1
__FORCETOC__魏徵魏徵,字玄成,魏州曲城人。 少孤,落魄,棄貲產不營,有大志,通貫書術。 隋亂,詭為道士。 武陽郡丞元寶藏舉兵應李密,以徵典書檄。 密得寶藏書,輒稱善,既聞徵所為,促召之。 徵進十策說密,不能用。 王世充攻洛口,徵見長史鄭頲曰:「魏公雖驟勝,而驍將銳士死傷略盡; 又府無見財,戰勝不賞。 此二者不可以戰。 若浚池峭壘,曠日持久,賊糧盡且去,我追擊之,取勝之道也。」 頲曰:「老儒常語耳!」 徵不謝去。
__FORCETOC__Wei Zheng, whose style name was Xuancheng, was a native of Qucheng in Weizhou. Orphaned in youth, he lived in destitution and made no effort to manage his inheritance, nurturing grand ambitions while mastering the literary and scholarly arts. When the Sui dynasty collapsed into turmoil, he disguised himself as a Daoist priest. When Yuan Baozang, assistant magistrate of Wuyang Commandery, took up arms in support of Li Mi, he put Wei Zheng in charge of drafting documents and proclamations. Li Mi always praised the letters Yuan Baozang sent in—but when he learned that Wei Zheng had written them, he hurried to summon him. Wei Zheng offered Li Mi ten strategic proposals, but Li Mi did not act on them. When Wang Shichong attacked Luokou, Wei Zheng went to see Chief Secretary Zheng Ting and said, "Though the Duke of Wei has won rapid victories, his best generals and toughest fighters have been killed or wounded almost to the last man; And furthermore the headquarters has no ready funds—so even when they win, there are no rewards. With these two conditions, they cannot afford to go on fighting. If we deepen the moats and heighten the walls, draw the fight out over time, and wait until the enemy runs out of supplies and withdraws, we can pursue and defeat them—that is the path to victory." Zheng Ting replied, "That's the usual talk of some old bookish pedant!" Wei Zheng offered no thanks and walked away.
2
後從密來京師,久之未知名。 自請安輯山東,乃擢秘書丞,馳驛至黎陽。 時李勣尚為密守,徵與書曰:「始魏公起叛徒,振臂大呼,眾數十萬,威之所被半天下,然而一敗不振,卒歸唐者,固知天命有所歸也。 今君處必爭之地,不早自圖,則大事去矣!」 勣得書,遂定計歸,而大發粟饋淮安王之軍。
Later he followed Li Mi to the capital, but for a long time remained obscure. He volunteered to pacify the Shandong region and was appointed Secretary of the Palace Library, then rode post-haste to Liyang. At the time Li Shiji was still defending the territory on Li Mi's behalf. Wei Zheng wrote to him: "When the Duke of Wei first rose against the dynasty, he rallied hundreds of thousands to his banner and his influence reached across half the empire. Yet a single defeat left him unable to rally again, and in the end he submitted to Tang—clear proof that Heaven's mandate already rested elsewhere. You now hold a territory every power will fight over. If you do not act quickly on your own behalf, the opportunity will slip away forever!" After reading the letter, Li Shiji resolved to surrender and dispatched a large store of grain to supply the Prince of Huai'an's army.
3
會竇建德陷黎陽,獲徵,偽拜起居舍人。 建德敗,與裴矩走入關,隱太子引為洗馬。 徵見秦王功高,陰勸太子早為計。 太子敗,王責謂曰:「爾鬩吾兄弟,奈何?」 答曰:「太子蚤從徵言,不死今日之禍。」 王器其直,無恨意。
When Dou Jiande seized Liyang, he captured Wei Zheng and gave him the nominal title of Attendant of the Imperial Diary. After Dou Jiande's defeat, Wei Zheng fled through the passes into the heartland with Pei Ju, where the Hidden Crown Prince appointed him Junior Mentor. Seeing the Prince of Qin's mounting power, Wei Zheng privately urged the Crown Prince to act before it was too late. After the Crown Prince's defeat, the Prince of Qin confronted Wei Zheng: "You turned my brothers against me—how do you answer for that?" Wei Zheng replied, "If the Crown Prince had taken my advice sooner, he would not have met this day's doom." The Prince admired his blunt honesty and held no grudge.
4
即位,拜諫議大夫,封钜鹿縣男。 當是時,河北州縣素事隱、巢者不自安,往往曹伏思亂。 徵白太宗曰:「不示至公,禍不可解。」 帝曰:「爾行安喻河北。」 道遇太子千牛李志安、齊王護軍李思行傳送京師,徵與其副謀曰:「屬有詔,宮府舊人普原之。 今復執送志安等,誰不自疑者? 吾屬雖往,人不信。」 即貸而後聞。 使還,帝悅,日益親,或引至臥內,訪天下事。 徵亦自以不世遇,乃展盡底蘊無所隱,凡二百餘奏,無不剴切當帝心者。 由是拜尚書右丞,兼諫議大夫。
When the new emperor took the throne, he appointed Wei Zheng Remonstrating and Advising Grand Master and enfeoffed him as Baron of Julu County. At that time, officials throughout Hebei who had long served the Hidden Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi were uneasy, and many secretly plotted rebellion. Wei Zheng told Emperor Taizong, "Unless you demonstrate absolute fairness, this trouble cannot be put to rest." The Emperor said, "Go and reassure the people of Hebei on my behalf." On the way he encountered Li Zhian, the Crown Prince's Palace Attendant, and Li Sixing, the Prince of Qi's Protector-General, being escorted to the capital. Wei Zheng conspired with his deputy: "An edict has just been issued granting general amnesty to all former palace retainers. If we now send Li Zhian and the others under guard to the capital, who among those we are trying to reassure will not begin to doubt us? Even if we make the journey ourselves, no one will trust our message." He released them at once and reported his action only afterward. When he returned from his mission, the emperor was delighted. Their bond deepened day by day; sometimes the emperor would summon him into his bedchamber to consult on affairs across the empire. Convinced he had met with an unparalleled opportunity, Wei Zheng held nothing back. In more than two hundred memorials, each one was pointed and struck exactly where the emperor's concerns lay. On this account he was promoted to Right Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel while retaining his post as Remonstrating and Advising Grand Master.
5
左右有毀徵阿党親戚者,帝使溫彥博按訊,非是。 彥博曰:「徵為人臣,不能著形跡,遠嫌疑,而被飛謗,是宜責也。」 帝謂彥博行讓徵。 徵見帝,謝曰:「臣聞君臣同心,是謂一體,豈有置至公,事形跡? 若上下共由茲路,邦之興喪未可知也。」 帝矍然,曰:「吾悟之矣!」 徵頓首曰:「願陛下俾臣為良臣,毋俾臣為忠臣。」 帝曰:「忠、良異乎?」 曰:「良臣,稷、契、咎陶也; 忠臣,龍逢、比干也。 良臣,身荷美名,君都顯號,子孫傅承,流祚無疆; 忠臣,己嬰禍誅,君陷昏惡,喪國夷家,只取空名。 此其異也。」 帝曰:「善。」 因問:「為君者何道而明,何失而暗?」 徵曰:「君所以明,兼聽也; 所以暗,偏信也。 堯、舜氏辟四門,明四目,達四聰。 雖有共,鮌,不能塞也,靖言庸違,不能惑也。 秦二世隱藏其身,以信趙高,天下潰叛而不得聞; 梁武帝信硃異,侯景向關而不得聞; 隋煬帝信虞世基,賊遍天下而不得聞。 故曰,君能兼聽,則奸人不得壅蔽,而下情通矣。」
Courtiers accused Wei Zheng of favoring his relatives and allies, but when the emperor had Wen Yanbo investigate, the charges proved false. Yanbo said, "As a minister, Wei Zheng failed to make his conduct transparent and keep himself above suspicion, and so became the target of malicious gossip—for that he deserves a rebuke." The emperor sent Yanbo to admonish Wei Zheng. When Wei Zheng saw the emperor, he replied, "I have heard that when ruler and minister are of one mind, they form a single body. How can one pursue absolute fairness while obsessing over appearances? If both ruler and ministers go down that road together, there is no telling whether the realm will prosper or perish." The emperor started, then said, "Now I see it!" Wei Zheng kowtowed and said, "I ask that Your Majesty make me a good minister—not a loyal minister." The emperor asked, "Are loyal ministers and good ministers not the same thing?" He replied, "Good ministers are men like Hou Ji, Qi, and Gao Yao; loyal ministers are men like Long Feng and Bi Gan. Good ministers win lasting fame for themselves, bring glory to their sovereign, and leave blessings that their descendants inherit for generations; loyal ministers suffer death and ruin themselves, leave their sovereign mired in folly and wickedness, bring down the state and destroy their clans, and gain nothing but an empty reputation. That is the difference between them." The emperor said, "Well put." Then he asked, "What makes a ruler enlightened, and what makes him blind?" Wei Zheng said, "A ruler is enlightened because he listens to many voices; he is blind because he trusts only one side. Yao and Shun opened the four gates of their palace, sharpened the vision of their four eyes, and extended the hearing of their four ears. Even men as corrupt as Gong Gong and Gun could not choke off the flow of information, and even smooth words and perverse conduct could not mislead them. The Second Emperor of Qin shut himself away and put his trust in Zhao Gao; rebellion spread across the empire, yet he heard nothing of it; Emperor Wu of Liang trusted Zhu Yi; Hou Jing marched on the capital, yet he heard nothing of it; Emperor Yang of Sui trusted Yu Shiji; rebels spread across the empire, yet he heard nothing of it. Hence the saying: when a ruler listens broadly, the wicked cannot block or conceal the truth, and the concerns of those below reach the throne."
6
鄭仁基息女美而才,皇后建請為充華,典冊具。 或言許聘矣。 徵諫曰:「陛下處台榭,則欲民有楝宇; 食膏粱,則欲民有飽適; 顧嬪禦,則欲民有室家。 今鄭已約昏,陛下取之,豈為人父母意!」 帝痛自咎,即詔停冊。
The daughter of Zheng Renji's son was both beautiful and gifted. The empress repeatedly asked that she be made a Lady of Handsome Fairness, and the investiture documents were already prepared. Word came that she had already been promised in marriage. Wei Zheng remonstrated: "When Your Majesty lives in palaces and pavilions, you wish the people to have homes of their own; when you eat fine food, you wish the people to eat their fill; when you choose consorts for the palace, you wish the people to have wives and families of their own. The Zheng family has already arranged her marriage. If Your Majesty takes her anyway, is that the conduct of a ruler who acts as parent to the people?" The emperor was deeply ashamed and at once issued an edict canceling the investiture.
