1
關董袁趙竇
Guan, Dong, Yuan, Zhao, and Dou
2
關播,字務元,衛州汲人。 及進士第。 鄧景山節度青齊、淮南,再署幕府。 遷右補闕。 與神策軍使王駕鶴為姻家,元載惡之,出為河南兵曹參軍事,數試屬縣,政異等。 陳少遊鎮浙東、淮南,表為判官,攝滁州刺史。 李靈耀叛,少遊屯淮上,所在盜賊蝟奮,播儲貲力,給軍興,人無愁苦。 楊綰、常袞皆善播,引為都官員外郎。
Guan Bo, whose courtesy name was Wuyuan, came from Ji in Weizhou. He passed the jinshi civil examination. Deng Jingshan governed Qingji and Huainan, and Guan served twice on his staff. He was promoted to the post of Right Remonstrator. He was connected by marriage to Wang Jiahe of the Shence Army; Yuan Zai took a dislike to him and had him posted as military affairs adjutant in Henan. Assigned repeatedly to oversee subordinate counties, his governance was rated in the highest class. Chen Shaoyou, who held Zhedong and Huainan, recommended him as administrative aide and acting prefect of Chuzhou. When Li Lingyao rose in rebellion, Shaoyou held the Huai line while bandits flared up everywhere. Bo drew on stored supplies and local strength to meet military needs, and the people were spared hardship. Yang Guan and Chang Gun both took a liking to Bo and had him appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Punishments.
3
德宗初,湖南峒賊王國良驚剽州縣,不可制,詔播宣輯,因得請事,對殿中。 帝問政治之要,播曰:「為政之本,要得有道賢人乃治。」 帝曰:「朕比下詔求賢才,又遣使黜陟,搜逮所遺,須能者用之,若何?」 播曰:「陛下雖求賢,又使舉薦,然止得求名文辭士,焉有有道賢人肯奉牒丐舉選邪?」 帝悅,曰:「卿姑去,還當更議。」 播且言:「奉詔平賊,有如不受命,臣請發州兵剪定之。」 帝曰:「善。」 及還,再遷給事中。 故事,諸司甲庫,以令史直曹,刓脫為奸。 播悉易以士人,時韙其法。
Early in Emperor Dezong's reign, the Hunan cave-bandit Wang Guoliang terrorized prefectures and counties beyond control. An edict sent Bo to pacify the region, and he secured an audience in the hall to report on the mission. The emperor asked what mattered most in governing the realm. Bo replied, "At the root of statecraft lies finding worthy men who truly follow the Way; only then can the realm be well ruled." The emperor said, "I have lately issued edicts seeking talent and sent commissioners to promote and dismiss officials, combing for anyone overlooked—when the capable appear, they are to be used. What more is needed?" Bo said, "Your Majesty may seek worthies and order recommendations, yet you still end up with men who chase reputation and polish their prose. What man of true worth who follows the Way would accept a summons and beg his way into the selection process?" The emperor was pleased and said, "Withdraw for now; we shall take this up again." Bo added, "In carrying out the edict to pacify the bandits, if my orders are not obeyed I ask leave to raise provincial troops and cut them down once and for all." The emperor said, "Very well." After he returned he was promoted again to Supervising Secretariat Drafter. By established practice, the armor depots of the various ministries were staffed by clerks on rotating duty, who shaved off funds and turned corrupt. Bo replaced them all with scholar-officials, and contemporaries praised the reform.
4
歷吏部侍郎。 帝求宰相,盧杞雅知播韋柔可制,因從容言播材任宰相,其儒厚可鎮浮動。 乃拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事,政一決於杞。 嘗論事帝前,播意不可,避坐欲有所言,杞目禁輒止,退讓播曰:「以君寡言,故至此,奈何欲開口爭事邪!」 播即喑畏毋敢與。
He served in turn as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The emperor was looking for a chief minister. Lu Qi had long known that Bo and Wei Rou were men he could control, and remarked at leisure that Bo's talents fitted the chief ministership and that his Confucian steadiness could steady volatile times. He was then appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat and chief minister, but every policy decision rested with Lu Qi alone. Once, while discussing policy before the emperor, Bo found something unacceptable and rose from his seat to speak, but Lu Qi glared him into silence. Afterward Qi told him, "You were brought here because you keep quiet—why do you want to open your mouth and argue over policy?" Bo fell silent in fear and no longer dared dispute with him.
5
時李元平、陶公達、張愻、劉承誡率輕薄子,遊播門下,能侈言誕計,以功名自喜。 播謂皆將相材,數請帝用之。 元平本宗室疏裔,好論兵,鄙天下士大夫無可者,人人怨疾之。 李希烈叛,帝以汝州據賊沖,刺史疲軟不勝任,播盛稱元平,帝召見,拜左補闕。 不數日,檢校吏部郎中,兼汝州別駕,知州事。 元平始至,募工築郛浚隍,希烈陰使亡命應募,凡內數百人,元平不寤。 賊遣將李克誠以精騎薄城,募者內應,縛元平馳見希烈,遺矢於地。 希烈以其眇小,無髯,戲克誠曰:「使爾取元平,乃以其子來邪?」 因嫚罵曰:「盲宰相使汝當我,何待我淺邪!」 偽署御史中丞。 播聞詫曰:「元平事濟矣!」 謂必覆賊而建功也,左右笑之。 無何,偽署為宰相,有告其貳者,元平斷一指自誓。 公達等以元平屈賊,皆廢不用。
At the time Li Yuanping, Tao Gongda, Zhang Su, and Liu Chengjie led a crowd of frivolous young men who haunted Bo's household, boasting grand schemes and basking in dreams of merit and fame. Bo declared them all material for generals and ministers and repeatedly urged the emperor to employ them. Yuanping was a distant offshoot of the imperial clan who loved to talk of war and held every scholar-official under heaven beneath contempt; everyone resented him. When Li Xilie rebelled, the emperor saw Ruzhou lying on the rebel line of advance and its prefect as too weak for the post. Bo lavishly praised Yuanping; the emperor summoned him and appointed him Left Remonstrator. Within days he was made acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Vice Prefect of Ruzhou, with charge of prefectural affairs. When Yuanping first arrived he recruited laborers to build the outer wall and dredge the moat. Xilie secretly sent fugitives to enlist; several hundred were inside the works, and Yuanping never caught on. The rebels sent Li Kecheng with elite cavalry against the city. The recruits rose inside, bound Yuanping, and rushed him before Xilie, who fouled himself on the ground. Xilie, seeing how small and beardless he was, joked to Kecheng, "Did I send you to take Yuanping, or only to bring me his son?" He then mocked and reviled him: "The blind chief minister sent you to deal with me—why do you take me so lightly!" He was given a false appointment as Vice Censor-in-Chief. When Bo heard the news he exclaimed in astonishment, "Yuanping's mission has succeeded!" He meant that Yuanping would surely overthrow the rebels and win glory; those around him laughed. Before long Xilie gave him a false appointment as chief minister. When reports of disloyalty reached him, Yuanping cut off a finger to swear his faith. Gongda and the others, because Yuanping had submitted to the rebels, were all cast aside and never employed.
