Volume 130 Biographies 55: Pei, Yang, Song, , Yang, Cui, Li, Jie

裴陽宋楊崔李解

Pei, Yang, Song, Yang, Cui, Li, and Xie

◎裴陽宋楊崔李解

◎ Biographies of Pei, Yang, Song, Yang, Cui, Li, and Xie

裴漼，絳州聞喜著姓。父琰之，永徽中為同州司戶參軍，年甚少，不主曹務，刺史李崇義內輕之，鐫諭曰：「同，三輔，吏事繁，子盍求便官？毋留此！」琰之唯唯。吏白積案數百，崇義讓使趣斷，琰之曰：「何至逼人？」乃命吏連紙進筆為省決，一日畢，既與奪當理，而筆詞勁妙。崇義驚曰：「子何自晦，成吾過耶？」由是名動一州，號「霹靂手」。後為永年令，有惠政，吏刻石頌美。以倉部郎中病廢。漼侍疾十餘年，不肯仕。琰之沒，始擢明經，調陳留主簿，遷監察御史。

Pei Hui belonged to the eminent Pei lineage of Wenxi in Jiang Prefecture. His father Yan Zhi served as registrar of Tong Prefecture during the Yonghui reign. He was still very young and neglected his bureau duties. Prefect Li Chongyi privately despised him and had an inscription carved that read: "Tong is one of the three metropolitan circuits, and its paperwork is overwhelming. Why not seek a more comfortable appointment? Do not stay here!" Yan Zhi could only murmur his assent. When a clerk reported that several hundred cases had accumulated, Chongyi rebuked him and ordered him to dispose of them quickly. Yan Zhi said, "Why drive people so hard?" He then had clerks string sheets of paper together, handed him a brush, and settled every case in summary fashion in a single day. His rulings were legally sound, and his prose was vigorous and polished. Chongyi exclaimed in astonishment, "Why did you conceal your abilities and make me look foolish?" From that day his reputation resounded through the prefecture, and men called him the Thunderbolt Hand. He later served as magistrate of Yongnian, where his benevolent rule led the clerks to carve a stone inscription in his praise. He was forced to retire on account of illness while serving as director in the Ministry of Revenue. Hui nursed him for more than ten years and refused to enter government service. Only after Yan Zhi's death did Hui pass the Mingjing examination, receive appointment as registrar of Chenliu, and rise to investigating censor.

時崔湜、鄭愔典吏部，坐奸贓，為李尚隱所劾，詔漼按訊，而安樂公主、上官昭容為阿右，漼執正其罪，天下稱之。累進中書舍人。睿宗造金仙、玉真二觀，時旱甚，役不止，漼上言：「春夏毋聚大眾，起大役，不可興土功，妨農事。若役使乖度，則有疾疫水旱之災，此天人常應也。今自冬徂春，雨不時降，人心憔然，莫知所出，而土木方興，時暵之孽，職為此發。今東作雲始，丁壯就功，妨多益少，饑寒有漸。《春秋》莊公三十一年冬，不雨，是時歲三築臺；僖公二十一年夏，大旱，是時作南門。陛下以四方為念，宜下明制，令二京營作、和市木石，一切停止。有如農桑失時，戶口流散，雖寺觀營立，能救饑寒敝哉！」不報。遷兵部侍郎。以銓總勞，特授一子官。開元五年，為吏部侍郎，甄拔士為多。拜御史大夫。

At the time Cui Shi and Zheng Yin ran the Ministry of Personnel and were caught in bribery and graft. Li Shangyin impeached them, and the throne ordered Hui to conduct the inquiry. Princess Anle and Shangguan Zhaorong tried to protect them, but Hui stood firm and secured their conviction, winning acclaim throughout the empire. He rose step by step to drafting attendant of the Secretariat. Emperor Ruizong was building the Jinxian and Yuzhen monasteries. The drought was severe, yet labor levies never stopped. Hui memorialized the throne: "In spring and summer the state must not gather huge crowds or launch great public works, nor undertake construction that interferes with farming. When corvée service exceeds proper bounds, pestilence and flood-or-drought calamities follow. That is the constant correspondence between Heaven and humanity. From winter into spring the rains have not come in season. The people are worn down and do not know which way to turn, yet building projects are only now expanding. The present drought stems chiefly from this. Spring planting is just beginning, yet able-bodied men are being pulled into construction work. The harm far outweighs the gain, and hunger and cold are drawing near. The Spring and Autumn Annals notes that in the thirty-first year of Duke Zhuang, winter brought no rain while three towers were built that same year; and in the twenty-first year of Duke Xi a great summer drought coincided with construction of the south gate. Your Majesty, bearing the four quarters in mind, should issue a clear edict halting all construction in the two capitals and all government purchases of timber and stone. If farming and sericulture miss their season and the population scatters, what good will finished temples and monasteries do against hunger, cold, and ruin?" The memorial went unanswered. He was transferred to vice minister of war. In recognition of his exhaustive work in personnel selection, one of his sons was specially granted an official post. In Kaiyuan 5 he became vice minister of personnel and recommended a great many worthy men. He was appointed censor-in-chief.

漼雅與張說善，說方宰相，數薦之，漼長於敷奏，天子亦自重焉，擢吏部尚書。世儉素，而晚節稍畜伎妾，為奢侈事，議者以為缺。改太子賓客。卒，贈禮部尚書，謚曰懿。從祖弟寬。

Hui had long been close to Zhang Yue, who was then chief minister and repeatedly recommended him. Hui excelled at memorials and court presentations, and the emperor held him in high regard as well, elevating him to minister of personnel. He had lived frugally all his life, but in his later years he began keeping entertainers and concubines and indulging in luxury, which critics counted against him. He was reassigned as mentor of the heir apparent. He died and was posthumously honored as minister of rites, with the posthumous title Yi. His younger cousin Kuan is treated next.

寬，性通敏，工騎射、彈棋、投壺，略通書記。景雲中，為潤州參軍事。刺史韋詵有女，擇所宜歸，會休日登樓，見人於後圃有所瘞藏者，訪諸吏，曰：「參軍裴寬居也。」與偕來，詵問狀，答曰：「寬義不以包苴汙家，適有人以鹿為餉，致而去，不敢自欺，故瘞之。」詵嗟異，乃引為按察判官，許妻以女。歸語妻曰：「常求佳婿，今得矣。」明日，幃其族使觀之。寬時衣碧，瘠而長，既入，族人皆笑，呼為「碧鸛雀」。詵曰：「愛其女，必以為賢公侯妻也，何可以貌求人？」卒妻寬。

Kuan was quick-witted by nature, skilled in horsemanship, archery, pitch-pot, and ball tossing, and had a modest command of written records. During the Jingyun reign he served as aide in Run Prefecture. Prefect Wei Shen had a daughter and was looking for a suitable husband. On a holiday he climbed a tower and saw someone in the rear garden burying something. When he asked the clerks, they said, "That is Military Aide Pei Kuan's residence." He went with them to investigate. Shen asked what had happened, and Kuan replied, "I would never let gifts corrupt my household. Someone had just offered me a deer; I accepted it, he left, and I could not deceive myself, so I buried it." Shen marveled and took him on as aide to the investigation commissioner, promising him his daughter in marriage. When he returned home he told his wife, "I have long sought a fine son-in-law, and now I have found one." The next day he had his clansmen observe him from behind a screen. Kuan was wearing green, thin and very tall. When he entered, the clansmen all laughed and called him the Green Stork. Shen said, "Because I love my daughter, I mean to give her to a worthy man fit to become a great noble. How can one judge a husband by looks alone?" In the end he married his daughter to Kuan.

