Volume 109 Biographies 34: Cui, Yang, Dou, Zong, Hu, Wang

崔義玄，貝州武城人。隋大業亂，往見李密，密不用。河內賊黃君漢為密守柏崖，義玄見群鼠度河，槊刃有華文，曰：「此王敦亡兆也。」因說君漢以城歸，乃拜君漢懷州刺史、行軍總管，以義玄為司馬。王世充將高毘寇河內，義玄擊走之，多下屯堡。君漢以所掠子女金帛分之，拒不受。以功封清丘縣公。太宗討世充，數用其謀。東都平，轉隰州都督府長史。貞觀初，歷左司郎中，兼韓王府長史，與王友孟神慶誌趣不同，而俱以介直任。

Cui Yixuan came from Wucheng in Beizhou. When the Sui empire collapsed in the Daye era, he sought out Li Mi, who declined to take him on. Huang Junhan, a rebel leader in Henei, was holding Baiya for Li Mi when Yixuan noticed a mass of rats swimming across the river, and saw ornate patterns on the blades of spears. He declared, "This foretells the fall of Wang Dun." He then urged Junhan to submit the city, whereupon Junhan was made Commandant of Huaizhou and campaign commander-in-chief, with Yixuan as his staff officer. When Wang Shichong's general Gao Pi attacked Henei, Yixuan drove him off and took numerous fortified posts. Junhan tried to give him a portion of the captives and plunder, but he would not take any of it. For his service he was created Duke of Qingqiu. During Emperor Taizong's campaign against Wang Shichong, his counsel was sought again and again. Once the eastern capital fell, he was appointed chief clerk of the Xizhou military governorship. Early in the Zhenguan reign he rose through the Left Bureau and served concurrently as chief clerk to the Prince of Han. He and the prince's friend Meng Shenqing did not see eye to eye, yet both were valued for their blunt honesty.

永徽中，累遷婺州刺史。時睦州女子陳碩真舉兵反。始，碩真自言仙去，與鄉鄰辭訣，或告其詐，已而捕得，詔釋不問。於是姻家章叔胤妄言碩真自天還，化為男子，能役使鬼物，轉相熒惑，用是能幻眾。自稱文佳皇帝，以叔胤為僕射，破睦州，攻歙，殘之，分遣其黨圍婺州。義玄發兵拒之，其徒爭言碩真有神靈，犯其兵輒滅宗，眾兇懼不肯用。司功參軍崔玄籍曰：「仗順起兵，猶無成；此乃妖人，勢不持久。」義玄乃署玄籍先鋒，而自統眾繼之。至下淮戍，擒其諜數十人。有星墜賊營，義玄曰：「賊必亡。」詰朝奮擊，左右有以盾鄣者，義玄曰：「刺史而有避邪，誰肯死？」敕去之。由是眾為用，斬首數百級，降其眾萬余。賊平，拜御史大夫。

In the Yonghui period he advanced step by step until he became governor of Wuzhou. About then Chen Shuozhen, a woman from Muzhou, took up arms in revolt. She had once announced that she was leaving the world as an immortal and said goodbye to her neighbors. When someone exposed the trick, she was caught, but the court let the matter drop. Her relative by marriage Zhang Shuyin then spread the lie that she had come back from heaven as a man who could command spirits. The story passed from mouth to mouth until she could work her illusions on a multitude. She proclaimed herself Emperor Wenjia, made Shuyin her chief minister, overran Muzhou, stormed She and laid it waste, then sent factions of her force to encircle Wuzhou. Yixuan mobilized troops to meet her, but his men insisted that she was supernatural and that any who struck her host would be wiped out to the last kin. The army, cowed by this, would not advance. His registrar Cui Xuanji said, "Even a righteous rising often comes to nothing; this woman is a mere charlatan, and her power will not endure." Yixuan made Xuanji his vanguard and followed at the head of the main body. At the Xiahuai post they seized dozens of her spies. A meteor dropped into the rebel encampment. Yixuan said, "The rebels are finished." The next morning he led a fierce assault. When men beside him raised shields to protect him, he said, "If the governor hides behind a shield, who will lay down his life?" He commanded that they be taken away. From then on the men fought with all their heart, taking hundreds of heads and receiving the surrender of more than ten thousand. After the rebellion was crushed, he was made chief censor.

義玄有章句學，先儒疑繆，或音故不通者，輒采諸家，條分節解，能是正之。高宗詔與博士討論《五經》義。

Yixuan was a master of classical commentary. Where earlier scholars had been uncertain or where sound and usage blocked understanding, he drew on every school, divided the text into sections, and set it straight. Emperor Gaozong summoned him to debate the Five Classics with the court scholars.

武氏為皇后，義玄贊帝決，又以後旨按長孫無忌等誅之。終蒲州刺史，年七十一。贈幽州都督，謚曰貞。後持政，贈揚州大都督，賜其家實封戶二百。子神基襲爵。神基，長壽中，為司賓卿、同鳳閣鸞臺平章事。為酷吏所構，流嶺南。中宗初，稍用為大理卿。弟神慶，舉明經，武後時，累遷萊州刺史。入朝，待制億歲殿，奏事稱旨。後以歷官有佳政，且其父於己有功，擢拜并州長史，謂曰：「并州，朕鄉里，宿兵多，前長史皆尚書為之，今授卿，宜知所以委重者。」乃親為按行圖，謀日而遣。神慶始至，有詔改錢幣法，州縣布下，俄而物價踴昂，百賈驚擾，神慶質其非於朝，果豪猾妄為之。後喜，下制褒美。初，州隔汾為東、西二城，神慶跨水聯堞，合而一之，省防禦兵歲數千。神基既下獄，馳赴都告變，得召見，後出具獄示之，神慶為申理，得減死，然用是貶歙州司馬。

When Lady Wu became empress, Yixuan backed the emperor's resolve and, acting on her command, investigated Changsun Wuji and others until they were put to death. He finished his days as governor of Puzhou and died at seventy-one. He was posthumously honored as military governor of Youzhou, with the temple name Zhen. After she took firm control of government, he was posthumously raised to grand military governor of Yangzhou, and his household received a substantive fief of two hundred families. His son Shenji succeeded to the enfeoffment. During the Changshou period Shenji served as minister of ceremonial for guests and as a chancellor. Ruthless prosecutors fabricated a case against him and he was banished to Lingnan. Early in Emperor Zhongzong's reign he was gradually brought back and made minister of justice. His younger brother Shenqing, a Mingjing graduate, rose under Empress Wu until he became governor of Laizhou. On coming to court he served as an attendant in the Hall of Ten Thousand Years, and his reports always pleased her. Later, on account of his good record in office and his father's service to her, he was made chief clerk of Bingzhou. She told him, "Bingzhou is my home district and holds many troops. Former chief clerks were all ministers of works. I am giving it to you now; you should understand how heavy this charge is." She herself drew a map from an inspection tour, set the day of his departure, and dispatched him. Soon after Shenqing took up his post, an edict changed the coinage. Counties and prefectures rushed to implement it, prices shot up, and traders panicked. Shenqing challenged the policy at court and proved that sharp dealers had abused it. The empress was delighted and issued a decree praising him. The prefecture had long been split into eastern and western cities by the Fen. Shenqing joined their walls across the river into a single city and saved several thousand garrison troops a year. When Shenji was thrown into prison, Shenqing raced to the capital to report trouble and won an audience. The empress showed him the case file. He argued for his brother and won a reprieve from death, but was himself demoted to military secretary in Shezhou for his pains.