7
貞觀三年,以秘書監參豫朝政。 高昌王曲文泰將入朝,西域諸國欲因文泰悉遣使者奉獻。 帝詔文泰使人厭怛紇幹迎之。 徵曰:「異時文泰入朝,所過供擬不能具,今又加諸國焉,則瀕塞州縣以乏致罪者眾。 彼以商賈來,則邊人為之利; 若賓客之,中國蕭然耗矣。 漢建武時,西域請置都護、送侍子,光武不許,不以蠻夷敝中國也。」 帝曰:「善。」 追止其詔。
In the third year of Zhenguan, as Director of the Palace Library he took part in deliberating court affairs. When the King of Gaochang, Qu Wentai, was about to come to court, the various states of the Western Regions all wanted to send envoys bearing tribute along with him. The emperor ordered that Wentai's envoys be met and escorted at Yandan Qagan. Wei Zheng said, "When Wentai came to court before, the localities along the route could not even supply his party adequately. Now, with envoys from all these states added, countless border counties will be punished for failing to meet the demand. If they come as traders, the border people will benefit; but if they are received as state guests, the heartland will be drained dry. In the Jianwu era of Han, the Western Regions asked to establish a Protectorate and send hostage princes; Emperor Guangwu refused, unwilling to let frontier peoples drain the resources of China." The emperor said, "Well put." He revoked the edict.
8
於是帝即位四年,歲斷死二十九,幾至刑措,米斗三錢。 先是,帝嘗歎曰:「今大亂之後,其難治乎?」 徵曰:「大亂之易治,譬饑人之易食也。」 帝曰:「古不雲善人為邦百年,然後勝殘去殺邪?」 答曰:「此不為聖哲論也。 聖哲之治,其應如響,期月而可,蓋不其難。」 封德彝曰:「不然。 三代之後,澆詭日滋。 秦任法律,漢雜霸道,皆欲治不能,非能治不欲。 徵書生,好虛論,徒亂國家,不可聽。」 徵曰:「五帝、三王不易民以教,行帝道而帝,行王道而王,顧所行何如爾。 黃帝逐蚩尤,七十戰而勝其亂,因致無為。 九黎害德,顓頊征之,已克而治。 桀為亂,湯放之; 紂無道,武王伐之。 湯、武身及太平。 若人漸澆詭,不復返樸,今當為鬼為魅,尚安得而化哉!」 德彝不能對,然心以為不可。 帝納之不疑。 至是,天下大治。 蠻夷君長襲衣冠,帶刀宿衛。 東薄海,南逾嶺,戶闔不閉,行旅不齎糧,取給於道。 帝謂群臣曰:「此徵勸我行仁義,既效矣。 惜不令封德彝見之!」
By the fourth year of his reign, only twenty-nine death sentences were passed that year, punishments were all but abolished, and rice sold for three cash per dou. Earlier the emperor had sighed and said, "After such great upheaval, will the realm not be hard to govern?" Wei Zheng replied, "That chaos makes governance easier is like hunger making food easier to eat." The emperor said, "Did the ancients not say that only after a good man has governed a state for a hundred years are the violent overcome and executions abolished?" He answered, "That saying was not meant for sage rulers. The rule of a sage responds like an echo; within a month or a year it can be achieved. It is not so difficult as people imagine." Feng Deyi objected, "Not so. After the Three Dynasties, depravity and cunning grew worse with each passing day. Qin relied on law, Han mixed in hegemonic methods—both wanted to govern well but could not. It was not that they could govern but chose not to. Wei Zheng is a bookish pedant who loves idle theorizing. He will only throw the state into confusion and should not be listened to." Wei Zheng replied, "The Five Emperors and Three Kings did not change the people in order to teach them. They practiced the Way of the Emperor and became emperors; they practiced the Kingly Way and became kings. Everything depended on the path they chose. The Yellow Emperor drove out Chiyou. After seventy battles he quelled the chaos and thereby achieved effortless rule. When the Nine Li threatened moral order, Zhuanxu campaigned against them and, once they were subdued, brought order to the realm. Jie brought chaos, and Tang banished him; Zhou was without the Way, and King Wu attacked him. Tang and Wu themselves lived to see an age of great peace. If people grow ever more depraved and cunning and no longer return to simplicity, then even if one were a ghost or demon, how could one transform them!" Deyi had no answer, though in his heart he still did not believe it. The emperor accepted Wei Zheng's view without hesitation. By this time the realm was at peace and well governed. Barbarian chieftains donned Chinese robes and caps and served as armed guards at the palace. The realm stretched east to the sea and south beyond the mountains. People left their doors unbarred, travelers carried no provisions, and found what they needed along the road. The emperor told his ministers, "This is because Wei Zheng urged me to practice benevolence and righteousness—and it has already borne fruit. It is a pity Feng Deyi is not here to see it!"
9
俄檢校侍中,進爵郡公。 帝幸九成宮,宮禦舍湋川宮下。 僕射李靖、侍中王珪繼至,吏改館宮禦以舍靖、珪。 帝聞,怒曰:「威福由是等邪! 何輕我宮人?」 詔並按之。 徵曰:「靖、珪皆陛下腹心大臣,宮人止後宮掃除隸耳。 方大臣出,官吏諮朝廷法式; 歸來,陛下問人間疾苦。 夫官舍,固靖等見官吏之所,吏不可不謁也。 至宮人則不然,供饋之餘無所參承。 以此按吏,且駭天下耳目。」 帝悟,寢不問。
Soon afterward he was made Acting Palace Attendant and promoted to Duke of the Commandery. The emperor visited Jiucheng Palace, and the palace women were quartered at Weichuan Palace below. Left Pushe Li Jing and Palace Attendant Wang Gui arrived shortly afterward, and the officials reallocated the palace women's quarters to lodge Jing and Gui. When the emperor heard of it, he said in anger, "Is authority and favor to be wielded by people like this! Why do you treat my palace women so lightly?" He ordered them all prosecuted. Wei Zheng said, "Jing and Gui are both trusted ministers close to Your Majesty's heart; palace women are only attendants of the inner quarters who sweep and clean. When great ministers leave on business, officials consult them on court regulations and statutes; When they return, Your Majesty inquires about the people's suffering. Official lodgings are naturally where Jing and the others receive officials—officials cannot fail to pay their respects. Palace women are another matter: beyond supplying food, they have no duties of consultation or audience. To prosecute the officials over this would shock the whole realm." The emperor came to his senses and dropped the matter.
10
後宴丹霄樓,酒中謂長孫無忌曰:「魏徵、王珪事隱太子、巢刺王時,誠可惡,我能棄怨用才,無羞古人。 然徵每諫我不從,我發言輒不即應,何哉?」 徵曰:「臣以事有不可,故諫,若不從輒應,恐遂行之。」 帝曰:「弟即應,須別陳論,顧不得?」 徵曰:「昔舜戒群臣:'爾無面從,退有後言。 '若面從可,方別陳論,此乃後言,非稷、蒐所以事堯、舜也。」 帝大笑曰:「人言徵舉動疏慢,我但見其嫵媚耳!」 徵再拜曰:「陛下導臣使言,所以敢然; 若不受,臣敢數批逆鱗哉!」
Later, while feasting at Danxiao Tower, the emperor said mid-cups to Zhangsun Wuji, "When Wei Zheng and Wang Gui served the Hidden Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi, they were truly odious—but I can put aside old resentments and employ talent. I need not blush before the ancients. Yet whenever Zheng remonstrates with me and I do not heed him, he never answers me immediately when I speak. Why is that?" Wei Zheng replied, "Your servant remonstrates because some matters ought not be done. If I assented the moment You did not heed me, I fear they would then be carried out." The emperor said, "You could assent at once and then set forth a separate argument—would that not do?" Wei Zheng said, "Long ago Shun warned his ministers, 'Do not obey to one's face and speak differently behind one's back. If assenting to one's face were acceptable, then offering a separate argument afterward would itself be speaking behind one's back. That is not how Hou Ji and Xie served Yao and Shun." The emperor burst out laughing and said, "People say Zheng's bearing is careless and insolent—but I see only his charming persuasiveness!" Wei Zheng bowed again and said, "Your Majesty encourages your servant to speak—that is why I dare speak so frankly; If You did not welcome it, how would your servant dare repeatedly to touch the dragon's scales against the grain!"
11
十年,為侍中。 尚書省滯訟不決者,詔徵平治。 徵不素習法,但存大體,處事以情,人人悅服。 進左光祿大夫、鄭國公。 多病,辭職,帝曰:「公獨不見金在鑛何足貴邪? 善冶鍛而為器,人乃寶之。 朕方自比于金,以卿為良匠而加礪焉。 卿雖疾,未及衰,庸得便爾?」 徵懇請,數卻愈牢。 乃拜特進,知門下省事,詔朝章國典,參議得失,祿賜、國官、防閤並同職事。
In the tenth year, he was made Palace Attendant. Lawsuits stalled in the Ministry of State were ordered settled by Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was not trained in law, but he upheld the broad principles and judged cases with human sympathy—everyone was satisfied. He was promoted to Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and Duke of Zheng. He fell frequently ill and asked to resign. The emperor said, "Do you not see that raw gold in the mine is worth nothing? Only when skillfully refined and forged into a vessel do people treasure it. I compare myself to gold and take you as a fine craftsman to sharpen and polish me. You are ill, but not yet in decline—how can you leave so easily?" Wei Zheng pleaded earnestly, but the more he was refused, the more firmly he pressed his request. Thereupon he was appointed Special Grand Master and placed in charge of Chancellery affairs, with orders to deliberate court regulations and state institutions and comment on their strengths and flaws; his salary, gifts, household staff, and guards were all on the same footing as an incumbent minister.
