1
姚獨孤顧韋段呂許薛李
Biographies of Yao, Dugu, Gu, Wei, Duan, Lu, Xu, Xue, and Li
2
姚南仲，華州下邽人。 乾元初，擢制科，授太子校書。 遷累右補闕。 大歷十年，獨孤皇后崩，代宗悼痛，詔近城為陵，以朝夕臨望。 南仲上疏曰：「臣聞人臣宅於家，帝王宅於國。 長安乃祖宗所宅，其可興鑿建陵其側乎？ 夫葬者，藏也，欲人之不得見也。 今西近宮闕，南迫大道。 使近而可視，歿而復生，雖宮以待之可也。 如令骨肉歸土，魂無不之，雖欲自近，了復何益？ 且王者必據高明，燭幽隱，先皇所以因龍首而建望春也。 今起陵目前，心一感傷，累日不能平。 且匹夫向隅，滿堂不樂，況萬乘乎，天下謂何？ 陛下謚後以貞懿，而終以褻近，臣竊惑焉。 今國人皆曰後陵在邇，陛下將日省而時望焉，斯有損聖德，無益先後，欲寵反辱，惟陛下孰計。」 疏奏，帝嘉納，進五品階以酬讜言。
Yao Nanzhong came from Xiaji in Huazhou. In the early Qianyuan period he passed the special civil-service examination and was named collator in the heir apparent's library. He rose through successive appointments to become Right Remonstrator. In Dali year 10 Empress Dugu passed away. Grieving deeply, Emperor Daizong commanded that a mausoleum be built near the capital so he could look in on it morning and evening. Nanzhong memorialized the throne: "I have heard it said that a subject makes his home in his household, while a sovereign makes his home in the state. Chang'an is the dwelling of our imperial forebears—how can we carve out a burial mound right beside it? Burial means hiding the dead away; the point is that people should not see them. As planned, the site would lie west of the palace and south against the main thoroughfare. If the tomb is placed so near that it can be seen at a glance, one might as well set up a palace and wait there, as though the dead might rise again. Once flesh and bone are committed to earth and the spirit roams everywhere, drawing the tomb closer gains nothing at all. A ruler must sit on high ground to shed light on what lies in shadow—that is why the late emperor built Wangchun Terrace on Longshou Hill. To raise a tomb before your eyes will stir grief anew day after day and leave your heart unsettled. When one man turns to a dark corner, the whole room falls silent; how much more when the Son of Heaven grieves openly—what would the empire think? Your Majesty gave the late empress the epithet Chaste and Admirable, yet would keep her remains immodestly close—I find this puzzling. The people already whisper that the empress's tomb is too near and that you will visit it every day. That would tarnish your sacred virtue, honor neither the living nor the dead, and turn intended affection into scandal. I urge Your Majesty to consider this carefully. The emperor welcomed the memorial and raised Nanzhong one rank in the fifth-grade sequence to reward his frank counsel.
3
坐善宰相常袞，出為海鹽令。 浙西觀察使韓滉表為推官，擢殿中侍御史內供奉。 召還，四遷為御史中丞，改給事中、陜虢觀察使。 拜義成節度使。 監軍薛盈珍恃權橈政，不能逞，因毀南仲於朝，德宗惑之。 俄遣小使程務盈誣表以罪。 會南仲裨將曹文洽入奏，知其語，則晨夜追至長樂驛，及之，與同舍，夜殺務盈，投其誣於廁。 為二書，一抵南仲，一治南仲冤，且自言殺務盈狀，乃自殺。 驛吏以聞，帝駭異。 南仲不自安，固請入朝。 帝勞曰：「盈珍橈卿政邪？」 曰：「不橈臣政，臣隳陛下法耳。 如盈珍輩，所在有之，雖使羊、杜復生，撫百姓，禦三軍，必不能成愷悌之化而正師律也。」 帝默然。 乃授尚書右僕射。 貞元十九年卒，年七十五，贈太子太保，謚曰貞。
His association with Chief Minister Chang Gun cost him his post at court, and he was sent out as magistrate of Haiyan. Han Huang, the Zhexi observation commissioner, recommended him as a legal aide, and he was promoted to an attendant imperial censor on inner duty. Recalled to the capital, he advanced through four promotions to Vice Censor-in-Chief, then became Supervisor of Attendants and observation commissioner for Shan and Guo. He was appointed military governor of Yicheng. The army supervisor Xue Yingzhen abused his authority to meddle in government, and Nanzhong would not yield. Yingzhen therefore slandered him at court, and Emperor Dezong was taken in. Soon afterward a minor envoy named Cheng Wuying was dispatched bearing a fabricated memorial that accused Nanzhong of crimes. Nanzhong's deputy general Cao Wenqia happened to be at court and learned of the plot. He pursued Cheng Wuying day and night to Changle Post, caught up with him, shared his lodging, killed him in the night, and threw the forged accusation into the latrine. He wrote two letters—one for Nanzhong and one petitioning the throne to clear Nanzhong's name—in which he confessed to killing Wuying, then took his own life. When the post-station clerk reported what had happened, the emperor was astonished. Uneasy, Nanzhong urgently asked permission to return to court. The emperor received him kindly and asked, "Did Yingzhen interfere with your administration? He answered, "He did not interfere with my administration—I merely undermined Your Majesty's laws. Men like Yingzhen are everywhere. Even if Yang Hu and Du Yu were brought back to life to soothe the people and command the armies, they could not bring about benevolent rule or restore proper military discipline. The emperor said nothing. He was then appointed Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. He died in Zhenyuan year 19 at the age of seventy-five. Posthumously he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the epithet Upright.
4
初，崔位、馬少微者，俱在南仲幕府。 盈珍之譖也，出位為遂州別駕。 東川觀察使王叔邕希旨奏位，殺之。 復出少微補外，使宦官護送，度江，投之水雲。
Earlier, Cui Wei and Ma Shaowei had both served on Nanzhong's staff. Because of Yingzhen's slander, Wei was sent out as assistant prefect of Suizhou. Wang Shuyong, the Dongchuan observation commissioner, eager to please his superiors, memorialized against Wei and had him executed. Shaowei was again sent out on an external appointment, with eunuchs assigned to escort him. When they crossed the river, they threw him into the waters.
5
獨孤及，字至之，河南洛陽人。 為兒時，讀《孝經》，父試之曰：「兒誌何語？」 對曰：「立身行道，揚名於後世。」 宗黨奇之。 天寶末，以道舉高第補華陰尉，辟江淮都統李亙府，掌書記。
Dugu, whose courtesy name was Zhizhi, came from Luoyang in Henan. As a boy he read the Classic of Filial Piety. His father tested him, asking, "Which passage do you remember, son? He replied, "Establish yourself in conduct and walk the Way, and make your name known to posterity. His kinsmen were astonished. Near the end of the Tianbao era he passed the Daoist learning examination with high honors and was appointed aide of Huayin. He was then recruited to the staff of Li Gen, overall commander of Jianghuai, as secretary.
6
代宗以左拾遺召，既至，上疏陳政曰：
Emperor Daizong summoned him as Left Reminder. On reaching court he submitted a memorial on state affairs, saying:
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陛下屢發德音，使左右侍臣得直言極諫。 壬辰詔書，召裴冕等十有三人集賢殿待制，以備詢問。 此五帝盛德也。 然頃者陛下雖容其直，而不錄其言，所上封皆寢不報。 有容下之名，無聽諫之實，遂使諫者稍稍自鉗口，飽食相招為祿仕，此忠鯁之人所以竊嘆，而臣亦恥之。 十室之邑，必有忠信，況朝廷之大，卿大夫之眾，陛下選授之精歟！ 假令不能如文王之多士，其中豈不有溫故知新，可懋陳政要而億則屢中者？ 陛下議政之際，曾不采其一說，堯之疇咨，禹之昌言，豈若是邪？ 昔堯設謗木於五達之衢，孔子曰：「以能問於不能，以多問於寡。」 然則多聞闕疑，不恥下問，聖人之心也。 願陛下以堯、孔心為心，日降清問，其不可者罷之，可者議於朝，與執事者共之。 使知之必言，言之必行，行之必公，則君臣無私論，朝廷無私政，陛下以此辨可否於獻替，而建太平之階可也。
Your Majesty has repeatedly issued benevolent edicts allowing those at your side to speak frankly and remonstrate without reserve. By the renchen edict Your Majesty summoned Pei Mian and thirteen others to await orders in the Jixian Hall, ready to answer your questions. Such was the great virtue of the Five Emperors. Yet lately, though Your Majesty has tolerated frank speech, you have not acted on it; sealed memorials lie unanswered. You have the reputation of tolerating subordinates but not the reality of heeding remonstrance, so remonstrators gradually fall silent and, well fed, invite one another to pursue salary and office. That is why loyal and upright men sigh in private—and I am ashamed as well. In a hamlet of ten households there must be loyal and trustworthy men—how much more in this vast court with its multitude of ministers, if Your Majesty's appointments are truly discerning! Even if they cannot equal King Wen's many scholars, surely among them are men who review the past and grasp the new, who could earnestly set forth essentials of government and whose counsel would repeatedly prove sound? When Your Majesty deliberates on government, you have never adopted a single proposal. Would Yao's consultations and Yu's excellent words have been treated so? Long ago Yao set up a criticism board at the crossroads of five thoroughfares. Confucius said, "The able should ask the unable; the many should ask the few. To hear widely, leave what is doubtful in doubt, and not be ashamed to ask those below—such is the mind of the sage. I urge Your Majesty to take the minds of Yao and Confucius as your own, to issue clear inquiries daily, to dismiss what will not do, and to debate at court what will do, sharing counsel with those in charge. Let those who know speak without fail, let what is spoken be carried out, and let what is carried out be just—then ruler and ministers will harbor no private designs and the court no private policies. By this Your Majesty may judge what to adopt and what to reject, and the steps to great peace may be laid.