舉拔萃，為河南丞，遷長安尉。宇文融為侍御史，括天下田，奏為江東覆田判官。改太常博士。禮部建言忌日享廟應用樂，寬自以情立議曰：「廟尊忌卑則作樂，廟卑忌尊則備而不奏。」中書令張說善之，請如寬議。遷刑部員外郎。萬騎將軍馬崇白日殺人，而王毛仲方以貴幸，將鬻其獄，寬固執不肯從。河西節度使蕭嵩表為判官，歷兵部侍郎。宰相裴耀卿領江淮運，列倉河陰，奏寬為戶部侍郎自副。遷吏部。出為蒲州刺史，州久旱，寬入境輒雨。徙河南尹，不屈附權貴，河南大治。由金吾大將軍授太原尹，玄宗賦詩褒餞。天寶初，由陳留太守拜范陽節度使。時北平軍使烏承恩，虜酋也，與中人通，數冒賄，寬以法繩治。檀州刺史何僧獻生口數十，寬悉歸之，故夷夏感附。

He passed the exceptional-talent examination, served as assistant magistrate of Henan, and was promoted to sheriff of Chang'an. When Yuwen Rong, as attending censor, undertook a nationwide land survey, he had Kuan appointed aide for the Jiangdong re-survey. He was transferred to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The Ministry of Rites proposed using music when offering at the ancestral temple on a death anniversary. Kuan argued from principle: "When the temple outranks the anniversary observance, music may be performed; when the anniversary outranks the temple, instruments may be prepared but not played." Chief Minister Zhang Yue approved and asked that Kuan's proposal be adopted. He was promoted to vice director in the Ministry of Justice. General Ma Chong of the Ten Thousand Riders murdered a man in broad daylight. Wang Maozhong, then in imperial favor, tried to buy off the case, but Kuan held to the law and would not yield. Hexi military commissioner Xiao Song recommended him as aide, and he rose to vice minister of war. Chief minister Pei Yaojing directed Jiang-Huai transport and established granaries at Heyin; he had Kuan appointed vice minister of revenue as his deputy. He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. He was sent out as prefect of Pu. The prefecture had suffered a long drought, but rain fell as soon as Kuan crossed the border. He was transferred to metropolitan governor of Henan, refused to truckle to the powerful, and brought the capital district under excellent order. After serving as general of the Golden Crow Guards he was appointed metropolitan governor of Taiyuan, and Emperor Xuanzong wrote a poem to honor his departure. Early in the Tianbao reign he rose from administrator of Chenliu to military commissioner of Fanyang. At the time the Beiping army commissioner Wu Cheng'en, a tribal leader, colluded with eunuchs and repeatedly accepted bribes; Kuan punished him by law. Tan Prefecture prefect He Sengxian presented several dozen captives; Kuan returned them all, winning the heartfelt loyalty of both Chinese and non-Chinese subjects.

三載，用安祿山守范陽，召寬為戶部尚書，兼御史大夫。裴敦復平海賊還，廣張功簿，寬密白其妄。會河北部將入朝，盛譽寬政，且言華虜猶思之，帝嗟賞，眷倚加厚。李林甫恐其遂相，又惡寬善李適之，乃漏寬語以激敦復，敦復任氣而疏，以林甫為誠。先是，寬以所善請於敦復，即欲白髮其言，林甫趣之。敦復未及聞，扈幸溫泉宮。而其下裨將程藏曜、曹鑒自以他事系臺，寬捕按之，敦復謂寬求致其罪，遽以金五百兩賂貴妃姊，因得事聞於帝，由是貶寬睢陽太守。及韋堅獄起，寬復坐親，貶安陸別駕。林甫任羅希奭殺李適之也，亦使過安陸，將怖殺寬，寬叩頭祈哀，希奭乃去。寬懼終見殺，丐為浮屠，不許。稍遷東海太守，徙馮翊，入為禮部尚書。卒，年七十五，贈太子太傅。

In the third year of Tianbao, An Lushan was put in charge of Fanyang, and Kuan was recalled as minister of revenue and concurrent censor-in-chief. When Pei Dunfu returned from suppressing pirates at sea, he greatly inflated his merit rolls; Kuan secretly reported the exaggeration to the throne. When generals from Hebei arrived at court, they lavishly praised Kuan's governance and said that Chinese and non-Chinese alike still missed him. The emperor marveled and leaned on him all the more. Li Linfu feared that Kuan might become chief minister and resented his friendship with Li Shizhi, so he leaked Kuan's remarks to provoke Pei Dunfu. Dunfu was impulsive and unsuspecting, and took Linfu at his word. Earlier Kuan had asked a favor of Dunfu through a trusted intermediary and was about to expose Dunfu's indiscretion; Linfu spurred him on. Before Dunfu learned of it, the court moved to Huaqing Palace. Two of his subordinate generals, Cheng Zangyao and Cao Jian, had been detained by the censorate on other charges, and Kuan pursued the case. Dunfu believed Kuan was trying to frame them and quickly bribed the elder sister of the imperial consort with five hundred taels of gold, bringing the matter before the emperor. Kuan was demoted to administrator of Suiyang. When the Wei Jian affair broke, Kuan was implicated again through family ties and demoted to vice administrator of Anlu. Linfu had sent Luo Xi'ao to kill Li Shizhi and also sent him through Anlu intending to terrorize Kuan to death. Kuan kowtowed and pleaded for his life, and Xi'ao left him alone. Fearing he would still be killed, Kuan asked to become a monk, but the request was denied. He was gradually promoted to administrator of Donghai, transferred to Fengyi, and recalled to serve as minister of rites. He died at seventy-five and was posthumously honored as grand tutor of the heir apparent.

寬兄弟八人，皆擢明經，任臺、省、州刺史。雅性友愛，於東都治第，八院相對，甥侄亦有名稱，常擊鼓會飯。其為政務清簡，所蒞人愛之，世皆冀其得宰相。天寶間稱舊德，以寬為首。然惑於佛，喜與桑門遊，習誦其書，老彌篤雲。子谞。

Kuan had eight brothers, all of whom passed the Mingjing examination and held posts in the censorate, central ministries, or as prefects. He was devoted to his kin and built a mansion in the Eastern Capital with eight courtyards facing one another. His nephews and sons-in-law were well known as well, and the family often beat drums to summon one another to shared meals. His administration was clear and unpretentious, and the people wherever he served loved him. All his contemporaries hoped he would become chief minister. During the Tianbao reign he was regarded as foremost among men of established virtue. Yet he was drawn to Buddhism, delighted in the company of monks, memorized their scriptures, and grew only more devout with age. His son Xu is treated next.