6
播從幸奉天。 盧杞、白誌貞已貶而播猶執政,議者不平,遂罷為刑部尚書。 韋倫等曰:「宰相不善謀,使天子播越,尚可尚書邪?」 相與泣諸朝。 未幾,知刪定使。 初,上元中,詔擇古名將十人配享武成廟,如十哲侑孔子。 播奏:「太公,古賢臣,今其下稱亞聖。 孔子十哲,皆當時弟子,今所配年世不同,請罷之。」 詔可。
Bo accompanied the emperor when he fled to Fengtian. Though Lu Qi and Bai Zhizhen had already been demoted, Bo still held power as chief minister, and critics would not accept it; he was therefore removed to Minister of Justice. Wei Lun and others said, "The chief minister planned poorly and drove the Son of Heaven into exile—how can he still hold a ministry?" They wept together at court over the matter. Before long he was put in charge of the Revision Commission. Earlier, in the Shangyuan era, an edict chose ten celebrated generals of antiquity to receive sacrificial companionship in the Martial Accomplishment Temple, on the model of the Ten Sages who accompany Confucius. Bo memorialized, "The Duke of Zhou was an ancient worthy minister, yet those installed beneath him are now called Sub-Sages. Confucius's Ten Sages were all disciples of his own day, whereas those now installed belong to different ages. I ask that this practice be abolished." The edict approved the request.
7
貞元初,檢校尚書右仆射,持節送鹹安公主降回鶻,虜人重其清。 還,遷兵部尚書。 以太子少師致仕,斥賣車騎,闔門不嬰外事。 卒,年七十九,贈太子太保。
Early in the Zhenyuan era he was made acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and, bearing credentials, escorted Princess Xian'an to marry into the Uyghurs; the foreigners respected his integrity. On his return he was transferred to Minister of War. He retired as Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, sold off his carriages and mounts, and shut his gate against outside affairs. He died at seventy-nine and was posthumously granted Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.
8
始,希烈死,或言元平雖屈賊,然有謀不克發,乃貸死流珍州。 會赦還,住剡中,觀察使皇甫政殺其侄以發帝怒,遂流死賀州。
After Xilie's death, some argued that although Yuanping had submitted to the rebels he had harbored a plot that never came off, and his death sentence was commuted to exile in Zhenzhou. A general amnesty brought him back, and he settled in Shanzhong. The surveillance commissioner Huangfu Zheng killed his nephew to stir the emperor's wrath, and Yuanping was exiled to die in Hezhou.
9
董晉,字混成,河中虞鄉人。 擢明經。 肅宗幸彭原,上書行在,拜秘書省校書郎,待制翰林。 出從淮南崔圓府為判官。 還朝,累遷祠部郎中。
Dong Jin, whose courtesy name was Huncheng, came from Yuxiang in Hezhong. He passed the Mingjing examination. When Emperor Suzong reached Pengyuan, Dong submitted a memorial to the traveling court and was appointed proofreader in the Secretariat, with attendance duty at the Hanlin Academy. He went out to serve as administrative aide on the staff of Cui Yuan, military commissioner of Huainan. Returning to court, he rose in stages to Director in the Ministry of Rites.
10
大歷中,李涵持節送崇徽公主於回紇,署晉判官。 回紇恃有功,見使者倨,因問:「歲市馬而唐歸我賄不足,何也?」 涵懼,未及對,數目晉,晉曰:「我非無馬而與爾為市,為爾賜者不已多乎? 爾之馬歲五至,而邊有司數皮償貲。 天子不忘爾勞,敕吏無得問,爾反用是望我邪? 諸戎以我之爾與也,莫敢確。 爾父子寧,畜馬蕃,非我則誰使!」 眾皆南面拜,不敢有言。 還,遷秘書少監。
In the Dali era Li Han, bearing credentials, escorted Princess Chonghui to the Uyghurs and appointed Jin his administrative aide. The Uyghurs, relying on their past service, received the envoy arrogantly and asked, "Each year we sell you horses, yet Tang returns our gifts in insufficient measure—why is that?" Han was afraid and had not yet answered when he kept glancing at Jin. Jin said, "It is not that we lack horses and must trade with you as in a market—the gifts we have already bestowed on you are not few, are they? Your horses arrive five times a year, yet border offices count pelts to set the compensation price. The Son of Heaven has not forgotten your service and has ordered officials not to press the matter—yet you use this as grounds to demand more from us? All the frontier peoples take what we give you as the standard—none dares dispute it. You and your father would not live in peace or raise so many horses if not for us—who else would allow it!" The whole assembly bowed facing south and dared say nothing more. On his return he was promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat.
11
德宗立,授太府卿。 不旬日,為左散騎常侍,兼御史中丞,知臺事。 出為華州刺史。 朱泚反,遣兵攻之,晉棄華走行在。 改國子祭酒,宣慰恒州。 還至河中而李懷光反,晉說之曰:「朱泚為臣而背其君,茍得誌,於公何有? 且公位太尉,泚雖寵公,亦無以加。 彼不能事君,能以臣事公乎? 公能事彼,而有不能事君乎? 公敵賊有餘力,若襲取之,清宮以迎天子,雖有大惡猶將掩焉,如公則誰敢議?」 懷光喜且泣,晉亦泣。 又語其將卒,皆拜。 故懷光雖偃蹇,亦不助泚。
When Emperor Dezong took the throne, he was appointed Director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury. Within ten days he was made Left Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and concurrently Vice Censor-in-Chief, with charge of the Censorate's affairs. He was sent out to serve as prefect of Huazhou. When Zhu Ci rebelled he sent troops against Huazhou; Jin abandoned the prefecture and fled to the traveling court. He was reassigned as Chancellor of the National University and sent as Commissioner for Pacification and Comfort to Hengzhou. On his return he reached Hezhong just as Li Huaiguang rebelled. Jin urged him, "Zhu Ci was a subject who betrayed his lord—even if he had his way, what would that mean for you? Moreover you hold the rank of Grand Marshal; even if Ci favored you, he could add nothing to your standing. He cannot serve his lord—how could he serve you as a subject? If you could serve him, would there be any lord you could not serve? You still have more than enough strength to defeat the rebels. If you strike and seize them and clear the palace to welcome the Son of Heaven, even great past faults can be covered over—and who, in your case, would dare raise them?" Huaiguang was moved to joy and tears, and Jin wept as well. He also addressed Huaiguang's officers and men, and all bowed in assent. Therefore, though Huaiguang remained overbearing and difficult, he still did not aid Zhu Ci.