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師興不息十年矣，人之生產，空於杼軸。 擁兵者第館亙街陌，奴婢厭酒肉，而貧人羸餓就役，剝膚及髓。 長安城中，白晝椎剽，吏不敢詰。 官亂職廢，將墮卒暴，百揆隳剌，如沸粥紛麻。 民不敢訴於有司，有司不敢聞陛下，茹毒飲痛，窮而無告。 今其心颙颙，獨恃於麥，麥不登，則易子咬骨矣。 陛下不以此時厲精更始，思所以救之之術，忍令宗廟有累卵之危，萬姓悼心失圖，臣實懼焉。 去年十一月丁巳夜，星隕如雨，昨清明降霜，三月苦熱，錯繆顛倒，沴莫大焉。 此下陵上替，怨讟之氣取之也。 天意丁寧譴戒，以警陛下，宜反躬罪己，旁求賢良者而師友之，黜貪佞不肖者，下哀痛之詔，去天下疾苦，廢無用之官，罷不急之費，禁止暴兵，節用愛人，兢兢乾乾，以僥福於上下，必能使天感神應，反妖災為和氣矣。
Armies have been raised without cease for ten years, and the people's production has been drained away at the loom. Those who hold armies have mansions stretching block after block; their slaves are sated with wine and meat, while the poor, emaciated and starving, are pressed into service until skin and marrow are stripped away. In Chang'an, robbers strike by broad daylight, and officials dare not investigate. Offices are in disorder and duties abandoned; generals fall and soldiers run wild; the hundred ministries lie in ruins, tangled like boiling porridge and hemp. The people dare not appeal to the authorities; the authorities dare not report to Your Majesty. They swallow poison and drink pain, driven to extremity with nowhere to turn. Now their hearts look up in hope, relying solely on the wheat harvest; if the wheat fails, they will exchange children and gnaw bones. Your Majesty does not at this moment exert yourself and make a new beginning, thinking how to save them, but would let the ancestral temples face peril as fragile as piled eggs and the myriad people lose heart in grief with no plan—I am truly afraid. On the dingsi night of the eleventh month last year stars fell like rain; yesterday at Qingming frost fell; in the third month came bitter heat—things are perverse and upside down, and no omen of calamity is greater. This comes from inferiors overbearing their superiors and superiors declining—the breath of resentment and complaint. Heaven's intent is earnest warning to alert Your Majesty. Turn inward and blame yourself, seek worthy men far and wide to take as teachers and friends, dismiss the greedy and fawning, issue an edict of grief and compassion, remove the realm's sufferings, abolish useless offices, cut nonessential expenditures, forbid violent troops, economize and cherish the people, and be cautious and diligent in seeking blessing for above and below—surely Heaven will be moved, spirits will respond, and evil portents will turn to harmony.
9
又言：
He also said:
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減江淮、山南諸道兵以贍國用，陛下初不以臣言為愚，然許即施行，及今未有沛然之詔，臣竊遲之。 今天下唯朔方、隴西有吐蕃、仆固之虞，邠、涇、鳳翔兵足以當之矣。 自此而往，東洎海，南至番禺，西盡巴蜀，無鼠竊之盜，而兵不為解。 傾天下之貨，竭天下之谷，以給不用之軍，為無端之費，臣不知其故。 假令居安思危，以備不虞，自可阨害之地，俾置屯禦，悉休其餘，以糧儲扉屨之資充疲人貢賦，歲可以減國租半。 陛下豈遲疑於改作，逡巡於舊貫，使大議有所壅，而率土之患日甚一日？ 是益其弊而厚其疾也。 夫療癰者，必決之使潰。 今兵之為患，猶癰也，不以漸戢之，其害滋大，大而圖之，必力倍而功寡，豈《易》「不俟終日」之義邪？
Reduce the armies of Jianghuai, Shannan, and the other circuits to support state expenses. Your Majesty at first did not think my words foolish and promised immediate action, yet to this day no sweeping edict has come—I wait in private hope. Today only Shuofang and Longxi face threats from Tibetans and the Pugu; the armies of Bin, Jing, and Fengxiang are sufficient to meet them. From here east to the sea, south to Panyu, west through Ba-Shu, there are no thieves even as small as mice, yet the armies are not disbanded. The goods of the realm are poured out and its grain exhausted to supply armies that are not needed, for expenditures without cause—I do not understand why. Even if one dwells in security and thinks of danger, one may simply post garrisons in perilous places and rest all the rest, using grain stores and humble supplies to meet the tribute levies of the weary people—each year the state land tax could be cut in half. Would Your Majesty delay reform, cling to old practices, let great deliberations be blocked, and the sufferings of the realm grow worse day by day? That would only increase the harm and thicken the disease. To treat a carbuncle, one must lance it and make it burst. The harm of the armies is like a carbuncle; if they are not gradually reduced, the harm grows greater. To act only when it is already great requires double the effort for half the result—is this not contrary to the Changes' teaching, "do not wait for the whole day"?
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俄改太常博士。 或言景皇帝不宜為太祖，及據禮條上。 謚呂諲、盧弈、郭知運等無浮美，無隱惡，得褒貶之正。 遷禮部員外郎，歷濠、舒二州刺史。 歲饑旱，鄰郡庸亡什四以上，舒人獨安。 以治課加檢校司封郎中，賜金紫。 徙常州，甘露降其廷。 卒，年五十三，謚曰憲。
Before long he was appointed Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When some argued that Emperor Jing should not serve as Grand Ancestor, he submitted a memorial citing the ritual provisions. In assigning posthumous titles to Lu Yin, Lu Yi, Guo Zhiyun, and others, he used no inflated praise and hid no evil, achieving the proper balance of praise and blame. He was promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites and served successively as prefect of Hao and Shu. In a year of famine and drought, neighboring prefectures lost more than four-tenths of their corvée laborers, while the people of Shu alone remained secure. For excellence in administration he was given the additional title of Acting Director in the Bureau of Enfeoffments and awarded gold and purple insignia. He was transferred to Changzhou, where sweet dew descended in his courtyard. He died at the age of fifty-three and was given the posthumous epithet Admonitory.
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及喜鑒拔後進，如梁肅、高參、崔元翰、陳京、唐次、齊抗皆師事之。 性孝友。 其為文彰明善惡，長於論議。 晚嗜琴，有眼疾，不肯治，欲聽之專也。 子朗、郁。
Gu delighted in discerning and promoting younger men; Liang Su, Gao Can, Cui Yuanhan, Chen Jing, Tang Ci, and Qi Kang all studied under him. By nature he was filial and friendly. His writing made good and evil manifest and excelled in discourse and argument. In his later years he loved the zither; he had an eye ailment but refused treatment, wishing to devote himself wholly to listening. His sons were Lang and Yu.
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朗，字用晦，由處士辟署江西、宣歙、浙東三府。 元和中，擢右拾遺。 建言：「宜用觀察使領本道鹽鐵，罷場監管榷吏，除百姓之患。」 不聽。 盜殺武元衡，朗請貶京兆尹，誅捕賊吏。 因勸罷兵，忤憲宗意，貶興元戶曹參軍。 久乃拜殿中侍御史，兼史館修撰。 坐與李景儉飲，景儉使酒慢宰相，出為韶州刺史。 召還，再遷諫議大夫。
Lang, whose courtesy name was Yonghui, was recruited from private life to serve on the staffs of Jiangxi, Xuan-She, and Zhedong. During the Yuanhe era he was promoted to Right Reminder. He offered counsel: "The observation commissioner should oversee this circuit's salt and iron, the field supervisors who monopolize and tax should be abolished, and the people's affliction removed. His advice was not heeded. When bandits killed Wu Yuanheng, Lang requested that the metropolitan magistrate be demoted and the officers who failed to capture the killers be punished. Because he urged disbanding the armies and offended Emperor Xianzong, he was demoted to revenue adjutant of Xingyuan. After a long interval he was appointed Palace Attendant Censor and concurrently compiler at the Historiography Institute. Because he drank with Li Jingjian, who when drunk insulted the chief minister, Lang was sent out as prefect of Shaozhou. Recalled to court, he was promoted twice to Grand Remonstrator.
