1
武平一武平一，名甄，以字行，潁川郡王載德子也。 博學，通《春秋》，工文辭。 武后時，畏禍不敢與事，隱嵩山修浮圖法，屢詔不應。 中宗復位，平一居母喪，迫召為起居舍人，丐終制，不見聽。 景龍二年，兼修文館直學士。 時天子暗柔不君，韋後蒸亂，外戚盛。 平一重斥語，即自請抑母黨，上言：「去歲熒惑入羽林，太白再經天，太陽虧，月犯大角。 臣聞災不妄生，上見下應，信如景響。 《詩》曰：'唯此文王，小心翼翼，昭事上帝，聿懷多福。 '陛下天性孝愛，戚屬外家，恩洽澤濡。 臣一宗，階三等，家數侯，硃輪華轂，過許、史、梁、鄧遠甚。 恩崇者議積，位厚者釁速，故月滿必虧，日中則移，時不再來，榮難久藉。 昔永淳之後，王室多難，先聖從權，故臣家以宗子竊祿疏封。 今上聖復辟，宜退守園廬，乃再假光寵，爵封如初，高班厚位，遂超涯極。 故陰氣僭陽，河、洛泛溢。 昔王族驕盈，梅福上書； 竇氏專縱，丁鴻進諫。 且後妃之家，恩過寵深，一朝覆沒，遂無噍類。 願思仰損之宜、長遠之策，推遠時權，以全親親。」 帝慰勉，不許。 遷考功員外郎。
Wu Pingyi, whose personal name was Zhen but who went by his courtesy name, was the son of Prince Zaidel of Yingchuan. He was erudite, thoroughly versed in the 《Spring and Autumn Annals》, and skilled in literary writing. During Empress Wu's reign, fearing trouble he avoided public office, withdrew to Mount Song to study Buddhist teachings, and declined repeated imperial calls. After Zhongzong's restoration, Pingyi was observing mourning for his mother when he was pressed to serve as Attendant of the Imperial Diary; he pleaded to finish his mourning obligations, but the court would not grant it. In Jinglong year 2 he was also appointed a direct academician of the Palace Library Institute. The emperor had grown dim and pliant, no longer truly ruling; Empress Wei stirred scandal and disorder, and the power of the imperial in-laws swelled unchecked. Ping Yi had already spoken blunt rebukes; he now volunteered to curb his mother's faction and memorialized the throne: "Last year Mars entered the Feathered Guard, Venus crossed the sky twice, the sun suffered eclipse, and the moon struck Great Horn. I have heard that disasters do not arise without reason: heaven shows a sign, and earth answers below, as surely as an echo follows a sound. The Book of Odes says: 'Only this King Wen — careful and reverent, serving Heaven with clear devotion — thereby gathered many blessings.' Your Majesty is filial and loving by nature; toward your maternal kin you have poured out favor until it runs deep. My clan alone holds third-rank posts; several of us are enfeoffed as marquises, riding in vermillion-wheeled carriages with gilded hubs — honors surpassing by far those once granted the Xu, Shi, Liang, and Deng clans. Where favor runs high, resentment gathers; where rank sits heavy, ruin comes fast. The full moon must wane, the noon sun must move — time does not return, and splendor cannot be held forever. After the Yongchun reign the house of Tang knew many trials; the late emperor, acting from necessity, allowed our collateral line to hold stipends and distant fiefs we had no true right to claim. Now that Your Majesty has restored order to the realm, we should have retired to our country estates — yet once more we were showered with honors, titles and fiefs restored as before, until rank and reward passed every proper limit. Yin overstepped yang; the Yellow and Luo rivers burst their banks. In former times, when the imperial clan grew proud and overbearing, Mei Fu submitted a memorial; when the Dou clan ruled without restraint, Ding Hong dared to remonstrate. And the households of empresses and consorts, though once drowned in favor, have in a single day been overturned and destroyed, until not one soul remained. I beg you to weigh the wisdom of humble restraint and far-sighted policy — to set aside present advantage for the sake of kinship itself. The emperor comforted and praised him, but would not agree. He was appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel.
2
于時，太平、安樂公主各立党相拫毀，親貴離鬩，帝患之，欲令敦和，以訪平一。 因上書曰：「病之在四體者，跡分而易逐，居心腹者，候遽而難治。 刑政乖舛，四支疾也； 親權猜間，心腹患也。 《書》曰：'克明俊德，以親九族，九族既睦，平章百姓。 '《詩》曰：'協比其鄰，婚姻孔雲。 '是知親族以輯睦為義也。 自頃權貴猜防，外和內離，怨結姻婭，疑生骨肉。 邀榮之徒，詭獻忠款； 膏脣之伍，苟輸讒計。 脅肩邸第之中，噤頤媼宦之側。 故過從絕，猜嫌構，親愛乖，黨與生。 積霜成冰，禍不可既。 願悉召近親貴人，會宴內殿，告以輯睦，申以恩勤，'斥奸人，塞讒路。 若猶未已，則舍近圖遠，抑慈示嚴，惟陛下之命。」 帝美其忠切，卒不用。
At that time the Princesses Taiping and Anle each gathered partisans and tore one another down; kin and nobles fell into open strife. The emperor was deeply troubled and, hoping to restore harmony, sought Ping Yi's counsel. He memorialized the throne: "When illness afflicts the four limbs, its traces are outward and easy to dispel; when it settles in the heart and vitals, it strikes suddenly and is hard to cure. When law and administration fall out of step, that is sickness in the limbs; when those closest to the throne turn suspicious and divided, that is disease in the heart and vitals. The Book of Documents says: 'Make bright virtue manifest, draw the nine clans near; when the nine clans are harmonious, the people may be rightly ordered.' The Book of Odes says: 'Live in concord with your neighbors; let marriage ties flourish.' From this we know that kin are bound together by harmony. Lately the great have grown wary and guarded — amiable in public, estranged in private; grievances have tied up in-laws, and doubt has risen even among blood kin. Men chasing favor offered false proofs of devotion; while smooth-tongued schemers peddled slander at every turn. They cringed in the halls of the great and held their tongues before aged matrons and palace eunuchs. Old friendships died, suspicion took root, love turned cold, and factions were born. Frost builds into ice; once begun, ruin cannot easily be stopped. Summon your nearest kin and highest nobles to a feast in the inner palace; speak plainly of unity, renew bonds of affection, drive out the wicked, and shut the door to slander. If strife continues, then set aside tenderness for firmness and choose the distant over the near — as Your Majesty commands. The emperor praised his loyalty and candor, but in the end did not follow his counsel.
3
初，崔日用自言明《左氏春秋》諸侯官族。 它日，學士大集，日用折平一曰：「君文章固耐久，若言經，則敗績矣。」 時崔湜、張說素知平一該習，勸令酬詰，平一乃請所疑。 日用曰：「魯三桓，鄭七穆，奈何？」 答曰：「慶父、叔牙、季友，桓三子也。 孟孫至彘凡九世，叔孫舒、季孫肥凡八世。 鄭穆公十一子，子然及二子子孔三族亡，子羽不為卿，故稱七穆，子罕、子駟、子良、子國、子游、子印、子豐也。」 一坐驚服。 平一問日用曰：「公言齊桓公、楚莊王時，諸侯屬齊若楚凡幾？ 平公、靈王時，諸侯屬晉、楚凡幾？ 晉六卿，齊、楚執政幾何人？」 日用謝曰：「吾不知，君能知乎？」 平一條舉始末，無留語。 日用曰：「吾請北面。」 闔坐大笑。
At first Cui Riyong declared himself master of the Zuo Commentary's lore of feudal lords, offices, and noble clans. On another occasion, when the academicians were all assembled, Riyong turned on Ping Yi and said, "Your prose may endure, but in the classics you would be routed. Cui Ti and Zhang Yue, who knew Ping Yi's learning well, urged him to respond; Ping Yi asked what points Riyong wished to dispute. Riyong said, "The Three Huan of Lu and the Seven Mu of Zheng — what of them? Ping Yi answered, "Qingfu, Shuya, and Jiyou were the three sons of Duke Huan. The Mengsun line ran nine generations to Zhi; the lines of Shusun Shu and Jisun Fei ran eight each. Duke Mu of Zheng had eleven sons; the houses of Ziran and Zikong's two sons perished, and Ziyu never held ministerial rank — hence the Seven Mu: Zihan, Zisi, Ziliang, Ziguo, Ziyou, Ziyin, and Zifeng. The whole company sat astonished and convinced. Ping Yi then asked Riyong, "You speak of the age of Duke Huan of Qi and King Zhuang of Chu — how many lords followed Qi, and how many Chu? In the age of Duke Ping of Jin and King Ling of Chu, how many followed Jin, and how many Chu? And of Jin's Six Clans, and of those who held power in Qi and Chu — how many were there? Riyong conceded, "I do not know. Do you?" Ping Yi laid out the whole matter, point by point, without omission. Riyong said, "I yield — I would sit facing north as your pupil. The entire hall burst into laughter.
