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=鄭餘慶=
Zheng Yuqing
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鄭餘慶，字居業，鄭州滎陽人，三世皆顯宦。 餘慶少善屬文，擢進士第。 嚴震帥山南西道，奏置幕府。 貞元初，還朝，擢庫部郎中，為翰林學士，以工部侍郎知吏部選。 浮屠法湊以罪為民訴闕下，詔御史中丞宇文邈、刑部侍郎張彧、大理卿鄭雲逵為三司，與功德判官諸葛述參按。 述，故史也，餘慶劾述猥賤，不宜與三司雜治，時韙其言。
Zheng Yuqing, styled Juye, came from Xingyang in Zheng prefecture. For three generations his line had held high office. As a young man Yuqing excelled at prose and won the jinshi degree. When Yan Zhen was military governor of Shannan West, he had Yuqing appointed to his staff. Early in Zhenyuan he came back to the capital, rose to director of the Bureau of Revenues, entered the Hanlin Academy, and as vice minister of works supervised civil-service appointments. The Buddhist monk Fa Cou was charged by common petitioners at court. The emperor appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief Yuwen Miao, Vice Minister of Justice Zhang Yu, and Chief Judge Zheng Yunkui as a joint tribunal, with Merit Commissioner judge Zhuge Shu to assist the inquiry. Shu had once been a clerk. Yuqing charged that he was too low and contemptible to sit with the three high officers on the same case, and opinion at the time sided with him.
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貞元十四年，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 每奏對，多傅經義。 素善度支使於䪹，凡所陳，必左右之，䪹坐事貶； 又歲旱饑，朝廷議賑禁衛十軍，為中書史漏言。 疊二忤，故貶郴州司馬。
In Zhenyuan 14 he was made vice secretary of the Secretariat and chief minister. In audience he often grounded his replies in classical doctrine. He had long been close to Revenue Commissioner Yu Di and always backed his proposals. Di was later demoted for misconduct; and when drought and famine struck, the court debated famine relief for the ten metropolitan guard armies—a plan a Secretariat clerk leaked. With both offenses against him, he was demoted to aide of Chen.
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順宗以尚書左丞召，會憲宗立，即其官復拜同中書門下平章事。 時主書滑渙與宦人劉光琦相倚為奸，每宰相議，為光琦沮變者，令渙往請必得，由是四方貲餉奔委之，弟泳至官刺史。 杜佑、鄭絪執政，頗姑息，而佑常行輩待，不名也。 至餘慶議事，渙傲然指畫諸宰相前，餘慶叱去。 未幾，罷為太子賓客。 後渙以贓敗，帝浸聞叱去事，善之。 改國子祭酒，累遷吏部尚書。
Emperor Shunzong recalled him as left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. When Xianzong took the throne, he was immediately reappointed chief minister in that post. Chief Clerk Hua Huan and the eunuch Liu Guangqi then worked corruption together. When councilors debated a matter Guangqi wished to overturn, Huan would be sent to lobby and always prevailed. Gifts from every quarter flooded in on them, and Huan's brother Yong became a prefect. Du You and Zheng Yin governed with lax indulgence. You in particular treated Yuqing only as a junior colleague and never addressed him by name. When Yuqing joined deliberations, Huan would stand before the chief ministers and arrogantly direct affairs. Yuqing drove him out with a rebuke. Soon afterward he was dismissed from the council and made Mentor of the Heir Apparent. When Huan later fell to a bribery scandal, the emperor gradually learned of Yuqing's rebuke and commended him for it. He was made Chancellor of the National University and later rose to Minister of Personnel.
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醫工崔環者，自淮南小將除黃州司馬，餘慶執奏：「諸道散將無功受五品正員，開僥幸路，不可。」 權者不悅，改太子少傅，兼判太常卿事。 自朱泚亂，都輦數驚，太常肄樂禁用鼓，餘慶以時久平，奏復舊制。 出為山南西道節度使。 入拜太子少師，請老，不許。
A medical officer named Cui Huan, formerly a junior officer in Huainan, was appointed aide of Huang. Yuqing firmly protested: "Dispersed officers from the provinces who receive regular fifth-rank posts without merit open the door to favoritism. This cannot be allowed." The powerful were displeased. He was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent and concurrently supervised the Ministry of Rites. Since Zhu Ci's rebellion the capital had been repeatedly alarmed, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had banned drums in musical rehearsals. Yuqing, holding that peace had long been restored, memorialized to revive the old practice. He was sent out as military governor of Shannan West. Recalled to court as Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, he asked to retire. The request was denied.
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時數赦，官多泛階； 又帝親郊，陪祠者授三品、五品，不計考； 使府賓吏，以軍功借賜朱紫率十八； 近臣謝、郎官出使，多所賜與； 每朝會，朱紫滿廷而少衣綠者。 品服太濫，人不以為貴，帝亦惡之，始詔餘慶條奏懲革。 遷尚書左僕射。 僕射比非其人，及餘慶以宿德進，公論浩然歸重。 帝患典制不倫，謂餘慶淹該前載，乃詔為詳定使，俾參裁訂正。 餘慶引韓愈、李程為副，崔郾、陳佩、楊嗣復、庾敬休為判官，凡損增儀矩，號稱詳衷。
Amnesties were frequent and officials were widely promoted in rank without cause; when the emperor performed the suburban sacrifice in person, attendants were given third- and fifth-rank posts with no merit review; envoys' staff were lent purple and scarlet insignia on pretext of military merit at a rate of roughly eighteen in ten; favored ministers on leave and bureau officials on mission received lavish grants; at every court assembly scarlet and purple filled the hall while green-robed officials were few. Rank and dress had become so cheap that they no longer commanded respect. The emperor detested this as well and ordered Yuqing to draft reforms. He was promoted to Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Recent appointees to the vice directorship had not been worthy men. When Yuqing rose on long-standing virtue, public opinion rallied to him. The emperor found court ritual in disarray. Judging Yuqing broadly versed in precedent, he appointed him commissioner for detailed revision of ceremonial law. Yuqing named Han Yu and Li Cheng as deputies and Cui Yan, Chen Pei, Yang Sifu, and Yu Jingxiu as reviewers. Their revisions to ritual were hailed as thorough and judicious.
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俄拜鳳翔尹，節度鳳翔。 復為太子少師，封滎陽郡公，兼判國子祭酒事。 建言：「兵興以來，學校廢，諸生離散。 今天下承平，臣願率文吏月俸百取一，以資完葺。」 詔可。 穆宗立，加檢校司徒。 卒，年七十五，贈太保，謚曰貞。 帝以其貧，特給一月奉料為赗禭。
Soon he was made prefect and military governor of Fengxiang. He was again made Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, enfeoffed Duke of Xingyang, and concurrently supervised the National University. He proposed: "Since the wars began the schools have fallen into ruin and the students have scattered. Now that the realm is at peace, I ask to lead civil officials in contributing one percent of our monthly salaries toward restoration. The emperor approved. When Muzong took the throne, Yuqing was given the honorary rank of Defender-in-Chief. He died at seventy-five. Posthumously he was made Grand Mentor with the posthumous name Zhen, meaning Upright. Because he had died poor, the emperor granted one month's salary for his funeral.
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餘慶少砥礪，行己完潔。 仕四朝，其祿悉赒所親，或濟人急，而自奉粗狹。 至官府，乃開肆廣大，常語人曰：「祿不及親友而侈仆妾者，吾鄙之。」 大抵中外姻嫁，其禮獻皆親閱之。 後生內謁，必引見，諄諄教以經義，務成就儒學。 自至德後，方鎮除拜，必遣內使持幢節就第，至則多饋金帛，且以媚天子，唯恐不厚，故一使者納至數百萬緡。 憲宗每命餘慶，必誡使曰：「是家貧，不可妄求取。」 議者或詆其沽激，餘慶不屑也。 奏議類用古言，如「仰給縣官」、「馬萬蹄」，有司不曉何等語，人訾其不適時。 與從父絪家昭國坊，絪第在南，餘慶第在北，世謂「南鄭相」、「北鄭相」云。 子澣。 澣本名涵，避文宗故名，改焉。 第進士，累遷右補闕。 敢言，無所諱，憲宗謂餘慶曰：「涵，卿令子而朕直臣也，可更相賀。」 遷起居舍人、考功員外郎。 時刺史或迫吏下紀功愛，涵請責觀察使以杜其欺。 餘慶為僕射，避除國子博士、史館脩撰。
From youth Yuqing disciplined himself and lived with scrupulous integrity. Through four reigns he gave his entire salary to relatives or to those in urgent need, while he himself lived plainly. Only in office did he keep a spacious establishment. He often said: "I despise men who lavish salary on servants and concubines but do not share it with kin and friends. For marriages within and outside the clan he personally reviewed every ceremonial gift. Young men who visited him privately were always received and earnestly instructed in the classics, that they might complete their Confucian training. Since the Zhide era, when military governors were appointed, palace envoys bearing banners and credentials were sent to their homes. Governors showered them with gold and silk to curry favor with the throne, and a single envoy might collect millions of strings of cash. Whenever Xianzong appointed Yuqing, he warned the envoy: "That household is poor. Do not demand gifts from them. Some critics called him a poseur. Yuqing ignored them. His memorials often used archaic phrases such as "relying on county provision" and "ten thousand horse hooves." The bureaus could not make sense of them, and critics said he was out of step with the age. He and his cousin Zheng Yin both lived in Zhaoguo ward—Yin to the south and Yuqing to the north—whence people spoke of "the southern Zheng minister" and "the northern Zheng minister." His son was Huan. Huan had originally been named Han; he changed the name to avoid the taboo on Emperor Wenzong's given name. He passed the jinshi examination and rose to Right Remonstrator. He spoke boldly and held nothing back. Xianzong told Yuqing: "Han is your worthy son and my outspoken minister. We may congratulate each other. He was made Diarist of Attendance and vice director of the Bureau of Evaluations. Some prefects then forced clerks to inflate merit records. Han asked that observation commissioners be held accountable to stop the fraud. When Yuqing became vice director, Huan stepped aside and was appointed erudite of the National University and compiler in the Historiography Institute.
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文宗立，入翰林為侍講學士。 帝使稡擷經史為《要錄》，愛其博而精，試舉諸條擿問之，隨即酬析，無留答，因賜金紫服。 累進尚書左丞，出為山南西道節度使。 始，餘慶在興元創學廬，澣嗣完之，養生徒，風化大行。 以戶部尚書召，未拜，卒。 年六十四，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰宣。
When Wenzong took the throne, Huan entered the Hanlin as lecturer-in-attendance. The emperor had him compile selections from the classics and histories into the "Essential Records." Delighted with its breadth and precision, he quizzed him on random entries; Huan answered instantly without pause and was granted gold and purple robes. He rose to Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and was sent out as military governor of Shannan West. Yuqing had earlier founded a school at Xingyuan; Huan finished the work, supported the students, and moral influence spread widely. He was recalled as Minister of Revenue but died before he could assume the post. He was sixty-four. Posthumously he was made Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs with the posthumous name Xuan, meaning Illustrious.