長安中，累轉禮部侍郎，數上疏陳時政。轉太子右庶子，封魏縣子。是時，突厥使者入見，皇太子應朝，有司移文東宮召太子。神慶諫曰：「五品以上佩龜者，蓋防征召之詐，內出龜以合之，況太子乎？古者召太子用玉契，此誠重慎防萌之意，不可不察。凡慮事於未萌之前，故長無悔吝之咎。今太子與陛下異宮，非朝朔望而別喚者，請降墨敕玉契。」詔可。尋詔與詹事祝欽明更日侍讀東宮。歷司刑卿，劾張昌宗獄，頗闊略不盡。神龍初，昌宗伏誅，坐流欽州，卒。五王得罪，緣昌宗被流者皆詔原雪，贈神慶幽州都督。神慶子琳，明政事，開元中，與高仲舒同為中書舍人。侍中宋璟親禮之，每所訪逮，嘗曰：「古事問仲舒，今事問琳，尚何疑？」累遷太子少保。天寶二年卒，秘書監潘肅聞之，泫然曰：「古遺愛也！」琳長子儼，諫議大夫。

In the Chang'an period he rose to vice minister of rites and sent up many memorials on affairs of state. He was made right vice director of the crown prince's household and created Viscount of Weixian. Turkic envoys were then received at court, and the crown prince was expected to attend. The responsible offices sent a formal summons to the Eastern Palace. Shenqing objected: "Officials of the fifth rank and above wear tortoise insignia precisely to prevent forged summonses—the court issues a matching token. Should not the same hold for the crown prince? In ancient times the crown prince was summoned with a jade tally. That was careful forethought against the first stirrings of trouble, and we must not ignore it. When troubles are headed off before they appear, remorse seldom follows. The crown prince now lives apart from Your Majesty. Whenever he is called outside the regular audience days, I ask that a vermilion edict with a jade tally be sent." The emperor assented. Soon he and the crown prince's mentor Zhu Qinming were ordered to take turns lecturing at the Eastern Palace. As minister of punishments he handled the case against Zhang Changzong, but his inquiry was loose and left much undone. Early in the Shenlong era Changzong was put to death. Shenqing was implicated, exiled to Qinzhou, and died there. After the Five Princes fell, everyone banished because of Changzong was cleared by edict, and Shenqing was posthumously named military governor of Youzhou. Shenqing's son Lin was skilled in administration. In the Kaiyuan era he and Gao Zhongshu both served as secretariat drafters. Attendant-in-ordinary Song Jing honored him personally. Whenever he sought counsel he would say, "Ask Zhongshu about the past and Lin about the present—what is left to doubt?" He rose step by step to junior guardian of the heir apparent. He died in Tianbao 2. Pan Su, director of the secretariat, wept when he heard the news and said, "A man of the old school of public love!" His eldest son Yan became a remonstrance councillor.

其群從數十人，自興寧裏謁大明宮，冠蓋騶哄相望。每歲時宴於家，以一榻置笏，猶重積其上。琳與弟太子詹事珪、光祿卿瑤俱列棨戟，世號「三戟崔家」。開元、天寶間，中外宗屬無緦麻喪。初，玄宗每命相，皆先書其名，一日書琳等名，覆以金甌，會太子入，帝謂曰：「此宰相名，若自意之，誰乎？即中，且賜酒。」太子曰：「非崔琳、盧從願乎？」帝曰：「然。」賜太子酒。時兩人有宰相望，帝欲相之數矣，以族大，恐附離者眾，卒不用。楊再思，鄭州原武人，第明經，為人佞而智。初，調玄武尉，使至京師，舍逆旅，有盜竊其衣囊，再思遇之，盜窘謝。再思曰：「而苦貧，故至此。囊中檄無所事，幸留，它物可持去。」初不為人言，但假貸以還。累遷天官員外郎，歷左肅政御史中丞。延載初，擢鸞臺侍郎、同鳳閣鸞臺平章事，加兼左肅政御史大夫，封鄭縣侯，遷內史。

Dozens of his kinsmen and followers from Xingning Lane would call at Daming Palace, their coaches and outriders filling the road without a break. At his yearly family banquets he set out a single couch for court tablets, yet still heaped them until they overflowed. Lin and his brothers Gui, director of the crown prince's household, and Yao, minister of imperial sacrifices, all bore ceremonial halberds at their gates, and the world spoke of the "Three-Halberd Cui." Throughout the Kaiyuan and Tianbao reigns, not one of their kin near or far went into even the briefest mourning. Xuanzong used to write down the names of men he meant to make chancellor. One day he wrote Lin's name among others and covered the list with a golden bowl. When the crown prince came in, the emperor said, "Here are the next chancellors. Who do you think they are? Guess right and I will give you wine." The crown prince said, "Surely Cui Lin and Lu Congyuan?" The emperor said, "So it is." He gave the crown prince wine. Both were thought destined for the highest office, and the emperor had nearly appointed them more than once, but their clan was so large that he feared a crowd of hangers-on and never did. Yang Zaisi came from Yuanwu in Zhengzhou, held the Mingjing degree, and was at once servile and shrewd. Early in his career he served as an assistant in Xuanwu and was sent to the capital. At an inn a thief stole his baggage. Zaisi caught him, and the man stammered an apology. Zaisi said, "You are desperately poor, and that is why you did this. The papers in the bag are useless to you—keep them if you will, but take whatever else you need." He told no one at first, but borrowed money to replace what had been taken. He rose to an outer-office post in the ministry of personnel and served as left vice censor-in-chief. Early in the Yanzai era he became vice minister of Luantai and chancellor, was also named chief of the left censorate, created Marquis of Zhengxian, and made head of the secretariat.

居宰相十余年，阿匼取容，無所薦達。人主所不喜，毀之；所善，譽之。畏慎足恭，未嘗忤物。或曰：「公位尊，何自屈折？」答曰：「世路孔艱，直者先禍。不爾，豈全吾軀？」於時水沴，閉坊門以禳。再思入朝，有車陷於濘，叱牛不前，恚曰：「癡宰相不能和陰陽，而閉坊門，遣我艱於行！」再思遣吏謂曰：「汝牛自弱，不得獨責宰相。」

He remained chancellor for more than ten years, fawning on everyone in power and advancing no one of merit. If the sovereign disliked someone, he tore him down; if the sovereign favored someone, he praised him to the skies. He was timid, careful, and elaborately polite, and never crossed anyone. Someone asked, "You stand so high—why abase yourself like this?" He replied, "The world is a narrow road, and the straight-spoken are ruined first. Otherwise, how would I keep my skin whole?" There was flooding then, and ward gates were shut for ritual appeasement. Zaisi was going to court when his cart sank in the mire. He whipped the oxen and cried, "That idiot chancellor cannot balance heaven and earth, yet he shuts the ward gates and leaves me stuck in the mud!" Zaisi sent a clerk to tell him, "Your oxen are feeble; you cannot lay all of this on the chancellor."