4
後宴兩儀殿，帝命後兄光祿少卿嬰監酒，嬰滑稽敏給，詔學士嘲之，嬰能抗數人。 酒酣，胡人襪子、何懿等唱「合生」，歌言淺穢，因倨肆，欲奪司農少卿宋廷瑜賜魚。 平一上書諫曰：「樂，天之和，禮，地之序； 禮配地，樂應天。 故音動於心，聲形於物，因心哀樂，感物應變。 樂正則風化正，樂邪則政教邪，先王所以達廢興也。 伏見胡樂施於聲律，本備四夷之數，比來日益流宕，異曲新聲，哀思淫溺。 始自王公，稍及閭巷，妖伎胡人、街童市子，或言妃主情貌，或列王公名質，詠歌蹈舞，號曰'合生'。 昔齊衰，有《行伴侶》，陳滅，有《玉樹後庭花》，趨數驚驁僻，皆亡國之音。 夫禮慊而不進即銷，樂流而不反則放。 臣願屏流僻，崇肅雍，凡胡樂，備四夷外，一皆罷遣。 況兩儀、承慶殿者，陛下受朝聽訟之所，比大饗群臣，不容以倡優媟狎虧汙邦典。 若聽政之暇，苟玩耳目，自當奏之後廷可也。」 不納。
Later, at a banquet in the Hall of Two Principles, the emperor put the empress's elder brother Ying, Vice Director of the Imperial Household, in charge of the wine. Ying was quick and comically sharp; the emperor told the academicians to tease him, yet Ying held his own against several at once. As the cups ran deep, the foreign performers Wazi, He Yi, and others sang "Hesheng" — crude, lewd verses — and, growing insolent, tried to snatch the imperial fish granted to Song Tingyu, Vice Director of the Court of the Imperial Granaries. Ping Yi memorialized in protest: "Music is Heaven's harmony; ritual is Earth's order; ritual matches Earth, music answers Heaven. Sound stirs first in the heart and then takes shape in the world; joy and sorrow in the heart move outward and answer to what is around us. When music is upright, custom is upright; when music turns corrupt, government and teaching turn corrupt — by this the ancient kings read the rise and fall of states. I observe that foreign music in our scales was meant only for the four quarters; lately it has grown ever more dissolute — strange airs and new songs steeped in grief and excess. It began among princes and lords, then spread to the lanes: foreign mountebanks, street boys, and market youths singing and dancing to verses about consorts' charms or lords' private traits — all under the name "Hesheng." When Qi waned, there was "Walking Companions"; when Chen fell, "Flowers of the Jade-Tree Courtyard" — frantic, strange tunes, every one the music of a dying realm. Ritual that stops short of fullness wastes away; music that flows on without return turns licentious. I ask that vulgar and eccentric music be barred and solemn harmony restored; all foreign music, save what serves ritual toward the four quarters, should be abolished. The Halls of Two Principles and Splendid Celebration are where Your Majesty holds court and hears cases — not places, even at a great feast, for actors and buffoons to profane the dignity of the realm. If Your Majesty wishes diversion in hours of rest, let such performances be kept to the rear palace. His counsel was rejected.
5
玄宗立，貶蘇州參軍，徙金壇令。 平一見寵中宗，時雖宴豫，嘗因詩頌規誡，然不能卓然自引去，故被謫。 既謫而名不衰。 開元末，卒。 孫元衡、儒衡別傳。 李乂李乂，字尚真，趙州房子人。 少孤。 年十二，工屬文，中書令薛元超曰：「是子且有海內名。」 第進士、茂才異等，累調萬年尉。 長安三年，詔雍州長史薛季昶選部吏才中御史者，季昶以乂聞，擢監察御史。 劾奏無避。 景龍初，葉靜能怙勢，乂條其奸，中宗不納。 遷中書舍人、修文館學士。 帝遣使江南，發在所庫貲以贖生，乂上疏以為：「江南魚鱉之利，衣食所資。 江湖之生無既，而府庫之財有限，與其拯物，不如憂民。 且鬻生之徒惟利所視，錢刀日至，網罟歲廣，施之一朝，營之百倍。 若回所贖之貲，減方困之徭，其澤鄉矣。
When Emperor Xuanzong took the throne, Ping Yi was demoted to military adjutant in Suzhou, then moved to magistrate of Jintan. Ping Yi had enjoyed Zhongzong's favor; even amid feasting he sometimes turned his poems to warning — yet he never had the resolve to withdraw cleanly, and so in the end was sent into exile. Exile did not dim his name. He died near the close of the Kaiyuan reign. Biographies of Yuanheng and Ruheng are given elsewhere. Li Yi, styled Shangzhen, was a native of Fangzi in Zhao Prefecture. He lost his father while still a boy. At twelve he was already adept at composition; the Central Secretariat Director Xue Yuanchao said, "This boy will one day be known throughout the realm. He passed the jinshi and maocai examinations with highest honors and served successively as assistant magistrate of Wannian. In the third year of the Chang'an era, an edict directed Yongzhou Chief Administrator Xue Jichang to choose able clerks for the censorate; Jichang recommended Yi, who was raised to supervising censor. In impeachments and memorials he held nothing back. Early in the Jinglong era Ye Jingneng abused his influence; Yi laid out his crimes in detail, but Emperor Zhongzong would not heed him. He was made a Secretariat drafter and an academician of the Hall for Cultivating Literature. The emperor sent envoys to the south to spend local treasury funds buying captive animals for release; Yi memorialized that "the fish and turtles of Jiangnan are the people's livelihood — their food and clothing depend on them. Life in the rivers and lakes is inexhaustible, but the state's coffers are not; better to relieve the people than to rescue beasts. Those who trade in living creatures care only for profit: coin flows in daily, nets and weirs widen each year — one morning's charity feeds their business for a hundred days. If the redemption money were turned instead to easing the tax burdens of the distressed, the countryside would feel the blessing at once.
6
韋氏之變，詔令嚴促，多乂草定。 進吏部侍郎，仍知制誥。 與宋璟等同典選事，請謁不行，時人語曰：「李下無蹊徑。」 改黃門侍郎，封中山郡公。 制敕不便，輒駁正。 貴幸有求官者，睿宗曰：「朕非有靳，顧李乂不可耳！」 諫罷金仙、玉真二觀，帝雖不從，優容之。 太平公主干政，欲引乂自附，乂深自拒絕。
During the crisis of the Wei clan, many of the urgent edicts were drafted by Yi. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel while retaining charge of imperial edicts. With Song Jing and others he oversaw appointments; no petitioner could gain favor through back channels, and people said, "Under Li, there is no bypath. He was transferred to Vice Minister of the Chancellery and enfeoffed as Duke of Zhongshan. Whenever an edict was ill-advised, he revised it. When the powerful came seeking office, Emperor Ruizong said, "It is not that I refuse them — Li Yi simply will not permit it! He urged the abolition of the Jin Xian and Yuzhen monasteries; the emperor did not agree, but indulged him nonetheless. Princess Taiping meddled in affairs of state and tried to win Yi to her faction; he refused her firmly.
7
開元初，姚崇為紫微令，薦為侍郎，外托引重，實去其糾駁權，畏乂明切也。 未幾，除刑部尚書。 卒，年六十八，贈黃門監，諡曰貞。 遺令薄葬，毋還鄉里。
Early in Kaiyuan, Yao Chong, then chief minister, recommended Yi for a vice-ministerial post — outwardly to honor him, in truth to strip him of the power to review and reject edicts, for he feared Yi's sharp clarity. Not long after, he was made Minister of Justice. He died at sixty-eight, was posthumously made Director of the Chancellery, and given the posthumous name Upright. In his final instructions he asked for a simple burial and that he not be carried home.