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四子，處誨、從讜尤知名。 子處誨處誨，字廷美，文辭秀拔。 仕歷刑部侍郎、浙東觀察、宣武節度使，卒。 先是，李德裕《次柳氏舊聞》，處誨謂未詳，更撰《明皇雜錄》，為時盛傳。 子從讜從讜，字正求。 及進士第，補校書郎，遷累左補闕。 令狐、魏扶皆澣門生，數進譽之，遷中書舍人。 咸通中，為吏部侍郎，銓次明允。 出為河東節度使，徙宣武，以善最聞。 改嶺南東道節度。 先是，林邑蠻內侵，召天下兵進援，會龐勛亂，不復遣，而北兵寡弱。 從讜募土豪，署其酋右職，為約束，使相捍禦，交、廣晏然。
He had four sons; Chuhui and Congzan were especially well known. His son Chuhui, styled Tingmei, was distinguished for elegant prose. He served as vice minister of justice, Zhedong observation commissioner, and military governor of Xuanwu, then died. Li Deyu had earlier compiled the "Sequel to the Liu Family Old Tales." Chuhui found it incomplete and wrote 《Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Ming》, which became widely read. His son Congzan, styled Zhengqiu. He passed the jinshi examination, became a collator, and rose to Left Remonstrator. Linghu Tao and Wei Fu, both Huan's students, repeatedly commended him at court, and he was made Secretariat drafter. During Xiantong he was vice minister of personnel and conducted selections with clarity and fairness. He was sent out as military governor of Hedong, transferred to Xuanwu, and earned a reputation for excellent administration. He was transferred to military governor of Lingnan East. The kingdom of Linyi had earlier raided the frontier and troops from across the empire were summoned to help. Pang Xun's rebellion then halted further reinforcements, leaving the northern garrison thin and weak. Congzan recruited local magnates, gave their leaders honorary posts under strict rules, and had them defend one another. Jiaozhi and Guangzhou remained at peace.
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僖宗立，召為刑部尚書。 久之，擢同中書門下平章事，進門下侍郎。 沙陀都督李國昌間邊多虞，入據振武、雲朔等州，南略太谷。 河東節度使康傳圭遣大將伊釗、張彥球、蘇弘軫引兵拒之，戰數負，傳圭斬軫以徇。 彥球所部反，攻傳圭，殺之，劫府庫為亂。 朝廷以為憂，帝欲大臣臨制，乃拜從讜檢校司徒，以宰相秩復為河東節度，兼行營招討使，詔自擇參佐。 從讜即表長安令王調自副，兵部員外郎劉崇龜、司勛員外郎趙崇為節度觀察府判官，前進士劉崇魯推官，左拾遺李渥掌書記，長安尉崔澤支使，皆一時選。 京師士人比太原為小朝廷，言得才多也。 時承軍亂，剽奪日旁午。 從讜既視事，奸無庾情，乃推捕反賊，誅其首惡。 以彥球本善意，且才可任，釋不問，而付以兵，曠無余猜，故得其死力。 渠凶宿狡不敢發，發又輒得，士皆寒毛惕伏。
When Xizong took the throne, Congzan was recalled as Minister of Justice. After a time he was made chief minister and promoted to vice secretary of the Chancellery. The Shatuo commissioner Li Guochang exploited frontier unrest to seize Zhenwu, Yunshuo, and other prefectures and raided south toward Taigu. Hedong governor Kang Chuangu sent his generals Yi Zhao, Zhang Yanqiu, and Su Hongzhen against them. After repeated defeats Chuangu executed Hongzhen as an example. Yanqiu's troops mutinied, killed Chuangu, and looted the prefectural treasury. The court was alarmed. The emperor wanted a senior minister on the scene and appointed Congzan honorary Defender-in-Chief, restored him as Hedong governor at chief-minister rank, and made him campaign pacification commissioner with authority to choose his own staff. Congzan immediately named Chang'an magistrate Wang Tiao as deputy, Liu Chonggui and Zhao Chong as staff judges, former jinshi Liu Chonglu as investigating officer, Left Reminder Li Wo as secretary, and Chang'an sheriff Cui Ze as administrative aide—all outstanding men of the day. Men at court compared Taiyuan to a minor court, saying he had assembled exceptional talent. In the aftermath of the mutiny, looting went on without cease. Once Congzan took office, no wrongdoing escaped him. He hunted down the mutineers and executed the ringleaders. Judging that Yanqiu had acted in good faith and was still capable, Congzan pardoned him and gave him command without further suspicion, and so won his absolute loyalty. Hardened criminals no longer dared stir; when they did they were caught at once, and the troops stood in awe of him.
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會黃巢犯京師，帝駐梁、漢，詔從讜發部兵屬北面招討副使諸葛爽入討。 從讜團士五千，遣將論安從爽。 而李克用謂太原可乘，以沙陀兵奄入其地，壁汾東，釋言討賊，須索繁仍。 從讜以餼醪犒軍，克用隃謂曰：「我且引而南，欲與公面約。」 從讜登城，開勉感概，使立功報天子厚恩，克用辭窮，再拜去。 然陰縱其下肆掠，以撼人心。 從讜追安，使與將王蟾、高弁等踵擊，亦會振武契通至，與沙陀戰，沙陀大敗引還。 即遣安等屯北百井，安擅還，從讜合諸將，命持安出，斬之鞠場。 中和二年，朝廷赦沙陀，使擊賊自贖，兵不敢道太原，繇嵐、石並河而南，獨克用從數百騎過辭城下，從讜以我名馬器幣歸之。 明年，賊平，詔克用代領河東。 克用使來曰：「方省親雁門，願公徐行。」 從讜即日以監軍周從寓知兵馬留後，掌書記劉崇魯知觀察留後，敕克用至，按籍效之，乃行。
When Huang Chao attacked the capital and the emperor withdrew to Liang and Han, Congzan was ordered to send his troops to join northern deputy pacification commissioner Zhuge Shuang against the rebels. Congzan mustered five thousand men and sent general Lun An to join Shuang. Li Keyong, however, judged Taiyuan vulnerable. He led Shatuo troops in a sudden incursion and camped east of the Fen, claiming he came to fight bandits while demanding the return of Fan Ning. Congzan sent provisions and wine to the army. Keyong secretly told him: "I shall soon march south and wish to meet you in person. Congzan mounted the wall and earnestly urged him to win merit and repay the emperor's great favor. Keyong had no reply, bowed twice, and withdrew. Yet he secretly let his men plunder freely to undermine morale in the city. Congzan recalled Lun An and sent him with Wang Chan, Gao Bian, and others in pursuit. Qi Tong of Zhenwu also arrived; they fought the Shatuo and drove them off in defeat. He then sent An to garrison Beibaijing. An returned without leave. Congzan assembled the generals, had An seized, and executed him on the drill ground. In Zhonghe 2 the court pardoned the Shatuo and ordered them to fight the rebels in expiation. The army avoided Taiyuan and marched south by Lan and Shi along the river. Keyong alone came with several hundred horsemen to bid farewell below the walls, and Congzan gave him fine horses, vessels, and gifts. The next year, after the rebels were crushed, an edict appointed Keyong to succeed Congzan as governor of Hedong. Keyong sent word: "I am visiting my family at Yanmen and ask that you travel slowly. That same day Congzan left Army Supervisor Zhou Congyu in charge of military affairs and Secretary Liu Chonglu in charge of civil administration, instructing them to turn the registers over to Keyong when he arrived, and then departed.
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黃頭軍以糧少劫其資，從讜間走絳州，方道梗不通，數月，召拜司空，復秉政，進太傅兼侍中。 從帝至興元，以疾乞骸骨，拜太子太保，還第，卒。 謚文忠。
The Yellow-Head troops, short of provisions, robbed his baggage. Congzan fled to Jiang while the roads were cut. Months later he was recalled as Minister of Works, returned to power, and was made Grand Tutor and Palace Attendant. He followed the emperor to Xingyuan, asked to retire for illness, was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, went home, and died. He was given the posthumous name Wenzhong, Loyal and Faithful.
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從讜進止有禮法，性不矜滿，沈毅有謀。 在汴時，以處誨歿於鎮，訖代，不奏樂牙中。 識陸扆於後生，數稱譽之，扆後位宰相。 張彥球者，拳摯善斷，累破虜有功，奏為行軍司馬，後署金吾將軍。 初，盜流中原，沙陀強悍，而卒收其用者，蓋從讜為太原重也。 時鄭畋以宰相鎮鳳翔，移檄討賊，兩人以忠義相提衡，賊尤憚之，號「二鄭」云。
Congzan conducted himself with ritual propriety. He was neither arrogant nor complacent, and he was grave, resolute, and shrewd. At Bian his brother Chuhui had died in office. Until his term ended Congzan had no music played at headquarters. He had recognized Lu Yi in his youth and often praised him. Yi later rose to chief minister. Zhang Yanqiu was a powerful fighter and a decisive judge of men. He repeatedly defeated the enemy with distinction, was made campaign secretary, and later appointed General of the Golden Guards. When bandits ravaged the central plain and the Shatuo were at their fiercest, it was largely because Congzan had secured Taiyuan that they were finally brought to serve the throne. Zheng Tian then governed Fengxiang as chief minister and issued proclamations against the rebels. The two men matched each other in loyal resolve, and the rebels especially feared them, calling them "the two Zhengs."
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=鄭珣瑜=
Zheng Xunyu
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鄭珣瑜，字元伯，鄭州滎澤人。 少孤，值天寶亂，退耕陸渾山，以養母，不幹州裏。 轉運使劉晏奏補寧陵、宋城尉，山南節度使張獻誠表南鄭丞，皆謝不應。 大歷中，以諷諫主文科高第，授大理評事，調陽翟丞，以拔萃為萬年尉。 崔祐甫為相，擢左補闕，出為涇原帥府判官。 入拜侍御史、刑部員外郎，以母喪解。 訖喪，遷吏部。 貞元初，詔擇十省郎治畿、赤，珣瑜檢校本官兼奉先令。 明年，進饒州刺史。 入為諫議大夫，四遷吏部侍郎。
Zheng Xunyu, styled Yuanbo, came from Xingze in Zheng prefecture. Orphaned in youth during the Tianbao disorders, he withdrew to farm on Mount Luhun to support his mother and kept clear of local official business. Transport Commissioner Liu Yan recommended him for posts at Ningling and Songcheng, and Shannan governor Zhang Xiancheng for aide at Nanzheng. He declined them all. In Dali he placed at the top of the Remonstrance and Admonition examination, became a reviewer of the Court of Judicial Review, served as aide of Yangzhai, and by exceptional selection became sheriff of Wannian. When Cui Youfu became chief minister, he was promoted to Left Remonstrator and sent out as staff judge under the Jingyuan commander. He entered court as Attending Censor and vice director of the Ministry of Justice, then left office to mourn his mother. After mourning he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. Early in Zhenyuan the throne chose bureau directors from the ten ministries to govern the capital region. Xunyu was given acting rank in his regular post and concurrently made magistrate of Fengxian. The next year he was promoted to prefect of Raozhou. He entered court as Grand Censor and rose through four transfers to vice minister of personnel.
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為河南尹。 未入境，會德宗生日，尹當獻馬，吏欲前取印，白珣瑜視事，且內贄。 珣瑜徐曰：「未到官而遽事獻，禮歟？」 不聽。 性嚴重少言，未嘗以私托人，而人亦不敢謁以私。 既至河南，清靜惠下，賤斂貴發以便民。 方是時，韓全義將兵伐蔡，河南主饋運，珣瑜密儲之陽翟，以給官軍，百姓不知僦運勞。 凡迎送敕使，皆在常處，吏密識其馬，進退不數步差也。 全義與監軍別檄有所取，非詔約者，珣瑜輒掛壁不酬。 至軍罷，凡數百封。 有諫者曰：「軍須期會為急，公可不報？」 珣瑜曰：「武士統戎，多恃以取求。 茍以為罪，尹宜坐之，終不為萬人產沴也。」 故下無怨讟。 時謂治河南比張延賞，而重厚堅正過之。
He became metropolitan governor of Henan. Before he had even entered the circuit, it was Dezong's birthday. The governor was expected to present horses. Clerks wanted to take the seal, announce that Xunyu should assume office, and present a gift on his behalf. Xunyu said calmly: "To present gifts before one has even taken office—is that proper? He refused. He was grave and sparing of speech. He never asked private favors of others, and no one dared approach him on private business. Once in Henan he governed quietly and benevolently, taxing lightly and spending generously for the people's benefit. Han Quanyi was then campaigning against Cai and Henan supplied his transport. Xunyu secretly stockpiled grain at Yangzhai for the army, so the people never felt the burden of hired transport. He always received and sent off imperial envoys at the same spot. His clerks knew their horses so well that the arrangements never varied by more than a few paces. Quanyi and the army supervisor sent separate demands for items not authorized by edict. Xunyu would post them on the wall and ignore them. By the time the campaign ended there were several hundred such letters unanswered. Someone urged him: "Military supplies have urgent deadlines. Can you not answer? Xunyu said: "Military commanders often use their power to make demands. If that is a crime, the governor should bear it. I will never ruin the livelihood of the people. For that reason the people bore him no resentment. Contemporaries said his governance of Henan matched Zhang Yanshang's, but in gravity, integrity, and firm uprightness he surpassed him.
