Volume 164 Biographies 89: Gui, Xi, three Cui's, Lu, two Xue's, Wei, Hu, Ding, two Wang's, Yin

25%歸崇敬歸崇敬，字正禮，蘇州吳人。治禮家學，多識容典，擢明經。遭父喪，孝聞鄉里。調國子直講。天寶中，舉博通墳典科，對策第一，遷四門博士。有詔舉才可宰百里者，復策高等，授左拾遺。肅宗次靈武，再遷起居郎、贊善大夫、史館修撰、兼集賢殿校理，修國史、儀註。以貧求解。歷同州長史、潤州別駕。未幾，有事橋陵、建陵，召還參掌儀典。改主客員外郎，復兼修撰。

Gui Chongjing, courtesy name Zhengli, was a native of Wu in Suzhou prefecture. He trained in the ritualist tradition, knew ceremonial codes thoroughly, and passed the Mingjing civil examination. After his father's death, his filial devotion won renown in his hometown. He was assigned as a direct lecturer at the Imperial University. During the Tianbao period he sat for the broad mastery of the classics examination, took first place in the policy test, and was promoted to Four Gates erudite. When an edict sought men capable of governing a county, he again scored highly on the policy examination and was made Left Reminder. After Emperor Suzong made his stand at Lingwu, he was promoted in turn to court diarist, mentor to the heir apparent, historiography compiler, and concurrent collator at the Hall of Assembled Worthies, working on the national history and ritual regulations. He resigned his post on account of poverty. He held successive posts as chief administrator of Tongzhou and vice-prefect of Runzhou. Soon afterward, when ceremonies were needed at Qiaoling and Jianling, he was summoned back to help oversee ritual protocol. He was reassigned as vice director of the Bureau of Receptions and again held a concurrent compiler post.

代宗幸陜，召問得失，崇敬極陳：「生人疲敝，當以儉化天下，則國富而兵可用。」時百官朝朔望，皆服袴褶，崇敬非之，建言：「三代逮漢無其制，隋以來，始有服者，事不稽古，宜停。」詔可。又言：「東都太廟不當置木主，按《禮》：『虞主用桑，練主用栗』，作栗主則瘞桑主，猶天無二日，土無二王也。東都太廟，本武後所建，以祀諸武，中宗去主存廟，以備行幸遷都之置。且商遷都前八後五，不必每都別立神主也。若曰神主已經奉祀，不得一日而廢，則桑主以虞，至練祭而埋之，明是不然。」時有方士巨彭祖建言：「唐家土德，請以四季月郊祀天地。」詔禮官儒者雜議。崇敬議：「《禮》以先立秋十八日迎黃靈，祀黃帝，黃帝於五行為土，而火為母，故火用事之末而祭之，三季月則否。彭祖牽緯候說，事詭不經，不可用。」又議：「五人帝於國家為前後，無君臣義，天子祭宜毋稱臣，祭而稱臣，於天帝無異。」又：「春秋釋奠孔子，祝版皇帝署，北面揖，以為太重。宜準武王受丹書於師尚父，行東面之禮。」事皆施行。

When Emperor Daizong traveled to Shanzhou, Chongjing was called in to discuss policy. He argued forcefully: "The people are exhausted; frugality must transform the empire, so the state grows wealthy and the army becomes usable again. At the time, officials attending the new- and full-moon audiences all wore riding dress. Chongjing objected and proposed: "From the Three Dynasties through Han there was no such custom; only since the Sui has this attire appeared. It has no basis in antiquity and ought to be abolished." The emperor approved the proposal. He also argued that the Eastern Capital ancestral temple should not house wooden spirit tablets. The Rites state: "The mourning tablet for the Yu rite is mulberry; for the Lian rite, chestnut." Once the chestnut tablet is made, the mulberry tablet is buried — as heaven cannot have two suns, the earth cannot have two sovereigns. The Eastern Capital temple had been built by Empress Wu to honor her clan; Emperor Zhongzong removed the tablets but kept the building in case the court traveled or moved the capital again. When the Shang relocated their capital they retained eight earlier tablets and five later ones — they did not need a separate set of spirit tablets at every site. If one claims enshrined tablets cannot be discarded overnight, the mulberry tablet serves only until the Lian rite, when it is buried — which plainly refutes that argument. About then the Daoist Ju Pengzu proposed that, since the Tang embodied the virtue of Earth, suburban sacrifices to Heaven and Earth should be held in each of the four seasonal months. The court ordered ritual officials and scholars to deliberate jointly. Chongjing replied that the Rites call for welcoming the Yellow Spirit and sacrificing to the Yellow Emperor eighteen days before autumn. The Yellow Emperor corresponds to Earth in the five phases, with Fire as its mother, so the rite belongs at the close of Fire's season — not in the other three seasonal months. Pengzu's argument rested on omen lore and prognostic texts — an eccentric, unsound proposal that should be rejected. He also held that the Five Emperors precede and succeed the dynasty without a subject–ruler bond, so the Son of Heaven should not style himself their subject in sacrifice — to do so would blur the distinction owed to Heaven itself. He also objected that at the spring and autumn Confucian sacrifices the prayer tablet bears the emperor's name while he bows facing north — an excessive show of deference. He proposed following King Wu, who received the red writ from the Grand Mentor while facing east — the emperor should face east in the rite. These recommendations were all adopted.

大歷初，授倉部郎中，充吊祭冊立新羅使。海道風濤，舟幾壞，眾驚，謀以單舸載而免，答曰：「今共舟數十百人，我何忍獨濟哉？」少選，風息。先是，使外國多賫金帛，貿舉所無，崇敬囊橐惟衾衣，東夷傳其清德。還，授國子司業、兼集賢學士。八年，遣祀衡山，未至，而哥舒晃亂廣州，監察御史憚之，請望祀而還，崇敬正色曰：「君命豈有畏邪？」遂往。

Early in the Dali era he became director in the Bureau of Granaries and served as envoy to mourn, sacrifice, and invest Silla's new king. At sea a storm nearly wrecked the ship. When others panicked and proposed putting him alone in a skiff to save him, he said: "There are scores of us aboard — how could I save myself alone? Shortly afterward the wind fell. Envoys abroad had usually carried gold and silk to buy local goods, but Chongjing traveled with only bedding and clothes, and eastern peoples praised his integrity far and wide. After returning he became vice director of the Imperial University and concurrent academician at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. In the eighth year he was dispatched to sacrifice at Mount Heng. Before he arrived, Geshu Huang rebelled in Guangzhou. The investigating censor, afraid, asked to offer a distant sacrifice and turn back. Chongjing said gravely: "How can one fear an imperial command? He proceeded as ordered.

皇太子欲臨國學行齒胄禮，崇敬以學與官名皆不正，乃建議：

When the crown prince wished to visit the Imperial University for the cap-ordering ceremony, Chongjing argued that both the institution's name and its offices were improper and submitted a detailed proposal:

古天子學曰辟雍。以制言之，壅水環繚如璧然；以誼言之，以禮樂明和天下云爾。在《禮》為澤宮，故前世或曰璧池，或曰璧沼，亦言學省。漢光武立明堂、辟雍、靈臺，號「三雍宮」。晉武帝臨辟雍，行鄉飲酒禮，別立國子學，以殊士庶。永嘉南遷，唯有國子學。隋大業中，更名國子監。今聲明之盛，辟雍獨闕，請以國子監為辟雍省。祭酒、司業之名，非學官所宜。業者，栒虡大版，今學不教樂，於義無當。請以祭酒為太師氏，位三品；司業為左師、右師，位四品。

The Son of Heaven's ancient academy was called Piyong. In architectural terms, its encircling moat was banked like a round jade disc; in meaning, rites and music clarified harmony throughout the realm. The Rites call it the Marsh Palace; earlier ages also named it the Jade Pool or Jade Marsh, and referred to the school directorate. Emperor Guangwu of Han built the Bright Hall, Piyong, and Spirit Terrace, collectively termed the Three Yong Palaces. Emperor Wu of Jin visited Piyong for the district drinking rite and separately founded the Imperial University to distinguish elite students from commoners. After the Yongjia flight south, only the Imperial University survived. Under the Sui Daye reign it was renamed the Directorate of Education. In our present age of cultural brilliance Piyong alone is absent; he proposed renaming the Directorate of Education the Piyong Directorate. The titles Director of Libations and Vice Director were unsuitable for academic officers. "Ye" denoted the great sounding-board on the bell frame, yet the school no longer taught music, so the title no longer fit. He proposed renaming the director of libations Grand Master, third rank; and the vice director Left Master and Right Master, fourth rank.

近世明經，不課其義，先取帖經，顓門廢業，傳受義絕。請以《禮記》、《左氏春秋》為大經，《周官》、《儀禮》、《毛詩》為中經，《尚書》、《周易》為小經，各置博士一員。《公羊》、《穀梁春秋》共準一中經，通置博士一員。博士兼通《孝經》、《論語》，依章疏講解。德行純絜、文詞雅正、形容莊重可為師表者，委四品以上各舉所知，在外給傳，七十者安車蒲輪敦遣。國子、太學、四門三館，各立五經博士，品秩、生徒有差。舊博士、助教、直講、經直、律館、算館助教，請皆罷。

Recently the Mingjing exam tested rote copying rather than meaning; specialized schools withered and the transmission of classical interpretation died out. He proposed classing the Record of Rites and Zuo's Annals as major classics; the Rites of Zhou, Etiquette, and Mao's Odes as middle classics; the Documents and Changes as minor classics — each with its own erudite. Gongyang and Guliang commentaries would jointly count as one middle classic under a single erudite. Erudites would also teach the Classic of Filial Piety and Analects from standard commentaries. Men of pure conduct, refined style, and dignified bearing fit to be models would be recommended by officials of fourth rank and above; those in the provinces would receive travel documents, and men of seventy would be summoned with honor in cushioned carriages. The Imperial University, Grand Academy, and Four Gates would each appoint Five Classics erudites, with differing ranks and enrollments. He proposed abolishing the old posts of erudite, assistant instructor, direct lecturer, classics supervisor, and law- and computation-hall assistants.

教授法。學生謁師，贄用暇脩一束、酒一壺、衫布一裁，色如師所服。師出中門，延入與坐，割脩奭斗酒，三爵止。乃發篋出經，摳衣前請，師為說經大略，然後就室，朝晡請益。師二時堂上訓授道義，示以文行忠信、孝悌睦友。旬省、月試、時考、歲貢，視生徒及第多少為博士考課上下。有不率教者，槚楚之，國子移禮部，為太學生；太學又不變，徙之四門；四門不變，徙本州之學；復不變，繇役如初，終身不齒。雖率教，九年學不成者，亦歸之本州。

Teaching regulations. On first meeting a teacher, students would present dried meat, wine, and a length of cloth dyed to match the teacher's robe. The teacher would come to the middle gate, invite the student in, share the meat and exchange cups of wine, stopping after three rounds. The teacher would then open the case, bring out the classic, and outline its meaning at the student's request before the student entered the study for morning and evening lessons. Twice daily in the lecture hall the teacher would expound the Way and exemplify culture, conduct, loyalty, trustworthiness, filial piety, brotherliness, and amity. Decennial reviews, monthly tests, seasonal exams, and annual presentations would rate erudites by how many students passed. Students who disobeyed would be caned; Imperial University students would be demoted via the Ministry of Rites to the Grand Academy; if they still failed to reform at the Grand Academy, to the Four Gates; if they still did not reform at the Four Gates, to their home prefecture's school; and if they still did not reform, they would return to corvée labor and never again be counted among students. Even obedient students who failed to finish after nine years would be sent home to their prefectures.

禮部考試法。請罷帖經，於所習經問大義二十而得十八，《論語》、《孝經》十得八，為通；策三道，以本經對，通二為及第。其孝行聞鄉里者，舉解具言，試日義闕一二，許兼收焉。天下鄉貢如之。習業考試，並以明經為名，得第授官，與進士同。

Ministry of Rites examination regulations. He proposed ending the copy-from-memory test: twenty questions on the major meaning of one's classic with eighteen correct, and ten on the Analects and Classic of Filial Piety with eight correct, would constitute a pass; plus three policy questions answered from one's own classic, with two correct answers required for a degree. Candidates renowned for filial piety in their districts would be fully described in recommendations, and on exam day might pass despite one or two missed answers on meaning. Provincial recommendations nationwide would follow the same rules. Academic study and examinations would all fall under the Mingjing title, and degree holders would receive office equal to jinshi graduates.