12
帝還京師,遷左金吾衛大將軍,改尚書左丞。 是時,右丞元琇為韓滉排笮得罪,滉勢振朝廷。 晉見宰相,誦元琇非罪,士大夫壯其節。 貞元五年,以門下侍郎同中書門下平章事。 方竇參得君,裁可大事不關咨晉,晉循謹無所駁異。 參欲以其侄申為吏部侍郎,諷晉以聞。 帝怒曰:「無乃參迫卿為之邪?」 晉謝,具道所以然。 帝即問參過失,晉無敢隱,由是參罷宰相。 晉惶恐,上疏固辭位。 九年,罷為禮部尚書,以兵部尚書為東都留守。
When the emperor returned to the capital, Jin was promoted Grand General of the Left Golden Guard and reassigned as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. At the time the Right Vice Director Yuan Xuan had been impeached and punished on petty charges by Han Huang, whose power now dominated the court. When Jin met the chief ministers he spoke out on Yuan Xuan's innocence, and scholar-officials admired his moral courage. In the fifth year of Zhenyuan he was made Vice Director of the Chancellery and chief minister. Just then Dou Can had won the emperor's trust and could decide major affairs without consulting Jin; Jin followed cautiously and raised no objections. Can wished to make his nephew Shen Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel and hinted that Jin should report it to the throne. The emperor said angrily, "Surely Dou Can pressured you into this?" Jin apologized and explained in full how the matter had arisen. The emperor immediately asked about Can's faults; Jin concealed nothing, and Can was therefore removed as chief minister. Jin was alarmed and submitted a memorial firmly declining his post. In the ninth year he was removed to Minister of Rites and appointed Minister of War as Eastern Capital Defender.
13
會宣武李萬榮病且死,詔晉檢校尚書左仆射、同中書門下平章事,為宣武節度副大使,知節度事。 萬榮死,鄧惟恭總其軍。 晉受命,不召兵,惟幕府騶傔從之,即日上道。 至鄭,逆者不至,人勸止以觀便宜,晉不聽,直造汴。 及郊,惟恭始出迎謁。 既入,即委以軍政,無所改更,眾服晉有體,莫測其謀。 始,惟恭謀代萬榮,故不遣吏以疑晉,令不敢入。 及晉至情得,則鞅鞅不能平。 汴士素驕怙亂,嘗介勇士伏幕下,早暮番休,晉一罷之。 惟恭乃結大將相裏重晏等謀亂,晉覺之,殺其黨,械送惟恭京師。 帝錄其縶李乃勞,貸死流汀州。 帝恐晉儒軟,詔拜汝州刺史陸長源為司馬,以佐晉。 晉謙願儉簡,事多循仍,故軍粗安。 長源持法峭刻,數欲更張舊事,晉初許之,已而悉罷不用。 以財賦委孟叔度,叔度為人佻侻,軍中惡之。 晉在軍凡五年,卒,年七十六,贈太傅,謚曰恭惠。
When Li Wanrong of Xuanwu fell gravely ill and was near death, an edict appointed Jin acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and chief minister as deputy military commissioner of Xuanwu, with charge of the commission's affairs. When Wanrong died, Deng Weigong took overall command of his army. When Jin received the appointment he summoned no troops—only the mounted escorts and attendants of his staff accompanied him, and that same day he set out on the road. At Zhengzhou no welcoming party appeared; people urged him to halt and see how matters stood, but Jin would not listen and went straight on to Bian. At the suburban greeting ground Weigong at last came out to welcome him and perform obeisance. Once inside he immediately entrusted civil and military administration to Weigong without changing a thing; the men admired Jin's bearing and could not fathom his design. Weigong had originally plotted to replace Wanrong and therefore sent no officials to receive Jin, hoping to make him afraid to enter. Once Jin arrived and the situation was clear, Weigong was discontented and could not settle his mind. The men of Bian had long been arrogant and accustomed to disorder; they often posted warriors to lie in ambush beneath the command tent, rotating in shifts morning and evening—Jin abolished the practice at once. Weigong then conspired with the senior generals Xiangli Chongyan and others to raise a revolt. Jin uncovered the plot, executed the conspirators, and had Weigong bound and sent to the capital. The emperor took account of his capture, spared his life, and banished him to Tingzhou. Fearing that Jin was too mild and bookish, the emperor appointed Lu Changyuan, prefect of Ruzhou, as army adjutant to assist him. Jin was modest and inclined to frugality and simplicity, and most matters followed precedent, so the army remained broadly at peace. Changyuan applied the law with harsh severity and repeatedly sought to overhaul old practices. Jin initially agreed, but in the end set every proposal aside. Financial affairs were entrusted to Meng Shudu, a man of frivolous character whom the troops despised. Jin spent five years with the army, then died at seventy-six. He was posthumously honored as Grand Tutor with the posthumous name Gonghui.