谞，字士明，擢明經，調河南參軍事。性通綽，舉止不煩。累遷京兆倉曹參軍。虢王巨表署襄、鄧營田判官。母喪，居東都。會史思明亂，逃山谷間。思明故為寬將，德寬舊恩，且聞谞名，遣捕騎跡獲之，喜甚，呼為「郎君」，偽授御史中丞。賊殘殺宗室，谞陰緩之。全活者數百人。又嘗疏賊虛實於朝，事泄，思明恨罵，危死而免。賊平，除太子中允，遷考功郎中，數燕見奏事。

Xu, whose style was Shiming, passed the Mingjing examination and was appointed military aide in Henan. He was broad-minded by nature and unassuming in manner. He rose to granary bureau aide in the metropolitan prefecture of Jingzhao. Prince of Guo Ju recommended him as aide for garrison-farming in Xiang and Deng. After his mother's death he remained in the Eastern Capital. When Shi Siming rebelled, he fled into the mountains. Siming had once served under Kuan and still honored his old patronage; he had also heard of Xu's reputation. He sent riders who tracked Xu down, was delighted, called him Young Master, and gave him the false title of vice censor-in-chief. When the rebels slaughtered members of the imperial clan, Xu secretly slowed the killing. Several hundred people were thereby saved. He also once sent intelligence on the rebels' strength to the court. When the report was discovered, Siming raged at him and he narrowly escaped death. After the rebellion was suppressed he was appointed companion to the heir apparent, promoted to director in the Ministry of Personnel, and repeatedly received informal audiences to report on state affairs.

代宗幸陜，谞徒步挾考功南曹印赴行在，帝曰：「疾風知勁草，果可信。」將用為御史中丞，為元載沮卻，故拜河東租庸、鹽鐵使。時關輔旱，谞入計，帝召至便殿，問榷酤利歲出內幾何，谞久不對。帝復問，曰：「臣有所思。」帝曰：「何邪？」谞曰：「臣自河東來，涉三百里，而農人愁嘆，谷菽未種。誠謂陛下軫念元元，先訪疾苦，而乃責臣以利。孟子曰：『治國者，仁義而已，何以利為？』故未敢即對。」帝曰：「微公言，朕不聞此。」拜左司郎中，數訪政事。載忌之，出為虔州刺史，歷饒、廬、亳三州，除右金吾將軍。

When Emperor Daizong went to Shan, Xu walked on foot carrying the seal of the southern bureau of merit evaluation to the traveling court. The emperor said, "A fierce wind reveals the tough grass—he is truly trustworthy." He was about to be made vice censor-in-chief, but Yuan Zai blocked the appointment, so he was made commissioner for zuoyong levies and salt and iron in Hedong. The capital region was suffering drought. When Xu came to render accounts, the emperor summoned him to a side hall and asked how much profit from the wine monopoly reached the inner palace each year. Xu remained silent for a long time. The emperor asked again, and Xu said, "Your servant has been thinking." The emperor said, "About what?" Xu said, "Coming from Hedong I traveled three hundred li and saw farmers sighing in distress, with grain and beans still unplanted. I truly believed Your Majesty would care for the common people and ask first about their hardships, yet Your Majesty questioned me about profit. Mencius said, 'To govern a state requires only benevolence and righteousness—why make profit the goal? That is why I did not dare answer immediately." The emperor said, "But for your words, I would never have heard this." He was appointed director of the left department and was repeatedly consulted on state affairs. Zai resented him and sent him out as prefect of Qian, then through Rao, Lu, and Bo, before appointing him right general of the Golden Crow Guards.

德宗新即位，以刑名治天下，百吏震服。時大行將蕆陵事，禁屠殺，尚父郭子儀家奴宰羊，谞列奏，帝謂不畏強禦，善之，或曰：「尚父有社稷功，豈不為庇之？」谞笑曰：「非君所知。尚父方貴盛，上新即位，必謂黨附者眾。今發其細過，以明不恃權耳。吾上以盡事君之道，下以安大臣，不亦可乎？」

When Emperor Dezong had just ascended the throne, he governed the realm through strict penal law, and every official trembled before him. The late emperor's burial was nearing completion and slaughter was forbidden. Senior Mentor Guo Ziyi's household slave butchered a sheep, and Xu reported it in full. The emperor praised him for not fearing the powerful. Someone asked, "The Senior Mentor saved the dynasty—should you not shield him?" Xu smiled and said, "That is not how you should see it. The Senior Mentor is at the height of his power, and a new emperor has just taken the throne. He is sure to think that many men are flocking to his faction. By exposing this small fault now, I show that he does not rely on power alone. Above, I fulfill my duty to the ruler; below, I reassure a great minister. Is that not fitting?"

時朝堂別置三司決庶獄，辨爭者輒擊登聞鼓。谞上疏曰：「諫鼓、謗木之設，所以達幽枉，延直言。今詭猾之人，輕動天聽，爭纖微，若然者，安用吏治乎？」帝然之，於是悉歸有司。谞惡法吏舞文，或挾宿怨為重輕，因獻《獄官箴》以諷。坐所善誅，貶閬州司馬。俄召為太子右庶子，進兵部侍郎，至河南尹、東都副留守。凡五世為河南，谞視事未嘗敢當正處。以寬厚和易為治，不鞫人以贓。卒，年七十五，贈禮部尚書。

The court had set up three special offices to decide ordinary cases, and litigants would strike the Petition-to-the-Throne drum at will. Xu memorialized: "The remonstrance drum and the criticism post were established to reach hidden wrongs and encourage frank speech. Now crafty men lightly disturb the imperial ear over trifles. If that continues, what need is there for regular official governance?" The emperor agreed, and all such cases were returned to the regular offices. Xu detested legal clerks who twisted statutes or let old grudges dictate sentences, and he presented the Admonition for Prison Officials as a pointed warning. Because a man he favored was executed, he was demoted to vice administrator of Lang Prefecture. He was soon recalled as right companion to the heir apparent, rose to vice minister of war, and became metropolitan governor of Henan and deputy protector of the Eastern Capital. Five generations of his family had served in Henan, and when Xu took office he never dared sit in the central seat. He governed with generosity and ease and did not hound people on corruption charges. He died at seventy-five and was posthumously honored as minister of rites.

寬弟子胄，字胤叔，擢明經，佐李抱玉鳳翔幕府。不得意，謝歸，更從宣歙觀察使陳少遊，抱玉怒，劾貶桐廬尉。時李棲筠觀察浙西，幕府皆一時高選。判官許鳴謙名知人，見崔造及胄，器之，白棲筠取胄為支使。

Kuan's nephew Zhou, styled Yinshu, passed the Mingjing examination and served on Li Baoyu's staff at Fengxiang. Unhappy in the post, he resigned and later joined the staff of Xuanshe observation commissioner Chen Shaoyou. Baoyu was furious and had him impeached and demoted to sheriff of Tonglu. At the time Li Qiyun was observation commissioner of Zhexi, and his staff were all eminent men of the day. Aide Xu Mingqian was famed for judging talent. Seeing Cui Zao and Zhou, he valued them and urged Qiyun to appoint Zhou as branch commissioner.