12
文德皇后既葬,帝即苑中作層觀,以望昭陵,引徵同升,徵孰視曰:「臣眊昏,不能見。」 帝指示之,徵曰:「此昭陵邪?」 帝曰:「然。」 徵曰:「臣以為陛下望獻陵,若昭陵,臣固見之。」 帝泣,為毀觀。 尋以定五禮,當封一子縣男,徵請封孤兄子叔慈。 帝愴然曰:「此可以勵俗。」 即許之。
After Empress Wende was buried, the emperor built a multi-storied tower in the park to gaze upon Zhao Mausoleum and had Wei Zheng ascend with him. Wei Zheng looked closely and said, "Your servant's eyes are dim—I cannot see." The emperor pointed it out. Wei Zheng said, "Is this Zhao Mausoleum?" The emperor said, "It is." Wei Zheng said, "Your servant thought Your Majesty was looking toward Xian Mausoleum. If it were Zhao Mausoleum, I would surely have seen it." The emperor wept and had the tower torn down. Soon, for his role in codifying the Five Rites, he was entitled to ennoble one son as a county baron. Wei Zheng asked instead to ennoble his late elder brother's orphaned son Shuci. The emperor said, deeply moved, "This can inspire the people." He granted it at once.
13
後幸洛陽,次昭仁宮,多所譴責。 徵曰:「隋惟責不獻食,或供奉不精,為此無限,而至於亡。 故天命陛下代之,正當兢懼戒約,奈何令人悔為不奢。 若以為足,今不啻足矣; 以為不足,萬此寧有足邪?」 帝驚曰:「非公不聞此言。」 退又上疏曰:
Later the emperor visited Luoyang and lodged at Zhaoren Palace, where he issued many reprimands. Wei Zheng said, "The Sui dynasty condemned people only for failing to present food or for substandard tribute. Such demands knew no bounds—and led to the dynasty's fall. Heaven therefore entrusted the realm to Your Majesty in their place. You ought to be vigilant, restrained, and wary. How can you make people regret that they were not more extravagant? If you deem this enough, what you have now is more than enough; If you deem it insufficient, even ten thousand times as much would never be enough." The emperor said, startled, "If not for you, I would never have heard such words." Afterward Wei Zheng submitted another memorial, saying:
14
《書》稱「明德慎罰」,「惟刑之恤」。 《禮》曰:「為上易事,為下易知,則刑不煩。」 「上多疑,則百姓惑; 下難知,則君長勞。」 夫上易事,下易知,君長不勞,百姓不惑,故君有一德,臣無二心。 夫刑賞之本,在乎勸善而懲惡。 帝王所與,天下畫一,不以親疏貴賤而輕重者也。 今之刑賞,或由喜怒,或出好惡。 喜則矜刑於法中,怒則求罪於律外; 好則鑽皮出羽,惡則洗垢索瘢。 蓋刑濫則小人道長,賞謬則君子道消。 小人之惡不懲,君子之善不勸,而望治安刑措,非所聞也。 且暇豫而言,皆敦尚孔、老; 至於威怒,則專法申、韓。 故道德之旨未弘,而鍥薄之風先搖。 昔州犁上下其手而楚法以敝,張湯輕重其心而漢刑以謬,況人主而自高下乎! 頃者罰人,或以供張不贍,或不能從欲,皆非致治之急也。 夫貴不與驕期而驕自至,富不與奢期而奢自至,非徒語也。
The Book of Documents says, "Illustrate virtue and be cautious in punishment," and "be compassionate in administering punishments." The Book of Rites says, "When superiors find their tasks easy and inferiors easy to understand, punishments need not be numerous." "When the ruler is overly suspicious, the people grow confused; When inferiors are difficult to fathom, rulers and chiefs exhaust themselves. When superiors are easy to serve and inferiors easy to understand, rulers need not wear themselves out and the people need not be bewildered. Then the sovereign keeps to a single standard, and his ministers harbor no divided loyalty. Punishment and reward exist above all to promote virtue and chastise wrongdoing. What a sovereign grants must be one law for all under Heaven, never lighter or heavier for kin or stranger, for the highborn or the low. Punishments and rewards now are meted out at whim—now by mood, now by personal favor or disfavor. In pleasure, the law is stretched to show mercy; in anger, guilt is hunted beyond what the statutes allow. For those favored, the skin is picked apart to discover merit; for those despised, every stain is scrubbed until a blemish appears. When punishment runs wild, the petty flourish; when reward goes astray, the upright are driven from the path. If the wicked go unchecked and the worthy unrewarded, yet one still expects tranquillity and the abolition of the penal code—I have never heard of such a thing. In moments of ease they speak only of revering Confucius and Laozi. Yet when wrath rises, they govern by nothing but the harsh doctrines of Shen Buhai and Han Fei. The spirit of virtue has scarcely taken root, while the taste for harsh severity already blows through the court. Of old, Yang Chu rigged the balance and Chu law collapsed; Zhang Tang bent the scales to his whim and Han justice went awry—what then when the Son of Heaven himself raises and lowers the weights? Lately men have been punished for inadequate feasts, or for failing to gratify every wish—matters far removed from the urgent business of good rule. Rank needs no appointment with pride for pride to arrive; riches need no tryst with extravagance for extravagance to follow—this is no idle proverb.
15
且我之所代,實在有隋。 以隋府藏況今之資儲,以隋甲兵況今之士馬,以隋戶口況今之百姓,挈長度大,曾何等級焉! 然隋以富強而喪,動之也; 我以貧寡而安,靜之也。 靜之則安,動之則亂,人皆知之,非隱而難見、微而難察也。 不蹈平易之塗,而遵覆車之轍,何哉? 安不思危,治不念亂,存不慮亡也。 方隋未亂,自謂必無亂; 未亡,自謂必不亡。 所以甲兵亟動,徭役不息,以至戮辱而不悟滅亡之所由也,豈不哀哉! 夫監形之美惡,必就止水; 監'政之安危,必取亡國。 《詩》曰:「殷鑒不遠,在夏後之世。 臣願當今之動靜,以隋為鑒,則存亡治亂可得而知。 思所以危則安矣,思所以亂則治矣,思所以亡則存矣。 存亡之所在,在節嗜欲,省遊畋,息靡麗,罷不急,慎偏聽,近忠厚,遠便佞而已。 夫守之則易,得之實難。 今既得其所難,豈不能保其所易? 保之不固,驕奢淫泆有以動之也。
The realm we now hold is the very one we took from the Sui. Set the Sui treasuries beside our stores today, their arms and armor beside our soldiers and horses, their registered households beside our people—measure the greater against the lesser, and we are not even of the same order! Yet the Sui, for all its wealth and might, was destroyed—because it would not keep still. We remain secure in our poverty and smallness—because we hold ourselves in quiet. Quiet brings peace; unrest brings disorder—everyone knows this. It is neither hidden from sight nor too fine to discern. Why leave the broad, level path to follow the tracks of a wrecked cart? Secure, one forgets peril; well governed, one forgets disorder; while the state stands, one forgets how it may fall. Before the Sui unraveled, they were certain it never would. Before they were destroyed, they were certain they never could be. So arms were ever on the march and forced labor never rested, until shame and ruin overtook them—yet still they did not see what brought their fall. Is it not pitiful! To judge whether a face is fair or foul, one must look into calm water. To gauge whether rule is secure or imperiled, one must take a fallen kingdom as one's mirror. The Book of Songs says: "The mirror of Yin is not distant—it lies in the age that followed Xia. I beg Your Majesty, in every move and every pause of the present reign, to take the Sui as warning—then whether the state will stand or fall, govern well or sink into chaos, may be foreseen. Reflect on the causes of peril and you will remain safe; reflect on the causes of disorder and you will keep the realm governed; reflect on the causes of ruin and you will preserve the state. Whether the state endures or perishes depends on nothing more than curbing desire, cutting back the hunt, laying aside splendor, dropping what is not urgent, guarding against one-sided counsel, cleaving to loyalty and sincerity, and keeping glib sycophants at a distance. What is won with difficulty is kept with ease—or so it should be. Having already gained what was hard to gain, can you not guard what is easy to keep? Fail to hold it fast, and pride, luxury, and excess will set it moving again.
16
帝宴群臣積翠池,酣樂賦詩。 徵賦《西漢》,其卒章曰:「終藉叔孫禮,方知皇帝尊。」 帝曰:「徵言未嘗不約我以禮。」 它日,從容問曰:「比政治若何?」 徵見久承平,帝意有所忽,因對曰:「陛下貞觀之初,導人使諫。 三年以後,見諫者悅而從之。 比一二年,勉強受諫,而終不平也。」 帝驚曰:「公何物驗之?」 對曰:「陛下初即位,論元律師死,孫伏伽諫以為法不當死,陛下賜以蘭陵公主園,直百萬。 或曰:『賞太厚。』 答曰:『朕即位,未有諫者,所以賞之。』 此導人使諫也。 後柳雄妄訴隋資,有司得,劾其偽,將論死,戴胄奏罪當徒,執之四五然後赦。 謂胄曰『弟守法如此,不畏濫罰。』 此悅而從諫也。 近皇甫德參上書言『修洛陽宮,勞人也; 收地租,厚斂也; 俗尚高髻,宮中所化也。』 陛下恚曰:『是子使國家不役一人,不收一租,宮人無髮,乃稱其意。』 臣奏:『人臣上書,不激切不能起人主意,激切即近訕謗。』 于時,陛下雖從臣言,賞帛罷之,意終不平。 此難於受諫也。」 帝悟曰:「非公,無能道此者。 人苦不自覺耳!」
The emperor gave a banquet for his ministers at the Pool of Accumulated Emerald, drinking deep in merriment and composing verses. Wei Zheng recited his poem "Western Han," whose closing lines run: "Only through Shusun Tong's rites does one learn how august an emperor truly is. The emperor said, "Never once has Zheng spoken without schooling me in propriety." On another occasion, speaking at ease, he asked, "How stands the realm's governance of late?" Wei Zheng, seeing how long peace had lasted and that the emperor's attention had grown lax, answered, "At the opening of the Zhenguan reign, Your Majesty encouraged men to speak plainly. After three years, when remonstrance came you took it gladly and acted on it. These last one or two years, you accept counsel only with reluctance—and in your heart you are never quite at peace with it. The emperor, taken aback, said, "On what grounds do you say so?" He answered, "When Your Majesty first took the throne, the court debated putting Lawyer Yuan to death. Sun Fugue remonstrated that the law did not require death, and Your Majesty gave him Princess Lanling's estate, worth a million cash. Someone said, 'The reward is too lavish.' You answered, 'I have only just come to the throne and had not yet heard a single remonstrance—that is why I rewarded him.' That was encouraging men to speak up. Later Liu Xiong falsely claimed assets from the Sui; the authorities caught him, charged him with fraud, and were about to condemn him to death. Dai Zhou submitted that the offense merited only penal servitude. Your Majesty held firm four or five times before granting pardon at last. You told Dai Zhou, 'My friend, you hold to the law so steadfastly—you do not shrink from my overbearing punishments.' That was taking remonstrance gladly and yielding to it. Not long ago Huangfu Dekcan submitted a memorial stating, 'The repairs to Luoyang Palace impose hardship on the people; To levy land rents is to burden the people with heavy taxation; The vogue for towering coiffures—that is the palace's doing. The emperor said in wrath, 'This fellow would have the realm press not one soul into service, take not one coin in rent, and leave the palace women without a single lock of hair—only then would he deem my wishes fulfilled.' Wei Zheng replied, 'When a minister submits a memorial, he cannot rouse his sovereign's attention unless he speaks with sharp urgency—and yet sharp urgency borders on slander.' At the time, though Your Majesty took my counsel, rewarded me with silk, and dismissed the matter, your heart remained unsettled to the end. This is why it is so hard for a ruler to accept honest counsel." The emperor saw the truth and said, 'But for you, no one could have put it so plainly. The trouble with men is that they cannot see themselves clearly!"