14
晉為相也,五月朔,天子會朝,公卿在廷,侍中贊群臣賀,竇參攝中書令,當傳詔,疾作,公卿相顧,未有詔,晉從容進曰:「攝中書令臣參病不能事,臣請代參事。」 南面宣致詔詞,進退甚詳。 金吾將軍沈房有期喪,公除,常服入閤,帝疑以問晉,對曰:「故事,朝官期以下喪,服絁縵,不復衣淺色,南班亦如之。」 又問晉冠冕之制,對曰:「古者服冠冕,以佩玉節步。 堂上接武,堂下布武,君前趨進而已。 今或奔走以致顛仆。 在式,朝臣皆綾袍,五品而上金玉帶,所以盡飾以奉上。 故漢尚書郎含香,老萊采服,君父一也。 若然,服絁縵,亦非禮也。」 帝然其言。 詔入閤官毋趨走,期以下喪不得以慘服會,令群臣衣本品綾袍、金玉帶,自晉而復。
While Jin was chief minister, on the first day of the fifth month the emperor held court with all the nobles and ministers present. The attendant-in-chief was leading the officials in congratulation when Dou Can, acting Director of the Secretariat, fell ill before he could transmit the edict. The court officials looked at one another in confusion until Jin calmly stepped forward and said, "Acting Director of the Secretariat Minister Dou is ill and unable to serve. I request to take his place. Facing south, he proclaimed the edict with meticulous propriety in every movement. Golden Guard General Shen Fang was in period mourning. When his mourning was publicly ended, he entered the inner hall in ordinary dress. The emperor questioned Jin about it, and Jin replied, "By precedent, court officials in mourning below the full term wear bordered coarse hemp and no longer wear light-colored garments; officials of the outer ranks follow the same rule. The emperor then asked Jin about the regulations governing caps and ceremonial dress. Jin replied, "In antiquity, one wore cap and robe and used jade pendants to regulate one's pace. On the hall one shortened the steps; below the hall one took full steps; before the ruler one merely quickened forward—that was all. Nowadays some break into a run and fall as a result. Under court regulations, ministers wore silk robes, and from the fifth rank upward they wore gold-and-jade belts, fully adorned in service to the sovereign. Hence the Han Ministry attendant bearing incense and Laolai in colored dress—the ruler and one's father are one and the same. If that is so, then wearing bordered coarse hemp is likewise improper." The emperor agreed with what he said. An edict followed: officials entering the inner hall must not run; those in mourning below the full term might not attend court in mourning dress; and all ministers were to wear silk robes and gold-and-jade belts appropriate to their rank—a practice restored at Jin's urging.
15
子溪,字惟深,亦擢明經,三遷萬年令。 討王承宗也,擢度支郎中,為東道行營糧料使。 坐盜軍貲,流封州,至長沙,賜死。 子居中,善詩,為張籍所稱。
His son Xi, courtesy name Weishen, also passed the Mingjing examination and rose through three promotions to become magistrate of Wannian. During the campaign against Wang Chengzong he was promoted to Director in the Bureau of Revenue and appointed grain-supply commissioner for the Eastern Expedition field headquarters. Convicted of embezzling military funds, he was exiled to Fengzhou; upon reaching Changsha he was ordered to take his own life. His son Juzhong was a gifted poet and won praise from Zhang Ji.
16
陸長源者,吳人,字泳。 祖餘慶,天寶中為太子詹事,有清譽。
Lu Changyuan was a native of Wu, courtesy name Yong. His grandfather Yuqing served as Household Chief of the Crown Prince during the Tianbao era and enjoyed a reputation for integrity.
17
長源贍於學,始辟昭義薛嵩幕府,嵩侈汰,常從容規切。 嵩曰:「非君安能為此。」 歷建、信二州刺史。 韓滉兼領江淮轉運使,辟署兼御史中丞,以為副。 入遷都官郎中,復出汝州刺史。 遂徙宣武,政皆出司馬。 初,欲峻法繩驕兵,為晉所持,不克行。 而判官楊凝、孟叔度等又苛細,叔度淫縱,數入倡家調笑嬉褻。 晉有所偷弛,長源輒裁正之。 晉卒,長源總留後事,大言曰:「將士久慢,吾且以法治之!」 眾始懼。 軍中請出帑帛為晉制服,不許。 固請,止給其直。 叔度希望又償直以鹽,乃高鹽直,賤帛估,人得鹽二斤,舉軍大怒。 或勸長源曰:「故事,有大變則厚賜於軍,軍乃安。」 長源曰:「異時河北賊以錢買戍卒,取旌節,吾不忍為。」 眾怒益甚。 長源性剛不適變,又不為備。 才八日,軍亂,殺長源及叔度等,食其肉,放兵大掠。 死之日,有詔拜節度使,遠近嗟悵,贈尚書左仆射。
Well versed in scholarship, Changyuan first entered the staff of Xue Song of Zhaoyi. Song was extravagant and wasteful, and Changyuan often admonished him with tact. Song said, "If not for you, who else could speak to me this way? He later served in succession as prefect of Jian and Xin. When Han Huang concurrently served as transport commissioner for the Huai and Jiang circuits, he recruited Changyuan as deputy censor-in-chief and made him his assistant. He entered court as Director in the Bureau of Punishments, then returned to the provinces as prefect of Ruzhou. He was then transferred to Xuanwu, where all administrative affairs were decided by the army adjutant. At first he wished to restrain the arrogant troops with strict law, but Jin held him back and the plan could not be carried out. Yet the adjutants Yang Ning and Meng Shudu and others were also harsh and petty. Shudu was dissolute and unrestrained, often visiting brothels for lewd jest and sport. Whenever Jin slackened discipline, Changyuan promptly corrected him. When Jin died, Changyuan assumed charge of rear affairs and declared, "The officers and soldiers have long been negligent—I shall bring them under the law! The troops were finally afraid. The army asked that treasury silk and cloth be issued for mourning garments for Jin, but he refused. When they pressed the request, he would only pay the cash equivalent. Shudu, hoping to profit, again paid the cash value in salt. He inflated the price of salt and undervalued the cloth, so each man received only two jin of salt, and the entire army erupted in fury. Someone advised Changyuan, "By precedent, when there is a great upheaval one bestows generous gifts upon the army, and only then does the army settle down. Changyuan said, "In former times the Hebei rebels bought off garrison soldiers with money to seize the commander's insignia. I cannot bring myself to do that." The troops' anger grew even fiercer. Changyuan was rigid by nature, ill suited to changing circumstances, and made no preparations. After only eight days the army mutinied, killed Changyuan, Shudu, and the others, devoured their flesh, and the troops ran wild in a great pillage. On the day he died an edict arrived appointing him military governor. Near and far mourned him with sighs, and he was posthumously honored as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.
18
長源好諧易,無威儀,而清白自將。 去汝州,送車二乘,曰「吾祖罷魏州,有車一乘,而圖書半之,吾愧不及先人」雲。
Changyuan was easygoing and fond of humor, without imposing bearing, yet he kept himself pure and upright. When he left Ruzhou, two carriages saw him off. He said, "When my grandfather left Weizhou he had one carriage, and books filled half of it. I am ashamed that I cannot measure up to my forebears."
