coin was especially abundant. At the start of Wuding, Prince Wenxiang of Qi memorialized to reform these abuses. Thereupon an edict dispatched envoys to all prefectures and garrison towns to collect copper and coin and recoin all of it; the inscription remained unchanged. Yet scheming opportunists, breaking the law for profit, soon made the coin thin and small again. In the sixth year Prince Wenxiang held that since the coin was inscribed Five Zhu, the name must match the reality: only coin weighing five zhu per wen should be permitted in the markets. One hundred coins should weigh one jin, four liang, and twenty zhu; all other denominations should follow this standard. In the two markets of the capital and in markets of every prefecture, garrison town, commandery, and county, two official sets of scales were to be hung at the market gates; private scales used by the people were all to be calibrated against the market scales. Private casting was not prohibited outright, provided each coin weighed five zhu; only then might it be used. Coin entering the market that weighed less than five zhu, or that weighed five zhu but contained much lead and tin alloy, was not permitted for use. If anyone brought thin, debased coin into the market and was reported and seized, all the coin went to the informant. If thin, small coin were banned immediately, trade might come to a halt. Within the capital region the limit was fifty days; in outer provinces, one hundred days. Officials deliberated jointly; all held that grain was then quite expensive and asked to wait for a good harvest year. The emperor agreed, and the measure was dropped.
50
校勘記
Textual notes
51
自後諸逃戶占為細繭羅縠者甚眾冊府卷四八七 〈五八二五頁〉 、卷五０四 〈六０五四頁〉 「細繭」作「紬繭」。 按北史卷九０仇洛齊傳作「紬綾」，疑「細」乃「紬」形近而訛，但本書卷九四仇洛齊傳也作「細繭」，今不改。
Thereafter a great many absconded households claimed registration as producers of fine-cocoon silk and gauze. Cefu juan 487 〈folio 5825〉 , juan 504 〈folio 6054〉 It reads "chou cocoon silk" for "fine cocoon silk." Note: Beishi juan 90's biography of Qiu Luoqi has "chou gauze"; "fine" may be a near-form error for "chou", yet Wei Shu juan 94's Qiu Luoqi biography also reads "fine cocoon silk" — left unchanged.
52
其司冀雍華定相泰諸本「泰」作「秦」。 按下出麻布諸州中又見「秦州」，而此為出綿絹及絲之十九州之一，知非一州。 下文又舉「以麻布充稅」的郡縣有「秦州河東之蒲坂、汾陰」，與司、懷等州既在出綿絹州之中，而又舉出所屬個別郡縣「以麻布充稅」同例。 卷一０六下地形志下治蒲坂之「秦州」實為「泰州」之訛，已改正， 〈見地形志下校記[三九]，〉 此「秦」字及下文「秦州河東」之「秦」字也都是「泰」之訛，今同改。
On "Si, Ji, Yong, Hua, Ding, Xiang, and Tai": all editions write "Tai" as "Qin." Note: "Qin Province" appears again among hemp-cloth provinces below, but this line lists one of nineteen silk-producing provinces — so it cannot mean a single province name. Later the text names Pupu and Fenyin in Hedong of Qin Province among counties paying tax in hemp cloth — the same pattern as Si and Huai, which are silk provinces yet include individual counties taxed in hemp. In Geography B juan 106, the "Qin Province" governing Pupu was actually "Tai Province" — already corrected there, 〈see Geography B collation note [39]〉 This "Qin" and the "Qin" in "Hedong of Qin Province" below are likewise Tai miswritten — both emended here.
53
懷州邵上郡之長平白水縣諸本並作「懷州邵郡、上郡之長平白水縣」。 錢氏考異卷三０云：「按地形志： 〈卷一０六上地形志上東雍州邵郡〉 皇興四年置邵上郡，太和中併河內，孝昌中改邵郡。 此文當云『邵上郡』，誤多一『郡』字。」 按懷州無上郡，長平、白水也不得屬上郡，「邵」下衍「郡」字，錢說是，今刪。 冊府卷五０四 〈六０五五頁〉 作「懷化郡、上郡之長平白水縣」，亦誤。
Changping and Baishui in Shaoshang Commandery, Huai Province — all editions read "Shaos Commandery and Shang Commandery of Huai Province: Changping and Baishui counties." Qian's Kaoyi juan 30 states: "Per the Geography: 〈Geography A juan 106, Shao Commandery of Eastern Yong Province〉 Shaoshang Commandery was founded in Huangxing 4, merged into Henei under Taihe, and renamed Shao Commandery in Xiaochang. The line should say 'Shaoshang Commandery'; an extra 'commandery' was inserted in error." Huai Province had no Shang Commandery; Changping and Baishui could not belong to it. The extra 'commandery' after 'Shao' is spurious — Qian is right; removed. Cefu juan 504 〈folio 6055〉 It reads "Huaishang Commandery and Shang Commandery: Changping and Baishui counties" — also wrong.