19
復以吏部侍郎召，進門下侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 李實為京兆尹，剝下務進奉，珣瑜顯詰曰：「留府緡帛入有素，余者應內度支。 今進奉乃出何色邪？」 具以對。 實方幸，依違以免。
He was recalled as vice minister of personnel and promoted to vice secretary of the Chancellery and chief minister. Li Shi, metropolitan governor of Jingzhao, extorted his subordinates for court offerings. Xunyu openly challenged him: "The prefecture's retained funds have fixed accounts. The remainder belongs to the internal revenue office. What account does today's offering come from? Li Shi answered in detail. Shi was then in favor and evaded the issue to escape punishment.
20
順宗立，即遷吏部尚書。 王叔文起州吏為翰林學士、鹽鐵副使，內交奄人，攘撓政機。 韋執誼為宰相，居外奉行。 叔文一日至中書見執誼，直吏曰：「方宰相會食，百官無見者。」 叔文恚，叱吏，吏走入白，執誼起，就閣與叔文語。 珣瑜與杜佑、高郢輟饔以待。 頃之，吏白：「二公同飯矣。」 珣瑜喟曰：「吾可復居此乎！」 命左右取馬歸，臥家不出七日，罷為吏部尚書。 亦會有疾，數月卒，年六十八，贈尚書左僕射。 太常博士徐復謚文獻，兵部侍郎李巽言：「文者，經緯天地。 用二謚，非《春秋》之正，請更議。」 復謂：「二謚，周、漢以來有之。 威烈、慎靜，周也； 文終、文成，漢也。 況珣瑜名臣，二謚不嫌。」 巽曰：「謚一，正也，堯、舜是也。 二謚，非古也，法所不載。」 詔從復議。 子覃。 子覃覃以父蔭補弘文校書郎，擢累諫議大夫。 憲宗取五中官為和糴使，覃奏罷之。
When Shunzong took the throne, he was immediately made Minister of Personnel. Wang Shuwen rose from a provincial clerk to Hanlin academician and vice salt-and-iron commissioner. He allied with eunuchs within the palace and seized control of government. Wei Zhiyi served as chief minister and carried out Shuwen's orders in public. One day Shuwen came to the Secretariat to see Zhiyi. The duty clerk said: "The chief ministers are dining. No one may be received. Shuwen was furious and rebuked the clerk. The clerk ran in to report, and Zhiyi rose and went to the side chamber to speak with him. Xunyu, Du You, and Gao Ying stopped eating and waited. Soon a clerk reported: "The two gentlemen are dining together. Xunyu sighed: "How can I remain in this post any longer!" He ordered his horse brought and went home. He stayed indoors for seven days and was removed to Minister of Personnel. He also fell ill and died several months later at sixty-eight. Posthumously he was made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Court of Imperial Sacrifices erudite Xu Fu proposed the posthumous name Wenxian. Vice Minister of War Li Xun objected: "Wen means to order heaven and earth. To use two posthumous names is not correct by the standards of the Spring and Autumn Annals. I ask that it be reconsidered. Fu argued: "Dual posthumous names have existed since Zhou and Han. Weilie and Jingjing are Zhou examples; Wenzhong and Wencheng are Han examples. Moreover Xunyu was a renowned minister. Two posthumous names are not improper for him. Xun said: "One posthumous name is correct. Yao and Shun are the model. Two posthumous names are not ancient practice and are not authorized by law. The throne sided with Fu. His son was Tan. His son Tan entered office through his father's privilege as collator in the Hongwen Institute and rose to Grand Censor. Xianzong appointed five inner eunuchs as grain-purchase commissioners. Tan memorialized to abolish the practice.
21
穆宗立，不恤國事，數荒昵。 吐蕃方強。 覃與崔郾等廷對曰：「陛下新即位，宜側身勤政，而內耽宴嬉，外盤遊畋。 今吐蕃在邊，狙候中國，假令緩急，臣下乃不知陛下所在，不敗事乎？ 夫金繒所出，固民膏血，可使倡優無功濫被賜與？ 願節用之，以所餘備邊，毋令有司重取百姓，天下之幸也。」 帝不懌，顧宰相蕭俛曰：「是皆何人？」 俛曰：「諫官也。」 帝意解，乃曰：「朕之闕，下能盡規，忠也。」 因詔覃曰：「閣中殊不款款，後有為我言者，當見卿延英。」 時閣中奏久廢，至是，士相慶。
When Muzong took the throne, he neglected state affairs and often indulged in dissipation. Tibet was then at the height of its power. Tan, with Cui Yan and others, addressed the throne: "Your Majesty has newly acceded and ought to devote yourself to government, yet within you indulge in feasting and play and without you roam in hunting. Tibet watches our frontier for an opening. If an emergency arises and your ministers do not know where you are, will affairs not fail? Gold and silk come from the people's blood and sweat. Can actors and musicians without merit be lavished with gifts? Restrain spending, use the surplus for the frontier, and stop officials from exacting heavily from the people. That would be the realm's good fortune. Displeased, the emperor turned to chief minister Xiao Mian and asked: "Who are these men?" Mian answered: "They are remonstrating officials." The emperor's mood eased. He said: "To admonish my faults fully—this is loyalty." He then told Tan: "The Secretariat has been unreceptive. When someone speaks for me hereafter, I shall see you in the Yanying Hall." Memorials through the Secretariat had long been neglected. Scholars now congratulated one another.
22
王承元徙鄭滑節度使，鎮人固留不出。 承元請以重臣勞安其軍，詔覃為宣諭使，起居舍人王璠副之。 始，鎮人慢甚，及覃傳詔，開勖大義，軍遂安，承元乃得去。
Wang Chengyuan was transferred to Zheng-Hua, but his troops refused to let him leave. Chengyuan asked for a senior minister to reassure the army. Tan was appointed pacification commissioner with Diarist of Attendance Wang Fan as deputy. At first the garrison was arrogant. When Tan proclaimed the edict and expounded the principles at stake, the army was pacified and Chengyuan was able to leave.
23
寶歷初，擢京兆尹。 文宗召為翰林侍講學士，進工部侍郎。 覃於經術該深，諄篤守正，帝尤重之。 李宗閔、牛僧孺知政，以覃與李德裕厚，忌其親近為助力，陽遷工部尚書，罷侍講，欲推遠之。 帝雅向學，頗思覃，復召為侍講學士。 德裕既相，以為御史大夫。 帝嘗謂殷侑善言經，其為人鄭覃比也。 宗閔猥曰：「二人誠通經，然其議論不足取。」 德裕曰：「覃、侑之言，它人不欲聞，惟陛下宜聞之。」 俄德裕罷，宗閔復用，覃繇戶部尚書下除秘書監。 宗閔得罪，遷刑部尚書，進尚書右僕射，判國子祭酒。 李訓誅，帝召覃視詔禁中，遂拜同中書門下平章事，封滎陽郡公。
Early in Baoli he was made metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. Wenzong summoned him as Hanlin lecturer-in-attendance and promoted him to vice minister of works. Tan was deeply versed in the classics, earnest and upright, and the emperor especially valued him. Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru held power. Because Tan was close to Li Deyu they feared he would strengthen Deyu's faction. They ostensibly promoted him to Minister of Works but removed him from lecturing to push him aside. The emperor loved learning and missed Tan. He recalled him as lecturer-in-attendance. When Deyu became chief minister, Tan was made Censor-in-Chief. The emperor once said Yin You expounded the classics well and was comparable to Zheng Tan in character. Zongmin said dismissively: "They know the classics, but their opinions are not worth adopting. Deyu said: "What Tan and You say, others do not wish to hear—but Your Majesty ought to hear it." Soon Deyu fell and Zongmin returned to power. Tan was demoted from Minister of Revenue to Director of the Palace Library. When Zongmin fell, Tan was made Minister of Justice, then Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and supervisor of the National University. After Li Xun's execution the emperor summoned Tan to review an edict in the palace and appointed him chief minister, enfeoffing him Duke of Xingyang.
24
不喜文辭，病進士浮誇，建廢其科，曰：「南北朝所以不治，文采勝質厚也。 士惟用才，何必文辭。」 又言：「文人多佻薄。」 帝曰：「純薄似賦性之異，奚特進士？ 且設是科二百年，渠可易？」 乃止。 帝嘗謂百司不可使一日弛惰，因指香案爐曰：「此始華好，用久則晦，不治飾，何由復新？」 覃曰：「救世之敝，在先責實。 比皆不攝職事，至慕王夷甫，以不及為靳。 此本於治平，人人無事，安逸致然。」 帝曰：「要在謹法度而已。」 進門下侍郎、弘文館大學士。
He disliked literary ornament and deplored the extravagance of the jinshi examination. He proposed abolishing it, saying: "The Northern and Southern Dynasties failed to govern well because literary polish outweighed solid substance. What matters is useful talent. Why require literary composition? He added that literary men were mostly frivolous and shallow. The emperor said: "Purity and shallowness seem matters of innate disposition. Why single out jinshi candidates alone? Moreover this examination has stood for two hundred years. How can it be changed? The proposal was dropped. The emperor once said the hundred offices must never slacken for a day. Pointing to an incense censer he said: "At first it is bright and fine, but with long use it grows dim. Without care, how can it be made new again? Tan said: "To remedy the age's ills, the first step is to demand real performance. Lately officials neglect their duties. Some even admire Wang Yifu and take pride in staying aloof. This ultimately stems from long peace. When everyone has little to do, ease and comfort produce such attitudes." The emperor said: "What matters is simply to uphold law and proper regulation." He was promoted to vice secretary of the chancellery and grand academician of the Hongwen Hall.
25
帝坐延英論詩工否，覃曰：「孔子所刪，三百篇是已，其非雅正者，烏足為天子道哉？ 夫《風》、大小《雅》，皆下刺上之變，非上化下為之。 故王者采詩，以考風俗得失。 若陳後主、隋煬帝特能詩之章解，而不知王術，故卒歸於亂。 章什諓諓，願陛下不取也。」
At Yanying Hall the emperor discussed whether poetry was well made. Tan said: "Confucius edited the anthology to three hundred pieces. What is not upright and correct is hardly fit to serve as instruction for a ruler. The Airs and the Greater and Lesser Elegantiae are all cases of subordinates criticizing superiors, not works in which rulers educate their people. That is why kings collected poems to assess the strengths and failings of public customs. Chen Houzhu and Emperor Yang of Sui were both exceptionally skilled at poetry, yet neither knew the arts of kingship—and both ended in disorder. Polished verses written to flatter—I hope Your Majesty will not prize them. He concluded.
26
帝每言：「順宗事不詳實，史臣韓愈豈當時屈人邪？ 昔漢司馬遷《與任安書》，辭多怨懟，故《武帝本紀》多失實。」 覃曰：「武帝中年大發兵事邊，生人耗瘁，府庫殫竭，遷所述非過言。」 李石曰：「覃所陳，因武帝以諫，欲陛下終究盛德。」 帝曰：「誠然。 靡不有初，鮮克有終。」 覃曰：「陛下樂觀書，然要義不過一二，陛下所道是矣。 宜寢饋以之。」
The emperor often said: "The record of Emperor Shunzong's reign is incomplete. Was the historian Han Yu someone wronged in his own time? In Han times Sima Qian's Letter to Ren An was full of resentment, and the Basic Annals of Emperor Wu accordingly fails to portray him accurately. Tan said: "In mid-life Emperor Wu launched major border campaigns. The people were exhausted and the treasury drained. What Qian wrote was not an exaggeration." Li Shi said: "Tan used Emperor Wu as a lesson in order to urge Your Majesty to finish your virtuous reign well." The emperor said: "That is so. Few beginnings lack promise, yet few are carried through to the end." Tan said: "Your Majesty loves reading, but the essential lesson comes down to one or two points—and what you have just said is exactly right. You should live by it day and night." He concluded.