19
長源死,監軍俱文珍密召宋州刺史劉全諒使總後務。 全諒至,其夜軍復亂,殺大將及部曲五百人乃定。 帝即詔全諒檢校工部尚書、宣武節度使。
After Changyuan's death, the army overseer Ju Wenzhen secretly summoned Songzhou prefect Liu Quanliang to take charge of rear affairs. When Quanliang arrived, the army mutinied again that same night. Order was restored only after five hundred senior officers and their retinues had been killed. The emperor immediately appointed Quanliang acting Minister of Works and military governor of Xuanwu.
20
全諒,始名逸淮,至是賜名,本懷州武涉人也。 父客奴,以行戍留籍幽州,事平盧軍,以材力顯。 開元中,室韋首領段普洛數苦邊,節度使薛楚玉使客奴單騎襲之,斬首以歸。 興卒伍,拜左驍衛將軍,為遊奕使。 性謹樸,數戰有功。 安祿山反,詔以平盧節度副使呂知誨為使。 賊遣韓朝旸誘之,知誨即降,賊害安東副都護馬靈察。 客奴不平,與諸將共殺知誨,遣使與安東將王玄誌相聞。 天寶十五載,以客奴為柳城郡太守,攝御史大夫、平盧節度使,賜名正臣; 以玄誌為安東副大都護。 正臣遣使道海至平原,與太守顏真卿相結。 真卿喜,以子為質而歸貲糧焉,且請出師。 未至,而真卿棄平原,乃還。 因襲范陽,為史思明所敗,奔還,玄誌冘殺之。
Quanliang had originally been named Yihuai; at this time he was granted his new name. He was a native of Wushe in Huaizhou. His father Kenü, through frontier garrison service, remained registered in Youzhou. He served in the Pinglu army and won distinction for his strength and ability. During the Kaiyuan era the Shiwei chieftain Duan Pulu repeatedly harassed the frontier. Military governor Xue Chuyu sent Kenü alone on horseback to raid him, beheaded him, and returned. He rose from the ranks to be appointed General of the Left Xiaowei Guard and patrol commissioner. Cautious and plain by nature, he fought in many battles and won merit. When An Lushan rebelled, an edict appointed Pinglu deputy military governor Lü Zhihui as military governor. The rebels sent Han Chaoyang to win him over. Zhihui surrendered at once, and the rebels killed Andong deputy protector Ma Lingcha. Indignant, Kenü joined the other generals in killing Zhihui and sent an envoy to establish contact with Andong general Wang Xuanzhi. In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, Kenü was made prefect of Liucheng Commandery, acting Censor Grandee and Pinglu military governor, and granted the name Zhengchen. Wang Xuanzhi was made Andong deputy grand protector. Zhengchen sent an envoy by sea to Pingyuan and formed an alliance with prefect Yan Zhenqing. Zhenqing was delighted. He sent his son as a hostage, returned funds and grain, and asked that troops be sent out. Before they arrived, Zhenqing had abandoned Pingyuan, and so they turned back. They then raided Fanyang, were defeated by Shi Siming, fled back, and Xuanzhi, fearing reprisal, had Zhengchen killed.
21
全諒事劉玄佐為牙將,以勇果善騎射為玄佐厚禮。 累兼御史中丞。 及玄佐子士寧代立,疑宋州刺史翟良佐不附己,揚言行部,至則以全諒代之,故汴將士多歸心焉。 視事凡八月卒,贈尚書右仆射。 軍中立韓弘代節度雲。
Quanliang served Liu Xuanzuo as a yamen guard general. Xuanzuo treated him generously for his courage, decisiveness, and skill in mounted archery. He repeatedly held the concurrent post of censor-in-chief as well. When Xuanzuo's son Shining succeeded him, he suspected that Songzhou prefect Zhai Liangzuo was not loyal to him. Shining announced that he would tour the prefectures, and upon reaching Songzhou replaced Liangzuo with Quanliang, so the officers and soldiers of Bian largely came to favor him. He governed for eight months and died. He was posthumously honored as Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. The army established Han Hong to replace him as military governor.
22
袁滋,字德深,蔡州朗山人,陳侍中憲之後。 強學博記。 少依道州刺史元結,讀書自解其義,結重之。 後客荊、郢間,起學廬講授。 建中初,黜陟使趙贊薦於朝,起處士,授試校書郎。 累辟張伯儀、何士幹幕府,進詹事府司直。 部官以盜金下獄,滋直其冤,御史中丞韋貞伯聞之,表為侍御史。 刑部、大理核罪人,失其平,憚滋守法,因權勢以請,滋終不署奏。 遷工部員外郎。
Yuan Zi, courtesy name Deshen, was a native of Langshan in Caizhou and a descendant of Chen attendant-in-chief Xian. He studied hard and had a broad memory. In youth he relied on Daozhou prefect Yuan Jie. Reading books, he grasped their meaning on his own, and Jie valued him. Later he sojourned between Jing and Ying, built a study hall, and lectured there. At the beginning of the Jianzhong era, promotion-and-demotion commissioner Zhao Zan recommended him to the court. He was raised from private life and granted the post of probationary collator. He was repeatedly recruited into the staffs of Zhang Boyi and He Shigan and rose to Rectifier in the Heir Apparent's Household. When a Ministry official was imprisoned for stealing gold, Zi cleared him of the charge. Censor-in-Chief Wei Zhenbo heard of it and memorialized that Zi be made attendant censor. When the Ministry of Punishments and the Court of Judicial Review examined criminals, they lost impartiality. Fearing Zi's strict adherence to law, they used influence to seek leniency, but Zi ultimately refused to sign the memorial. He was transferred to Vice Director in the Ministry of Works.
23
韋臯始招來西南夷,南詔畢牟尋內屬。 德宗選郎吏可撫循者,皆憚行,至滋不辭,帝嘉之。 擢祠部郎中,兼御史中丞,賜金紫,持節往。 逾年還,使有指,進諫議大夫。 遷尚書右丞,知吏部選。 求外遷,為華州刺史。 政清簡,流民至者,給地居之,名其裏曰義合。 然專以慈惠為本,未嘗設條教,民愛向之。 有犯令,時時法外縱舍。 得盜賊,或哀其窮,出財為償所亡。 召為左金吾衛大將軍,以楊於陵代之。 滋行,耆老遮道不得去,於陵使諭曰:「吾不敢易袁公政。」 人皆羅拜,乃得去,莫不流涕。
Wei Gao first summoned the southwestern tribes, and Piluoge of Nanzhao submitted to the court. Dezong selected bureau officials capable of pacifying and comforting the region. All feared going, but when the choice fell to Zi he did not decline, and the emperor praised him. He was promoted to Director in the Bureau of Rites with the concurrent title of censor-in-chief, granted gold and purple insignia, and sent bearing the staff of authority. After more than a year he returned. The mission had merit, and he was promoted to Remonstrance Grandee. He was transferred to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and placed in charge of selections in the Ministry of Personnel. He sought a provincial appointment and became prefect of Huazhou. His administration was clear and simple. Refugees who arrived were given land to live on, and he named the district Righteous Unity. Yet he devoted himself above all to benevolence and kindness, never established regulations, and the people loved and trusted him. When people violated his orders, he often released them beyond what the law allowed. When he captured thieves, he sometimes pitied their poverty and paid from his own funds to compensate the victims. He was summoned to serve as Grand General of the Left Golden Guard, and Yang Yuling replaced him. As Zi departed, the elders blocked the road and would not let him leave. Yuling sent a messenger to say, "I dare not alter Lord Yuan's policies. The people all bowed in rows, and only then could he leave. None did so without tears.