54
雍州馮翊郡之蓮芍縣諸本「蓮」作「連」，冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 作「蓮」。 按本書卷一０六下地形志下和漢書卷二八上地理志上以及其他地志都作「蓮」。 當時地名雖多用同音或音近字，但據冊府知原文也作「蓮」，今據改。
Lianyao County, Fengyi Commandery, Yong Province — all editions write the lotus "Lian" as the homophone "connect", Cefu 〈same juan and folio as above〉 It reads "Lian" (lotus). Note: Wei Shu Geography B juan 106, Hanshu Geography A juan 28, and other gazetteers all have the lotus "Lian." Place names of the day often swapped homophones, but Cefu confirms the original read lotus "Lian" — emended accordingly.
55
徐州北濟陰郡之離狐豐縣諸本無「陰」字，冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 作「濟北郡」。 錢氏考異卷三０云：「當作『北濟陰郡』，志脫『陰』字。」 按卷一０六中地形志中徐州北濟陰郡屬縣有豐、離狐，錢說是，今補「陰」字。 濟北郡屬濟州，且無此二縣，冊府亦誤。
Lihu and Feng in North Jiyin Commandery, Xu Province — all editions omit "yin", Cefu 〈same juan and folio as above〉 It reads "Jibei Commandery." Qian's Kaoyi juan 30: "It should read 'North Jiyin Commandery'; the Geography dropped 'yin'." Geography Central juan 106 lists Feng and Lihu under Xu Province's North Jiyin Commandery — Qian is right; "yin" now supplied. Jibei Commandery belonged to Ji Province and had neither county — Cefu is wrong too.
56
諸男夫十五以上受露田四十畝冊府卷四九五 〈五九二三頁〉 、通典卷一田制上此句下並有注「不栽樹者謂之露田」。 魏收修史時似無必要對露田加以說明，疑是通典所加，冊府此條實據通典，今不補。
Every man fifteen or older receives forty mu of open-field land. Cefu juan 495 〈folio 5923〉 ; Tongdian juan 1, Field Systems, adds below this line the note "land where no trees are planted is called open-field land." Wei Shou had little reason to gloss open-field land; Tongdian likely added it, and Cefu's entry follows Tongdian — not supplied here.
57
於分雖盈沒則還田不得以充露田之數冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 通典卷一無「沒則還田」四字。 疑亦通典所刪，冊府據通典。
Even if the allotment exceeds the norm, on death the land reverts and does not count as open-field land. Cefu 〈same juan and folio as above〉 Tongdian juan 1 omits the four characters "on death the land reverts." Tongdian likely dropped them; Cefu follows Tongdian.
58
役有土居者冊府同卷 〈五九二四頁〉 、通典卷一此句作「後有來居者」，疑是。
Labor service for landholding residents. Cefu same juan 〈folio 5924〉 ; Tongdian juan 1 reads this line as "later settlers who arrive" — probably correct.
59
各隨地給公田冊府同上卷頁「地」作「所」，卷五０五 〈六０六四頁〉 作「近」。 按通典卷一作「匠」，乃「近」字形近而訛，疑作「近」是。
Each is granted public land according to locality. Cefu on the same juan folio has "place" as "place" (the cited text), Cefu juan 505 〈folio 6064〉 It reads "near." Note: Tongdian juan 1 has "craftsman", a near-form error for "near" — "near" is probably right.