8
乂沉正方雅，識治體，時稱有宰相器。 葬日，蘇頲、畢構、馬懷素往祖之，哭曰：「非公為慟而誰慟歟！」 乂事兄尚一、尚貞孝謹甚，又俱以文章自名，弟兄同為一集，號《李氏花萼集》，乂所著甚多。 尚一終清源尉，尚貞博州刺史。 賈曾賈曾，河南洛陽人。 父言忠，貌魁梧，事母以孝聞，補萬年主薄。 護役蓬萊宮，或短其苛，高宗廷詰，辯列詳諦，帝異之，擢監察御史。 方事遼東，奉使稟軍餉，還，奏上山川道裏，並陳高麗可破狀。 帝問：「諸將材否？」 對曰：「李勍舊臣，陛下所自悉。 龐同善雖非鬥將，而持軍嚴。 薛仁貴票勇冠軍，高偘忠果而府，契苾何力性沈毅，雖忌前，有統禦才。 然夙夜小心，忘身憂國，莫逮於勣者。」 帝然所許，眾亦以為知言。 累轉吏部員外郎。 李敬玄兼尚書，言忠尚氣，及主選，不能下，貶邵州司馬。 失武懿宗意，下獄幾死，左除建州司戶參軍，卒。
Deep, upright, and refined, Yi understood the workings of government; his contemporaries said he had the makings of a chief minister. On the day of his burial Su Ting, Bi Gou, and Ma Huaisu came to escort him and wept, saying, "If not for you, whom should we mourn? Yi served his elder brothers Shangyi and Shangzhen with deep filial devotion; all three were known for their writing, and the brothers together compiled the Collection of the Li Family Flower and Calyx, though Yi himself wrote the most. Shangyi ended his career as assistant magistrate of Qingyuan; Shangzhen became prefect of Bozhou. Jia Zeng was a native of Luoyang in Henan. His father Yan Zhong was a man of imposing build, famed for devotion to his mother, and took office as chief clerk of Wannian County. While overseeing corvée labor on Penglai Palace, some accused him of excessive severity; Emperor Gaozong interrogated him at court, and he answered with exhaustive clarity. The Emperor was impressed and raised him to Investigating Censor. During the Liaodong campaign he was dispatched to assess military supplies; on his return he submitted a memorial on routes and distances through the mountains and argued that Goguryeo could be broken. The Emperor asked: "Are the generals fit for their commands? He answered: "Li Ji is a veteran minister whom Your Majesty understands better than anyone. Pang Tongshan is no front-line fighter, but he keeps his troops under iron discipline. Xue Rengui's raw valor is unmatched in the host; Gao Kan is loyal, resolute, and bold; Qibi Heli is deep and firm by nature — envied though he may be, he possesses the talent to command and hold the line. Yet in tireless vigilance, selfless concern for the realm, and scrupulous care in all things, none can compare with Li Ji." The Emperor assented to his assessment, and the court likewise judged it the speech of a man who truly understood the matter. After several promotions he reached the post of Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel. When Li Jingxuan also held the post of Minister, Yan Zhong — high-spirited and unyielding — refused to yield precedence when overseeing appointments and was demoted to Vice Prefect of Shao. He fell out of Wu Yizong's good graces, was thrown into prison and nearly perished, then was demoted to Registrar of Jian Prefecture, where he died.
9
曾少有名，景雲中，為吏部員外郎。 玄宗為太子，遴選宮僚，以曾為舍人。 太子數遣使采女樂，就率更寺肄習，曾諫曰：「作樂崇德，以和人神。 《韶》、《夏》有容，《鹹》、《英》有節，而女樂不與其間。 昔魯用孔子幾霸，戎有由余而強，齊、秦遺以女樂，故孔子行，由餘出奔。 良以冶容哇咬，蠱心喪志，聖賢疾之最甚。 殿下渴賢之美未彰，好伎之聲先聞，非所以追啟誦、嗣堯舜之烈也。 餘閒宴私，後廷伎樂，古亦有之，猶當秘隱，不以示人，況閱之所司，明示群臣哉！ 願下令屏倡優女子，諸使者采召，一切罷止。」 太子手令嘉答。
Zeng won early renown; during the Jingyun reign he served as Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel. While Xuanzong was still Crown Prince, he chose his palace staff and appointed Zeng as Attendant. The Crown Prince often sent envoys to collect female musicians and had them drill at the Court for Imperial Regalia; Zeng remonstrated: "Music is made to exalt virtue and harmonize the human and the divine. The music of Shao and Xia has dignity; the music of Xian and Ying has restraint — female entertainers belong to neither tradition. Long ago Lu nearly rose to hegemony by employing Confucius, and Rong grew mighty through You Yu — yet when Qi and Qin sent female musicians as gifts, Confucius left and You Yu fled into exile. It is because alluring beauty and sensuous song bewitch the heart and ruin the will — the very thing sages and worthies loathe most. Your Highness's thirst for worthy men has not yet been proclaimed, yet word of your love for entertainers has already gone abroad — this is no path by which to follow the early kings and carry on the legacy of Yao and Shun. Even in private hours of leisure, rear-palace performers have existed since antiquity — yet they should be kept hidden and not shown to others; how much less rehearse them openly in the very office of review, before the full assembly of ministers! I beg Your Highness to order female performers and actors removed, and to halt every envoy sent out to gather them. The Crown Prince answered in his own hand with words of commendation.
10
俄擢中書舍人，以父嫌名不拜，徙諫議大夫，知制誥。 天子親郊，有司議不設皇地祗位，曾請合享天地如古制並從祀等坐。 睿宗詔宰相禮官議，皆如曾請。 開元初，復拜中書舍人，曾固辭。 議者謂中書乃曹司，非官稱，嫌名在禮不諱，乃就職。 與蘇晉同掌制誥，皆以文辭稱，時號「蘇賈」。 後坐事貶洋州刺史。 曆虔、鄭等州刺史，遷禮部侍郎，卒。 子至。 子至至字幼鄰，擢明經第，解褐單父尉。 從玄宗幸蜀，拜起居舍人，知制誥。 帝傳位，至當譔冊，既進稿，帝曰：「昔先天誥命，乃父為之辭，今茲命冊，又爾為之，兩朝盛典，出卿家父子手，可謂繼美矣。」 至頓首，鳴咽流涕。 曆中書舍人。
Shortly afterward he was promoted to Drafting Secretary of the Central Secretariat but declined the post because of the taboo on his father's name; he was instead made Remonstrance Official with charge over edicts. When the Son of Heaven performed the suburban sacrifice in person, the responsible offices debated whether to omit the altar to Imperial Earth; Zeng petitioned for Heaven and Earth to be offered together according to the ancient rite, with accompanying seats for subordinate spirits in the sacrifice. Emperor Ruizong ordered the Chancellor and the masters of ritual to discuss the matter, and all sided with Zeng's proposal. At the opening of the Kaiyuan reign he was again offered the post of Drafting Secretary of the Central Secretariat, but Zeng steadfastly refused. Commentators argued that the Central Secretariat was the name of a bureau, not an official title, and that name taboo did not apply under ritual law — and so he accepted the appointment. He and Su Jin jointly oversaw the drafting of edicts; both were famed for their literary craft, and at the time they were called "Su and Jia." Later, implicated in an offense, he was demoted to Prefect of Yang Prefecture. He served in turn as prefect of Qian, Zheng, and other prefectures, was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites, and died in office. His son was Zhi. Zhi, styled Youlin, passed the Mingjing examination and on first taking office became magistrate of Shanfu. When he followed Xuanzong into exile in Shu, he was appointed Attendant of the Imperial Diary with charge over edicts. When the Emperor transferred the throne, Zhi was charged with drafting the abdication proclamation and succession edict; after he submitted the draft, the Emperor said: "In the Xiantian era your father wrote the proclamation; now this mandate and investiture come again from your hand — two grand ceremonies of two reigns, both penned by father and son in your house. You have truly carried on the family's honor. Zhi bowed his head to the earth, weeping aloud until he could scarcely breathe. He later served as Drafting Secretary of the Central Secretariat.
