1
韓愈附:孟郊張籍皇甫湜盧仝賈島劉乂
Han Yu, with appended biographies: Meng Jiao, Zhang Ji, Huangfu Shi, Lu Tong, Jia Dao, and Liu Yi
2
韓愈，字退之，鄧州南陽人。 七世祖茂，有功于後魏，封安定王。 父仲卿，為武昌令，有美政，既去，縣人刻石頌德。 終秘書郎。 愈生三歲而孤，隨伯兄會貶官嶺表。 會卒，嫂鄭鞠之。 愈自知讀書，日記數千百言，比長，盡能通《六經》、百家學。 擢進士第。 會董晉為宣武節度使，表署觀察推官。 晉卒，愈從喪出，不四日，汴軍亂，乃去。 依武甯節度使張建封，建封辟府推官。 操行堅正，鯁言無所忌。 調四門博士，遷監察御史。 上疏極論宮市，德宗怒，貶陽山令。 有愛在民，民生子多以其姓字之。 改江陵法曹參軍。 元和初，權知國子博士，分司東都，三歲為真。 改都官員外郎，即拜河南令。 遷職方員外郎。
Han Yu, whose style name was Tuizhi, came from Nanyang in Deng Prefecture. His seventh-generation ancestor Mao had served the Northern Wei with distinction and was enfeoffed as Prince of Anding. His father Zhongqing had been magistrate of Wuchang and governed well; when he left office, the people of the county erected a stone inscription in praise of his virtue. He ended his career as a secretary in the Palace Library. Yu lost his father when he was three and went with his elder brother Hui, who had been demoted to a post in the far south beyond the Lingnan passes. After Hui died, his sister-in-law Lady Zheng brought Yu up. Once he could read, Yu memorized several thousand characters a day, and by adulthood he had mastered the Six Classics and the teachings of the hundred schools. He passed the jinshi civil examination. When Dong Jin became military commissioner of Xuanwu, he recommended Yu for appointment as investigating commissioner. When Jin died, Yu accompanied the funeral cortege out of the city; within four days the Bianzhou garrison mutinied, and he departed. He attached himself to Zhang Jianfeng, military commissioner of Wuning, who took him on as a staff pushing official. His conduct was upright and resolute, and he spoke his mind bluntly without fear. He was transferred to erudite of the Four Gates Academy and then promoted to investigating censor. He memorialized the throne with a forceful critique of the palace market; Emperor Dezong was enraged and demoted him to magistrate of Yangshan. The people loved him, and when they had sons many named them with his surname. He was reassigned as legal bureau aide in Jiangling. Early in the Yuanhe era he served as acting erudite of the Imperial University on detached duty at the Eastern Capital, and after three years received a regular appointment. He was transferred to vice director of the Capital Office and then immediately appointed magistrate of Henan. He was promoted to vice director of the Bureau of Appointments.
3
華陰令柳澗有罪，前刺史劾奏之，未報而刺史罷。 澗諷百姓遮索軍頓役直，後刺史惡之，按其獄，貶澗房州司馬。 愈過華，以為刺史陰相党，上疏治之。 既御史覆問，得澗贓，再貶封溪尉。 愈坐是復為博士。 既才高數黜，官又下遷，乃作《進學解》以自諭曰：
Liu Jian, magistrate of Huayin, had committed offenses; the previous prefect had impeached him, but before a response arrived that prefect had left office. Jian had urged the people to intercept troops and demand payment for billeting and corvée; the new prefect took offense, investigated the case, and demoted Jian to army vice-commandant in Fang Prefecture. When Yu passed through Huayin, he believed the prefect was secretly shielding Jian and memorialized the throne to have him punished. When the censorate reinvestigated, Jian's guilt was confirmed, and Yu was demoted again to commandant of Fengxi. On account of this affair Yu was again made an erudite. Having been dismissed again despite his great talent and demoted once more in rank, he wrote "Discourse on Advancing in Learning" to explain himself, which reads:
4
國子先生晨入太學，召諸生立館下，誨之曰：「業精於勤，荒於嬉； 行成于思，毀於隨。 方今聖賢相逢，治具畢張，拔去凶邪，登崇畯良。 占小善者率以錄，名一藝者無不庸。 爬羅剔抉，刮垢磨光。 蓋有幸而獲選，孰雲多而不揚？ 諸生業患不能精，無患有司之不明； 行患不能成，無患有司之不公。」
The director of the Imperial University entered the academy at dawn, called the students to assemble below the lecture hall, and admonished them: "Excellence in study comes from diligence and is lost to idleness; conduct is formed through reflection and undone through carelessness. In this age sage and worthy men stand together, the tools of good government are fully in place, the wicked are rooted out, and the capable are raised up. Those who show even modest merit are generally enrolled, and anyone renowned for a single art finds employment. Talents are gathered, sifted, and chosen; roughness is scraped away and brilliance brought forth. If you are fortunate enough to be chosen, who can say that talent is too abundant for anyone to rise? Students, your concern should be that your studies are not thorough, not that the examiners lack discernment; worry that your conduct is not formed, not that the examiners are unjust."
