1
蘇世長子:良嗣從孫:弁韋雲起孫:方質孫伏伽張玄素
Su Shichang; his son Liangsi; his grandnephew Bian; Wei Yunqi's grandson Fang Zhi; Sun Fuga; and Zhang Xuansu
2
蘇世長
Su Shichang
3
蘇世長，京兆武功人。 祖彤，仕後魏通直散騎常侍。 父振，周宕州刺史，建威縣侯。 世長十餘歲，上書周武帝，帝異其幼，問讀何書，對「治《孝經》、《論語》」。 帝曰：「何言可道？」 答曰：「為國者不敢侮於鰥寡。 為政以德。」 帝曰：「善。」 使卒學虎門館。 父死王事，有詔襲爵，世長號踴不自勝，帝奭然改容。
Su Shichang was a native of Wugong in the Jingzhao region. His grandfather Tong had served the Northern Wei as Director of the Palace Library and Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry. His father Zhen had been governor of Danzhou under the Zhou and held the title Marquis of Jianwei County. When Shichang was barely into his teens, he sent a memorial to Emperor Wu of Zhou. The emperor marveled at his youth and asked what texts he had been reading. Shichang answered that he was studying the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects. The emperor asked, "What teaching can you put into words? He replied, "Whoever rules a state must not look down on widowers and widows. Governing means ruling through virtue." The emperor said, "Well said." He then sent him to complete his studies at the Humen Academy. After his father died in the sovereign's service, an edict directed Shichang to succeed to the title. He broke into loud mourning and could not control his grief; the emperor's face fell in sudden solemnity.
4
入隋，為長安令，數條上便宜。 大業末，為都水少監，督漕上江。 會煬帝被弑，發喪，慟聞行路。 更為王世充太子太保、行台右僕射，與世充兄子弘烈及其將豆盧行褒戍襄陽，高祖與之舊，數遣使者諭降，輒殺之。
Under the Sui he served as magistrate of Chang'an and repeatedly memorialized the throne with practical policy suggestions. Late in the Daye era he was appointed vice director of waterways and oversaw grain transport on the upper Yangtze. When Emperor Yang was murdered, he publicly mourned him, and his lament was so piercing that travelers on the road could hear it. He later served Wang Shichong as grand mentor of the heir apparent and right vice director of the mobile secretariat, and with Shichong's nephew Honglie and the general Doulu Xingbao he held Xiangyang. Gaozu, who had known him in earlier days, sent envoys again and again to win him over, but Shichang had every one of them put to death.
5
洛陽平，始與弘烈歸，帝誅褒而誚世長，頓首謝曰：「古帝王受命，以此逐鹿，一人得禽，萬夫斂手。 豈有獲鹿後忿同獵者，問爭肉罪邪？ 今陛下應天順民，安可忘管仲、雍齒事？ 且武功舊人，亂離以來，死亡略盡，唯臣得見太平。 若殺之，是絕其類。」 帝笑釋之。 授玉山屯監。 引見玄武門，與語平生，調之曰：「卿自謂佞邪，直邪？」 對曰：「愚且直。」 帝曰：「若直者，何為背賊歸我？」 對曰：「洛陽平，天下為一，臣智窮力屈，乃歸陛下。 使世充不死，臣據漢南，尚為勍敵。」 帝大笑，嘲曰：「何名長而意之短，口正而心之邪？」 世長曰：「名長意短，誠如聖旨。 口正心邪，不敢奉詔。 昔竇融以河西降漢，十世侯之； 臣舉山南以歸，唯蒙屯監。」 帝悅，拜諫議大夫。
After Luoyang fell, he and Honglie finally came over. The emperor executed Xingbao and rebuked Shichang. Shichang kowtowed and said, "In ancient times, when a ruler received Heaven's mandate, he joined the hunt for empire; once one man seized the prize, all the rest laid down their bows. Surely no victor, having taken the stag, would then turn on his fellow hunters and charge them with fighting over the carcass? Your Majesty now answers Heaven and wins the people—will you forget how Guan Zhong and Yong Chi were treated? Besides, of the old companions from Wugong, nearly all have perished in the years of chaos; I alone have lived to see peace restored. If you execute me now, you will wipe out the last of our kind. The emperor laughed and pardoned him. He was given the post of supervisor of the Yushan garrison. Summoned to audience at the Xuanwu Gate, he talked over his whole career with the emperor, who jested, "Do you take yourself for a sycophant or an honest man? He answered, "Foolish, perhaps—but honest." The emperor said, "If you are so honest, why did you desert the rebel and come to me?" He replied, "Once Luoyang fell and the realm was united, my wits were spent and my strength broken—only then did I yield to Your Majesty. Had Shichong lived on and I still held the lands south of the Han, I would have remained a formidable enemy." The emperor roared with laughter and mocked him: "Your name means 'long,' yet your designs are short; your mouth is straight, but is your heart?" Shichang said, "That my name is Long while my aims are short—Your Majesty is quite right. But that my mouth is honest while my heart is crooked—I cannot accept that charge. In the past Dou Rong surrendered the Hexi region to the Han and his house was enfeoffed for ten generations; I brought in the whole region south of the mountains, yet all I receive is a garrison supervisor's post." The emperor was delighted and appointed him remonstrating grand master.
6
從獵涇陽，大獲。 帝入旌門，詫左右曰：「今日畋，樂乎？」 世長曰：「陛下廢萬機，事遊獵，不滿十旬，未為樂也。」 帝色變，既而笑曰：「狂態發邪？」 曰：「為臣計則狂，為陛下計忠矣。」 時武功、郿新經突厥寇掠，鄉聚凋虛，帝將遂獵武功，世長諫曰：「突厥向盜劫人，陛下救恤之言未出口，又獵其地，殆百姓不堪所求。」 帝不聽。 侍宴披香殿，酒酣，進曰：「此煬帝作邪？ 何雕麗底此！」 帝曰：「卿好諫似直，然詐也。 豈不知此殿我所營，乃詭雲煬帝邪？」 對曰：「臣但見傾宮、鹿台，非受命聖人所為者。 陛下武功舊第，才蔽風雨，時以為足。 今天下厭隋之侈，以歸有道，陛下宜刈奢淫，復樸素。 今乃即其宮加雕飾焉，欲易其亂，得乎？」 帝咨重其言。 曆陝州長史、天策府軍諮祭酒，引為學士。 貞觀初，使突厥，與頡利爭禮，不屈，拒卻賂遺，朝廷壯之。 出為巴州刺史，舟敗，溺死。
On a hunt at Jingyang the party took an abundant kill. As the emperor passed through the banner gate, he asked his attendants, "Was today's hunt a pleasure? Shichang said, "Your Majesty has set aside the myriad affairs of state for the chase. In less than a hundred days this can hardly count as pleasure." The emperor's face darkened, then he laughed and said, "Are you showing your wild streak again?" Shichang said, "By a subject's measure it may be wild; by Your Majesty's measure it is loyalty." Wugong and Mei had just been ravaged by Turkic raids, and the countryside lay wasted. When the emperor prepared to hunt on through Wugong, Shichang remonstrated: "The Turks have only lately been plundering your people. Your words of relief have scarcely been spoken, and already you would hunt their land again—the people can hardly endure what you demand of them." The emperor would not listen. At a banquet in the Poxiang Hall, when the wine had gone round, he stepped forward and asked, "Was this hall built by Emperor Yang? How extravagantly carved and gilded it is! The emperor said, "You love to remonstrate and play the honest man, yet you are being deceitful. Do you not know that I built this hall myself—yet you pretend it was Emperor Yang's work?" He answered, "I see only another Tilted Palace, another Deer Terrace—nothing that a sage who has received Heaven's mandate would build. Your old house at Wugong barely kept out wind and rain, and in those days you thought it enough. Now the realm is weary of Sui excess and has turned to a ruler who holds the Way. Your Majesty ought to cut down luxury and restore plain living. Yet you take that very palace and add carving and ornament—do you think you can end the disorder of the Sui that way?" The emperor took his words to heart. He served in turn as administrator of Shanzhou and military adviser and libationer in the Heavenly Strategies Office, and was appointed an academician. Early in the Zhenguan era he was sent as envoy to the Turks. He contested ceremonial precedence with Jieli and would not yield, and he refused all bribes and gifts. The court took pride in his conduct. He was sent out as governor of Bazhou, but his boat was wrecked and he drowned.