27
覃既名儒，故以宰相領祭酒，請太學《五經》，經置博士，祿廩比王府官。 再遷太子太師。 開成三年，旱，帝多出宮人，李玨入賀曰：「漢制，八月選人； 晉武帝平吳，多采擇； 仲尼所謂未見好德者。 陛下以為無益，放之，盛德也。」 覃又推贊曰：「晉以采擇之失，舉天下為左衽，宜陛下以為殷鑒。」 帝善其將美。 以病乞去位，有詔解太子太師，許五日一入中書，商量政事。 俄罷為尚書左僕射。 武宗初，李德裕復用，欲援覃共政，固辭，乃授司空，致仕，卒。
Because Tan was a celebrated scholar, he served as chief minister while also heading the Directorate of Education. He asked that the Imperial Academy teach the Five Classics, with a doctor for each, and that their salaries and rations match those of princely household officers. He was later made grand preceptor of the heir apparent. In Kaicheng 3, during a drought, the emperor released many palace women. Li Jue came to offer congratulations and said: "Under Han practice, palace women were selected in the eighth month; when Emperor Wu of Jin conquered Wu, he took many for his harem; as Confucius said when he observed that he had never seen anyone who truly loved virtue. Your Majesty saw no benefit in keeping them and let them go—that is great virtue. Tan added his praise: "Jin, for its lust in taking women, brought the whole realm to submit to barbarian ways. Your Majesty should take that as a warning." The emperor welcomed his effort to praise him. Illness led him to ask to step down. An edict removed him as grand preceptor of the heir apparent but allowed him to enter the Secretariat once every five days to advise on policy. Soon he was moved to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. Early in Wuzong's reign Li Deyu returned to power and tried to bring Tan back into government. Tan firmly declined, was made Minister of Works, retired, and died.
28
覃清正退約，與人未嘗串狎。 位相國，所居第不加飾，內無妾媵。 女孫適崔臯，官裁九品衛佐，帝重其不昏權家。 覃之侍講，每以厚風俗、黜朋比再三為天子言，故終為相。 然疾惡多所不容，世以為太過，憚之。 始，覃以經籍刓繆，博士陋淺不能正，建言：「願與巨學鴻生共力讎刊，準漢舊事，鏤石太學，示萬世法。」 詔可。 覃乃表周墀、崔球、張次宗、孔溫業等是正其文，刻於石。 子裔綽。
Tan was upright, modest, and austere. He never mingled familiarly with others. Even as chief minister he did not embellish his house, and he kept no concubines. His granddaughter married Cui Gao, who held only a ninth-rank guard post. The emperor respected that he did not marry into powerful families. As lecturer he repeatedly urged the emperor to strengthen public morals and curb factional cliques, and that is why he eventually rose to chief minister. Yet he was fierce in condemning wrongdoing and little tolerated, which many thought excessive—and they feared him. Early on Tan saw that the classics were corrupt and that the academy readers were too shallow to fix them. He proposed: "Let me work with leading scholars to collate and correct the texts, follow Han precedent, and carve them on stone at the Imperial Academy as a model for posterity. The throne approved the proposal. Tan then appointed Zhou Chi, Cui Qiu, Zhang Cizong, Kong Wenye, and others to correct the texts and cut them in stone. His son was Yi Chuo.
29
裔綽峭立有父風，以門蔭進，為李德裕所知，擢渭南尉。 直弘文館，累遷諫議大夫。 宣宗初，劉潼繇鄭州刺史授桂管觀察使，裔綽固爭：「潼被責未久，不宜付廉察。」 帝已遣使者頒詔，追罷之。 遷給事中。 楊漢公為荊南節度使，坐貪沓，貶秘書監，尋拜同州刺史，裔綽與鄭公輿封還制書。 帝自即位，諫臣規正無不納。 至是，有為漢公地者，遂終不易。 會賜宴禁中，天子擊球，至門下官，謂二人曰：「近論漢公事，類朋黨者。」 裔綽曰：「同州，太宗興王地，陛下為人子孫，當慎所付。 且漢公墨沒敗官，奈何以重地私之？」 帝變色。 翌日，貶商州刺史。 時猶衣綠，因詔賜緋魚。 後繇秘書監遷浙東觀察使，終太子少保。 覃弟朗。
Yi Chuo inherited his father's sharp integrity. He entered office by privilege, won Li Deyu's notice, and was promoted to captain of Weinan. He served at the Hongwen Hall and rose to remonstrance censor. Early in Xuanzong's reign Liu Tong was moved from governor of Zheng to Guiguan observation commissioner. Yi Chuo objected forcefully: "Tong was recently punished. He should not be given an inspection post. The emperor had already sent an envoy with the appointment but recalled him and cancelled the order. He was made drafting secretary. Yang Hangong, military governor of Jingnan, was demoted to director of the secretariat for corruption, then almost immediately appointed governor of Tong. Yi Chuo and Zheng Gongyu sealed up the appointment and sent it back. Since taking the throne the emperor had accepted every corrective word from his remonstrance officials. This time someone spoke for Hangong, and the appointment stood. At a palace banquet the emperor was playing ball. When he reached the Gate officials he said to the two men: "Your recent objections over Hangong looked like partisan collusion. Yi Chuo said: "Tong is where Taizong began his rise. As his descendant, Your Majesty should choose its governor with care. And Hangong is a corrupt failure—how can you favor him with so important a post?" The emperor's face darkened. The next day Yi Chuo was demoted to governor of Shang. He was still wearing green at the time, so the emperor granted him crimson robes and a fish tally. He later moved from director of the secretariat to Zhedong observation commissioner and ended as junior guardian of the heir apparent. Tan's younger brother was Lang.
30
朗，字有融，始辟柳公綽山南幕府，入遷右拾遺。 開成中，擢起居郎。 文宗與宰相議政，適見朗執筆螭頭下，謂曰：「向所論事，亦記之乎？ 朕將觀之。」 朗曰：「臣執筆所書者，史也。 故事，天子不觀史，昔太宗欲觀之，朱子奢曰：『史不隱善，不諱惡。 自中主而下，或飾非護失，見之，則史官無以自免，且不敢直筆。』 褚遂良亦稱：『史記天子言動，雖非法必書，庶幾自飭。』」 帝悅，謂宰相曰：「朗援故事，不畀朕見起居註，可謂善守職者。 然人君之為，善惡必記，朕恐平日言之不葉治體，為將來羞，庶一見，得以自改。」 朗遂上之。
Lang, styled Yourong, first joined Liu Gongchuo's staff in Shannan, came to court, and was made right reminder. During Kaicheng he was promoted to diarist. Wenzong was conferring with his chief minister when he noticed Lang writing beneath the dragon head. He asked: "Are you recording what we just discussed? I would like to read them. Lang said: "What I write with this brush is history. By precedent emperors did not read the draft history. When Taizong once asked to see it, Zhu Zishuo said: "History hides neither good nor evil." From mediocre rulers on down, some conceal faults. If they read the record, historians cannot protect themselves and no longer dare write plainly. Chu Suiliang also said: "The record must set down the emperor's words and deeds even when they are wrong, so that he may learn to restrain himself." The emperor was pleased and told the chief minister: "Lang cites precedent and keeps me from the Daily Record. He truly guards his duty. Yet everything a ruler does, good or bad, must be written down. I fear my daily words may not fit proper governance and will shame me later. One reading might help me reform." Lang then submitted the record.
31
累遷諫議大夫，為侍講學士。 由華州刺史入拜御史中丞、戶部侍郎。 為鄂嶽、浙西觀察使，進義武、宣武二節度。 歷工部尚書判度支、御史大夫，復為工部尚書、同中書門下平章事。 中人李敬寔排朗騶導馳去，朗以聞。 宣宗詰敬寔，自言供奉官不避道，帝曰：「傳我命則絕道行可也，而私出，不避宰相邪？」 即斥敬寔。 右拾遺鄭言者，故在幕府，朗以諫臣與輔相爭得失，不論則廢職，奏徙它官。 久之，以疾自陳，罷為太子少師。 卒，贈司空。
He rose to remonstrance censor and served as lecturer-in-attendance academician. From governor of Hua he entered court as vice censor-in-chief and vice minister of revenue. He served as observation commissioner of Eyue and Zhexi, then rose to military governor of both Yiwu and Xuanwu. He served as minister of works with control of fiscal affairs and as censor-in-chief, then again as minister of works and chief minister. The eunuch Li Jingshi shouldered aside Lang's escort and galloped past. Lang reported the incident. Xuanzong questioned Jingshi, who said palace attendants need not yield the road. The emperor said: "If you were carrying my orders, you might block the road. But on a private errand, will you not yield to a chief minister? Jingshi was immediately dismissed. Right reminder Zheng Yan had once served on Lang's staff. Lang argued that as a remonstrance official he must dispute a chief minister's errors or fail his duty, and had Yan transferred to another post. Later, citing illness, he stepped down and was made junior preceptor of the heir apparent. He died and was posthumously made Minister of Works.
32
始，朗舉進士，有相者言：「君當貴，然不可以科第進。」 俄而有司擢朗第一，既又覆實被放，相者賀曰：「安之。」 已而果相。
When Lang first took the jinshi exam, a fortune-teller said: "You will rise high, but not through the examination route. Soon he was ranked first, then failed on review. The fortune-teller congratulated him and said: "Be patient." In time he did become chief minister.
33
=高郢=
Gao Ying
34
高郢，字公楚，其先自渤海徙衛州，遂為衛州人。 九歲通《春秋》，工屬文，著《語默賦》，諸儒稱之。 父伯祥為好畤尉，安祿山陷京師，將誅之，郢尚幼，解衣請代，賊義，並貸之。
Gao Ying, styled Gongchu, came from a line that had moved from Bohai to Weizhou and settled there. At nine he had mastered the Spring and Autumn Annals, wrote skillfully, composed the Rhapsody on Speech and Silence, and won praise from leading scholars. His father Boxiang was captain of Haochi. When An Lushan seized the capital and was about to execute him, the young Ying stripped off his own clothes and begged to die in his place. The rebels were moved and spared them both.
35
寶應初，及進士第。 代宗為太后營章敬寺，郢以白衣上書諫曰：
Early in Baoying he passed the jinshi examination. When Daizong built Zhangjing Temple for the empress dowager, Ying, though still a commoner, submitted a written remonstrance:
36
陛下大孝因心，與天罔極，烝烝之思，要無以加。 臣謂悉力追孝，誠為有益，妨時剿人，不得無損。 舍人就寺，何福之為？ 昔魯莊公、丹桓公廟楹而刻其桷，《春秋》書之為非禮。 漢孝惠、孝景、孝宣令郡國諸侯立高祖、文、武廟，至元帝，與博士、議郎斟酌古禮，一罷之。 夫廟猶不越禮而立，況寺非宗祏所安、神靈所宅乎？ 殫萬人之力，邀一切之報，其為不可亦明矣。
Your Majesty's filial devotion springs from the heart and matches Heaven itself. Your longing for the empress dowager could scarcely be greater. I believe wholehearted devotion to filial piety is worthy, yet projects that disrupt the season and burden the people cannot fail to do harm. What blessing comes from lodging a palace attendant in a temple? Long ago Duke Zhuang of Lu painted Duke Huan's temple pillars and carved its rafters. The Spring and Autumn Annals condemned this as unritual. Emperors Xiaohui, Xiaojing, and Xiaoxuan ordered the regions to build temples to Gaozu, Wen, and Wu. By Yuan's reign the throne, with academicians and deliberation officers, reviewed ancient ritual and abolished them all. If even temples must not be built beyond ritual limits, how much less is a monastery a fitting seat for ancestral spirits? To exhaust the labor of multitudes in hope of instant reward is plainly wrong.