張昌宗坐事，司刑少卿桓彥範劾免其官，昌宗訴諸朝，武後意申釋之，問宰相：「昌宗於國有功乎？」再思曰：「昌宗為陛下治丹，餌而愈，此為有功。」後悅，昌宗還官。自是天下貴彥範，賤再思。左補闕戴令言賦「兩腳狐」以譏之，再思怒，謫令言為長社令，士愈蚩噪。

Zhang Changzong fell under investigation. Vice minister of punishments Huan Yanfan impeached him and stripped him of office. Changzong appealed to court, and Empress Wu meant to let him off. She asked the chancellors, "Has Changzong served the state?" Zaisi said, "He compounded elixirs for Your Majesty. You took them and were cured. That is service to the state." The empress was pleased, and Changzong was restored to office. After that the world honored Yanfan and held Zaisi in contempt. Left remonstrance councillor Dai Lingyan wrote a satire called "The Two-legged Fox." Zaisi in a rage banished him to be magistrate of Changshe, and the literati only laughed the louder.

易之兄司禮少卿同休，請公卿宴其寺，酒酣，戲曰：「公面似高麗。」再思欣然，翦谷綴巾上，反披紫袍，為高麗舞，舉動合節，滿坐鄙笑。昌宗以姿貌得幸，再思每曰：「人言六郎似蓮華，非也；正謂蓮華似六郎耳。」其巧諛無恥類如此。俄檢校右庶子。

Zhang Yizhi's elder brother Tongxiu, vice minister of rites, entertained the chief ministers at his temple. Deep in wine, he joked, "Your face looks rather Korean." Zaisi beamed, trimmed stalks to pin on his cap, wore his purple robe inside out, and danced a Korean step in perfect time while the whole table sneered. Changzong won favor by his beauty. Zaisi would say, "People claim the Sixth Lord looks like a lotus blossom. They have it backward; the lotus resembles the Sixth Lord." His sycophancy was as shameless as this. Soon he was named acting right vice director of the crown prince's household.

中宗立，拜戶部尚書、同中書門下三品、京師留守，封弘農郡公，加兼揚州長史，檢校中書令。改侍中，鄭國公，賜實封戶三百，為順天皇后奉冊使。武三思誣陷王同晈，再思與李嶠、韋巨源按獄，希意抵同晈死，眾以為冤。復拜中書令，監修國史。遷尚書右僕射，仍同三品。卒，贈特進、并州大都督，陪葬乾陵，謚曰恭。

After Zhongzong took the throne, Zaisi was made minister of revenue, vice chairman of the chancellery under the Three Departments, and resident commissioner of the capital; he was enfeoffed as Duke of Hongnong, given the concurrent post of chief administrator of Yangzhou, and named acting director of the chancellery. He was then made palace attendant and Duke of Zheng, granted three hundred taxpaying households, and appointed commissioner to present the empress's memorial register. When Wu Sansi framed Wang Tongjiao, Zaisi joined Li Qiao and Wei Juyuan in trying the case, bending the verdict to satisfy the court and send Tongjiao to his death; many believed an innocent man had been wronged. He was again made director of the chancellery and superintendent of the national history. He was promoted to right vice director of the department of state affairs while retaining his standing among the Three Departments. When he died he was posthumously honored as special advancement and great area commander of Bingzhou, buried near Qianling, and given the posthumous name Gong, "Respectful."

弟季昭，中茂才第，為殿中侍御史。武後誅駙馬都尉薛紹，紹兄顗為齊州刺史，命季昭按之，不得反狀，後怒，放於沙州。赦還，為懷州司馬。竇懷貞，字從一，左相德玄子。少詭激，衣服羸儉，不為輿馬豪侈事。仕累清河令，有治狀。後遷越州都督、揚州長史。

His younger brother Jizhao passed the provincial "Outstanding Talent" examination and became a palace investigating censor. After Empress Wu executed the commandant-consort Xue Shao, she ordered Jizhao to investigate Shao's elder brother Yan, prefect of Qizhou; finding no proof of rebellion, he was sent in the empress's wrath into exile at Shazhou. Recalled under a general pardon, he served as military secretary of Huaizhou. Dou Huaizhen, styled Congyi, was the son of the left chancellor Dou Dexuan. As a young man he was odd and impulsive, dressed in threadbare clothes, and shunned the extravagance of fine carriages and horses. In service he worked his way up to magistrate of Qinghe, where he earned a reputation for effective rule. He was later promoted to area commander of Yuezhou and chief administrator of Yangzhou.

神龍中，進左御史大夫兼檢校雍州長史。會歲除，中宗夜宴近臣，謂曰：「聞卿喪妻，今欲繼室可乎？」懷貞唯唯。俄而禁中寶扇鄣衛，有衣翟衣出者，已乃韋後乳媼王，所謂莒國夫人者，故蠻婢也。懷貞納之不辭。又避後先諱，而以字稱。世謂媼婿為阿赩，懷貞每謁見奏請，輒自署「皇后阿赩」，而人或謂為「國赩」，軒然不訴，以自媚於後。時政令多門，赤尉由墨制授御史者眾，或戲曰：「尉入臺多，而縣辦否？」對曰：「辦於異日。」問其故，答曰：「佳吏在，僥幸去，故辦。」聞者皆笑。又附宗楚客、安樂公主等以取貴位，為素議所斥，名稱盡矣。韋後敗，斬妻獻其首，貶濠州司馬，再徙益州長史，乃復故名。

In the Shenlong period he rose to left censor-in-chief and acting chief administrator of Yongzhou. At the year's end Zhongzong held a night banquet for his inner circle and said, "I hear your wife has died. Would you like to take another?" Huaizhen murmured his assent. Presently the inner palace was screened with jeweled fans and attendants, and a woman in pheasant-embroidered robes emerged: Wang, wet nurse to Empress Wei and titled Lady of Ju, once a barbarian bondwoman. Huaizhen took her as his wife without protest. He also avoided the empress's personal name and referred to himself by his courtesy name instead. People called a wet nurse's son-in-law "Axi." At every audience Huaizhen signed his memorials "the Empress's Axi"; wits shortened this to "State Axi." He preened rather than protested, flattering the empress by the title. Government then issued from many hands, and numerous capital-district magistrates were made censors by informal edict. Someone joked, "So many magistrates have gone to the Censorate—can their counties still be run?" He answered, "They will be run well enough—just not today." When asked why, he said, "The capable men stay behind while the lucky climbers leave. That is why the counties will be all right." Everyone who heard him laughed. He also clung to Zong Chuke, Princess Anle, and their like to climb higher, until upright opinion reviled him and his name was utterly spent. After Empress Wei's downfall he cut off his wife's head and offered it up; he was demoted to military secretary of Haozhou, then moved to chief administrator of Yizhou, and only then returned to his own name.