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敬宗初，宦官毆鄠令崔發雞幹下，朗請誅首惡以正常法。 王播賂權近，還判鹽鐵，朗連疏論執。 遷御史中丞。 故事，選御史皆中丞自請。 是時，崔晁、鄭居中繇宰相力得監察御史，朗拒不納，晁、居中卒改他官。 侍御史李道樞醉謁朗，朗劾不虔，下除司議郎。 會殿中王源植貶官，朗直其枉，書五上不報，即自劾執法不稱，願罷去。 帝遣中人尉諭不許。 文宗初，遷工部侍郎，出為福建觀察使，創發背卒，贈右散騎常侍。
At the beginning of Jingzong's reign, eunuchs beat Magistrate Cui Fa of E below Jigan; Lang requested that the chief culprits be executed to restore the rule of law. Wang Bo bribed those near power and returned to oversee salt and iron; Lang submitted successive memorials arguing against the appointment. He was promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief. By longstanding practice, the vice censor-in-chief alone nominated candidates for censorial posts. At that time Cui Chao and Zheng Juzhong had secured appointments as investigative censors through the chief minister's influence, but Lang refused to accept them, and in the end both men were assigned to other posts. Attending Censor Li Daoshu visited Lang while drunk; Lang impeached him for disrespect, and he was demoted from office to Remonstrance Secretary. When Palace Attendant Wang Yuanzhi was demoted, Lang insisted he had been wrongfully punished; after five unanswered memorials he impeached himself for failing in his duties and asked to be removed from office. The emperor sent the eunuch Wei Yu to tell him that his resignation would not be accepted. At the beginning of Wenzong's reign he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works and sent out as Military Commissioner of Fujian; a carbuncle on his back proved fatal, and he was posthumously awarded the title Right Regular Attendant.
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郁，字古風，始生而孤，與朗育於伯父汜。 擢進士第，最為權德輿所稱，以女妻之。 元和初，舉制科高等，拜右拾遺，俄兼史館修撰，進右補闕。 吐突承璀討王承宗，郁執不可，挺議鯁固，號稱職。 擢翰林學士。 德輿輔政，以嫌去內職，拜考功員外郎，仍兼修撰。 憲宗嘆德輿乃有佳婿，詔宰相高選世族，故杜悰尚岐陽公主，然帝猶謂不如德輿之得郁也。 俄知制誥。 德輿去位，還為學士。 九年，以疾辭禁近，徙秘書少監，屏居鄠，卒，年四十，贈絳州刺史。 郁有雅名，帝遇之厚，議者亦謂當宰相，共以早世惜之。
Yu, styled Gufeng, lost his father at birth and was raised together with Lang by their uncle Si. He passed the jinshi examination and won high praise from Quan Deyu, who gave him his daughter in marriage. At the beginning of the Yuanhe era he passed the special examination with high honors, was appointed Right Remonstrance Official, soon added the post of Historiography Institute compiler, and was promoted to Right Supplementor. When Tutu Chengcui marched against Wang Chengzong, Yu firmly opposed the campaign; his blunt, unyielding memorials won praise for his fulfillment of office. He was promoted to Hanlin Academician. When Deyu entered the government, Yu stepped down from his inner-court post to avoid conflict of interest, was appointed External Official of the Evaluation Bureau in the Ministry of Personnel, and continued as a historiography compiler. Emperor Xianzong sighed that Deyu had such an excellent son-in-law, and ordered the chief ministers to choose sons-in-law from the highest noble families; Du Cong therefore married Princess Qiyang, yet the emperor still said none matched Deyu's match with Yu. Soon he was put in charge of drafting edicts. When Deyu left office, Yu returned to his post as Hanlin Academician. In the ninth year he resigned his inner-court post on grounds of illness, was transferred to Deputy Director of the Secretariat, retired to live in seclusion at E, died at forty, and was posthumously made Prefect of Jiangzhou. Yu enjoyed a refined reputation and received generous favor from the emperor; observers said he was destined for the chief ministership, and all mourned his early death.
16
子庠，字賢府，喪父始十歲，有至性，聞呼父官及吊客來，輒號慟幾絕。 後舉進士，仕至尚書丞。
His son Xiang, styled Xianfu, was only ten when his father died; possessed of deep filial feeling, whenever he heard his father's rank announced or mourners arrived, he would wail until he nearly collapsed. Later he passed the jinshi examination and rose to serve as a secretary in one of the ministries.
17
顧少連，字夷仲，蘇州吳人。 舉進士，尤為禮部侍郎薛邕所器，擢上第，以拔萃補登封主簿。 邑有虎孽，民患之，少連命塞陷阱，獨移文嶽神，虎不為害。 御史大夫於頎薦為監察御史。 德宗幸奉天，徒步詣謁，授水部員外郎、翰林學士。 再遷中書舍人，閱十年，以謹密稱。 嘗請徙先兆於洛，帝重遠去，詔遣其子往，且命中人護蕆葬役。
Gu Shaolian, styled Yizhong, was a native of Wu in Suzhou prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination and was especially favored by Vice Minister of Rites Xue Yong, who placed him in the top rank; through exceptional selection he was appointed chief clerk of Dengfeng. A tiger was ravaging the district and the people were in distress; Shaolian had the traps filled in and wrote a proclamation to the mountain god alone, after which the tiger did no further harm. Censor-in-Chief Yu Mi recommended him for appointment as investigative censor. When Emperor Dezong fled to Fengtian, he went on foot to pay his respects and was appointed External Official of the Water Bureau and Hanlin Academician. He was twice promoted to Drafting Secretary in the Secretariat, and over ten years earned a reputation for discretion and reliability. He once asked to move his forebears' tombs to Luoyang; the emperor, unwilling to let him leave court, ordered his son to go in his stead and sent eunuchs to supervise the burial.
18
歷吏部侍郎。 裴延齡方橫，無敢忤者。 嘗與少連會田鎬第，酒酣，少連挺笏曰：「段秀實笏擊賊臣，今吾笏將擊奸臣！」 奮且前，元友直在坐，歡解之。 改京兆尹。 政尚寬簡，不為灼灼名。 先是，京畿租賦薄厚不能一，少連以法均之。 遷吏部尚書，封本縣男，徙兵部。 為東都留守，表禁苑及汝閑田募耕以便民，閱武力，利鎧仗，號良吏。 卒，年六十二，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰敬。
He served as Vice Minister of Personnel. Pei Yanling was then riding high, and no one dared stand against him. Once, when Shaolian was gathered at Tian Hao's residence and the wine had gone to their heads, Shaolian raised his court tablet and declared: "Duan Xiushi used his tablet to strike down a traitorous minister—now my tablet will strike a treacherous minister!" He lunged forward, but Yuan Youzhi, who was present, stepped in and held him back. He was appointed Magistrate of Jingzhao. His governance favored leniency and simplicity, and he did not chase a flashy reputation. Previously land-tax assessments in the capital region had been uneven in burden; Shaolian brought them into balance according to law. He was promoted to Minister of Personnel, enfeoffed as Baron of his home county, and then transferred to the Ministry of War. As eastern capital garrison commander, he memorialized to open imperial parklands and idle fields along the Ru River for tenant farming to benefit the people, reviewed military strength, improved armor and weapons, and was hailed as an excellent administrator. He died at sixty-two, was posthumously made Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and was given the posthumous title Jing (Respectful).
19
始，少連攜少子師閔奔行在，有詔同止翰林院，車駕還，授同州參軍。
At the outset Shaolian fled with his youngest son Shi Min to the mobile court; an edict allowed them to stay together in the Hanlin grounds, and when the emperor returned Shi Min was appointed army adjutant of Tongzhou.
20
韋夏卿，字雲客，京兆萬年人。 少邃於學，善文辭。 大歷中，與弟正卿同舉賢良方正，皆策高等。 授高陵主簿，累遷刑部員外郎。 時仍歲旱蝗，詔以郎官宰畿甸，授奉天令，課第一，改長安令。 轉吏部員外郎、郎中，擢給事中，出為常、蘇二州刺史。 徐州節度使張建封疾甚，詔夏卿為徐泗行軍司馬，且代之。 未至，而建封卒，徐軍立其子愔為留後，召夏卿為吏部侍郎。
Wei Xiaqing, styled Yunke, was a native of Wannian in Jingzhao. From youth he was deeply learned and skilled in literary composition. During the Dali era he and his younger brother Zhengqing both entered the Worthy and Upright examination and both scored at the top of the policy essays. He was appointed chief clerk of Gaoling and rose through successive promotions to External Official of the Ministry of Justice. When drought and locusts afflicted the region year after year, an edict sent bureau officials to govern the capital districts; he was appointed magistrate of Fengtian, ranked first in assessment, and was then made magistrate of Chang'an. He served as External Official and then Bureau Director in the Ministry of Personnel, was promoted to Censor in Attendance, and was sent out as prefect of Changzhou and Suzhou. Zhang Jianfeng, military commissioner of Xuzhou, fell gravely ill; Xiaqing was ordered to serve as campaign deputy commander of Xu-Si and to succeed him. Before he arrived Jianfeng died; the Xu army installed his son Yin as acting commander, and Xiaqing was recalled to serve as Vice Minister of Personnel.