37
間者昆吾孔熾，薦食生人，百姓懍懍，無日不惕。 遣將攘卻，亡尺寸功，隴外壤地，委諸豺狼。 太宗難之業，傳之陛下，一夫不獲，尺土見侵，告成之時，猶恐有闕。 況用武以來十三年，傷者不救，死者不收，繕卒補乘，於今未已。 夫興師十萬，日費千金，計十三年，舉百萬之眾，資糧屝屨，取足於人，勞罷宛轉，十不一在。 父子兄弟，相視無聊，延頸嗷嗷，以役王命。 縱未能出禁財，贍鰥寡，猶當稍息勞敝，以噢休之。 奈何戎虜未平，侵地未復，金革未戢，疲人未撫，太倉無終歲之儲，大農有榷酤之敝，欲以此時興力役哉？ 比八月雨不潤下，菽麥失時，黔首狼顧，憂在艱食，若遂不給，將何以救之？ 無寺猶可，無人其可乎？ 然土木之勤，功用之費，不虛府庫，將焉取之？ 府庫既竭，則又誅求，若人不堪命，盜賊相挺而興，戎狄乘間，以為風塵，得不為陛下深憂乎？
Recently the western tribes have grown fierce, preying on the living. The people live in daily fear. Generals sent to drive them back won no ground. Frontier lands west of Long have been left to the wolves. Taizong's hard-won legacy is now yours. If even one man lacks his due or one span of soil is lost, the realm is not complete—and you should still fear falling short. Moreover war has gone on for thirteen years. The wounded go untreated, the dead unburied, and conscription to fill the ranks still has not stopped. An army of a hundred thousand costs a thousand gold a day. Over thirteen years a million men have been mobilized, their food and gear drawn entirely from the people. Most are worn out—and fewer than one in ten remains fit for service. Fathers, sons, and brothers stare at one another in despair, throats raised in protest, yet bound to imperial orders. Even if the throne cannot open the treasury to support widows and orphans, it should at least ease their exhaustion and give them some relief. How can forced labor be raised when the frontier is still unsettled, lost territory unrestored, war unended, the weary unrelieved, the Grand Granary empty, and the exchequer strained by the wine monopoly? This August the rains failed. Beans and wheat were sown out of season. The people look back in fear, dreading famine. If stores run out, how will they be saved? Doing without a temple may be bearable—but doing without people, can that be endured? Yet timber and earthworks demand real labor and real expense. The treasury cannot be drained without cost. Where will the money come from? When the treasury runs dry, the levies grow harsh. If the people cannot endure, brigands will multiply and barbarians will seize the moment to bring chaos. Should this not deeply trouble Your Majesty?
38
臣聞聖人受命於天，以人為主，茍功濟於天，天人同和，則宗廟受福，子孫蒙慶。 《傳》曰：「德教加於百姓，刑於四海，天子之孝也。」 又曰：「無念爾祖，聿脩厥德，」「既受帝祉，施於孫子。」 是知王者之孝，在於承順天地，嚴配宗考，恭慎德教，以臨兆民。 俾四海之內，歡心助祭，延福流祚，永永無窮。 未聞崇樹梵宮，雕琢金玉之為孝者。 夏禹卑宮室，盡力溝洫，人到於今稱之。 梁武帝窮土木，飾塔廟，人無稱焉。 陛下若節用愛人，當與夏後齊美，何必勞人動眾，踵梁武遺風乎？ 及制作之初，支費尚淺，人貴量力，不貴必成，事貴相時，不貴必遂。 陛下若回思慮，從人心，則聖德孝思，格於天地，千福萬祿，先後受之，曾是一寺較功德邪？
I have heard that a sage receives Heaven's mandate to rule for the people. When human effort aligns with Heaven, the ancestral temple is blessed and descendants prosper. The Commentary says: "When moral teaching reaches the people and extends across the realm, that is the Son of Heaven's filial piety. It also says: "Do not forget your ancestors; diligently uphold their virtue," and "Having received Heaven's blessing, pass it to your descendants." Thus the king's filial piety lies in harmonizing with Heaven and Earth, honoring the ancestral temple, and governing the people through moral example—not in lavish display. So that within the four seas hearts unite in ritual, blessings flow, and fortune endures without end. No one has ever called raising Buddhist temples and adorning them with gold and jade an act of filial piety. Yu the Great kept his palace humble and poured his strength into irrigation. People praise him to this day. Emperor Wu of Liang poured everything into building and decorating temples. No one praises him for it. If Your Majesty practiced frugality and cared for the people, you would rival Yu the Great. Why labor the masses and follow Liang Wudi's example? When the project began, costs were still modest. Wise rulers weigh their strength, not blind completion, and fit their work to the times rather than insisting on finishing at any price. If Your Majesty reconsidered and followed the people's will, your virtue would reach Heaven and blessings would flow in abundance. Would that not outweigh the merit of a single temple?
39
書奏，未報。 復上言：
He submitted the memorial but received no response. He submitted another memorial:
40
王者將有為也，將有行也，必稽於眾而順於人，則自然之福，不求而至，未然之禍，不除而絕。 臣聞神人無功者，不為有功之功； 聖人無名者，不為有名之名。 不為有功之功，故功莫大； 不為有名之名，故名莫厚。 古之明王積善以致福，不費財以求福； 脩德以銷禍，不勞人以攘禍。 陛下之營作，臣竊惑之。 若以為功，則天覆地載，陰施陽化，未曾有為也； 若以為名，則至德要道，以順天下，未曾有待也； 若以致福，則通於神明，光於四海，不在費財； 若以攘禍，則方務厥德，罔有天災，不在勞人。 今興造趣急，人徒竭作，土木並起，日課萬工，不遑食息，搒笞愁痛，盈於道路。 以此望福，臣恐不然。 陛下戢定多難，勵精思治，務行寬仁，以幸天下。 今固違群情，徇左右過計，臣竊為陛下惜之。
When a ruler intends to act, he must consult the people and move with their will. Then blessings come unbidden and disasters are averted before they strike. I have heard that the sage does not pursue merit for its own sake; nor does he seek fame for the sake of fame. By not striving for merit, he achieves the greatest merit; by not chasing fame, he wins the highest renown. Enlightened kings of old accumulated virtue to win blessing, not spent treasure to buy it; they cultivated virtue to avert calamity, not exhausted the people to drive calamity away. Your Majesty's building projects puzzle me. If you seek merit, consider how Heaven and Earth nourish all things without striving; if you seek fame, the Way of the sage needs no ostentation; if you seek blessing, it lies in reaching the spirits and illuminating the realm, not in spending treasure; if you seek to avert disaster, cultivate virtue; do not exhaust the people. Now construction rushes forward. Laborers toil without pause, thousands assigned each day with no time to eat or rest. Whippings and cries fill the roads. To expect blessing from this, I fear, is mistaken. Your Majesty has ended many troubles, applied yourself to governance, and practiced leniency to bring peace to the realm. Now you defy public sentiment and follow bad counsel from those around you. I grieve this for Your Majesty's sake.
41
不納。
The emperor did not accept his advice.
42
以茂才異行高第，累擢咸陽尉。 郭子儀取為朔方掌書記。 子儀怒判官張曇，奏抵死，郢引捄甚力，忤子儀意，下徙猗氏丞。 李懷光引佐邠寧府。 懷光將還河中，郢勸不如西迎乘輿，懷光反方銳，不聽。 既又欲悉兵鼓而西。 時渾瑊提孤軍抗賊，群將未集，郢恐為懷光所乘，與李庸阝固止之。 會懷光子隹候郢，郢因脅說曰：「君視天寶以來稱兵者，今尚誰在？ 且國家固有天命，人力不豫焉。 今若恃眾而動，自絕於天。 十室之小，必得忠信，安知三軍不有奔潰而助順者乎？」 隹大懼，流汗不能語。 郢因與其將呂鳴嶽、張延英謀間道歸國，事泄，懷光先斬二將，然後引郢詰誚，郢抗詞無所愧隱，觀者為泣下。 懷光慚，赦之。 孔巢父遇害，郢撫屍而哭。 懷光已誅，李晟表其忠，馬燧奏管書記。 召拜主客員外郎，遷中書舍人。 久之，進禮部侍郎。 時四方士務朋比，更相譽薦，以動有司，徇名亡實。 郢疾之，乃謝絕請謁，顓行藝。 司貢部凡三歲，甄幽獨，抑浮華，流競之俗為衰。 遷太常卿。
On high marks for exceptional talent and conduct, he rose steadily to captain of Xianyang. Guo Ziyi appointed him chief secretary in Shuofang. When Ziyi, furious at judicial assistant Zhang Tan, petitioned for his execution, Ying argued strenuously for mercy. Offending Ziyi, he was demoted to aide of Yishi. Li Huai'guang took him on as an aide at the Binning headquarters. When Huai'guang prepared to return to Hezhong, Ying urged him instead to march west and receive the emperor. Huai'guang, flush with rebellion, refused. He then planned to march west with his full army. Hun Jian then held a lone force against the rebels while other generals had not yet gathered. Ying feared Huai'guang would exploit the moment and, with Li Yong, firmly dissuaded him. When Huai'guang's son Cui came to visit, Ying pressed him: "Look at every rebel since the Tianbao era. Who among them still lives? The realm has Heaven's mandate. No man can arrange it by force. To rely on numbers and rebel is to cut yourself off from Heaven. Even in a hamlet of ten households there are loyal men. How do you know your army will not break and join the loyal side? Cui was terrified, sweating and speechless. Ying then plotted with generals Lu Mingyue and Zhang Yanying to escape by a hidden route back to the loyal side. When the plot leaked, Huai'guang executed the two generals first, then summoned Ying to interrogate him. Ying answered boldly without shame, and onlookers wept. Ashamed, Huai'guang spared him. When Kong Chaofu was murdered, Ying mourned over his body. After Huai'guang's death, Li Sheng praised his loyalty and Ma Sui recommended him as secretary. He was summoned as vice director of the Bureau of Receptions for Foreign Envoys and promoted to secretariat draft secretary. Later he rose to vice minister of rites. Scholars everywhere formed cliques, recommending one another to sway the examiners, chasing reputation while neglecting real merit. Ying abhorred this, refused solicitation, and judged candidates solely on merit. For three years as chief examiner he favored the obscure over the flashy, and the culture of competitive showmanship faded. He was made director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
43
貞元末，擢中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 順宗立，病不能事，王叔文黨根據朝廷，帝始詔皇太子監國，而郢以刑部尚書罷。 明年，為華州刺史，政尚仁靜。 初，駱元光自華引軍戍良原。 元光卒，軍入神策，而州仍歲餉其糧，民困輸入，累刺史憚不敢白，郢奏罷之。 復召為太常卿，除御史大夫。 數月，改兵部尚書，固乞骸骨，以尚書右僕射致仕。 卒，年七十二，贈太子太保，謚曰貞。
Late in Zhenyuan he became vice grand secretary and chief minister. When Shunzong ascended, too ill to rule, Wang Shuwen's faction seized control. The emperor named the crown prince regent, but Ying was dismissed from his post as minister of justice. The next year he became prefect of Hua, governing with quiet benevolence. Earlier Luo Yuanguang had led troops from Hua to garrison Liangyuan. When Yuanguang died his troops joined the Shence Army, yet Hua still had to supply their grain each year. The people buckled under the burden. Prefect after prefect had feared to protest, but Ying memorialized to end the levy. He was recalled as director of imperial sacrifices and appointed censor-in-chief. Months later he became minister of war, then firmly requested retirement and left office as right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. He died at seventy-two, posthumously made grand preceptor of the heir apparent, with the posthumous name Zhen.
