Volume 125 Biographies 50: Su, Zhang

25%蘇瓌蘇瓌，字昌容，雍州武功人，隋尚書僕射威之曾孫。擢進士第，補恒州參軍。居母喪，哀毀加人，左庶子張大安表舉孝悌，擢豫王府錄事參軍，歷朗、歙二州刺史。

Su Gui, whose style name was Changrong, came from Wugong in Yong Prefecture. He was the great-grandson of Su Wei, who had served the Sui as Minister of the Left. After passing the jinshi examination, he was appointed military aide in Heng Prefecture. During mourning for his mother, his grief was so severe that it surpassed others'. Zhang Da'an, Guardian of the Left of the Heir Apparent, recommended him for filial piety and brotherly conduct. He was promoted to recorder of the Prince of Yu's household and later served as prefect of Lang and She.

時來俊臣貶州參軍，人懼復用，多致書請瓌，瓌叱其使曰：「吾忝州牧，高下自有體，能過待小人乎？」遂不發書。俊臣未至追還，恨之。由是連外徙，不得入。久之，轉揚州大都督府長史。州據都會，多名珍怪產，前長史張潛、於辯機貲取鉅萬，瓌單身襆被自將。徙同州刺史。

When Lai Junchen was demoted to a prefectural aide, many feared he would be restored to power and wrote to Su Gui asking him to intercede. Su Gui scolded the messenger: "I am unworthy to govern this prefecture, but rank still has its propriety. Should I go out of my way to court a petty man?" He refused to forward the letters. Lai Junchen was recalled before he even reached his post and came to hate Su Gui for it. For this reason Su Gui was transferred from post to post in the provinces and was kept from returning to court. After some years he was appointed senior administrator of the Yangzhou metropolitan prefecture. Yangzhou stood at a great commercial hub and produced many rare goods. His predecessors Zhang Qian and Yu Bianji had amassed fortunes in the tens of thousands, but Su Gui traveled alone with nothing but a cloth bundle on his back. He was then transferred to serve as prefect of Tong Prefecture.

歳旱，兵當番上者不能赴。瓌奏：「宿衛不可闕，宜月賜增半糧，俾相給足，則不闕番。又宜卻進獻，罷營造不急者。」不見省。時十道使括天下亡戸，初不立籍，人畏搜括，即流入比縣旁州，更相庾蔽。瓌請罷十道使，專責州縣，豫立簿註，天下同日閱正，盡一月止，使柅奸匿，歳一括實，檢制租調，以免勞弊。武后鑄浮屠，立廟塔，役無虛歳。瓌以爲「縻損浩廣，雖不出國用，要自民產日殫。百姓不足，君孰與足？天下僧尼濫僞相半，請並寺，著僧常員數，缺則補。」後善其言。

During a drought year, soldiers scheduled for garrison rotation could not afford to report for duty. Su Gui submitted a memorial: "The palace guard cannot be left understaffed. Their monthly grain ration should be increased by half so they can support one another, and garrison rotations will no longer fall short. Court tribute should also be curtailed, and construction projects that are not urgent should be suspended." The court took no notice. At that time commissioners for the ten circuits were scouring the empire for unregistered households. Because no proper registers had been set up, people feared the dragnet and fled into neighboring counties and prefectures, where officials shielded one another's concealment. Su Gui proposed abolishing the ten-circuit commissioners and entrusting prefectures and counties alone with the task. Registers should be prepared in advance, the entire empire reviewed on a single appointed day, and the work finished within one month. That would check fraud and concealment, allow one thorough annual tally, and regulate land tax and corvée without exhausting the populace. Empress Wu had Buddha images cast, temples and pagodas built, and corvée labor knew no idle year. Su Gui argued that "the waste is enormous. Even if it does not draw on the state treasury, the people's livelihood is being depleted day by day. If the people are destitute, how can the ruler be secure in abundance? Half the monks and nuns in the realm are fraudulent. I ask that monasteries be consolidated, a fixed quota of clergy established, and vacancies filled only as needed." The empress later came to approve his advice.

神龍初，入爲尚書右丞，封懷縣男。瓌明曉法令，多識臺省舊章，一朝格式，皆所刪正。再遷戸部尚書，拜侍中，留守京師。

Early in the Shenlong reign he entered the capital as Right Vice Minister of the Board of Works and was enfeoffed as Baron of Huai County. Su Gui was expert in law and familiar with the old regulations of the Secretariat and Chancellery. The administrative formats of the court were largely revised and corrected under his hand. He was promoted again to Minister of Revenue, appointed Attendant-in-Ordinary, and left behind to guard the capital.

中宗復政，鄭普思以妖幻位秘書員外監，支黨遍岐、隴間，相煽訹爲亂。瓌捕系普思窮訊，普思妻以左道得幸韋后，出入禁中，有詔勿治。瓌廷爭不可，帝猶依違。司直範獻忠，瓌使按普思者，進曰：「瓌爲大臣，不能前誅逆豎而報天子，罪大矣，臣請先斬瓌。」於是，僕射魏元忠頓首曰：「瓌長者，用刑不枉，普思法當死。」帝不得已，流普思於儋州，餘黨論死。累拜尚書右僕射、同中書門下三品，進封許國公。

After Emperor Zhongzong regained power, Zheng Pusi held a post in the Secretariat through sorcery and illusion. His followers spread through the Qi and Long regions, inciting one another to rebellion. Su Gui arrested Zheng Pusi and interrogated him exhaustively. Pusi's wife had won Empress Wei's favor through sorcery and moved freely within the inner palace. An edict was issued ordering that the case not be pursued. Su Gui argued in open court that this could not stand, but the emperor still hesitated. Fan Xianzhong, Director of Scrutiny, whom Su Gui had assigned to investigate Pusi, stepped forward and said: "As a chief minister, Su Gui failed to execute this traitor and report to the Son of Heaven. His offense is grave. I ask that Su Gui be beheaded first." Thereupon Vice Minister Wei Yuanzhong kowtowed and said: "Su Gui is a man of integrity who applies punishment without injustice. By law, Pusi deserves death." The emperor, left with no alternative, banished Pusi to Dan Prefecture and sentenced his followers to death. He was successively appointed Right Vice Minister of the Board of Works and Grand Counselor with the Chancellery, and was advanced in rank to Duke of Xu.

帝南郊，國子祭酒祝欽明建白皇后爲亞獻，安樂公主爲終獻。瓌以爲非禮，帝前折愧之。帝昏懦，不能從。時大臣初拜官，獻食天子，名曰「燒尾」，瓌獨不進。及侍宴，宗晉卿嘲之，帝默然。瓌自解於帝曰：「宰相燮和陰陽，代天治物。今粒食踴貴，百姓不足，衛兵至三日不食，臣誠不稱職，不敢燒尾。」帝崩，遺詔皇太后臨朝，相王以太尉輔政。後召宰相韋安石、韋巨源、蕭至忠、宗楚客、紀處訥、韋溫、李嶠、韋嗣立、唐休璟、趙彥昭洎瓌議禁中。楚客猥曰：「太后臨朝，相王有不通問之嫌，不宜輔政。」瓌正色曰：「遺制乃先帝意，安得輒改？」楚客等恕，卒削相王輔政事，瓌稱疾不朝。是月，韋氏敗，睿宗即位，進左僕射。

When the emperor performed the southern suburban sacrifice, Zhu Qinming, Director of the National University, proposed that the empress serve as secondary offerer and Princess Anle as final offerer. Su Gui judged this contrary to ritual and rebuked Zhu Qinming to his face before the emperor. The emperor was muddled and weak-willed and would not heed him. At that time newly appointed chief ministers would present food to the emperor in a ceremony called "burning the tail." Su Gui alone refused to do so. At a banquet Zong Jinqing mocked him, and the emperor said nothing. Su Gui explained himself to the emperor: "A chief minister harmonizes yin and yang and governs the realm on Heaven's behalf. Grain prices are soaring, the people are destitute, and palace guards have gone three days without food. I am plainly unfit for my office and dare not perform the 'burning the tail' ceremony." When the emperor died, his testamentary edict placed the Empress Dowager in charge of court affairs and named the Prince of Xiang, as Grand Marshal, to assist in government. The empress then summoned the chief ministers Wei Anshi, Wei Juyuan, Xiao Zhizhong, Zong Chuke, Ji Chune, Wei Wen, Li Jiao, Wei Sili, Tang Xiujing, Zhao Yanzhao, and Su Gui to deliberate within the inner palace. Chuke said crudely: "With the Empress Dowager presiding over court, the Prince of Xiang is open to suspicion for failing to pay his respects and should not assist in government." Su Gui said sternly: "The testamentary arrangement was the late emperor's intent. How can it be altered at will?" Chuke and his allies were resentful. In the end they stripped the Prince of Xiang of his role in government, and Su Gui pleaded illness and stopped attending court. That month the Wei faction was overthrown. When Emperor Ruizong took the throne, Su Gui was promoted to Left Vice Minister.