景雲初，以殿中監召，閱月遷左御史大夫、同中書門下平章事，封中山縣公。再遷侍中。方太平公主干政，懷貞傾己附離，日視事退，輒詣主第，刺取所欲。睿宗為金仙、玉真二公主營觀，費鉅萬，諫者交疏不止，唯懷貞勸成之，躬護役作。族弟維鍌諫曰：「公位上袞，當思獻可替否輔天子，而計校瓦木，雜廁工匠間，使海內何所瞻仰乎？」不答，督繕益急。時語曰：「前作後國赩，後為主邑丞。」言事公主如邑官屬也。在位半歲，無所事，帝引見承天門，切責之。俄與李日知、郭元振、張說皆罷。為左御史大夫。於時，歲犯左執法，術家又言懷貞且有禍，大懼，表請為安國寺奴，不許。逾年，復同中書門下三品，兼太子詹事，監修國史。又以尚書右僕射兼御史大夫，軍國重事宜共平章。玄宗受內禪，進左僕射，封魏國公。與太平公主謀逆，既敗，投水死，追戮其屍，改姓毒氏。然生平所得俸祿，悉散親族無留蓄，敗時，家惟粗米數石而已。

Early in the Jingyun era he was recalled as director of the palace administration; within a month he became left censor-in-chief and associate director of the chancellery and palace secretariat, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Zhongshan. He was soon promoted again to palace attendant. While Princess Taiping held the reins of power, Huaizhen threw himself into her service; each day after court he went straight to her mansion to sound out and supply her wishes. Ruizong was building monasteries for Princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen at colossal cost; memorials of remonstrance piled up, but Huaizhen alone urged the work on and personally supervised the construction. His kinsman Weilian admonished him: "You wear one of the highest ministerial robes. You ought to speak what is fit and reject what is not on the Son of Heaven's behalf—not count tiles and beams and stand among laborers. What will the realm have to respect?" He made no reply and drove the work harder still. People said at the time, "First he was the empress's State Axi; later he became the princess's district aide." The point was that he waited on the princess like a county subordinate. Half a year passed with nothing to show for his tenure; the emperor had him brought before Chengtian Gate and rebuked him sharply. Shortly afterward he was removed from office along with Li Rizhi, Guo Yuanzhen, and Zhang Yue. He retained the post of left censor-in-chief. About then Jupiter crossed the Left Law-enforcer star, and diviners warned that Huaizhen was headed for ruin; in terror he asked to be made a bondsman of Anguo Temple, but the request was denied. A year later he was again vice chairman of the chancellery under the Three Departments, concurrently grand mentor of the crown prince and superintendent of the national history. He was also made right vice director of the department of state affairs and censor-in-chief, with military and state affairs of first importance to be decided in consultation with him. When Xuanzong accepted the inner transfer of the throne, Huaizhen was promoted to left vice director and enfeoffed as Duke of Wei. He conspired with Princess Taiping in treason; when the plot failed he drowned himself, but his body was dug up and desecrated, and his clan name was changed to Du, "Poison." All the same, every stipend he ever drew he gave away to kinsmen and kept nothing; when he fell, his house held only a few measures of coarse rice.

性諂詐，善諧結權貴，宦者用事，尤所畏奉，或見無須者，誤為之禮。監察御史魏傳弓嫉中人輔信義，欲劾奏其奸，懷貞曰：「是安樂所信任者，奈何繩之？」傳弓曰：「王綱壞矣，正坐此屬。今日殺之，明日誅，無所悔！」懷貞猶固止之。傳弓者，鉅鹿人，忠謇士也，終司農丞。

He was by nature a flatterer and a schemer, adept at courting the mighty; eunuchs especially he feared and fawned upon, and he would sometimes bow to a beardless man by mistake. Investigating censor Wei Chuanggong despised the eunuch Fu Xinyi and meant to impeach him for corruption. Huaizhen said, "That man is trusted by Princess Anle. How can you hold him to account?" Chuanggong replied, "The dynasty's laws are in ruins, and it is precisely because of creatures like him. Kill him today, and if I am put to death tomorrow, I will not repent!" Huaizhen still blocked him firmly. Chuanggong was from Julu, a man of loyalty and blunt integrity, and ended his career as vice director of the directorate of grain.

懷貞從子兢，字思慎，舉明經，為英王府參軍、尚乘直長。調郪令，修郵舍道路，設冠婚喪紀法，百姓德之。宗楚客，字叔敖，其先南陽人。曾祖丕，後梁南弘農太守，梁亡入隋，居河東之汾陰，故為蒲州人。父岌，仕魏王泰府，與謝偃等撰《括地志》。

Huaizhen's nephew Jing, styled Shenshen, passed the classics examination and served in the household of the Prince of Ying and as chief of the imperial stud. Assigned as magistrate of Zi, he rebuilt post stations and roads, set rules for coming-of-age, wedding, and funeral rites, and the people blessed him for it. Zong Chuke, styled Shu'ao, traced his ancestry to Nanyang. His great-grandfather Pi had been southern Hongnong prefect under Later Liang; after Liang's fall he entered Sui service and settled at Fenyin in Hedong, so the clan came to be counted as men of Puzhou. His father Ba served in the household of Prince Tai of Wei and, with Xie Yan and others, compiled the Comprehensive Geography.

楚客，武後從姊子，長六尺八寸，明皙美須髯。及進士第，累遷戶部侍郎。兄秦客，垂拱中，勸武後革命，進為內史，而弟晉卿典羽林兵。後兄弟並坐奸贓流嶺外。歲餘，秦客死，而楚客等還。俄檢校夏官侍郎、同鳳閣鸞臺平章事。與武懿宗不協，會賜將作材營第，僭侈過度，為懿宗所劾，自文昌左丞貶播州司馬，晉卿流峰州。稍為豫州長史，遷少府少監、岐陜二州刺史。久之，復以夏官侍郎同鳳閣鸞臺平章事。坐聘邵王妓，貶原州都督。

Chuke was a nephew on the Wu side through the empress's elder cousin by marriage; he stood six feet eight inches tall, with a bright complexion and a fine beard. After taking the jinshi degree he rose step by step to vice minister of revenue. His elder brother Qinke, in the Chuigong years, urged Empress Wu to seize the throne; he rose to grand secretary while the younger brother Jinqing commanded the Feathered Forest guard. Later the brothers were all convicted of graft and sent into exile beyond the Ling range. More than a year on, Qinke died, and Chuke and the rest were brought back. He was soon made acting vice minister of war and associate director of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Platform. He quarreled with Wu Yizong; when imperial building timber was granted him for a mansion far beyond proper scale, Yizong impeached him. Chuke was demoted from left assistant director of the secretariat to military secretary of Bozhou, and Jinqing was exiled to Fengzhou. After a while he became chief administrator of Yuzhou, then vice director of the palace workshops and prefect of Qi and Shan. Long afterward he again became vice minister of war and associate director of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Platform. He was punished for taking a courtesan from Prince Shao's household and demoted to area commander of Yuanzhou.

神龍初，為太僕卿、郢國公。武三思引為兵部尚書，以晉卿為將作大匠。節湣太子敗，逃於鄠，被殺，殊其首祭三思等柩，楚客請之也。俄同中書門下三品。韋後、安樂公主親賴之，與紀處訥為黨，世號「宗紀」。

At the opening of the Shenlong era he became minister of the stud and Duke of Ying. Wu Sansi installed him as minister of war and made Jinqing grand master of construction. After Crown Prince Jiemin's defeat the prince fled to E and was slain; at Chuke's request his severed head was displayed before the coffins of Sansi and the rest. He was soon made vice chairman of the chancellery under the Three Departments. Empress Wei and Princess Anle leaned on him heavily; he and Ji Chuna formed a clique known in the age as "Zong-Ji."