21
時從弟執誼在翰林，嘗受人金，有所幹請，密以金內夏卿懷中，夏卿毀懷不受，曰：「吾與爾賴先人遺德，致位及此，顧當是哉？」 執誼大慚。 轉京兆尹、太子賓客，檢校工部尚書，為東都留守，辭疾，改太子少保。 卒，年六十四，贈尚書左僕射，謚曰獻。
At the time his younger cousin Zhuyi was in the Hanlin Academy; having once taken gold from someone to press a request, he secretly slipped the gold into Xiaqing's robe; Xiaqing tore it open and refused it, saying: "You and I owe our positions to our ancestors' legacy—how could we do such a thing?" Zhuyi was deeply ashamed. He was made Magistrate of Jingzhao and Senior Mentor to the Heir Apparent, with acting appointment as Minister of Works, served as eastern capital garrison commander, pleaded illness, and was reassigned as Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent. He died at sixty-four, was posthumously made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and was given the posthumous title Xian (Dedicated).
22
夏卿性通簡，好古有遠韻，談說多聞。 晚歲將罷歸，署其居曰「大隱洞」。 與齊映、穆贊、贊弟員友善，雖同遊，終年不見其喜怛。 撫孤侄恩逾己子。 為政務通理，不甚作條教。 所辟士如路隋、張賈、李景儉等，至宰相達官，故世稱知人。
Xiaqing was open and unpretentious by nature; he loved antiquity and had a refined, far-reaching sensibility, and in conversation he was remarkably well informed. In his later years, as he prepared to retire and go home, he named his residence the Great Recluse Cave. He was close friends with Qi Ying, Mu Zan, and Zan's younger brother Yuan. Even when they traveled together, one could spend a whole year with him and never see a flash of joy or anger. He cared for his orphaned nephew with a devotion that surpassed what he gave his own sons. In office he sought broad, sensible governance and did not rely much on rigid rules and regulations. Scholars he brought into service, such as Lu Sui, Zhang Jia, and Li Jingjian, went on to become chancellors and high officials, so his contemporaries hailed him as a man who knew talent.
23
正卿子瓘，字茂弘，及進士第，仕累中書舍人。 與李德裕善，德裕任宰相，罕接士，唯瓘往請無間也。 李宗閔惡之，德裕罷，貶為明州長史。 會昌末，累遷楚州刺史，終桂管觀察使。
Zhengqing's son Guan, styled Maohong, passed the jinshi examination and eventually rose to become a drafting secretary in the Secretariat. He was friendly with Li Deyu. Once Deyu became chancellor he rarely saw visitors, but Guan alone continued to call on him without letup. Li Zongmin bore him ill will. After Deyu was removed from office, Guan was demoted to administrator of Ming Prefecture. Near the end of the Huichang reign he rose through successive posts to prefect of Chu Prefecture and ended his career as military commissioner of Guiguan.
24
段平仲，字秉庸，本武威人，隋民部尚書達六世孫。 擢進士第。 杜佑、李復之節度淮南，連表掌書記。 擢監察御史。 磊落有氣節，嗜酒敢言。 是時，德宗春秋高，躬自聽斷，天下事有所壅隔，群臣畏帝苛察，無敢言。 平仲常曰：「上聰明神武，但臣下畏怯，自為循默爾。 使我一日得召見，宜大有開納。」 會京師旱，詔擇御史、郎官開倉振恤。 平仲與考功員外郎陳歸被選，同得對，粗陳振恤事，帝察其意有所畜，以歸在側未言。 事訖，平仲方獨進，帝乃並留歸，正色問之，雜以它語，平仲錯牾不得言，乃謬稱名，帝怒，叱去之。 蒼黃向幄後，歸趨降招之，乃得去。 由是坐廢七年，然名由此顯。
Duan Pingzhong, styled Bingyong, came from Wuwei and was a sixth-generation descendant of Da, who had served as Minister of the Household under the Sui. He passed the jinshi examination. When Du You and Li Fuzhi held command in Huainan, each repeatedly recommended him to serve as chief secretary. He was promoted to supervising censor. He was open and principled, fond of wine, and unafraid to speak his mind. At that time Emperor Dezong was old and decided matters himself. Public business was often obstructed, and the officials, fearing his harsh scrutiny, dared not speak out. Pingzhong often said, "The emperor is brilliant and formidable—it is only that his ministers are timid and choose to hold their tongues. If I were summoned to an audience even once, he would surely be far more open to counsel. When drought struck the capital, an edict called for censors and directorate officials to be chosen to open the granaries and provide famine relief. Pingzhong and Chen Gui, an auxiliary director in the Ministry of Personnel, were chosen. Both were granted an audience and briefly reported on the relief work. The emperor saw that Pingzhong had more on his mind, but with Chen Gui standing beside him he held back. When the audience ended, Pingzhong stepped forward alone. The emperor kept Chen Gui there too and questioned him with a stern face, interspersing other subjects. Pingzhong grew flustered and contradicted himself until he could say nothing; then he even gave his name incorrectly. The emperor flew into a rage and ordered him out. Flustered, he turned toward the back of the screen. Chen Gui hurried down to signal him, and only then did he manage to withdraw. For this he languished in obscurity for seven years, yet it was this very episode that made his name known.
25
元和初，為諫議大夫，憲宗使吐突承璀討鎮州，亟疏爭，不可。 及還，無功，又請斬之。 再遷尚書右丞。 朝廷有得失，未嘗不論奏，世推其敢直雲。 終太子左庶子。
Early in the Yuanhe reign he became remonstrance grandee. When Emperor Xianzong dispatched Tutu Chengcui to attack Zhen Prefecture, Pingzhong repeatedly memorialized in protest, but to no avail. When Chengcui returned without success, Pingzhong again petitioned that he be executed. He was promoted again to vice director of the right bureau of the Ministry of Revenue. Whenever the court erred or excelled, he never failed to speak out in memorials, and his contemporaries admired his fearless candor. He ended his career as left assistant to the heir apparent.
26
贊曰：君有常尊，臣有定卑，自然之勢也。 然臣不自通於上，君不降而逮諸下，則治不得成而功不彰。 返是而天下之務粲焉幾矣。 德宗察察，欲折伏臣下，自為聰明，而治愈疏。 段平仲一忤上，蒼惶失對，而猶以取名，何哉？ 下知所職，而上喪其所以為上也。 故聖王屈己從諫，君臣兩得其美，知道之本歟！
Appreciation: The ruler holds a fixed dignity and the minister a fixed subordination—such is the natural order. Yet if ministers do not open communication upward and the ruler does not humble himself to reach those below, good governance cannot be achieved and merit cannot shine forth. Turn this around, and the business of the empire would be brought nearly to perfection. Emperor Dezong was hyper-vigilant. He sought to break his ministers into submission and prided himself on his own cleverness, yet the more he did so the further good governance receded. Duan Pingzhong once offended the emperor, flustered and unable to answer coherently, yet still won fame from the episode—how can that be? Those below knew their place, while the ruler above lost what it meant to rule. That is why the sage king humbles himself to heed remonstrance, so that ruler and minister each gain what is best—is this not the very root of the Way?
27
呂元膺，字景夫，鄆州東平人。 姿儀瑰秀，有器識。 始遊京師，謁故宰相齊映，映嘆曰：「吾不及識婁、郝，殆斯人類乎！」 策賢良高第，調安邑尉，辟長春宮判官。 李懷光亂河中，輒解去。 論惟明節度渭北，表佐其府。 惟明卒，王棲曜代之，德宗敕棲曜留元膺自佐，入拜殿中侍御史。 歷右司員外郎。 出為蘄州刺史，嘗錄囚，囚或白：「父母在，明日歲旦不得省，為恨。」 因泣，元膺惻然，悉釋械歸之，而戒還期。 吏白「不可」，答曰：「吾以信待人，人豈我違？」 如期而至。 自是群盜感愧，悉避境去。
Lu Yuanying, styled Jingfu, came from Dongping in Yan Prefecture. He was striking in appearance and possessed both talent and judgment. When he first went to the capital, he paid a visit to the former chancellor Qi Ying. Qi sighed and said, "I never had the chance to know Lou and Hao—perhaps this man is of their kind! He placed at the top of the special examination for the worthy and able, was appointed magistrate of Anyi County, and was recruited as judge of the Everlasting Spring Palace. When Li Huai'guang rebelled in Hezhong, Yuanying promptly resigned and departed. When Lun Weiming held command in Weibei, he recommended Yuanying to serve on his staff. After Weiming died, Wang Qiyao took his place. Emperor Dezong instructed Qiyao to keep Yuanying on as his aide, and Yuanying then entered the capital and was appointed palace censor. He served as auxiliary director in the right bureau. He was sent out as prefect of Qi Prefecture. Once, while reviewing prisoners, one of them said, "My parents are still alive, and tomorrow is New Year's Day. I cannot go home to see them, and that grieves me. The man wept. Moved to pity, Yuanying removed all their shackles and sent them home, but set a date for their return. The clerks protested that this could not be done. He answered, "I treat people with trust—would they betray me?" They returned on the appointed day. After this the local bandits were so moved by shame that they all left the prefecture.