景雲元年，老病，罷爲太子少傅。卒，年七十二，贈司空荊州大都督，謚曰文貞。皇太子別次發哀。遺令薄葬，布車一乘。

In the first year of the Jingyun era, aged and ill, he was relieved of office and appointed Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent. He died at the age of seventy-two. Posthumously he was given the title Minister of Works and metropolitan governor of Jingzhou, with the posthumous name Wenzhen. The crown prince held mourning rites at a separate pavilion. His testamentary instructions called for a simple burial and a single cloth-covered carriage.

瓌治州考課常最，爲宰相，陳當世病利甚多。韋溫始爲汴洲司倉參軍，以賕被杖，及用事，憚瓌正，卒不敢傷。開元二年，賜其家實封百戸，長子頲固辭，乃擢中子乂左補闕。六年，詔與劉幽求配享睿宗廟廷。文宗大和中，錄舊德，官其四代孫翔。

In governing prefectures Su Gui's performance evaluations were consistently the highest. As chief minister he identified many of the era's abuses and proposed remedies. Wei Wen had once served as grain-store aide in Bian Prefecture and was beaten for taking bribes. When he later rose to power he feared Su Gui's integrity and in the end did not dare harm him. In the second year of Kaiyuan his family was granted a substantive fief of one hundred households. His eldest son Ting firmly declined the honor, so his second son Yi was promoted to Left Remonstrator instead. In the sixth year an edict ordered that he share sacrifice in Emperor Ruizong's temple hall alongside Liu Youqiu. During the Dahe era of Emperor Wenzong, in recognition of his old merit, Su Gui's fourth-generation descendant Xiang was given an official post.

瓌諸子，頲、詵顯。瓌子頲頲，字廷碩，弱敏悟，一覽至千言，輒覆誦。第進士，調烏程尉。武后封嵩髙，舉賢良方正異等，除左司禦率府冑曹參軍。吏部侍郎馬載曰：「古稱一日千里，蘇生是已。」再遷監察御史。長安中，詔覆來俊臣等冤獄，頲驗發其誣，多從洗宥。遷給事中、修文館學士，拜中書舍人。時瓌同中書門下三品，父子同在禁管，朝廷榮之。

Among Su Gui's sons, Ting and Shen were the most prominent. Su Gui's son Ting, whose style name was Tingshuo, was from childhood quick and perceptive. After a single reading of as many as a thousand characters he could recite them from memory. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed aide in Wucheng. When Empress Wu performed the fengshan rite at Mount Song, he was recommended as outstanding in the erudite and upright category and appointed aide in the Left Bureau of the Imperial Guard. Ma Zai, Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office, said: "The ancients spoke of traveling a thousand li in a single day. This young Su is such a man." He was promoted again to investigating censor. During the Chang'an era an edict ordered a review of wrongful cases involving Lai Junchen and others. Ting verified and exposed their false accusations, and many victims were pardoned and released. He was promoted to Supervising Secretary and Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Literature, then appointed Drafting Secretary of the Chancellery. At that time Su Gui served as Grand Counselor with the Chancellery. Father and son held office together within the inner precincts, and the court regarded it as a signal honor.

玄宗平内難，書詔塡委，獨頲在太極後筦，口所占授，功狀百緒，輕重無所差。書史白曰：「丐公徐之，不然，手腕脱矣。」中書令李嶠曰：「舍人思若湧泉，吾所不及。」遷太常少卿，仍知制誥。遭父喪，起爲工部侍郎，辭不拜，終制乃就職。帝問宰相：「有自工部侍郎得中書侍郎乎？」對曰：「陛下任賢惟所命，何資之計？」乃詔以頲爲中書侍郎。帝勞曰：「方美官缺，毎欲用卿，然宰相議遂無及者，朕爲卿恨。陸象先歿，紫微侍郎未嘗補，朕思其人無易卿者。」頲頓首謝。明日加知制誥，給政事食，給食自頲始。時李軿對掌書命，帝曰：「前世李嶠、蘇味道文擅當時，號『蘇李』。今朕得頲及軿，何愧前人哉！」俄襲封許國公。

When Emperor Xuanzong quelled the inner turmoil, edicts and proclamations piled up endlessly. Ting alone worked behind the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, dictating them by word of mouth. Merit records ran to hundreds of items, yet he made no error in weight or importance. A clerk said to him: "Please slow down, my lord, or your wrist will give out." Chief Minister Li Jiao said: "The drafting secretary's thoughts pour forth like a spring. I cannot match him." He was promoted to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices while retaining charge of drafting edicts. After his father's death he was recalled to serve as Vice Minister of the Board of Works, but he declined the appointment and took office only after the mourning period ended. The emperor asked the chief ministers: "Has anyone ever risen from Vice Minister of the Board of Works to Vice Minister of the Chancellery?" They replied: "Your Majesty appoints the worthy as you see fit. What need is there to reckon qualifications?" An edict was then issued appointing Ting Vice Minister of the Chancellery. The emperor reassured him: "Fine offices have stood vacant, and each time I have wished to appoint you, yet in the chief ministers' deliberations the matter never reached you. I regret that on your behalf. When Lu Xiangxian died, the post of Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat went unfilled. I have searched for a replacement, and no one can take your place." Ting kowtowed in thanks. The next day he was additionally charged with drafting edicts and granted food for handling state affairs—the practice of granting such food began with Ting. At that time Li Han shared charge of drafting documents. The emperor said: "In an earlier age Li Jiao and Su Weidao dominated the literary world and were known as 'Su and Li. Now that I have Ting and Han, how can I feel inferior to those earlier masters!" Before long he inherited his father's enfeoffment as Duke of Xu.

吐蕃盜邊，諸將數敗，虜益張，秣騎内侵。帝怒，欲自將兵討之。頲諫曰：「古稱荒服，取荒忽之義，非常奉職貢也。故來則拒，去則勿逐，以禽獸畜之，羈縻禦之。譬若獵然，羽毛不入服用，體肉不登郊廟，則王者不射也。況萬乘之重，與犬羊蚊虻語負勝哉？遠夷左衽，不足以辱天子，亦可見矣。雖然，兵法先聲後實，陛下姑班親征之詔，而敕虓將謀夫投會濟師，則吐蕃不日崩破，亦無待躬致天討也。臣謂岐、隴雕弊積年，若千乘萬騎，供億不涯，誠恐徭役内興，寇掠外虞，斯人不堪，一也。戎虜之性，驟往倏來，敗不恥奔，勝不讓成。若大軍一臨邊，怖震鳥散，彼出多方，我受其誤，二也。太上皇聞陛下身對寇塲，不能無憂，烝烝之思，何以自安？三也。漢蒯成侯諫髙帝曰：『上嘗自勞，豈謂無人使哉？』髙帝以爲愛我。今將相大臣，豈無爲陛下宣力者，何親行之遽邪？」不省。

The Tibetans raided the frontier. Tang generals suffered repeated defeats, the enemy grew bolder, and their cavalry drove deep into Tang territory. The emperor was furious and wished to lead the army in person against them. Ting remonstrated: "The ancients called such peoples the distant domain, taking the sense of remoteness and neglect. They are not peoples who regularly present tribute. When they come, repel them; when they withdraw, do not pursue. Treat them as one would beasts, and govern them through loose reins. It is like hunting: if the feathers are unfit for dress and the flesh unfit for the suburban altars, the king does not shoot. How much less should the ruler of ten thousand chariots stoop to contest victory with dogs, sheep, mosquitoes, and gnats? Barbarians of the distant border, with garments buttoned to the left, are scarcely fit to humble the Son of Heaven. That much is plain. Still, military doctrine holds that reputation must precede force. Your Majesty might promulgate an edict announcing a personal campaign and order your fiercest generals to strike when the moment is ripe and bring troops across the border. Tibet would soon collapse, without Your Majesty needing to deliver Heaven's punishment in person. I hold that the Qi and Long regions have been exhausted for years. If a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen must be supplied without limit, I fear corvée labor will rise within while raiders threaten from without. The people cannot bear it. That is my first objection. The nature of these barbarians is to strike suddenly and withdraw just as quickly. They feel no shame in flight after defeat and concede nothing after victory. If a great army reaches the border, they will scatter in terror like birds. Yet they will strike from many directions and we will fall prey to their stratagems. That is my second objection. The Retired Emperor, hearing that Your Majesty will face the enemy in person on the battlefield, cannot but worry. How can his deep affection for you find peace? That is my third objection. Those are my three objections. The Marquis of Kuai of Han once remonstrated with Emperor Gaozu, saying: "When Your Majesty went in person to comfort the troops, did that mean there was no one else who could be sent?" Emperor Gaozu understood this as an expression of devotion to him. Among your generals, ministers, and great officials, is there truly no one who will exert himself on Your Majesty's behalf? Why rush to go in person?" The emperor paid no heed.