17
先是,帝作飛仙宮,徵上疏曰:
Earlier, the emperor had raised the Flying Immortal Palace. Wei Zheng submitted a memorial, saying:
18
隋有天下三十餘年,風行萬里,威詹殊俗,一旦舉而棄之。 彼煬帝者,豈惡治安、喜滅亡哉? 恃其富強,不虞後患也。 驅天下,役萬物,以自奉養,子女玉帛是求,宮宇台榭是飾,徭役無時,干戈不休,外示威重,內行險忌,讒邪者進,忠正者退,上下相蒙,人不堪命,以致殞匹夫之手,為天下笑。 聖哲乘機,拯其危溺。 今宮觀台榭,盡居之矣; 奇珍異物,盡收之矣; 姬薑淑媛,盡侍於側矣; 四海九州,盡為臣妾矣。 若能鑒彼所以亡,念我所以得,焚寶衣,毀廣殿,安處卑宮,德之上也。 若成功不廢,即仍其舊,除其不急,德之次也。 不惟王業之艱難,謂天命可恃,因基增舊,甘心侈靡,使人不見德而勞役是聞,斯為下矣。 以暴易暴,與亂同道。 夫作事不法,後無以觀。 人怨神怒,則災害生; 災害生,則禍亂作; 禍亂作,而能以身名令終鮮矣。
The Sui ruled the realm for more than thirty years. Its influence reached ten thousand li; its might overawed foreign lands—and then, in a single stroke, it was cast aside. Did Emperor Yang truly hate peace and love destruction? He trusted in his wealth and power, and gave no thought to the ruin that would follow. He drove all under Heaven and pressed every living thing into his service. He hoarded women and treasure, jade and silk; he built palaces, towers, and pavilions without end. Corvée labor knew no season; war never ceased. Outwardly he flaunted might; inwardly he nursed suspicion and malice. Slanderers rose; the loyal were cast aside. Court and people lied to one another until life became unbearable—and so he died by a commoner's hand, a mockery to all the world. Then the wise and worthy seized their chance and pulled the realm back from the brink of ruin. Today, palaces and towers—you already inhabit them all; Rare treasures and exotic wonders—you have gathered them all; Fair consorts and graceful ladies—all stand in attendance at your side; The four seas and nine provinces—all lie at your command. If you can read in their fall the warning of your own rise—burn the brocade robes, tear down the vast halls, and dwell in humble chambers—that is the highest virtue. If, now that success is won, you do not abandon the work entirely but keep what was begun, stripping away only what is not urgent—that is the next best virtue. But if you forget how bitterly the throne was won, trust that Heaven's mandate will endure forever, expand the old foundations, and surrender yourself to extravagance—so that the people hear nothing of your virtue, only of their toil—that is the lowest course of all. To overthrow tyranny only to become tyrannical yourself is to follow the path of ruin. When a ruler's deeds violate the proper way, those who come after have no standard by which to judge him. When the people murmur and the spirits grow angry, disasters follow; when disasters come, rebellion follows; and when rebellion comes, few rulers can preserve their lives and good names to the end.
19
是歲,大雨,穀、洛溢,毀宮寺十九,漂居人六百家。 徵陳事曰:
That year came torrential rains. The Gu and Luo rivers burst their banks, destroying nineteen palace temples and sweeping away six hundred households. Wei Zheng laid the matter before the throne, saying:
20
臣聞為國基於德禮,保於誠信。 誠信立,則下無二情; 德禮形,則遠者來格。 故德禮誠信,國之大綱,不可斯須廢也。 傳曰:「君使臣以禮,臣事君以忠。」 「自古皆有死,民無信不立。」 又曰:「同言而信,信在言前; 同令而行,誠在令外。」 然則言而不行,言不信也; 令而不從,令無誠也。 不信之言,不誠之令,君子弗為也。
I have heard that a state is built on virtue and ritual, and sustained by sincerity and trust. When sincerity and trust stand firm, those below harbor no divided loyalties; when virtue and ritual are made manifest, even distant peoples come to pay homage. Virtue, ritual, sincerity, and trust are the great cords of the state—they must not be set aside even for a moment. The Classic says, 'Let the ruler treat his ministers with ritual; let ministers serve their ruler with loyalty.' Since ancient times, all men must die—but a people without trust cannot endure.' It also says, 'When two men speak alike, trust is already present before the words are spoken; when two commands are alike, sincerity already exists beyond the command itself. Thus, to speak and not act is to speak without trust; to command and not be obeyed is to rule without sincerity. Words without trust, commands without sincerity—the noble man will not stoop to such things.
21
自王道休明,綿十餘載,倉廩愈積,土地益廣,然而道德不日博,仁義不日厚,何哉? 由待下之情,未盡誠信,雖有善始之勤,而無克終之美。 故便佞之徒得肆其巧,謂同心為朋黨,告訐為至公,強直為擅權,忠讜為誹謗。 謂之朋黨,雖忠信可疑; 謂之至公,雖矯偽無咎。 強直者畏擅權而不得盡,忠讜者慮誹謗而不敢與之爭。 熒惑視聽,郁于大道,妨化損德,無斯甚者。
Since Your Majesty's enlightened reign began, more than ten years have passed. The granaries grow fuller; the realm grows wider—yet virtue does not deepen day by day, nor benevolence and righteousness grow day by day. Why? Because in your dealings with those below, sincerity and trust have not been complete. You have begun well, but not finished well. And so the smooth-tongued and the cunning have had their way: they call unity of purpose 'faction'; they call denunciation 'impartial justice'; they call forthrightness 'grasping for power'; they call loyal remonstrance 'slander.' Call it faction, and even the loyal and trustworthy fall under suspicion; call it impartial justice, and even deceit and fraud escape blame. The forthright fear the charge of grasping for power and cannot speak their full mind; the loyal and outspoken fear the charge of slander and dare not argue back. To dazzle the ruler's eyes and ears, to block the great Way—nothing does more harm to good governance and virtue.
22
今將致治則委之君子,得失或訪諸小人,是譽毀常在小人,而督責常加君子也。 夫中智之人,豈無小惠,然慮不及遠,雖使竭力盡誠,猶未免傾敗,況內懷奸利,承顏順旨乎? 故孔子曰:「君子而不仁者有矣,未有小人而仁者。」 然則君子不能無小惡,惡不積無害於正; 小人時有小善,善不積不足以忠。 今謂之善人矣,復慮其不信,何異立直木而疑其景之曲乎? 故上不信則無以使下,下不信則無以事上。 信之為義大矣!
Today, when you seek good order you rely on noble men—but when something goes wrong, you turn to petty men for advice. Praise and blame thus fall to petty men, while responsibility and censure fall to noble men. Men of middling wit may have their small talents—but their vision does not reach far. Even if you make them serve with all their strength and sincerity, they cannot save you from disaster. How much less those who harbor secret greed and fawn upon your face to follow your every whim? Confucius said, 'There have been noble men who lacked benevolence—but there has never been a petty man who possessed it. Even the noble cannot be wholly free of small failings—but failings that never gather into habit do not corrupt what is upright in them. Even the base man may now and then do a small good—but scattered kindnesses do not add up to true loyalty. If you already call a man good, yet still doubt his faithfulness, what is that but planting a straight post and then accusing its shadow of bending? When those above withhold trust, they lose the means to command; when those below withhold trust, they lose the means to serve. In governance, nothing weighs more than trust.