代宗惡宰相元載怙權，召棲筠為御史大夫，欲以相，棲筠引胄殿中侍御史，尤為載所惡。會棲筠卒，胄護喪歸洛陽，人為危之，胄屹然不沮惴。少遊復表為淮南觀察判官。載誅，始拜刑部員外郎，遷宣州刺史。楊炎當國，為載復仇，窮摭所惡。會胄部人積胄雜奉為贓，炎遣員寓蔓劾峭詆，貶汀州司馬。稍遷京兆少尹，以父名不拜，換國子司業。遷江西觀察使。初，李兼嘗罷南昌卒千餘人，收資稟為月進，胄白罷之。樊澤徙襄州，宰相議所代，德宗雅記胄才，遂拜荊南節度使。

Emperor Daizong hated chief minister Yuan Zai's monopoly on power, recalled Qiyun as censor-in-chief intending to make him chief minister, and Qiyun brought Zhou in as palace attending censor, which Zai especially resented. When Qiyun died, Zhou escorted the coffin to Luoyang. Others thought him in grave danger, but he remained unshaken. Chen Shaoyou again recommended him as observation aide in Huainan. After Zai was executed, Zhou was appointed vice director in the Ministry of Justice and then prefect of Xuan. When Yang Yan dominated the government, he avenged Zai and hunted down everyone he hated. Men in Zhou's bureau had accumulated miscellaneous gifts to him as bribes. Yan sent Yuan Yu to impeach him harshly, and Zhou was demoted to vice administrator of Ting Prefecture. He was later promoted to junior metropolitan governor of Jingzhao, but because the title echoed his father's name he declined it and was reassigned as vice rector of the imperial university. He was transferred to observation commissioner of Jiangxi. Earlier Li Jian had dismissed more than a thousand Nanchang soldiers and diverted their pay as monthly tribute to the court. Zhou reported the abuse and had it stopped. When Fan Ze left Xiang Prefecture, the chief ministers debated his replacement. Dezong had long noted Zhou's ability and appointed him military commissioner of Jingnan.

是時，方鎮爭剝下希恩，制重錦異綾，名貢奉，有中使者，即悉公帑市歡。胄待之有節，獻餉直不數金，宴勞止三爵。是時武臣多粗暴庸人，待賓介不以禮，少失意，則以罪中傷之，胄亦劾斥其管記，世恨胄之流於俗。卒，年七十五，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰成。

Regional commanders competed to squeeze their subjects and curry favor, weaving costly silks called tribute offerings. When a palace envoy arrived, they emptied the public treasury to win him over. Zhou treated them with restraint: his gifts were worth only a few taels of gold, and his banquets stopped at three rounds of wine. Most military men of the day were crude mediocrities who treated staff discourteously and framed them at the slightest offense. Zhou impeached their secretaries as well, and contemporaries resented him as becoming worldly. He died at seventy-five, was posthumously honored as right vice director of the Department of State Affairs, and given the posthumous title Cheng.

陽嶠，其先北平人，世徙洛陽，北齊尚書右僕射休之四世孫。舉八科皆中，調將陵尉，累遷詹事司直。長安中，左右御史中丞桓彥範、袁恕己爭取為御史。楊再思素與嶠善，知其意不樂彈抨事，為語彥範，彥範曰：「為官擇人，豈待情樂乎？唯不樂者固與之，以伸難進、抑躁求也。」遂為右臺侍御史。久乃遷國子司業。嶠資謹飭好學，喜誘勸後生、修講舍，人以為善職。

Yang Jiao was descended from Beiping families who had long settled in Luoyang, and was the fourth-generation descendant of Northern Qi right vice director Xiu. He passed all eight civil-service categories, was appointed sheriff of Jiangling, and rose to direct clerk in the heir apparent's household. In Chang'an, attending censors-in-chief Huan Yanfan and Yuan Shuji both competed to recruit him as a censor. Yang Zaisi, who was close to Jiao, knew he disliked impeachment work and spoke to Yanfan. Yanfan said, "Officials choose the right men for office. Must one wait for personal inclination? One should give the post precisely to those who dislike it, to encourage the reluctant and restrain the overeager." Jiao was then made attending censor of the right bureau. After some time he was transferred to vice rector of the imperial university. Jiao was careful, disciplined, and devoted to learning. He encouraged younger students and repaired lecture halls, and people regarded his tenure as exemplary.

睿宗立，進尚書右丞。時議建都督府，擇最吏，故嶠為涇州都督。議罷，歷魏州刺史、荊州長史、本道按察使，率以清白聞。魏州人嫠耳闕下，請嶠為刺史，故再治魏。入為國子祭酒，封北平縣伯。引尹知章、範行恭、趙玄默為學官，皆名儒冠雲。生徒遊惰者至督以鞭楚，人怨之，乘夜毆嶠道中，事聞，詔捕毆者殺之。嶠撫孤侄與子均，常語人曰：「吾備位方伯，而心亦昔時一尉耳。」以老致仕。卒，謚曰敬。

When Emperor Ruizong took the throne, Jiao was promoted to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. When the court debated establishing a protector-general's office, it chose the best available official, and Jiao became protector-general of Jing Prefecture. When the plan was dropped, he served as prefect of Wei, long history of Jing, and investigation commissioner of his circuit, earning a reputation for integrity everywhere he went. Widows and other people of Wei waited at the palace gate to request Jiao as their prefect, and he governed Wei a second time. He entered court as rector of the imperial university and was enfeoffed as baron of Beiping County. He appointed Yin Zhizhang, Fan Xinggong, and Zhao Xuanmo as academic officers, all renowned scholars of the age. He even flogged idle students, provoking resentment. One night assailants beat him on the road. When the report reached court, the emperor ordered them captured and executed. Jiao treated his orphaned nephew and his son alike and often said, "I hold a regional governor's title, but in my heart I am still the same sheriff I once was." He retired on account of old age. He died and was given the posthumous title Jing.

宋慶禮，洺州永年人。擢明經，補衛尉。武後詔侍御史桓彥範行河北，鄣斷居庸、五回等路，以支突厥，召慶禮與議，見其方略，器之。俄遷大理評事，為嶺南采訪使。時崖、振五州首領更相掠，民苦於兵，使者至，輒苦瘴癘，莫敢往。慶禮身到其境，諭首領大誼，皆釋仇相親，州土以安，罷戍卒五千。歷監察、殿中侍御史。以習識邊事，拜河東、河北營田使。善騎，日能馳數百里。性甘於勞苦，然好興作，濱塞掘阱植兵，以邀虜徑，議者蚩其不切事。稍遷貝州刺史，復為河北支度營田使。

Song Qingli was a native of Yongnian in Ming Prefecture. He passed the Mingjing examination and entered the Imperial Guard. Empress Wu ordered attending censor Huan Yanfan to tour Hebei and block routes such as Juyong and Wuhui against the Turks. Qingli was summoned to the discussions, and his strategic grasp won her esteem. He was soon promoted to reviewing official in the Court of Judicial Review and made investigation commissioner of Lingnan. The chieftains of the five Ya and Zhen prefectures were raiding one another, and the people suffered from constant warfare. Envoys who arrived usually fell ill to miasma, and none dared go. Qingli went in person, instructed the chieftains in principle, and persuaded them to end their feuds. The region was pacified and five thousand garrison troops were withdrawn. He served as investigating censor and palace attending censor. Because he knew frontier affairs well, he was appointed garrison-farming commissioner for Hedong and Hebei. He was an expert rider and could cover several hundred li in a day. He was willing to endure hardship, yet loved building projects, digging pits and posting troops along the frontier to ambush enemy routes. Critics dismissed this as impractical. He was later promoted to prefect of Bei and again made branch garrison-farming commissioner of Hebei.