復上言：「王者之師，有征無戰，藩貢或闕，王命征之，於是乎治兵其郊，獲辭而止，非謂按甲自臨。敵人畏之莫敢戰也。古天子無親將，惟黃帝五十二戰，當未平之時。自阪泉功成，則修身閑居，無爲無事。陛下撥定禍亂，方當深視髙居，制禮作樂，禪梁父，登空同，何至厭天居，衽金革，爲一日之敵？今吐蕃遣渠領幹犯國令，軍吏一不勝，而陛下屈至尊爲之敵，雖朝鼎夕砧，猶未可以誇四夷，安足勞聖躬哉？虜之入，唯盜羊馬，發窖裭衣，未嘗殺略邊人，其罪易原也。臣恐虜情狼顧，牽連北狄，聞六師之行，入幽、并，犯靈、夏，南動京師，太上皇一致憂勞，是陛下以天下之安，不能寧其親也。臣固曰，居中制勝，策之上者。若夫擇良將，募重而約嚴，違律必誅，殺敵必賞，多出金以購酋長，虜亡無日矣。願稍遷延，以須西音。」亦會薛訥大破吐蕃，俘獲不貲，由是帝止不行。

He submitted another memorial: "The army of a true king campaigns without fighting. When a vassal's tribute falls short, the king's command goes forth against him. Troops are then arrayed at the border, and when submission is obtained they withdraw. This does not mean the king dons armor and goes in person. The enemy fears it and dares not give battle. In antiquity the Son of Heaven did not lead armies in person. Only the Yellow Emperor fought fifty-two battles—and that was while the realm was not yet pacified. Once victory was won at Banquan, he cultivated himself in retirement, without action and without affairs. Your Majesty has settled turmoil and disorder. You should now look down from on high, establish ritual and compose music, perform the fengshan at Mount Liangfu, and ascend Mount Kongtong. Why grow weary of the heavenly dwelling, take up armor and weapons, and become the enemy of a single day's foe? Now Tibet sends its leaders to violate our laws. Because a single officer fails to win, Your Majesty would bend the supreme dignity to become their enemy. Even if you fought from dawn to dusk, you could not boast to the four barbarians. How can that justify exhausting the sacred person? When they raid, the Tibetans steal only sheep and horses and plunder stored goods from cellars. They have never slaughtered border populations, and their offenses are easily forgiven. I fear the Tibetans, wolflike in their caution, may draw in the northern tribes. Hearing that the six armies are marching, they may invade You and Bing, strike at Ling and Xia, and threaten the capital. The Retired Emperor would share in the worry and toil. Your Majesty would sacrifice the peace of the realm yet fail to secure peace for your own father. I have always held that holding the center and controlling victory from there is the highest strategy. Select capable generals, recruit troops generously under strict discipline, punish every violation of regulations, reward every enemy killed, and spend gold liberally to buy off chieftains—the Tibetans would soon be destroyed. I ask that Your Majesty delay slightly and await news from the western front." It happened at the same time that Xue Ne inflicted a crushing defeat on Tibet, taking captives and booty beyond counting. For this reason the emperor abandoned his plan to march in person.

時詔立靖陵碑，命頲爲之詞，辭曰：「前世帝後不誌碑，事弗稽古，謂之不法。審當可者，祖宗諸陵，一須營立，後嗣謂何？」帝不納其言。

An edict was issued to erect a stele at Jing Mausoleum and Ting was ordered to compose its inscription. He declined, saying: "In former ages emperors and empresses did not inscribe steles. Affairs that fail to follow antiquity are called unlawful. If this practice is truly permissible, then steles must be erected at all the ancestral tombs. What will later generations say?" The emperor did not accept his advice.

開元四年，進同紫微黃門平章事，修國史，與宋璟同當國。璟剛正，多所裁決，頲能推其長。在帝前敷奏，璟有未及，或少屈，頲輒助成之，有不會意，頲更申璟所執，故帝未嘗不從，二人相得歡甚。璟嘗曰：「吾與蘇氏父子同爲宰相，僕射長厚，自是國器；若獻可替否，事至即斷，盡公不顧私，則今丞相爲過之。」

In the fourth year of Kaiyuan he was promoted to Grand Counselor with the Palace Secretariat and Chancellery, charged with editing the national history, and shared governance of the state with Song Jing. Jing was stern and upright and made many firm decisions. Ting was able to extend and complement his strengths. When presenting matters before the emperor, if Jing had not fully stated his case or yielded slightly, Ting would help complete the argument. If the emperor did not understand, Ting would restate Jing's position. The emperor never failed to follow their counsel, and the two men worked together in great harmony. Jing once said: "The Su father and son and I have served together as chief ministers. The father was long in virtue and generous—he was by nature a pillar of the state. But in offering what is acceptable and replacing what is not, in deciding affairs as they arise, and in exhausting public duty without regard to private interest, the present chief minister surpasses him."

八年，罷爲禮部尚書。俄檢校益州大都督長史，按察節度劍南諸州。時蜀彫τ，人流亡，詔頲收劍南山澤鹽鐵自贍。頲尚簡靜，重興力役，即募戌人，輸雇直，開井置爐，量入計出，分所贏市谷，以廣見糧。時前司馬皇甫恂使蜀，檄取庫錢市錦半臂、琵琶捍撥、玲瓏鞭，頲不肯予，因上言：「遣使銜命，先取不急，非陛下以山澤贍軍費意。」或謂頲：「公在遠，叵得忤上意。」頲曰：「不然。明主不以私愛奪至公，吾可以遠近廢忠臣節邪？」巂州蠻苴院與吐蕃連謀入寇，獲諜者，吏請討之，頲不聽，移書還其諜曰：「毋得爾。」苴院羞悔，不敢侵邊。

In the eighth year he was relieved of office and appointed Minister of Rites. Before long he was appointed acting senior administrator of the Yi metropolitan prefecture with authority to inspect and regulate the prefectures of Jiannan. At that time Shu was exhausted and depleted, and the people were fleeing. An edict commanded Ting to collect revenue from the salt and iron of Jiannan's mountains and marshes to support local administration. Ting valued simplicity and restraint. He revived corvée projects, recruited garrison soldiers and paid them wages, opened wells and set up salt furnaces, balanced income against expenditure, and used the profits to buy grain and expand local grain reserves. Huangfu Xun, formerly military aide, was sent to Shu and by official dispatch took treasury funds to buy brocade vests, pipa plectrums, and ornamental whips. Ting refused to provide the funds and memorialized: "When envoys bearing imperial commands take what is not urgent first, that is not Your Majesty's intent in using mountain and marsh revenues to support military expenses." Some told Ting: "You are far from court. How can you defy the emperor's intent?" Ting replied: "Not so. An enlightened ruler does not let private affection override supreme public duty. How can I, merely because I am far from court, abandon the integrity of a loyal minister?" The Juyuan tribe of Xi Prefecture conspired with Tibet to invade. When a spy was captured, officials asked permission to attack. Ting refused and sent a letter returning the spy: "You must not do this again." The Juyuan were ashamed and repentant and did not dare raid the border again.

從封泰山，詔頌朝覲壇，世咨其文。還，分主十銓事。卒，年五十八。帝猶視朝，起居舍人韋述上疎曰：「貞觀、永徽時，大臣薨，輒置朝舉哀，成終始恩，上有旌賢録舊之德，下有生榮死哀之美。昔晉知悼子卒，平公宴樂，杜蕢一言而悟，《春秋》載之。故禮部尚書頲累葉輔弼，奉事軒陛二十餘年，今奄忽不還，邦人痛嗟。惟帷盡之舊，股肱之戚，宜即廢朝，明君臣之誼。」帝曰：「固朕意也。」即日帳次哭洛城南門，不朝。詔贈右丞相，謚曰文憲。葬日，帝遊咸宜宮，將獵，聞之，曰：「頲且葬，我忍自娯哉！」半道而還。

He accompanied the emperor to the fengshan at Mount Tai. An edict commanded him to compose the text for the Court Audience Altar, and contemporaries praised his prose. On his return he was assigned to share charge of the ten selection boards for official appointments. He died at the age of fifty-eight. The emperor was still holding court when Attendant Recorder Wei Shu submitted a memorial: "In the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras, when great ministers died, court was suspended for mourning. This completes the grace owed from beginning to end. Above, it displays the virtue of honoring the worthy and remembering the old. Below, it embodies the beauty of glory in life and mourning in death. When Zhi Daozi of Jin died, Duke Ping continued to feast and make music until Du Kui spoke one word and made him understand. The Spring and Autumn Annals records this. Minister of Rites Ting came from generations of chief ministers and served at the imperial throne for more than twenty years. Now he has suddenly departed, and the realm grieves. As one who shared the imperial curtain to the end and served as the emperor's right hand, court should immediately be suspended to clarify the bond between ruler and minister." The emperor said: "That has always been my intent." That same day he set up a mourning tent and wept at the south gate of Luoyang, and court was suspended. An edict posthumously appointed him Right Chief Minister with the posthumous name Wenzian. On the day of burial the emperor was visiting Xianyi Palace and was about to go hunting. When he heard the news he said: "Ting is being buried today. How can I bear to amuse myself!" He turned back halfway.