23
昔齊桓公問管仲曰:「吾欲使酒腐於爵,肉腐於俎,得無害霸乎?」 管仲曰:「此固非其善者,然無害霸也。」 公曰:「何如而害霸?」 曰:「不能知人,害霸也; 知而不能用,害霸也; 用而不能任,害霸也; 任而不能信,害霸也; 既信而又使小人參之,害霸也。」 晉中行穆伯攻鼓,經年而不能下,饋閑倫曰:「鼓之嗇夫,閑倫知之,請無疲士大夫,而鼓可得。」 穆伯不應。 左右曰:「不折一戟,不傷一卒,而鼓可得,君奚不為?」 穆伯曰:「閑倫之為人也,佞而不仁。 若使閑倫下之,吾不可以不賞,若賞之,是賞佞人也。 佞人得志,是使晉國舍仁而為佞,雖得鼓,安用之!」 夫穆伯,列國大夫,管仲,霸者之佐,猶能慎于信任,遠避佞人,況陛下之上聖乎? 若欲令君子小人是非不雜,必懷之以德,待之以信,厲之以義,節之以禮,然後善善而惡惡,審罰而明賞,無為之化何遠之有! 善善而不能進,惡惡而不能去,罰不及有罪,賞不加有功,則危亡之期或未可保。
Long ago Duke Huan of Qi asked Guan Zhong, 'Suppose I let wine go sour in the goblet and meat rot on the board—would that ruin my path to hegemony? Guan Zhong answered, 'That is hardly the conduct of a great ruler—but it would not, by itself, destroy your hegemony.' The duke pressed him, 'Then what would destroy it?' Guan Zhong said, 'Failing to discern men—that destroys hegemony; discerning them but failing to use them—that destroys hegemony; using them but failing to empower them—that destroys hegemony; empowering them but failing to trust them—that destroys hegemony; and once you have trusted them, letting petty men meddle in their affairs—that destroys hegemony. When Xun Mubo of Jin besieged Gu and could not take it for a full year, a man named Xian Lun was brought forward. He said, 'I know the quartermaster at Gu. Do not exhaust your officers and soldiers—let me handle this, and Gu will fall.' Mubo said nothing. His attendants urged him, 'Not one halberd broken, not one soldier wounded—and Gu is ours. Why will you not do it? Mubo replied, 'Xian Lun is a man of sycophancy, not of humaneness. If I let Xian Lun take the city, I would have no choice but to reward him—and to reward him would be to reward a sycophant. When sycophants prosper, Jin trades humaneness for flattery. Even if we win Gu, what would it be worth?' Mubo was only a minister among rival states; Guan Zhong merely the counselor of a hegemon—yet both still guarded trust with care and kept sycophants at arm's length. How much more should Your Majesty, who stands above all sages? If you would keep the noble and the base from mingling in confusion, you must hold them with virtue, meet them with trust, sharpen them with righteousness, and bound them with ritual. Then, loving what is good and hating what is evil, weighing punishments and making rewards clear—what distance could there be to rule by effortless transformation? If you honor the good but cannot promote them, despise the wicked but cannot remove them, punish without reaching the guilty, and reward without reaching the meritorious—then the hour of peril and ruin may not long be delayed.
24
帝手詔嘉答。 於是,廢明德宮玄圃院賜遭水者。
The emperor answered with his own hand, praising the memorial. At once he closed the Xuanyuan Garden of the Bright Virtue Palace and gave it to those who had lost homes in the floods.
25
它日,宴群臣,帝曰:「貞觀以前,從我定天下,間關草昧,玄齡功也。 貞觀之後,納忠諫,正朕違,為國家長利,徵而已。 雖古名臣,亦何以加!」 親解佩刀,以賜二人。 帝嘗問群臣:「徵與諸葛亮孰賢?」 岑文本曰:「亮才兼將相,非徵可比。」 帝曰:「徵蹈履仁義,以弼朕躬,欲致之堯、舜,雖亮無以抗。」 時上封者眾,或不切事,帝厭之,欲加譙黜,徵曰:「古者立謗木,欲聞己過。 封事,其謗木之遺乎! 陛下思聞得失,當恣其所陳。 言而是乎,為朝廷之益; 非乎,無損於政。」 帝悅,皆勞遣之。
On another day, feasting his ministers, the emperor said, 'Before Zhenguan, when I fought through hardship to settle the realm in its raw beginnings, the credit belonged to Fang Xuanling. After Zhenguan, in receiving loyal counsel, correcting my errors, and securing the long welfare of the state—only Wei Zheng. Even the greatest ministers of old—who could surpass that? He took the knife from his own belt and gave it to the two of them. Once the emperor asked his ministers, 'Between Wei Zheng and Zhuge Liang—who is the greater man? Cen Wenben answered, 'Liang united in one person the gifts of general and chancellor. Wei Zheng cannot match that.' The emperor said, 'Wei Zheng walks in benevolence and righteousness, steadies my rule, and would raise me to the level of Yao and Shun. Even Liang cannot stand against that.' At that time many sealed memorials arrived, some of them trivial; the emperor grew tired of them and wanted to mock and dismiss the writers. Wei Zheng said, 'In old times rulers erected a post for criticism because they wished to hear their own faults. These sealed reports are the last echo of that post! If Your Majesty truly wishes to know what succeeds and what fails, you should let them speak as freely as they please. When they are right, the court gains; when they are wrong, the realm loses nothing. The emperor was pleased, thanked each writer, and sent them away.
26
十三年,阿史那結社率作亂,雲陽石然,自冬至五月不雨,徵上疏極言曰:
In the thirteenth year, Ashina Jieshelv rebelled; stones burst into flame at Yunyang; from winter until the fifth month no rain fell. Wei Zheng submitted a memorial speaking without reserve:
27
臣奉侍帷幄十餘年,陛下許臣以仁義之道,守而不失; 儉約樸素,終始弗渝。 德音在耳,不敢忘也。 頃年以來,浸不克終。 謹用條陳,裨萬分一。
I have served at Your Majesty's side for more than ten years. You pledged to me the way of benevolence and righteousness, to hold fast to it and never let it go; and to live in frugality and plainness, unchanged from first to last. Your gracious words still ring in my ears, and I dare not forget them. Yet in recent years you have slowly failed to carry your beginning through to the end. I respectfully set out these points one by one, hoping they may aid you in the smallest measure.
28
陛下在貞觀初,清淨寡欲,化被荒外。 今萬里遣使,市索駿馬,並訪怪珍。 昔漢文帝卻千里馬,晉武帝焚雉頭裘。 陛下居常論議,遠希堯、舜,今所為,更欲處漢文、晉武下乎? 此不克終一漸也。 子貢問治人。 孔子曰:「懍乎若朽索之馭六馬。」 子貢曰:「何畏哉?」 對曰:「不以道導之,則吾仇也,若何不畏!」 陛下在貞觀初,護民之勞,煦之如子,不輕營為。 頃既奢肆,思用人力,乃曰:「百姓無事則易驕,勞役則易使。」 自古未有百姓逸樂而致傾敗者,何有逆畏其驕而為勞役哉? 此不克終二漸也。 陛下在貞觀初,役己以利物,比來縱欲以勞人。 雖憂人之言不絕於口,而樂身之事實切諸心。 無慮營構,輒曰:「弗為此,不便我身。」 推之人情,誰敢復爭? 此不克終三漸也。 在貞觀初,親君子,斥小人。 比來輕褻小人,禮重君子。 重君子也,恭而遠之; 輕小人也,狎而近之。 近之莫見其非,遠之莫見其是。 莫見其是,則不待間而疏; 莫見其非,則有時而昵。 昵小人,疏君子,而欲致治,非所聞也。 此不克終四漸也。 在貞觀初,不貴異物,不作無益。 而今難得之貨雜然並進,玩好之作無時而息。 上奢靡而望下樸素,力役廣而冀農業興,不可得已。 此不克終五漸也。 貞觀之初,求士如渴,賢者所舉,即信而任之,取其所長,常恐不及。 比來由心好惡,以眾賢舉而用,以一人毀而棄,雖積年任而信,或一朝疑而斥。 夫行有素履,事有成跡,一人之毀未必可信,積年之行不應頓虧。 陛下不察其原,以為臧否,使讒佞得行,守道疏間。 此不克終六漸也。 在貞觀初,高居深拱,無田獵畢弋之好。 數年之後,志不克固,鷹犬之貢,遠及四夷,晨出夕返,馳騁為樂,變起不測,其及救乎? 此不克終七漸也。 在貞觀初,遇下有禮,群情上達。 今外官奏事,顏色不接,間因所短,詰其細過,雖有忠款,而不得申。 此不克終八漸也。 在貞觀初,孜孜治道,常若不足。 比恃功業之大,負聖智之明,長慠縱欲,無事興兵,問罪遠裔。 親狎者阿旨不肯諫,疏遠者畏威不敢言。 積而不已,所損非細。 此不克終九漸也。 貞觀初,頻年霜旱,畿內戶口並就關外,攜老扶幼,來往數年,卒無一戶亡去。 此由陛下矜育撫寧,故死不攜貳也。 比者疲於徭役,關中之人,勞弊尤甚。 雜匠當下,顧而不遣。 正兵番上,復別驅任。 市物繈屬於廛,遞子背望於道。 脫有一穀不收,百姓之心,恐不能如前日之帖泰。 此不克終十漸也。
At the start of Zhenguan, Your Majesty lived in clarity and restraint, with few desires, and your transforming virtue reached even the farthest wilds. Now you send envoys ten thousand li to buy fine horses and hunt for curiosities. Emperor Wen of Han once refused a horse that could run a thousand li; Emperor Wu of Jin once burned a pheasant-head fur robe. In your daily counsels you set your gaze on Yao and Shun—do your present deeds now place you below Han Wen and Jin Wu? This is the first drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. Zigong asked Confucius how to govern men. Confucius answered, 'With fear and trembling—as though holding six horses with a rotting rein. Zigong said, 'What is there to fear?' Confucius answered, 'If you do not lead them by the Way, they become your enemies—how can you not fear?' In the early Zhenguan years, Your Majesty guarded the people's labor, cherished them as a father cherishes a son, and did not lightly launch new undertakings. Lately, grown extravagant, you have turned to conscripting labor, saying, 'When the people have no work they grow proud; when worn down by corvée they are easy to manage. Never in history has a state fallen because its people lived in ease and plenty—why dread their contentment and instead wear them down with forced labor? This is the second drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you restrained yourself for the people's good; now you indulge your desires and burden others with the cost. You speak endlessly of caring for others, yet what truly grips your heart are the pleasures that serve you alone. Whenever you plan some new work, you say, 'If I do not build this, it will be inconvenient for me. Weigh that against ordinary human feeling—who would dare speak against it? This is the third drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you drew near to noble men and kept petty men at arm's length. Lately you have grown familiar with petty men while treating noble men with distant ceremony. You honor noble men, yet revere them from a distance; you treat petty men lightly, drawing them close in easy familiarity. Those kept near hide their faults from your sight; those kept far hide their virtues from your sight. When you cannot see their merits, estrangement follows without need of cause; when you cannot see their faults, intimacy grows by degrees. To favor petty men, alienate noble men, and still expect good order—there is no precedent for it. This is the fourth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you did not covet rare goods or pursue useless extravagance. Now rare treasures pour in from every side, and objects of idle pleasure are sought without pause. If the ruler lives in luxury while expecting simplicity below, and broadens forced labor while hoping agriculture will thrive—that cannot be achieved. This is the fifth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you thirsted for talent; whomever the worthy recommended, you trusted and appointed, taking what they offered and fearing only that you might fall short. Lately you follow your own likes and dislikes: when many worthy men recommend someone, you use him; when one man speaks against him, you cast him aside—even a man trusted for years may be rejected in a single morning. Character has its steady path; service leaves its record. One man's slander is not necessarily true, and years of faithful conduct should not be undone in an instant. Without examining the root of the matter, you take slander for judgment of merit, letting flatterers prevail while men of integrity are pushed aside. This is the sixth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you held yourself aloof in dignified repose, with no love of hunting, hawking, or the chase. Within a few years your resolve weakened: hawks and hounds arrived as tribute from the four directions; you rode out at dawn and returned at dusk for sport—if disaster struck suddenly, could help reach you in time? This is the seventh drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you treated subordinates with courtesy, and the people's sentiments could reach you. Now when provincial officials submit memorials, your face shows no welcome; sometimes you seize on a small fault and harry them over trifles—though their loyalty is genuine, they cannot fully speak their mind. This is the eighth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you labored tirelessly at governance, as if you could never do enough. Lately, trusting in the scale of your achievements and the brilliance of your wisdom, you have grown proud and willful, launching wars without need and punishing distant peoples. Those near you echo your wishes and will not remonstrate; those far from you fear your power and dare not speak. If this goes on unchecked, the damage will be no small matter. This is the ninth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, frost and drought struck year after year; families in the capital region moved beyond the passes, old and young together, traveling back and forth for years—yet not one household finally fled. That was because Your Majesty cherished and reassured them, so that even unto death they did not abandon their loyalty. Lately, worn down by corvée, the people of the Guanzhong region have suffered most grievously. Artisans due to be dismissed are overlooked and kept on. Regular troops rotating for palace duty are again pressed into separate assignments. Purchases from the markets pour in unceasingly; couriers and porters throng the roads. Should even one harvest fail, I fear the people's hearts will no longer be as calm and secure as before. This is the tenth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end.