7
世長有機辯，淺於學，嗜酒，簡率無威儀。 初在陝，邑裏犯法不能禁，乃引咎自撻於廛，五伯疾其詭，鞭之流血，世長不勝痛，呼而走，人笑其不情。
Shichang was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, shallow in scholarship, fond of wine, and plain in manner, without the dignified bearing of a statesman. While he was in Shanzhou, he could not stop crime in the district. He took the blame on himself and publicly flogged himself in the marketplace. The ward chiefs, disgusted by the show, whipped him until he bled. Unable to endure the pain, he cried out and fled; onlookers laughed at his insincerity.
8
子良嗣
His son Liangsi
9
子良嗣，高宗時為周王府司馬，王年少不法，良嗣數諫王，以法繩府官不職者，甚見尊憚。 帝異之，選荊州長史。 帝遣宦者采怪竹江南，將蒔上苑，宦者所過縱暴，至荊，良嗣囚之，上書言狀。 帝下詔慰獎，取竹棄之。 徙雍州。 時關內饑，人相食，良嗣政上嚴，每盜發，三日內必擒，號稱神明。
Liangsi served under Emperor Gaozong as military adjutant in the household of the Prince of Zhou. The prince was young and unruly; Liangsi repeatedly admonished him and disciplined negligent officials in the household by the book, and came to be greatly respected and feared. The emperor took note of him and appointed him administrator of Jingzhou. The emperor sent eunuchs to collect exotic bamboo in the south for the imperial park. Wherever they went they abused their authority. When they reached Jingzhou, Liangsi had them arrested and reported their conduct to the throne. The emperor issued an edict commending him and ordered the bamboo thrown away. He was transferred to Yongzhou. Famine then gripped Guanzhong and men ate one another. Liangsi governed with stern discipline: every theft reported was solved within three days, and people called his justice uncanny.
10
垂拱初，遷冬官尚書，拜納言，封溫國公，留守西京，賞遇尤渥。 尚方監裴匪躬案諸苑，建言鬻果蔬，儲利佐公上。 良嗣曰：「公儀休一諸侯相，拔葵去織，未聞天子賣果蔬與人爭利。」 遂止。 遷文昌左相、同鳳閣鸞台三品。 遇薛懷義於朝，懷義偃蹇，良嗣怒，叱左右批其頰，曳去。 武后聞之，戒曰：「第出入北門，彼南衙宰相行來，毋犯之。」 載初元年，罷左相，加特進，仍知政事。 與韋方質素不平，方質坐事誅，引逮之。 後辨其非，良嗣悸，謝不能興，輿還第，卒，年八十五。 詔百官往吊，贈開府儀同三司、益州都督。
Early in the Chuigong era he was made minister of the winter office and chief counselor, enfeoffed as Duke of Wenguo, and left to guard the western capital, where imperial favor toward him was especially generous. Pei Feigong, director of the palace workshops, inspected the imperial parks and proposed selling their fruits and vegetables to swell the public revenue. Liangsi said, "Gongyi Xiu, though only a feudal minister, uprooted his melons and stopped his wife's weaving rather than compete with the people. I have never heard of a Son of Heaven peddling garden produce for profit. The plan was dropped. He was promoted to left chancellor of the Wenchang Office and third rank, equal to the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace. He met Xue Huaiyi at court; Huaiyi behaved with arrogant insolence. Liangsi flew into a rage, ordered his attendants to strike Huaiyi across the face, and had him dragged off. When Empress Wu heard of it, she warned him: "Use only the north gate from now on. The southern-office chancellors pass that way—do not provoke them. In the first year of Zai Chu he was removed as left chancellor but given the rank of special advancement and continued to direct state affairs. He and Wei Fangzhi had long been at odds. When Fangzhi was executed for a crime, Liangsi was implicated and arrested. When he was later cleared, Liangsi was so shaken that he could not rise to thank the court. He was carried home in a litter and died there at the age of eighty-five. An edict directed all officials to attend his funeral rites. He was posthumously honored as grand master of splendid happiness with the golden seal and as regional commander of Yizhou.
11
始，良嗣為洛州長史，坐僚婿累，下徙冀州刺史。 其人往謝，良嗣色泰定，曰：「初不聞有累。」 在荊州時，州有河東寺，本蕭詧為兄河東王所建，良嗣曰：「江、漢間何與河東乎？」 奏易之，而當世恨其少學雲。
Earlier, while Liangsi was administrator of Luozhou, he was implicated through a subordinate's son-in-law and demoted to governor of Jizhou. The man came to apologize. Liangsi remained perfectly calm and said, "I never heard that I was implicated in the first place. While in Jingzhou he found a temple called Hedong, which Xiao Cha had built for his elder brother the Prince of Hedong. Liangsi said, "What has a place between the Yangtze and the Han to do with Hedong?" He memorialized to have the name changed, and contemporaries blamed his shallow learning."
12
子踐言，官太常丞，為酷吏所陷，死嶺南，削父爵，沒其家。 神龍元年，復贈司空，以踐言子務元襲爵，終邠王府長史。
His son Jianyan served as vice director in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Framed by a cruel official, he died in exile in Lingnan; his father's title was revoked and the family property was confiscated. In the first year of Shenlong the family was posthumously honored again with the rank of minister of works; Jianyan's son Wuyuan inherited the title and ended his career as chief administrator of the household of the Prince of Bin.