景龍二年，詔突厥娑葛為金河郡王，而其部闕啜忠節賂楚客等罷之，娑葛怨，將兵患邊。監察御史崔琬廷奏：「楚客、處訥專威福，有無君心，納境外交，為國取怨；晉卿專徇贓私，驕恣跋扈。並請收付獄，三司推鞫。」故事，大臣為御史對仗彈劾，必趨出，立朝堂待罪。楚客乃厲色大言：「性忠鯁，為琬誣詆。」中宗不能窮也，詔琬與楚客、處訥約兄弟兩解之，故世謂帝為「和事天子」。尋遷中書令。韋氏敗，與晉卿同誅。

In the second year of Jinglong an edict made the Turk Soge prince of Jinhe commandery, but his subordinate Quechuo Zhongjie bribed Chuke and his allies to have the appointment revoked; Soge, enraged, marched and harassed the frontier. Investigating censor Cui Wan memorialized at court: "Chuke and Chuna hoard power and favor, show a heart that sets itself above the sovereign, take bribes from beyond the border, and bring the state's enemies upon us; Jinqing pursues illicit profit alone, arrogant and overbearing. I ask that all three be seized and handed to the Three Departments for trial." By custom, when a censor impeached a minister in formal audience, the minister had to leave the hall at once and stand outside awaiting judgment. Chuke answered in a harsh, ringing voice: "I am by nature loyal and blunt—Wan has defamed me." Zhongzong would not press the case; he had Wan, Chuke, and Chuna swear brotherhood and make peace, and people nicknamed him the "Peacemaking Son of Heaven." Before long he was promoted to director of the chancellery. When the Wei faction collapsed, he was executed along with Jinqing.

楚客性明達。武後時，降突厥沓實力吐敦者，部落在平夏。會邊書至，言吐敦反，楚客為兵部員外郎，後召問方略，對曰：「吐敦者，臣昔與之言，其為人忠義和厚，且國家與有恩必不反。其兄之子默子者，狡悍，與吐敦不和，今言叛，疑默子為之，然無能為。」俄而夏州表默子劫部落北奔，為州兵及吐敦所擒。後張仁亶請築三城，議者或不同，獨楚客言：「萬世利也。」然冒於權利，嘗諷右補闕趙廷禧陳符命以媚帝，曰：「唐有天下，當百世繼周，陛下承母禪，周、唐一統，其符兆有八：天皇再以陛下為周王，是在唐興周，則天立陛下為皇太子，是在周興唐，一也；天後立文王廟，二也；唐同泰《洛水圖》云：『永昌帝業』，三也；讖曰：『百代不移宗』，四也；孔子曰：『百世繼周』，五也；《桑條韋歌》，應二聖在位九十八年，而子孫相承九十八世，六也；乃二月慶雲五色，天應以和，七也；去六月九日，內出瑞蒜，八也。起則天為一世，聖朝為二世，後子孫相承九十八，其數正滿百世，唐之歷乃三千余年。」帝大喜，擢延禧諫議大夫。識者以楚客等欺神誣君，且有大咎。又嘗密語其黨曰：「始，吾在卑位，尤愛宰相；及居之，又思天子，南面一日足矣。」雖外附韋氏，而內畜逆謀，故卒以敗。

Chuke was by nature shrewd and far-seeing. Under Empress Wu, the surrendered Turk Tashili Tutun had his people at Pingxia. When frontier dispatches reported that Tutun had risen in revolt, Chuke was a vice director in the ministry of war; the empress later asked his view, and he said, "Tashili I know from conversation: he is loyal, just, and steady, and the court has treated him well—he will not rebel. His brother's son Mozi is crafty and violent and hates Tutun; I suspect this report comes from Mozi, though he lacks the power to do much harm." Before long Xiazhou reported that Mozi had seized the tribe and fled north, only to be taken by the prefectural force and Tutun. Later, when Zhang Renbian proposed building three frontier forts and some at court objected, Chuke alone said, "The gain would last ten thousand generations." Yet he was greedy for power and gain; he once prompted right remonstrance councillor Zhao Yanxi to parade omens before the throne, saying, "Tang holds the realm and is destined to succeed Zhou for a hundred generations; Your Majesty received the throne from your mother, uniting Zhou and Tang—and the signs are eight: the Heavenly Empress twice made you King of Zhou, which was Tang raising Zhou; Empress Zetian then made you crown prince, which was Zhou raising Tang—the first; Empress Zetian built a temple to King Wen—the second; Tang Tongtai's Chart of the Luo River reads, "An empire of eternal prosperity"—the third; A prophecy says, "The ancestral line will not shift for a hundred generations"—the fourth; Confucius said, "A hundred generations succeeding Zhou"—the fifth; The Mulberry-branch Wei Song matches two sage rulers reigning ninety-eight years and ninety-eight generations of heirs—the sixth; In the second month five-colored auspicious clouds appeared—heaven answering in harmony—the seventh; On the ninth day of the sixth month last year an auspicious garlic sprout appeared within the palace—the eighth. Take Empress Zetian as one age and the sacred reign as the second; add ninety-eight generations of heirs and the count reaches exactly one hundred—Tang's span will run three thousand years and more." The emperor was delighted and promoted Yanxi to remonstrance and counsel. Men of discernment said Chuke and his sort were fooling heaven and deceiving the throne, and would bring down grave disaster. He also confided once to his followers: "At first, in a humble post, I wanted nothing so much as the chancellorship; once I had it, I began to think of the throne itself—even one day facing south would be enough." Outwardly he clung to the Wei faction, but inwardly he nursed rebellion, and so came to ruin.

晉卿髭貌雄偉，聲如鐘。雖不學，然性倜儻。垂拱後，武後任之，宮苑、閑廄、內外眾作無不總。開中嶽，造明堂，鑄九鼎，有力焉。

Jinqing bore a fierce mustache and a towering presence; his voice rang like a bell. He had little learning, but his temperament was bold and unrestrained. After the Chuigong era, Empress Wu put him in charge of palace gardens, the imperial stables, and every building project within and beyond the palace walls. He played a major part in elevating Mount Song as the central sacred peak, constructing the Bright Hall, and casting the Nine Cauldrons.

紀處訥者，秦州上邽人。為人魁岸，髭長數尺。其妻武三思婦之姊，縱使通三思，繇是款昵，進為太府卿。神龍元年夏，大旱，谷價騰踴，中宗召問所以救人者。三思知之，陰諷太史迦葉誌忠奏「是夜攝提入太微，近帝坐，此天子與大臣接，有納忠之符」。帝信之，下詔褒美，賜處訥衣一副、彩六十段。與楚客並同三品，進侍中。後伏誅。祝欽明字文思，京兆始平人。父綝，字叔良，少通經，頗著書質諸家疑異；門人張後胤既顯宦，薦於朝，詔對策高第，終無極尉。

Ji Chune came from Shanggui in Qin Prefecture. A man of imposing stature, he wore a beard several feet long. His wife was the elder sister of Wu Sansi's wife. She urged him to cultivate Sansi, and through that close tie he rose to grand minister of the palace treasury. In the summer of Shenlong 1, severe drought sent grain prices soaring. Emperor Zhongzong summoned his ministers to ask how the people might be saved. When Sansi learned of this, he secretly urged the court astronomer Ye Zhizhong to memorialized that "on that night Sheti entered Taiwei near the imperial seat—meaning the Son of Heaven is meeting his ministers, a sign that loyal counsel will be received." The emperor believed him, issued an edict of praise, and granted Chune one set of robes and sixty bolts of colored silk. He was ranked equal to the third grade together with Chuke and promoted to palace attendant. He was later executed. Zhu Qinming, styled Wensi, was from Shiping in Jingzhao. His father Shen, styled Shuliang, mastered the classics in youth and wrote widely to resolve the doubts and discrepancies of the various schools; When his disciple Zhang Houyin rose to high office, he recommended Shen to the court. An edict summoned him to answer policy questions; he placed at the top and ended as magistrate of Wuji.