24
憲宗監國,進拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 劉辟反,詔滋為劍南兩川、山南西道安撫大使,半道,以檢校吏部尚書、平章事為劍南東、西川節度使。 是時,賊方熾,又滋兄峰在蜀為辟所劫,滋畏不得全,久不進,貶吉州刺史。 未幾,徙義成節度使。 滑,用武地,東有淄青,北魏博,滋嚴備而推誠信,務在懷來。 李師道、田季安畏服之。 居七年,百姓立祠祝祭。 以戶部尚書召,改檢校兵部,拜山南東道節度使,徙荊南。
When Xianzong oversaw the state, Zi was promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat and chief minister. When Liu Pi rebelled, an edict appointed Zi Pacification Commissioner for the Two Sichuan Circuits and the Western Hannan Circuit. Halfway there he was made acting Minister of Personnel, chief minister, and military governor of Eastern and Western Sichuan. At that time the rebels were at their height, and Zi's brother Feng in Shu had been seized by Liu Pi. Fearing he could not save himself, Zi long delayed advancing and was demoted to prefect of Jizhou. Before long he was transferred to military governor of Yicheng. Hua was a martial region, with Ziqing to the east and Wei and Bo to the north. Zi maintained strict defenses yet promoted sincerity and trust, aiming above all to win people over. Li Shidao and Tian Ji'an feared him and submitted. After seven years the common people erected a shrine in his honor and offered sacrifice. He was summoned as Minister of Revenue, reassigned as acting Minister of War, appointed military governor of the Eastern Hannan Circuit, and then transferred to Jingnan.
25
吳元濟之反,滋言蔡兵勁,與下同欲,非朝夕計可下,宜廣方略,離潰其心。 及宿兵三年,調發益屈,詔出禁錢繼之。 滋揣天子且厭兵,自表入朝,欲議罷淮西事,道聞蕭俯、錢徽坐沮議黜去,滋翻其謀,更言必勝,順可天子意,乃得還。 俄而高霞寓敗,帝思以恩信傾賊,且滋嘗云云,乃授彰義節度使,僑治唐州。 又以滋儒者,拜陽旻為唐州刺史,將其兵。 滋先世墳墓在蔡,吳少陽時為修墓,禁芻牧,諸袁多署右職,稟給之。 滋至治,去斥候,與元濟通好。 賊圍新興,滋卑辭講解,賊因是易滋,不為備。 時帝責戰急,而滋至六月,以無功貶撫州刺史。 未幾,遷湖南觀察使。 累封淮陽郡公。 卒,年七十,贈太子少保。
When Wu Yuanji rebelled, Zi said the Cai troops were strong, shared the same aims as their commanders, and could not be subdued overnight. Broad strategy was needed to divide them and break their morale. After the garrison troops had been encamped for three years and levies grew ever more strained, an edict ordered forbidden treasury funds released to sustain the campaign. Reading that the emperor was growing weary of war, Zi submitted a memorial asking to come to court to discuss ending the Huai-Xi campaign. On the road he learned that Xiao Fu and Qian Hui had been removed for blocking that very proposal. Zi reversed himself, declared that victory was certain, and said what would please the throne—and only then was he permitted to return. Before long Gao Xiayu suffered defeat. The emperor resolved to topple the rebels through kindness and trust; since Zi had already spoken in that vein, he was made military governor of Zhangyi, with his seat provisionally at Tangzhou. Because Zi was a scholar rather than a soldier, Yang Min was appointed prefect of Tangzhou to take command of the army. Zi's ancestral tombs lay in Cai. Under Wu Shaoyang they had been restored, grazing there was forbidden, many Yuans were given posts on the right wing, and all were kept on stipend. When Zi took up his post, he withdrew the outposts and entered into friendly communication with Wu Yuanji. When the rebels besieged Xinxing, Zi pleaded humbly for a settlement. The rebels took him lightly and ceased to guard against him. The emperor was pressing for swift action, yet by the sixth month of Zi's tenure he had accomplished nothing and was demoted to prefect of Fuzhou. Not long afterward he was transferred to governor of Hunan Circuit. He was repeatedly enfeoffed, ultimately as Duke of Huaiyang Commandery. He died at seventy and was posthumously honored as Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.
26
滋既病,作遺令處後事,訖三年,皆有條次。 性寬易,與之接者,皆自謂可見肺肝,至家人不得見喜慍。 薄居處衣食。 能為《春秋》,嘗以劉惲《悲甘陵賦》褒善斥惡戾《春秋》指,然其文不可廢,乃著後序。 工篆隸,有古法。 子均,右拾遺; 郊,翰林學士。
When Zi fell ill, he set down last instructions for his household; for the three years that followed, everything was carried out in proper order. He was open and easy in temperament. Everyone who met him felt he had nothing to hide, yet even his own household could never read his pleasure or anger. He lived plainly in his dwelling, dress, and fare. He was accomplished in the Spring and Autumn Annals. He once argued that Liu Yun's "Lament for Ganling" praised virtue and condemned wickedness in ways that cut against the Annals' intent, yet judged the work too fine to suppress and wrote a preface for it. He was skilled in seal and clerical script and wrote in the ancient manner. His son Jun served as Right Remonstrator; his son Jiao was Hanlin Academician.