13
從孫弁
His grandnephew Bian
14
從孫弁，字元容，擢進士，調奉天主簿。 德宗出狩，而縣令計事在府，官屬皆惶恐，欲遁走。 弁曰：「昔肅宗幸靈武，至新平、安定，二太守坐伏匿，斬以徇。 諸君知之乎？」 眾乃定。 車駕至，儲偫畢給，帝嘉之，試大理司直。 硃泚平，進監察御史，擢累倉部郎中，判度支案。 裴延齡死，帝召弁見延英，賜紫衣金魚，以度支郎中副知度支事，位郎中上。 知度支有副自弁始。 弁通學術，吏事精明，承延齡後，平賦緩役，略煩苛，人賴其寬。
Bian, a grandnephew of the family, style name Yuangrong, passed the jinshi examination and was appointed chief clerk of Fengtian. When Emperor Dezong fled the capital on campaign, the county magistrate was away at the prefectural seat on business, and the staff panicked and wanted to scatter. Bian said, "When Emperor Suzong went to Lingwu, the prefects of Xinping and Anding were executed for hiding themselves away. Do you know that story? Do you understand? The staff steadied themselves. When the imperial train arrived, all provisions were ready. The emperor commended him and appointed him on probation as direct clerk in the Court of Judicial Review. After Zhu Ci's rebellion was crushed, he was promoted to investigating censor, then rose through successive posts to director of the granary office, with responsibility for treasury affairs. After Pei Yanling's death the emperor summoned Bian to the Yanying Hall, granted him purple robes and the golden fish tally, and appointed him director of the treasury to assist in managing fiscal affairs, with precedence over the regular director. The office of deputy director for treasury affairs began with Bian. Bian was learned and skilled in administration. After Yanling he leveled taxes, eased labor service, and trimmed excessive severity; the people benefited from his moderation.
15
久之，遷戶部侍郎，判度支，改太子詹事。 舊制，詹事位在太常宗正卿下，御史中丞竇參卑之，徙班河南、太原尹下。 弁造朝，輒就舊著，有司疑詰，紿曰：「我已白宰相，復舊班。」 殿中侍御史鄒儒立劾奏，待罪金吾，有詔原罪。 坐前以腐粟給邊，貶汀州司戶參軍。 是時，兄袞為贊善大夫，冕京兆士曹參軍，以弁故，貶袞永州，冕信州司戶參軍。 袞年老，瞑不能視，帝閔之，聽還。 又有稱冕才者，帝悔不用，而袞以老先還，重追冕。 更問大臣昆弟可任者，左右以王紹之兄紓、韓皋之兄群對。 帝乃擢紓右補闕，群考功員外郎，冕遂不復用。 數年，起弁為滁州刺史，卒。
In time he was made vice minister of revenue with charge of treasury affairs, then transferred to grand mentor of the heir apparent. By established custom the grand mentor ranked below the directors of the courts of imperial sacrifices and of the imperial clan. Vice censor-in-chief Dou Can slighted the post and had Bian's court rank placed below the governors of Henan and Taiyuan. When Bian attended court he always took his former place. When the officials questioned him, he lied and said, "I have already told the chancellor to restore my old rank. Palace attendant censor Zou Ruli impeached him; Bian awaited punishment in the Golden Crow Guard, but an edict pardoned him. He was later punished for having once supplied spoiled grain to the frontier armies and was demoted to army adjutant for household registration in Tingzhou. At that time his elder brothers Gun and Mian served as mentor of the heir apparent and as a staff officer in the Jingzhao commandery. Because of Bian's offense, Gun was demoted to Yongzhou and Mian to army adjutant in Xinzhou. Gun was elderly and had gone blind; the emperor took pity on him and allowed him to return home. Others praised Mian's ability, and the emperor regretted not having used him. Yet because Gun had already been sent home on account of age, the court turned again to Mian. The emperor again asked which brothers of senior ministers might serve. His attendants named Wang Shaozhi's elder brother Shu and Han Gao's elder brother Qun. The emperor then promoted Shu to right remonstrator and Qun to vice director in the Ministry of Personnel, and Mian was never employed again. Several years later Bian was recalled and appointed governor of Chuzhou, where he died.
16
弁聚書至二萬卷，手自讎定，當時稱與秘府將。 弁之判度支，方大旱，州縣有逋米，斷貞元八年以前，凡三百八十萬斛，人亡數在，弁奏請出以貸貧民，至秋而償，詔可。 當時譏其罔君雲。
He amassed a library of twenty thousand scrolls and collated them himself; contemporaries said it nearly matched the imperial archives. While Bian oversaw treasury affairs a severe drought struck. Counties and prefectures held unpaid grain arrears dating before the eighth year of Zhenyuan—some 3,800,000 hu in all. Though many debtors were dead, the accounts remained. Bian memorialized to lend this grain to the poor for repayment by autumn, and the emperor approved. Contemporaries criticized the scheme as deceiving the throne.
17
韋雲起
Wei Yunqi
18
韋雲起，京兆萬年人。 隋開皇中，以明經補符璽直長。 嘗奏事文帝前，帝曰：「外事不便，可言之。」 時兵部侍郎柳述侍，雲起即奏：「述性豪侈，未嘗更事，特緣主婿私，握兵要，議者謂陛下官不擇賢，此不便者。」 帝顧述曰：「雲起言，而藥石也，可師之。」 仁壽初，詔百官舉所知，述舉雲起通事舍人。 大業初，改謁者。 建言：「今朝廷多山東人，自作門戶，附下罔上，為朋黨。 不抑其端，必亂政。」 因條陳奸狀。 煬帝屬大理推究，於是左丞郎蔚之、司隸別駕郎楚之等皆坐免。
Wei Yunqi was a native of Wannian in the Jingzhao region. During the Sui Kaihuang era he passed the classics examination and was appointed direct clerk of seals and credentials. Once, while reporting to Emperor Wen, he was told, "If anything in public affairs is amiss, speak freely. Vice Minister of War Liu Shu stood in attendance. Yunqi immediately said, "Shu is extravagant by nature and has never managed affairs. He holds military power only because he is the emperor's son-in-law. Critics say Your Majesty appoints by favor rather than merit—that is the real inconvenience." The emperor turned to Shu and said, "Yunqi speaks harsh truth like medicine and whetstone. You should learn from him." Early in the Renshou era an edict called on officials to recommend talent they knew; Shu nominated Yunqi for master of ceremonial affairs. At the start of the Daye era he was made master of guests. He memorialized: "The court is now full of men from east of the mountains who form private factions, curry favor below and deceive above, and build cliques. Unless this is checked at the root, government will fall into chaos. He then listed their offenses in detail. Emperor Yang ordered the Court of Judicial Review to investigate. Left assistant minister Lang Weizhi, vice director of the metropolitan inspectorate Lang Chuzhi, and others were all dismissed.