5
言未既，有笑於列者曰：「先生欺予哉！ 弟子事先生，于茲有年矣。 先生口不絕吟於六藝之文，手不停披於百家之編。 記事者必提其要，纂言者必鉤其玄。 貪多務得，細大不捐。 燒膏油以繼晷，常矻矻以窮年。 先生之業，可謂勤矣。 牴排異端，攘斥佛老。 補苴罅漏，張惶幽眇。 尋墜緒之芒芒，獨旁搜而遠紹。 停百川而東之，回狂瀾於既倒。 先生之于儒，可謂有勞矣。 沈浸濃郁，含英咀華。 作為文章，其書滿家。 上規姚姒，渾渾亡涯。 周《誥》商《盤》，佶屈聱牙。 《春秋》謹嚴，《左氏》浮誇。 《易》奇而法，《詩》正而葩。 下迨《莊》《騷》，太史所錄，子雲相如，同工異曲。 先生之于文，可謂閎其中而肆其外矣。 少始知學，勇於敢為。 長通于方，左右具宜。 先生之于為人，可謂成矣。 然而公不見信於人，私不見助于友。 跋前躓後，動輒得咎。 暫為御史，遂竄南夷。 三年博士，冗不見治。 命與仇謀，取敗幾時？ 冬暖而兒號寒，年豐而妻啼饑。 頭童齒豁，竟死何裨？ 不知慮此，而反教人為？」
He had not finished speaking when someone in the assembly laughed and said, "Sir, you are deceiving us! I have studied under you for years now. You never stop reciting the texts of the Six Classics, and your hand never rests from turning the pages of the hundred schools. When reading histories you always grasp the essentials; when studying treatises you always probe their deepest meaning. Greedy for learning and striving to master it all, you spare neither the minute nor the vast. You burn lamp oil to lengthen the day and labor tirelessly year after year. In scholarship, sir, you may truly be called diligent. You oppose heterodox doctrines and repudiate Buddhism and Daoism. You mend what is torn in the tradition and bring forth what is hidden and subtle. You seek out the lost thread of the tradition in its vast obscurity, searching widely on your own and carrying it forward from distant antiquity. You gather the hundred streams and turn them eastward; you turn back the raging tide already run to ruin. In service to Confucian learning, sir, you have truly labored. You steep yourself in the rich fragrance of literature and savor its finest blossoms. As a writer of literature, your works fill the house. You take Yao and Si as your models above; your style is vast and without limit. The Zhou "Announcements" and Shang "Pan" are stiff and hard on the tongue. The "Spring and Autumn" is austere and exacting; the "Zuo Tradition" is florid and expansive. The "Changes" is marvelous yet methodical; the "Odes" is upright yet richly adorned. Below you reach "Zhuangzi" and "Li Sao," the records of the Grand Historian, Yang Xiong and Sima Xiangru—same mastery, different styles. In literature, sir, you are vast within and magnificent without. In youth you first took up learning and were bold in what you dared to do. As you matured you mastered every method and are adept in all directions. As a man, sir, you may be called fully formed. Yet in public you win no trust, and in private your friends give you no aid. You trip going forward and stumble going back; at every turn you invite censure. You were briefly a censor, then driven off to the southern frontier. Three years as erudite, a post so idle that no one considers you fit for real administration. Fate conspires with your enemies—how long before you are utterly ruined? The winter is mild yet your sons cry of cold; the harvest is good yet your wife weeps of hunger. Your head is bald and your teeth are gone—what good will it do you to die at last? You never think of this yourself, yet you presume to teach others how to live?"
6
先生曰：「籲！ 子來前。 夫大木為杗，細木為桷，欂櫨侏儒，椳闑磺楔，各得其所，施以成室者，匠氏之工也。 玉劄丹砂，赤箭青芝，牛溲馬勃，敗鼓之皮，俱收並蓄，待用無遺者，醫師之良也。 登明選公，雜進巧拙，紆餘為妍，卓犖為傑，校短量長，唯器是適者，宰相之方也。 昔者孟軻好辯，孔道以明； 轍環天下，卒老於行。 荀卿宗王，大倫以興； 逃讒于楚，廢死蘭陵。 是二儒者，吐詞為經，舉足為法，絕類離倫，優入聖域，其遇於世何如也？ 今先生學雖勤而不由其統，言雖多而不要其中； 文雖奇而不濟於用，行雖修而不顯於眾。 猶且月費俸錢，歲靡稟粟，子不知耕，婦不知織； 乘馬從徒，安坐而食； 踵常途之促促，窺陳編以盜竊。 然而聖主不加誅，宰臣不見斥。 茲非其幸歟？ 動而得謗，名亦隨之。 投閒置散，乃分之宜。 若夫商財賄之有無，計班資之崇庳，忘量己之所稱，指前人之瑕疵，是所謂詰匠氏之不以杙為楹，而訾醫師以昌陽引年，欲進其豨苓也。」
The director said, "Alas! Come here. Great timbers serve as ridgepoles and small timbers as rafters; bracket arms, dwarf posts, door panels, pivots, and wedges—each is put where it belongs so that a house may be built: that is the carpenter's art. Jade hairpins, cinnabar, red arrowroot, blue lingzhi, cow dung, horse lichen, the skin of a ruined drum—all are gathered and kept ready for use without waste: that is the mark of a skilled physician. Elevating the capable and choosing the fit, mixing the adept with the awkward, finding grace in what is indirect and excellence in what stands out, weighing strengths against weaknesses and assigning each to his proper role—that is how a chief minister governs. Long ago Mencius loved debate, and through him