有詔尚書省集百官議。皆以習俗久，制度難分明，省禁非外司所宜名，《周官》世職者稱氏，國學非世官，不得名辟雍省、太師氏。大抵憚改作，故無施行者。

An edict ordered the Department of State Affairs to convene officials for debate. All argued that long-standing custom made the reforms hard to distinguish, that directorate titles were inappropriate for outer offices, and that since only hereditary offices in the Rites of Zhou bore clan titles, the Imperial University could not be renamed Piyong Directorate or Grand Master. Most officials feared innovation, so none of his reforms was adopted.

坐史給稟錢不實，貶饒州司馬。德宗立，召還，復拜國子司業，稍遷翰林學士、左散騎常侍，充皇太子侍讀，又兼晉王元帥參謀，封餘姚郡公。田悅、李納稟命，持節宣慰，稱旨。表歸上冢，寵賜繒帛，儒生以為榮。遷工部尚書，仍前職。年老，以兵部尚書致仕。卒，年八十八，贈尚書左僕射，謚曰宣。論撰數十篇。子登。崇敬子登登，字沖之，事繼母篤孝。大歷中，舉孝廉高第。貞元初，策賢良，為右拾遺。裴延齡得幸，德宗欲遂以相，右補闕熊執易疏論之，以示登，登動容曰：「願竄吾名，雷霆之下，君難獨處。」故同列有所諫正，輒聯署無所回諱。轉右補闕、起居舍人，凡十五年，僚類有出其下而進趨，自喜得顯官，惟登與右拾遺蔣武退然遠權勢，終不以淹晚概懷。遷兵部員外郎。

When clerks' grain stipends were found falsified, he was demoted to militia commandant of Raozhou. When Emperor Dezong took the throne, Chongjing was recalled as vice director of the Imperial University, then rose to Hanlin academician and left regular attendant, reader to the crown prince, and staff officer to the Prince of Jin as commander-in-chief, enfeoffed as Duke of Yuyao. When Tian Yue and Li Na submitted, he was dispatched with imperial staff to offer consolation and won the emperor's approval. He asked leave to visit his family tombs; the emperor bestowed silk gifts, which scholars regarded as a signal honor. He was promoted to minister of works while keeping his previous posts. In old age he retired as minister of war. He died at eighty-eight and was posthumously made left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, with the posthumous name Xuan. He wrote several dozen essays. His son was Deng. Chongjing's son Deng, courtesy name Chongzhi, was devoted in filial service to his stepmother. During the Dali era he was recommended as Filial and Incorrupt and ranked at the top. Early in the Zhenyuan era he passed the Worthy and Good examination and became Right Reminder. When Pei Yanling won favor and Dezong meant to make him chancellor, Right Supplementation Censor Xiong Zhiyi memorialized against it and showed Deng the draft. Deng's face changed: "Put my name on it — under the emperor's wrath you should not stand alone. After that, whenever colleagues submitted remonstrances, he co-signed without hesitation. He became Right Supplementation Censor and court diarist. For fifteen years colleagues who had once ranked below him advanced and exulted in high office, but only Deng and Right Reminder Jiang Wu quietly kept away from power and never resented their slow promotion. He was promoted to vice director in the Ministry of War.

順宗為皇太子，登父子侍讀，及即位，以東宮恩超拜給事中，遷工部侍郎，復為皇太子、諸王侍讀，獻《龍樓箴》以諷。徙左散騎常侍，入謝。憲宗問政所先，登知帝睿而果於斷，勸順納諫爭，內外傳為讜言。後判國子祭酒事，進工部尚書，累封長洲縣男。卒，年六十七，贈太子少師，謚曰憲。

When Shunzong was crown prince, Deng served as his reader; on Shunzong's accession, Deng was specially promoted to palace attendant, then vice minister of works, and again reader to the crown prince and imperial princes, presenting the Admonition of the Dragon Tower as counsel. He was made left regular attendant of the cavalry and went in to thank the emperor. Xianzong asked what should come first in governing. Knowing the emperor was sharp and decisive, Deng urged obedience and openness to remonstrance; court and capital alike praised his frank counsel. He later acted as director of libations at the Imperial University, rose to minister of works, and was enfeoffed as Baron of Changzhou. He died at sixty-seven and was posthumously made junior mentor to the heir apparent, with the posthumous name Xian.

登性溫恕，家僮為馬所踶，笞折馬足，登知，不加責。有遺金石不死藥者，紿曰已嘗，及登服幾死，訊之，乃未之嘗，人皆為怒，而登不為慍。常慕陸象先為人，世亦許其類云。子融。登子融融，字章之，元和中，及進士第，累遷左拾遺。事文宗為翰林學士，進至戶部侍郎。開成初，拜御史中丞。湖南觀察使盧周仁以南方屢火，取羨錢億萬進京師。融劾奏：「天下一家，中外之財皆陛下府庫。周仁陳小利，假異端，公違詔書，徇私希恩。恐海內效之，因緣漁刻，生人受弊，罪始周仁。請重責，還所進，代貧民租入。」詔不從，置錢河陰院以虞水旱。初，戶部員外郎盧元中、左司員外郎判戶部案姚康受平糴官秦季元絹六千匹，貸乾沒錢八千萬，俱貶嶺南尉。數年，金部員外郎韓益判度支，子弟受賕三百萬，未入者半。帝問融：「益所犯與盧元中、姚康孰甚？」對曰：「元中等枉失庫錢，益所坐子弟受賄，事異法輕。」故益止貶梧州參軍。融遷京兆尹，李固言為相，惡之，徙秘書監。固言罷，擢權知兵部侍郎。歲間，出為山南西道節度使，徙東川。還，歷兵部尚書，累封晉陵郡公。

Deng was gentle and forgiving. When a servant was kicked by a horse and beat the animal until its leg broke, Deng learned of it but did not punish him. Someone gave him a mineral elixir of immortality; he lied that he had already tried it. When Deng took it he nearly died. Questioning revealed he had never tasted it; others were furious on his behalf, but Deng showed no anger. He always admired Lu Xiangxian's character, and his contemporaries agreed he was much the same. His son was Rong. Deng's son Rong, courtesy name Zhangzhi, passed the jinshi examination in the Yuanhe era and rose to Left Reminder. Under Emperor Wenzong he served as a Hanlin academician and rose to vice minister of revenue. Early in the Kaicheng era he was made vice censor-in-chief. Lu Zhouren, observation commissioner of Hunan, citing repeated fires in the south, sent surplus funds worth hundreds of millions to the capital. Rong impeached him, arguing: "The realm is one household; all wealth at home and abroad belongs in Your Majesty's treasury. Zhouren offered petty profits under false pretexts, openly defying imperial edicts to curry favor through private interest. I fear the empire will follow his example, extorting under one pretext or another until the people suffer — and the fault will begin with Zhouren. I ask that he be punished severely, that the tribute be returned, and that it be applied to poor people's tax payments. The emperor did not accept his proposal and instead placed the funds in the Heyin depot as a reserve against flood and drought. Earlier, Lu Yuanzhong, vice director in the Ministry of Revenue, and Yao Kang of the Left Section, who handled revenue cases, had accepted six thousand bolts of silk from grain-purchase official Qin Jiyuan and loaned out eighty million in embezzled funds; both were demoted to military aides in Lingnan. Several years later Han Yi of the Bureau of Metals oversaw the Revenue Commission; his sons and younger brothers had accepted three million in bribes, half of which had not yet been paid. The emperor asked Rong: "Is Yi's offense graver than those of Lu Yuanzhong and Yao Kang? He replied: "Yuanzhong and the others misappropriated treasury funds; Yi is guilty because his sons and younger brothers took bribes — different cases, and the lighter penalty applies." Yi was therefore demoted only to militia aide in Wuzhou. Rong became metropolitan magistrate, but Chancellor Li Guyin disliked him and transferred him to director of the imperial archives. After Guyin left office, Rong was promoted to acting vice minister of war. Within the year he was posted as military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit, then transferred to Dongchuan. On returning he served as minister of war and was enfeoffed as Duke of Jinling.

會昌後，儒臣少，朝廷禮典多本融議。辭疾，以太子少傅分司東都。大中七年，卒，贈尚書左僕射。奚陟奚陟，字殷卿，其先自譙亳西徙，故為京兆人。少篤誌，通群書。大歷末，擢進士、文辭清麗科，授弘文館校書郎。德宗立，諫議大夫崔河圖持節使吐蕃，表陟自副，以親老辭不拜。楊炎輔政，召授左拾遺。居親喪，毀瘠過禮。朱泚反，走間道及車駕於興元，拜起居郎、翰林學士，不就職。賊平，改太子司議郎，歷金部、吏部員外。會左右丞缺，轉左司郎中。

After the Huichang era, Confucian officials were scarce, and many court rituals followed Rong's proposals. He resigned citing illness and became junior mentor to the heir apparent at the Eastern Capital. In the seventh year of Dazhong he died and was posthumously made left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. Xi Chi, courtesy name Yinqing, came from a family that had moved west from Qiao and Bo, and was therefore counted as a native of Jingzhao. From youth he was deeply serious in purpose and mastered a wide range of books. At the end of the Dali era he passed the jinshi and elegant literary composition examinations and was appointed collator at the Hongwen Institute. When Dezong took the throne, Remonstrance and Advice Grandee Cui Hetu went as envoy to Tibet and recommended Xi as his deputy; Xi declined because his parents were elderly. When Yang Yan came to power, Xi was summoned and appointed Left Reminder. While mourning a parent, he grew so emaciated that he exceeded ritual norms. When Zhu Ci rebelled, Xi traveled by back roads to join the imperial carriage at Xingyuan and was appointed court diarist and Hanlin academician, but did not take up the posts. After the rebellion was suppressed, he became secretary to the crown prince's household and then served as vice director in the Bureaus of Metals and Personnel. When a vacancy opened among the left and right vice directors, he was made left section director.

貞元八年，遷中書舍人。於是江南、淮西皆大水，詔陟勞問循慰，所至人人便安。中書吏倚宰相勢，常姑息，獨陟遇之無假借。先是，右省雜給氐職田稟，主事與拾遺等，陟以奉稍為率，由是吏官有差。中書令李晟有紙筆猥料積於省，它日以遺舍人，而雜事舍人常私有之，陟均舍寮無厚薄。雖細務，皆身親其勞，久益強力，人以為難。

In the eighth year of Zhenyuan he was promoted to secretariat drafter. When both the Jiangnan and Huai west regions suffered major floods, an edict sent Xi to comfort the people, and wherever he went the populace was reassured. Secretariat clerks usually relied on the chancellor's power and were indulged; Xi alone refused to grant them any license. Previously the right secretariat's miscellaneous grain allowances from Di office lands had been shared equally among chief clerks and remonstrators; Xi used the director's salary as the standard, establishing clear distinctions among offices and clerks. Secretariat Director Li Sheng had accumulated paper and brush supplies in the secretariat; when he meant to give them to the drafters, miscellaneous affairs drafters often kept them for themselves — Xi distributed them equally among all drafters without favoritism. Even in minor matters he took on the work himself; over time he grew ever more vigorous, which people found hard to match.

遷刑部侍郎。京兆尹李充有美政，裴延齡惡之，誣劾充比陸贄，數遺金帛，當抵罪，又乾沒京兆錢六十八萬緡，請付比部鉤校。時郎中崔元翰怨贄，揣延齡指，逮系搒掠甚急，內以險文。陟持平無所上下，具獄上，且言：「京兆錢給縣館傳，余以度支符用度略盡。」充既免，元翰不得意，以恚死。

He was promoted to vice minister of justice. Metropolitan magistrate Li Chong governed well; Pei Yanling hated him and falsely impeached him for associating with Lu Zan and repeatedly sending him gold and silk, for which he deserved punishment, and for embezzling 680,000 strings of metropolitan funds, asking the audit bureau to investigate. Section Director Cui Yuanhan, who bore a grudge against Zan, guessed Yanling's intent and pursued the case with brutal beating and interrogation, using treacherous wording in the record. Xi maintained impartiality, submitted the full case, and explained: "Metropolitan funds supply county hostels and courier stations; the remainder was nearly exhausted through revenue commission warrants. Chong was exonerated; Yuanhan, frustrated, died of resentment.