頲性廉儉，奉稟悉推散諸弟親族，儲無長貲。自景龍後，與張説以文章顯，稱望略等，故時號「燕許大手筆」。帝愛其文，曰：「卿所爲詔令，別録副本，署臣某撰，朕當留中。」後遂爲故事。其後李德裕著論曰「近世詔誥，惟頲敘事外自爲文章」云。瓌子詵詵，字廷言，舉賢良方正高第，補汾陰尉，遷秘書詳正學士，累轉給事中，時頲爲紫微侍郎，固辭。帝曰：「古有內舉不避親者乎？」對曰：「晉祁奚是也。」帝曰：「若然，朕自用詵，卿言非公也。」頃之，出徐州刺史，治有跡。卒，贈吏部侍郎。

Ting was frugal by nature. He distributed his salary and grain allowance entirely among his younger brothers and kin, and left no lasting wealth in store. From the Jinglong era onward he and Zhang Yue rose to prominence through their literary skill. Their reputations were roughly equal, and contemporaries called them "the great brush of Yan and Xu." The emperor admired his prose and said: "For every edict and command you compose, make a separate copy, sign it as composed by your minister, and I shall keep it within the palace archives." This later became established precedent. Later Li Deyu wrote in a treatise that "among recent edicts and proclamations, only Ting's went beyond mere narration to become literature in their own right." Su Gui's son Shen, whose style name was Tingyan, placed at the top in the erudite and upright examination, was appointed aide in Fenyin, promoted to detailed verification academician of the Secretariat, and eventually rose to Supervising Secretary. At that time Ting served as Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat and firmly declined the appointment on his brother's behalf. The emperor said: "Did not the ancients recommend kin from within without avoiding the appearance of favoritism?" He replied: "Qi Xi of Jin was such a man." The emperor said: "If that is so, I shall appoint Shen myself. Your words are not disinterested." Before long Shen was sent out as prefect of Xu Prefecture, where his governance left visible achievements. He died and was posthumously given the title Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office.

詵子震，以蔭補千牛。十餘歳，強學有成人風。頲曰：「吾家有子。」累遷殿中侍御史、長安令。安祿山隱京師，震與尹崔光遠殺開遠門吏，棄家出奔。會肅宗興師靈武，震晝夜馳及行在，帝嘉之，拜御史中丞，遷文部侍郎。廣平王爲元帥，崇擇賓佐，以震爲糧料使。二京平，封岐陽縣公，改河南尹。九節度兵敗相州，震與留守崔圓奔襄、鄧，貶濟王府長史。起爲絳州刺史，進戸部侍郎，判度支，爲泰陵、建陵鹵簿使，以勞封岐國公，拜太常卿。代宗將幸東都，復以震爲河南尹，未行，卒，贈禮部尚書。

Shen's son Zhen entered service through yin privilege as a Thousand-Ox Guard. By his teens he studied strenuously and showed the bearing of a mature man. Ting said: "Our family has produced a worthy son." He rose through the ranks to Attending Censor within the Palace and magistrate of Chang'an. When An Lushan was secretly in the capital, Zhen and the magistrate Cui Guangyuan killed the gate officers at Kaiyuan Gate and fled, abandoning their households. When Emperor Suzong raised troops at Lingwu, Zhen rode day and night to reach the mobile court. The emperor praised him, appointed him Vice Censor-in-Chief, and later promoted him to Vice Minister of the Board of Rites. When the Prince of Guangping served as commander-in-chief, Chong selected his staff and appointed Zhen grain commissioner. When the two capitals were recovered, he was enfeoffed as Duke of Qiyang County and appointed Intendant of Henan. When the armies of the nine military commissioners were defeated at Xiang Prefecture, Zhen fled with the garrison commander Cui Yuan to Xiang and Deng and was demoted to senior administrator of the Prince of Ji's household. He was recalled as prefect of Jiang Prefecture, promoted to Vice Minister of the Board of Revenue with charge of the Treasury, appointed commissioner of honor guards for the Tai and Jian mausoleums, enfeoffed as Duke of Qi for his labors, and appointed Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When Emperor Daizong was about to visit the eastern capital, Zhen was again appointed Intendant of Henan. Before he could depart he died and was posthumously given the title Minister of Rites.

幹，瓌從父兄也。父勖，字慎行，武德中，爲秦王諮議、典簽、文學館學士，尚南康公主，拜駙馬都尉。遷魏王泰府司馬，博學有美名，泰重之。勸開館引文學士，著書名家。歷吏部侍郎、太子左庶子，卒。幹擢明經，授徐王府記室參軍，王好畋，每諫止之。垂拱中，遷魏刺史。河朔饑，前刺史苛暴，百姓流徙，幹檢吏督奸，勸課農桑，由是流冗盡復，以治稱。拜右羽林軍將軍，遷冬官尚書。來俊臣素忌之，誣幹與瑯邪王沖通書，繫獄，發憤卒。張説張説，字道濟，或字説之，其先自范陽徙河南，更爲洛陽人。永昌中，武后策賢良方正，詔吏部尚書李景諶糊名較覆，説所對第一，後署乙等，授太子校書郎，遷左補闕。

Gan was Su Gui's paternal cousin. His father Xu, whose style name was Shenxing, served in the Wude era as adviser to the Prince of Qin, keeper of records, and academician of the Hall for Cultivating Literature. He married Princess Nankang and was appointed Commandant of Escort. He was transferred to military aide in the household of Prince Tai of Wei. Learned and widely esteemed, Tai valued him highly. He urged Tai to open a hall and gather literary scholars, and wrote books that won renown. He served as Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office and Left Guardian of the Heir Apparent, then died. Gan passed the mingjing examination and was appointed recorder in the household of the Prince of Xu. The prince loved hunting, and Gan remonstrated with him each time. During the Chuigong era he was transferred to prefect of Wei Prefecture. When famine struck the Hebei region, the previous prefect had been harsh and the people had fled. Gan inspected officials against corruption and urged agricultural work. The displaced population all returned, and he became known for his governance. He was appointed General of the Right Forest Army and promoted to Minister of the Board of Works. Lai Junchen had long resented him and falsely accused Gan of corresponding with the Prince of Langye, Chong. Gan was imprisoned and died of indignant rage. Zhang Yue, whose style name was Daoji or alternatively Yuezhi, came from a family that had moved from Fanyang to Henan and thereafter identified as natives of Luoyang. During the Yongchang era Empress Wu examined candidates in the erudite and upright category. An edict had Li Jingchen of the Board of Civil Office compare answers with names concealed. Yue's answers ranked first, but he was ultimately placed in the second grade, appointed collator of the Heir Apparent, and later promoted to Left Remonstrator.

後嘗問：「諸儒言氏族皆本炎、黃之裔，則上古乃無百姓乎？若爲朕言之。」説曰：「古未有姓，若夷狄然。自炎帝之姜、黃帝之姬，始因所生地而爲之姓。其後天下建德，因生以賜姓，黃帝二十五子，而得姓者十四。德同者姓同，德異者姓殊。其後或以官，或以國，或以王父之字，始爲賜族，久乃爲姓。降唐、虞，抵戰國，姓族漸廣。周衰，列國既滅，其民各以舊國爲之氏，下及兩漢，人皆有姓。故姓之以國者，韓、陳、許、鄭、魯、衛、趙、魏爲多。」後曰：「善。」

The empress once asked: "Scholars say that all clans trace their descent to Yan and Huang. Does that mean there were no common people in high antiquity? Explain this for me." Yue replied: "In antiquity there were not yet surnames, much as among the barbarians. Beginning with the Jiang of Emperor Yan and the Ji of Emperor Huang, people first took as surnames the places where they were born. Later, as the realm established its moral order, surnames were bestowed according to birth. Of the Yellow Emperor's twenty-five sons, fourteen received surnames. Those of the same virtue shared the same surname; those of different virtue received different surnames. Later some took office titles, some took state names, and some took the style character of a grandfather's father as their clan designation. These were first bestowed as clans and only over time became surnames. From the eras of Tang and Yu down to the Warring States, surnames and clans gradually multiplied. When Zhou declined and the feudal states were extinguished, their people each took their former states as clan names. By the two Han dynasties, everyone had a surname. Among surnames taken from states, Han, Chen, Xu, Zheng, Lu, Wei, Zhao, and Wei were the most numerous." The empress said: "Well said."