欽明擢明經，為東臺典儀。永淳、天授間，又中英才傑出、業奧《六經》等科，拜著作郎，為太子率更令。中宗在東宮，欽明兼侍讀，授太子經，兼弘文館學士。中宗復位，擢國子祭酒、同中書門下三品。進禮部尚書，封魯國公，食實封戶三百。桓彥範、崔玄暐、袁恕巳，敬暉等皆從受《周官》大義，朝廷尊之。以匿親忌日，為御史中丞蕭至忠所劾，貶申州刺史。入為國子祭酒。

Qinming passed the mingjing examination and served as director of rites for the Eastern Terrace. Between Yongchun and Tianshou he also passed the examinations for outstanding talent and for mastery of the "Six Classics," was appointed gentleman of the palace library, and served as the crown prince's director of palace works. While Zhongzong was crown prince, Qinming served concurrently as his lecturing attendant, teaching him the classics, and as a scholar of the Hongwen Institute. When Zhongzong was restored to the throne, Qinming was made chancellor of the directorate of education and vice chairman of the chancellery under the Three Departments. He was further promoted to minister of rites, enfeoffed as Duke of Lu, with three hundred households for his substantive fief. Huan Yanfan, Cui Xuanwei, Yuan Shuji, Jing Hui, and others all studied under him the grand meaning of the "Rites of Zhou," and the court honored him. Because he concealed a parent's death anniversary, he was impeached by imperial censor-in-chief Xiao Zhizhong and demoted to prefect of Shenzhou. He was recalled to serve again as chancellor of the directorate of education.

景龍三年，天子將郊，欽明與國子司業郭山惲陰迎韋後意，謬立議曰：

In Jinglong 3, as the emperor prepared for the suburban sacrifice, Qinming and vice chancellor Guo Shanyun secretly catered to Empress Wei and offered a perverse argument, saying:

《周官》天神曰祀，地祗曰祭，宗廟曰享。《大宗伯》曰：「祀大神，祭大祗，享大鬼，王有故不預，則攝而薦。追師掌後首服，以待祭祀。內司服掌後六服，祭祀則供。又九嬪，凡大祭祀，後裸獻則贊瑤爵。然則後當助天子祀天神、祭地只。鄭玄稱：闕狄，後助王祭群小祀服。小祀尚助，況天地哉？闕狄之上，祎、礻俞、狄，三服皆以助祭，知祎衣助大祀也。王之祭服二：曰先王兗冕，先公冕。故後助祭，亦以祎衣祭先王，礻俞狄祭先公。不言助祭天地，舉此以明彼，反三隅也。《春秋外傳》：禘郊，天子親射其牛，王後親春其粢。」世婦詔後之禮事，不專主宗廟。《祭統》曰：「祭也者，必夫婦親之，所以備內外之官。」哀公問孔子曰：「冕而親迎，不已重乎？」答曰：「合二姓之好，以繼先聖之後，以為天地宗廟社稷主，君何謂已重焉？」則知後宜助祭。臣請因經誼，制儀典。

The "Rites of Zhou" says that heavenly spirits are called si, earthly spirits jiao, and ancestral temples xiang. The "Chief Minister of Rites" says: "When sacrificing to the great spirits, offering to the great earthly powers, and feasting the great ghosts, if the king has pressing business and cannot attend, another acts in his stead and presents the offerings. The master of robes for the queen keeps the queen's ceremonial headgear ready for sacrifices. The inner director of robes supervises the queen's six ritual garments and provides them for sacrifice. Among the nine concubines, at every great sacrifice when the queen performs the unclothed offering, she assists by presenting the jade cup. Thus the queen should assist the Son of Heaven in sacrificing to the spirits of Heaven and offering to the spirits of Earth. Zheng Xuan says that the Qu Di robe is what the queen wears when assisting the king at all minor sacrifices. If she assists at minor rites, how much more should she assist at rites to Heaven and Earth! Above the Qu Di are the Yi, Yu, and Di robes—three garments all used to assist in sacrifice—showing that the Yi robe assists at great sacrifices. The king has two sacrificial robes: the yan cap and robe for former kings, and the gong cap and robe for former lords. When the queen assists in sacrifice, she likewise uses the Yi robe for former kings and the Yu and Di robes for former lords. Though the text does not explicitly mention assisting at sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, one cites this to clarify that—the method of inferring the rest from one corner. The "Outer Commentary on the Spring and Autumn" says that at the di and suburban rites, the Son of Heaven personally shoots the sacrificial ox and the queen personally pounds the sacrificial grain. The supervisor of harem women instructs the queen in ritual affairs and does not deal exclusively with the ancestral temple. The "Record of Sacrificial Matters" says: "Sacrifice must be performed in person by husband and wife, so that both inner and outer offices are fully represented. Duke Ai asked Confucius: "To wear the ceremonial cap and go in person to meet one's bride—is that not going too far?" He answered: "To unite two surnames in marriage, to continue the line of former sages, and to become master of Heaven and Earth, the ancestral temple, and the altars of soil and grain—how can you call that excessive?" From this we know the queen should assist in sacrifice. Your subject asks that ritual regulations be established in accordance with the meaning of the classics.

帝雖不睿，猶疑之，召禮官質問。於是太常博士唐紹、蔣欽緒對：「欽明所引，皆宗廟禮，非祭天地者。周、隋而上，無皇后助祭事。」帝令宰相參訂，紹、欽緒又引博士彭景直共議曰：

Though the emperor was not sharp-witted, he still had doubts and summoned ritual officials to examine the matter. Thereupon erudites of the court of imperial sacrifices Tang Shao and Jiang Qinxu replied: "What Qinming cites is all ancestral-temple ritual, not rites for sacrificing to Heaven and Earth. From Zhou through Sui, there is no record of an empress assisting in sacrifice. The emperor ordered the chief ministers to adjudicate. Shao and Qinxu further brought in erudite Peng Jingzhi to join the deliberation and said:

《周官》所雲祀、祭、享，皆互言。《典瑞》：「兩圭以祀地。」《司几筵》：「設祀先王昨席。」《內宗》：「掌宗廟祭祀。」傳曰：「聖人為能饗帝。」「春秋祭祀，以時思之。」此祀天稱享，享廟稱祭也。禮家凡稱大祭祀，不獨主天。《爵人》：「大祭祀，與量人受舉斝之卒爵。」祭天不祼，則九嬪贊瑤爵，容廟稱大祭祀也。欽明據《大宗伯》之職，以謂後有祭天地之禮。按經：「凡祀大神、祭大祗、享大鬼，帥執事而卜宿，視滌濯，涖玉鬯，省牲鑊，奉玉盥，制大號。若王不與祭祀，則攝位。」自凡而推，兼言王祭天地宗廟也。下言：「凡大祭祀，王後不與，則攝而薦。」直王後祭廟一凡耳。若當助祭天地，應不列重凡。且內宗、外宗所掌，皆佐王後廟薦，無佐祭天地語。有如助祭天地，誰當贊佐者？是則攝薦為宗廟明甚。內司服掌後祭服，無祭天服。禮家說曰：「後不助祭天地五嶽，故無具服。」又言：「後有五輅，以重翟從祭先王先公，以厭翟從饗諸侯，以安車朝夕見王，以翟車采桑，以輦車遊宴。」按此，後無祭天車明甚。然後助王祭天地，古無聞焉。