陟尋知吏部選事，遷侍郎。銓綜平允，時謂與李朝隱略等，不能擿發清明如裴行儉、盧從願也。十五年，病癰，帝遣醫療視，敕曰：「陟，賢臣，為我善治之。」卒，年五十五，贈禮部尚書。

Xi soon took charge of personnel selection at the Ministry of Personnel and was promoted to vice minister. His evaluations were fair and even; contemporaries said he was roughly on par with Li Chaoyin but could not discover and promote talent as clearly as Pei Xingjian and Lu Congyuan had. In the fifteenth year he fell ill with a carbuncle; the emperor sent physicians and ordered: "Xi is a worthy minister — treat him well for me. He died at fifty-five and was posthumously made minister of rites.

陟少自底厲，著名節。常薦權德輿為起居舍人知制誥，楊於陵為郎中，其後皆有名。子敬玄，位左補闕。崔衍崔衍，字著，深州安平人。父倫，字敘，居父喪，跣護柩行千里，道路為流涕，廬冢彌年。服除，及進士第，歷吏部員外郎。安祿山反，陷於賊，不汙偽官，使子弟間表賊事。賊平，下遷晉州長史。李齊物訟其忠，授長安令，封武邑縣男。寶應二年，以右庶子使吐蕃，虜背約，留二歲，執倫至涇州，逼為書約城中降，倫不從，更囚邏娑城，閱六歲，終不屈，乃許還。代宗見之，為感動嗚咽。即具陳虜情偽、山川險易，指畫帝前，人服其詳。遷尚書左丞，以疾改太子賓客。卒，年七十一，贈工部尚書，謚曰敬。

From youth Xi disciplined himself and was known for integrity. He often recommended Quan Deyu as court diarist drafting edicts and Yang Yuling as section director; both later won renown. His son Jingxuan served as Left Supplementation Censor. Cui Yan, courtesy name Zhuo, was from Anping in Shen prefecture. His father Lun, courtesy name Xu, while mourning his father went barefoot guarding the coffin for a thousand li; travelers wept along the road, and he lived in a mourning hut by the tomb for a full year. After mourning he passed the jinshi examination and served as vice director in the Ministry of Personnel. When An Lushan rebelled, Lun was trapped in rebel territory but refused false office, having his sons secretly report rebel movements to the court. After the rebellion was suppressed he was demoted to chief administrator of Jinzhou. Li Qiwu pleaded his loyalty, and Lun was appointed magistrate of Chang'an and enfeoffed as Baron of Wuyi. In the second year of Baoying he was sent to Tibet as right vice director of the heir apparent's household; the Tibetans broke faith and held him two years, then took him to Jingzhou and forced him to write urging the city to surrender. Lun refused, was moved to Luosuo prison for six years, never yielded, and was finally allowed to return. Emperor Daizong saw him and was moved to tears. He immediately described Tibetan deceit and the terrain's dangers and advantages, gesturing before the emperor; all admired his thorough knowledge. He was promoted to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, then because of illness became mentor to the heir apparent. He died at seventy-one and was posthumously made minister of works, with the posthumous name Jing.

衍，天寶末擢明經，調富平尉。繼母李不慈，倫自吐蕃歸，李敝衣以見，問故，曰：「衍不吾給。」倫怒，召衍，將袒而鞭之，衍涕泣無所陳。倫弟殷趨白：「衍所稟舉送夫人所，尚何云！」倫悟，繇是譖無入。調清源令，勸民力田，懷附流亡，觀察使馬燧表其能，徙美原。父卒，事李益謹，歲為李子郃償負不勝計，故官刺史，妻子僅免饑寒。

Yan passed the Mingjing examination at the end of the Tianbao era and was assigned magistrate of Fuping. His stepmother Li was unkind; when Lun returned from Tibet, Li met him in ragged clothes and said Yan would not provide for her. Lun was furious and summoned Yan to strip and whip him; Yan wept and could say nothing in his own defense. Lun's younger brother Yin hurried in and said: "Yan's entire allowance goes to the lady's quarters — what more is there to say! Lun understood, and from then on no slander against Yan reached him. As magistrate of Qingyuan he urged the people to farm, won over refugees, and when observation commissioner Ma Sui memorialized his ability he was transferred to Meiyuan. After his father's death he dutifully served Li Yi and for years paid off Ziyi's debts beyond counting, so that though he rose to prefect, his wife and children barely escaped hunger and cold.

歷蘇、虢二州。虢居陜、華間，而賦數倍入，衍白太重。裴延齡領度支，方聚斂，私謂衍：「前刺史無發明，公當止。」衍不聽，復奏：「州部多巖田，又郵傳劇道，屬歲無秋，民舉流亡，不蠲減租額，人無生理。臣見長吏之患，在因循不以聞。不患陛下不憂恤也，患申請不實，不患朝廷不矜貸也。陛下拔臣大州，寧欲視民困而顧望不言哉？」德宗公其言，為詔度支減賦。遷宣歙池觀察使，簡靜為百姓所懷。幕府奏聘皆有名士，後多顯於時。卒，年六十九，贈工部尚書。衍儉約畏法，室無妾媵，祿稍周於親族，葬埋嫁娶，倚以濟者數十家。及卒，不能蕆喪，表諸朝，賜賻帛三百段，米粟稱之。

He served as prefect of Suzhou and Guo. Guo lay between Shan and Hua, yet its tax quota was several times the normal intake; Yan reported that the burden was excessive. Pei Yanling headed the Revenue Commission and was amassing wealth; he privately told Yan: "Previous prefects found nothing to report; you should stop. Yan refused and memorialized again: "The prefecture has much rocky land and heavy courier traffic; after years without harvest the people have fled; without reducing the tax quota they cannot survive. The fault of long-serving officials is following precedent and failing to report upward. The trouble is not that Your Majesty lacks compassion, but that petitions are untrue; not that the court refuses relief. Your Majesty promoted me to a major prefecture — would you have me watch the people suffer in silence?" Dezong praised his words and ordered the Revenue Commission to reduce taxes. He was promoted to observation commissioner of Xuan, She, and Chi; his simplicity and restraint won the people's affection. His staff appointments were all distinguished men, many of whom later rose to prominence. He died at sixty-nine and was posthumously made minister of works. Yan was frugal and law-abiding, kept no concubines, and though his salary barely covered his kin, dozens of families relied on him for burials and marriages. At his death his family could not afford burial; memorials reached court, and the emperor granted three hundred bolts of silk and a proportionate amount of grain.

先是，天下以進奉結主恩，州藏耗竭，韋臯、劉贊、裴肅為之倡。贊死，衍代之。舊貢金錫凡十八品，皆倍直市於州，民匱，多逃去，衍至，蠲革之。居十年，嗇用度，府庫充衍。及穆贊代州，以錢四十萬緡假民賦，故雖旱，人不流捐，由衍蓄積有素也。路應為觀察使，以衍有惠在民，言狀。元和元年，詔書褒美，賜一子官云。謚曰懿。盧景亮盧景亮，字長晦，幽州范陽人。少孤，學無不覽。第進士、宏辭，授秘書郎。張延賞節度荊南，表為枝江尉，掌書記。入遷右補闕。朱泚反，景亮勸德宗曰：「陛下罪己不至，則感人不深。」帝然之。景亮誌義崒然，多激發，與穆質同在諫爭地，書數上，鯁毅無所回。宰相李泌劾景亮等嘗眾會，漏所上語言，引善在己，即有惡歸之君。帝怒，貶為朗州司馬，質亦斥去，廢抑二十年。至憲宗時，由和州別駕召還，再遷中書舍人。

Earlier, officials across the empire had used tribute presentations to win imperial favor, draining prefectural treasuries — a practice pioneered by Wei Gao, Liu Zan, and Pei Su. After Zan died, Yan succeeded him. The old tribute of eighteen kinds of gold and tin had been purchased at double market price in each prefecture, impoverishing the people and driving many to flee; Yan abolished and reformed the practice. Over ten years he was frugal in spending and filled the treasuries. When Mu Zan succeeded him, he was able to lend forty million strings to cover people's taxes; though drought struck, people did not flee or starve — thanks to Yan's long accumulation. Observation commissioner Lu Ying reported Yan's kindness to the people. In the first year of Yuanhe an edict praised him and granted an office to one of his sons. His posthumous name was Yi. Lu Jingliang, courtesy name Changhui, was from Fanyang in You prefecture. Orphaned young, he read widely in every field. He passed the jinshi and Hongci examinations and was appointed secretary. When Zhang Yanshang was military commissioner of Jingnan, he recommended Jingliang as magistrate of Zhijiang with charge of secretarial records. He entered the capital and was promoted to Right Supplementation Censor. When Zhu Ci rebelled, Jingliang urged Dezong: "Unless Your Majesty's self-reproach goes deep enough, you will not move people's hearts. The emperor agreed. Jingliang's will was lofty and righteous, and he inspired others; with Mu Zhi he held remonstrance posts, submitting many forthright memorials without yielding. Chancellor Li Bi impeached Jingliang and others for once meeting in public and leaking submitted memorials, claiming credit for good while blaming the ruler for evil. The emperor was furious; Jingliang was demoted to militia commandant of Langzhou and Zhi was also expelled; both were sidelined for twenty years. Under Xianzong he was recalled from vice-prefect of Hezhou and again promoted to secretariat drafter.

景亮善屬文，根於忠仁，有經國誌。嘗謂：「人君足食足兵而又得士，天下可為也。」乃興軒、頊以來至唐，剟治道之要，著書上下篇，號《三足記》。又作《答問》，言免運大較及陳西戎利害，切指當世。公卿伏其達古今云。元和初卒，贈禮部侍郎。憲宗時，以直諫知名者，附王源中又有王源中，字正蒙。擢進士、宏辭，累遷左補闕。是時，中官領禁兵，數亂法，捕臺府吏屬系軍中。源中上言：「臺憲者，紀綱地；府縣，責成之所。設吏有罪，宜歸有司，無令北軍亂南衙，麾下重於仗內。」帝納之。累轉戶部郎中、侍郎，擢翰林學士，進承旨學士。

Jingliang excelled at literary composition, rooted in loyalty and benevolence, with ambition to govern the state. He once said: "If a ruler has sufficient food, sufficient troops, and wins the support of scholars, the realm can be governed. He then traced governance from the reigns of Xuan and Zhuan through the Tang, distilled its essentials, and compiled them in upper and lower volumes titled Records of the Three Sufficiencies. He also wrote Responses to Inquiries, outlining proposals to reduce grain-transport burdens and analyzing the strategic costs and benefits of the Western Rong frontier, with pointed relevance to the problems of his day. High officials, it was said, admired his command of both antiquity and the present age. He died early in the Yuanhe reign and was posthumously appointed Vice Minister of Rites. Among those famous during Emperor Xianzong's reign for forthright remonstrance, also treated here: Wang Yuanzhong, courtesy name Zhengmeng. He passed the jinshi and Hongci examinations and rose in turn to Left Remonstrance Censor. At that time eunuchs commanded the palace armies, repeatedly broke the law, and seized officials of the censorate and prefectural offices to detain them in the army. Yuanzhong submitted a memorial: "The censorate is where the state's institutional order is upheld; prefectures and counties are where accountability is enforced. If officials commit crimes, they should be handed over to the proper offices. Do not let the Northern Army interfere with the Southern Offices, so that military subordinates outweigh civil authority within the palace staff." The Emperor accepted his advice. He rose in turn to bureau director and vice minister in the Ministry of Revenue, was appointed a Hanlin academician, and then promoted to chief academician.