久視中，後逭暑三陽宮，汔秋未還。説上疏曰：

During the Jiushi era the empress retreated to the Sanyang Palace to escape the summer heat and had not returned even as autumn approached. Yue submitted a memorial, saying:

宮距洛城百六十里，有伊水之隔，阪之峻，過夏涉秋，水潦方積，道壞山險，不通轉運，河廣無梁，咫尺千里，扈從兵馬，日費資餉。太倉、武庫，並在都邑，紅粟、利器，蘊若山丘，奈何去宗朝之上都，安山谷之僻處？是猶倒持劍戟，示人樽柄，臣竊爲陛下不取。夫禍變之生，在人所忽，故曰：「安樂必戒，無行所悔。」不可一也。宮城褊小，萬方輻湊，塡郛溢郭，並鍤無所。排斥居人，蓬宿草次，風雨暴至，不知庇托，孤惸老病，流轉衢巷。陛下作人父母，將若之何？不可二也。池亭奇巧，蕩誘上心。削巒起觀，堨流漲海，俯貫地脈，仰出雲路，易山川之氣，奪農桑之土。延木石，運斧斤，山谷連聲，春夏不輟。勸陛下作此者，豈正人邪？《詩》云：「人亦勞止，迄可小康。」不可三也。禦苑東西二十里，外無墻垣扃禁，內有榛叢溪谷，猛毅所伏，暴慝所憑。陛下往往輕行，警蹕不肅，歷蒙密，乘險巇，卒有逸獸狂夫，驚犯左右，豈不殆哉？《易》曰：「思患豫防。」願爲萬姓持重。不可四也。

The palace stands one hundred sixty li from Luoyang, separated by the Yi River and steep slopes. Summer has passed into autumn, floodwaters are rising, roads are ruined and mountains treacherous, and transport cannot get through. The river is wide and bridgeless—a thousand li within a foot's span. The accompanying soldiers and horses consume provisions daily. The great granary and armory are both in the capital. Red grain and sharp weapons are stored like hills. How can we leave the supreme capital of the ancestral court and settle in a secluded valley? This is like holding sword and halberd upside down and presenting the hilt to one's enemies. I hold that Your Majesty should not take this course. Calamity arises from what people neglect. Therefore it is said: "In ease and joy one must remain vigilant—do not act in ways you will regret." That is my first objection. The palace city is cramped. People converge from every direction, filling the outer walls and overflowing the inner wards. There is nowhere even to stand shoulder to shoulder. Residents are driven out and lodge in grass huts. When storms strike suddenly they have no shelter. The orphaned, solitary, old, and sick wander through the streets. Your Majesty is father and mother to the people. What will you do about this? That is my second objection. Pools and pavilions of marvelous ingenuity sway and entice the ruler's heart. Mountains are cut down to raise towers. Embankments divert streams and swell artificial lakes. Looking down they pierce the earth's pulse; looking up they rise into the clouds. They alter the spirit of mountains and rivers and seize land from farming and sericulture. Timber and stone are hauled in and axes never cease. The valleys echo with continuous sound, and work goes on without pause through spring and summer. Those who urge Your Majesty to undertake this—are they upright men? The Odes say: "The people also have labored long—surely they may have a little rest." That is my third objection. The imperial park extends twenty li east and west. It has no outer walls or barred gates, but within are thickets and stream valleys where fierce beasts lie in wait and violent men find refuge. Your Majesty often travels lightly, with guards not properly arrayed, passing through dense cover and riding dangerous slopes. If a runaway beast or madman should suddenly startle and strike those at your side, would that not be perilous? The Changes say: "Think of calamity and guard against it beforehand." I ask that Your Majesty hold yourself in gravity for the sake of the people. That is my fourth objection.

今北有胡寇覷邊，南有夷獠騷僥，關西小旱，耕稼是憂，安東近平，輸漕方始。臣願及時旋軫，深居上京，息人以展農，修德以來遠，罷不急之役，省無用之費。澄心淡懷，惟億萬年，蒼蒼群生，莫不幸甚。臣度芻議，十不從一，何者？沮盤遊之娛，間林沚之玩，規遠圖，替近適，要後利，棄前歡，未沃明主之心，已捩貴臣之意。然不愛死者，懼言責不職耳。

In the north barbarian raiders watch the borders. In the south tribal peoples stir unrest. Guanxi suffers slight drought and farming is at risk. Andong has only recently been pacified and grain transport has just begun. I ask that Your Majesty turn back in time, dwell securely in the upper capital, let the people rest so agriculture may flourish, cultivate virtue to draw the distant, halt non-urgent corvée, and reduce useless expenses. With a clear heart and calm spirit, for ten thousand myriad years—the vast multitude of living beings would all be most fortunate. I expect that of these rough counsels, not one in ten will be followed. Why? They obstruct the pleasure of excursions, interrupt play in forest pools, plan for distant ends while displacing near comfort, seek later profit while abandoning present delight. Before the enlightened ruler's heart is won, the honored ministers' intent is already turned against me. Yet one who does not love death fears only that speech will bring the charge of failing in duty.

後不省。

The empress paid no heed.

擢鳳閣舍人。張易之誣陷魏元忠也，援説爲助。説廷對「元忠無不順言」，忤後旨，流欽州。中宗立，召爲兵部員外郎，累遷工部、兵部二侍郎，以母喪免。既期，詔起爲黃門侍郎，固請終制，祈陳哀到。時禮俗衰薄，士以奪服爲榮，而説獨以禮終，天下高之。除喪，復爲兵部，兼修文館學士。

He was promoted to Drafting Secretary of the Phoenix Pavilion. When Zhang Yizhi falsely accused Wei Yuanzhong, he enlisted Yue's support. Yue answered in court that "Yuanzhong had spoken no disloyal words," offending the empress, and was banished to Qin Prefecture. When Emperor Zhongzong took the throne, Yue was summoned as Supernumerary Vice Minister of the Board of War, successively promoted to Vice Minister of the Boards of Works and War, then dismissed for mourning his mother. When the mourning period had ended, an edict recalled him as Vice Minister of the Palace Secretariat. He firmly asked to complete the full mourning term and pleaded with utmost grief. At that time ritual custom had declined, and gentlemen took cutting short mourning as a mark of honor. Yue alone completed mourning according to ritual, and the realm honored him for it. When mourning ended he returned to the Board of War and concurrently served as academician of the Hall for Cultivating Literature.

睿宗即位，擢中書侍郎兼雍州長史。譙王重福死，東都支黨數百人，獄久不決，詔説往按，一昔而罪人得，乃誅張靈均、鄭愔，餘詿誤悉原。帝嘉其不枉直，不漏惡，慰勞之。玄宗爲太子，説與褚無量侍讀，尤見親禮。逾年，進同中書門下平章事，監修國史。

When Emperor Ruizong took the throne, he was promoted to Vice Minister of the Chancellery and concurrently senior administrator of Yong Prefecture. When Prince Chongfu of Qiao died, several hundred partisans in the eastern capital languished unresolved in prison. An edict sent Yue to investigate. Within a single night the guilty were identified. Zhang Lingjun and Zheng Yin were executed, and the rest who had been misled were all pardoned. The emperor praised him for not bending justice and not letting the guilty escape, and comforted and rewarded him. When Emperor Xuanzong was crown prince, Yue and Chu Wuliang served as lecturers in attendance and were shown especial favor. A year later he was promoted to Grand Counselor with the Chancellery and charged with supervising the national history.

景雲二年，帝謂侍臣曰：「術家言五日內有急兵入宮，爲我備之。」左右莫對。説進曰：「此讒人謀動東宮耳，陛下若以太子監國，則名分定，奸膽破，蜚禍塞矣。」帝悟，下制如説言。明年，皇太子即皇帝位，太平公主引蕭至忠、崔湜等爲宰相，以説不附己，授尚書左丞，罷政事，爲東都留守。説知太平等懷逆，乃因使以佩刀獻玄宗，請先決策，帝納之。至忠等已誅，召爲中書令，封燕國公，實封二百戸。

In the second year of Jingyun the emperor told his attending ministers: "Diviners say that within five days urgent troops will enter the palace. Prepare for this." No one at his side had a reply. Yue stepped forward and said: "This is slanderers plotting against the Eastern Palace. If Your Majesty has the crown prince supervise the state, name and status will be fixed, traitors' courage broken, and flying calamity blocked." The emperor understood and issued an edict as Yue had advised. The next year the crown prince took the throne. Princess Taiping installed Xiao Zhizhong, Cui Shi, and others as chief ministers. Because Yue would not attach himself to her faction, he was appointed Left Vice Director of the Board of Works, removed from government affairs, and made garrison commander of the eastern capital. Yue knew that Princess Taiping and her faction harbored treason. Through an envoy he presented his girdle knife to Emperor Xuanzong and urged him to act first. The emperor accepted it. After Zhizhong and the others were executed, he was summoned as Chief Minister of the Chancellery, enfeoffed as Duke of Yan, with a substantive fief of two hundred households.

始，武后末年，爲潑寒胡戲，中宗嘗乘樓從觀。至是，因四夷來朝，復爲之。説上疏曰：「韓宣適魯，見周禮而嘆，孔子會齊，數倡優之罪。列國如此，況天朝乎？今四夷請和，使者入謁，當按以禮樂，示以兵威，雖曰戎夷，不可輕也。焉知無駒支之辯，由餘之賢哉？且乞寒潑胡，未聞典故，裸體跳足，汨泥揮水，盛德何觀焉？恐非幹羽柔遠，樽俎折沖之道。」納之，自是遂絶。

In the last years of Empress Wu there was the po-han-hu play, and Emperor Zhongzong once mounted a tower to watch it. Now, because the four barbarians had come to court, the performance was revived. Yue submitted a memorial: "When Han Xuan went to Lu he sighed upon seeing the Zhou rituals. When Confucius met with Qi he repeatedly condemned the crimes of performers and jesters. If the feudal states were thus, how much more the celestial court? Now the four barbarians seek peace and envoys come to pay homage. They should be received with ritual and music and shown military might. Though called barbarians, they cannot be treated lightly. How do we know there is not among them another Ju Zhi in eloquence or You Yu in talent? Moreover the qi-han po-hu is unheard of in classical precedent. Naked bodies, leaping feet, splashing mud and flinging water—what great virtue is there to behold in this? I fear this is not the way of civil virtue to soften the distant, or of diplomacy to break the enemy's charge." The emperor accepted his advice, and from that time the practice was ended.