27
趙宗儒
Zhao Zongru
28
趙宗儒,字秉文,鄧州穰人。 八代祖彤,後魏徵南將軍。 父驊,字雲卿,少嗜學,履尚清鯁。 開元中,擢進士第,補太子正字,調雷澤、河東丞。 采訪使韋陟器之,表置其府。 又為陳留采訪使郭納支使。 安祿山陷陳留,驊沒於賊。 時江西觀察使韋儇族妹坐其夫為畿官不供賊,沒為婢。 驊哀之,以錢贖韋,厚為資給。 賊平,訪近屬歸之,時人高其義。 驊以嘗陷賊,貶晉江尉。 久之,召拜左補闕,遷累尚書比部員外郎。 建中初,遷秘書少監。 敦交友行義,不以夷險慁操。 少與殷寅、顏真卿、柳芳、陸據、蕭穎士、李華、邵軫善,時為語曰「殷顏柳陸,李蕭邵趙」,謂能全其交也。 驊位省郎,衣食窶乏,俸單寡,諸子至徒步,人為咨美。 涇原兵反,驊竄山谷,病死,贈華州刺史。
Zhao Zongru, courtesy name Bingwen, came from Rang in Dengzhou. His eighth-generation ancestor Tong had been Southern Campaign General under Later Wei. His father Hua, courtesy name Yunqing, loved learning from youth and was known for upright, uncompromising conduct. During the Kaiyuan era he passed the jinshi examination, was appointed Collator to the Heir Apparent, and served successively as assistant magistrate of Leize and Hedong. Investigation commissioner Wei Zhi admired him and memorialized to have him placed on his staff. He also served as dispatch officer on the staff of Chenliu investigation commissioner Guo Na. When An Lushan captured Chenliu, Hua was caught behind rebel lines. At the time a kinswoman of Jiangxi governor Wei Yan was punished because her husband, a metropolitan district official, had failed to supply the rebels, and she was reduced to servitude. Hua took pity on her, paid to ransom the Wei woman, and supported her generously. After the rebellion was crushed, he found her relatives and restored her to them. People of the time greatly admired his conduct. Because he had once been trapped among the rebels, Hua was demoted to assistant magistrate of Jinjiang. After a long interval he was recalled, appointed Left Remonstrator, and eventually rose to Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue's Comparison Bureau. At the beginning of the Jianzhong era he was made Vice Director of the Secretariat. He prized friendship and integrity and would not bend his principles whether in comfort or in danger. In youth he was close to Yin Yin, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Fang, Lu Ju, Xiao Yingshi, Li Hua, and Shao Zhen. People said at the time, "Yin, Yan, Liu, Lu; Li, Xiao, Shao, Zhao"—meaning that they kept their friendships intact. Though Hua held a ministry post, he lived in want; his salary was thin, and his sons went on foot. People pitied him and praised his integrity. When the Jingyuan army mutinied, Hua fled into the hills and died of illness. He was posthumously honored as governor of Huazhou.
29
宗儒第進士,授校書郎,判入等,補陸渾主簿。 數月,拜右拾遺、翰林學士。 時,父驊遷秘書少監,德宗欲寵其門,使一日並命。 再遷司勛員外郎。 貞元六年,領考功事。 自至德後考績失實,內外悉考中上,殿最混淆,至宗儒,黜陟詳當,無所回憚。 右司郎中獨孤良器、殿中侍御史杜倫以過黜考,左丞裴郁、御史中丞盧佋降考中中,凡入中上者,才五十人。 帝聞善之,進考功郎中。 累遷給事中。 十二年,以本官同中書門下平章事,賜服金紫。 居二歲,罷為太子右庶子,屏居慎靜,奉朝請而已。 遷吏部侍郎,召見,勞曰:「知卿杜門六年,故有此拜,曩與先臣並命,尚念之邪?」 宗儒俯伏流涕。 元和初,檢校禮部尚書,充東都留守。 三遷至檢校吏部、荊南節度使,散冗食戍二千人。 歷山南西道、河中二鎮,拜御史大夫,改吏部尚書。
Zongru passed the jinshi examination, was appointed collator, earned the highest rating on review, and was posted registrar of Luhun. Within a few months he was appointed Right Remonstrator and Hanlin Academician. At the time his father Hua had just been made Vice Director of the Secretariat. Dezong wished to honor the family and had father and son appointed on the same day. He was next promoted to Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Merits Bureau. In the sixth year of Zhenyuan he took charge of the performance-review office. Since the Zhide era, performance ratings had ceased to reflect reality: officials everywhere were marked upper-middle, and distinctions of merit and failure were blurred. Under Zongru, promotions and demotions were exact and fair, with no bending to favor. Right Department Director Dugu Liangqi and Palace Censor Du Lun were marked down for misconduct; Left Vice Director Pei Yu and Censor-in-Chief Lu Dian were reduced to middle-middle. In all, only fifty men received upper-middle. The emperor heard of this with approval and promoted him to Director of the Merits Bureau. He rose through repeated promotions to Supervising Secretary. In the twelfth year he became Participating Secretary jointly with the Secretariat and Chancellery while retaining his existing rank, and was granted gold-and-purple robes. After two years he was removed from office and made Right Subprefect of the Heir Apparent's Household, living in quiet retirement and attending court only as required. He was transferred to Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel and summoned to audience. The emperor comforted him, saying, "Knowing that you kept your doors shut for six years, I made this appointment for that reason. Long ago I appointed you on the same day as your late father—do you still remember? Zongru prostrated himself and wept. At the beginning of Yuanhe he was made acting Minister of Rites and appointed regent of the Eastern Capital. After three further promotions he became acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel and military governor of Jingnan, where he dismissed two thousand redundant soldiers kept on the rolls. He served as governor of Southwestern Shannan and Hezhong, was appointed Censor-in-Chief, and then became Minister of Personnel.