源中嗜酒，帝召之，醉不能見。及寤，憂其慢，不悔不得進也。他日，又如之，遂失帝意。以疾自言，出為山南西道節度使，入拜刑部侍郎。未幾，領天平節度使。開成三年卒，贈尚書右僕射。

Yuanzhong was fond of wine. When the Emperor summoned him, he was too drunk to attend. When he sobered up, he worried that he had been disrespectful, yet he did not regret having forfeited promotion. On another occasion he did the same again, and so lost the Emperor's favor. He asked to leave on grounds of illness, was sent out as military governor of Shannan West Circuit, and on returning to court was appointed Vice Minister of Justice. Before long he also served as military governor of Tianping. He died in the third year of Kaicheng and was posthumously appointed Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

源中淡名利，率身治人，約而簡，當時咨美。薛蘋薛蘋，河中寶鼎人。七世祖道實，為隋禮部尚書。父順為奉天尉，與楊國忠有舊，及用事，將引之，輒謝絕。

Yuanzhong cared little for fame or profit, governed people by personal example in a spare and straightforward way, and won wide praise in his day. Xue Ping, a native of Baoding in Hezhong prefecture. His seventh-generation ancestor Daoshi had served as Minister of Rites under the Sui. His father Shun was magistrate of Fengtian. He had old ties with Yang Guozhong, but when Yang came to power and tried to recommend him, he repeatedly refused.

蘋以吏最拜長安令，歷虢州刺史。憲宗時，奏最，擢湖南觀察使，徙浙東，以治行遷浙西，加御史大夫，累封河東郡公。所居守法度，務在安人。治身觳薄，所衣綠袍更十年，至緋衣乃易。居三鎮，聲樂不聞於家，所得祿，即分散親屬故人，而無余藏。除左散騎常侍，年七十致仕。是時有年過蘋不肯去，故論者高蘋。居四年，卒，贈工部尚書，謚曰宣。蘋於文章中長於詩。蘋兄芳兄芳，有器幹。萊與莘，其母代宗從母也。以外戚奉朝請，皆贊善大夫。莘子膺莘子膺，大和初，為右補闕內供奉。其弟齊，佐興元李絳幕府，絳遇害，齊死於難。膺聞，不及請，馳赴之，哀甚，聞者垂泣。後歷工部員外郎。衞次公衞次公，字從周，河中河東人。舉進士，禮部侍郎潘炎異之，曰：「國器也。」高其第。調渭南尉。嚴震在興元，辟佐其府。累遷殿中侍御史。貞元中，擢左補闕、翰林學士。德宗崩，與鄭絪皆召至金鑾殿。時皇太子久疾，禁中或傳更議所立，眾失色。次公曰：「太子雖久疾，冢嫡也，內外系心久矣。必不得已，宜立廣陵王。」絪隨贊之，議乃定。

Ping, rated highest in administrative performance, was appointed magistrate of Chang'an and later served as prefect of Guo. During Xianzong's reign he received the highest performance rating, was promoted to Hu'nan surveillance commissioner, transferred to Zhedong, and then moved to Zhexi for his record of governance. He was given the additional title of Censor-in-Chief and was repeatedly enfeoffed as Duke of Hedong commandery. Wherever he served, he upheld law and regulation and devoted himself to keeping the people secure. He lived with austere frugality, mending the same green robe for ten years and replacing it only when promoted to the crimson robe of higher rank. Over three terms as regional governor, no music was heard in his home. He distributed his salary at once among relatives and old friends and kept nothing in reserve. He was appointed Left Regular Cavalry Attendant and retired from office at seventy. At that time many men past retirement age still refused to leave office, so commentators held Ping in especially high regard. Four years after retiring, he died. He was posthumously appointed Minister of Works and given the posthumous name Xuan. Among his literary works, Ping excelled above all at poetry. Ping's brother Fang was a man of ability and force of character. Lai and Shen—their mother was a cousin of Emperor Daizong's mother. As imperial affines they attended court and all held the rank of mentor. Shen's son Ying, at the beginning of the Dahe era, served as Right Remonstrance Censor on internal palace duty. Ying's younger brother Qi served on Li Jiang's staff at Xingyuan. When Jiang was murdered, Qi died in the same calamity. When Ying heard the news, he set out at once without waiting for leave. His grief was overwhelming, and those who witnessed it wept. He later served as vice director in the Ministry of Works. Wei Cigong, courtesy name Congzhou, was from Hedong in Hezhong prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination. Vice Minister of Rites Pan Yan was impressed and said, "He is a pillar of the state. Pan placed him at the top of the examination list. He was assigned as aide to the magistrate of Weinan. When Yan Zhen was stationed at Xingyuan, he recruited Cigong to his staff. He rose in turn to palace censor. During the Zhenyuan era he was promoted to Left Remonstrance Censor and Hanlin academician. When Emperor Dezong died, he and Zheng Yin were both summoned to the Golden Hall. The crown prince had long been ill, and inside the palace there were rumors that the succession was being reconsidered. Everyone turned pale. Cigong said, "Though the crown prince has long been ill, he is the eldest legitimate son. Within the palace and without, all hearts have long been bound to him. If there is truly no alternative, the Prince of Guangling should be enthroned. Yin immediately endorsed this, and the succession question was settled.

順宗立，王叔文等用事，輕弄威柄，次公與絪多所持正。知禮部貢舉，斥華取實，不為權力侵橈。由中書舍人充史館修撰，改兵部侍郎。絪以宰相罷，坐與善，下除太子賓客。久乃為陜、虢州觀察使，蠲橫租錢歲三百萬。復入為兵部侍郎。故英公李勣、大理卿徐有功之孫，皆以負不得調，次公召見曰：「子之祖，勛在王府，寧限常格乎？」即優補而遣。進尚書左丞。時方討蔡，數建請罷兵，帝將相之，制稿具而蔡捷書至，乃追止。以檢校工部尚書為淮南節度使。久之，召還，道病卒，年六十六，贈太子少傅，謚曰敬。

When Emperor Shunzong took the throne, Wang Shuwen and his faction held power and wielded authority lightly. Cigong and Yin often held firm to what was right. As head of the Ministry of Rites examinations, he rejected showy talent in favor of genuine ability and would not let power distort the selection process. From his post as Secretariat drafter he served as historiography compiler and was then transferred to Vice Minister of War. When Yin was dismissed as chancellor, Cigong was punished for association with him and demoted to mentor to the heir apparent. After a long interval he became surveillance commissioner of Shan and Guo prefectures and remitted three million cash in improper levies each year. He returned to the capital as Vice Minister of War. The grandsons of the late Duke of Ying, Li Ji, and of Senior Director of the Court of Judicial Review Xu Yougong could not receive appointments because of debts. Cigong summoned them and said, "Your grandfathers' merit served the imperial house. Should ordinary rules limit you? He immediately gave them preferential appointments and sent them on their way. He was promoted to Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. At the time the court was campaigning against Cai, and he repeatedly urged that the troops be withdrawn. The Emperor was about to appoint him chancellor and the draft edict was ready, but when news of victory over Cai arrived the appointment was recalled. He was appointed military governor of Huainan with the acting title of Minister of Works. After a long interval he was recalled, but died of illness on the road at sixty-six. He was posthumously appointed Grand Mentor to the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Jing.

次公本善琴，方未顯時，京兆尹李齊運使子與遊，請授之法，次公拒絕，因終身不復鼓。其節尚終始完絜。次公子洙子洙，舉進士，尚臨真公主，檢校秘書少監、駙馬都尉。文宗曰：「洙起名家，以文進，宜諫官寵之。」乃為左拾遺，歷義成節度使。咸通中卒。薛戎薛戎，字元夫，河中寶鼎人。客毗陵陽羨山，年四十餘不仕。江西觀察使李衡辟署幕府，三返乃肯應。故宰相齊映代衡，奏留之。府罷，復歸陽羨。福建觀察使柳冕辟佐其府。先是，馬總佐鄭滑府，監軍宦人誣劾之，貶泉州別駕。冕欲除總以附幸家，即使戎攝刺史，按置其罪。戎曰：「以是待我耶？我始不願仕，正謂此爾！」不肯從，還白其狀。冕怒，據案引戎入，戎叱引者曰：「見賓客乃爾乎？」由東廂進。冕度未可屈，揖而去，囚之它館，環兵脅辱之，累月，戎終不為屈。淮南節度使杜佑聞之，書責冕，會冕亦病死，得解，自放江湖間。

Cigong was originally skilled at the zither. Before he had risen to prominence, Metropolitan Governor Li Qiyun had his son associate with him and asked to be taught the art. Cigong refused, and from then on never played again for the rest of his life. His integrity was marked by consistency and purity from beginning to end. Cigong's son Zhu passed the jinshi, married Princess Linzhen, and served as acting junior director of the Secretariat and commander of the imperial son-in-law's guard. Emperor Wenzong said, "Zhu comes from a distinguished family and rose through literary talent. He should be favored with a remonstrance post. He was appointed Left Reminder and later served as military governor of Yicheng. He died during the Xiantong reign. Xue Rong, courtesy name Yuanfu, was from Baoding in Hezhong prefecture. He lived as a guest on Mount Yangxian in Piling and, past forty, still refused to take office. Jiangxi surveillance commissioner Li Heng recruited him to his staff, but only after three refusals did he agree to serve. Former chancellor Qi Ying replaced Heng and memorialized to retain him on staff. When the staff was dissolved, he returned once more to Yangxian. Fujian surveillance commissioner Liu Mian recruited him as a staff aide. Earlier, Ma Zong had served on the Zheng-Slip circuit staff. The supervising military eunuch falsely impeached him and had him demoted to assistant prefect of Quanzhou. Mian wished to remove Zong to please the favored faction and had Rong act as prefect to investigate and establish charges against him. Rong said, "Is this how you treat me? I refused office in the first place precisely because of this sort of thing! He refused to comply and returned to report what had happened. Mian grew angry. Leaning on his desk, he had men drag Rong in. Rong shouted at the men pulling him, "Is this how you receive a guest? He entered through the east wing instead. Seeing that Rong could not be broken, Mian bowed and let him leave, then imprisoned him in another lodge and surrounded him with soldiers to threaten and humiliate him. For months Rong never yielded. Huainan military governor Du You heard of this and wrote to reproach Mian. Mian also happened to die of illness, and Rong was released to roam freely among the rivers and lakes.

復為藩府交奏，稍遷河南令。吐突承璀討鎮州，所過吏迎廷畏不及，治道前驅，惟戎境內按故無所治迓。留府卒犯令者，縛置獄，留守怒，遣將略出之，不與。累遷浙東觀察使，所部州觸酒禁者罪當死，橘未貢先鬻者死，戎弛其禁。卒治下，年七十五，贈左散騎常侍。

Regional staffs again recommended him in turn, and he was gradually promoted to magistrate of Henan. On Tuhutuo Chenghui's campaign against Zhenzhou, officials everywhere received him with fearful haste, repairing roads and riding ahead as escort. Only within Rong's jurisdiction did Chenghui proceed as usual, with nothing prepared to welcome him. When garrison soldiers violated orders, Rong bound them and placed them in prison. The acting governor was angry and sent a general to seize them by force, but Rong would not release them. He was promoted to Zhedong surveillance commissioner. In his jurisdiction, violating the wine prohibition or selling oranges before tribute was due was punishable by death, and Rong relaxed both prohibitions. He died in office at seventy-five and was posthumously appointed Left Regular Cavalry Attendant.

戎為吏，不尚約束詭名譽，其有善，歸之所部。故居官時無灼灼可驚者，已罷則懷之。悉奉稟赒濟內外親，無疏遠皆歸之。既病，以所有分遺之曰：「吾死矣，可持為歸資！」眾皆哭而去。戎弟放弟放，端厚寡言。第進士，擢累兵部郎中。穆宗為太子，拜侍讀，及即位，參贊機命。帝謂曰：「小子新立，懼不克荷，先生宜相，以輔不逮。」放叩頭曰：「臣庸淺，不足塵大任，自有賢能處之。」帝美其誠，進工部侍郎、集賢學士，寵待尤至。改刑部侍郎。

As an official, Rong did not cultivate a showy reputation through contrived restraint. Whatever good was achieved, he credited to the region he governed. Thus while he held office there was nothing dazzlingly remarkable about him, yet after he left people cherished his memory. He devoted all his income to supporting and relieving relatives near and far. None were excluded; all came to rely on him. When he fell ill, he divided all he possessed among them, saying, "I am dying. Take this as funds for your journey home! All wept as they departed. Rong's brother Fang was upright, generous, and sparing of words. He passed the jinshi examination and rose in turn to bureau director in the Ministry of War. When Muzong was heir apparent, Fang was appointed his study companion. When Muzong took the throne, Fang helped deliberate imperial decisions. The Emperor said to him, "I have just ascended the throne as a young man and fear I cannot bear the burden. Sir, you ought to serve as chancellor and assist where I fall short. Fang kowtowed and said, "Your servant is shallow and mediocre, unworthy to sully so great a post. There are able men who should handle it. The Emperor praised his sincerity, promoted him to Vice Minister of Works and academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and favored him with exceptional regard. He was transferred to Vice Minister of Justice.