19
會契丹寇營州，詔雲起護突厥兵討之，啟民可汗以二萬騎受節度。 雲起使離為二十屯，屯相聯絡，四道並引，令曰：「鼓而行，角而止，非公使，毋走馬。」 三喻五復之。 既而紇斤一人犯令，即斬以徇。 於是突厥酋長入謁者，皆膝而進，莫敢仰視。 始，契丹事突厥無間，且不虞雲起至。 既入境，使突厥紿雲詣柳城與高麗市易，敢言有隋使在者斬。 契丹不疑。 因引而南，過賊營百里，夜還陣，以遲明掩擊之，獲契丹男女四萬，以女子及畜產半賜突厥，男子悉殺之，以餘眾還。 帝大喜，會百官於廷，曰：「雲起將突厥兵平契丹，以奇用師，有文武才，朕自舉之。」 拜治書御史。 因劾奏：「內史侍郎虞世基、御史大夫裴蘊怙寵妨命，四方有變不以聞，聞不以實。 朝議少賊，不多發兵，官兵少，賊眾，數見敗北，賊氣日張。 請付有司案罪。」 大理卿鄭善果奏：「雲起訾大臣，毀朝政，所言不情。」 貶大理司直。 帝幸江都，請告歸。
When the Khitan attacked Yingzhou, Yunqi was ordered to lead Turkic forces against them; Qimin Khan placed twenty thousand cavalry under his command. Yunqi divided the force into twenty linked encampments advancing along four routes and issued orders: "March at the drum, halt at the horn. No one may gallop without the envoy's command. He explained the orders three times and repeated them five times over. When one Hejin tribesman broke the rule, Yunqi had him beheaded at once as an example. After that, every Turkic chief who came before him advanced on his knees and dared not raise his eyes. The Khitan had long served the Turks without a break and never expected Yunqi to appear. Once inside Khitan territory he had the Turks spread word that they were bound for Liucheng to trade with Goguryeo, and decreed death for anyone who mentioned a Sui envoy. The Khitan suspected nothing. He marched south past the enemy camp by a hundred li, returned to his lines by night, and at dawn struck by surprise. He captured forty thousand Khitan men and women, gave half the women and livestock to the Turks, killed all the men, and marched home with the rest. The emperor was delighted and told the assembled officials, "Yunqi led the Turks to crush the Khitan by unconventional tactics. He has both civil and military gifts—I chose him myself. Yunqi was appointed imperial censor. He then impeached Inner Secretariat vice director Yu Shiji and censor-in-chief Pei Yun for abusing imperial favor and obstructing orders—for concealing unrest in the realm and, when they did report, reporting falsely. Court deliberations underestimated the rebels and sent too few troops; government forces were outnumbered, defeats piled up, and rebel morale rose day by day. I ask that they be handed over for criminal investigation. Director of the Court of Judicial Review Zheng Shanguo replied that Yunqi was slandering senior ministers, defaming the court, and speaking without cause. Yunqi was demoted to direct clerk in the same court. When the emperor traveled to Jiangdu, Yunqi asked leave to return home.
20
高祖入關，上謁長樂宮，授司農卿、陽城縣公。 武德初，進上開府儀同三司，判農圃監。 時議討王世充，雲起上言：「京師初平，人未堅附，百姓流離，仍歲無年。 盩厔〗司竹、藍田谷口，盜賊群屯。 京都椎剽，乘夜竊發。 重以梁師都嫁情北胡，陰計內鈔，為腹心患。 釋此不圖，而窺兵函、洛，奸人乘虛，一旦有變，禍且不細。 臣愚以為不若戢兵務農，須關中妥安，士氣餘飽，然議討伐，一舉可定。」 從之。
When Gaozu entered the passes, Yunqi presented himself at Changle Palace and was made director of agriculture and Duke of Yangcheng County. Early in the Wude era he was promoted to grand master of splendid happiness with the golden seal and placed in charge of the directorate of gardens and parks. When the court debated attacking Wang Shichong, Yunqi argued: "The capital has only just been pacified and the people are not yet firmly loyal. The populace is displaced, and harvests have failed year after year. At Zhoushi, Sizhu, and the valley mouths of Lantian, bandits gather in bands. In the capital violent robbery breaks out under cover of night. Meanwhile Liang Shidu has allied himself with the northern tribes and plots raids from within—a danger at our very core. To ignore these threats and instead fix our armies on Hangu and Luoyang is to invite troublemakers to strike at our weakness. If crisis comes overnight, the disaster will be grave. I believe it would be wiser to halt military campaigns and devote ourselves to agriculture. Once Guanzhong is secure and the people fed and rested, then we may campaign—and victory will come in a single stroke. The emperor accepted his advice.
21
會突厥入寇，詔總豳、寧以北九洲兵禦之，得一切便宜。 改遂州都督、益州行台兵部尚書。 時僕射竇軌數奏生獠反，冀得集兵以威眾，雲起數持掣，軌宣言雲起通賊營私，由是始隙。 雲起弟慶儉、慶嗣事隱太子。 太子死，詔軌息馳驛報。 軌疑雲起有變，陰設備，乃告之。 雲起不信，曰：「詔安在？」 軌曰：「公建成黨，今不奉詔，反明矣。」 遂殺之。 初，雲起師太學博士王頗，每歎曰：「韋生識悟，富貴可自致； 然疾惡甚，恐不得死。」 訖如言。
When the Turks invaded, he was ordered to command the armies of the nine prefectures north of Bin and Ning, with full discretionary power. He was made regional commander of Suizhou and minister of war on the Yizhou mobile secretariat. Chief minister Dou Gui repeatedly reported rebellions among the tribal peoples, hoping to gather troops and awe the region. Yunqi repeatedly blocked him. Gui then publicly accused Yunqi of colluding with rebels for private gain, and a rift opened between them. Yunqi's younger brothers Qingjian and Qingsi served the hidden heir. When the heir died, an edict ordered Gui's son to ride post relays and report the news. Gui suspected Yunqi of plotting rebellion, secretly made preparations, and then confronted him. Yunqi refused to believe it and demanded, "Where is the edict? Gui said, "You are of Jiancheng's faction. Your refusal to obey the edict proves rebellion plainly enough." He then had Yunqi killed. Yunqi had studied under imperial academy erudite Wang Po, who once sighed and said, "Young Wei has keen insight and can win wealth and honor for himself; but he hates wickedness too fiercely—I fear he will not die in his bed. In the end it happened exactly as he had said.
22
孫方質，光宅初為鳳閣侍郎、同鳳閣鸞台平章事，遷地官尚書。 嘗屬疾，武承嗣兄弟往候，方質據床自若。 或曰：「倨見權貴，且速禍。」 答曰：「吉凶命也，丈夫豈能折節近戚以苟免邪？」 俄為酷吏所陷，流死儋州，沒其家。 神龍初，復官爵。
His grandson Fang Zhi, early in the Guangzhai era, served as vice director of the Phoenix Pavilion and equal in court deliberation, then was made minister of the earth office. Once, while ill, he received a visit from Wu Chengsi and his brothers and remained seated on his bed without ceremony. Someone warned him, "To show such arrogance toward the powerful will bring disaster quickly. He replied, "Fortune and misfortune are fate. Should a man bend his spine to court imperial in-laws merely to save his skin?" Soon a cruel official framed him; he died in exile in Danzhou and his property was confiscated. Early in the Shenlong era his offices and titles were restored.