初，營州都督府治柳城，扼制奚、契丹。武後時，趙文翙失兩蕃情，攻殘其府，更治東漁陽城。玄宗時，奚、契丹款附，帝欲復治故城，宋璟固爭不可，獨慶禮執處其利，乃詔與太子詹事姜師度、左驍衛將軍邵宏等為使，築裁三旬畢。俄兼營州都督，開屯田八十餘所，追拔漁陽、淄青沒戶還舊田宅，又集商胡立邸肆。不數年，倉廥充，居人蕃輯。卒，贈工部尚書。

Originally the protector-general of Ying Prefecture was based at Liucheng, controlling the Xi and Khitan. Under Empress Wu, Zhao Wenhui lost the goodwill of both tribes. They attacked and destroyed his headquarters, and the seat was moved to Eastern Yuyang. Under Emperor Xuanzong the Xi and Khitan submitted peacefully, and the emperor wished to restore the old city. Song Jing strongly opposed the plan, but Qingli alone argued for its benefits. He was commissioned with Jiang Shidu and Shao Hong, and the city was rebuilt in thirty days. He soon became concurrent protector-general of Ying, opened more than eighty garrison farms, recovered households lost in Yuyang and Ziqing and restored their lands, and gathered Sogdian merchants to establish markets. Within a few years the granaries were full and the population flourished. He died and was posthumously honored as minister of works.

慶禮為政嚴，少私，吏畏威不敢犯。太常博士張星以好巧自是，謚曰「專」。禮部員外郎張九齡申駁曰：「慶禮國勞臣，在邊垂三十年。往城營州，士才數千，無甲兵強衛，指期而往，不失所慮，遂罷海運，收歲儲，邊亭晏然。其功可推，不當醜謚。」慶禮兄子辭玉亦自詣闕訴。改謚曰敬。

Qingli governed strictly and without private interest. Officials feared his authority and dared not transgress. Erudite Zhang Xing of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, relying on his own cleverness, proposed the posthumous title Zhuan, meaning single-minded. Vice director Zhang Jiuling of the Ministry of Rites objected: "Qingli was a meritorious servant of the state who spent thirty years on the frontier. When he rebuilt Ying, he had only a few thousand laborers and no strong guard force, yet he finished on schedule as planned, ended sea transport, filled the annual stores, and brought the frontier to peace. His achievements deserve praise, not a disparaging posthumous title." Qingli's nephew Ciyu also went to court in person to appeal. The posthumous title was changed to Jing.

楊玚，字瑤光，華州華陰人。五世祖縉，為陳中書舍人，名屬文，終交、愛九州都督、武康郡公。子林甫代領都督，隋滅陳，逾三年乃降，徙長安。林甫字衛卿，為柳城太守，高祖軍興，遣其子琮招之，挈郡以來，授檢校總管，足疾不能造朝。帝以絳州寒涼，拜刺史，累封宜春郡公。琮字孝璋，為上津令。會天下亂，去官，與秦王同裏居。武德初，為王府參軍，兼庫直。隱太子事平，詔親王、宰相一人入宴，而琮獨預，太宗賜《懷昔賦》，申以恩意。歷沔、綏二州刺史。姆饋孺子以餅，妻偽受而棄之垣外，人咨其廉。

Yang Chang, styled Yaoguang, was a native of Huayin in Hua Prefecture. His fifth-generation ancestor Jin had been a Chen drafting attendant famed for literature and ended as protector-general of Jiao and Ai and duke of Wukang. His son Linpu succeeded as protector-general. After Sui destroyed Chen, he surrendered only after more than three years and was resettled in Chang'an. Linpu, styled Weiqing, was administrator of Liucheng. When Gaozu raised his army, he sent his son Cong to summon him. Linpu brought his commandery over and was appointed acting protector-general, but foot ailment kept him from court. Because Jiang Prefecture was cool, the emperor appointed him prefect there and repeatedly enfeoffed him as duke of Yichun. Cong, styled Xiaozhang, was magistrate of Shangjin. When the realm fell into chaos he left office and lived in the same neighborhood as the Prince of Qin. Early in the Wude reign he served as an aide in the prince's establishment and as vault attendant. After the Hidden Crown Prince affair was settled, the edict allowed one imperial prince and one chief minister into the banquet, but Cong alone was included. Taizong gave him the Rhapsody on Recalling the Past and expressed his personal affection. He served as prefect of Mian and Sui. When a nurse brought cakes for the children, his wife pretended to accept them and threw them outside the wall. People praised his integrity.

玚始為麟遊令，時竇懷貞大營金仙、玉直二觀，檄取畿內嘗負逆人貲者，暴斂之以佐費，玚拒不應。懷貞怒曰：「縣令而拒大夫命乎？」玚曰：「所論者民冤抑也，位高下乎何取？」懷貞壯其對，為止。初，韋後表民二十二為丁限，及敗，有司追趣其課，玚執不可，曰：「韋氏當國，擅擢士大夫，赦罪人，皆不改，奚獨取已寬之人重斂其租？非所以保下之宜。」遂止不課，由是名顯當世。

Chang first served as magistrate of Linyou. Dou Huaizhen was building the Jinxian and Yuzhi monasteries on a grand scale and ordered the capital region to seize funds from anyone who had once owed money to rebels. Chang refused. Huaizhen raged, "A county magistrate defying a grand master's order?" Chang replied, "What matters is the people's grievance. What does rank have to do with it?" Huaizhen was impressed and desisted. Earlier Empress Wei had lowered the adult-male quota to twenty-two. After her fall the offices tried to collect the difference. Chang objected: "When the Wei clan ruled, they promoted favorites and pardoned criminals without reversal. Why now squeeze those already given relief and tax them again? That is no way to protect the people." Collection was halted, and his reputation spread through the age.

擢累侍御史。京兆尹崔日知貪沓不法，玚與大夫李傑謀劾舉之，反為日知先構。玚廷奏曰：「肅繩之司，一為恐脅所屈，開奸人謀，則御史府可廢。」玄宗直之，令傑還視事，而逐日知。

He was promoted to attending censor. Metropolitan governor Cui Rizhi of Jingzhao was greedy and lawless. Chang and censor-in-chief Li Jie planned to impeach him, but Rizhi framed them first. Chang memorialized at court: "If the office that upholds discipline can be cowed by intimidation and open the way for schemers, the Censorate might as well be abolished." Emperor Xuanzong upheld him, restored Jie to office, and expelled Rizhi.

玚進歷御史中丞、戶部侍郎。帝嘗召宰相大臣議天下戶版延英殿，玚言利病尤詳，帝咨賞。於是宇文融建檢脫戶餘口，玚執不便。融方貴，公卿唵默唯唯，獨玚抗議，故出為華州刺史。帝封太山，集樂工山下，居喪者亦在行。玚謂起苴绖使和鐘律，非人情所堪，帝許，乃免。

Chang rose to vice censor-in-chief and vice minister of revenue. The emperor once summoned chief ministers to discuss the realm's household registers in the Hall of Enlightened Administration. Chang analyzed the benefits and harms in exceptional detail, and the emperor praised him. Yuwen Rong then proposed a survey to register surplus household members. Chang objected that it was unwise. Rong was then in favor, and the high officials kept silent. Only Chang protested, so he was sent out as prefect of Hua. When the emperor performed the feng sacrifice on Mount Tai, he gathered musicians at the foot of the mountain, and men in mourning were also in the procession. Chang said that forcing mourners to remove their hemp garments and tune the ritual music was more than human feeling could bear. The emperor agreed and exempted them.