帝嘗問：「朕欲學經與史，何先？」放曰：「《六經》者，聖人之言，孔子所發明，天人之極也。《史記》道成敗得失，亦足以鑒，然謬於是非，非《六經》比。」帝曰：「吾聞學者白首不能通一經，安得其要乎？」對曰：「《論語》，《六經》之菁華也；《孝經》，人倫之本也。漢時《論語》首立於學官。光武令虎賁士皆習《孝經》，玄宗為註訓，蓋人知孝慈，則氣感和樂也。」帝曰：「聖人以孝為至德要道，信然。」終江西觀察使，謚曰簡。胡證胡證，字啟中，河中河東人。舉進士第，渾瑊美其才，又以鄉府奏寘幕下。繇殿中侍御史為韶州刺史，以母老辭，為太子舍人。更從襄陽於頔，署掌書記。入為戶部郎中。田弘正以魏博內屬，請使自副，詔兼御史中丞，為弘正副使。入遷諫議大夫。

The Emperor once asked, "I wish to study the classics and history. Which should come first? Fang replied, "The Six Classics are the words of the sages, elucidated by Confucius. They are the ultimate standard of Heaven and man. The Records of the Grand Historian recounts success and failure, gain and loss, and can serve as a mirror as well, yet it errs in matters of right and wrong and cannot compare with the Six Classics. The Emperor said, "I have heard that scholars grow white-haired without mastering even one classic. How then can one grasp their essentials? He answered, "The Analects is the finest essence of the Six Classics; and the Classic of Filial Piety is the root of human relations. In Han times the Analects was first established in the official schools. Emperor Guangwu ordered the tiger guards all to study the Classic of Filial Piety, and Emperor Xuanzong provided commentary and instruction, for when people know filial piety and compassion, the vital forces harmonize and joy prevails. The Emperor said, "The sages take filial piety as the highest virtue and essential way. Truly so. He ended his career as Jiangxi observation commissioner, and his posthumous title was Jian. Hu Zheng, courtesy name Qizhong, was a native of Hedong in Hezhong prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination. Hun Zhen praised his talent, and the provincial authorities also recommended him and placed him on Hun's staff. From Attendant Censor of the Palace he became prefect of Shaozhou, but citing his mother's age he declined and was made Gentleman Attendant of the Heir Apparent. He then followed Yu Di at Xiangyang and was appointed chief secretary. He entered the capital as Director in the Ministry of Revenue. When Tian Hongzheng brought Weibo back under the court, he requested an envoy as his deputy. The court ordered Hu to serve concurrently as Vice Censor-in-Chief and as Tian's deputy commissioner. On entering the capital he was promoted to Remonstrance Grandee.

元和九年，党項屢擾邊，而單於都護府累更武將，職事廢，證以儒而勇選拜振武軍節度使。道河中，時趙宗儒為帥，以州民入謁，裏人榮之。居四年，召任金吾大將軍，又充京西、京北巡邊使。

In the ninth year of Yuanhe the Tangut repeatedly harassed the frontier, while the Chanyu Protectorate had repeatedly changed military commanders and its duties had fallen into disuse. Hu, selected for being a scholar yet brave, was appointed military commissioner of Zhenwu Army. Passing through Hezhong, where Zhao Zongru was commander, the people of the prefecture came to pay their respects, and his neighbors took pride in it. After four years he was summoned to serve as General of the Golden Guard and also appointed frontier inspector of the western and northern capital circuits.

太和公主降回鶻，以檢校工部尚書為和親使。舊制，行人有私覿禮，縣官不能具，召富人子納資於使而命之官。證請儉受省費，以絕鬻官之濫。次漠南，虜人欲屈脅之，且言使者必易胡服，又欲主便道疾驅者，證固不從，以唐官儀自將，訖不辱命。還，拜工部侍郎，改京兆尹、左散騎常侍。寶歷初，以戶部尚書判度支，固辭，拜嶺南節度使。卒，年七十一，贈尚書右僕射。

When Princess Taihe was sent in marriage to the Uyghurs, he was made Acting Minister of Works and commissioner for the marriage alliance. By old custom envoys received private presentation gifts, which the county officials could not supply. Sons of wealthy families were summoned to pay funds to the envoy and were given offices in return. Hu requested to accept gifts frugally and reduce expenses, so as to end the abuse of selling offices. When they reached south of the desert, the barbarians wished to humiliate and coerce him, saying the envoy must change into barbarian dress and insisting he take a shortcut at full speed. Hu steadfastly refused, conducting himself by Tang official protocol, and in the end did not disgrace his mission. On his return he was appointed Vice Minister of Works, then transferred to Intendant of Jingzhao and Left Regular Attendant. At the beginning of Baoli he was ordered to serve as Minister of Revenue with concurrent charge of the treasury. He firmly declined and was appointed military commissioner of Lingnan. He died at the age of seventy-one and was posthumously granted the title of Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

廣有舶貝奇寶，證厚殖財自奉，養奴數百人，營第脩行裏，彌亙閭陌，車服器用珍侈，遂號京師高訾。素與賈餗善。李訓敗，衛軍利其財，聲言餗匿其家，爭入剽劫，執其子溵內左軍，至斬以徇。

Guangzhou had abundant imported shells and rare treasures. Hu amassed great wealth for his own comfort, kept several hundred slaves, and built mansions in Xiuhang Ward stretching across lanes and streets. His carriages, robes, and utensils were all rare and extravagant, and he came to be known in the capital for his towering reputation for wealth. He had long been on good terms with Jia Su. When Li Xun was defeated, the imperial guard coveted Hu's wealth, claiming that Jia Su was hiding at his house. They rushed in to plunder and loot, seized his son Yin and held him in the Left Army, and finally executed him as a warning.

證旅力絕人。晉公裴度未顯時，羸服私飲，為武士所窘。證聞，突入坐客上，引觥三釂，客皆失色。因取鐵燈檠，摘枝葉，擽合其跗，橫膝上，謂客曰：「我欲為酒令，飲不釂者，以此擊之！」眾唯唯。證一飲輒數升，次授客，客流離盤杓不能盡，證欲擊之，諸惡少叩頭請去，證悉驅出。故時人稱其俠。丁公著丁公著，字平子，蘇州吳人。三歲喪母。甫七歲，見鄰媼抱子，哀感不肯食，請於父緒，願絕粒學老子道，父聽之。稍長，父勉敕就學。舉明經高第，授集賢校書郎，不滿秩輒去，侍養於家。父喪，負土作冢，貌力臒惙，見者憂其死孝。觀察使薛蘋表上至行，詔刺史吊問，賜粟帛，旌闕其閭。淮南節度使李吉甫表授太子文學，兼集賢校理。會入輔政，擢為右補闕，遷直學士，充皇太子、諸王侍讀，因著《太子諸王訓》十篇。

Hu's physical strength was unmatched among men. When Duke of Jin Pei Du had not yet risen to prominence, he went out in shabby clothes to drink in private and was harassed by bravos. When Hu heard of it he burst in and sat above the guests, draining three cups in succession. The guests all turned pale. He then took an iron lamp stand, stripped off its branches and leaves, twisted its base together, laid it across his knee, and said to the guests, "I wish to make a drinking rule. Whoever does not drain his cup, I shall strike with this! The crowd assented in fear. Hu drank several sheng at a single draught, then passed the cup to the guests. The guests fumbled with the dishes and ladles and could not finish. When Hu was about to strike them, the young ruffians kowtowed and begged to leave, and he drove them all out. Therefore people of the time called him chivalrous. Ding Gongzhu, courtesy name Pingzi, was a native of Wu in Suzhou prefecture. He lost his mother at the age of three. At just seven he saw a neighboring old woman holding her child, was moved to grief, and refused to eat. He asked his father Xu to let him abstain from food and study the Way of Laozi, and his father consented. When he grew older his father urged and admonished him to pursue formal study. He passed the mingjing examination at the top tier and was appointed Collator of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, but before completing his term he left to serve and care for his parents at home. When his father died he carried earth to build the tomb himself. His appearance grew gaunt and his strength wasted away, and those who saw him feared he would die from excessive filial mourning. Observation commissioner Xue Pin memorialized his supreme conduct. The court ordered the prefect to offer condolences, granted grain and cloth, and erected a memorial gate at his lane. Huainan military commissioner Li Jifu memorialized to appoint him Erudite of the Heir Apparent and concurrent collator of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. When Li entered the capital to assist in governance, Ding was promoted to Right Remonstrance Censor, transferred to Direct Academician, and appointed study companion to the heir apparent and the princes. He thereupon composed ten chapters of Admonitions for the Heir Apparent and the Princes.

穆宗立，未聽政，召居禁中，條詢治理，且許以相。公著陳讓牢切，乃擢給事中，遷工部侍郎，知吏部選事。公著內知帝欲進用，故辭疾求外，遷授浙西觀察使，徙為河南尹，治以清靜聞。四遷禮部尚書、翰林侍講學士。長慶中，浙東災癘，拜觀察使，詔賜米七萬斛，使賑饑捐。久之，入為太常卿。太和中，以病丐身還鄉里，卒，年六十四，贈尚書右僕射。

When Muzong ascended the throne and had not yet taken up governance, he summoned Ding to reside within the inner palace, questioned him item by item on administration, and even promised him the chancellorship. Gongzhu declined with earnest and forceful remonstrance, whereupon he was promoted to Supervising Censor, transferred to Vice Minister of Works, and given charge of personnel selection in the Ministry of Personnel. Gongzhu inwardly knew the Emperor wished to advance him further, so he pleaded illness and sought an outside post. He was transferred and appointed Zhexi observation commissioner, then moved to Intendant of Henan, and became known for governing with clarity and restraint. After four promotions he became Minister of Rites and Lecturing Academician of the Hanlin Academy. During Changqing, when Zhedong suffered epidemic disaster, he was appointed observation commissioner. The court granted seventy thousand hu of grain and ordered him to relieve famine and levy donations. After some time he entered the capital as Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In Taihe he pleaded illness and requested to return to his home district. He died at the age of sixty-four and was posthumously granted the title of Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

公著清約守道，每進一官，輒憂見顏間。四十喪妻，終身不畜妾。及卒，天下惜之。崔弘禮崔弘禮，字從周，系出博陵，北齊左僕射懷遠六世孫。磊磊有大誌，通兵略。過宣武，從劉玄佐獵夷門，玄佐酒酣，顧曰：「崔生獨不知此樂邪？」弘禮笑曰：「我固喜武，請為公歡。」玄佐臂鷹與弘禮馳逐，急緩在手，一軍驚曰：「安得此奇客？」玄佐大悅，欲留之，固辭，厚為資餉。至京師，所善李觀病且死，弘禮殫褚為治喪，葬畢乃去。

Gongzhu was frugal and steadfast in the Way. With every promotion he showed worry upon his face. He lost his wife at forty and never kept a concubine for the rest of his life. When he died the whole realm mourned him. Cui Hongli, courtesy name Congzhou, was descended from Boling and was a sixth-generation descendant of Huaiyuan, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs under Northern Qi. He was open and forthright with great ambition and understood military strategy. Passing through Xuanwu he joined Liu Xuanzuo in hunting at Yimen Gate. When Liu was deep in wine he turned and said, "Does young Cui alone not know this pleasure? Hongli smiled and said, "I have always loved martial affairs. Allow me to join your revelry. Liu took a hawk on his arm and raced with Hongli in pursuit, controlling pace and speed in his hands. The whole army exclaimed in astonishment, "Where did such an extraordinary guest come from? Liu was greatly pleased and wished to keep him, but Hongli firmly declined and was richly supplied with gifts and provisions. When he reached the capital his friend Li Guan was ill and near death. Hongli exhausted his resources to arrange the funeral and only left after the burial was complete.