素與姚元崇不平，罷爲相州刺史、河北道按察使。坐累徙岳州，停實封。説既失執政意，內自懼。雅與蘇瓌善，時瓌子頲爲宰相，因作《五君詠》獻頲，其一紀瓌也，候瓌忌日致之。頲覽詩嗚咽，未幾，見帝陳説忠謇有勛，不宜棄外，遂遷荊州長史。

He had long been at odds with Yao Chong and was dismissed to serve as prefect of Xiang Prefecture and inspector of the Hebei circuit. Through accumulated offenses he was transferred to Yue Prefecture and his substantive fief was suspended. Having lost power, Yue was inwardly afraid. He had long been friendly with Su Gui. At that time Gui's son Ting served as chief minister. Yue composed the "Odes to Five Gentlemen" and presented them to Ting, one commemorating Gui, which he sent on Gui's death anniversary. Ting read the poems and wept. Before long he told the emperor that Yue was loyal and upright and had rendered merit, and should not be cast aside. Yue was therefore transferred to senior administrator of Jing Prefecture.

俄以右羽林將軍檢校幽州都督，入朝以戎服見。帝大喜，授檢校并州長史，兼天兵軍大使，修國史，敕賫稿即軍中論撰。朔方軍大使王晙誅河曲降虜阿布思也，九姓同羅、拔野固等皆疑懼。説持節從輕騎二十，直詣其部，宿帳下，召見酋豪慰安之。副使李憲以虜難信，不宜涉不測。説報曰：「吾肉非黃羊，不畏其食；血非野馬，不畏其刺。士當見危致命，亦吾效死秋也。」由是九姓遂安。晙後討蘭池叛胡康待賓，詔説相聞經略。時党項羌亦連兵攻銀城，説將歩騎萬人出合河關掩擊，破之，追北駱駝堰。羌、胡自相猜，夜鬥，待賓遁入鐵建山，餘眾奔潰。説招納党項，使復故處。副使史獻請盡誅之，説不從，奏置麟州以安羌眾。

Before long, as General of the Right Forest Army with acting commission as metropolitan governor of You, he entered court in military dress. The emperor was greatly pleased and appointed him acting senior administrator of Bing Prefecture and concurrently commissioner of the Heavenly Troops Army, with charge of editing the national history. An edict delivered drafts so he could compose and discuss them in camp. Wang Jun, commissioner of the Shuofang Army, executed the surrendered captive Abu Si of the river bend. The nine surnames Tongluo, Bayegu, and others were all suspicious and fearful. Yue took credentials and with twenty light horsemen rode straight to their encampment. He lodged beneath their tents, summoned the chieftains, and comforted them. Vice commissioner Li Xian argued that the barbarians were untrustworthy and one should not venture into the unpredictable. Yue replied: "My flesh is not that of yellow sheep—they need not fear to eat it. My blood is not that of wild horse—they need not fear to pierce it. A gentleman should meet danger and give his life. This too is my season to die in duty." Thereby the nine surnames were settled in peace. Later Jun campaigned against the rebel Hu Kang Daibin of Lanchi Pool. An edict had Yue coordinate strategy with him. At that time the Tangut Qiang also joined forces to attack Yincheng. Yue led ten thousand infantry and cavalry out through Hehe Pass in a surprise attack, defeated them, and pursued north to Luotuo Weir. The Qiang and Hu suspected one another and fought at night. Daibin fled into Mount Tiejian and the rest scattered in rout. Yue recruited the Tangut and had them return to their former places. Vice commissioner Shi Xian asked to execute them all. Yue refused and memorialized to establish Lin Prefecture to settle the Qiang population.

召拜兵部尚書、同中書門下三品，讓宋璟、陸象先，不許。明年，詔爲朔方節度大使，親行五城，督士馬。時慶州方渠降胡康願子反，自爲可汗，掠牧馬，西涉河出塞。説進討，至木槃山禽之，俘獲三千。乃議徙河曲六州殘胡五萬於唐、鄧仙、豫間，空河南朔方地。以功賜實封三百戸。故時，邊鎮兵嬴六十萬，説以時平無所事，請罷二十萬還農。天子以爲疑，説曰：「邊兵雖廣，諸將自衛、營私爾，所以制敵，不在眾也。以陛下之明，四夷畏威，不慮減兵而招寇，臣請以闔門百口爲保。」帝乃可。時衛兵貧弱，番休者亡命略盡，説建請一切募勇強士，優其科條，簡色役。不旬日，得勝兵十三萬，分補諸衛，以強京師，後所謂「廣騎」者也。

He was summoned and appointed Minister of War and Grand Counselor with the Chancellery. He yielded precedence to Song Jing and Lu Xiangxian, but the emperor would not permit it. The next year an edict made him military commissioner of Shuofang. He personally toured the five cities and supervised troops and horses. At that time the surrendered Hu Kang Yuanzi of Fangqu in Qing Prefecture rebelled, declared himself khan, plundered pasture horses, and crossed west of the river out of the frontier. Yue advanced against him, captured him at Mount Mupan, and took three thousand captives. He then proposed moving fifty thousand remnant Hu of the six river-bend prefectures to the regions of Tang, Deng, Xian, and Yu, emptying the Henan and Shuofang frontier lands. For his merit he was granted a substantive fief of three hundred households. Formerly border garrison troops numbered six hundred thousand. Yue held that in this peaceful age they had little to do and asked to dismiss two hundred thousand back to farming. The emperor was doubtful. Yue said: "Though border troops are numerous, the generals only defend themselves and pursue private gain. In controlling the enemy, numbers are not what matter. With Your Majesty's enlightenment, the four barbarians fear your might. I do not fear that reducing troops will invite raiders. I ask to guarantee this with the lives of my entire household." The emperor approved. At that time palace guards were poor and weak, and those on rotation had nearly all fled. Yue proposed recruiting brave and strong men, offering favorable terms and simplifying corvée obligations. Within ten days he obtained one hundred thirty thousand elite troops, distributed them among the various guards to strengthen the capital. This was what was later called the "Expanded Cavalry."

帝自東都將還京，因幸并州。説見帝曰：「太原王業所基，陛下巡幸，振耀威武，以申永思。繇河東入京師，有漢武脽上祠，此禮廢闊，歷代莫舉，願爲三農祈穀，誠四海之福。」帝納其言，過祠后土乃還。進中書令。

As the emperor was about to return from the eastern capital to Chang'an, he took the occasion to visit Bing Prefecture. Yue told the emperor: "Taiyuan is where the royal enterprise was founded. Your Majesty's tour displays martial might and extends eternal remembrance. Coming from Hedong into the capital, there is the shrine on the mound of Emperor Wu of Han. This ritual has long been abandoned, and no dynasty has performed it. I ask that Your Majesty pray for the three crops and the harvest—it would truly be fortune for the four seas." The emperor accepted his advice, worshipped at the shrine to the Queen of Earth, and then returned. He was promoted to Chief Minister of the Chancellery.

説又倡封禪議，受詔與諸儒草儀，多所裁正。帝召説與禮官學士置酒集仙殿，曰：「朕今與賢者樂於此，當遂爲集賢殿。」乃下制改麗正書院爲集賢殿書院，而授説院學士，知院事。東封還，爲尚書右丞相兼中書令。詔説撰《封禪壇頌》，刻之泰山，以誇成功。初，源乾曜不欲封禪，説固請，乃不相平。及升山，執事官當從者，説皆引所厚超階入五品，從兵唯加勛而不賜，眾怨其專。

Yue also advocated the fengshan proposal, received an edict to draft the ritual with various scholars, and corrected much of their work. The emperor summoned Yue and ritual officials and academicians to feast in the Hall of Collected Immortals. He said: "I now take joy here with the worthy. This hall should forthwith become the Hall of Collected Worthies." He then issued an edict changing the Lizheng Academy into the Collected Worthies Hall Academy and appointed Yue academician in charge of its affairs. On return from the eastern fengshan he became Right Chief Minister of the Board of Works and concurrently Chief Minister of the Chancellery. An edict commanded Yue to compose the "Ode to the Fengshan Altar" and carve it on Mount Tai to commemorate the achievement. At the beginning Yuan Qianyao opposed the fengshan, while Yue firmly advocated it. They were therefore not on good terms. When ascending the mountain, Yue advanced all his favorites among the attending officials by leap ranks into the fifth grade. Accompanying soldiers received only merit additions without gifts. Many resented his monopoly of favor.