60
大率十匹為公調諸本「公」作「工」。 冊府卷四八七 〈五八二六頁〉 、卷五０四 〈六０五五頁〉 、通典卷五賦稅中，通鑑卷一三六 〈四二七一頁〉 都作「公」。 按「工調」無義，「工」字訛，今據改。 又通典「十匹」下有「中五匹」三字。
As a rule ten bolts form the public levy — all editions write "public" as "craft." Cefu juan 487 〈folio 5826〉 , juan 504 〈folio 6055〉 , Tongdian juan 5 (Taxes and Levies), Zizhi tongjian juan 136 〈folio 4271〉 All read "public." Note: "craft levy" makes no sense — "craft" is a corruption; emended accordingly. Tongdian also adds "middle five bolts" after "ten bolts."
61
時儉則加私之一糶之於民卷六二李彪傳「一」作「二」，通典卷一二輕重作「減私之十二」。 按所謂「加私之一」，當指加於糴入時之價，故下云「歲凶則直給」，意謂凶歲糶出足以給往時糴入之直。 參卷六二校記 〈四〉。 又「糶」字諸本訛作「糴」，今據冊府、卷四八七 〈五八二七頁〉 、通典及李彪傳改。
In lean years add one part to the private margin and sell grain to the people — juan 62's Li Biao biography reads "one" as "two"; Tongdian juan 12 (Light and Heavy) has "reduce private by twelve parts." Note: "Add one part to the private margin" refers to the mark-up on grain bought in; hence "in famine years pay out directly" — in bad years sales should cover what was paid when buying in. See collation note to juan 62 〈[4]〉 Also all editions miswrite "sell grain" (the cited text) as "buy grain" (the cited text); emended per Cefu, juan 487 〈folio 5827〉 , Tongdian, and the Li Biao biography.
62
石門諸本「石」作「右」，冊府卷四九八 〈五九六四頁〉 、通典卷二０漕運作「石」。 按地在「小平」、「白馬津」之間，應是黃河的津口。 水經注卷五河水篇稱：「順帝陽嘉中，又自汴口以東，緣河積石，為堰通渠，咸曰金隄。 靈帝建寧中又增修石門，以遏渠口。」 水經注他處所見「石門」多處，唯此在「小平」及「白馬津」之間。 當即其地。 這裏「右」乃「石」形近而訛，今據改。
Shimen (Stone Gate) — all editions write "stone" as "right", Cefu juan 498 〈folio 5964〉 ; Tongdian juan 20 (Canal Transport) reads "stone." Note: The site lay between Xiaoping and Baima Ford — a Yellow River crossing. Shuijing zhu juan 5, Yellow River section, says: "Under Emperor Shun in the Yangjia era, from Bian Ford eastward stones were piled along the river for a weir and canal — the Golden Embankment. Under Emperor Ling in Jianning the Stone Gate was enlarged to choke the canal mouth." Shuijing zhu mentions many Stone Gates, but only this one falls between Xiaoping and Baima Ford. That must be the site. Here "right" is a near-form corruption of "stone" — emended accordingly.
63
令州郡綱典各受租調於將所諸本脫「受」字，不可通，今據冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 通典卷一０補。 又「將所」，冊府、通典並作「所在」，疑是。
Order provincial chief clerks each to receive rent levies at the general's headquarters — all editions drop "receive", which will not parse; emended per Cefu 〈same juan and folio as above〉 Tongdian juan 10 supplies it. Also for "general's headquarters", Cefu and Tongdian both read "where located" — probably right.
64
同其陪徵諸本無「同」字，冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 、通典卷一０有。 按文義當有此字，今據補。
Together with their supplementary levies — all editions omit "together", Cefu 〈same juan and folio as above〉 ; Tongdian juan 10 has it. Note: The sense requires this character — supplied accordingly.
65
孝昌二年冬諸本「冬」作「終」，冊府卷四八七 〈五八二七頁〉 、通典卷五賦稅中作「冬」。 按卷九肅宗紀，事在是年十一月丙午，作「冬」是，今據改。
Winter, Xiaochang year 2 — all editions write "winter" as "end", Cefu juan 487 〈folio 5827〉 ; Tongdian juan 5 (Taxes and Levies) reads "winter." Note: juan 9's Annals of Emperor Suzong places the event on bingwu in the eleventh month of that year — "winter" is right; emended accordingly.