29
夫禍福無門,惟人之召,人無釁焉,妖不妄作。 今旱熯之災,遠被郡國,凶醜之孽,起於轂下,此上天示戒,乃陛下恐懼憂勤之日也。 千載休期,時難再得,明主可為而不為,臣所以鬱結長歎者也!
Fortune and disaster have no door of their own—only men open them; when men give no cause, strange omens do not appear at random. Now drought and heat afflict distant regions; foul omens have appeared at the capital itself—this is Heaven's warning, and a day for Your Majesty to feel fear and redouble your care. An age of lasting peace comes once in a thousand years and cannot be seized twice; when a wise ruler can act and does not—that is why I am choked with grief and long sighs!
30
疏奏,帝曰:「朕今聞過矣,願改之,以終善道。 有違此言,當何施顏面與公相見哉! 方以所上疏,列為屏障,庶朝夕見之,兼錄付史官,使萬世知君臣之義。」 因賜黃金十斤,馬二匹。
When the memorial reached him, the Emperor said, 'I have heard my faults and mean to amend them, to carry the good path through to the end. If I break this promise, how could I face you again? He had the memorial mounted as a screen to read morning and evening, and ordered a copy placed in the historical archives so that future ages would know the bond between ruler and minister. He then rewarded Wei Zheng with ten catties of gold and two horses.
31
高昌平,帝宴兩儀殿,歎曰:「高昌若不失德,豈至於亡! 然朕亦當自戒,不以小人之言而議君子,庶幾獲安也。」 徵曰:「昔齊桓公與管仲、鮑叔牙、甯戚四人者飲,桓公請叔牙曰:'盍起為寡人壽?' 叔牙奉觴而起曰:'願公無忘在莒時,使管仲無忘束縛于魯時,使甯戚無忘飯牛車下時。 '桓公避席而謝曰:'寡人與二大夫能無忘夫子之言,則社稷不危矣。 '」帝曰:「朕不敢忘布衣時,公不得忘叔牙之為人也。」
When Gaochang was conquered, the Emperor banqueted in the Liangyi Hall and sighed, 'If Gaochang had not lost its virtue, how could it have perished! Yet I too must take warning, not to judge noble men by petty men's words—then perhaps I may keep my footing. Wei Zheng said, 'Long ago Duke Huan of Qi drank with Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya, and Ning Qi. The duke asked Shuya whether he would rise and propose a toast for him. Shuya took the cup and rose, saying, 'May you, my lord, not forget your days in Ju; may Guan Zhong not forget when he was bound in Lu; may Ning Qi not forget when he fed oxen beneath his cart.' Duke Huan left his seat and apologized, 'If I and these two ministers do not forget your words, the altars of state will not be endangered.' The Emperor said, 'I shall not forget my days as a commoner; you must not forget how Bao Shuya conducted himself.'
32
帝遣使者至西域立葉護可汗,未還,又遣使齎金帛諸國市馬。 徵曰:「今立可汗未定,即詣諸國市馬,彼必以為意在馬,不在立可汗。 可汗得立,必不懷恩。 諸蕃聞之,以中國薄義重利,未必得馬而先失義矣。 魏文帝欲求市西域大珠,蘇則以為惠及四海,則不求自至; 求而得之,不足貴也。 陛下可不畏蘇則言乎!」 帝遂止。
The Emperor sent envoys to the Western Regions to install Ashina Qilibi as qaghan; before they returned, he sent another mission with gold and silks to the various states to buy horses. Wei Zheng said, 'The qaghan is not yet firmly established, yet you already send buyers to the various states—they will surely think your heart is set on horses, not on enthroning the qaghan. Even if the qaghan is installed, he will not feel bound by gratitude. When the frontier peoples hear of it, they will think China prizes profit over faith—you may fail to gain the horses and will lose righteousness first. Emperor Wen of Wei once wished to buy a great pearl from the Western Regions; Su Ze said that when grace reaches the four seas, what is sought arrives unbidden; what must be chased down is not worth cherishing. Your Majesty—should you not heed Su Ze's warning? The Emperor thereupon abandoned the plan.
33
是後右僕射缺,欲用徵,徵讓,得不拜。 皇太子承乾與魏王泰交惡,帝曰:「當今忠謇貴重無逾徵,我遣傅皇太子,一天下之望,羽翼固矣。」 即拜太子太師。 徵以疾辭,詔答曰:「漢太子以四皓為助,我賴公,其義也。 公雖臥,可擁全之。」
Later the post of Right Vice Director fell vacant; the Emperor wished to appoint Wei Zheng, but Wei Zheng declined and the appointment was not made. Crown Prince Chengan and Prince Li of Wei had fallen out. The Emperor said, 'Today no one surpasses Wei Zheng in loyal bluntness; I appoint him tutor to the Crown Prince—when the empire's hopes rest on him, his support will be secure. He thereupon appointed Wei Zheng Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. Wei Zheng pleaded illness; the Emperor replied, 'The Han crown prince had the Four Ho to assist him; I rely on you in the same way. Even lying ill, you can still guard and sustain him."
34
十七年,疾甚。 徵家初無正寢,帝命輟小殿材為營構,五日畢,並賜素褥布被,以從其尚。 令中郎將宿其第,動靜輒以聞,藥膳賜遺無算,中使者綴道。 帝親問疾,屏左右,語終日乃還。 後復與太子臻至徵第,徵加朝服,拖帶。 帝悲懣,拊之流涕,問所欲。 對曰:「嫠不恤緯,而憂宗周之亡!」 帝將以衡山公主降其子叔玉。 時主亦從,帝曰:「公強視新婦!」 徵不能謝。 是夕,帝夢徵若平生,及旦,薨。 帝臨哭,為之慟,罷朝五日。 太子舉哀西華堂。 詔內外百官朝集使皆赴喪,贈司空、相州都督,諡曰文貞,給羽葆、鼓吹、班劍四十人,陪葬昭陵。 將葬,其妻裴辭曰:「徵素儉約,今假一品禮,儀物褒大,非徵志。」 見許,乃用素車,白布幨帷,無塗車、芻靈。 帝登苑西樓,望哭盡哀。 晉王奉詔致祭。 帝作文於碑,遂書之。 又賜家封戶九百。
In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, his illness grew grave. Wei Zheng's home at first had no proper main hall; the Emperor ordered timber from a small palace withheld to build one for him, finished in five days, and sent plain bedding and cotton quilts suited to his austere habits. He ordered a palace attendant to stay at Wei Zheng's house; every change in his condition was reported, and gifts of medicine and food were beyond count, palace messengers filling the road. The Emperor came in person to ask after him, dismissed attendants, and talked with him all day before returning. Later he visited again with the Crown Prince; Wei Zheng donned court robes, the sash trailing from weakness. The Emperor grieved, stroked him and wept, and asked what he desired. He answered, 'A widow does not fret over thin cloth, but fears the fall of the royal house! The Emperor planned to marry the Princess of Hengshan to Wei Zheng's son Shuyu. The princess was present; the Emperor said, 'Look upon your new daughter-in-law while you can! Wei Zheng could not answer. That night the Emperor dreamed of Wei Zheng as in life; at dawn Wei Zheng died. The Emperor came in person to mourn, grieved deeply, and suspended court for five days. The Crown Prince led mourning rites in the Xihua Hall. An edict summoned all officials and envoys to the funeral; he was posthumously made Minister of Works and Area Commander of Xiangzhou, titled Wenzhen, granted feathered parasols, musical escort, and forty halberds of honor, and buried near Zhaoling. As burial approached, his wife Lady Pei objected, 'Wei Zheng lived always in frugality; to borrow first-rank funeral rites with such grand display is not what he would have wanted. When the Emperor agreed, they used a plain cart with white cloth curtains, without lacquered carriage or straw effigy. The Emperor climbed the western tower of the imperial park, looked toward the funeral procession, and wept his fill. The Prince of Jin, by imperial command, performed the sacrificial offerings. The Emperor composed the inscription for the stele and wrote it in his own hand. He also granted the family nine hundred fief households.