11
至德中，將軍王去榮殺富平令杜徽，肅宗新得陝，且惜去榮材，詔貸死，以流人使自效。 至諫曰：「聖人誅亂，必先示法令，崇禮義。 漢始入關，約法三章，殺人者死，不易之法也。 按將軍去榮以朔方偏裨提數千士，不能整行列，挾私怨殺縣令，有犯上之逆。 或曰去榮善守，陝新下，非去榮不可守，臣謂不然。 李光弼守太原，程千里守上党，許叔冀守靈昌，魯炅守南陽，賈賁守雍丘，張巡守睢陽，初無去榮，未聞賊能下也。 以一能而免死，彼弧矢絕倫、劍術無前者，恃能犯上，何以止之！ 若舍去榮，誅將來，是法不一而招罪人也。 惜一去榮，殺十去榮之材，其傷蓋多。 彼逆亂之人，有逆於此而順於彼乎？ 亂富平而治於陝乎？ 悖縣令，能不悖於君乎？ 律令者，太宗之律令，陛下不可以一士小材，廢祖宗大法。」 帝詔群臣議，太子太師韋見素、文部郎中崔器等皆以為：「法者，天地大典，王者不敢專也。 帝王不擅殺，而小人得擅殺者，是權過人主。 開元以前，無敢專殺，尊朝廷也； 今有之，是弱國家也。 太宗定天下，陛下復鴻業，則去榮非至德罪人，乃貞觀罪人也。 其罪祖宗所不赦，陛下可易之耶？」 詔可。
In the Zede era, General Wang Qurong killed Du Hui, magistrate of Fuping; Suzong had only lately secured Shaan and, cherishing Qurong's ability, decreed that his death be spared and that he be sent into exile to prove himself through service. Zhi remonstrated: "The sage quells rebellion by first making the law plain and exalting ritual and righteousness. When the Han first entered the passes, the three-article code declared that murderers must die — a law that does not change. By the facts of the case, General Qurong — a junior officer from Shuofang leading several thousand men — failed to keep his ranks in order, killed a magistrate out of private spite, and thereby committed the capital crime of defying superiors. Some say Qurong is skilled at defense and that Shaan, newly taken, cannot be held without him — but I do not believe it. Li Guangbi held Taiyuan, Cheng Qianli held Shangdang, Xu Shuji held Lingchang, Lu Cong held Nanyang, Jia Fen held Yongqiu, and Zhang Xun held Suiyang — none of them had Qurong at the start, yet no one ever heard that the rebels could take those cities. If one man's talent is enough to win exemption from death, then every archer without equal and every swordsman without peer will trust in his skill to defy his superiors — how will Your Majesty restrain them? If Qurong is spared while future offenders are punished, the law will not be one and the same — and crime will be invited. To spare one Qurong is to cut down the talent of ten Qurongs — the harm would be far greater. Can a man who turns to rebellion be rebellious in one place and obedient in another? Can one who throws Fuping into chaos then govern Shaan in good order? If he defied a county magistrate, how can he fail to defy the sovereign? These statutes and edicts are Taizong's statutes and edicts — Your Majesty must not set aside the great law of the ancestors for the slight ability of one soldier. The Emperor ordered the ministers to discuss the matter; Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince Wei Jiansu, Director of the Board of Civil Office Cui Qi, and others all declared: "Law is the great canon of Heaven and Earth, and the king does not dare decide it alone. The emperor does not arrogate the power of life and death, yet when base men are allowed to kill at will, their authority has overtaken that of the throne. Before the Kaiyuan reign, no one dared put anyone to death on his own authority, for that was how one honored the imperial court; now that such a thing has appeared, the state itself is being weakened. Taizong brought peace to the empire, and Your Majesty is restoring his great undertaking; Qu Rong is therefore not simply a criminal of the Zhide era, but a criminal against the Zhenguan order itself. It is a crime our forefathers would never have forgiven — can Your Majesty set that aside?" An edict approved the proposal.
12
蒲州刺史以河東瀕賊，徹傅城廬舍五千室，不使賊得保聚，民大擾。 詔遣至慰安，官助營完，蒲人乃安。 坐小法，貶岳州司馬。
The prefect of Pu, finding that Hedong lay on the edge of bandit country, tore down the outer fortifications and five thousand dwellings so the enemy could not gather and entrench there; the populace was thrown into great turmoil. The throne ordered Zhi to go and reassure the people, with official aid for rebuilding; only then did the folk of Pu regain their peace. For a minor breach of law, he was demoted to vice-marshal of Yuezhou.
13
寶應初，召復故官，遷尚書左丞。 楊綰建請依古制，縣令舉孝廉于刺史，刺史升天子禮部。 詔有司參議，多是綰言。 至議以為：「自晉後，衣冠遷徙，人多僑處，因緣官族，所在占籍。 今鄉舉取人未盡，請廣學校，增國子博士員，十道大州得置大學館，詔博士領之，召置生徒。 使保桑梓者，鄉里舉焉； 在流寓者，庠序推焉。」 議者更附至議。 轉禮部侍郎，待制集賢院。
At the opening of the Baoying era he was recalled to his former post and appointed left vice director of the Ministry of Revenue. Yang Gwan proposed restoring the ancient practice by which magistrates would recommend men of filial piety and integrity to their prefects, and the prefects would in turn present them to the Ministry of Rites at court. An edict directed the responsible offices to deliberate together, and most sided with Gwan. Zhi argued: "After the Jin dynasty, officials and families of standing moved about freely; many people lived far from home and, through ties to official clans, registered wherever they happened to settle. The present system of local recommendation still fails to reach every worthy man. We ask that schools be expanded, the number of erudites at the Imperial University increased, and the great prefectures of the ten circuits allowed to establish grand academies under appointed erudites who would gather and instruct students. Those who remain in their ancestral districts should be recommended by their villages and townships; those living abroad as sojourners should be advanced through the schools. The other participants in the debate likewise rallied to Zhi's view. He was moved to vice minister of rites and served as a draft-editor in the Hall of Assembled Worthies.
14
大曆初，徙兵部。 累封信都縣伯，進京兆尹。 七年，以右散騎常侍卒，年五十五，贈禮部尚書，諡曰文。 白居易白居易，字樂天，其先蓋太原人。 北齊五兵尚書建，有功于時，賜田韓城，子孫家焉。 又徙下邽。 父季庚，為彭城令，李正己之叛，說刺史李洧自歸，累擢襄州別駕。
At the start of the Dali era he was transferred to the Ministry of War. He was repeatedly honored until enfeoffed as Baron of Xindu, then promoted to governor of Jingzhao. In the seventh year he died in office as regular attendant of the right wing of the Palace Secretariat, aged fifty-five; he was posthumously made minister of rites and given the posthumous name Wen. Bai Juyi, courtesy name Letian, came of a family that had originally been from Taiyuan. In Northern Qi, an ancestor named Jian served as minister of the five armies and won distinction for his time; the throne granted him land at Hancheng, and his descendants settled there. The family later moved to Xia Gui. His father, Ji Geng, had been magistrate of Pengcheng; when Li Zhengyi rose in rebellion, he persuaded the prefect Li Wei to return to the throne's allegiance and, after a series of promotions, rose to vice-prefect of Xiangzhou.
15
居易敏悟絕人，工文章。 未冠，謁顧況。 況，吳人，恃才少所推可，見其文，自失曰：「吾謂斯文遂絕，今復得子矣！」 貞元中，擢進士、拔萃皆中，補校書郎。 元和元年，對制策乙等，調盩厔尉，為集賢校理，月中，召入翰林為學士。 遷左拾遺。
Juyi was prodigiously quick of mind and masterful with the written word. Before he had even reached manhood, he went to visit Gu Kuang. Kuang, a native of Wu, trusted in his own talent and seldom praised another man's work; but when he read Juyi's essays he was utterly abashed and cried, "I had thought this tradition of letters was dead — and now I have found you to carry it on! During the Zhenyuan reign he passed both the jinshi examination and the special selection for outstanding talent, and took up office as a proofreader. In Yuanhe 1 he placed in the second rank of the palace examination, was posted as assistant magistrate of Zhouzhi and collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and within the month was called into the Hanlin Academy as an academician. He was promoted to left reminder.