28
元和中，累擢給事中。 俄為同州刺史。 既謝，帝逮問政事，所對詳詣。 明日，謂宰相曰：「元膺直氣讜言，宜留左右，奈何出之？」 李藩、裴垍謝，因言：「陛下及此，乃宗社無疆之休。 臣等昧死請留元膺給事左右。」 未幾，兼皇太子侍讀，進御史中丞。 拜鄂嶽觀察使。 嘗夜登城，守者不許。 左右曰：「中丞也。」 對曰：「夜不可辨。」 乃還。 明日，擢守者為大將。 入拜尚書左丞。 度支使潘孟陽、太府卿王遂交相惡，乃除孟陽散騎常侍，遂鄧州刺史，詔辭無所輕重。 元膺上其詔，請明枉直，以顯褒懲。
During the Yuanhe reign he rose through successive posts to become supervisor of the Secretariat. Before long he was appointed prefect of Tong Prefecture. After he had bid farewell to take up his post, the emperor summoned him back to question him on state affairs, and his replies were detailed and precise. The next day the emperor said to his chancellors, "Yuanying is upright and speaks his mind. He ought to be kept close at court—why send him away? Li Fan and Pei Ji thanked him, then added, "Your Majesty's reaching this judgment is boundless good fortune for the realm. We venture to beg that Yuanying be kept at Your Majesty's side to serve the court." Before long he was also appointed tutor to the crown prince and promoted to censor-in-chief. He was appointed military commissioner of E-Yue. Once, at night, he tried to ascend the city wall, but the guards refused him entry. His attendants called out, "It is the censor-in-chief. The guard answered, "In the dark I cannot tell who you are." Yuanying went back. The next day he promoted that guard to senior commander. He returned to the capital and was appointed left vice director of the Ministry of Revenue. Fiscal commissioner Pan Mengyang and grand provisioner Wang Sui hated each other. Mengyang was made regular attendant and Wang Sui prefect of Deng Prefecture, yet the edicts' language made no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy. Yuanying submitted the edicts and asked that right and wrong be made plain, so that reward and punishment would be clear.
29
江西裴堪按虔州刺史李將順受賕，不覆訊而貶。 元膺曰：「觀察使奏部刺史，不加覆，雖當誅，猶不可為天下法。」 請遣御史按問，宰相不能奪。
Pei Kan, commissioner of Jiangxi, investigated Li Jiangshun, prefect of Qian Prefecture, for taking bribes and had him demoted without holding a rehearing. Yuanying said, "When an observation commissioner reports on a prefect under his jurisdiction and punishes him without a rehearing, even if the man deserved death, this cannot be allowed to stand as precedent for the empire. He asked that censors be dispatched to investigate, and the chancellors could not overrule him.
30
選拜東都留守。 故事，留守賜旗甲，至元膺不給。 或上言：「用兵討淮西，東都近賊，損其儀，沮威望，請比華、汝、壽三州。」 帝不聽，並三州罷之。 留守不賜旗甲，自此始。 都有李師道留邸，邸兵與山棚謀竊發，事覺，元膺禽破之。 始，盜發，都人震恐，守兵弱不足恃，元膺坐城門指縱部分，意氣閑舒，人賴以安。 東畿西南通鄧、虢，川谷曠深，多麋鹿，人業射獵而不事農，遷徙無常，皆趫悍善鬥，號曰「山棚」。 權德輿居守，將羈縻之，未克。 至是，元膺募為山河子弟，使衛宮城，詔可。
He was selected and appointed defender of the Eastern Capital. By custom, defenders of the capital were granted banners and armor, but when Yuanying took office none were issued. Someone memorialized the throne: "With troops campaigning against Huainan West, the Eastern Capital lies close to the enemy. To strip it of its regalia would sap its authority. I ask that it be treated like the prefectures of Hua, Ru, and Shou. The emperor refused, and abolished the practice for those three prefectures as well. From this time the Eastern Capital defender ceased to receive banners and armor. In the capital district stood a liaison residence maintained by Li Shidao. Its garrison soldiers conspired with the Mountain Sheds to launch a surprise uprising. When the plot was exposed, Yuanying captured the conspirators and broke up the scheme. When the plot first came to light, the people of the capital were terrified. The garrison was too weak to be trusted. Yuanying took his seat at the city gate, directing the deployment of forces with calm and unhurried bearing, and the people drew reassurance from him. Southwest of the Eastern Capital jurisdiction, where the land opens toward Deng and Guo, lie deep and sweeping valleys teeming with elk and deer. The people lived by hunting rather than farming, moved about without fixed homes, and were all swift, fierce, and skilled in combat. They were known as the "Mountain Sheds." When Quan Deyu had held the post of defender, he had tried to bring them under control but failed. Now Yuanying recruited them as "sons of the mountains and rivers," assigning them to guard the palace city, and the emperor approved by edict.
31
改河中節度使。 時方鎮多姑息，獨元膺秉正自將，監軍及中人往來者，無不嚴憚。 入拜吏部侍郎。 正色立朝，有臺宰望，處事裁宜，人服其有禮。 以疾改太子賓客。 居官始終無訾缺。 卒，年七十二，贈吏部尚書。
He was transferred to military governor of Hezhong. In those days most regional commanders were indulgent toward their men, but Yuanying alone governed with upright discipline. Army supervisors and palace eunuchs who passed through his command all held him in strict awe. He returned to the capital and was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He stood at court with stern dignity, bearing the stature of a chief censor or chancellor. In handling affairs he judged each case on its merits, and all respected him for his propriety. Illness led to his reassignment as mentor to the crown prince. From first appointment to last he served without a mark against his name. He died at seventy-two and was posthumously granted the title of minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
32
許孟容，字公範，京兆長安人。 擢進士異等，又第明經，調校書郎。 辟武寧張建封府。 李納以兵拒境，建封遣使諭止，前後三輩往，皆不聽。 乃使孟容見納，敷引逆順，納即悔謝，為罷兵。 表為濠州刺史。
Xu Mengrong, styled Gongfan, came from Chang'an in Jingzhao. He passed the jinshi examination with exceptional distinction, also ranked in the Classicist examination, and was appointed collator. Zhang Jianfeng of Wuning recruited him to his staff. Li Na massed troops along the border. Jianfeng sent envoys urging him to withdraw; three missions went in succession, and Li Na ignored them all. Jianfeng then sent Mengrong to see Li Na. Mengrong argued at length the logic of loyalty and rebellion, and Na at once expressed remorse, apologized, and withdrew his troops. Jianfeng recommended him for appointment as prefect of Hao Prefecture.
33
德宗知其能，召拜禮部員外郎。 公主子求補崇文生者，孟容固謂不可，主訴之，帝問狀，以著令對。 帝嘉其守，擢郎中。 累遷給事中。 京兆上言「好畤風雹害稼」，帝遣宦人覆視，不實，奪尹以下俸。 孟容曰：「府縣上事不實，罪應罰。 然陛下遣宦者覆視，紊綱紀。 宜更擇御史一人參驗，乃可。」 不聽。
Emperor Dezong learned of his abilities and summoned him to serve as vice director of the Ministry of Rites. When a princess's son sought a place at the Chongwen Academy, Mengrong firmly refused. The princess complained to the emperor, who asked what had happened, and Mengrong answered by citing the regulations on the books. The emperor admired his integrity and promoted him to director. He rose through successive posts to become supervisor of the Secretariat. The Jingzhao administration reported that wind and hail at Haoshi had damaged the crops. The emperor sent a eunuch to verify the claim; it proved false, and salaries were withheld from the prefect down. Mengrong said, "When a prefecture or county submits a false report, punishment is certainly warranted. Yet when Your Majesty sends eunuchs to conduct such inquiries, the proper chain of command is thrown into disorder. Your Majesty ought instead to appoint a censor to assist in the verification—that would be the proper course. The emperor refused to listen.