44
郢恭慎不與人交。 常掌制誥，家無留稿，或勸盍如前人傳制集者，答曰：「王言不可藏私家。」 生平不治產，有勸營之者，答曰：「祿稟雖薄，在我則有餘，田莊何所取乎？」 郢之相也，與鄭珣瑜同拜。 既叔文用事，珣瑜憂甚，爭不能得，乃稱疾不出，郢未有所建白，俄與珣瑜免，故議者賢珣瑜而咎郢。 子定。
Ying was reserved and cautious, keeping few acquaintances. He often drafted imperial edicts and kept no copies at home. When urged to publish a collection like earlier draftsmen, he replied: "Imperial words must not be hoarded in a private house. He never sought to build an estate. When urged to do so, he said: "My salary, though modest, is enough for me. What need have I of farmland? Ying became chief minister on the same day as Zheng Xunyu. When Shuwen took power, Xunyu was deeply alarmed. Unable to prevail in debate, he feigned illness and stayed home. Ying made no protest. Both were soon dismissed, and critics praised Xunyu while blaming Ying. His son was Ding.
45
贊曰：王叔文雖內連甘尹，外倚奸回，以攘天權。 然是時太子已長，朝無嫌罅，若珣瑜、郢與杜佑等毅然引東宮監國，執退叔文輩，其力不難。 顧循嘿茍安，所謂焉用彼相者矣。 珣瑜一忿臥第，與郢、佑固位，二者亦不足相輕重雲。
The commentator says: Wang Shuwen rallied his inner faction and palace agents within and wicked allies without, all to seize imperial power. Yet the crown prince was already grown and the court united. Had Xunyu, Ying, and Du You firmly installed the heir as regent and removed Shuwen's faction, they could easily have done so. Instead they kept silent and sought safety—what use were they as chief ministers? Xunyu's angry withdrawal to his bed and Ying and You's clinging to office are scarcely matters to weigh against each other.
46
定，辯惠，七歲讀《尚書》，至《湯誓》，跪問郢曰：「奈何以臣伐君？」 郢曰：「應天順人，何雲伐邪？」 對曰：「用命賞於祖，不用命戮於社，是順人乎？」 郢異之。 小字董二，世重其早惠，以字顯。 長通王氏《易》，為圖合八出，上圓下方，合則重，轉則演，七轉而六十四卦，六甲、八節備焉。 仕至京兆府參軍。
Ding was clever and quick-witted. At seven he was reading the Book of Documents. When he reached the Oath of Tang, he knelt and asked Ying: "How can a subject attack his ruler? Ying said: "To answer Heaven and follow the people—why call it attack? Ding replied: "Those who obey are rewarded at the ancestral altar; those who disobey are executed at the altar of soil—is that following the people? Ying was astonished. His childhood name was Dong'er. His precocity was widely admired, and he was known by that name. As an adult he mastered the Wang school of the Changes of the I Ching and devised diagrams with eight outward projections, round above and square below. Combined they stack; turned they unfold. Seven turns yield sixty-four hexagrams, complete with the six jia and eight seasonal nodes. He rose to military aide of the metropolitan prefecture.
47
=鄭絪=
Zheng Yin
48
鄭絪，字文明，餘慶從父行也。 幼有奇誌，善屬文，所交皆天下有名士。 擢進士、宏辭高第。 張延賞帥劍南，奏署掌書記。 入為起居郎、翰林學士，累遷中書舍人。
Zheng Yin, styled Wenming, came from the younger branch of Yuqing's father's line. As a youth he had unusual ambition, wrote skillfully, and kept company with celebrated men throughout the realm. He passed the jinshi examination and ranked at the top in the Hongci competition. When Zhang Yanshang was military governor of Jiannan, he had Yin appointed chief secretary on his staff. He entered court as a palace attendant and Hanlin academician, then rose to secretariat draft secretary.
49
德宗自興元還，置六軍統軍視六尚書，以處功臣，除制用白麻付外。 又廢宣武軍，益左右神策，以監軍為中尉。 竇文場恃功，陰諷宰相進擬如統軍比。 絪當作制，奏言：「天子封建，或用宰相，以白麻署制，付中書、門下。 今以命中尉，不識陛下特以寵文場邪？ 遂著為令也？」 帝悟，謂文場曰：「武德、貞觀時，中人止內侍，諸衛將軍同正賜緋者無幾。 自魚朝恩以來，無復舊制。 朕今用爾不謂無私，若麻制宣告，天下謂爾脅我為之。」 文場叩頭謝。 更命中書作詔，並罷統軍用麻矣。 明日，帝見絪曰：「宰相不能拒中人，得卿言乃悟。」
When Dezong returned from Xingyuan, he created six army commanders-in-chief equal in rank to the six chief ministers to honor meritorious generals. Their appointments were drafted on white hemp and sent out directly. He also abolished the Xuanwu Army, expanded the Left and Right Shence Armies, and made army supervisors their commanders-in-chief. Dou Wenchang, trading on his merit, quietly pressed the chief ministers to nominate eunuch candidates on the same terms as the army commanders-in-chief. Yin was assigned to draft the edict and memorialized: "When the Son of Heaven enfeoffs and appoints, he sometimes uses chief ministers, who sign edicts on white hemp for the Secretariat and Chancellery. Now the order goes to a commander-in-chief. Does Your Majesty mean this only as a special favor to Wenchang? Or is it meant to become permanent policy? The emperor took the point and told Wenchang: "In the Wude and Zhenguan eras, eunuchs served only within the palace. Few guard generals were given concurrent regular rank and crimson robes. Since Yu Chao'en, the old system has never been restored. I appoint you now without denying personal favor—but if this edict is proclaimed on white hemp, the realm will say you forced my hand. Wenchang kowtowed in thanks. The emperor then had the Secretariat draft the decree and abolished the use of white hemp for army commanders-in-chief as well. The next day the emperor saw Yin and said: "The chief ministers could not refuse the eunuchs. Only your words made me see the point. (End of the emperor's remark.)
50
順宗病，不得語，王叔文與牛美人用事，權震中外，憚廣陵王雄睿，欲危之。 帝召絪草立太子詔，絪不請輒書曰：「立嫡以長。」 跪白之，帝頷乃定。
Shunzong was ill and unable to speak. Wang Shuwen and the favored consort Niu held power, their authority shaking court and country. Fearing the Prince of Guangling's sharp mind, they sought to destroy him. The emperor summoned Yin to draft the decree establishing the crown prince. Without asking further, Yin wrote: "Establish the legitimate heir by seniority. Kneeling, he reported it. The emperor nodded, and the matter was settled.
51
憲宗即位，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，遷門下侍郎。 始，盧從史陰與王承宗連和，有詔歸潞，從史辭潞乏糧，請留軍山東。 李吉甫密譖絪漏言於從史，帝怒，坐浴堂殿，召學士李絳語其故，且曰：「若何而處？」 絳曰：「誠如是，罪當族。 然誰以聞陛下者？」 曰：「吉甫為我言。」 絳曰：「絪任宰相，識名節，不當如犬彘梟獍與奸臣外通。 恐吉甫勢軋內忌，造為醜辭以怒陛下。」 帝良久曰：「幾誤我！」
When Xianzong took the throne, Yin was made vice grand secretary and chief minister, then promoted to vice chancellor. Lu Congshi had secretly allied with Wang Chengzong. When ordered back to Lu, he pleaded lack of grain and asked to keep his army in Shandong. Li Jifu secretly accused Yin of leaking secrets to Congshi. The emperor, angry, sat in the Bath Hall and summoned Li Jiang. He explained the charge and asked: "What should be done? Jiang said: "If that is true, the crime deserves execution of his whole clan. But who told Your Majesty?" The emperor said: "Jifu told me." Jiang said: "Yin is chief minister and knows honor. He would not collude with traitors like some beast. I fear Jifu, jealous of a rival, has invented slander to anger Your Majesty." After a long pause the emperor said: "I nearly made a terrible mistake!"
52
先是，杜黃裳方為帝夷削節度，強王室，建議裁可，不關決於絪，絪常默默。 居位四年，罷為太子賓客。 久乃檢校禮部尚書，出為嶺南節度使，後累遷河中節度。 入為御史大夫，檢校尚書左僕射，兼太子少保。 文宗太和中，年老乞骸骨，以太子太傅致仕。 卒，年七十八，贈司空，謚曰宣。
Du Huangchang was then helping the emperor weaken the military commissioners and strengthen the throne. His proposals went through without Yin, who usually said nothing. After four years he was dismissed and made mentor of the heir apparent. Long afterward he was made acting minister of rites and sent out as military governor of Lingnan, then rose to military governor of Hezhong. He returned as censor-in-chief, acting left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, and junior guardian of the heir apparent. In Wenzong's Taihe era he begged to retire on account of age and was granted retirement as grand preceptor of the heir apparent. He died at seventy-eight, posthumously made minister of works with the posthumous name Xuan.
53
絪本以儒術進，守道寡欲，所居不為烜赫事，以篤實稱。 善名理學，世以耆德推之。
Yin had risen through Confucian learning. He upheld the Way, wanted little, lived plainly, and was known for solid integrity. He was skilled in philosophical inquiry, and the world honored him as an elder of virtue.
54
孫顥，舉進士，以起居郎尚萬壽公主，拜駙馬都尉。 有器識。 宣宗時，恩寵無比。 終檢校禮部尚書、河南尹。
His grandson Hao passed the jinshi exam, married the Princess of Wanshou as director of diaries, and became commandant of the imperial son-in-law's escort. He had talent and discernment. Under Xuanzong his favor was unmatched. He ended as acting minister of rites and intendant of Henan.
55
=權德輿=
Quan Deyu
56
權德輿，字載之。 父臯，見《卓行傳》。 德輿七歲居父喪，哭踴如成人。 未冠，以文章稱諸儒間。 韓洄黜陟河南，辟置幕府。 復從江西觀察使李兼府為判官。 杜佑、裴胄交辟之。 德宗聞其材，召為太常博士，改左補闕。
Quan Deyu, styled Zaizhi. His father Gao is treated in the Biographies of Outstanding Conduct. At seven Deyu mourned his father and wept and stamped his feet like an adult. Before coming of age he was praised among scholars for his writing. When Han Hui conducted assessments in Henan, he recruited Deyu to his staff. He later served Li Jian, observation commissioner of Jiangxi, as judicial assistant. Du You and Pei Zhou both recruited him. Dezong heard of his talent, summoned him as an academician of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, then made him left remonstrance censor.
57
貞元八年，關東、淮南、浙西州縣大水，壞廬舍，漂殺人。 德輿建言：「江、淮田一善熟，則旁資數道，故天下大計，仰於東南。 今霪雨二時，農田不開，庸亡日眾。 宜擇群臣明識通方者，持節勞徠，問人所疾苦，蠲其租入，與連帥守長講求所宜。 賦取於人，不若藏於人之固也。」 帝乃遣奚陟等四人循行慰撫。 裴延齡以巧幸進，判度支，德輿上疏斥言：「延齡以常賦正額用度未盡者為羨利，以誇己功； 用官錢售常平雜物，還取其直，號別貯羨錢，因以罔上； 邊軍乏，不稟糧，召禍疆場，其事不細。 陛下疑為流言，胡不以新利召延齡，質核本末，擇中朝臣按覆邊資。 如言者不謬，則邦國之務，不宜委非其人。」 疏奏，不省。
In Zhenyuan 8, great floods in Guandong, Huainan, and Zhexi destroyed homes and drowned people. Deyu submitted: "One good harvest in the Yangzi and Huai regions supplies several circuits. The realm's great plan depends on the southeast. Now endless rain for two seasons has left fields unplanted, and the destitute grow daily. Choose clear-sighted ministers, send them with imperial credentials to comfort the people, learn their hardships, remit rents, and work with local officials on relief. Taxes taken from the people are less secure than wealth kept among the people. The emperor sent Xi Zhi and three others to tour the region and offer relief. Pei Yanling rose through flattery and controlled the treasury. Deyu memorialized against him: "Yanling treats unused regular tax quotas as surplus to boast of his achievement; he uses official funds to sell Ever-Normal granary goods, takes back the price, calls it surplus stored separately, and deceives his superiors; frontier armies lack grain rations, inviting disaster on the borders. This is no small matter. If Your Majesty suspects rumor, summon Yanling on the pretext of new profits, verify the facts, and send a court minister to audit frontier funds. If the charges are true, state affairs must not be left to such a man. The memorial was submitted but ignored.