16
四年，天子以旱甚，下詔有所蠲貸，振除災沴。 居易見詔節未詳，即建言乞盡免江淮兩賦，以救流瘠，且多出宮人。 憲宗頗採納。 是時，於頔入朝，悉以歌舞人內禁中，或言普甯公主取以獻，皆頔嬖愛。 居易以為不如歸之，無令頔得歸曲天子。 李師道上私錢六百萬，為魏徵孫贖故第，居易言：「徵任宰相，太宗用殿材成其正寢，後嗣不能守，陛下猶宜以賢者子孫贖而賜之。 師道人臣，不宜掠美。」 帝從之。 河東王鍔將加平章事，居易以為：「宰相天下具瞻，非有重望顯功不可任。 按鍔誅求百計，不恤雕瘵，所得財號為'羨餘'以獻。 今若假以名器，四方聞之，皆謂陛下得所獻，與宰相。 諸節度私計曰：'誰不如鍔？ '爭裒割生人以求所欲。 與之則綱紀大壞，不與則有厚薄，事一失不可復追。」 是時，孫璹以禁衛勞，擢鳳翔節度使。 張奉國定徐州，平李倚有功，遷金吾將軍。 居易為帝言：「宜罷璹，進奉國，以竦天下忠臣心。」 度支有囚繫閺鄉獄，更三赦不得原。 又奏言：「父死，縶其子，夫久繫，妻嫁，債無償期，禁無休日，請一切免之。」 奏凡十餘上，益知名。
In the fourth year, drought struck with unusual severity, and the emperor issued an edict ordering tax remissions and relief to drive away disaster and affliction. Juyi found the edict's terms too vague and at once submitted a memorial asking that all the twin levies of the Jianghuai region be wholly remitted to relieve the starving, and that many palace women be sent out of the inner quarters. Emperor Xianzong took most of his advice to heart. At that time Yu Di came to court and sent all his singers and dancers into the inner palace; some said Princess Puning had accepted them as tribute — every one of them was a favorite of Di's household. Juyi argued that the women ought to be sent back, lest Di be given a way to curry favor with the emperor through song and dance. Li Shidao offered six million in private funds to buy back the old house of Wei Zheng's grandson. Juyi said, "Wei Zheng served as chancellor, and Taizong drew timber from the palace stores to build his main hall. His descendants could not keep it — yet Your Majesty ought still to redeem the house for the heir of so worthy a man and bestow it upon him. Shidao is only a subject and minister; he is not fit to steal the glory of such a deed. The emperor agreed. Wang E of Hedong was on the point of being made vice grand councilor. Juyi said, "The chancellor is watched by all under Heaven; without great standing and clear achievement, the office must not be given. Inquiry shows that E has wrung the people by every device imaginable, indifferent to their ruin; the wealth he gathers he labels 'surplus revenue' and sends up as tribute. If you now invest him with that title and seal, the four quarters will hear of it and say that Your Majesty took what he offered and paid for it with the chancellorship. Every military governor will tell himself, 'Who among us is less capable than E?' They will vie with one another to squeeze and plunder the living until they get what they want. Grant the appointment, and the laws of the realm are wrecked; refuse it, and you show partiality — either way the damage, once done, cannot be undone. At that time Sun Su, rewarded for labor in the palace guard, was promoted to military governor of Fengxiang. Zhang Fengguo had pacified Xuzhou and won credit in suppressing Li Yi, yet was transferred only to general of the golden guard. Juyi told the emperor, "You should remove Su and promote Fengguo instead, so as to awaken the hearts of loyal ministers everywhere. The Department of Revenue held prisoners in the jail at Minxiang who, though three general amnesties had been proclaimed, still could not obtain release. He also submitted a memorial saying, "When a father dies, his son remains in bonds; when a husband is long confined, his wife remarries; debts have no term for repayment, and imprisonment no day of ending — I ask that all such cases be wholly forgiven." He submitted more than a dozen such memorials in all, and his reputation grew still greater.
17
會王承宗叛，帝詔吐突承璀率師出討，居易諫：「唐家制度，每征伐，專委將帥，責成功，比年始以中人為都監。 韓全義討淮西，賈良國監之； 高崇文討蜀，劉貞亮監之。 且興天下兵，未有以中人專統領者。 神策既不置行營節度，即承璀為制將，又充諸軍招討處置使，是實都統。 恐四方聞之，必輕朝廷。 後世且傳中人為制將自陛下始，陛下忍受此名哉？ 且劉濟等洎諸將必恥受承璀節制，心有不樂，無以立功。 此乃資承宗之奸，挫諸將之銳。」 帝不聽。 既而兵老不決，居易上言：「陛下討伐，本委承璀，外則盧攸史、範希朝、張茂昭。 今承璀進不決戰，已喪大將，希朝、茂昭數月乃入賊境，觀其勢，似陰相為計，空得一縣，即壁不進，理無成功。 不亟罷之，且有四害。 以府帑金帛、齊民膏血助河北諸侯，使益富強，一也。 河北諸將聞吳少陽受命，將請洗滌承宗，章一再上，無不許，則河北合從，其勢益固。 與奪恩信，不出朝廷，二也。 今暑濕暴露，兵氣薰蒸，雖不顧死，孰堪其苦？ 又神策雜募市人，不忸於役，脫奔逃相動，諸軍必搖，三也。 回鶻、吐蕃常有游偵，聞討承宗曆三時無功，則兵之強弱，費之多少，彼一知之，乘虛入寇，渠能救首尾哉？ 兵連事生，何故蔑有？ 四也。 事至而罷，則損威失柄，祗可逆防，不可追悔。」 亦會承宗請罪，兵遂罷。
When Wang Chengzong rebelled, the emperor ordered Tutu Chengcui to take the field against him. Juyi remonstrated: "Under Tang practice, every campaign was entrusted wholly to military commanders, who alone were held responsible for victory. Only in recent years have eunuchs been appointed chief overseers. When Han Quanyi marched against Huai West, Jia Liangguo was sent to supervise him; when Gao Chongwen marched against Shu, Liu Zhenliang was sent to supervise him. Moreover, in all the armies the empire has ever raised, no eunuch has ever held sole command. Because the Shence Army has no field commissioner of its own, Chengcui, though styled commanding general, also serves as pacification commissioner over all the armies — in effect he is supreme commander. I fear that when word of this spreads through the realm, every quarter will hold the court in contempt. Later ages will record that the practice of appointing a eunuch as commanding general began with Your Majesty — can Your Majesty endure such a reputation? Moreover, Liu Ji and the other generals will surely be ashamed to serve under Chengcui's command; resentful at heart, they will be unable to win victories. This would only strengthen Chengzong's treachery and dull the fighting spirit of your generals." The emperor refused to listen. Before long the campaign dragged on without resolution. Juyi submitted another memorial: "Your Majesty originally entrusted the campaign to Chengcui, with Lu Youshi, Fan Xichao, and Zhang Maozhao commanding in the field. Now Chengcui pushes forward yet refuses decisive battle; he has already lost a senior commander. Xichao and Maozhao needed months merely to enter rebel territory, and their behavior suggests they are secretly acting in concert: having seized one county, they entrench themselves and refuse to advance further. Success is impossible. If you do not dismiss them at once, four grave harms will follow. First: the treasury's gold and silk, and the people's blood and sweat, will enrich the Hebei warlords and make them still stronger. Second: when the Hebei generals learn that Wu Shaoyang has received his commission, they will repeatedly petition to have Chengzong's crimes forgiven. If every petition is granted, Hebei will unite in alliance and its position will only harden. Third: the power to grant or withhold imperial favor will no longer rest with the court. Fourth: the troops now lie exposed to summer heat and damp, their martial spirit wilting under the sun. Even men who do not fear death cannot long endure such misery. Moreover, the Shence Army has recruited townsfolk unfit for campaign service; once desertion begins to spread among them, the other armies will surely lose heart. The Uyghurs and Tibetans constantly patrol our borders. If they learn that three seasons have passed without victory against Chengzong, they will know at once how strong or weak our armies are and how much the war has cost. Seizing the opening, they will raid across the frontier — and how then shall we defend both ends at once? When warfare drags on, new troubles inevitably arise — why treat this as nothing? That is the fourth harm. If you wait until events force you to halt the campaign, you will lose authority and control. This harm can only be prevented in advance; it cannot be undone afterward." At that very time Chengzong submitted a plea for pardon, and the campaign was called off.