34
浙東觀察使裴肅諉判官齊總暴斂以厚獻，厭天子所欲。 會肅卒，帝擢總自大理評事兼監察御史為衢州刺史。 衢，大州也。 孟容還制曰：「方用兵處，有不待次而擢者。 今衢不他虞，總無功越進超授，群議謂何？ 且總本判官，今詔書乃言『權知留後，攝都團練副使』，初無制授，尤不見其可。 假令總有可錄，宜暴課最，解中外之惑。」 會補闕王武陵等亦執爭，於是詔中停。 帝召謂曰：「使百執事皆如卿，朕何憂邪？」 自袁高爭盧杞後，凡十八年，門下無議可否者。 至孟容數論駁，四方知天子開納多士，浩然想見其風。
Pei Su, commissioner of Zhedong, pinned the blame on his aide Qi Zong for extortionate levies used to make lavish gifts that satisfied the emperor's wishes. When Pei Su died, the emperor promoted Qi Zong—from reviser in the Court of Judicial Review, concurrently serving as censor—to prefect of Qu Prefecture. Quzhou was a major prefecture. Mengrong sent the edict back, arguing: "In regions where armies are active, men are sometimes promoted out of turn—but that is the exception. Quzhou faces no military threat, yet Zong is leapfrogged into a post he has not earned—what will the court and the realm make of that? Moreover, Zong was only a staff judge; the edict now calls him 'acting governor in charge of affairs, concurrently deputy military commissioner'—yet he was never formally appointed to either post in the first place, which is all the more indefensible. Even if Zong had done something worth noting, his record should be published and his merits ranked openly, to clear confusion inside the palace and out. Supplemental Remonstrance Officer Wang Wuling and others joined the protest, and the appointment was struck from the edict. The Emperor summoned him and said: "If every minister served as you do, what would I have left to fear? Since Yuan Gao had challenged the appointment of Lu Qi, eighteen years had passed without a single remonstrance from the Secretariat on whether an edict should stand. Once Mengrong began arguing edicts again and again, men across the realm saw that the throne was open to honest counsel, and they looked on with renewed hope.
35
貞元十九年夏，大旱，上疏言：「陛下齋居損膳，具牲玉，走群望，而天意未答，豈豐歉有定，陰陽適然乎？ 竊惟天人交感之際，系教令順民與否。 今戶部錢非度支歲計，本備緩急，若取一百萬緡代京兆一歲賦，則京圻無流亡，振災為福。 又應省察流移征防當還未還，役作禁錮當釋未釋； 負逋饋送，當免免之； 沈滯郁抑，當伸伸之； 以順人奉天。 若是而神弗祐、歲弗稔，未之聞也。」 先是，為裴延齡、李齊運流斥者，雖十年弗內移，故孟容因旱及之。 帝始不悅，改太常少卿。
In the summer of the nineteenth year of Zhenyuan, drought struck the land. He memorialized the throne: "Your Majesty has fasted, cut your meals, offered beasts and jade, and rushed prayers to every sacred peak—yet Heaven still withholds rain. Are harvest and famine truly fixed by fate, and yin and yang simply running their course? I believe that when Heaven and men meet in mutual response, the hinge is whether the ruler's orders truly serve the people. The Treasury reserve is not part of the Finance Commission's annual budget; it exists for emergencies. Take one million strings of cash to cover one year's levy for the capital prefecture, and the capital districts would lose their refugees—turning disaster relief into a blessing. The court should also review displaced persons and frontier garrison troops who should have been sent home but were not, and corvee laborers and prisoners who should have been freed but still languish in confinement; those owing back taxes and tribute deliveries—where remission is owed, remit it; those buried in obscurity and crushed by injustice—where redress is owed, grant it; so that the ruler may align with the people and thereby serve Heaven. If the throne did all this and the spirits still withheld their blessing and the fields still failed to ripen, I have never heard of such a case. Before this, officials banished through the machinations of Pei Yanling and Li Qiyun had gone ten years without being recalled to the capital; Mengrong used the drought to raise their case as well. The Emperor took offense at first and moved him to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
36
元和初，再遷尚書右丞、京兆尹。 神策軍自興元後，日驕恣，府縣不能制。 軍吏李昱貸富人錢八百萬，三歲不肯歸。 孟容遣吏捕詰，與之期使償，曰：「不如期，且死！」 一軍盡驚，訴於朝。 憲宗詔以昱付軍治之，再遣使，皆不聽，奏曰：「不奉詔，臣當誅。 然臣職司輦轂，當為陛下抑豪強。 錢未盡輸，昱不可得。」 帝嘉其守正，許之。 京師豪右大震。
At the opening of the Yuanhe reign, he was promoted in succession to Right Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue and Metropolitan Governor of the capital. After the court's return from Xingyuan, the Shence Army grew more arrogant by the day, and neither prefecture nor county could restrain them. An army clerk named Li Yu borrowed eight million cash from a wealthy man and for three years refused to pay it back. Mengrong sent officers to seize and question him, fixed a deadline for repayment, and declared: "Miss that date, and you die! The whole army was shaken, and the case was brought before the throne. Emperor Xianzong ordered Yu turned over to the army for punishment. Mengrong sent messengers twice; both were ignored. He memorialized: "In defying the edict, I deserve death. Yet my office governs the imperial capital, and it is my duty to hold the mighty in check for Your Majesty. Until every coin is repaid, Yu will not be released. The Emperor praised his integrity and let him have his way. The great families of the capital were thoroughly shaken.
37
累遷吏部侍郎。 盜殺武元衡，孟容白宰相曰：「漢有一汲黯，奸臣寢謀。 今朝廷無有過失，而狂賊敢爾，尚謂國有人乎？ 願白天子，起裴中丞輔政，使主兵柄，索賊黨，罪人得矣。」 後數日，果相度。 俄以尚書左丞宣慰汴宋陳許河陽行營，拜東都留守。 卒，年七十六，贈太子少保，謚曰憲。
He rose in succession to Vice Minister of Personnel. When assassins killed Wu Yuanheng, Mengrong told the chancellors: "In Han times one Ji An was enough to make treacherous ministers abandon their schemes. The court has done nothing wrong, yet mad assassins dare strike like this—can we still say the realm has men of backbone? I urge that Your Majesty be told to recall Vice Censor Pei to help govern, give him command of the armies, and hunt down the assassins' faction—the guilty will then be caught. A few days later, Pei Du was indeed made chief minister. Soon after, as Left Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue, he was sent as imperial envoy to the Bian-Song, Chen-Xu, and Heyang field commands, and appointed Defender of the Eastern Capital. He died at seventy-six. The throne posthumously enfeoffed him as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent and gave him the posthumous name Xian, "Principled."
38
孟容方勁有禮學，每所折衷，咸得其正。 好提腋士，天下清議上之。
Mengrong was upright and resolute, steeped in ritual learning, and in every judgment he rendered he struck the fair middle ground. He delighted in lifting up scholars, and men of public reputation across the realm held him in high esteem.
39
弟季同，始署西川韋臯府判官。 劉辟反，棄妻子歸，拜監察御史。 歷長安令，再遷兵部郎中。 孟容為禮部侍郎，徙季同京兆少尹。 時京兆尹元義方出為鄜坊觀察使，奏劾宰相李絳與季同舉進士為同年，才數月輒徙。 帝以問絳，絳曰：「進士、明經，歲大抵百人，吏部得官至千人，私謂為同年，本非親與舊也。 今季同以兄嫌徙少尹，豈臣所助邪？ 且忠臣事君，不以私害公，設有才，雖親舊當白用。 避嫌不用，乃臣下身謀，非天子用人意。」 帝然之。 終宣歙觀察使。
His younger brother Jitong began as a staff judge in Wei Gao's Western Chuan command. When Liu Pi rose in rebellion, Jitong left his wife and children behind and made his way home, where he was appointed Supervising Censor. He served as magistrate of Chang'an and was promoted twice to become a Director in the Ministry of War. While Mengrong served as Vice Minister of Rites, Jitong was transferred to Deputy Metropolitan Governor of the capital. At the time Metropolitan Governor Yuan Yifang was posted out as Regional Inspector of Bian-Fang, he memorialized accusing Chief Minister Li Jiang of favoritism: he and Jitong had passed the jinshi in the same year, yet within a few months Jitong was given a new post. The Emperor questioned Li Jiang. Li Jiang replied: "Each year the jinshi and mingjing cohorts number about a hundred, yet over time the Ministry of Personnel may elevate a thousand men to office. People casually call them 'classmates of the same year,' but that is no bond of kinship or old friendship. Jitong was moved to Deputy Metropolitan Governor because of his brother's position—how could I have helped that along? Besides, a loyal minister serves his ruler without letting private ties harm the public good. If a man has talent, even a relative or old friend ought to be openly recommended. To pass over a capable man merely to avoid suspicion is a minister looking out for himself, not the Son of Heaven's way of choosing officials. The Emperor accepted his explanation. He ended his career as Regional Inspector of Xuan-She.