23
孫伏伽
Sun Fuga
24
孫伏伽，貝州武城人。 仕隋，以小史累勞補萬年縣法曹。 高祖武德初，上言三事。
Sun Fuga was a native of Wucheng in Beizhou. Under the Sui he rose through minor clerk posts by accumulated merit to legal officer of Wannian County. Early in Emperor Gaozu's Wude reign he submitted a memorial on three matters.
25
其二：百戲散樂，本非正聲，隋末始見崇用，此謂淫風，不得不變。 近太常假民裙襦五百稱，以衣妓工，待玄武門遊戲。 臣以為非詒子孫之謀。 傳曰：「放鄭聲，遠佞人。」 今散妓者，匪《韶》匪《夏》，請並廢之，以復雅正。
Second: variety shows and scattered music are not proper court music. Only late in the Sui were they elevated—this is licentious fashion and must be changed. Recently the Court of Imperial Sacrifices borrowed five hundred sets of commoners' clothing to dress female performers for entertainments at the Xuanwu Gate. I do not believe this serves the welfare of your descendants. The tradition says, "Banish the music of Zheng and keep flatterers at a distance. Today's scattered performers are neither Shao nor Xia music. I ask that they all be abolished so court music may return to proper standards."
26
其三：臣聞「性相近，習相遠」。 今皇太子諸王左右執事，不可不擇。 大抵不義無賴及馳騁射獵歌舞聲色慢遊之人，止可悅耳目，備驅馳，至拾遺補闕，決不能也。 泛觀前世，子姓不克孝，兄弟不克友，莫不由左右亂之。 願選賢才，澄僚友之選。
Third: I have heard that natures are alike at birth but diverge through habit. The attendants and staff around the crown prince and the imperial princes must be chosen with care. Men who are unprincipled rogues, or who devote themselves to hunting, archery, song, dance, sensual pleasures, and idle roaming, may amuse the senses and run errands—but they can never remedy omissions or supply what is lacking. Looking broadly at past ages, whenever sons failed in filial piety and brothers failed in fraternity, the fault lay with corrupt attendants. I ask that worthy men be chosen and the selection of companions be purified."
27
帝大悅，即詔：「周、隋之晚，忠臣結舌，是謂一言喪邦者。 朕惟寡德，不能性與天道，然冀弼諧以輔不逮，而群公卿士罕進直言。 伏伽至誠慷慨，據義懇切，指朕失無所諱。 其以伏伽為治書侍御史，賜帛三百匹。」 初，帝受禪，伏伽最先諫，帝欲盡下情，故不次見拔，以示群臣。
The emperor was delighted and at once issued an edict: "In the late Zhou and Sui loyal ministers dared not speak—that is how a state can be lost in a single word. I know my virtue is slight and I cannot align my nature with Heaven's Way, yet I look to my ministers to supply what I lack—while you rarely offer honest counsel. Fuga has spoken with utmost sincerity and boldness, upholding righteousness without reserve and pointing out my faults openly. Appoint Fuga attending imperial censor and grant him three hundred bolts of silk. When the emperor first accepted the abdication, Fuga was the first to remonstrate with him. Wishing to encourage frank counsel from below, the emperor promoted him out of turn as an example to the court.
28
是時，軍興賦斂重，伏伽數請厘損。 帝語裴寂曰：「隋為無道，主驕於上，臣諂於下，下上蔽蒙，至身死匹夫手，寧不痛哉！ 我今不然，平亂責武臣，守成責儒臣，程能付事，以佐不逮； 虛心盡下，冀聞嘉言。 若李綱、孫伏伽，可謂誼臣矣。 俯首噤默，豈朕所望哉？」
At that time military campaigns had made taxes heavy; Fuga repeatedly asked that levies be reduced. The emperor told Pei Ji, "The Sui lost the Way: the ruler grew arrogant above while ministers flattered below, each side deceiving the other, until the emperor died at a commoner's hand—how painful a lesson that is! I will not repeat that error. I charge military men with pacifying chaos and scholars with preserving peace, assigning tasks by ability to supply what I lack; and I open my mind to those below, hoping to hear good counsel. Men like Li Gang and Sun Fuga are the sort of righteous ministers I seek. But if you bow your heads in silence, what use are you to me?"
29
東都平，大赦天下，又欲責賊支黨，悉流徙惡地。 伏伽諫曰：「臣聞王者無戲言，《書》稱'爾無不信，朕不食言'，言之不可不慎也。 陛下制詔曰：'常赦不免，皆原之。 '此非直赦有罪，是亦與天下更新辭也。 世充、建德所部，赦後乃欲流徙。 《書》曰：'殲厥渠魁，忄辦從罔治。 '渠魁尚免，忄辦從何辜？ 且蹠狗吠堯，吠非其主。 今與陛下結髮雅故，往為賊臣，彼豈忘陛下哉，壅隔故也。 至疏者安得而罪之？ 由古以來，何始無君，然止稱堯、舜者，何也？ 直由善名難得也。 昔天下未平，容應機制變。 今四方已定，設法須與人共之。 法者陛下自作，須自守之，使天下百姓信而畏也。 自為無信，欲人之信，豈可得哉？ 賞罰之行，無貴賤親疏，惟義所在。 臣愚以為賊党於赦當免者，雖甚無狀，宜一切加原，則天下幸甚。」 又表置諫官。 帝皆欽納。
After the eastern capital was pacified, the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty, then planned to punish the rebel factions and exile them all to harsh regions. Fuga remonstrated: "I have heard that a king must not speak in jest. The Documents says, 'Do not be unbelieving; I will not eat my words.' A ruler's words must be weighed with utmost care. Your edict declared, 'Even those whom ordinary amnesties would not spare—all are pardoned.' This was not merely pardoning criminals; it was renewing the covenant with the realm. Yet now, after the amnesty, you would exile the followers of Shichong and Jiande. The Documents says, 'Destroy the ringleaders; spare the followers.' If the leaders themselves are spared, what crime have their followers committed? Besides, when Robber Zhi's dog barked at Yao, it barked at the wrong master. Many were your old companions since youth who later served rebel lords. Do you think they have forgotten you? They were cut off by circumstance, that is all. How can the least involved be punished for it? Since antiquity there has never been an age without rulers—yet only Yao and Shun are praised. Why? Simply because a good name is hard to earn. When the realm was still unsettled, flexibility was permissible. Now that the four quarters are settled, laws must be shared with the people. The law is what Your Majesty himself made; you must keep it yourself so that the people trust and fear it. If you yourself break faith, how can you expect others to trust you? Rewards and punishments must know no rank or kinship—only where justice lies. I believe that all rebel followers who ought to be covered by the amnesty, however deplorable their conduct, should be fully pardoned. The realm would be the happier for it. He also memorialized to establish remonstrating officials. The emperor accepted all his proposals with respect.