18
後對殿中，論執強鯁，帝未諭，輒進曰：「陛下誤矣。」 帝變色，罷，謂李絳曰：「是子我自拔擢，乃敢爾，我叵堪此，必斥之！」 絳曰：「陛下啟言者路，故群臣敢論得失。 若黜之，是箝其口，使自為謀，非所以發揚盛德也。」 帝悟，待之如初。 歲滿當遷，帝以資淺，且家素貧，聽自擇官。 居易請如薑公輔以學士兼京兆戶曹參軍，以便養，詔可。 明年，以母喪解，還，拜左贊善大夫。 是時，盜殺武元衡，京都震擾。 居易首上疏，請亟捕賊，刷朝廷恥，以必得為期。 宰相嫌其出位，不悅。 俄有言：「居易母墮井死，而居易賦《新井篇》，言浮華，無實行，不可用。」 出為州刺史。 中書舍人王涯上言不宜治郡，追貶江州司馬。 既失志，能順適所遇，托浮屠生死說，若忘形骸者。 久之，徙忠州刺史。 入為司門員外郎，以主客郎中知制誥。
Later, during an audience in the palace hall, he argued with blunt obstinacy. When the emperor had not yet grasped his point, Juyi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is mistaken." The emperor's face darkened. When the audience ended, he said to Li Jiang, "That man — I myself plucked him from obscurity, and now he dares behave like this! I cannot bear it; he must be removed!" Li Jiang replied, "Your Majesty opened the path for candid speech; that is why your ministers dare discuss what succeeds and what fails. If you dismiss him, you will seal their mouths and drive them to look after their own interests — that is no way to display a reign of magnanimous virtue." The emperor took his meaning and treated Juyi as before. When his term expired and promotion was due, the emperor judged his seniority too slight and knew his family had long been poor, so he allowed Juyi to choose his own appointment. Juyi asked, following Jiang Gongfu's precedent, to hold concurrently the posts of Hanlin academician and registrar of the Metropolitan Prefecture, so that he might more easily support his parents. The emperor granted his request. The following year, upon his mother's death, he resigned office; when mourning was complete he returned to court and was appointed Left Companion of the Heir Apparent. At that time assassins murdered Wu Yuanheng, and the capital was thrown into alarm. Juyi was the first to submit a memorial, urging immediate capture of the assassins to wipe away the court's disgrace, and setting their certain apprehension as the deadline. The chief ministers resented his presumption in speaking out of turn and were displeased. Before long someone alleged, "Juyi's mother died by falling into a well, yet he wrote 'The New Well,' a piece of ornate verse that showed no genuine feeling — he is unfit for office." He was sent out to serve as prefect of Haozhou. The Secretariat drafter Wang Ya memorialized that Juyi was unfit to govern a prefecture; he was recalled and further demoted to judicial administrator of Jiang Prefecture. Deprived of his ambitions, he learned to accommodate whatever fortune brought, taking refuge in Buddhist teachings on birth and death as though he had forgotten his own body. After some time he was transferred to serve as prefect of Zhong Prefecture. He returned to court as outer gentleman of the Ministry of Justice, and as director of the Bureau of Receptions was charged with drafting imperial edicts.
19
穆宗好畋遊，獻《續虞人箴》以諷，曰：
Muzong loved the chase; Juyi presented 'Continuation of the Forester's Admonition' as a remonstrance, writing:
20
唐受天命，十有二聖。 兢兢業業，咸勤厥政。 鳥生深林，獸在豐草。 春曈冬狩，取之以道。 鳥獸蟲魚，各遂其生。 民野君朝，亦克用寧。 在昔玄祖，厥訓孔彰：「馳騁畋獵，俾心發狂。」 何以效之，曰羿與康。 曾不是誡，終然覆亡。 高祖方獵，蘇長進言：「不滿十旬，未足為歡。」 上心既悟，為之輟畋。 降及宋璟，亦諫玄宗。 溫顏聽納，獻替從容。 璟趨以出，鷂死握中。 噫！ 逐獸于野，走馬于路。 豈不快哉，銜橛可懼。 審其安危，惟聖之慮。
Tang received Heaven's mandate, and twelve sage rulers followed. Diligently, diligently, each applied himself to the work of rule. Birds nested deep in the forests; beasts ranged through lush meadows. Spring hunts and winter hunts were conducted by proper methods. Birds, beasts, insects, and fish — each was allowed to live out its life. The people in their fields and the ruler at court alike knew peace. From of old our august ancestor left a teaching that shines clear: "To gallop in the hunt is to drive the heart to madness." How do we know it to be true? Consider Yi and Kang. They never heeded the warning—and in the end were utterly destroyed. While the Founding Emperor was hunting, Su Chang submitted a memorial: 'Less than ten weeks have passed—it is too soon for such sport to count as pleasure. The Emperor took his meaning and gave up the hunt. Later, Song Jing likewise admonished Emperor Xuanzong. The Emperor received his counsel graciously, hearing him out at ease as he offered better policy in place of bad. Song Jing rushed from the hall—and the hawk in his hand had died. Alas! To hunt beasts across the wilds and gallop horses along the roads— what pleasure could be greater? Yet the danger of losing control of the bit is truly fearsome. Only a sage weighs such sport against the risks it carries.
21
俄轉中書舍人。 田布拜魏博節度使，命持節宣諭，布遺五百縑，詔使受之，辭曰：「布父讎國恥未雪，人當以物助之，乃取其財，誼不忍。 方諭問旁午，若悉有所贈，則賊未殄，布貲竭矣。」 詔聽辭餉。 是時，河朔復亂，合諸道兵出討，遷延無功。 賊取弓高，絕糧道，深州圍益急。 居易上言：「兵多則難用，將眾則不一。 宜詔魏博、澤潞、定、滄四節度，令各守境，以省度支貲餉。 每道各出銳兵三千，使李光顏將。 光顏故有鳳翔、徐、滑、河陽、陳許軍無慮四萬，可徑薄賊，開弓高糧路，合下博，解深州之圍，與牛元翼合。 還裴度招討使，使悉太原兵西壓境，見利乘隙夾攻之，間令招諭以動其心，未及誅夷，必自生變。 且光顏久將，有威名，度為人忠勇，可當一面，無若二人者。」 於是，天子荒縱，宰相才下，賞罰失所宜，坐視賊，無能為。 居易雖進忠，不見聽，乃丐外遷。 為杭州刺史，始築堤捍錢塘湖，鐘泄其水，溉田千頃。 復浚李泌六井，民賴其汲。 久之，以太子左庶子分司東都。 復拜蘇州刺史，病免。
Soon afterward he was promoted to Secretariat Drafter. When Tian Bu was appointed military commissioner of Weibo, Bai was ordered to bear the imperial credential and proclaim the edict. Tian Bu sent five hundred bolts of silk. The envoy was instructed to accept the gift, but Bai declined: 'Tian Bu's father was killed—national shame has not yet been avenged. We should be sending him aid, not taking his wealth; I cannot countenance that. Imperial envoys are arriving in steady succession; if I accepted every gift, the rebels would not yet be destroyed and Tian Bu would already be ruined. An edict allowed him to refuse the gift. At that time the Hebei region rose in rebellion again. Armies from every circuit marched out to suppress it, but the campaign dragged on without result. The rebels took Gonggao, severing the supply line, and the siege of Shenzhou tightened by the day. Bai Juyi submitted a memorial: 'Too many soldiers make an army hard to wield; too many commanders mean no unity of command. The throne should order the four commissions—Weibo, Zelu, Ding, and Cang—to each defend their own territory, thereby sparing the treasury the cost of supply. Each circuit should send three thousand picked troops, all under Li Guangyan's command. Li Guangyan already holds nearly forty thousand troops from Fengxiang, Xu, Hua, Heyang, and Chenxu. He could drive straight at the rebels, reopen the Gonggao supply line, seize Xabo, break the siege of Shenzhou, and link up with Niu Yuanji. Restore Pei Du as campaign commander and have him press the border west with all Taiyuan forces, striking whenever opportunity offers from both sides while sending envoys from time to time to undermine their morale. Before the rebels could even be wiped out, they would surely begin to split among themselves. Moreover, Guangyan has commanded armies for years and enjoys a formidable reputation, while Pei Du is loyal and courageous—each can hold a front on his own. There are no better men for the task. But the emperor was dissolute and unrestrained, his chancellor lacked ability, and rewards and punishments misfired at every turn. He could only sit and watch the rebels—and do nothing. Though Bai Juyi pressed his loyal advice, none of it was heeded, and he begged to be sent out of the capital. As prefect of Hangzhou, he built dikes to protect West Lake, opened sluices to regulate its waters, and irrigated a thousand qing of fields. He also cleared the six wells that Li Mi had dug, and the people came to depend on them for water. After some time he was appointed Left Assistant to the Crown Prince, serving at the Eastern Capital. He was again appointed prefect of Suzhou, but resigned on grounds of illness.