40
薛存誠，字資明，河中寶鼎人。 中進士第。 擢累監察御史。 元和初，討劉辟，郵傳事叢，詔以中人為館驛使，存誠以為害體甚，奏罷之。 轉殿中侍御史，累遷給事中。 瓊林庫廣籍工徒，存誠曰：「此奸人羼名以避征役，不可許。」 又神策軍與咸陽尉袁儋不平，誣奏之，儋被罰。 二敕皆執不下。 憲宗悅，遣使勞之，拜御史中丞。 浮屠鑒虛者，自貞元中關通賂遺，倚宦豎為奸，會坐於頔、杜黃裳家事，逮捕下獄。 存誠窮劾之，得贓數十萬，當以大辟。 權近更保救於帝，有詔釋之，存誠不聽。 明日，詔使詣臺諭曰：「朕須此囚面詰，非赦也。」 存誠奏曰：「獄已具，陛下必欲召赦之，請先殺臣乃可。 不然，臣不敢奉詔。」 鑒虛卒抵死。 江西監軍高重昌妄劾信州刺史李位謀反，追付仗內詰狀。 存誠一日三表，請付位御史臺。 及按，果無實。
Xue Cuncheng, courtesy name Ziming, came from Baoding in Hezhong. He passed the jinshi civil examination. He rose through successive appointments to the post of censor. Early in the Yuanhe reign, as the court moved against Liu Pi, postal relay affairs fell into chaos. The emperor ordered eunuchs appointed as postal station commissioners. Cuncheng argued that this would grievously harm the state and memorialized to have the policy revoked. He was transferred to palace attendant censor and eventually promoted to supervisor of attendants. When the Qionglang Treasury greatly expanded its registry of craftsmen and laborers, Cuncheng said, "Wicked men are inserting false names to evade conscription and corvée — this cannot be allowed. The Shence Army had a grudge against Yuan Dan, magistrate of Xianyang, and filed a false accusation against him; Yuan was punished. On both edicts he held his ground and refused to promulgate them. Emperor Xianzong was delighted, sent an envoy to commend him, and appointed him vice censor-in-chief. The Buddhist monk Jianxu had since the Zhenyuan era maintained illicit contacts and bribe networks at the frontier passes, relying on eunuchs for his schemes. He became implicated in affairs involving Yu Di and Du Huangshang and was arrested and imprisoned. Cuncheng pursued the investigation to the end and uncovered bribes totaling several hundred thousand cash; the punishment prescribed was death. The powerful at court repeatedly pleaded with the emperor on his behalf. An edict was issued to release him, but Cuncheng refused to comply. The next day an imperial envoy came to the censorate with instructions: "I need to question this prisoner face to face — this is not a pardon. Cuncheng memorialized in reply, "The case is closed. If Your Majesty insists on summoning and pardoning him, execute me first — only then will I comply. Otherwise, your subject cannot obey the edict." Jianxu was executed in the end. Gao Chongchang, the Jiangxi army supervisor, falsely accused Li Wei, prefect of Xinzhou, of plotting rebellion. Li Wei was seized and handed over to the inner palace guard for interrogation. Cuncheng submitted three memorials in a single day, asking that Li Wei be transferred to the censorate. When the matter was investigated, the accusation proved entirely groundless.
41
未幾，復為給事中。 會御史中丞闕，帝謂宰相曰：「持憲無易存誠者。」 乃復命之。 會暴卒，帝悼惜，贈刑部侍郎。 存誠性和易，於人無所不容，及當官，毅然不可奪。 子廷老。
Before long he was again appointed supervisor of attendants. When the vice censor-in-chief post fell vacant, the emperor told the chief ministers, "For upholding the law, no one can replace Cuncheng. He was accordingly reappointed to the post. He died suddenly soon afterward. The emperor grieved his loss and posthumously enfeoffed him as vice minister of justice. By nature Cuncheng was mild and accommodating toward everyone, yet once in office he was resolute and could not be moved. His son was Tinglao.
42
廷老，字商叟，及進士第，讜正有父風。 寶歷中，為右拾遺。 敬宗政日僻，嘗與舒元褒、李漢入閣論奏曰：「比除拜不由宰司擬進，恐綱紀浸壞，奸邪放肆。」 帝厲語曰：「更論何事？」 元褒曰：「宮中興作太甚。」 帝色變，曰：「興作何所？」 元褒不能對。 廷老曰：「臣等以諫為職，有聞即應論奏。 然見外輦材瓦絕多，知有所營。」 帝曰：「已諭。」 時造清思院，殿中用銅鑒三千，薄金十萬餅，故廷老等懇言之。 尋加史館脩撰。
Tinglao, courtesy name Shangsou, passed the jinshi examination. He was forthright and upright, inheriting his father's bearing. During the Baoli reign he served as a remonstrance official on the right. Emperor Jingzong's governance grew more erratic by the day. Once, entering the inner hall with Shu Yuanbao and Li Han to remonstrate, Tinglao said, "Lately appointments and dismissals have bypassed the chief ministers' recommendations. I fear that discipline will erode and the corrupt will run unchecked. The emperor snapped, "What else is there to discuss?" Yuanbao replied, "Palace construction has become excessive." The emperor's face darkened. "What construction?" he demanded. Yuanbao had no answer. Tinglao said, "Remonstrance is our duty. Whatever we hear, we ought to report it at once. Yet we see enormous quantities of timber and tile being carted out of the palace, so we know something is being built. The emperor said, "Your point is taken." At the time the Clear Reflections Courtyard was under construction, its halls consuming three thousand bronze mirrors and a hundred thousand thin gold ingots — which was why Tinglao and his colleagues spoke so earnestly. He was soon additionally appointed a compiler in the History Office.
43
鄭註用事，嶺南節度使鄭權附之，悉盜公庫寶貨輸註家為謝。 廷老表按權罪，由是中人切齒。 又論李逢吉黨張權輿、程昔範不宜居諫爭官，逢吉怒。 會廷老告滿百日，出為臨晉令。 文宗立，召為殿中侍御史。 李讓夷數薦之，拜翰林學士。 日酣飲，不持檢操，帝不悅，並讓夷罷之。 開成三年，遷給事中。 在公卿間，侃侃不幹虛譽，推為正人。 卒，贈刑部侍郎。
When Zheng Zhu came to power, Zheng Quan, military governor of Lingnan, attached himself to him, plundering the regional treasury of its precious goods and shipping them to Zhu's household as a gift of gratitude. Tinglao memorialized calling for an investigation of Quan's crimes. The eunuchs thereafter hated him bitterly. He also argued that Zhang Quanyu and Cheng Xifan, partisans of Li Fengji, were unfit for remonstrance posts. Fengji was furious. When Tinglao's mourning leave reached the hundred-day mark, he was sent out as magistrate of Linjin. When Emperor Wenzong came to the throne, he was recalled and appointed palace attendant censor. Li Rangyi recommended him repeatedly, and he was appointed a Hanlin academician. He drank heavily every day and showed no self-restraint. The emperor was displeased and dismissed both him and Rangyi. In the third year of the Kaicheng reign, he was transferred to supervisor of attendants. Among the high ministers he was frank and free of pretension, and was respected as a man of integrity. He died and was posthumously enfeoffed as vice minister of justice.
44
子保遜，第進士，擢累給事中。
His son Baoxun passed the jinshi examination and rose through successive appointments to supervisor of attendants.
45
保遜子昭緯，乾寧中，至禮部侍郎。 性輕率，坐事貶磎州刺史。
Baoxun's son Zhaowei rose during the Qianning reign to vice minister of rites. He was rash by nature and, following a scandal, was demoted to prefect of Xi Prefecture.
46
李遜，字友道，魏申公發之後，趙郡所謂申公房者，客居荊州。 始署山南東道掌書記，累遷濠州刺史。 初，濠州兵謀殺其將楊騰，騰走揚州，因滅騰家，曹亡剽劫。 遜至，鐫諭利害，眾釋鎧自歸。 觀察使旨限外浮斂，遜一不應。 入為虞部郎中。 由衢州刺史以政最擢浙東觀察使。 當貞元初，福建軍亂，前觀察使奏益兵三千屯於境，以折閩沖，遂為長戍，幾三十年。 遜署事，即停其兵。
Li Xun, courtesy name Youdao, descended from Li Fa, Duke of Shen of Wei, of the Shen Duke branch of Zhao — a lineage that had settled as clients in Jingzhou. He began as recorder to the Shannan East Circuit and rose through successive appointments to prefect of Hao Prefecture. Earlier, the troops of Hao Prefecture had plotted to kill their commander Yang Teng. Teng fled to Yangzhou; his household was wiped out in the aftermath, and scattered men took to robbery and plunder. When Xun arrived, he earnestly explained what was at stake, and the men laid down their arms and surrendered of their own accord. The observation commissioner ordered levies beyond the statutory quotas, but Xun refused every one. He was recalled to the capital and appointed Director in the Ministry of Public Works. From his post as prefect of Qu Prefecture he was promoted, on the strength of outstanding governance, to observation commissioner of Zhedong. Early in the Zhenyuan era the Fujian army rebelled. The previous observation commissioner had memorialized for three thousand additional troops to be garrisoned within the circuit to check Fujian's aggressiveness; the posting became a permanent garrison lasting nearly thirty years. As soon as Xun took office, he disbanded those troops.