30
始，伏伽拜御史時，先被內旨，而制未出，歸臥於家，無喜色。 頃之，御史造門，子弟驚白，伏伽徐起見之。 時人稱其有量，以比顧雍雲。
When Fuga was first appointed censor, he received a private edict before the formal appointment was issued. He went home and lay down without a trace of joy on his face. Soon an envoy from the censorate arrived at his door. His sons rushed to tell him, but Fuga rose slowly to receive the messenger. Contemporaries praised his composure and compared him to Gu Yong of old.
31
張玄素
Zhang Xuansu
32
張玄素，蒲州虞鄉人。 仕隋，為景城縣戶曹。 竇建德陷景城，執將殺之，邑人千餘號泣請代，曰：「此清吏，殺之是無天也。 大王即定天下，無使善人解體。」 建德命釋縛，署治書侍御史，不拜。 聞江都已弑，始為建德黃門侍郎。 賊平，授景州錄事參軍。
Zhang Xuansu was a native of Yuxiang in Puzhou. Under the Sui he served as household officer of Jingcheng County. When Dou Jiande captured Jingcheng, he seized Xuansu for execution. More than a thousand townspeople wept and begged to die in his place, crying, "He is an honest official—kill him and you defy Heaven itself. Great King, you are about to settle the realm—do not dishearten good men. Jiande ordered him released and appointed him attending imperial censor, but Xuansu refused the post. Only after learning that Jiangdu had fallen and the emperor murdered did he accept the post of vice director of the yellow gate under Jiande. After the rebels were defeated he was appointed records adjutant in Jingzhou.
33
太宗即位，問以政，對曰：「自古未有如隋亂者，得非君自專、法日亂乎？ 且萬乘之尊，身決庶務，日斷十事，五不中，中者信善，有如不中者何？ 一日萬機，積其失，不亡何待？ 若上賢右能，使百司善職，則高居深拱，疇敢犯之？ 隋末盜起，爭天下者不十數，餘皆保城邑以須有道聽命，是欲背上怙亂者果鮮，特人君不能安之而挻之亂也。 以陛下聖神，跡所以危，鑒所以亡，日慎一日，雖堯、舜何以加！」 帝曰：「善。」 拜侍御史，遷給事中。
When Taizong took the throne he asked Xuansu about government. Xuansu replied, "Never in history was there chaos like the Sui's. Was it not because the ruler acted alone while law fell daily into disorder? When the Son of Heaven decides common affairs himself, deciding ten cases a day with five wrong—of the five right, one may trust they are sound; but what of the five wrong? Ten thousand affairs in a day—accumulate such errors, and how can the state avoid ruin? If you honor the worthy above and empower the able, and let every office perform its duty, then seated high with folded hands—who would dare offend you? At the end of the Sui, rebels rose everywhere, yet those truly fighting for empire were fewer than a dozen; the rest held their cities awaiting a ruler who held the Way. Few truly wished to rebel—the trouble was that rulers could not reassure them and instead drove them to revolt. With Your Majesty's sagely spirit, tracing what brought danger and taking ruin as your mirror, growing more cautious day by day—even Yao and Shun could do no more! The emperor said, "Well said." He was appointed attending censor, then promoted to palace attendant.
34
貞觀四年，詔發卒治洛陽宮乾陽殿，且東幸。 玄素上書曰：
In the fourth year of Zhenguan an edict ordered laborers to repair the Qianyang Hall in the Luoyang palace and planned an eastern tour of the capital. Xuansu submitted a memorial:
35
臣惟秦始皇帝藉周之餘，夷六國，統壹尊，將貽之萬世，及子而亡者，殫嗜奔欲，以逆天害人也。 天下不可以力勝，唯當務儉約，薄賦斂，以身先之，乃能大安。
I reflect that the First Emperor of Qin, building on what remained of Zhou, conquered the six states and unified the realm for ten thousand generations—yet his line ended with his son because he exhausted every desire in reckless pursuit, opposing Heaven and harming the people. The realm cannot be secured by force alone. Only through frugality, light taxes, and leading by example can there be lasting peace.
36
今東都未有幸期，前事土木，戚王出籓，又當營構，科調繁仍，失疲人望，一不可也。 陛下向平東都，曾觀廣殿，皆撤毀之，天下翕然，一口頌歌。 豈有初惡侈靡而後好雕麗哉？ 二不可也。 陛下每言巡幸者不急之務，徒焉虛費。 今國儲無兼年，又興別都之役，以產怨讟，三不可也。 百姓承亂離之後，財賦殫空，雖蒙更生，意未完定，奈何營未幸之都，重耗其力，四不可也。 漢祖將都洛陽，婁敬一言，即日西駕。 非不知地土中，道裏所均，但形勝不及關內，弗敢康也。 伏惟陛下化凋弊之俗，為日尚淺，詎可東巡以搖人心？ 五不可也。
The eastern capital has no fixed date for an imperial visit; construction has only just ended; the Prince of Qi has gone to his fief and needs new building—levies come one after another, betraying the hopes of an exhausted people. First, this must not be done. When Your Majesty first pacified the eastern capital, you viewed the vast halls and had them torn down; the realm united as one in praise. Can you have hated extravagance at first and now love carved splendor? Second, this cannot be done. Your Majesty has often said that imperial tours are not urgent business and waste resources in vain. National stores will not last two years, yet you would raise labor for a second capital, breeding resentment. Third, this cannot be done. The people, after chaos and separation, are drained of wealth; though they have begun to recover, their minds are not yet settled—why build a capital you have not yet visited and exhaust them again? Fourth, this cannot be done. When the Han founder was about to make Luoyang his capital, a single word from Lou Jing sent him west that very day. It was not that he did not know Luoyang stood at the center with roads equally balanced, but that its strategic strength could not match Guanzhong—he dared not rest easy there. Your Majesty has only begun to transform a broken society—how can you tour east and unsettle the people's hearts? Fifth, this cannot be done. Fifth, this cannot be done.
37
臣嘗見隋家造殿，伐木于豫章，二千人挽一材，以鐵為轂，行不數里，轂輒壞，別數百人齎轂自隨，終日行不三十里。 一材之費，已數十萬工，揆其餘可知已。 昔阿房成，秦人散； 章華就，楚眾離； 乾陽畢功，隋人解體。 今民力未及隋日，而役殘創之人，襲亡國弊，臣恐陛下之過，甚於煬帝。
I once saw the Sui build a hall, felling timber in Yuzhang. Two thousand men hauled a single beam on iron wheel hubs; after a few li the hubs broke, and hundreds more had to carry spare hubs—advancing barely thirty li in a whole day. A single beam cost hundreds of thousands of work-days; the rest may be imagined. When Epang was completed, the Qin people scattered; when Zhanghua was finished, the Chu people dispersed; when Qianyang was completed, the Sui fell apart. The people's strength has not recovered to Sui levels, yet you would employ the wounded and broken and repeat the errors of a fallen dynasty—I fear Your Majesty's fault may exceed even Emperor Yang's.