In the "Rites of Zhou," where si, jiao, and xiang are mentioned, the terms are used interchangeably. The "Regulations on Jade Insignia" says: "Two gui tablets are used in sacrificing to Earth. The "Director of Ritual Mats" says: "Set out the mat for sacrificing to former kings." The "Inner Superintendent" says: "Has charge of ancestral-temple sacrifices." The transmitted text says: "The sage is able to feast the Lord on High." The sacrifices of spring and autumn are performed in season as tokens of remembrance." Here sacrificing to Heaven is called xiang, and feasting the temple is called jiao. When ritualists speak of a great sacrifice in general, it does not refer to Heaven alone. The "Cupbearer" says: "At the great sacrifice, together with the metrologist he receives the final libation cup." Since sacrifice to Heaven does not involve the unclothed offering, yet the nine concubines assist with the jade cup, this shows that "great sacrifice" can refer to the temple. Qinming, relying on the duties of the "Chief Minister of Rites," argued that the queen had rites for sacrificing to Heaven and Earth. Examining the classic: "For all sacrifices to great spirits, offerings to great earthly powers, and feasts for great ghosts—leading the officiants to divination for the day, inspecting cleansing, overseeing the libation jade, reviewing the sacrificial cauldrons, presenting the jade and wash, and issuing the great proclamation. If the king does not join the sacrifice, then one assumes his position." Starting from this general statement and extending it, the text speaks comprehensively of the king sacrificing to Heaven and Earth and the ancestral temple. Below it states: "For all great sacrifices, if the queen does not attend, then one acts in her stead and presents the offerings." This refers only to one general rule concerning the queen's sacrifices at the temple. If she were to assist at sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, there ought not to be a repeated general statement. Moreover, what the inner and outer superintendents supervise is all assisting the queen at temple offerings; there is no language about assisting at sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. If she were to assist at sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, who would assist her? Thus it is perfectly clear that acting in stead and presenting offerings refers to the ancestral temple. The inner director of robes manages the queen's sacrificial garments; there is no garment for sacrificing to Heaven. Ritualists explain: "The queen does not assist in sacrificing to Heaven, Earth, and the Five Sacred Peaks, and therefore has no complete ritual garb for those rites." It also states: "The queen has five carriages—using the chongdi carriage to follow in sacrificing to former kings and lords, the yandi carriage to follow in feasting the feudal lords, the anche for morning and evening audiences with the king, the diche for gathering mulberry leaves, and the nian carriage for leisurely excursions." From this it is perfectly clear that the queen has no carriage for sacrificing to Heaven. Yet that the queen should assist the king in sacrificing to Heaven and Earth—never has this been heard of in antiquity.

時左僕射韋巨源助後掎掣帝，奪政事，即傳欽明議，帝果用其言，以皇后為亞獻。取大臣李嶠等女為齋娘，奉豆籩。禮成，詔齋娘有夫者悉進官。

At that time left vice director Wei Juyuan, aiding the empress in restraining the emperor and seizing governmental affairs, immediately circulated Qinming's proposal; the emperor adopted it and made the empress secondary offerer. Daughters of chief ministers such as Li Jiao were chosen as purification maidens to present the dou and bian vessels. When the rites were completed, an edict ordered that all purification maidens who had husbands be promoted in rank.

初，後屬婚，上食禁中，帝與群臣宴，欽明自言能《八風舞》，帝許之。欽明體肥醜，據地搖頭睆目，左右顧眄，帝大笑。吏部侍郎盧藏用嘆曰：「是舉《五經》掃地矣！」景雲初，侍御史倪若水劾奏：「欽明、山惲等腐儒無行，以諂佞亂常改作，百王所傳，一朝惰放。今聖德中興，不宜使小人在朝，請斥遠之，以肅具臣。」乃貶欽明饒州刺史，山惲括州刺史。欽明於《五經》為該淹，自見坐不孝免，無以澡祓，乃阿附韋氏，圖再用，又坐是見逐，諸儒共羞之。後徙洪州都督，入為崇文館學士，卒。

Earlier, when the empress's clan was arranging a marriage, a feast was held within the palace. The emperor banqueted with his ministers, and Qinming declared that he could perform the "Dance of the Eight Winds"; the emperor permitted it. Qinming was fat and ugly. Crouching on the ground he wagged his head, rolled his eyes, and glanced left and right, and the emperor roared with laughter. Vice minister of personnel Lu Zangyong sighed and said: "With this act the Five Classics have been swept onto the ground! At the beginning of Jingyun, remonstrating censor Ni Ruoshui impeached them, saying: "Qinming, Shanyun, and others are corrupt Ruists without character who, through flattery and sycophancy, overturned established practice in a single morning, casting aside what a hundred kings transmitted. Now that sagely virtue is restored, it is unfitting to keep petty men at court. We request that they be dismissed and sent far away, so that upright ministers may be kept in proper order." Qinming was demoted to prefect of Raozhou and Shanyun to prefect of Kuozhou. Qinming was thoroughly versed in the "Five Classics." After he was dismissed for filial impiety, finding no means of purification, he attached himself to the Wei clan in hope of reinstatement; again for this he was driven out, and all the Confucians shared in the shame. Later he was transferred to protector-general of Hongzhou, recalled as a scholar of the Chongwen Institute, and died.

贊曰：「欽明以經授中宗，為朝大儒，乃詭聖僻說，引艷妻郊見上帝，腥德播聞，享胙不終。蓋與少正卯順非而澤，莊周以詩書破冢者同科。獨保腰領死家簀，寧不幸邪！後之托儒為奸者，可少戒云。山惲者，河東人。善治《禮》。景龍中，累遷國子司業。帝昵宴近臣及修文學士，詔遍為伎。工部尚書張錫為《談容娘舞》，將作大匠宗晉卿為《渾脫舞》，左衛將軍張洽為《黃麞舞》，給事中李行言歌《賀車西河曲》，余臣各有所陳，皆鄙黷；而出惲奏：「我所習，惟知誦詩。」乃誦《鹿鳴》、《蟋蟀》二篇，未畢，中書令李嶠以其近規諷，止之。帝嘉其直，下詔褒咨，賜服一稱。其後與欽明僻論阿世，不能終其守。久之，復拜國子司業。王璵者，方慶六世孫，少為禮家學。玄宗在位久，推崇老子道，好神仙事，廣修祠祭，靡神不祈。璵上言，請築壇東郊祀青帝，天子入其言，擢太常博士、侍御史，為祠祭使。璵專以祠解中帝意，有所禳祓，大抵類巫覡。漢以來葬喪皆有瘞錢，後世裏俗稍以紙寓錢為鬼事，至是璵乃用之。