及進士第，平判異等。靈武李欒表為判官，以親老不應，更署東都留守呂元膺參謀。時天子討蔡，李師道謀襲洛，脅沮朝廷以釋蔡危。弘禮為箝揣賊情，部分設張，東都卒無患。遷留守判官，擢忻、汾二州刺史。田弘正請朝，表弘禮徙衛州，兼魏博節度副使。伐李師道，弘正多所咨逮。還魏博，又表為相州刺史。

He passed the jinshi examination and received the highest grade in the palace examination. Li Luan of Lingwu memorialized to appoint him as judge, but citing his aged parents he did not accept and was instead appointed staff officer to Eastern Capital regent Lu Yuanying. At that time the Son of Heaven was campaigning against Cai. Li Shidao plotted to strike Luoyang and intimidate the court into lifting the siege on Cai. Hongli restrained and probed the rebels' intentions, deployed forces and made arrangements, and in the end the Eastern Capital suffered no harm. He was promoted to regent's judge, then elevated to prefect of Xin and Fen prefectures. When Tian Hongzheng requested an audience at court he memorialized to transfer Hongli to Weizhou and appoint him deputy military commissioner of Weibo. In the campaign against Li Shidao, Tian consulted Hongli extensively. Returning to Weibo, Tian again memorialized to appoint him prefect of Xiangzhou.

長慶初，張弘靖鎮幽州，詔弘禮往副。未及行，軍亂，改絳州刺史。李反於汴，詔徙河南尹，倚以捍賊。遷河陽節度使，治河內秦渠，溉田千頃，歲收八萬斛。徙華州刺史，改天平節度使。

At the beginning of Changqing, when Zhang Hongjing garrisoned Youzhou, the court ordered Hongli to go as his deputy. Before he could depart the army mutinied, and he was reassigned as prefect of Jiangzhou. When Li rebelled at Bian, the court ordered him transferred to Intendant of Henan, relying on him to repel the rebels. He was transferred to military commissioner of Heyang, repaired the Qin Canal in Henei, irrigated a thousand qing of fields, and harvested eighty thousand hu per year. He was moved to prefect of Huazhou, then changed to military commissioner of Tianping.

李同捷叛，與李聽合師討之。至濮州，大將李萬瑀、劉寀擁兵自固，弘禮表萬瑀守沂州，寀守黃州，奪其兵，擊賊禹城，破之，獲鎧裝數十萬。時徐泗節度使王智興檄兗、海、鄆、曹、淄、青當徐道者，出車五千乘，轉粟饋軍，弘禮度道遠，乃自兗開盲山故渠，自黃隊抵青丘，師人大濟。李祐以鄭滑兵三千入齊而潰，弘禮悉斬之，為出鄆兵二千，祐遂大破賊，屍藉十餘里，祐望鄆拜曰：「活我者崔公也！」加檢校尚書左僕射，徙東都留守。召還，以病自乞，改刑部尚書，復為留守。卒，年六十五，贈司空。

When Li Tongjie rebelled, he joined Li Ting in a combined force to suppress him. Reaching Puzhou, the generals Li Wanyu and Liu Cai held troops to fortify themselves. Hongli memorialized to assign Wanyu to defend Yizhou and Cai to defend Huangzhou, stripped them of their soldiers, attacked the rebels at Yucheng, defeated them, and captured several hundred thousand sets of armor. At that time Xuzhou-Suzhou military commissioner Wang Zhixing ordered Yan, Hai, Yun, Cao, Zi, and Qing circuits on the route to Xuzhou to supply five thousand carts to transport grain and feed the army. Hongli judged the route too long, so he reopened the old Blind Mountain canal from Yan, from Huangdui to Qingqiu, and the army was greatly aided. Li You led three thousand Zheng-Slide troops into Qi and they collapsed in rout. Hongli had them all executed, then provided two thousand Yun troops. You thereupon routed the rebels decisively, with corpses piled over ten li. You looked toward Yun, bowed, and said, "The one who saved me was Lord Cui! He was given the additional title of Acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and transferred to Eastern Capital regent. He was recalled, pleaded illness and requested retirement, was changed to Minister of Justice, and again served as regent. He died at the age of sixty-five and was posthumously granted the title of Minister of Works.

弘禮短於治民，少愛利，晚頗務多積，素議訿之。崔玄亮崔玄亮，字晦叔，磁州昭義人。貞元初，擢進士第，累署諸鎮幕府。父喪，客高郵，臥苫終制，地下濕，因得痹病，不樂進取。元和初，召為監察御史，累轉駕部員外郎。清慎介特，淡如也。稍遷密歙二州刺史。歙人馬牛生駒犢，官籍蹄噭，故吏得為奸，玄亮焚其籍，一不問。民山處，輸租者苦之，下令許計斛輸錢，民賴其利。歷湖、曹二州，辭曹不拜。大和四年，繇太常少卿改諫議大夫，朝廷推為宿望，拜右散騎常侍。每遷官，輒讓形於色。

Hongli was deficient in governing the people, showed little concern for profit and benefit, and in his later years devoted himself greatly to accumulation. Public opinion had long criticized him for this. Cui Xuanliang, courtesy name Huishu, was a native of Zhaoyi in Cizhou prefecture. At the beginning of Zhenyuan he passed the jinshi examination and successively served on the staffs of various military commissions. When his father died he sojourned at Gaoyou, slept on the mourning mat through the full mourning period, and because the ground was damp contracted a crippling illness. He took no pleasure in advancing his career. At the beginning of Yuanhe he was summoned as Investigating Censor and successively transferred to Vice Director in the Department of Transport. He was pure, cautious, upright, and exceptional, plain and unassuming. He was gradually promoted to prefect of Mi and She prefectures. When horses and cattle in She gave birth to foals and calves, officials registered their hooves and branding for taxation, enabling clerks to commit abuses. Xuanliang burned the registers and made no inquiries at all. The people lived in mountainous areas and found it painful to deliver rent in kind. He issued an order permitting payment in cash by measured bushel, and the people benefited from it. He served as prefect of Hu and Cao prefectures and declined to accept Cao. In the fourth year of Dahe, from Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices he was changed to Remonstrance Grandee. The court regarded him as a veteran of standing and appointed him Right Regular Attendant. With every promotion he showed reluctance upon his face.

鄭註構宋申錫，捕逮倉卒，內外震駭。玄亮率諫官叩延英苦諍，反復數百言，文宗未諭，玄亮置笏在陛曰：「孟軻有言：『眾人皆曰殺之，未可也；卿大夫皆曰殺之，未可也；天下皆曰殺之，然後察之，乃寘於法。』今殺一凡庶，當稽典律，況欲誅宰相乎？臣為陛下惜天下法，不為申錫言也。」俯伏流涕，帝感悟，眾亦服其不橈，由此名重朝廷。頃之，移疾歸東都，召為虢州刺史。卒，年六十六，贈禮部尚書。

Zheng Zhu framed Song Shenxi. The arrest was sudden and the inner and outer courts were shaken with alarm. Xuanliang led the remonstrance officials to knock at the Yanying Gate and remonstrate bitterly, repeating his words hundreds of times. When Emperor Wenzong did not understand, Xuanliang placed his tablet on the steps and said, "Mencius said, 'When all the common people say he should be killed, it is not yet acceptable; when all the ministers and grandees say he should be killed, it is not yet acceptable; when all under Heaven say he should be killed, then examine the matter. Only then may he be placed within the law. To kill an ordinary commoner today requires consulting the statutes and laws. How much more so when one wishes to execute a chancellor? Your servant grieves for Your Majesty's laws under Heaven, not for Shenxi's sake.' He prostrated himself and wept. The emperor was deeply moved, and the assembly also admired his refusal to yield. From this his reputation weighed heavily at court. Before long he pleaded illness and returned to the Eastern Capital. He was later summoned and appointed prefect of Guo. He died at the age of sixty-six and was posthumously awarded the title Minister of Rites.

玄亮晚好黃老清靜術，故所居官未久輒去。遺言：「山東士人利便近，皆葬兩都，吾族未嘗遷，當歸葬滏陽，正首丘之義。」諸子如命。王質王質，字華卿。五世祖通為隋大儒。質少孤，客壽春，力耕以養母。講學不倦，諸生從授業者甚眾。年逾四十，偃蹇無進取意，姻友苦勸以仕，乃舉進士，中甲科。繇秘書省正字累佐帥府，五遷侍御史，繇山南西道節度副使再轉諫議大夫。宋申錫之得罪，質與諫官伏閣，文宗開延英召見，泣涕陳諫，帝稍寤，申錫得不死。為宦豎所惡，出虢州刺史。李德裕素器之，擢給事中、河南尹，徙宣歙觀察使。卒，年六十八，贈左散騎常侍，謚曰定。

In his later years Xuanliang came to favor the quietist arts of Huang-Lao Daoism, and so in whatever office he held he seldom remained long before departing. His final instructions read: "Scholars east of the mountains, finding convenience in proximity, all bury themselves in the two capitals. Our clan has never moved away; I should be returned for burial at Feyang — the proper meaning of returning one's head to its mound.' His sons carried out his command. Wang Zhi, courtesy name Huaqing. His fifth-generation ancestor Tong was a great Confucian scholar of the Sui. Zhi lost his father while young, lived as a guest in Shouchun, and labored at farming to support his mother. He lectured tirelessly, and very many students came to receive instruction from him. After he passed forty he remained aloof and had no ambition to advance. Relatives and friends repeatedly urged him to enter office, whereupon he sat for the Jinshi examination and placed in the top grade. From proofreader in the Secretariat he successively served as aide in commanders' headquarters, was promoted five times to Attending Censor, and from vice commissioner of the Shannan West Circuit was again transferred to Remonstrance Grandee. When Song Shenxi fell into disgrace, Zhi and the remonstrance officials lay prostrate at the gate. Emperor Wenzong opened the Yanying Hall and summoned them. Weeping, Zhi presented his remonstrance; the emperor gradually came to his senses, and Shenxi was spared death. Hated by the eunuch faction, he was sent out as prefect of Guo. Li Deyu had long valued him. He was promoted to Supervising Secretary and Intendant of Henan, then transferred to commissioner of the Xuan-She Circuit. He died at the age of sixty-eight, was posthumously awarded Left Regular Attendant, and was given the posthumous title Ding.

質清白畏慎，為政必先究風俗，所至有惠愛。雖與德裕厚善，而中立自將，不為黨。奏署幕府者，若河東裴夷直、天水趙皙、隴西李行方、梁國劉蕡，皆一時選云。殷侑殷侑，陳州人。幼有誌於學，不治資產。長通經術，以講道為娛。貞元末，及五經第，其學長於《禮》，擢太常博士。元和八年，回鶻請和親，朝廷以仰費廣劇，欲紓以期。詔侑、宗正少卿李孝誠使回鶻，可汗驕甚，盛陳甲兵，欲臣使者，侑不為屈。已傳命，虜責其倨，宣言欲留不遣，眾色怖，侑徐曰：「可汗，唐婿，欲坐屈使者拜，乃可汗無禮，非使臣倨也。」虜憚其言，不敢逼。還，遷虞部員外郎。

Zhi was pure, cautious, and reverent in conduct. In governing he always first investigated local customs, and wherever he went he showed kindness and care. Although he was on close terms with Deyu, he held himself neutrally and did not join a faction. Those he memorialized for appointment to his staff — such as Pei Yizhi of Hedong, Zhao Xi of Tianshui, Li Xingfang of Longxi, and Liu Fen of Liang — were all outstanding men of the age. Yin You was a native of Chen prefecture. From youth he was resolved upon learning and did not manage family property. As he grew he mastered the classics and took lecturing on the Way as his recreation. At the end of the Zhenyuan era he passed the Five Classics examination. His learning excelled in the Rites, and he was promoted to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the eighth year of Yuanhe the Uyghurs requested a marriage alliance. The court, because the expense borne upward was vast and severe, wished to defer it for a time. An edict ordered You and Vice Director of the Imperial Clan Li Xiaocheng to go as envoys to the Uyghurs. The qaghan was extremely arrogant, arrayed armor and troops in great display, and wished to make the envoys submit — but You would not yield. After the imperial message had been delivered, the barbarians reproached him for arrogance and declared they intended to detain him and not send him back. The company looked terrified. You said calmly, "Qaghan, you are Tang's son-in-law. If you wish to remain seated and force the envoy to bow, that is the qaghan's lack of courtesy — not the envoy's arrogance.' The barbarians feared his words and did not dare press him. On his return he was transferred to vice director in the Ministry of Public Works.