35
帝后臨朝歎曰:「以銅為鑒,可正衣冠; 以古為鑒,可知興替; 以人為鑒,可明得失。 朕嘗保此三鑒,內防己過。 今魏徵逝,一鑒亡矣。 朕比使人至其家,得書一紙,始半稿,其可識者曰:'天下之事,有善有惡,任善人則國安,用惡人則國弊。 公卿之內,情有愛憎,憎者惟見其惡,愛者止見其善。 愛憎之間,所宜詳慎。 若愛而知其惡,憎而知其善,去邪勿疑,任賢勿猜,可以興矣。 '其大略如此。 朕顧思之,恐不免斯過。 公卿侍臣可書之於笏,知而必諫也。」
Later at court the Emperor sighed, 'Take bronze for a mirror and you can set your cap and robes aright; take history for a mirror and you can see the rise and fall of ages; take other men for a mirror and you can know success and failure. I once kept these three mirrors to guard against my own faults. Now that Wei Zheng is gone, one of those mirrors is lost. Recently I sent an envoy to his home and found a single sheet of writing, still only half drafted; the legible portion reads, 'All affairs under Heaven have their good and their evil—put good men in charge and the realm is secure; put wicked men in power and the realm is ruined. Among the high ministers, affection and dislike run deep; those who dislike a man see only his faults, those who favor him see only his virtues. In the sway of personal feeling, one must weigh matters with extra care. If you can love a man yet see his faults, or dislike him yet see his merits—cast out the corrupt without wavering, trust the worthy without suspicion—the state may thrive again. That was the gist of it. When I reflect on it, I fear I cannot escape this very failing. Let every minister and attendant official write these words on his court tablet—knowing of a fault, remonstrate without fail."
36
徵狀貌不逾中人,有志膽,每犯顏進諫,雖逢帝甚怒,神色不徙,而天子亦為霽威。 議者謂賁、育不能過。 嘗上塚還,奏曰:「向聞陛下有關南之行,既辦而止,何也?」 帝曰:「畏卿,遂停耳。」 始,喪亂後,典章湮散,徵奏引諸儒校集秘書,國家圖籍粲然完整。 嘗以《小戴禮》綜匯不倫,更作《類禮》二十篇,數年而成。 帝美其書,錄寘內府。 帝本以兵定天下,雖已治,不忘經略四夷也。 故徵侍宴,奏《破陣武德舞》,則俯首不顧,至《慶善樂》,則諦玩無斁,舉有所諷切如此。
Wei Zheng looked no more striking than any ordinary man, yet he had nerve and daring; he would speak against the Emperor's will again and again, and even when the Emperor flew into a rage his face never changed—until the Son of Heaven himself relented. Observers said that not even the legendary braves Meng Ben and Xia Yu could match him. Once, on returning from tending his father's grave, he submitted a memorial: 'I heard lately that Your Majesty planned a tour to Guannan, made ready, then stopped—why?' The Emperor said, 'I was afraid of your remonstrance, so I called it off.' In the aftermath of the rebellions, law and ritual had fallen into disarray; Wei Zheng petitioned to gather Confucian scholars to collate the palace library, until the empire's records stood complete and in order. Finding the Lesser Dai Rites poorly arranged, he reorganized them into the Categorized Rites in twenty chapters, a work of several years. The Emperor praised the work and had it copied into the inner archive. The Emperor had won the realm by the sword; though the land was at peace, he never ceased planning campaigns on the frontiers. At court feasts, when the Breaking Formation Martial Virtue Dance was performed Wei Zheng would bow his head and refuse to watch; when the Celebrating Goodness Music played, he would listen with rapt pleasure—each gesture a quiet rebuke.
37
徵亡,帝思不已,登淩煙閣觀畫像,賦詩悼痛,聞者媢之,毀短百為。 徵嘗薦杜正倫、侯君集才任宰相,及正倫以罪黜,君集坐逆誅,纖人遂指為阿黨; 又言徵嘗錄前後諫爭語示史官褚遂良。 帝滋不悅,乃停叔玉昏,而仆所為碑,顧其家衰矣。
After Wei Zheng's death the Emperor could not stop thinking of him; he climbed Lingyan Pavilion to gaze at his portrait and wrote verses of mourning. Envious courtiers seized the moment to slander him without restraint. Wei Zheng had once recommended Du Zhenglun and Hou Junji as men fit for the chancellorship; when Zhenglun was disgraced and Junji executed for rebellion, small-minded men denounced him as a patron of cliques; they also claimed he had copied his past remonstrances and shown them to the historiographer Chu Suiliang. The Emperor's displeasure deepened; he halted Shuyu's marriage, cast down the stele he himself had erected, and let the family fall from favor.
38
遼東之役,高麗、靺鞨犯陣,李勣等力戰破之。 軍還,悵然曰:「魏徵若在,吾有此行邪!」 即召其家到行在,賜勞妻子,以少牢祠其墓,復立碑,恩禮加焉。
During the Liaodong campaign, Goguryeo and Mohe forces breached the line; Li Ji and others fought hard and broke them. On the army's return he said wistfully, 'If Wei Zheng were still alive, would I have launched this campaign at all!' He at once summoned the family to his camp, rewarded wife and children, offered the lesser tai sacrifice at the tomb, raised the stele again, and restored their honors.
39
四子:叔玉、叔琬、叔璘、叔瑜。 叔玉襲爵為光祿少卿。 神龍初,以其子膺紹封。 叔璘,禮部侍郎,武后時,為酷吏所殺。 叔瑜,豫州刺史,善草隸,以筆意傅其子華及甥薛稷。 世稱善書者「前有虞、褚,後有薛、魏」。 華為檢校太子左庶子、武陽縣男。 開元中,寢堂火,子孫哭三日,詔百官赴吊。 徵五世孫謨。 五世孫謨謨,字申之,擢進士第,同州刺史楊汝士辟為長春宮巡官。 文宗讀《貞觀政要》,思徵賢,詔訪其後,汝士薦為右拾遺。 謨姿宇魁秀,帝異之。
He had four sons: Shuyu, Shuwan, Shulin, and Shuyu. Shuyu inherited the marquisate and served as Vice Director of the Imperial Household. In the opening years of the Shenlong reign, his son Ying was re-enfeoffed. Shulin, Vice Minister of Rites, was put to death by the empress's brutal magistrates during Wu Zetian's reign. Shuyu, Prefect of Yuzhou, excelled in cursive and clerical script and passed his brushwork to his son Hua and his nephew-in-law Xue Ji. Calligraphy masters were said to run 'from Yu and Chu in the earlier age to Xue and Wei in the later.' Hua served as Supervising Secretary to the Left Wing of the Heir Apparent and held the title Baron of Wuyang. Under Kaiyuan, fire destroyed the family hall; his descendants mourned three days while an edict called every official to the funeral. Wei Zheng's fifth-generation descendant was Mo. Mo, of the fifth generation, styled Shenzhi, passed the jinshi examination and was engaged by Yang Rushi, Prefect of Tongzhou, as patrol officer of the Changchun Palace. Reading the Zhenguan Administration Essentials, Emperor Wenzong sought Wei Zheng's line; Rushi recommended Mo as Right Reminder. Mo was tall and commanding in bearing; the Emperor took him for a man out of the ordinary.
40
邕管經略使董昌齡誣殺參軍衡方厚,貶漵州司戶,俄徙峽州刺史。 謨諫曰:「王者赦有罪,唯故無赦。 比昌齡專殺不辜,事蹟暴章,家人銜冤,萬里投訴,獄窮罪得,特被矜貸,中外以為屈法。 今又授刺史,復使治人,紊憲章,乖至治,不見其可。」 有詔改洪州別駕。
Dong Changling, military commissioner of Yongguan Circuit, had adjutant Heng Fanghou killed on false charges; Fanghou was demoted to registrar of Xun Prefecture, then soon made prefect of Xia. Mo remonstrated, 'A sovereign may pardon guilt, but never pardon those who offend again. Changling has just murdered innocents at will—the facts are plain, the family pursued justice from afar, and though guilt was proved he was spared; court and country alike call it a miscarriage of law. To appoint him prefect again and set him over the people is to tangle the code and betray good government—I see no warrant for it.' An edict reassigned Changling to Assistant Prefect of Hong Prefecture.
41
御史中丞李孝本,宗室子,坐李訓事誅死,其二女沒入宮。 謨上言:「陛下即位,不悅聲色,於今十年,未始采擇。 數月以來,稍意聲伎,教坊閱選,百十未已,莊宅收市,沄沄有聞。 今又取孝本女內之後宮,宗姓不育,寵倖為累,傷治道之本,速塵穢之嫌。 諺曰:『止寒莫若重裘,止謗莫若自修。』 惟陛下崇千載之盛德,去一旦之玩好。」 帝即出孝本女,詔曰:「乃祖在貞觀時,指事直言,無所避,每覽國史,朕與嘉之。 謨為拾遺,屢有獻納。 夫備灑埽於內,非曰聲妓,恤宗女之幼,不為漁取,然疑似之間,不可戶曉,謨辭深切,其惜我之失,不亦至乎? 謨雖居位日淺,朕何愛一官,增直臣之氣,其以謨為右補闕。」
Li Xiaoben of the imperial clan, Vice Censor-in-Chief, was executed in the Li Xun affair; his two daughters were seized for the inner palace. Mo memorialized, 'Since Your Majesty's accession you have shunned music and courtesans; for ten years you have taken no new consorts. These past months you have begun to favor music and entertainers—the Music Bureau keeps reviewing candidates by the hundred, and rumors of estate purchases run without cease. Now you take Xiaoben's daughters into the harem—imperial blood left unprotected, pleasure heaped upon favor—striking at the root of rule and inviting scandal. The proverb runs, 'To end cold, wrap yourself in furs; to end slander, mend yourself. I beg Your Majesty to uphold virtue that will shine for ages and put aside passing amusements.' The Emperor at once released Xiaoben's daughters and proclaimed, 'Your forebear in the Zhenguan years spoke blunt truth on every matter; whenever I read the annals I admire him for it. Mo, as Reminder, offered counsel again and again. Keeping the inner quarters in order is not the same as stocking courtesans; sheltering a clan girl is not the same as seizing women—yet appearances confuse, and not every household can see the difference. Mo's words cut deep; could his care for my failings be greater? Mo has served only briefly, yet why should I spare a single title? To strengthen the voice of an honest minister—appoint Mo Right Supplementation Censor."