47
入為給事中。 故事，天子以畸日聽政，對群臣。 遜奏：「陛下求治，而下有所陳，當不時上，豈宜限以日？ 如是，畢歲得望天子者幾何？」 憲宗悅，從之。 遷戶部侍郎。
He was recalled to serve as Attending Censor. By established practice, the emperor heard state affairs only on irregular days and addressed the assembled ministers. Xun memorialized: "Your Majesty seeks good governance. When subjects below have matters to present, they ought to submit them at any time—not be confined to certain days, should they? If that were so, how many days in an entire year would one even get to glimpse the emperor? Emperor Xianzong was pleased and accepted his proposal. He was transferred to Vice Minister of Revenue.
48
代嚴綬為山南東道節度使。 時方討蔡，析山南東道為兩節度：以唐、鄧、隋三州授高霞寓，得專攻討，而遜督襄、復、郢、均、房五州賦饋之。 初，襄陽兵隸霞寓者多逃還，後霞寓戰賊不勝，言為遜所橈。 帝欲按狀，宰相請置不問，下遷太子賓客。 中人誣之，更貶恩王傅。 久乃歷京兆尹、國子祭酒。 以檢校禮部尚書為忠武節度使。 時吳元濟始平，治條疏颣，遜召會大眾，申嚴約束，明諭賞罰，上下皆感畏，眾遂安。 遜於為政，抑強植弱，貧富均一，所至有績可紀。
He replaced Yan Shou as military commissioner of the Shannan East Circuit. The court was then campaigning against Cai. Shannan East Circuit was divided into two commands: Tang, Deng, and Sui prefectures were assigned to Gao Xiayu for a dedicated offensive, while Xun supervised the tax levies and supply of the five prefectures of Xiang, Fu, Ying, Jun, and Fang. At first many Xiangyang troops under Xiayu's command deserted and returned home. Later, when Xiayu failed to defeat the rebels in battle, he claimed that Xun had obstructed him. The emperor wanted to investigate the matter, but the chief ministers asked that it be dropped. Xun was demoted to Mentor of the Heir Apparent. Eunuchs slandered him further, and he was demoted again to Tutor to the Prince of En. After a long interval he served in succession as metropolitan governor of Jingzhao and Grand Master of the National University. With the titular rank of Minister of Rites, he was appointed military commissioner of Zhongwu. Wu Yuanji had only just been pacified, and governance was slack and disorderly. Xun summoned a general assembly, enforced strict discipline, and clearly explained rewards and punishments. Superiors and subordinates alike were awed into compliance, and the people settled into order. In governing, Xun checked the strong and strengthened the weak, treating rich and poor alike; wherever he served, his achievements were worth recording.
49
長慶初，幽、鎮繼亂，遜首建誅討計，不聽。 詔以兵萬人會行營，即日上道，先諸軍至，由是進檢校吏部尚書。 未幾，徙節鳳翔，過京師，以疾求解為刑部尚書。 卒，年六十三，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰貞。
At the beginning of the Changqing era, Youzhou and Zhenzhou fell into successive rebellion. Xun was the first to propose a punitive campaign, but the court did not heed him. An edict ordered him to join the field headquarters with ten thousand troops. He set out the same day and arrived ahead of the other armies, and for this was promoted to acting Minister of Civil Service Affairs. Before long he was transferred to command Fengxiang. Passing through the capital, he petitioned on grounds of illness to be relieved of command and was appointed Minister of Justice. He died at the age of sixty-three. Posthumously he was granted the title of Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, with the posthumous name Zhen.
50
子方玄，字景業，第進士。 裴誼奏署江西府判官。 有大獄，論死者十餘囚，方玄刺審其冤，悉平貸之。 累為池州刺史。 鉤檢戶籍，所以差量徭賦者，皆有科品程章，吏不得私。 常曰：「沈約年八十，手寫簿書，蓋為此雲。」 終處州刺史。
His son Fang Xuan, courtesy name Jingye, passed the jinshi examination. Pei Yi recommended him and had him appointed judicial adjutant of the Jiangxi governor's office. There was a major case in which more than ten prisoners had been sentenced to death. Fang Xuan investigated and found them innocent, and had them all acquitted and released. Through successive promotions he became prefect of Chi Prefecture. In auditing household registers—the basis for assessing corvée and tax obligations—he established grades, categories, and fixed procedures so that clerks could not act on private whim. He would often say: "When Shen Yue was eighty, he still copied ledgers by hand—surely it was for reasons like this. He ended his career as prefect of Chu Prefecture.
51
遜弟建，字杓直，與兄俱客荊州。 鄉人爭鬥，不詣府而詣建，平決無頗。 母憐其孝，每字之曰：「犭委子勸吾食，吾輒飽； 進藥，吾意其瘳。」 貞元中，補校書郎。 德宗思得文學者，或以建聞，帝問左右，宰相鄭珣瑜曰：「臣為吏部時，當補校書者八人，它皆藉貴勢以請，建獨無有。」 帝喜，擢左拾遺、翰林學士。
Xun's younger brother Jian, courtesy name Shaozhi, lived as a guest in Jingzhou together with his elder brother. When fellow townspeople quarreled, they did not go to the magistrate's office but came to Jian, who settled disputes without partiality. His mother, moved by his filial devotion, would affectionately call him Wei-zi: "When my dear boy urges me to eat, I always feel full; when he brings me medicine, I feel sure I will recover. In the Zhenyuan era he was appointed collator. Emperor Dezong wanted men of literary talent; someone mentioned Jian, and the emperor asked his attendants. Chief Minister Zheng Xunyu said: "When I served in the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs, eight collators were to be appointed. All the others relied on noble influence to petition for the posts; Jian alone sought none. The emperor was pleased and promoted him to Left Remonstrance Reminder and Hanlin Academician.
52
順宗立，李師古以兵侵曹州，建作詔諭還之，詞不假借。 王叔文欲更之，建不可。 左除太子詹事，改殿中侍御史。 以兵部郎中知制誥。 宰相有竄定詔稿者，亟請解職，除京兆少尹。 會遜被讒，建申治之，出為澧州刺史。 召拜刑部侍郎。 卒，贈工部尚書。
When Emperor Shunzong ascended the throne, Li Shigu sent troops to invade Caozhou. Jian drafted an edict summoning him back, and the language brooked no concession. Wang Shuwen wanted to revise it, but Jian refused. He was demoted to Superintendent of the Heir Apparent's Household, then transferred to Palace Censor Within the Hall. As Director in the Ministry of War he was entrusted with drafting imperial edicts. When a chief minister tampered with a draft edict, Jian immediately petitioned to resign and was appointed Vice Governor of the Jingzhao metropolitan district. When Xun fell victim to slander, Jian petitioned on his behalf for redress and was sent out as prefect of Li Prefecture. He was recalled and appointed Vice Minister of Justice. He died and was posthumously granted the title of Minister of Public Works.
53
初，建為學時，家苦貧。 兄造知其賢，為營丐，使成就之。 故遜、建皆舉進士。 後雖通顯，未嘗治垣屋，以清儉稱。
In his early years, when Jian was a student, his family was desperately poor. His elder brother Zao recognized his talent, arranged support for him, and saw him through his studies. Thus both Xun and Jian passed the jinshi examination. Later, though they rose to high office, they never repaired their walls and houses and were known for purity and frugality.
54
建子訥，字敦止，及進士第。 遷累中書舍人，為浙東觀察使。 性疏卞，遇士不以禮，為下所逐，貶朗州刺史。 召為河南尹。 時久雨，洛暴漲，訥行水魏王堤，懼漂泊，疾馳去，水遂大毀民廬。 議者薄其材。 初，訥居與宰相楊收接，收欲市訥冗舍以廣第，訥叱曰：「先人舊廬，為權貴優笑地邪？」 凡三為華州刺史，歷兵部尚書，以太子太傅卒。 遺命葬不請鹵簿，避贈謚，詔聽。
Jian's son Ne, whose courtesy name was Dunzhi, passed the jinshi examination. Through successive promotions he reached Secretariat Drafter and became observation commissioner for Zhedong. By nature he was blunt and harsh, treated gentlemen without courtesy, was driven out by his subordinates, and was demoted to prefect of Langzhou. He was recalled to serve as metropolitan governor of Henan. Prolonged rain had caused the Luo to rise violently. Ne was traveling along the Prince of Wei's embankment, feared being swept away, and galloped off in haste; the flood then destroyed many people's homes. Commentators looked down on his competence. Earlier, Ne's residence adjoined that of Chief Minister Yang Shou, who wished to buy Ne's spare quarters to enlarge his mansion. Ne rebuked him: "Our forefathers' old dwelling—shall it become a place where the powerful come to jest and mock? He served three times as prefect of Hua, rose to Minister of War, and died while Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. In his final instructions he ordered that his burial not request an imperial escort and that posthumous enfeoffment and an epithet be declined; an edict granted his wish.