入為國子祭酒，表大儒王迥質、尹子路、白履忠等三人教授國子。有詔迥質諫議大夫、皇太子侍讀；履忠老不任職，拜朝散大夫罷歸；子路直弘文館。皆有名。玚奏：「有司帖試明經，不質大義，乃取年頭、月尾、孤經、絕句，且今習《春秋》三家、《儀禮》者才十二，恐諸家廢無日，請帖平文以存學家，其能通者稍加優宦，獎孤學。」從之，因詔以三家《傳》、《儀禮》出身者不任散官，遂著令。生徒為玚立頌太學門。

He entered court as rector of the imperial university and recommended the great scholars Wang Huizhi, Yin Zilu, and Bai Lvzhong to teach there. Huizhi was made remonstrance grand master and reader to the heir apparent; Lvzhong was too old to serve and was made grand master of palace leisure before returning home; Zilu was assigned to the Hongwen Academy. All were well known. Chang memorialized: "In the Mingjing examinations the offices test trivial passages rather than great principle, and only twelve candidates now study the three Spring and Autumn traditions and the Book of Rites. I fear those schools will soon die out. I ask that plain texts be posted to preserve scholarly lineages, with better appointments for those who truly master them, to reward dedicated learning." The proposal was adopted. Graduates in the three commentaries and the Book of Rites were barred from scattered offices, and the rule was codified. The students erected an inscription in his praise at the gate of the imperial university.

又言：「古者卿大夫子弟及諸侯歲貢小學之異者入太學，漸漬禮樂，知朝廷君臣之序，班以品類，分以師長，三德四教，學成然後爵之。唐興，二監舉者千百數，當選者十之二，考功覆校以第，謂經明行修，故無多少之限。今考功限天下明經、進士歲百人，二監之得無幾，然則學徒費官稟，而博士濫天祿者也。且以流外及諸色仕者歲二千，過明經、進士十倍，胥史浮虛之徒，毛先王禮義，非得與服勤道業者挈長短、絕輕重也。國家啟庠序，廣化導，將有以用而勸進之。有司為限約以黜退之，欲望俊乂在朝，難矣。」帝然其言。再遷大理卿，以疾辭，改左散騎常侍。卒，年六十八，贈戶部尚書，謚曰貞。

He also said: "In antiquity the sons of nobles and the outstanding pupils presented yearly by the marquisates entered the imperial university, were steeped in ritual and music, learned the order of court, were grouped by rank and assigned teachers, received the three virtues and four teachings, and were ennobled only after completing their studies. Under the Tang, the two directorates presented hundreds or thousands of candidates, of whom about two in ten were chosen. The Ministry of Personnel reviewed and ranked them as men of classical learning and cultivated conduct, without a fixed quota. Now the Ministry of Personnel limits Mingjing and jinshi graduates empire-wide to one hundred a year, leaving the directorates almost nothing. Students waste state stipends while erudites draw salaries they do not earn. Moreover two thousand men enter office each year through irregular channels, ten times the number of Mingjing and jinshi graduates. Petty clerks and hollow careerists care nothing for the ritual teachings of the former kings and cannot be weighed against men who earnestly pursue the Way. The state opens schools and broadens moral instruction in order to employ worthy men and encourage advancement. Yet the offices set quotas that shut men out. To hope for outstanding talent at court becomes difficult." The emperor approved his argument. He was again made minister of justice, declined on account of illness, and was reassigned as left regular attendant of the cavalry. He died at sixty-eight, was posthumously honored as minister of revenue, and given the posthumous title Zhen.

玚常嘆士大夫不能用古禮，因其家冠、婚、喪、祭，乃據舊典為之節文，揖讓威儀，哭踴衰殺，無有違者。在官清白，吏請立石紀德，玚曰：「事益於人，書名史氏足矣。若碑頌者，徒遣後人作碇石耳。」

Chang often lamented that scholar-officials no longer observed ancient ritual. For his family's capping, marriage, mourning, and sacrifice ceremonies he followed the old canons in full, with proper bowing, yielding, wailing, and graded mourning, and no one deviated. In office he was incorruptible. When clerks asked to erect a stone praising his virtue, Chang said, "If one's deeds benefit the people, having one's name in the historical records is enough. Stele inscriptions only give later men something to tie their boats to."

玚伯父誌操，頗剛簡，未遇時，著《閑居賦》自托，常曰：「得田十頃、僮婢十人，下有兄弟布粟之資，上可供先公伏臘足矣。」位終司屬卿、安平縣男。玚從父兄晏，精《孝經》學，常手寫數十篇，可教者輒遺之。

Chang's uncle Zhicao was stern and plain. Before he found his place in the world he wrote the Rhapsody on Secluded Living and often said, "Ten qing of land, ten servants, enough grain for my brothers below and enough offerings for my ancestors above—that is all I need." He ended his career as director of the imperial clan and baron of Anping County. Chang's cousin Yan was expert in the Classic of Filial Piety, often copied dozens of chapters by hand, and gave them to anyone worth teaching.

崔隱甫，貝州武城人。隋散騎侍郎儦曾孫。解褐左玉鈐衛兵曹參軍，遷殿侍御史內供奉。浮屠惠範倚太平公主脅人子女，隱甫劾狀，反為所擠，貶邛州司馬。玄宗立，擢汾州長史，兼河東道支度營田使，遷洛陽令。梨園弟子胡雛善笛，有寵，嘗負罪匿禁中。帝以他事召隱甫，從容指曰：「就卿丐此人。」對曰：「陛下輕臣而重樂工，請解官。」再拜出，帝遽謝，與胡雛，隱甫殺之，有詔貰死，不及矣。賜隱甫百縑。

Cui Yinpu was a native of Wucheng in Bei Prefecture. He was the great-grandson of the Sui regular attendant of the cavalry Biao. Upon entering office he was aide in the Left Jade Bell Guard Bureau, then became palace attending censor in inner attendance. The monk Huifan, backed by Princess Taiping, coerced people's sons and daughters. Yinpu impeached him but was squeezed out and demoted to vice administrator of Qiong Prefecture. When Xuanzong took the throne, Yinpu was promoted to long history of Fen, made concurrent Hedong supply and garrison-farming commissioner, and transferred to magistrate of Luoyang. Pear Garden performer Hu Chu was skilled at the flute and in imperial favor. Once guilty of a crime, he hid inside the palace. The emperor summoned Yinpu on another matter and casually said, "I want you to hand this man over to me." He replied, "Your Majesty values a musician above your servant. I ask to resign." He bowed twice and left. The emperor hastily apologized and handed over Hu Chu. Yinpu executed him before a pardon could arrive. The emperor granted Yinpu one hundred bolts of silk.