宇文融先獻策，括天下遊戸及籍外田，署十道勸農使，分行郡縣。説畏其擾，數沮格之。至是，融請吏部置十銓，與蘇釐等分治選事，有所論請，説頗抑之，於是銓綜失敘。融恨恚，乃與崔隱甫、李林甫共劾奏説「引術士王慶則夜祠禱解，而奏表其閭；引僧道岸窺诇時事，冒署右職；所親吏張觀、範堯臣依據説勢，市權招賂，擅給太原九姓羊錢千萬。」其言醜慘。帝怒，詔乾曜、隱甫、刑部尚書韋抗即尚書省鞫之，發金吾兵圍其第。説兄左庶子光詣朝堂刑耳列冤，帝遣高力士往視，見説蓬首垢面，席槁，家人以瓦器饋脫粟鹽疏，爲自罰憂懼者。力士還奏，且言：「説往納忠，於國有功。」帝憮然，乃停説中書令，誅慶則等，坐者猶十餘人。説既罷政事，在集賢院專脩國史。又乞停右丞相，不許。然每軍國大務，帝輒訪焉。隱甫等恐説復用，巧文詆毀，素忿説者又著《疾邪篇》，帝聞，因令致仕。

Yuwen Rong first presented a plan to tally wandering households and fields outside the registers throughout the realm, appointing ten-circuit commissioners to encourage agriculture who traveled through prefectures and counties. Yue feared the disturbance and repeatedly obstructed the plan. At this time Rong asked the Board of Civil Office to establish ten selection boards, which he and Su Li and others would divide among themselves. When petitions arose, Yue considerably suppressed them, and the overall selection order was lost. Rong hated this and joined with Cui Yinpu and Li Linfu in a joint memorial accusing Yue: "He drew in the technician Wang Qingze to perform night sacrifices and prayers for release, yet memorialized praising his neighborhood. He drew in the monk Dao'an to spy on current affairs and presumptuously appointed him to a high post. His favored clerks Zhang Guan and Fan Yaochan relied on Yue's power, traded authority for bribes, and on their own authority gave the nine surnames of Taiyuan sheep money in the tens of millions." Their accusations were ugly and dire. The emperor was furious. An edict had Qianyao, Yinpu, and Vice Minister of Punishments Wei Kang interrogate the case immediately at the Board of Works and dispatched Golden Crow troops to surround Yue's residence. Yue's elder brother Guang, Left Guardian of the Heir Apparent, went to the court hall and cut his ear to proclaim injustice. The emperor sent Gao Lishi to look. He found Yue with disheveled hair and filthy face, sitting on straw, his family feeding him coarse grain and salt vegetables in earthenware vessels, as one punishing himself in fear. Lishi returned and reported, adding: "Yue in the past offered loyal counsel and rendered merit to the state." The emperor was moved and suspended Yue as Chief Minister of the Chancellery, executed Qingze and others, and more than ten others were implicated. Having been removed from government affairs, Yue devoted himself solely to editing the national history in the Collected Worthies Academy. He again asked to resign as Right Chief Minister, but the request was denied. Yet whenever great affairs of army and state arose, the emperor still consulted him. Yinpu and the others feared Yue would be restored to power and slandered him with clever words. Those who had long resented Yue also wrote the "Chapter on Hating Evil." When the emperor heard of this, he ordered Yue to retire.

始爲相時，帝欲事吐蕃，説密請講和以休息鄣塞，帝曰：「朕待王君㚟計之。」説出告源乾曜曰：「君㚟好兵以求利，彼入，吾言不用矣。」後君㚟破吐蕃於青海西，説策其且敗，因上巂州鬥羊於帝，以申諷諭，曰：「使羊能言，必將曰『鬥而不解，立有死者』。所賴至仁無殘，量力取歡焉。」帝識其意，納之，賜彩千匹。後瓜州失守，君㚟死。

When he first became chief minister, the emperor wished to campaign against Tibet. Yue secretly asked to negotiate peace to give the frontier passes rest. The emperor said: "I await Wang Jun's plan for this." Yue went out and told Yuan Qianyao: "Jun loves warfare to seek profit. Once he is involved, my counsel will not be heeded." Later Jun defeated Tibet west of Qinghai. Yue calculated that Jun would soon fail and presented the Xi Prefecture ram-fighting sport to the emperor as indirect admonition, saying: "If sheep could speak, they would surely say, 'We fight without understanding—and standing there are those who must die. What is relied upon is utmost benevolence without cruelty—measuring one's strength and taking joy accordingly." The emperor understood his intent, accepted the admonition, and granted a thousand bolts of colored silk. Later Guazhou fell and Jun died.

十七年，復爲右丞相，遷左丞相。上日，敕所司供帳設樂，內出醪饌，帝爲賦詩。俄授開府儀同三司。十八年卒，年六十四，爲停正會，贈太師，謚曰文貞，群臣駁異未決，帝爲制碑，謚如太常，繇是定。

In the seventeenth year he was again appointed Right Chief Minister and then transferred to Left Chief Minister. On the day he took office, an edict commanded the relevant offices to supply tents and set out music. Wine and food were brought from within the palace, and the emperor composed a poem in his honor. Before long he was granted the title Grand Master with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon of the First Rank. In the eighteenth year he died at the age of sixty-four. Regular court sessions were suspended. Posthumously he was given Grand Preceptor with the posthumous name Wenzhen. When ministers disputed the title, the emperor composed the stele inscription himself. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices' recommendation was followed, and the matter was settled.

説敦氣節，立然諾，喜推藉後進，於君臣朋友大義甚篤。帝在東宮，所與秘謀密計甚眾，後卒爲宗臣。朝廷大述作多出其手，帝好文辭，有所爲必使視草。善用人之長，多引天下知名士，以佐佑王化，粉澤典章，成一王法。天子尊尚經術，開館置學士，脩太宗之政，皆説倡之。爲文屬思精壯，長於碑誌，世所不逮。既謫岳州，而詩益淒婉，人謂得江山助雲。常典集賢圖書之任，間雖致仕一歳，亦修史於家。

Yue was earnest in integrity, kept his word as bond, delighted in promoting younger men, and was deeply devoted to the great obligations between ruler and minister and among friends. When the emperor was crown prince, Yue shared many secret plots and confidential plans with him. He later became a pillar minister of the state. Great state compositions mostly came from his hand. The emperor loved literary expression and whenever he composed something would have Yue review the draft. He was skilled in using men's strengths, drew in many renowned gentlemen of the realm to assist royal governance, adorned canonical regulations, and helped complete the law of a true king. The emperor honored classical learning, opened halls and appointed academicians, and restored the governance of Emperor Taizong—all were advocated by Yue. In writing he focused his thought with refined vigor and excelled at steles and memorial inscriptions—skills the age could not match. After he was banished to Yue Prefecture, his poetry grew more plaintive and gentle. People said he had obtained the help of rivers and mountains. He constantly held charge of the books of the Collected Worthies Academy. Even when he retired for a year in between, he still edited history at home.

始，帝欲授説大學士，辭曰：「學士本無大稱，中宗崇寵大臣，乃有之，臣不敢以爲稱。」固辭乃免。後宴集賢院，故事，官重者先飲，説曰：「吾聞儒以道相高，不以官閥爲先後。太宗時修史十九人，長孫無忌以元舅，每宴不肯先舉爵。長安中，與修《珠英》，當時學士亦不以品秩爲限。」於是引觴同飲，時伏其有體。中書舍人陸堅以學士或非其人，而供擬太厚，無益國家者，議白罷之。説聞曰：「古帝王功成，則有奢滿之失，或興池觀，或尚聲色。今陛下崇儒向道，躬自講論，詳延豪俊，則麗正乃天子禮樂之司，所費細而所益者大。陸生之言，蓋未達邪。」帝知，遂薄堅。

At the beginning the emperor wished to grant Yue the title Grand Academician. He declined, saying: "Academician originally had no grand title. Emperor Zhongzong created it to honor favored ministers. I dare not take it as my title." He firmly declined and was excused. Later at a banquet in the Collected Worthies Academy, by precedent the higher official drank first. Yue said: "I have heard that Confucians esteem one another by the Way, not by official rank and family status. In Emperor Taizong's time nineteen men edited history. Zhangsun Wuji, as the emperor's uncle by marriage, at every banquet refused to raise his cup first. In the Chang'an era, when editing the Pearl Splendor, the academicians of that time also did not limit themselves by rank and grade." Thereupon he raised his cup and all drank together. Contemporaries admired his propriety. Drafting Secretary Lu Jian held that some academicians might not be the right men, yet their provisions were too generous and of no benefit to the state. He proposed reporting this to have the academy abolished. When Yue heard this he said: "Ancient emperors and kings, once their achievement was complete, often fell into extravagance—some raised pools and towers, some favored music and women. Now Your Majesty honors Confucian learning and turns toward the Way, personally lecturing and broadly inviting heroic and outstanding men. The Lizheng Academy is the office of the Son of Heaven's ritual and music. What is spent is small and what is gained is great. Master Lu's words perhaps show a failure of understanding." The emperor understood and thereafter treated Jian coldly.