王承宗叛，遣侑招諭，承宗聽命。進諫議大夫。侑論朝廷治亂得失，前後凡八十四通，以語切，出為桂管觀察使。寶歷元年，徙江西。所至以潔廉稱。入為衛尉卿。

When Wang Chengzong rebelled, You was sent to summon and instruct him, and Chengzong obeyed the command. He was promoted to Remonstrance Grandee. You discussed the gains and losses in the court's order and disorder, submitting eighty-four memorials in all. Because his language was sharp, he was sent out as commissioner of the Gui Circuit. In the first year of Baoli he was transferred to Jiangxi. Wherever he went he was known for purity and integrity. He was recalled to serve as Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud.

文宗即位，李同捷叛，而王廷湊陰為唇齒，兵久不解，詔五品以上官議尚書省。帝銳欲討賊，群臣無敢異論者，獨侑請舍廷湊而專事同捷，且言：「願以宗社安危為計，善師攻心為武，含垢安人為遠圖，網漏吞舟為至誡。」帝不納，然內嘉尚。

When Emperor Wenzong took the throne, Li Tongjie rebelled, while Wang Tingcou secretly acted as his mutual support. The troops were long unable to achieve resolution. An edict ordered officials of the fifth rank and above to deliberate at the Department of State Affairs. The emperor was keen to attack the rebels; none among the ministers dared offer a differing view — only You asked to set Tingcou aside and concentrate on Tongjie, saying moreover, "I wish to take the safety of the altars of state as the measure, to make winning hearts the best martial art, to bear disgrace and settle the people as the long view, and to let the net leak so that great fish may pass as the highest admonition.' The emperor did not adopt it, yet inwardly he admired it.

同捷平，以侑嘗為滄州行軍司馬，遂拜義昌軍節度使。於時痍荒之餘，骸骨蔽野，墟裏生荊棘，侑單身之官，安足粗淡，與下共勞苦，以仁惠為治。歲中，流戶繈屬而還，遂為營田，丐耕牛三萬，詔度支賜帛四萬匹佐其市。初，州兵三萬，仰稟度支，侑始至一歲，自以賦入贍其半，二歲則周用，乃奏罷度支所賜。戶口滋饒，廥儲盈腐，上下便安，請立石紀政。以勞加檢校吏部尚書。

When Tongjie was pacified, because You had once served as marching army adjutant at Cangzhou, he was appointed military commissioner of Yichang. At that time, in the aftermath of devastation and desolation, bones covered the fields and brambles grew in ruined villages. You went to his post alone, content with coarse fare, shared toil and hardship with those below him, and governed through kindness and grace. Within the year, displaced households returned in continuous streams. He then established military colonies and requested thirty thousand plow oxen. An edict ordered the Directorate of the Treasury to grant forty thousand bolts of silk to assist in purchasing them. At first the prefecture's thirty thousand troops depended on rations from the Directorate of the Treasury. In You's first year after arrival, tax revenues themselves supplied half their needs; in the second year expenditures were fully covered, whereupon he memorialized to abolish the grants from the Directorate. Household registers grew abundant, granaries overflowed until grain rotted, superiors and inferiors alike found ease and security, and he requested that a stele be erected to record his governance. For his labors he was additionally appointed acting Minister of Civil Appointments.

六年，徙天平節度。自李師道亂，朝廷雖析三鎮，然務安反側，賦入盡為軍資，無輸王府者。侑以餉軍有贏，當上送官，乃裁制經費，歲以錢十五萬緡、粟五萬石歸有司。加檢校尚書右僕射。御史大夫溫造劾侑違制，擅賦斂民為無名之獻，詔以庾承宣代還。會濮州掾崔元武受吏賕，又率屬邑奉錢，增私馬估售官，疊三罪計絹百二十匹。大理以入私馬一重，削三官，刑部覆訊當流，未決。侑奏：「三犯不同，坐所重。律，頻贓者累論。元武犯皆枉法，當死。」詔用覆訊，流元武賀州。帝嘉侑守法，進刑部尚書，以造所奏不直，復用為天平節度。

In the sixth year he was transferred to the Tianping command. Since Li Shidao's rebellion, although the court had divided the three commands, it still sought to pacify the restless. Tax revenues all went to military supplies, with none submitted to the imperial treasury. You, finding that army provisions had a surplus that ought to be sent up to the government, trimmed expenditures and each year returned one hundred fifty thousand strings of cash and fifty thousand shi of grain to the appropriate offices. He was additionally appointed acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Censor-in-Chief Wen Zao impeached You for violating regulations and levying taxes on the people without authorization as an unscheduled tribute. An edict ordered Yu Chengxuan to replace him and recall him. It happened that Pu prefecture aide Cui Yuanwu accepted bribes from officials, also led subordinate districts in presenting money, and inflated the appraised value of his private horses to sell them to the government — three offenses stacked together, totaling one hundred twenty bolts of silk. The Court of Judicial Review, taking the private-horse offense as the gravest, stripped three ranks. The Ministry of Justice on re-examination found exile appropriate — the case was undecided. You memorialized, "The three offenses differ; one should be punished for the gravest. The law states that repeated offenses involving illicit gains are to be judged cumulatively. All of Yuanwu's offenses were violations of law and warranted death.' An edict adopted the re-examination; Yuanwu was exiled to He prefecture. The emperor praised You for upholding the law, promoted him to Minister of Justice, and because Zao's memorial had been unjust, again appointed him to the Tianping command.

開成元年，再召為刑部尚書。時李訓、鄭註已誅，帝問侑治安術，侑言：「朝廷宜任耆德，毋輕用新進。」帝善之，賜彩三百匹。初，鹽鐵度支使屬官悉得以罪人系在所獄，或私置牢院，而州縣不聞知，歲千百數，不時決。侑奏許州縣糾列所系，申本道觀察使，並具獄上聞。許之，賜黃金十斤，以酬直言。

In the first year of Kaicheng he was again summoned as Minister of Justice. At that time Li Xun and Zheng Zhu had already been executed. The emperor asked You about the art of governing for peace and order. You said, "The court ought to employ men of mature virtue and not lightly use newly risen officials.' The emperor approved and bestowed three hundred bolts of colored silk. Formerly, subordinate officials of the Salt, Iron, and Treasury Commission were all permitted to detain criminals in their own prisons, or to set up private detention yards — while prefectures and counties knew nothing of it. Each year there were hundreds or thousands of such cases, decided not in timely fashion. You memorialized that prefectures and counties be permitted to investigate and report those detained, notify the circuit observation commissioner, and submit the full case records to the throne. It was granted; he was awarded ten jin of gold as reward for his forthright speech.

涇原節度使朱叔夜坐侵牟士卒，贓數萬，家畜兵器，罷為左武衛大將軍。侑薄其罪，天子由是疏之，賜叔夜死，出侑為山南東道節度使。坐減兵不先論啟，左遷太子賓客，分司東都。俄領忠武節度。卒，年七十二，贈司空。

Jingyuan Military Commissioner Zhu Shuye was convicted of exploiting and squeezing his soldiers, amassing illicit gains in the tens of thousands, and keeping weapons at home. He was dismissed and made Grand General of the Left Martial Guard. You treated his offense as slight; the Son of Heaven therefore grew distant from him, ordered Shuye to commit suicide, and sent You out as military commissioner of Shannan East. For reducing troops without first memorializing and reporting, he was demoted to Guest of the Heir Apparent and assigned to the Eastern Capital branch office. Before long he took command of Zhongwu. He died at the age of seventy-two and was posthumously awarded Grand Minister of Works.

侑以經術進，臨事銳敏，有強直名。晚節內冀臺輔，稍務交結，而素望少衰云。孫盈孫。侑孫盈孫盈孫，廣明初，為成都諸曹參軍。僖宗至蜀，聞有禮學，擢太常博士。光啟三年，帝將還京，而七廟焚殘，告享無所。盈孫白宰相：「始乘輿西，有司盡載神主以行，至鄠，悉為盜奪。今天子還宮，宜前具其禮。」宰相建言，脩復宗廟，功費廣，請與禮官議。時佗博士不在，獨盈孫從，議曰：「故廟十一室，二十三楹，楹十一梁，垣墉廣袤稱之。今朝廷多難，宜少變禮。按至德時作神主長安殿，饗告如宗廟，廟成乃祔。今正衙外無它殿，伏聞詔旨以少府監寓太廟，請因增完為十一室，其三太后廟，權舍西南夾廡，須廟成議遷。」詔可。自是神主、樂縣，皆所創定，舊學禮家當其議。

You advanced through classical learning. In handling affairs he was sharp and quick, and had a reputation for forceful uprightness. In his later years he inwardly hoped for a post among the chief ministers, gradually devoted himself to cultivating connections, and his longstanding reputation somewhat declined — so it is said. Sun Yingsun. You's grandson Yingsun. At the beginning of the Guangming era he served as adjutant in the various bureaus of Chengdu. When Emperor Xizong arrived in Shu, hearing that he had learning in ritual, he was promoted to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the third year of Guangqi the emperor was about to return to the capital, but the seven ancestral temples had been burned and ruined, and there was nowhere to announce and offer sacrifice. Yingsun informed the chief ministers, "When the imperial carriage first went west, the responsible offices loaded all the spirit tablets to take along; upon reaching E, they were all seized by bandits. Now that the Son of Heaven is returning to the palace, the rites ought to be prepared in advance.' The chief ministers proposed restoring the ancestral temples, but the labor and expense would be vast; they asked to consult with the ritual officials. At that time the other erudites were absent; Yingsun alone accompanied them and argued, "The former temple had eleven chambers, twenty-three bays; each bay had eleven beams, and the walls' length and breadth matched accordingly. Now the court faces many hardships; the rites ought to be slightly modified. According to precedent, in the Zhide era spirit tablets were made in the Chang'an Hall; offerings and announcements were conducted as at the ancestral temple, and only after the temple was completed were the tablets enshrined. Now beyond the main audience hall there is no other hall. I have heard that an edict lodges the Directorate of the Palace Manufactories in the ancestral temple. I ask that it be expanded and completed into eleven chambers; the three chambers for empress dowagers should temporarily be housed in the southwest side galleries, to be relocated once the temple is finished.' An edict approved it. From this the spirit tablets and musical regalia were all newly established by him; veteran ritual scholars of the age were present at the deliberation.

龍紀元年，昭宗郊祠，兩中尉及樞密皆以宰相服侍上。盈孫奏言：「先世典令，無內官朝服侍祠。必欲之，當隨所攝資品，雖無授據，猶免僭逼。」詔可。時喪亂後，制度雕紊，追補容典，皆盈孫折衷焉。終大理卿，贈吏部尚書。王彥威王彥威，其先出太原。少孤，家無資，自力於學。舉明經甲科。淹識古今典禮，未得調，求為太常散吏，卿知其經生，補檢討官。彥威采獲隋以來下訖唐凡禮沿革，皆條次匯分，號《元和新禮》上之。有詔拜博士。

In the first year of Longji, when Emperor Zhaozong performed the suburban sacrifice, both chief eunuchs and the privy secretaries all attended the emperor dressed as chief ministers. Yingsun memorialized, "The canonical regulations of former ages contain no provision for inner officials in court dress to attend sacrificial rites. If they must attend, they should follow the rank insignia of whatever office they hold in commission; even without formal appointment documents, that would still avoid presumptuous encroachment.' An edict approved it. At that time, after the years of chaos and ruin, institutions were worn and disordered. In restoring and supplementing ceremonial regulations, Yingsun adjudicated them all. He ended his career as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and was posthumously awarded Minister of Civil Appointments. Wang Yanwei's forebears came from Taiyuan. He lost his father while young. The family had no means, and he relied on his own strength in study. He passed the Mingjing examination in the top grade. He was thoroughly versed in ancient and modern ceremonial codes. Having received no appointment, he requested to serve as a clerk in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The director, knowing him to be a classical scholar, appointed him reviser. Yanwei gathered all changes in ritual from the Sui down through Tang, arranged and classified them by item, titled the work New Rites of the Yuanhe Era, and submitted it. An edict appointed him erudite.