22
文宗立，以秘書監召，遷刑部侍郎，封晉陽縣男。 太和初，二李黨事興，險利乘之，更相奪移，進退毀譽，若旦暮然。 楊虞卿與居易姻家，而善李宗閔，居易惡緣黨人斥，乃移病還東都。 除太子賓客分司。 逾年，即拜河南尹，復以賓客分司。 開成初，起為同州刺史，不拜，改太子少傅，進馮翊縣侯。 會昌初，以刑部尚書致仕。 六年，卒，年七十五，贈尚書右僕射，宣宗以詩吊之。 遺命薄葬，毋請諡。
When Emperor Wenzong came to the throne, Bai was recalled as Director of the Secretariat, promoted to Vice Minister of Justice, and enfeoffed as Baron of Jinyang County. At the opening of the Taihe era, the factional warfare of the Two Lis erupted. The cunning seized on it for profit, wresting office back and forth—promotions and demotions, praise and slander, succeeding one another as swiftly as night follows day. Yang Yuqing was Bai Juyi's kinsman by marriage and an ally of Li Zongmin. Loathing the taint of faction and the ostracism it brought, Bai pleaded illness and withdrew to the Eastern Capital. He was appointed Guest of the Crown Prince, serving at the Eastern Capital. A year later he was appointed Intendant of Henan, but again served only as Guest of the Crown Prince at the Eastern Capital. At the opening of the Kaicheng era he was summoned as prefect of Tongzhou but refused the appointment; he was instead made Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and promoted to Marquis of Fupi County. At the opening of the Huichang era he retired from office as Minister of Justice. In the sixth year of the era he died at seventy-five. He was posthumously honored as Right Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Emperor Xuanzong wrote a poem of mourning for him. He left instructions for a plain burial and forbade any petition for a posthumous epithet.
23
居易被遇憲宗時，事無不言，湔剔抉摩，多見聽可，然為當路所忌，遂擯斥，所蘊不能施，乃放意文酒。 既復用，又皆幼君，偃蹇益不合，居官輒病去，遂無立功名意。 與弟行簡、從祖弟敏中友愛。 東都所居履道裏，疏詔種樹，構石樓香山，鑿八節灘，自號醉吟先生，為之傳。 暮節惑浮屠道尤甚，至經月不食葷，稱香山居士。 嘗與胡杲、吉旼、鄭據、劉真、盧真、張渾、狄兼謨、盧貞燕集，皆高年不事者，人慕之，繪為《九老圖》。
In the days when Bai Juyi enjoyed Emperor Xianzong's trust, he held nothing back—scrubbing and probing every fault he found, and much of what he said was heeded. Yet those in power resented him, and he was driven out. Unable to put his talents to use, he surrendered himself to literature and wine. When he was recalled to service, the emperors were all young men, and his stubborn integrity suited them less and less. Each time he took office he soon pleaded illness and withdrew, until at last he abandoned all thought of establishing a lasting name. He was devoted to his younger brother Xingjian and his cousin Minzhong. At his home in Luadao Lane in the Eastern Capital, he cleared land and planted trees, built a stone pavilion on Mount Xiangshan, and cut the Eight-Rapids channel. He styled himself the Master of Drunken Chanting and wrote an account of that life. In his later years he was drawn ever more deeply to Buddhism, abstaining from meat for months at a time, and styled himself Lay Buddhist of Mount Xiangshan. He once held festive gatherings with Hu Gao, Ji Min, Zheng Ju, Liu Zhen, Lu Zhen, Zhang Hun, Di Jianmo, and Lu Zhen—all elderly men who had withdrawn from office. Admiring them, people painted The Picture of the Nine Elders.
24
居易於文章精切，然最工詩。 初，頗以規諷得失，及其多，更下偶俗好，至數千篇，當時士人爭傳。 雞林行賈售其國相，率篇易一金，甚偽者，相輒能辯之。 初，與元稹酬詠，故號「元白」； 稹卒，又與劉禹錫齊名，號「劉白」。 其始生七月能展書，姆指「之」、「無」兩字，雖試百數不差； 九歲暗識聲律。 其篤於才章，蓋天稟然。 敏中為相，請諡，有司曰文。 後履道第卒為佛寺。 東都、江州人為立祠焉。
Bai Juyi wrote prose with precision and bite, but poetry was his supreme craft. At first his poems largely satirized the failings of the age; as they multiplied, he increasingly bent to popular taste, until he had written several thousand pieces that scholars of the day scrambled to copy and pass around. Silla merchants sold his poems to their own prime minister, fetching one piece of gold per poem; even when a poem was a forgery, the minister could spot it at once. Early on he exchanged poems with Yuan Zhen, and the pair were known as 'Yuan-Bai.' After Yuan Zhen's death, he shared equal fame with Liu Yuxi, and the pair were known as 'Liu-Bai.' At seven months he could turn the pages of a book; when his nurse pointed to the characters zhi and wu, he identified them correctly a hundred times in a row. At nine he had mastered the rules of tonal pattern in poetry without being taught. His passion for literary excellence was, it seems, an inborn gift of Heaven. When Minzhong was chancellor, a posthumous epithet was requested; the relevant office proposed Wen (Literary). Later, after his death, his home on Luadao Lane was converted into a Buddhist temple. The people of the Eastern Capital and Jiangzhou erected shrines in his honor.
25
贊曰：居易在元和、長慶時，與元稹俱有名，最長於詩，它文未能稱是也，多至數千篇，唐以來所未有。 其自敘言：「關美刺者，謂之諷諭； 詠性情者，謂之閒適； 觸事而發，謂之感傷； 其他為雜律。」 又譏「世人所愛惟雜律詩，彼所重，我所輕。 至諷諭意激而言質，閒適思澹而辭迂，以質合迂，宜人之不愛也」。 今視其文，信然。 而杜牧謂：「纖豔不逞，非莊士雅人所為。 流傳人間，子父女母交口教授，淫言媟語入人肌骨不可去。」 蓋救所失不得不云。 觀居易始以直道奮，在天子前爭安危，冀以立功，雖中被斥，晚益不衰。 當宗閔時，權勢震赫，終不附離為進取計，完節自高。 而稹中道徼險得宰相，名望漼然。 鳴呼，居易其賢哉！ 弟行簡行簡，字知退，擢進士，辟盧坦劍南東川府。 罷，與居易自忠州入朝，授左拾遺。 累遷主客員外郎，代韋詞判度支按，進郎中。 長慶時，振武營田使賀拔志歲終結課最，詔行簡閱實，發其妄，志懼，自刺不殊。 行簡敏而有辭，後學所慕尚。 寶曆二年卒。 弟敏中敏中，字用晦，少孤，承學諸兄。 長慶初，第進士，辟義成節度使李聽府，聽一見，許其遠到。 遷右拾遺，改殿中侍御史，為符澈邠寧副使，澈卒以能政聞。 御史中丞高元裕薦為侍御史，再轉左司員外郎。 武宗雅聞居易名，欲召用之。 是時，居易足病廢，宰相李德裕言其衰苶不任事，即薦敏中文詞類其兄而有器識。 即日知制誥，召入翰林為學士。 進承旨。 宣宗立，以兵部侍郎同中書門下平章事，遷中書侍郎，兼刑部尚書。 德裕貶，敏中抵之甚力，議者訾惡。 德裕著書亦言「惟以怨報德為不可測」，蓋斥敏中云。 歷尚書右僕射、門下侍郎，封太原郡公。 自員外，凡五年，十三遷。
The eulogist writes: In the Yuanhe and Changqing eras, Bai Juyi stood as famous as Yuan Zhen, supreme above all in poetry—none of his other writings could equal it. He produced several thousand pieces, a output unmatched since the dynasty began. In his own account he writes: 'Poems that comment on beauty and fault I call Satires and Admonitions; those that express feeling and temperament I call Leisurely Ease; those stirred by events I call Sentimental; everything else is miscellaneous regulated verse. He also mocked: 'What the world loves is only miscellaneous regulated verse—what others prize, I hold cheap. Satires and Admonitions are sharp in intent but plain in language; Leisurely Ease is serene in thought but roundabout in diction. Plainness wedded to roundaboutness—small wonder people do not love them.' Reading his work today, one finds it exactly so. But Du Mu said: 'Such delicate ostentation, left unchecked, is not the work of a serious gentleman or a man of refinement. Circulated among the people, taught from mouth to mouth by sons and daughters, fathers and mothers—the licentious words and unseemly phrases sink into flesh and bone and cannot be scrubbed away. Surely this was said to remedy what had gone wrong. Consider Bai Juyi: at first he strove on the upright path, arguing before the throne over the realm's safety and peril in hope of earning merit. Though midway he was cast out, in his later years he never slackened. When Li Zongmin held power and his authority shook the court, Bai to the end refused to attach himself for advancement's sake, holding his integrity aloft. Yet Yuan Zhen, midway, took the perilous path and won the chancellorship, his name and repute soaring. Alas—is not Bai Juyi the man of worth! His younger brother Xingjian—Xingjian, styled Zhitui, passed the jinshi examination and joined the staff of Lu Tan, military commissioner of Eastern Sichuan. When that appointment ended, he entered the capital with Juyi from Zhong Prefecture and was appointed Left Remonstrance Officer. He rose through