66
授大州都冊府卷五０九 〈六一０九頁〉 「都」下有「統」字。 按上云「本州統」，下云「畿郡都統」，疑當有「統」字。
Granted command of a great province. Cefu juan 509 〈folio 6109〉 After "governor" stands the character "command" (the cited text). Note: Above reads "provincial command", below "metropolitan commandery governor-commander" — "command" probably belongs here.
67
是時罷之冊府卷四九三 〈五八九四頁〉 「是時」作「既而」，通典卷一０鹽鐵作「先是」。 按「是時」不知何時。 據卷六顯祖紀皇興四年十一月稱「詔弛山澤之禁」，所云「是時」，當即指皇興四年十一月，疑上本有敍此事文字，舊本已脫。 通典、冊府皆以意改。
At that time it was abolished. Cefu juan 493 〈folio 5894〉 "At this time" reads "soon after"; Tongdian juan 10 (Salt and Iron) has "previously." Note: "At this time" — when is unclear. juan 6's Annals of Emperor Xianzu records in Huangxing 4, month 11, "an edict relaxed prohibitions on mountains and marshes"; "at this time" likely means that month — narrative of the event may once have stood above and was lost. Tongdian and Cefu both emended freely.
68
於是圜貨始行諸本「圜」訛「國」，今據冊府卷五００ 〈五九九０頁〉 、通典卷九錢幣改。
Thus round coinage began to circulate - all editions corrupt "round" (the cited text) to "state" (the cited text); emended per Cefu juan 500 〈folio 5990〉 ; Tongdian juan 9 (Coinage) — emended accordingly.
69
指謂雞眼冊府卷五００ 〈五九九０頁〉 、通典卷九「雞」作「鵝」。 按「鵝眼錢」見宋書卷七五顏竣傳、隋書卷二四食貨志，乃南朝惡錢，似作「鵝」是。 但下文元澄再奏，仍作「雞眼」，或南稱「鵝眼」，北方自稱「雞眼」，今不改。
The reference is to "chicken-eye" coin. Cefu, juan 500 〈page 5990〉 ; Tongdian juan 9 reads "chicken" as "goose." Note: "goose-eye money" appears in Song Shu juan 75 (biography of Yan Jun) and Sui Shu juan 24 (Treatise on Food and Goods). It was debased coin of the Southern Dynasties, so "goose" seems correct. But in Yuan Cheng's later memorial below the text still reads "chicken-eye." Perhaps the south called it "goose-eye" while the north called it "chicken-eye"—no change is made here.
70
至今徒成杼軸之勞通典「今」作「令」，疑是，但作「今」亦通，今不改。
"To this day it only becomes the toil of the loom"—Tongdian reads "now" as "order"; that may be correct, but "now" also makes sense; no change made.
71
今東尚有事冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 、通典卷九「尚」作「南」。 按下元澄再奏，有云：「但今戎馬在郊，江疆未一，東南諸州，依舊為便。」 這裏疑亦作「東南」是，但作「尚」亦通，今不改。
"At present the east still has affairs"—Cefu 〈same juan and page as above〉 ; Tongdian juan 9 reads "still" as "south." Note: in Yuan Cheng's later memorial it says: "But now war-horses are at the suburbs, the Yangzi frontier is not yet unified, and the southeastern provinces remain as before for convenience." Here too "southeast" may be correct, but "still" also makes sense; no change is made.
72
連邦隔貿諸本「貿」訛「質」，不可通，今據冊府 〈同上卷頁〉 、通典卷九改。
"Linked states separated by trade"—all editions corrupt "trade" as "pledge," which will not do; now following Cefu 〈same juan and page as above〉 ; amended per Tongdian juan 9.
73
分遣使人於二市賣之諸本「賣」作「賞」，冊府卷五００ 〈五九九二頁〉 、通典卷九作「賣」。 按下云「絹匹止錢二百，而私市者猶三百」，這裏說官使人在二市貶價賣絹，故云「官欲貴錢」。 「賞」乃「賣」形近而訛，今據改。
"Dispatched envoys to sell it in the two markets"—all editions read "sell" as "bestow"; Cefu juan 500 〈page 5992〉 ; Tongdian juan 9 reads "sell." Note: below it says "a bolt of silk fetched only two hundred coins, while in private markets it still brought three hundred." Here government envoys sold silk at reduced prices in the two markets—hence "the government wished to raise the value of coin." "Bestow" is a graphic error near to "sell"; emended accordingly.