憲宗以正月崩，有司議葬用十二月下宿，彥威建言：「天子之葬七月，《春秋》之義。誌崩不誌葬，必其時也。舉天下葬一人，故過期不葬則譏之。高祖、中宗葬皆六月，太宗四月，高宗九月，睿、代二宗皆五月，德宗十月，順宗七月，惟玄、肅二宗皆十二月，有為為之，非常典也。且葬畢而虞，虞而卒哭，卒哭而祔，皆卜日。今葬卜歲暮，則畢祔在明年正月，是改元慶賜皆廢矣。」有詔更用五月。

Emperor Xianzong died in the first month; the responsible offices debated burying him in the twelfth month during the lower lodging period. Yanwei proposed, "A Son of Heaven is buried in the seventh month — such is the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals. It records death but does not record burial — burial must come at the proper time. All under Heaven buries one man; therefore if burial passes the proper period, it is reproached. Gaozu and Zhongzong were both buried in the sixth month; Taizong in the fourth; Gaozong in the ninth; Ruizong and Daizong both in the fifth; Dezong in the tenth; Shunzong in the seventh; only Xuanzong and Suzong were both buried in the twelfth month — acts of deliberate choice, not regular canonical practice. Moreover, after burial comes the yu rite; after yu comes the final wailing; after the final wailing comes enshrinement — each requires selecting an auspicious day. If burial is now set for year's end, then the completion of enshrinement would fall in the first month of the next year — and the new reign year's celebrations and bestowals would all be abandoned.' An edict ordered that the fifth month be used instead.

淮南李夷簡上言：「大行皇帝功高，宜稱祖。」穆宗下其議，彥威奏：「古者始封為太祖，由太祖而降，則又祖有功，宗有德。故夏人祖顓頊而宗禹，商人祖契而宗湯，周人祖文王而宗武王。魏晉而下，務欲推美，自始祖外並建列祖之議，叔世亂象，不可以為訓。唐本周禮，以景皇帝為太祖，祖神堯而宗太宗，自高宗後鹹稱宗，以為成法。不然，太宗致升平，玄宗清內難，肅宗收復兩都，皆撥亂反正，猶不稱祖。今當本三代之制，黜魏晉亂法，大行廟號宜稱宗。」制可。又舊事，祔廟必告於太極殿，然後奉主入廟，既事則已，而有司祔主畢，又還告太極殿。彥威以為不可，執政怒，坐祝辭誤，奪二季俸，削一階。彥威終不回屈。後累擢司封郎中、弘文館學士、諫議大夫。

Li Yijian of Huainan submitted a memorial: "The late emperor's achievements were so great that he ought to be styled as founding ancestor. Muzong referred the matter for deliberation. Yanwei memorialized, "In antiquity the first enfeoffed ruler was styled Grand Ancestor; thereafter, zu honored merit and zong honored virtue. Thus the Xia honored Zhuanxu as zu and Yu as zong; the Shang honored Qi as zu and Tang as zong; the Zhou honored King Wen as zu and King Wu as zong. From Wei and Jin onward, rulers strove to heap posthumous praise upon their forebears; aside from the founding ancestor, they established multiple zu in succession — the disorder of a decadent age, unfit to serve as instruction. Tang originally followed the Rites of Zhou, taking Emperor Jing as Grand Ancestor, honoring Shenyao as zu and Taizong as zong; from Gaozong onward every emperor was styled zong — this became fixed practice. After all, Taizong had brought the realm to ascendancy, Xuanzong had quelled internal strife, Suzong had recovered the two capitals — each had restored order from chaos — yet none was styled zu. We ought now to return to the institutions of the Three Dynasties and reject the corrupted practices of Wei and Jin; the late emperor's temple name should be zong." The edict approved the proposal. By older custom, enshrining a spirit tablet required first announcing the rite at the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, then conveying the tablet into the ancestral temple — and that should have been the end of it. Yet the responsible offices, after completing the enshrinement, again returned to announce at the Hall of Supreme Ultimate. Yanwei held this improper. The chief ministers were enraged; citing an error in a sacrificial prayer, they stripped him of two seasons' salary and demoted him one rank. Yanwei never yielded. He was later promoted in succession to bureau director in the Office of Enfeoffments, academician of the Hongwen Academy, and remonstrance and policy advisor.

李師道既平，其十二州賦法未均，詔彥威為勘定兩稅使，差量纖悉，人不為煩。還，兼史館修撰。

After Li Shidao's rebellion was crushed, the tax assessments of his twelve prefectures remained unequal. Yanwei was appointed commissioner to assess and standardize the two-tax system. His calculations were meticulous, yet the people found the process no burden. On his return he was made a concurrent historiography compiler.

興平民上官興殺人亡命，吏囚其父。興聞，自首請罪。京兆尹杜悰、御史中丞宇文鼎以自歸死免父之囚，可勸風俗，議減死。彥威上言：「殺人者死，百王共守。原而不殺，是教殺人。」有詔貸死，彥威詣宰相據法爭論，下遷河南少尹。俄改司農卿。

Shangguan Xing of Xingping killed a man and fled. Officials imprisoned his father. When Xing learned of this, he turned himself in to confess his crime. The Capital Protector Du Cong and Censor-in-Chief Yuwen Ding argued that surrendering oneself to face execution in order to free one's father would encourage filial conduct; they proposed commuting the death sentence. Yanwei memorialized, "He who kills shall die — all kings through the ages have upheld this principle. To pardon instead of executing him is to teach men they may kill with impunity. An edict commuted the death sentence. Yanwei went to the chief ministers and argued the matter on legal grounds. He was demoted to vice prefect of Henan. He was soon reassigned as Minister of Revenue for Agriculture.

李宗閔執政，雅善之，進拜平盧節度使。開成初，召為戶部侍郎，判度支。彥威於儒學固該邃，亦善吏事，但經總財用，出入米鹽，非所長也。而性剛訐自恃，嘗見文宗，顯奏曰：「百口家知有歲計，而軍用一切不可謹邪？臣按見財，量入以為出，隨色占費，終歲用之，無毫厘差。假令臣一旦迷愚，欲自欺沒，亦不可得。」因上《占頟圖》。又言：「至德迄元和，天下觀察者十，節度者二十有九，防禦者四，經略者三，大都通邑皆有兵，最凡八十餘萬。長慶籍戶三百五十萬，而兵乃九十九萬，率三戶資一兵。今舉天下之入，歲三千五百萬，上供者三之一，又三之二則衣賜仰給焉。自留州留使外，余四十萬眾，皆仰度支。」又為《供軍圖》上之。彥威雖自謂楗柅奸冒，著定其費，於利害無益也。

Li Zongmin, then chief minister, had long favored him and had him promoted to military commissioner of Pinglu. Early in the Kaicheng reign he was recalled as Vice Minister of Revenue and given charge of the Bureau of Public Revenue. Yanwei was thoroughly versed in Confucian learning and skilled in administrative matters, but overseeing state finances — the daily flow of grain and salt — was not his forte. By nature he was rigid and self-assured. Once, in audience with Emperor Wenzong, he declared openly, "Even a household of a hundred mouths plans its yearly budget — surely military expenditures can be managed with equal care? I examine the treasury on hand, measure income against outgo, allocate each category of expense, and disburse through the year — not a hairsbreadth off. Even if I grew foolish and wished to deceive myself or conceal funds, I could not. He thereupon submitted his Chart of Allocated Expenditures. He went on to say, "From the Zhide era to Yuanhe, the realm counted ten regional inspectors, twenty-nine military commissioners, four defense commissioners, and three pacification commissioners; every major city and thoroughfare district maintained troops — more than eight hundred thousand in all. In Changqing the registered households numbered 3.5 million, yet troops stood at 990,000 — on average three households supporting one soldier. All revenue under Heaven came to 35 million annually; one-third went to the central government, while two-thirds supplied clothing and stipends for the troops. Aside from funds retained locally by prefectures and commissioners, the remaining four hundred thousand men all depended on the Bureau of Public Revenue. He also submitted his Chart of Army Supply. For all Yanwei's boasts of blocking fraud and fixing expenditures, the policy did nothing to improve matters.

始，神策軍多以稟縑於度支取直，吏私增賈厚給之，經用益耗。開成初，有詔禁止。時宦者仇士良、魚弘誌方用事，彥威乃奏復與直，悅媚士良等。又效王播貢羨贏以冀速進。會邊兵訴所賜不時，縑皆敝惡，攝吏送臺獄，而彥威視事自如，及詔停務，始惶恐就第。貶衛尉卿。

At first the Shence Army had largely drawn cash from the Bureau of Public Revenue in exchange for silk allotments; clerks privately inflated prices and paid generously, steadily draining routine funds. Early in the Kaicheng reign an edict forbade the practice. Eunuchs Qiu Shiliang and Yu Hongzhi then held power; Yanwei memorialized to restore cash payments — a move calculated to please them. He also copied Wang Bo's tactic of presenting surplus revenue to the throne in hopes of rapid promotion. Frontier soldiers then complained that disbursements were late and the silk shoddy; acting officials had them sent to censorate prison while Yanwei carried on as though nothing were amiss. Only when an edict suspended his duties did he flee in alarm to his residence. He was demoted to Chamberlain for the Imperial Stud.

俄檢校禮部尚書，為忠武節度使，毀山房三千餘所，盜無所容。徙節宣武，封北海縣子。性強敏，善著書，頗行於時。卒，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰靖。贊贊曰：韓愈稱：「郡邑通得祀社稷、孔子。獨孔子用王者事，以門人為配，天子以下，北面拜跪薦祭，禮如親弟子者。句龍、棄以功，孔子則以德，固自有次第。」崇敬乃請東揖，以殺太重。方是時，公卿無韓愈之賢，無有折其非是者。道州刺史薛伯高嘗謂：「夫子稱顏回為庶幾，其從於陳、蔡者，亦各有號，出於一時，後世坐祀十人以為哲，豈夫子誌哉？」觀七十子之賢，未有加於十人，坐而祀之，始於開元，非特牽於一時之稱號。《記》曰：「祭，有其舉之，莫敢廢也。」如崇敬誠不知禮，尊君以媚世，歷朝循而不改矣。伯高之語，柳宗元誌之於其書，必有辨其妄者。

He was soon appointed acting Minister of Rites and military commissioner of Zhongwu, where he destroyed more than three thousand mountain hideouts and left bandits nowhere to shelter. He was transferred to command Xuanyou and enfeoffed as Viscount of Beihai County. Forceful and quick-witted, he was a prolific author whose works enjoyed wide currency in his day. He died and was posthumously appointed Right Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, with the posthumous title Tranquil. The commentator writes: Han Yu observed, "Every commandery and district may sacrifice at the altars of soil and grain — and to Confucius. Only Confucius was honored with the rites due a king, his disciples placed as ritual associates; from the Son of Heaven downward, all faced north, bowing and kneeling to offer sacrifice — the ceremony accorded to one's own disciples. Goulong and Hou Ji were honored for merit; Confucius for virtue — a clear order of precedence. Chongjing then petitioned that officials bow facing east instead, arguing that the full ritual was excessively solemn. At that time no minister possessed Han Yu's stature; none stepped forward to challenge Chongjing's proposal. Xue Bogao, prefect of Daozhou, once argued, "The Master called Yan Hui 'one who nearly attained perfection.' Those who followed him through Chen and Cai each bore titles of the moment. Later ages seated ten men in the temple as sages — was that ever the Master's design? Of the Master's seventy disciples, none surpassed those ten; their seated place in the temple began in Kaiyuan — not a mere attachment to passing titles." The Record states, "In sacrifice, what has once been instituted, none dare abolish. If Chongjing truly knew nothing of ritual, he debased the rites to flatter his age — and every dynasty since has followed suit without alteration. Liu Zongyuan recorded Bogao's argument in his works; surely someone must have answered its folly.

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