説嘗自爲其父碑，帝爲書其額曰：「嗚呼，積善之墓。」説歿後，帝使就家錄其文，行於世。開元後，宰相不以姓著者，曰燕公云。大暦中，詔配享玄宗廟廷。子均、垍、埱。説子均均亦能文。自太子通事舍人累遷主爵郎中、中書舍人。開元十七年，説授左丞相，校京官考，註均考曰：「父教子忠，古之善訓，王言帝載，尤難以任。庸以嫌疑，而撓紀綱？考上下。」當時亦不以爲私。後襲燕國公，累遷兵部侍郎，以累貶饒、蘇二州刺史。久之，復爲兵部侍郎。

Yue once composed the stele for his father himself. The emperor wrote its title: "Alas, the tomb of accumulated goodness." After Yue's death the emperor had his writings copied at his home and circulated in the world. After the Kaiyuan era, chief ministers who were known not by surname but by enfeoffment were called Duke of Yan, and so on. During the Dali era an edict ordered that he share sacrifice in Emperor Xuanzong's temple hall. His sons were Jun, Ji, and Chong. Yue's son Jun was also skilled in writing. From Communicating Affairs Secretary of the Heir Apparent he rose through the ranks to Director of Enfeoffments and Drafting Secretary of the Chancellery. In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, when Yue was appointed Left Chief Minister and reviewed capital officials' evaluations, he noted Jun's evaluation: "Father teaching son loyalty is the good instruction of antiquity. Kingly words and imperial records are especially hard to bear. How can one, because of suspicion, disturb discipline and law? Evaluation: upper and lower." At the time this was not regarded as private favoritism. Later he inherited enfeoffment as Duke of Yan and rose to Vice Minister of the Board of War, then through accumulated offenses was demoted to prefect of Rao and Su. After some years he was again appointed Vice Minister of the Board of War.

自以己才當輔相，爲李林甫所抑，林甫卒，倚陳希烈，冀得其處。既而楊國忠用事，希烈罷，而均爲刑部尚書。坐垍，貶建安太守。還，授大理卿，居常觖望不平。祿山盜國，爲僞中書令。肅宗反正，兄弟皆論死。房琯聞之，驚曰：「張氏滅矣。」乃見苗晉卿，營解之。帝亦顧説有舊，詔免死，流合浦。建宮初，贈太子少傅。子濛，事德宗，爲中書舍人。説子垍垍尚寧親公主。時説居中秉政，均爲舍人，諸父光爲銀青光祿大夫，榮盛冠時。玄宗眷垍厚，即禁中置內宅，侍爲文章，珍賜不可數。均供奉翰林，而垍以所賜誇均，均曰：「此婦翁遺婿，非天子賜學士也。」垍嘗爲帝贊禮，舉止都雅，帝悅之。因幸內宅，顧垍曰：「希烈辭宰相，孰可代者？垍錯愕，未得對。帝曰：「無易吾婿。」垍頓首謝。會貴妃聞，以語國忠，國忠惡之，及希烈罷，薦韋見素代之，垍始怨上。

He considered his own talent fit for chief minister but was suppressed by Li Linfu. When Linfu died he relied on Chen Xilie and hoped to obtain that position. Before long Yang Guozhong came to power. Xilie was dismissed, and Jun became Minister of Punishments. Through implication in Ji's case he was demoted to grand administrator of Jian'an. On his return he was appointed Director of the Court of Judicial Review and constantly harbored resentment and discontent. When Lushan usurped the state, Jun served as chief minister of the puppet regime. When Emperor Suzong restored the throne, the brothers were all sentenced to death. Fang Guan heard of it and said in alarm: "The Zhang clan is destroyed." He then saw Miao Jinqing and worked to secure their release. The emperor also considered Yue's old ties and issued an edict sparing their lives. They were banished to Hepu. At the beginning of the Jianzhong reign he was posthumously given Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent. His son Meng served Emperor Dezong as Drafting Secretary of the Chancellery. Yue's son Ji married Princess Ningqin. At that time Yue held power at court. Jun served as drafting secretary, and his uncles Guang held the rank of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Silver Seal. The family's glory topped the age. Emperor Xuanzong favored Ji deeply, set up an inner residence for him within the forbidden precincts, had him attend in composing literature, and bestowed rare gifts beyond counting. Jun attended at the Hanlin Academy, while Ji boasted to Jun of his gifts. Jun said: "This is what a father-in-law left his son-in-law—not what the Son of Heaven gave an academician." Ji once assisted the emperor in ritual praise. His bearing was altogether elegant, and the emperor was pleased with him. On an occasion when the emperor visited the inner residence, he turned to Ji and said: "Xilie has resigned as chief minister. Who can replace him? Ji was startled and could not reply. The emperor said: "Do not replace my son-in-law." Ji kowtowed in thanks. The Noble Consort heard of this and told Guozhong, who hated Ji. When Xilie was dismissed, Guozhong recommended Wei Jiansu to replace him. Ji then began to resent the emperor.

天寶十三載，祿山入朝，以破奚、契丹功，求平章事，國忠曰：「祿山有軍功，然不識字，與之，恐四夷輕漢。」乃止。及還范陽，詔高力士餞浐坡，力士歸曰：「祿山內郁郁，若知欲相而不行者。」帝以語國忠，國忠曰：「所告者必張垍。」帝怒，盡逐其兄弟，以均守建安，而垍爲盧溪郡司馬，埱自給事中爲宜春郡司馬。歳中，還，垍爲太常卿。

In the thirteenth year of Tianbao, Lushan entered court. For his merit in defeating the Xi and Khitan he sought to be Grand Counselor. Guozhong said: "Lushan has military merit, yet he cannot read. If we grant it, I fear the four barbarians will look down on the Han." Thereupon the appointment was stopped. When Lushan returned to Fanyang, an edict had Gao Lishi see him off at Chan Slope. Lishi reported: "Lushan was inwardly depressed, as if knowing he was to be made chief minister but that it did not happen." The emperor told this to Guozhong. Guozhong said: "Whoever told him must have been Zhang Ji." The emperor was furious and drove out all the brothers. Jun was sent to Jian'an, Ji was made military aide of Luxi Commandery, and Chong went from Supervising Secretary to military aide of Yichun Commandery. Within the year they returned. Ji was appointed Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

帝西狩至咸陽，唯韋見素、楊國忠、魏方進從。帝謂力士曰：「若計朝臣當孰至者？」力士曰：「張垍兄弟世以恩戚貴，其當即來。房琯有宰相望，而陛下久不用，又爲祿山所器，此不來矣。」帝曰：「未可知也。」後琯至，召見流涕。帝撫勞，且問：「均、垍安在？」琯曰：『臣之西，亦嘗過其家，將與偕來。均曰：「馬不善馳，後當繼行。』然臣觀之，恐不能從陛下矣。」帝嗟悵，顧力士曰：「吾豈欲誣人哉？均等自謂才器亡雙，恨不大用，吾向欲始全之，今非若所料也。」垍遂與希烈皆相祿山，垍死賊中。贊贊曰：説於玄宗最有德，及太平用事，納忠惓惓，又圖封禪，發明典章，開元文物彬彬，説力居多。中爲奸人排擯，幾不免，自古功名始終亦幾希，何獨説哉！至子以利遽敗其家。若瓌、頲再世稱賢宰相，盛矣！

When the emperor fled west to Xianyang, only Wei Jiansu, Yang Guozhong, and Wei Fangjin followed. The emperor said to Lishi: "If we reckon which court ministers ought to arrive, who would come?" Lishi said: "The Zhang Ji brothers have for generations been noble through imperial marriage ties. They should come at once. Fang Guan has the look of a chief minister, yet Your Majesty long did not use him, and Lushan valued him. He will not come." The emperor said: "That cannot yet be known." Later Guan arrived. Summoned to audience, he wept. The emperor comforted and rewarded him and also asked: "Where are Jun and Ji? Guan said: "When I went west, I also passed their homes and was about to come together with them." Jun said: "The horses are not good at galloping. We will follow later. Yet as I observed, I fear they cannot follow Your Majesty." The emperor sighed in regret and turned to Lishi: "How could I wish to slander people? Jun and the others considered their talent without peer and resented not being greatly used. I formerly wished to preserve them. Now it is not as you calculated." Ji then served Lushan as chief minister along with Xilie. Ji died among the rebels. The appraiser says: Yue rendered the greatest service to Emperor Xuanzong. When Princess Taiping wielded power he offered loyal counsel with earnest devotion. He planned the fengshan, clarified canonical regulations, and in the Kaiyuan era culture and institutions flourished—Yue's effort was largely responsible. Midway he was driven out by treacherous men and nearly did not escape. From antiquity achievement and fame maintained from beginning to end have been rare. Why speak only of Yue! As for his sons, through greed they swiftly ruined their house. As for Gui and Ting, two generations were called worthy chief ministers. How splendid!

Cite this Chapter