孫佺敗績於奚，擢隱甫并州司馬護邊，會兄逸甫疾甚，未及行，詔責逗留，下除河南令。累拜華州刺史、太原尹，入為河南尹。居三歲，進拜御史大夫。初，臺無獄，凡有囚則系大理。貞觀時，李乾祐為大夫，始置獄，由是中丞、侍御史皆得系人。隱甫執故事，廢掘諸獄。其後患囚往來或漏泄，復系之廚院雲。臺中自監察御史而下，舊皆得顓事，無所承諮。隱甫始一切令歸稟乃得行，有忤意輒劾正，多貶絀者，臺吏側目，威名赫然。帝嘗詔校外官歲考。異時必委曲參審，竟春未定。隱甫一日會朝集使，詢逮檢實，其暮皆訖，議者服其敏。帝嘗謂曰：「卿為大夫，天下以為稱職。」

After Sun Zhan's defeat by the Xi, Yinpu was promoted to vice administrator of Bing to guard the frontier. His brother Yifu fell gravely ill before he could depart. The court rebuked him for delay and demoted him to magistrate of Henan. He rose to prefect of Hua and metropolitan governor of Taiyuan, then entered court as metropolitan governor of Henan. After three years he was promoted to censor-in-chief. Originally the Censorate had no prison; prisoners were held at the Court of Judicial Review. In the Zhenguan era chief censor Li Qianyou first established a Censorate prison, allowing vice censors and attending censors to detain suspects. Yinpu held to precedent and abolished the prisons. Later, fearing leaks when prisoners were moved about, he detained them again in the kitchen courtyard. Formerly, from investigating censors downward, everyone in the bureau could act on his own authority without reporting upward. Yinpu required every action to be reported and approved first. Anyone who crossed him was impeached, and many were demoted. The bureau clerks watched him in fear, and his reputation for severity blazed. The emperor once ordered the annual evaluation of external officials. In earlier times the reviews dragged on in exhaustive detail until spring ended without a decision. Yinpu convened the assembly envoys in a single day, questioned them, verified the records, and finished by evening. Observers marveled at his speed. The emperor once told him, "As censor-in-chief, the realm regards you as fully equal to the post."

張說當國，隱甫素惡之，乃與中丞宇文融、李林甫暴其過，不宜處位，說賜罷；然帝嫉朋黨，免其官，使侍母。歲餘，復為大夫。遷刑部尚書，兼河南尹。帝還京師，即拜東都留守。累封清河郡公。卒，贈益州大都督，謚曰忠。

When Zhang Yue dominated the government, Yinpu, who had long despised him, joined vice censors Yuwen Rong and Li Linfu in exposing his faults and arguing that he was unfit for office. Yue was dismissed; but the emperor detested factional cliques, removed Yinpu from office, and had him attend his mother. After more than a year he was restored as censor-in-chief. He was transferred to minister of justice and concurrent metropolitan governor of Henan. When the emperor returned to the capital, Yinpu was immediately appointed protector of the Eastern Capital. He was repeatedly enfeoffed as duke of Qinghe. He died and was posthumously honored as protector-general of Yi, with the posthumous title Zhong.

始，帝欲相隱甫也，謂曰：「牛仙客可與語，卿常見否？」對曰：「未也。」帝曰：「可見之。」隱甫終不詣。他日又問，對如初。帝乃不用。子弟或問故，答曰：「吾不以其人微易之也，其材不逮中人，可與之對耶？」隱甫所至絜介自守，明吏治，在職以強正稱雲。

At first the emperor wished to make Yinpu chief minister and asked, "Niu Xianke is worth talking with. Do you see him often?" He answered, "Not yet." The emperor said, "You should meet him." Yinpu never went. When asked again later, he gave the same answer. The emperor then did not appoint him. When relatives asked why, he said, "I do not look down on him because he is humble. His talent does not even reach the middling level. How could I treat him as an equal?" Wherever Yinpu served he remained scrupulously self-restrained, skilled in administration, and famed for uncompromising uprightness.

贊曰：嚴挺之拒宰相不肯見李林甫，崔隱甫違詔不屈牛仙客，信剛者乎！二人坐是皆不得相，彼亦各申其誌也。管夷吾以編棧諭之，信曲與直不相函哉！

The encomium says: Yan Tingzhi refused to see chief minister Li Linfu; Cui Yinpu defied an edict rather than yield to Niu Xianke. Truly they were men of iron resolve! Both men were kept from the chief ministership for this, yet each thereby expressed his own resolve. Guan Zhong used plaited rafts as a metaphor: truly the bent and the straight cannot be bundled together!

李尚隱，其先出趙郡，徙貫萬年。年二十，舉明經，再調下邽主簿，州刺史姚珽說其能，器之。神龍中，左臺中丞侯令德為關內黜陟使，尚隱佐之，以最擢左臺監察御史。於是，崔湜、鄭愔典吏部選，附勢幸，銓擬不平，至逆用三年員闕，材廉者軋不進，俄而相踵知政事，尚隱與御史李懷讓顯劾其罪，湜等皆斥去。睦州刺史馮昭泰性鷙刻，人憚其強，嘗誣系桐廬令李師旦二百餘家為妖蠱，有詔御史覆驗，皆稱病不肯往。尚隱曰：「善良方蒙枉，不為申明，可乎？」因請行，果推雪其冤。湜、愔復當路，乃出尚隱為伊闕令，懷讓魏令。湜等伏誅，玄宗知尚隱方嚴，由定州司馬擢吏部員外郎，懷讓自河陽令拜兵部員外郎。懷讓，蓚人，後歷給事中。

Li Shangyin's ancestors came from Zhao Commandery and later registered in Wannian. At twenty he passed the Mingjing examination and served twice as registrar of Xiayi. Prefect Yao Ting praised his ability and valued him. During the Shenlong reign, vice censor Hou Lingde of the left bureau was Guannei promotion and demotion commissioner. Shangyin assisted him, ranked highest, and was promoted to investigating censor of the left bureau. Cui Shi and Zheng Yin then ran Ministry of Personnel selection, curried favor with the powerful, made unfair appointments, and even misused three years of vacant posts so worthy men could not advance. When they rose in turn to chief minister, Shangyin and censor Li Huairang openly impeached them, and they were all expelled. Muzhou prefect Feng Zhaotai was fierce and harsh, and people feared him. He once falsely imprisoned more than two hundred households of Tonglu magistrate Li Shidan on charges of sorcery. Censors were ordered to reinvestigate, but all claimed illness and refused to go. Shangyin said, "Innocent people are being wronged. Can we fail to clear them?" He volunteered to go and in the end cleared their names. When Shi and Yin returned to power, they sent Shangyin out as magistrate of Yique and Huairang as magistrate of Wei. After Shi and his allies were executed, Xuanzong knew Shangyin to be upright and promoted him from vice administrator of Ding to vice director in the Ministry of Personnel. Huairang rose from magistrate of Heyang to vice director in the Ministry of War. Huairang was from Shuo and later served as drafting attendant.