42
先是,帝謂宰相曰:「太宗得徵,參裨闕失,朕今得謨,又能極諫,朕不敢仰希貞觀,庶幾處無過之地。」 教坊有工善為新聲者,詔授揚州司馬,議者頗言司馬品高,郎官、刺史迭處,不可以授賤工,帝意右之。 宰相諭諫官勿復言,謨獨固諫不可,工降潤州司馬。 荊南監軍呂令琛縱傔卒辱江陵令,觀察使韋長避不發,移內樞密使言狀。 謨劾長任察廉,知監軍侵屈官司,不以上聞,私白近臣,亂法度,請明其罰。 不報。
Earlier the Emperor told his chancellors, 'Taizong had Wei Zheng to shore up his flaws; I now have Mo, who remonstrates just as fiercely. I dare not claim the Zhenguan age, yet perhaps I may live without grave error.' A Music Bureau artisan who excelled at new songs was made Assistant Military Commissioner of Yangzhou; critics protested that the post was too lofty for a common craftsman—the Emperor sided with the appointment. The chancellor told the remonstrance officers to hold their tongues; Mo alone insisted it could not stand, and the artisan was demoted to Runzhou. Army supervisor Lü Lingchen of Jingnan let his runners humiliate the magistrate of Jiangling; observation commissioner Wei Chang failed to report upward and instead whispered the facts to a inner-court eunuch. Mo impeached Chang: charged with oversight, he knew the army supervisor had abused officialdom yet said nothing to the throne, confiding instead in court favorites— a breach of law; Mo asked that punishment be fixed. The court did not reply.
43
俄為起居舍人,帝問:「卿家書詔頗有存者乎?」 謨對:「惟故笏在。」 詔令上送。 鄭覃曰:「在人不在笏。」 帝曰:「覃不識朕意,此笏乃今甘棠。」 帝因敕謨曰:「事有不當,毋嫌論奏。」 謨對:「臣頃為諫臣,故得有所陳; 今則記言動,不敢侵官。」 帝曰:「兩省屬皆可議朝廷事,而毋辭也!」 帝索起居注,謨奏:「古置左、右史,書得失,以存鑒戒。 陛下所為善,無畏不書; 不善,天下之人亦有以記之。」 帝曰:「不然。 我既嘗觀之。」 謨曰:「向者取觀,史氏為失職。 陛下一見,則後來所書必有諱屈,善惡不實,不可以為史,且後代何信哉?」 乃止。
Soon Mo became Diarist; the Emperor asked, 'Does your family still keep any of the imperial edicts?' Mo answered, 'Only the old court tablet remains.' An edict commanded that it be sent in. Zheng Tan said, 'What matters is the man, not the tablet.' The Emperor said, 'Tan misses my meaning—this tablet is today's sweet-pear tree under which worthies rest.' He then instructed Mo, 'When anything is amiss, do not hesitate to speak.' Mo replied, 'When I was a remonstrance officer I could speak freely; now I record conduct and dare not exceed my charge.' The Emperor said, 'Officers of both secretariats may all discuss court business—do not hold back!' When the Emperor asked for the court diaries, Mo wrote, 'Antiquity set Left and Right Historiographers to record right and wrong as a mirror for rulers. Your good deeds need not fear going unrecorded; your missteps—the people under Heaven will record them too.' The Emperor said, 'Not so. I have already looked at them once.' Mo said, 'When Your Majesty demanded to read them, the historians failed their office. Once you have seen them, later entries will bend and hide the truth—good and evil will lie—and history will mean nothing; what will later ages believe?' The Emperor desisted.
44
中尉仇士良捕妖民賀蘭進興及黨與治軍中,反狀且,帝自臨問,詔命斬囚以徇。 御史中丞高元裕建言:「獄當與眾共之。 刑部、大理,法官也,決大獄不與知,律令謂何? 請歸有司。」 未報。 謨上言:「事系軍,即推軍中。 如齊民,宜付府縣。 今獄不在有司,法有輕重,何從而知?」 帝停決,詔神策軍以官兵留仗內,余付御史台。 台憚士良,不敢異,卒皆誅死。 擢諫議大夫,兼起居舍人、弘文館直學士,謨固讓不見可,乃拜。
Eunuch Qiu Shiliang of the Army of Inspired Strategy arrested the sorcerer Helan Jinxing and his band, tried them within the army, and when the treason case was complete the Emperor interrogated them himself and ordered the prisoners executed as a public warning. Vice Censor-in-Chief Gao Yuanyu argued, 'Trials belong to the public courts. The Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review are the judges—how can great cases be decided without them? What becomes of the code? Return the case to the proper offices. No answer came. Mo wrote, 'If the matter is military, try it in the army. If the accused are ordinary subjects, give them to prefecture and county. Now the prisoners are not with the civil courts—with law's gradations hidden, who can tell fair from foul?' The Emperor stayed the executions and ordered the army to keep its officers on duty while the rest went to the Censorate. The Censorate feared Shiliang and dared not dissent; in the end all were put to death. Raised to Remonstrance Grandee while serving as Diarist and academician of the Hongwen Institute, Mo declined repeatedly but at last took the posts.
45
始謨之進,李玨、楊嗣復實推引之。 武宗立,謨坐二人黨,出為汾州刺史。 俄貶信州長史。 宣宗嗣位,移郢、商二州刺史。 召授給事中,遷御史中丞,發駙馬都尉杜中立奸贓,權戚縮氣。 俄兼戶部侍郎事,謨奏:「中丞,紀綱所寄,不宜雜領錢谷,乞專治戶部。」 詔可。 頃之,進同中書門下平章事。 建言:「今天下粗治,惟東宮未立,不早以正人傅導之,非所以存副貳之重。」 且泣下,帝為感動。 自敬宗後,惡言儲嫡事,故公卿無敢開陳者。 時帝春秋高,嫡嗣未辨,謨輔政,白髮其端,朝議歸重。
When Mo first rose, Li Jue and Yang Sifu had been his patrons. When Wuzong took the throne, Mo was tied to their faction and sent out as prefect of Fen. Soon he was demoted to long secretary of Xin Prefecture. Under Xuanzong he served as prefect of Ying and Shang in turn. Recalled as Gentleman for Drafting Edicts and then Censor-in-Chief, he exposed the embezzlement of imperial son-in-law Du Zhongli, and the great families quailed. When he was also given Revenue duties, Mo wrote, 'The Censor-in-Chief holds the empire's discipline—he should not also handle coin and grain; let me govern Revenue alone.' The edict agreed. Shortly he rose to Grand Councillor. He urged, 'The realm is largely at peace, yet no heir sits in the Eastern Palace—unless upright tutors are appointed soon, the weight of the succession is not secured.' He wept as he spoke, and the Emperor was moved. Since Jingzong's day talk of the heir had been perilous, and ministers dared not broach it. The Emperor was aging and the rightful heir still unsettled; Mo in office spoke first to the heart of the matter, and court opinion rallied to him.
46
會詹毘國獻象,謨以為非土性,不可畜,請還其獻。 詔可。 河東節度使李業殺降虜,邊部震擾,業內恃憑藉,人無敢言者,謨奏徙滑州。 遷中書侍郎。 大理卿馬曙有犀鎧數十首,懼而瘞之。 奴王慶以怨告曙藏甲有異謀,按之無它狀,投曙嶺外,慶免。 議者謂奴訴主,法不聽。 謨引律固爭,卒論慶死。 累遷門下侍郎,兼戶部尚書。
When Zhan Piguo sent an elephant, Mo held that it was alien to the realm and should not be kept, and asked that the gift be sent back. The edict agreed. Hedong commissioner Li Ye slaughtered surrendered tribesmen and unsettled the borders; shielded by court patrons, he went unchallenged until Mo had him transferred to Hua. He was moved to Vice Director of the Secretariat. Chief Justice Ma Shu owned dozens of rhinoceros-hide armors and, in fear, buried them. His slave Wang Qing, nursing a grudge, accused Shu of hoarding armor for rebellion; inquiry found no plot; Shu was exiled beyond the Ling Mountains and Qing went free. Critics said the law does not hear a slave's suit against his master. Mo cited statute and fought the ruling until Qing was sentenced to death. He rose to Vice Director of the Chancellery and Minister of Revenue.
47
大中十年,以平章事領劍南西川節度使。 上疾求代,召拜吏部尚書,因久疾,檢校尚書右僕射、太子少保。 卒,年六十六,贈司徒。
In Dazhong 10 he served as Grand Councillor and military commissioner of Jiannan West Circuit. Falling ill, he asked to be relieved; recalled as Minister of Personnel, he was long sick and made acting Right Vice Minister of Works and Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent. He died at sixty-six and was posthumously made Minister of Works.
48
謨為宰相,議事天子前,它相或委抑規諷,惟謨讜切無所回畏。 宣宗嘗曰:「謨名臣孫,有祖風,朕心憚之。」 然卒以剛正為令狐綯所忌,讒罷之。 【贊】贊曰:君臣之際,顧不難哉! 以徵之忠,而太宗之睿,身歿未幾,猜譖遽行。 始,徵之諫,累數十余萬言,至君子小人,未嘗不反復為帝言之,以佞邪之亂忠也。 久猶不免。 故曰:「皓皓者易汙,嶢嶢者難全」,自古所歎雲。 唐柳芳稱「徵死,知不知莫不恨惜,以為三代遺直」。 諒哉! 謨之論議挺挺,有祖風烈,《詩》所謂「是以似之」者歟!
As chancellor, when matters were debated before the throne other councillors might hedge and hint; Mo alone spoke straight without flinching. Xuanzong once said, 'Mo is a famous minister's grandson; he has the old family's spine—I stand in awe of him.' Yet his very uprightness drew the envy of Linghu Tao, who slandered him from office. 【Appraisal】The appraisal says: The bond between ruler and minister—how hard it is! For all Wei Zheng's loyalty and Taizong's clarity, scarcely had he died when suspicion and slander rushed in. Wei Zheng's remonstrances ran to tens of thousands of words; again and again he warned the Emperor of noble men and petty men, of how sycophants poison loyalty. Even so, he could not escape calumny in the end. Hence the saying: 'Pure white stains easily; lofty heights are hard to keep'—a lament since antiquity. Liu Fang of Tang wrote that when Wei Zheng died, all who knew him or not grieved, calling him the straight truth the Three Dynasties had left behind. So it was! Mo's counsel stood as straight as his forebear's fame—is he not the man the Odes mean when they say, 'In this he takes after him'?