38
帝曰：「卿謂我不如煬帝，何如桀、紂？」 對曰：「若此殿卒興，同歸於亂。 臣聞東都始平，太上皇詔宮室過度者焚之，陛下謂瓦木可用，請賜貧人，事雖不從，天下稱為盛德，今復度而宮之，是隋役又興。 不五六年間，一舍一取，天下謂何？」 帝顧房玄齡曰：「洛陽朝貢天下中，朕營之，意欲便四方百姓。 今玄素言如此，使後必往，雖露坐，庸何苦？」 即詔罷役，賜彩二百匹。 魏征名梗挺，聞玄秦言，歎曰：「張公論事，有回天之力，可謂仁人之言哉。」 曆太子少詹事，遷右庶子。 時太子承乾事遊畋，不悅學。 玄素上書曰：
The emperor said, "You say I am no better than Emperor Yang—am I then like Jie and Zhou of old? He answered, "If this hall is built to completion, the end will be the same—chaos. When the eastern capital was first pacified, the retired emperor ordered excessive palaces burned. Your Majesty wished to give the timber to the poor. Though the plan was not carried out, the realm praised your virtue. Now you would measure and build again—Sui-style forced labor revived. Within five or six years, first abandoning and then reclaiming—what will the realm think?" The emperor turned to Fang Xuanling and said, "Luoyang stands at the center of tribute from the realm. I build it to benefit the people of the four quarters. Now that Xuansu speaks so forcefully, if I must go later, I would sit in the open air rather than cause such hardship." He at once halted the project and granted Xuansu two hundred bolts of colored silk. Wei Zheng, known for his stubborn integrity, heard Xuansu's words and sighed, "Master Zhang's counsel has the power to turn back Heaven—truly the words of a benevolent man. He served as junior grand mentor of the heir, then was made right vice director of the heir apparent's household. At that time the heir Chenggan devoted himself to hunting and took no pleasure in study. Xuansu submitted a memorial:
39
天道無親，惟德是輔。 苟違天道，人神棄之。 古者田三驅，非以教殺，除民害也。 今反以獵為娛，行之無常，不損盛德哉？ 《傳》曰：「事不師古，匪說攸聞。」 然則探道在學古，學古在師訓。 孔潁達奉詔講勸，宜數逮問，裨萬分。 博選賢傑，朝夕侍左右，與相規摩。 日知所亡，月無忘所能，此則善美矣。
Heaven's Way shows no partiality; it assists only virtue. Whoever violates Heaven's Way is abandoned by men and spirits alike. In antiquity the royal hunt drove game on three sides—not to teach killing, but to rid the people of pests. Now you take the hunt for amusement, practicing it without restraint—does this not diminish your great virtue? The Tradition says, "Matters that do not follow antiquity—such counsel is never heard. To seek the Way one must study antiquity; to study antiquity one must heed instruction. Kong Yingda lectures at imperial command—you should summon him often for instruction; it would benefit you beyond measure. Choose worthy men broadly to attend you morning and evening and polish one another in counsel. Know daily what you lack; forget not monthly what you have mastered—this is true excellence.
40
夫在人上者常求為善也，然性不勝情，耽惑成亂，下有諛言，君道乃虧。 古人有云：「勿以惡小不去，善小不為。」 禍福之來，皆根于初，護終若始，猶懼其替，始不護焉，終將安歸？
Rulers constantly seek to do good, yet passion overcomes nature, indulgence breeds disorder, and flattery below undermines the ruler's Way. The ancients said, "Do not neglect a small evil because it is small; do not neglect a small good because it is small. Fortune and misfortune take root at the beginning. Guard the end as you did the beginning, yet still fear decline. Fail to guard at the start—where can the end lead?"
41
太子不納。 又上書曰：
The heir would not listen. He submitted another memorial:
42
周公資聖人，而握沐吐飧，下白屋，況下周公之人哉？ 殿下睿質天就，尚須學以表飾之。 孔穎達、趙弘智皆宿德钜髦，兼識政機，望數召見，述古今，增懿明德。 雕蟲小技，正可間召，代博弈，不宜屢也。 騎射畋遊，褻戲酣歌，悅耳目，移情靈，不可以禦。 夫心為萬事主，動而無節則亂，敗德之原，實在於此。
The Duke of Zhou was endowed with sagehood, yet he attended others in the bath and shared his meal with humble scholars from thatched cottages—how much more should you, who stand below the Duke of Zhou? Your Highness's keen nature is Heaven-given, yet you still need learning to display and refine it. Kong Yingda and Zhao Hongzhi are eminent elders who also understand statecraft. I urge you to summon them often to discourse on past and present and increase your bright virtue. Petty literary arts may be summoned occasionally to replace gambling, but not frequently. Riding, archery, hunting, licentious games, and drunken song please the senses and shift the spirit—they cannot be resisted once indulged. The heart rules all affairs; moved without restraint it falls into disorder. The root of ruined virtue lies here.
43
帝知數財正太子，頻擢至銀青光祿大夫，行左庶子。
The emperor knew he repeatedly admonished the heir and promoted him repeatedly to grand master of splendid happiness with the silver seal, acting as left vice director of the heir's household.