successive posts to Supernumerary Director of the Ministry of Rites, succeeded Wei Ci as acting fiscal commissioner, and was promoted to Director. In the Changqing era, when Zhenwu farming commissioner Heba Zhi submitted his year-end assessment as top grade, an edict ordered Xingjian to audit the report. He exposed the fraud; terrified, Zhi stabbed himself but did not die. Xingjian was quick-witted and eloquent—a model later scholars looked up to. He died in the second year of the Baoli era. His younger brother Minzhong—Minzhong, styled Yonghui, lost his father young and was educated by his elder brothers. In early Changqing he passed the jinshi examination and entered the staff of Li Ting, military commissioner of Yicheng. At a single meeting Ting foretold his far-reaching future. He was transferred to Right Remonstrance Officer, then made Palace Investigating Censor, and served as deputy military commissioner of Binning under Fu Che. When Che died, Minzhong's capable governance was widely reported. Censor-in-chief Gao Yuanyu recommended him as Attending Censor, and he was twice promoted to Left Assistant Director of the Department of State Affairs. Emperor Wuzong had long admired Juyi's name and wished to summon him to office. At that time Juyi's foot ailment had left him disabled. Chancellor Li Deyu said he was worn out and unfit for office, and instead recommended Minzhong, whose literary style resembled his brother's but who possessed capacity and insight. That very day he was appointed to draft proclamations and summoned into the Hanlin Academy as Academician. He was promoted to Chief Academician. When Emperor Xuanzong came to the throne, Minzhong was made Vice Minister of War and Concurrent Regular Grand Councilor, then Vice Director of the Chancellery and Concurrent Minister of Justice. When Deyu was demoted, Minzhong pressed the attack against him with great force, and critics reviled him for it. In his writings Deyu also said that 'only to repay kindness with resentment is beyond reckoning'—surely a rebuke aimed at Minzhong. He served as Right Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat and Vice Director of the Chancellery, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Taiyuan Commandery. Starting from a supernumerary post, in five years he was promoted thirteen times.
26
崔鉉輔政，欲專任，患敏中居右。 會黨項數寇邊，鉉言宜得大臣鎮撫，天子響其言，故敏中以司空、平章事兼邠寧節度、招撫、制置使。 初，帝愛萬壽公主，欲下嫁士人。 時鄭顥擢進士第，有閥閱，敏中以充選。 顥與盧氏婚，將授室而罷，銜之。 敏中自以居外，畏顥讒，自訴於帝。 帝曰：「朕知久矣。 若用顥言，庸相任耶？」 顧左右取書一函，發視，悉顥所上，敏中乃安。 及行，帝御安福樓以餞，頒璽書諭尉，賜通天帶，衛以神策兵，開府辟士，禮如裴度討淮西時。 次甯州，諸將已破羌賊，敏中即說諭其眾，皆願棄兵為業。 乃自南山並河按堡保，回繞千里。 又規蕭關通靈威路，使為耕戰具。 逾年，檢校司徒，徙劍南西川，增騾軍，完創關壁。 治蜀五年，有勞，加兼太子太師，徙荊南。
When Cui Xuan entered the government he wished to monopolize power and resented Minzhong's senior position. When the Tangut tribes raided the frontier again and again, Cui Xuan argued that a great minister should be sent to pacify them. The emperor was persuaded, and Minzhong was made Commissioner of Works and Grand Councilor, with concurrent appointment as Military Commissioner, Pacification Commissioner, and Settlement Commissioner of Binning. Earlier the emperor doted on Princess Wanshou and wished to marry her to a common scholar-official of good family. At the time Zheng Hao had passed the jinshi examination and came of distinguished lineage; Minzhong selected him for the match. Hao was betrothed to a woman of the Lu clan and was about to marry when the match was broken off; he nursed a grievance. Minzhong, posted far from the capital and fearing slander from Hao, appealed to the emperor himself. The emperor said: 'I have known of this for a long time. If I acted on Hao's words, could a mediocre chancellor remain in office? He had his attendants bring a box of documents; when it was opened and examined, every paper inside was a petition from Hao. Minzhong was then reassured. When Minzhong departed, the emperor attended at Anfu Tower to give a farewell banquet, issued an imperial letter instructing the frontier commandery, conferred the Tongtian belt, escorted him with Shence troops, and opened a staff to recruit officers—the ceremony matching Pei Du's when he campaigned against the Huai West rebels. When he reached Ningzhou, the generals had already defeated the Qiang rebels. Minzhong immediately addressed and reassured their followers, and all wished to lay down arms and take up peaceful livelihoods. He then personally inspected fortresses and strongpoints along the southern mountains and the river, circling back a thousand li. He also opened the Xiaoguan route through Lingwei and supplied tools for both farming and defense. After a year he was made Acting Minister of Education and transferred to Western Sichuan, where he expanded the cavalry and restored frontier passes and walls. He governed Shu for five years with distinguished service, was additionally made Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince, and was transferred to Jingnan.
27
懿宗立，召拜司徒、門下侍郎，還平章事。 數月足病不任謁，固求避位，不許，中使者勞問，俾對別殿，毋拜。 右補闕王譜奏言：「敏中病四月，陛下坐朝，與他宰相語不三刻，安暇論天下事？ 願聽其請，無使有持寵曠貴之譏。」 書聞，帝怒，斥譜陽翟令。 給事中鄭公輿申救，不聽。 譜者，侍中珪之遠裔。 未幾，加敏中中書令。 自裴度以勳德居，而敏中以恩澤進。
When Emperor Yizong came to the throne, Minzhong was summoned and appointed Minister of Education and Vice Director of the Chancellery, returning to office as Grand Councilor. Within months his foot ailment kept him from attending court. He repeatedly begged to resign but was refused; a palace envoy came to inquire after him and allowed him to answer in a separate hall without performing the full bow. Right Supplementation Officer Wang Pu submitted: 'Minzhong has been ill four months. When Your Majesty holds court and speaks with the other chancellors for less than three quarters of an hour, how can there be time to discuss affairs of the realm? I beg that his request be granted, lest he draw the reproach of one who clings to imperial favor while neglecting the duties of high office. When the memorial arrived, the emperor was enraged and demoted Pu to magistrate of Yangdi. Drafting Officer Zheng Gongyu interceded on Pu's behalf, but the emperor would not listen. Pu was a distant descendant of Vice Director Wang Gui. Before long Minzhong was additionally made Director of the Chancellery. From Pei Du, who rose by merit and virtue, to Minzhong, who advanced through imperial favor.
28
咸通二年，南蠻擾邊，召敏中入議，許挾扶升殿。 固求免，乃出為鳳翔節度使。 三奏願歸守墳墓，除東都留守，不敢拜，許乙太傅致仕。 詔書未至，卒，冊贈太尉。 博士曹鄴責其病不堅退，且逐諫臣，舉怙威肆行，諡曰醜。
In the second year of Xiantong, when southern tribes disturbed the frontier, Minzhong was summoned to discuss policy and was permitted to enter the hall leaning on supports. He firmly begged to be relieved of office and was then sent out as military commissioner of Fengxiang. Three times he memorialized asking to return and guard his family's graves. He was appointed Keeper of the Eastern Capital but dared not accept the post; he was granted permission to retire with the honorific title of Grand Preceptor. Before the edict arrived he died; he was posthumously invested as Grand Marshal. Academician Cao Ye condemned him for failing to retire resolutely when ill and for driving away remonstrating officials, citing his arrogant abuse of power—the posthumous epithet given was Chou (Disgraceful).