The eulogy states: "Qinming taught the classics to Zhongzong and was the court's great Confucian—yet he twisted the sages with perverse doctrines, leading a splendid consort to meet the Lord on High at the suburban rite. His tainted virtue became notorious, and he did not live out his full share of sacrificial meat. He belongs in the same category as Shaozheng Mao, who affirmed what was wrong and spread it with gloss, and Zhuang Zhou, who used the "Odes" and "Documents" to break open tombs. Yet he alone preserved neck and waist and died in his own bed—is that not good fortune! Let later men who would use Confucianism as a cloak for wickedness take some warning from this. Shanyun was a man of Hedong. He was skilled in the study of the "Rites." During Jinglong he rose step by step to vice chancellor of the directorate of education. The emperor, fond of banqueting with close ministers and cultivated-talent scholars, ordered everyone present to perform an art. Minister of works Zhang Xi performed the "Dance of Lady Tanrong"; chief architect Zong Jinqing the "Huntuo Dance"; general of the left guard Zhang Qia the "Dance of the Yellow Deer"; supervising censor Li Xingyan sang "The Ballad of Heche and Xihe"; the remaining ministers each presented something—all vulgar and improper; But when Shanyun's turn came he said: "What I practice is only reciting poetry." He then recited the two pieces "Deer Call" and "Cricket," but before he finished, director of the chancellery Li Jiao, because they came close to remonstrance and satire, stopped him. The emperor praised his forthrightness, issued an edict commending him, and bestowed one set of garments. Later he joined Qinming in perverse arguments to flatter the times and could not hold to his integrity to the end. After some time he was again appointed vice chancellor of the directorate of education. Wang Yu was a sixth-generation descendant of Fangqing and from youth studied the school of rites. Emperor Xuanzong had reigned a long time. He exalted the Way of Laozi, loved affairs of immortals, expanded temples and sacrifices widely, and prayed to every spirit without exception. Yu memorialized the throne, requesting that an altar be built in the eastern suburbs to sacrifice to the Green Lord. The emperor accepted his advice, promoted him to erudite of the court of imperial sacrifices and remonstrating censor, and made him commissioner of temple sacrifices. Yu specialized in interpreting sacrifices to suit the emperor's wishes; whatever exorcisms or purifications he undertook were for the most part like those of shamans. Since Han times burials had included buried cash; later folk custom gradually used paper in place of money for ghostly affairs—and now Yu adopted the practice.

肅宗立，累遷太常卿，又以祠禱見寵。乾元三年，拜蒲同絳等州節度使，俄以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事。時大兵後，天下願治，璵望輕，無它才，不為士議諧可，既驟得政，中外悵駭。乃奏置太一壇，勸帝身見九宮祠。帝由是專意，它議不能奪。帝嘗不豫，太卜建言祟在山川。璵遣女巫乘傳分禱天下名山大川，巫皆盛服，中人護領，所至幹托州縣，賂遺狼藉。時有一巫美而蠱，以惡少年數十自隨，尤憸狡不法。馳入黃州，刺史左震晨至館請事，門鐍不啟。震怒，破鐍入，取巫斬廷下，悉誅所從少年，籍其贓得十余萬，因遣還中人。既以聞，璵不能詰，帝亦不加罪。明年，罷璵為刑部尚書，又出為淮南節度使，猶兼祠祭使，徙浙東。召入，再遷太子少師。卒，贈開府儀同三司，謚曰簡懷。

After Suzong took the throne, Yu rose to minister of rites and won favor again through shrine prayers. In Qianyuan 3 he was made military commissioner over Pu, Tong, Jiang, and neighboring prefectures, and soon after vice director of the secretariat and associate chancellor. The empire, exhausted by war, yearned for good government; Yu was lightly regarded and without other ability, and the literati did not trust him. When he suddenly entered government, court and country alike were appalled. He memorialized for an altar to the Great Unity and urged the emperor to worship in person at the Nine Palaces shrine. The emperor fixed his heart on this, and no other counsel could move him. When the emperor fell ill, the grand diviner said the trouble came from the mountains and rivers. Yu sent witches by courier to pray at every famous peak and river. They traveled in rich robes under eunuch escort, and everywhere they went they shook down the local officials and left a trail of bribes. One witch was beautiful and seductive, attended by dozens of rowdy youths, and was the most brazen and lawless of them all. She rode hard into Huangzhou. Prefect Zuo Zhen came at dawn to the inn to wait on her, but the door stayed bolted. Zhen in a fury broke the lock, dragged the witch out, and beheaded her in the courtyard; he killed every one of her followers, seized more than a hundred thousand in loot, and sent the eunuch escort home. When the report reached court, Yu could not press the case, and the emperor imposed no penalty. The following year Yu was shifted to minister of punishments, then posted as military commissioner of Huainan while still commissioner of shrine sacrifice, and later moved to Zhedong. Recalled to the capital, he was made junior tutor of the heir apparent. When he died he was posthumously honored with the highest ceremonial rank and given the posthumous name Jianhuai, "Simple and Cherished."

始，璵托鬼神致位將相，當時以左道進者紛紛出焉。李國禎者，以術士顯，廣德初，建言「唐家仙系，宜崇表福區，招致神靈，請度昭應南山作天華上宮、露臺、大地婆父祠，並三皇、道君、太古天皇、中古伏羲、女媧等各為堂皇，給百戶掃除」。又即義扶谷故湫祠龍，置房宇。有詔從之，乃除地課工，方歲饑，人不堪命。昭應令梁鎮上疏切諫，以為有七不可：「天地之神，推之尊極者，掃地可祭，精意可享。今廢先王之典，為人祈福，福未至而人已困。又違神虐人，何從而致福邪？宗廟月無三祭，此不宜然。婆父之鄙語，不經見，若為地建祖廟，上天必貽向背之責。夫湫者，龍所托耳，今湫竭已久，龍安所存？不宜崇去龍之穴，破生人之產。若三皇、五帝、道君等，兩京及所都各有宮廟，春秋彜饗，此復營造，是謂瀆神。夫休咎豐兇本於五事，不在山川百神明矣。」即劾國禎等「動眾則得人，興工則獲利，祭祀則受胙，主執則市權，營罔天聽，負抱粢糈，道路相望，無時而息，人神胥怨，災孽並至。臣昨受命，有所安輯，陛下許以權宜，今所興造臣謹以便宜悉停」。帝從之。鎮忼慨有名士也，仕至司門郎中。璵曾孫摶，別傳。

Yu had first risen to minister and general through spirits and omens, and in his day many who advanced by unorthodox means followed the same path. Li Guozhen, a famous occultist, proposed early in the Guangde era that the Tang "immortal line" should mark out a sacred domain to draw down spirits: allot Mount Nan of Zhaoying for the Upper Palace of Heavenly Splendor, the Terrace of Dew, and a shrine to the Great Earth Father-in-Law, with separate halls for the Three Sovereigns, the Daoist lords, the primordial heavenly emperor, Fuxi, Nüwa, and the rest, each tended by a hundred households. He also wanted buildings raised at the old dragon pool shrine in Yifugu. The court assented, levied land, and drafted labor just as famine gripped the land, and the people could not endure it. Liang Zhen, magistrate of Zhaoying, memorialized forcefully that the plan had seven fatal flaws: "The highest spirits of heaven and earth may be honored with a swept floor and a sincere heart. To abandon the rites of the former kings and pray for private blessing is to exhaust the people before any blessing arrives. To wrong the spirits and harm the people—how can that bring blessing? The ancestral temple does not hold three sacrifices in a month, and this should not be done. The vulgar title 'Earth Father-in-Law' appears in no classic; to build an earth temple is to invite heaven's rebuke. A pool is only where a dragon rests, and this pool has been dry for ages—where is the dragon now? It is wrong to abandon the dragon's home and ruin the living people's means. The Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and Daoist lords already have temples in both capitals and every seat of rule, with spring and autumn sacrifices—to build more is to profane the gods. Weal and woe, plenty and famine, depend on the Five Affairs, not on mountains, rivers, or a host of minor spirits." He impeached Guozhen and his party: "They gather crowds to win followers, launch projects for profit, take sacrificial meat from rites, sell influence as commissioners, deceive the throne, and march offerings along every road without rest until men and gods alike curse them and disasters multiply. I was charged yesterday to restore order, and Your Majesty allowed me discretion; I now halt every project under way as an emergency measure." The emperor agreed. Zhen was a principled man of note among the literati and rose to director of the gate office in the department of state affairs. Yu's great-grandson Tuan is treated in a separate biography.

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