44
太子久不見賓友，玄素曰：「宮中所見止婦人，不知如樊姬等可與益聖德者幾何？ 若無之，即便詖豔嬖，何足顧哉！ 上惟東宮之重，高署賢才為寮佐，今乃不得進見，將何以朝納誨、夕補遺哉？ 太子諱其切，夜遣戶奴以騎楇狙擊，危脫死。 嘗聞宮中擊鼓，叩閤正言，太子出鼓，對玄素破之。 既不悛，醜德日聞。 玄素不能已，上書曰：
The heir had long avoided his advisers. Xuansu said, "In the palace you see only women. How many like Fan Ji are there who could increase your sagely virtue? If there are none, why trouble yourself even to criticize your favorites? The throne values the eastern palace highly and appoints worthy men as your staff—yet they cannot gain audience. How will you receive morning instruction and evening correction? The heir resented his bluntness and sent a household slave by night with a mounted lance to ambush him; Xuansu narrowly escaped death. Once he heard drums in the palace, knocked at the gate, and spoke plainly. The heir came out with the drum and smashed it before Xuansu's eyes. Since he would not reform, his misconduct grew daily more notorious. Unable to hold his tongue, Xuansu submitted another memorial:
45
孔子曰：「能近取譬，可謂仁之方也。」 書傳所載或過，臣請以近事喻之。 周武帝平山東，庳宮陋食以安海內，而太子贇有穢德，烏丸軌以聞，帝慈仁不忍廢。 及踐祚，狂暴日熾，宗祀以亡，隋文帝所代是也。 文帝因周衰，藉女資，雖無大功於人，然布德行惠，上下安賴。 勇為太子，驕肆敗度，今宮中山池，殿下所親見者也。 當是時，自謂有太山之安，詎知壬臣敢進其說哉？ 向使動靜有常，進止有度，親君子，疏小人，黜浮華，守恭儉，雖有離間，烏能致慈父之隙哉？ 蓋積德弗純，令問不著，一遭讒，遂成其禍。
Confucius said, "To find comparisons in what is near at hand is the method of benevolence. What books record may seem remote; I ask to use recent events as comparison. Emperor Wu of Zhou pacified the east with humble palaces and plain food, yet his heir Yun behaved foully. Wuyuan Gui reported it, but the emperor's kindness kept him from deposition. When Yun took the throne, his violence grew daily until the dynasty fell—this is the house that Emperor Wen of Sui replaced. Emperor Wen rose as Zhou declined, relying on his wife's connections. Though he won no great merit, he spread virtue and kindness, and above and below relied on him. His heir Yong was arrogant beyond all measure—the hills and pools in the palace today are what Your Highness has seen with your own eyes. At the time he thought himself secure as Mount Tai—how could he know a crafty minister would dare advance his schemes? Had he kept regular conduct, measured his steps, drawn near to gentlemen and kept petty men away, dismissed extravagance and kept to respectful frugality—even with slander, how could a loving father's bond have been broken? But his virtue was impure and his reputation unsettled—one slander, and disaster followed.
46
今上以殿下父子親，故所資用不為限節，然詔未六旬，而用逾七萬，驕奢亡藝，孰有過此？ 龍樓、望苑，為工匠之肆，既闕視膳問安之宜，又無悅學好道之實。 上違君父慈訓之方，下有因緣戮辱之罪。 所施與者，不遊手雜色，則圖畫雕鏤之人。 外所瞻仰，此失已暴，內隱密者，尚可勝計哉？ 右庶子趙弘智經明行脩，臣謂宜數進召，以廣徽美； 今反猜嫌，謂妄相推引。 從善若流，尚恐不逮，飾非拒諫，禍可既乎？
Because father and son are close, Your Highness's expenses are not limited—yet in less than sixty days you have spent more than seventy thousand. Such arrogant extravagance—who has exceeded it? The Dragon Tower and Prospect Garden have become workshops—neglecting the duty to inquire after your father's health, and showing no delight in learning or love of the Way. Above you violate a father's kind instruction; below you invite the shame of violence against your teachers. Those you reward are none but idle performers or painters and craftsmen. What outsiders see is already scandal enough—what is hidden within, can it even be counted? Right vice director Zhao Hongzhi is learned and upright; I believe you should summon him often to broaden your excellence; yet now you suspect him and call it false mutual promotion." To follow good counsel like a flowing stream and still fear falling short is wise—but to gloss over faults and reject remonstrance, can disaster be avoided?"
47
書入，太子怒，遣刺客伺之。 會宮廢，玄素坐除名為民。 頃之，召授潮州刺史，徙鄧州，訖不復親近。 高宗時，以老致仕。 麟德初卒。
When the memorial arrived, the heir flew into a rage and sent assassins to lie in wait for him. When the eastern palace was abolished, Xuansu was stripped of office and reduced to commoner status. Soon he was recalled and appointed governor of Chaozhou, then transferred to Dengzhou, and never again allowed near the heir. Under Emperor Gaozong he retired on account of age. He died early in the Linde era.
48
始，玄素與孫伏伽在隋皆為令史，太宗嘗問玄素宦立所來，深自羞汗。 褚遂良見帝曰：「君子不失言于人，明主不失言於戲。 故言則史書之，禮成之，樂歌之。 居上能禮其臣，乃盡力以奉其上。 近世宋武帝侮靳朝臣，攻其門戶，至恥懼狼狽，前史以為非。 陛下昨問玄素在隋任何官，對曰：'縣尉。 '又問未為尉時，曰：'流外。 '又問何曹司，玄素出不能徙步，顏若此灰，精爽頓盡，見者鹹共驚怪。 唐家創業，任官以才，卜祝庸保，量能並用。 陛下以玄素擢任三品，佐皇儲，豈宜復對群臣使辭窮負恥，欲責其伏節死義，安可得乎？」 帝曰：「朕亦悔之。」 伏伽雖廣坐，陳說往事，無少隱焉。
Earlier, Xuansu and Sun Fuga had both been clerks under the Sui. Taizong once asked Xuansu where his official career had begun, and Xuansu flushed with shame. Chu Suiliang said to the emperor, "A gentleman does not speak carelessly to others; a wise ruler does not speak carelessly even in jest. Therefore speech is recorded by historians, completed by ritual, and sung in music. When a ruler treats his ministers with respect, they exhaust themselves in his service. In recent times Emperor Wu of Song insulted and stinted his ministers and attacked their factions until they were shamed and fearful—histories judge this wrong. Yesterday Your Majesty asked what office Xuansu held under the Sui. He answered, 'County commandant.' You asked what he was before that. He said, 'Outside the regular stream.' You asked which bureau he served in. Xuansu left unable to walk, his face ashen, his spirit broken—all who saw were astonished. When the Tang founded its enterprise, it appointed by talent—diviners, attendants, and guards alike were used according to their abilities. Your Majesty promoted Xuansu to third rank to assist the heir—how can you shame him before the whole court and then expect him to die for righteousness? The emperor said, "I regret it as well." Fuga, though in open assembly, spoke of past affairs without the least concealment.
49
贊曰：始唐有天下，懲刈隋敝，敷內讜言，而世長等仇然獻忠，時主方褒聽，藉以勸天下，雖觸禁忌，而無忤情。 及禍亂已平，君位尊安，後者視前人之為，猶以鯁論期榮，故時時遭斥讓，為所厭苦。 非言有巧拙，所遭之時異也。 夫性有不可移，雖堯、舜弗能訓。 承乾之惡，根著於心，而歸責玄素，其何救哉？ 此士亹辭不能傅太子，諒矣。
The eulogy says: When the Tang first won the realm, it corrected the ills of the Sui and encouraged frank counsel within the court. Men like Shichang offered loyal remonstrance with stern faces while the ruler praised and heeded them, using their example to encourage the realm. Though they touched taboos, they gave no offense. Once chaos was pacified and the throne secure, later remonstrators still expected glory through blunt speech and were repeatedly rebuked and resented. It was not that their words were clever or clumsy—the times had changed. Some natures cannot be moved—even Yao and Shun could not reform them. Chenggan's wickedness was rooted in his heart, yet blame fell on Xuansu—what could save him? That earnest words could not instruct the heir is no surprise.