尚隱以將作少監營橋陵，封高邑縣男。未幾，進御史中丞。御史王旭招權，稍不制，仇家告其罪，尚隱窮治，具得奸贓，無假借，遂抵罪。進兵部侍郎。俄出為蒲州刺史。浮屠懷照者，自言母夢日入懷生己，鏤石著驗，聞人馮待徵等助實其言。尚隱劾處妖妄，詔流懷照播州。再遷河南尹。

As vice director of the Directorate for Palace Buildings, Shangyin constructed Qiao Mausoleum and was enfeoffed as baron of Gaoyi County. Soon he was promoted to vice censor-in-chief. Censor Wang Xu gathered power and grew uncontrolled. Enemies reported his crimes. Shangyin investigated thoroughly, proved bribery and corruption without leniency, and brought him to justice. He was promoted to vice minister of war. He was soon sent out as prefect of Pu. The monk Huaizhao claimed his mother dreamed the sun entered her womb when she bore him. He carved stone inscriptions as proof, and men such as Feng Daizheng helped substantiate the claim. Shangyin impeached this as demonic fraud, and an edict exiled Huaizhao to Bo Prefecture. He was again transferred to metropolitan governor of Henan.

尚隱性剛亮，論議皆披心示誠，處事分明，禦下不苛密。尤詳練故實，前後制令，誦記略無遺。妖賊劉定高夜犯通洛門，尚隱坐不素覺，左遷桂州都督。帝遣使勞曰：「知卿忠公，然國法須爾。」因賜雜彩百匹遣之。遷廣州都督、五府經略使。及還，人或袖金以贈，尚隱曰：「吾自性分不可易，非畏人知也。」

Shangyin was firm and candid by nature, spoke with open sincerity, judged affairs clearly, and governed subordinates without harsh exactness. He was especially versed in precedent and could recite regulations past and present from memory with little omission. The rebel Liu Dinggao attacked Tongluo Gate by night. Shangyin was punished for not detecting the threat in advance and demoted to protector-general of Gui. The emperor sent an envoy to console him, saying, "I know you are loyal and dutiful, yet state law requires this." He then granted him one hundred bolts of variegated silk and sent him on his way. He was transferred to protector-general of Guangzhou and commissioner for pacification of the five prefectures. On his return, some tried to slip gold into his sleeve. Shangyin said, "My nature cannot be changed. This is not because I fear being found out."

代王丘為御史大夫。時司農卿陳思問引屬吏多小人，乾隱錢谷，尚隱按其違，贓累鉅萬，思問流死嶺南。改尚隱太子詹事。不閱旬，進戶部尚書。前後更揚、益二州長史、東都留守，爵高邑伯。開元二十八年，以太子賓客卒，年七十五，謚曰貞。

He replaced Wang Qiu as censor-in-chief. Minister of agriculture Chen Siwen employed many corrupt subordinates who embezzled funds and grain. Shangyin investigated him, uncovered tens of thousands in graft, and Siwen was exiled to die in Lingnan. Shangyin was reassigned as grand mentor of the heir apparent. Within ten days he was promoted to minister of revenue. He later served as long history of Yang and Yi and as protector of the Eastern Capital, holding the title baron of Gaoyi. In Kaiyuan 28 he died as mentor of the heir apparent at seventy-five, with the posthumous title Zhen.

尚隱三入御史府，輒繩惡吏，不以殘摯失名，所發當也，素議歸重。仕官未嘗以過謫，惟劾詆幸臣及坐小法左遷，復見用，以循吏終始雲。

Shangyin entered the Censorate three times and always pursued corrupt officials without losing his reputation for cruelty. His charges were well founded, and public opinion held him in high regard. He was never demoted for misconduct, only for impeaching favored ministers or minor legal infractions. Each time he was restored to office, and he ended his career as a model official.

自開元二十二年置京畿采訪處置等使，用中丞盧奐為之，尚隱以大夫不充使。永泰以後，大夫王翊、崔渙、李涵、崔寧、盧杞乃為之。

From Kaiyuan 22 the court established the Jingji investigation and disposition commissioner, with vice censor Lu Huan in the role. As censor-in-chief, Shangyin did not hold that commission. After Yongtai, censors-in-chief Wang Yi, Cui Huan, Li Han, Cui Ning, and Lu Qi held the post.

解琬，魏州元城人。舉幽素科，中之，調新政尉。後自成都丞奏事稱旨，躐除監察御史，以喪免。武後顧琬習邊事，迫追西撫羌夷，琬因乞終喪，後嘉許之，詔服除赴屯。遷侍御史，安撫烏質勒及十姓部落，以功擢御史中丞，兼北庭都護、西域安撫使。琬與郭元振善，宗楚客惡之，左授滄州刺史。為政引大體，部人順附。

Xie Wan was a native of Yuancheng in Wei Prefecture. He passed the Yousu examination and was appointed sheriff of Xinzheng. Later, memorializing from his post as assistant magistrate of Chengdu in a manner that pleased the throne, he was promoted directly to investigating censor and left office to mourn. Empress Wu, noting Wan's knowledge of frontier affairs, urgently recalled him to pacify the Qiang and Yi in the west. Wan asked to complete his mourning period, which the empress approved, and after mourning he was ordered to his post. He was promoted to attending censor, pacified Wuzhile and the ten-name tribes, and for his merit was made vice censor-in-chief, concurrent protector of Beiting and commissioner for pacification of the Western Regions. Wan was close to Guo Yuanzhen. Zong Chuke resented him and had him transferred to prefect of Cang. He governed by broad principles, and the people of the prefecture willingly followed him.

景龍中，遷御史大夫，兼朔方行軍大總管。前後乘邊積二十年，大抵務農習戰，多為長利，華虜安之。景雲二年，復為朔方軍大總管，分遣隨軍要籍官河陽丞張冠宗、肥鄉令韋景駿、普安令於處忠料三城兵，省其戍十萬人。改右武衛大將軍，兼檢校晉州刺史、濟南縣男。以老丐骸骨，不待報輒去，優詔以金紫光祿大夫聽致仕，準品給全祿，璽書勞問。會吐番騷邊，復召授左散騎常侍，詔與虜定經界，因諧輯十姓降戶。琬建言吐蕃不可以信約，請調兵十萬屯秦、渭間，防遏其奸。是冬，吐蕃果入寇，為秦渭兵擊走之。俄復請老，不許，遷太子賓客。年八十餘，開元五年，終同州刺史。

During the Jinglong reign he was made censor-in-chief and concurrent grand general of the Shuofang mobile army. He served on the frontier for twenty years in all, emphasizing farming and military training, achieving lasting benefits, and bringing peace to both Chinese and non-Chinese subjects. In Jingyun 2 he again became grand general of the Shuofang army. He sent registry officials Zhang Guanzong, Wei Jingjun, and Yu Chuzhong to assess troops in three cities and reduced the garrison by one hundred thousand men. He was made general of the right martial guards, concurrent acting prefect of Jin, and baron of Jinan County. He asked to retire on account of old age and left without waiting for a reply. The court graciously permitted him to retire as grand master of splendid happiness with golden seal and purple ribbon, granted his full salary, and sent an imperial letter of consolation. When Tibetans raided the frontier, he was recalled as left regular attendant of the cavalry, ordered to fix boundaries with them, and successfully reconciled the surrendered households of the ten-name tribes. Wan memorialized that Tibet could not be trusted by treaty and asked for one hundred thousand troops stationed between Qin and Wei to guard against treachery. That winter Tibet did invade and was driven off by the Qin and Wei troops. He soon asked to retire again, but the request was denied, and he was made mentor of the heir apparent. At more than eighty, he died in Kaiyuan 5 while serving as prefect of Tong.

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