30
穆宗立,詔先朝所召賢良方正,委有司試。 宗儒建言:「應制而來者,當天子臨問。 試有司,非國舊典,請罷之。」 詔可。 俄檢校右仆射,守太常卿。 太常有《五方師子樂》,非大朝會不作。 帝嗜聲色,宦官領教坊者,乃移書取之。 宗儒不敢違,以訴宰相。 宰相以事專有司,不應關白。 以懦不職,罷為太子少師。 太和初,進太子太傅。 文宗召訪政理,對曰:「堯、舜之化,慈儉而已,願陛下守之。」 帝納其言。 六年,授司空,致仕。 卒,年八十七,冊贈司徒,謚曰昭。 宗儒以文學歷將相,位任崇劇,然無儀矩,以治生瑣碎失名。
When Muzong ascended the throne, an edict directed that those summoned under the previous reign as Worthy and Upright candidates be examined by the regular offices. Zongru submitted a memorial: "Those who came in response to the imperial summons ought to be questioned by the emperor in person. To have them examined by the offices is not the old national practice. I ask that this be abolished. The edict approved his request. Soon afterward he was made acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and acting Minister of Rites. The Ministry of Rites possessed the "Five-Direction Lion Music," which was performed only at the greatest court assemblies. The emperor doted on music and pleasure; the eunuch who headed the Music Bureau sent a letter demanding the score. Zongru did not dare refuse and appealed to the chief ministers. The chief ministers replied that the matter lay entirely within that office's jurisdiction and ought not to be referred to them. Judged cowardly and unfit for office, he was removed and made Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. At the beginning of the Taihe era he was promoted to Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. Wenzong summoned him to ask about good government. He answered, "The rule of Yao and Shun rested on kindness and frugality alone. I pray Your Majesty will hold fast to them. The emperor accepted his counsel. In the sixth year he was appointed Minister of Works and retired from office. He died at eighty-seven. By imperial patent he was posthumously honored as Grand Secretary, with the posthumous name Zhao. Zongru rose through letters to posts as general and minister, bearing heavy and arduous responsibility. Yet he lacked proper bearing and lost standing through petty schemes of private gain.
31
竇易直
Dou Yizhi
32
竇易直,字宗玄,京兆始平人。 擢明經,補校書郎。 十年不應辟,以判入等,為藍田尉。 累遷吏部郎中。 元和六年,進御史中丞。 繇陜虢觀察使,入為京兆尹。 萬年尉韓晤坐賕,易直令官屬按之,得贓三十萬,憲宗疑未盡,詔窮治,至三百萬,貶易直為金州刺史。 久之,起為宣歙、浙西觀察使。
Dou Yizhi, courtesy name Zongxuan, came from Shiping in Jingzhao. He passed the mingjing examination and was appointed collator. For ten years he declined summons to office; rated in the highest class on review, he became assistant magistrate of Lantian. He rose through repeated promotions to Director of the Ministry of Personnel Bureau. In the sixth year of Yuanhe he was promoted to Censor-in-Chief. From governor of Shan-Guo Circuit he entered the capital as metropolitan prefect. Wannian assistant magistrate Han Wu was implicated in bribery. Yizhi had his staff investigate and uncovered three hundred thousand in illicit gains. Xianzong suspected the figure was too low and ordered a full inquiry; the total reached three million, and Yizhi was demoted to prefect of Jinzhou. After a long interval he was restored to office as governor of Xuan-She and Zhexi circuits.
33
長慶二年,李以汴州叛,易直欲出庫財賞軍,或謂給與無名,必且生患,乃止。 時江、淮旱,漕物淹積不能前,軍士聞易直向言,其部將王國清指漕貨激眾謀亂。 易直知之,械國清送獄,其黨數千群歡入獄,篡取之,欲大剽。 易直登樓令曰:「能誅亂者,一級賞千萬!」 眾喜,反縛為亂者三百餘人,易直悉斬之。 入為戶部侍郎,判度支。 四年,同中書門下平章事,轉門下侍郎,封晉陽郡公。 即讓度支,置其俸三月,有詔停判。 文宗立,檢校尚書右仆射、同平章事,為山南東道節度使。 入為左仆射、判太常卿事。 頃之,檢校司空,為鳳翔節度。 以疾還京師。 卒,贈司徒,謚曰恭惠。
In the second year of Changqing, Li Tongjie rebelled at Bianzhou. Yizhi wished to open the treasury and reward the troops, but others warned that unaccounted payouts would only breed trouble, and he desisted. The Jiang and Huai regions were then in drought, and transport goods piled up, unable to move. The soldiers had heard of Yizhi's earlier proposal; his subordinate Wang Guoqing pointed to the transport stores and incited the men to mutiny. Yizhi learned of the plot, shackled Guoqing, and sent him to prison. Several thousand of his followers stormed the jail in a frenzy, seized him by force, and prepared for a great pillage. Yizhi mounted a tower and proclaimed, "Whoever kills a rebel shall receive ten million cash for each head! The crowd rejoiced, turned on the rebels, bound more than three hundred of them, and Yizhi had them all executed. He entered court as Vice Minister of Revenue with concurrent charge of fiscal accounts. In the fourth year he became Participating Secretary jointly with the Secretariat and Chancellery, was transferred to Vice Director of the Chancellery, and was enfeoffed Duke of Jinyang Commandery. He at once resigned the fiscal directorship, forgoing three months' salary, and an edict confirmed the end of his concurrent charge. When Wenzong ascended the throne, Yizhi was acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Participating Secretary, and military governor of Eastern Shannan Circuit. He entered court as Left Vice Director with concurrent charge of the Ministry of Rites. Before long he was made acting Minister of Works and military governor of Fengxiang. He returned to the capital on account of illness. He died and was posthumously honored as Grand Secretary, with the posthumous name Gonghui.
34
易直以公潔自喜,方執政,未嘗引用親黨。 初,元和中,鄭餘慶議,仆射上儀,不與隔品官亢禮,易直為中丞,奏駁之。 及為仆射,乃自用隔品致恭,為時鄙笑。
Yizhi prided himself on public-minded integrity. While in power he never promoted relatives or faction. Early in the Yuanhe era, Zheng Yuqing proposed that vice directors, being of upper ceremonial rank, should not exchange equal courtesies with officials of intervening rank. When Yizhi was censor-in-chief, he memorialized to rebut the proposal. When he himself became vice director, he then observed the courtesies due to officials of intervening rank—and contemporaries mocked him for it.
35
子紃,仕至渭南尉、集賢校理。 妻父王涯被禍,宦官知易直子,得不死,貶循州司戶參軍。
His son Xiu rose to assistant magistrate of Weinan and collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies. When his father-in-law Wang Ya met disaster, eunuchs recognized Yizhi's son and spared his life, but he was demoted to revenue adjutant of Xunzhou.
36
贊曰:關播舉李元平守汝州,賊縛而臣之。 宰相不知人,果可敗國,德宗不以是責宰相,幾喪天下。 晉懦弛茍安,滋欲以恩信傾賊,迂暗之人,烏可語功名會哉!
The appraisal says: Guan Bo recommended Li Yuanping to defend Ruzhou; the rebels bound him, and he submitted to them. When a chief minister cannot judge men, he can indeed ruin the state. Dezong did not hold his chief minister to account for this and nearly lost the empire. Jin was weak, slack, and content with safety; Zi wished to topple the rebels through kindness and trust. Men so roundabout and dim—what talk can one have with them of merit and glory?