58
遷起居舍人。 歲中，兼知制誥，進中書舍人。 當是時，帝親攬庶政，重除拜，凡命諸朝，皆手制中下。 始，德輿知制誥，而徐岱給事中，高郢為舍人。 居數歲，岱卒，郢知禮部，德輿獨直兩省，數旬一還舍，乃上書言：「左右掖垣，承天子誥命，奉行詳覆，各有攸司。 舊制，分曹十員，以相防檢。 大抵事有所壅，則吏得為非。 四方聞者，或以朝廷為乏士，要重之司，不宜久廢。」 帝曰：「非不知卿之勞，但擇如卿者未得其人耳。」 久之，知禮部貢舉，真拜侍郎。 凡三歲，甄品詳諦，所得士相繼為公卿、宰相。 取明經初不限員。
He was made diaries attendant. Within the year he also handled imperial edicts and was promoted to secretariat drafting attendant. At that time the emperor personally handled governance, valued appointments, and personally drafted every court order. At first Deyu handled edicts while Xu Dai was drafting secretary and Gao Ying was attendant. After several years Dai died. Ying oversaw the Ministry of Rites. Deyu alone staffed both secretariats, returning home only every few weeks. He memorialized: "The left and right palace gates receive the emperor's commands, carry them out, and review them—each has its proper office. Under the old system ten officers in separate bureaus checked one another. When business is blocked, clerks can do wrong. People throughout the realm may think the court lacks men. Such important offices should not stay vacant long. The emperor said: "I know your burden, but I have not yet found men like you." Long afterward he oversaw the Ministry of Rites examinations and was formally appointed vice minister. For three years he evaluated candidates with meticulous care. Those he chose rose to high office and chief minister. At first there was no quota for classics examination passers.
59
十九年，大旱，德輿因是上陳闕政曰：「陛下齋心減膳，閔惻元元，告於宗廟，禱諸天地，一物可祈，必致其禮，一士有請，必聽其言，憂人之心可謂至已。 臣聞銷天災者脩政術，感人心者流惠澤，和氣洽，則祥應至矣。 畿甸之內，大率赤地而無所望，轉徙之人，斃踣道路，慮種麥時，種不得下。 宜詔在所裁留經用，以種貸民。 今茲租賦及宿逋遠貸，一切蠲除。 設不蠲除，亦無可斂之理，不如先事圖之，則恩歸於上。 十四年夏旱，吏趣常賦，至縣令為民毆辱者，不可不察。」 又言：「漕運本濟關中，若轉東都以西緣道倉廩，悉入京師，督江、淮所輸以備常數，然後約太倉一歲計，斥其餘者以糶於民，則時價不踴而蓄藏者出矣。」 又言：「大曆中，一縑直錢四千，今止八百，稅入如舊，則出於民者五倍其初。 四方銳於上獻，為國掊怨，廣軍實之求，而兵有虛籍，剝取多方，雖有心計巧歷，能商功利，其於割股啖口，困人均也。」 又言：「比經絀放者，自謂抆拭無期，坐為匪人，以動和氣。 而冬薦官逾三年未受命，衣食既空，溘然就斃，此亦窮人之一端也。 近陛下洗宥絀放者，或起為二千石，其徒更相勉，知牽復可望。 惟因而弘之，使人人自效。」 帝頗采用之。
In the nineteenth year there was great drought. Deyu submitted faults in governance: "Your Majesty has purified your heart, reduced your meals, grieved for the people, prayed at the ancestral temple and to Heaven and Earth. You have performed every rite and heard every plea. Your concern for the people could not be greater. I have heard that heavenly disaster is dispelled by good governance, and hearts are moved by grace. When harmony prevails, auspicious signs follow. Within the capital region most land is bare. Refugees lie dead on the roads. I fear that when wheat should be sown, seed cannot be planted. Each locality should set aside routine expenditures and lend seed to the people. This year's rents and levies, with all old arrears and distant loans, should be remitted. Even if not remitted, they cannot be collected. Better to act first, and the credit will belong to the throne. In the summer drought of the fourteenth year, tax collectors pressed so hard that magistrates were beaten by the people. This cannot go unexamined. He also said: "Canal transport was meant to supply Guanzhong. If route granaries west of the Eastern Capital fed the capital while Yangzi-Huai deliveries met regular quotas, surplus from the Grand Granary could be sold to the people. Prices would not soar and hoarders would release their stores." He also said: "In the Dali era one bolt of silk was worth four thousand cash; now only eight hundred. If tax revenue stays the same, what is taken from the people is five times greater. He also said: "The regions compete in tribute, breeding resentment. Demands for military stores grow while army rolls hold empty names. Exactions come from every side. However clever the accountants, it is like cutting flesh to feed the mouth—the people are equally exhausted." He also said: "Those recently demoted, believing they will never be cleared, sit as outcasts and disturb public harmony. Winter-recommended officials who wait more than three years without appointment, their food and clothing gone, suddenly die. This too is one face of desperation. Recently Your Majesty pardoned demoted officials; some were raised to two-thousand-dan posts. Their fellows encouraged one another, knowing restoration was possible. Only extend this further and let every man exert himself." The emperor largely adopted these suggestions.
60
憲宗元和初，歷兵部侍郎，坐累，徙太子賓客，俄還前官。 時澤潞盧從史詐傲，浸不制，其父虔卒京師，而成德王承宗父死求襲，德輿諫，以為：「欲變山東，先擇昭義之帥。 從史拔自軍校，偃蹇不法，今可因其喪，選守臣代之。 成德習俗既久，當制以漸，許成德之請則可，許昭義則不可。」 帝不聽。 及王承宗叛，從史乃詭計以撓王師，兵老無功。 德輿復請赦承宗，徙從史。 後皆略如所料。
Early in Xianzong's Yuanhe era he served as vice minister of war. On account of accumulated faults he was moved to mentor of the heir apparent, then soon restored. Lu Congshi of Zelu was deceitful and arrogant and gradually went unchecked. His father Qian died in the capital while Wang Chengzong of Chengde sought succession. Deyu remonstrated: "To change Shandong, first choose a commander for Zhaoyi. Congshi rose from the ranks and is arrogant and lawless. Use his mourning to replace him with a civil official. Chengde's customs are long entrenched and should be changed gradually. Grant Chengde's request if you must, but not Zhaoyi's. The emperor did not listen. When Wang Chengzong rebelled, Congshi used deceit to impede the imperial army. The campaign dragged on without success. Deyu again asked to pardon Chengzong and transfer Congshi. Later events roughly matched his prediction.
61
會裴垍病，德輿自太常卿拜禮部尚書、同中書門下平章事。 王鍔繇河中入朝，求兼宰相，李藩以為不可，德輿亦奏：「平章事非序進宜得，比方鎮帶宰相，必有大忠若勛，否則強不制者，不得已與之。 今鍔無功，又非姑息時，一假此名，以開後人，不可。」 帝乃止。
When Pei Ji fell ill, Deyu was promoted from director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to minister of rites and chief minister. Wang E came from Hezhong to court and asked to serve as chief minister. Li Fan objected. Deyu memorialized: "Chief minister is not an ordinary promotion. Military commissioners receive the title only for supreme loyalty and merit, or for the uncontrollably powerful when there is no choice. E has no merit, and this is not a time of indulgence. Granting the title once would open the door for others. It cannot be done. The emperor stopped.
62
董溪、于臯謨以運糧使盜軍興，流嶺南，帝悔其輕，詔中使半道殺之。 德輿諫：「溪等方山東用兵，乾沒庫財，死不償責。 陛下以流斥太輕，當責臣等繆誤，審正其罪，明下詔書，與眾同棄，則人人懼法。 臣知已事不諍，然異時或有此比，要須有司論報，罰一勸百，孰不甘心。」 帝深然之。 嘗問政之寬猛孰先，對曰：「唐家承隋苛虐，以仁厚為先。 太宗皇帝見《明堂圖》，始禁鞭背，列聖所循，皆尚德教。 故天寶大盜竊發，俄而夷滅，蓋本朝之化，感人心之深也。」 帝曰：「誠如公言。」
Dong Xi and Yu Gaomo, as grain transport commissioners, embezzled military funds and were exiled to Lingnan. The emperor regretted the light sentence and ordered palace envoys to kill them en route. Deyu remonstrated: "During the Shandong campaign Xi and the others embezzled treasury funds. Death does not repay the debt. Your Majesty considers exile too light. Blame us ministers for our error, determine their crime properly, and issue a clear edict casting them off with public consensus. Then every man will fear the law. I know what is done cannot be undone, yet similar cases may arise. The proper offices must discuss and report. Punish one to warn a hundred—who would not submit? The emperor deeply agreed. Asked whether leniency or severity should come first in governance, he replied: "The Tang succeeded Sui's harsh cruelty and puts benevolence first. When Taizong saw the Hall of Enlightenment diagram, he first forbade flogging the back. Successive emperors have honored moral teaching. When the great rebellion erupted in Tianbao it was quickly crushed—because this dynasty's moral influence runs so deep. The emperor said: "Truly as you say."
63
德輿善辨論，開陳古今本末，以覺悟人主。 為輔相，寬和不為察察名。 李吉甫再秉政，帝又自用李絳參贊大機。 是時，帝切於治，事巨細悉責宰相。 吉甫、絳議論不能無持異，至帝前遽言亟辯，德輿從容不敢有所輕重，坐是罷為本官。 以檢校吏部尚書留守東都，進扶風郡公。 于頔以子殺人，自囚，親戚莫敢過門，朝廷無為請者。 德輿將行，言於帝曰：「頔之罪既貸不竟，宜因賜寬詔。」 帝曰：「然，卿為吾過諭之。」 復拜太常卿，徙刑部尚書。
Deyu was skilled at debate, setting forth past and present from root to branch to awaken the ruler. As chief minister he was lenient and harmonious and did not nitpick reputations. Li Jifu again held power, and the emperor also relied on Li Jiang for major decisions. At that time the emperor was keen on governance and held chief ministers responsible for everything. Jifu and Jiang could not avoid differing in debate and argued urgently before the emperor. Deyu stayed calm and would not take sides. For this he was dismissed to his original post. He was made acting minister of personnel, left to guard the Eastern Capital, and advanced to duke of Fufeng. Yu Di, because his son had murdered someone, imprisoned himself. Relatives dared not visit, and no one at court pleaded for him. As Deyu was about to leave, he told the emperor: "Yu's crime has been pardoned but not fully resolved. You should grant him a lenient edict now. The emperor said: "Good. Go explain this to him for me." He was again made director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, then transferred to minister of justice.
64
先是，詔許孟容、蔣乂刊匯格敕，既成，上之，留禁中； 德輿請出其書，與侍郎劉伯芻參復研考，定三十篇奏上。 復檢校吏部尚書，出為山南西道節度使。 後二年，以病乞還，卒於道。 年六十，贈尚書左僕射，謚曰文。
Earlier Meng Rong and Jiang Yi had been ordered to compile regulations and edicts. When finished, the work was submitted and kept in the palace; Deyu asked that the book be brought out. With Vice Minister Liu Bochu he reviewed it again, settled it in thirty sections, and submitted it. He was again made acting minister of personnel and sent out as military governor of Shannan West Circuit. Two years later, ill, he begged to return and died on the road. He was sixty. Posthumously made left vice director of the Department of State Affairs with the posthumous name Wen.
65
德輿生三歲，知變四聲，四歲能賦詩，積思經術，無不貫綜。 自始學至老，未曾一日去書不觀。 嘗著論，辨漢所以亡，西京以張禹，東京以胡廣，大指有補於世。 其文雅正贍縟，當時公卿侯王功德卓異者，皆所銘紀，十常七八。 雖動止無外飾，其醞藉風流，自然可慕。 貞元、元和間，為搢紳羽儀雲。 子璩子璩，字大圭，元和初，擢進士。 歷監察御史，有美稱。 宰相李宗閔乃父門生，故薦為中書舍人。 時李訓挾寵，以《周易》博士在翰林，璩與舍人高元裕、給事中鄭肅、韓佽等連章劾訓傾覆陰巧，且亂國，不宜出入禁中。 不聽。 及宗閔貶，璩屢表辨解，貶閬州刺史。 文宗憐其母病，徙鄭州。 訓誅，時人多璩明禍福大體，能世其家。
At three Deyu knew the four tones in variation; at four he could compose poetry. He mastered every branch of classical learning. From first study to old age he never went a day without reading. He once wrote a treatise on why Han fell, blaming Zhang Yu for the Western Capital and Hu Guang for the Eastern. Its main points served the age well. His style was elegant, upright, and rich. Seven or eight of every ten outstanding ministers, dukes, and princes had inscriptions from his hand. Though he wore no outward ornament, his cultured reserve and grace were naturally admirable. Between Zhenyuan and Yuanhe he was the model for the gentry and officials. His son Ju, styled Dagui, passed the jinshi examination early in the Yuanhe era. He served as surveillance censor and won a fine reputation. Chief Minister Li Zongmin had been his father's student and recommended him as secretariat drafting attendant. Li Xun, relying on favor, served as Book of Changes doctor in the Hanlin Academy. Ju, Gao Yuanyu, Zheng Su, Han Yi, and others jointly impeached Xun for subversion and secret cunning, saying he was unfit to enter the palace. The emperor did not listen. When Zongmin was demoted, Ju repeatedly defended him in memorials and was demoted to governor of Lang. Wenzong, pitying his mother's illness, transferred him to Zheng. When Xun was executed, many praised Ju for seeing the larger pattern of fortune and disaster and continuing his family's tradition.
66
=崔群=
Cui Qun
67
崔群，字敦詩，貝州武城人。 未冠，舉進士，陸贄主貢舉，梁肅薦其有公輔才，擢甲科，舉賢良方正，授秘書省校書郎。 累遷右補闕、翰林學士、中書舍人。 數陳讜言，憲宗嘉納，因詔學士：「凡奏議，待群署乃得上。」 群以「禁密之言，人人當自陳，一為故事，後或有惡直鬼正，則它學士不得上言矣」，固讓，見聽。 惠昭太子薨，是時，遂王嫡，而澧王長，多內助。 帝將建東宮，詔群為澧王作讓。 群奏：「大凡己當得則讓，不當得之，烏用讓？ 今遂王嫡，宜為太子。」 帝從其議。 魏博田季安以五千縑助營開業佛祠，群以為無名之獻，不當受。 有詔卻之。 進戶部侍郎。
Cui Qun, styled Dunshi, was from Wucheng in Beizhou. Before coming of age he took the jinshi exam under Lu Zhi. Liang Su recommended him as chief-minister material. He ranked first, passed the eminent and upright exam, and became a secretariat collator. He rose to right remonstrance censor, Hanlin academician, and secretariat drafting attendant. He repeatedly offered candid counsel, which Xianzong welcomed. An edict then required all academy memorials to await Qun's signature. Qun objected: "Secret matters should be reported by each man himself. Once this becomes precedent, those who hate the straight may block other academicians from speaking." He firmly declined and was heeded. When Crown Prince Huizhao died, the Prince of Sui was the legitimate son, but the older Prince of Li had many palace supporters. The emperor was about to establish the Eastern Palace and ordered Qun to compose a declination for the Prince of Li. Qun submitted: "One yields when one ought to receive. When one ought not to receive, what use is yielding? The Prince of Sui is the legitimate son and should be crown prince. The emperor accepted his proposal. Tian Ji'an of Weibo offered five thousand bolts of silk to build the Kaiye Buddhist temple. Qun held this an unsolicited gift and said it should be refused. An edict declined it. He was made vice minister of revenue.
68
元和十二年，以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事。 李師道既誅，師古等妻子沒入掖廷，帝疑，以問群，群請釋之，並還其奴婢貲產。 鹽鐵院官權長孺坐罪抵死，其母耄，丐子以養。 帝奭然欲赦之，以問宰相，群對：「陛下幸憐其老，宜即遣使諭旨，若須出敕，無及矣。」 於是免死。 群凡啟奏，平恕如此。 帝嘗語宰相：「聽受之際，不亦難乎！ 比詔學士集前世事，為《辨謗略》，以自儆鑒。 其要云何？」 群對：「無情，曲直辨之至易； 有情，則欺為難審也。 故孔子有眾好眾惡、浸潤膚受之說，以其難辨也。 若陛下擇賢而任，待之以誠，糾之以法，則人自歸正，而不敢以欺。」 帝韙其言。
In Yuanhe 12 he was made vice grand secretary and chief minister. After Li Shidao was executed, Shigu's family was seized for the palace. The emperor asked Qun, who requested their release and the return of their servants and property. Quan Changru of the Salt and Iron Commission was convicted and faced death. His aged mother begged for her son to support her. Moved, the emperor wished to pardon him and asked the chief ministers. Qun replied: "If Your Majesty pities her age, send an envoy at once. If you wait for an edict, it will be too late. Death was remitted. Qun's memorials were always fair and lenient like this. The emperor once told the chief ministers: "Hearing and judging cases—is it not difficult! Recently I ordered the academicians to gather past cases into An Outline for Distinguishing Slander, to warn myself. What is its essential point? Qun replied: "Without personal feeling, right and wrong are easiest to distinguish; with personal feeling, deception is hard to examine. Confucius spoke of popular favor and hatred and of slander that seeps in because such things are hard to distinguish. If Your Majesty selects the worthy, treats them sincerely, and corrects them by law, people will return to what is right and not dare to deceive." The emperor approved his words.
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處州刺史苗積進羨錢七百萬，群以受之失信天下，請還賜其州，以紓下戶之賦。 是時，皇甫镈言利幸於帝，陰藉左右求宰相，群數言其佞邪不可用。 既入對，及開元、天寶事，群因推言其極曰：「安危在出令，存亡系所任。 昔玄宗少歷屯險，更民間疾苦，故初得姚崇、宋璟、盧懷慎輔以道德，蘇颋、李元纮孜孜守正，則開元為治。 其後安於逸樂，遠正士，昵小人，故宇文融以言利進，李林甫、楊國忠怙寵朋邪，則天寶為亂。 願陛下以開元為法，以天寶為戒，社稷之福也。」 又言：「世謂祿山反，為治亂分時。 臣謂罷張九齡，相林甫，則治亂固已分矣。」 左右為感動。 群以是諷帝，故镈銜之。 帝卒自相镈。 會群臣上帝號，镈欲兼用「孝德」為號，群獨以為有「睿聖」，則「孝德」並見。 帝聞不樂。 會度支稟賜邊士不時，物多弊惡，李光顏憂甚，至欲引佩刀自決，中外皆恐。 镈奏：「邊鄙無事，乃群鼓動，欲以買直，歸怨天子。」 於是罷為湖南觀察使。
Miao Ji, governor of Chuzhou, offered seven million in surplus funds. Qun said accepting it would lose public trust and asked that it be returned to the prefecture to ease taxes on poor households. Huangfu Bo, skilled at speaking of profit, won the emperor's favor and covertly sought the chief ministership through palace contacts. Qun repeatedly said he was flatteringly wicked and unfit for office. In audience, discussing Kaiyuan and Tianbao, Qun pushed the argument to its limit: "Safety and danger depend on what orders are issued; survival and ruin depend on whom is appointed. Xuanzong in youth knew hardship and the people's suffering. With Yao Chong, Song Jing, and Lu Huaishen guiding him in virtue, and Su Ting and Li Yuanhong upholding the upright, Kaiyuan was well governed. Later, secure in pleasure, distant from upright men and close to petty ones, Yuwen Rong rose through profit, and Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong relied on favor and formed wicked factions—then Tianbao fell into disorder. Your Majesty should take Kaiyuan as model and Tianbao as warning. That would bless the altars of soil and grain. He also said: "The world says order and disorder were divided when Lushan rebelled. I hold that when Zhang Jiuling was dismissed and Li Linfu made chief minister, order and disorder were already divided." Those present were moved. Qun used this to admonish the emperor, and Bo resented him. The emperor in the end made Bo chief minister. When ministers presented a reign title, Bo wanted to include Filial Virtue. Qun alone objected that Sagely Wisdom was already included. The emperor was displeased. Treasury grants to frontier soldiers were late and the goods shoddy. Li Guangyan was so anguished he nearly killed himself. Court and countryside were alarmed. Bo memorialized: "The frontier is quiet. Qun is stirring trouble to buy a reputation for integrity and shift blame to the emperor. Qun was dismissed and made observation commissioner of Hunan.
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穆宗立，以吏部侍郎召之，勞曰：「我為太子，卿力也。」 群曰：「此先帝意，臣何力焉？ 且陛下向為淮西節度使，臣起制草，其言有『能辨南陽之牘，允符東海之貴』，先帝然之，則傳付久矣。」 俄拜御史大夫。 未幾，檢校兵部尚書，充武寧節度使。 群以其副王智興得士心，不若假以節度，不報。 智興討幽、鎮還，藉兵逐群，群失守，左遷秘書監，分司東都。 改華州刺史，歷宣歙池觀察使，進兵部尚書，出為荊南節度使，召拜吏部尚書。 卒，年六十一，贈司空。
When Muzong took the throne, Qun was summoned as vice minister of personnel. The emperor said: "I owe my position as crown prince to you. Qun said: "That was the late emperor's intent. What effort did I have? When Your Majesty was military governor of Huaixi, I drafted the edict with the words 'able to judge the documents of Nanyang, truly matching the worth of the Eastern Sea.' The late emperor approved it long ago." Soon he was made censor-in-chief. Before long he was made acting minister of war and military governor of Wuning. Qun, seeing that his deputy Wang Zhixing had won the soldiers' hearts, suggested granting him the military governorship. There was no response. Zhixing returned from campaigning against You and Zhen, used his troops to drive Qun out, and Qun was demoted to director of the secretariat at the Eastern Capital branch. He became governor of Hua, served as observation commissioner of Xuan-Xi-Chi, rose to minister of war, was sent out as military governor of Jingnan, and was recalled as minister of personnel. He died at sixty-one and was posthumously made minister of works.
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贊曰：聖人不畏多難，畏無難。 何哉？ 多難之世，人人長慮而深謀，日惕於中，猶以為未也，曰：「吾覆亡不暇，又何以安？」 故能舉天下付之興，畏之也。 禍難已平，上恬下嬉，施施自如曰：「賢難得，雖無賢，尚可治也； 佞可去，雖存佞，不遽亂也。」 視漏弗填，忽傾弗支，偃然自慰曰：「我曷以喪？」 故能舉天下付之亡，不畏也。 常人所畏，聖人易之； 所不畏，聖人難之。 觀孝明皇帝，本中主，遭變可與謀始，持成不可與共終。 崔群以為相李林甫則治亂已分，其言信哉！ 是扁鵲所以誚桓侯也。
The encomium says: The sage does not fear many difficulties—he fears no difficulty. Why? In an age of many difficulties, every man plans long and thinks deep, daily vigilant within, yet still thinks it insufficient, saying: "I have no leisure before ruin—how can I be at ease? Thus he can entrust the realm to rise—through fear. When calamity is pacified, superiors grow complacent and inferiors play, saying easily: "The worthy are hard to find. Even without them the realm can still be governed; flatterers can be removed. Even if some remain, disorder does not come at once. Seeing the leak and not filling it, suddenly tilted and unsupported, lying at ease and saying: "How could I perish?" Thus he can entrust the realm to ruin—through lack of fear. What ordinary men fear, the sage treats lightly; what they do not fear, the sage finds difficult. Consider Emperor Xiaoming—a middling ruler. One could plan the beginning with him in crisis, but not see success through to the end. Cui Qun held that making Li Linfu chief minister already divided order and disorder. How true his words! This is why Bian Que reproached Duke Huan of Cai.