the way of Confucius was made clear; his carriage wheels circled the empire, yet in the end he grew old upon the road. Xunzi exalted kingship, and the great moral order was thereby revived; he fled slander to Chu and died in obscurity at Lanling. These two Confucians—whose words were scripture and whose steps were law, who surpassed their kind and stood apart from their peers, who nearly entered the domain of the sages—what was their lot in the world? Now, sir, for all your diligence in study you do not follow the orthodox tradition; for all your many words you miss their essential point; for all the strangeness of your writing it serves no practical end; for all the cultivation of your conduct you win no renown among the people. Yet month after month you draw your salary, year after year you consume your grain allotment; your sons cannot plow, your wife cannot weave; you ride with attendants in train and eat your fill while sitting idle. You plod the cramped beaten path and rifle old texts for scraps to steal. Yet the sage ruler does not punish you, and the chief minister does not cast you out. Is this not your good fortune? When you stir you draw slander, and fame follows in its wake. To be cast into an idle post and set aside—that is what your lot properly warrants. As for haggling over wealth and bribes, reckoning whether rank and salary are high or low, forgetting to measure your own worth, and picking at the faults of your betters—that is like berating the carpenter for not making a peg into a pillar, or blaming the physician for prescribing cypress to prolong life while demanding he give you poria instead."
7
執政覽之，奇其才，改比部郎中、史館修撰。 轉考功，知制誥，進中書舍人。
The chief ministers read it, admired his talent, and transferred him to director of the Revenue Bureau and compiler at the Historiography Institute. He was transferred to the Bureau of Merit, appointed drafter of edicts, and promoted to drafter of the Secretariat.
8
初，憲宗將平蔡，命御史中丞裴度使諸軍按視。 及還，且言賊可滅，與宰相議不合。 愈亦奏言：
Earlier, when Emperor Xianzong was preparing to pacify Cai Prefecture, he ordered Vice Censor-in-Chief Pei Du to inspect the various armies. On his return he reported that the rebels could be destroyed, but his views did not align with those of the chief ministers. Yu also submitted a memorial, which read:
9
淮西連年脩器械防守，金帛糧畜耗於給賞，執兵之卒四向侵掠，農夫織婦餉於其後，得不償費。 比聞畜馬皆上槽櫪，此譬有十夫之力，自朝抵夕，跳躍叫呼，勢不支久，必自委頓。 當其已衰，三尺童子可制其命。 況以三州殘弊困劇之餘而當天下全力，其敗可立而待也，然未可知者，在陛下斷與不斷耳。 夫兵不多不足以取勝，必勝之師利在速戰，兵多而戰不速則所費必廣。 疆場之上，日相攻劫，近賊州縣，賦役百端，小遇水旱，百姓愁苦。 方此時，人人異議以惑陛下，陛下持之不堅，半塗而罷，傷威損費，為弊必深。 所要先決於心，詳度本末，事至不惑，乃可圖功。
For years Huai West had been repairing arms and holding defensive lines; gold, silk, grain, and livestock were drained away in rewards; armed troops raided on every side while farmers and weaving women supplied them from behind—the cost far outweighed any gain. I have lately heard that their horses are all stabled and fed in stalls; this is like ten strong men leaping and shouting from dawn till dusk—the strain cannot last, and they are bound to collapse on their own. Once they have weakened, even a small child can take their lives. Moreover, three prefectures already ruined and exhausted cannot stand against the full power of the empire; their defeat may be awaited at once. What remains unknown is whether Your Majesty will resolve to act. Too few troops cannot win; an army sure of victory must fight swiftly; if the army is large yet the fighting drags on, the cost will be enormous. On the frontier they raid one another daily; in counties near the rebels taxes and corvée multiply endlessly; at the slightest flood or drought the people are plunged into misery. At such a moment everyone offers conflicting advice to confuse Your Majesty; if Your Majesty does not hold firm and abandons the campaign halfway, imperial prestige will suffer, costs will mount, and the harm will be profound. What matters first is to settle the matter in your own mind, weigh root and branch carefully, and face events without wavering—only then can success be sought.
10
又言：「諸道兵羈旅單弱不足用，而界賊州縣，百姓習戰鬥，知賊深淺，若募以內軍，教不三月，一切可用。」 又欲「四道置兵，道率三萬，畜力伺利，一日俱縱，則蔡首尾不救，可以責功」。 執政不喜。 會有人詆愈在江陵時為裴均所厚，均子鍔素無狀，愈為文章，字命鍔謗語囂暴，由是改太子右庶子。 及度以宰相節度彰義軍，宣慰淮西，奏愈行軍司馬。 愈請乘遽先入汴，說韓弘使葉力。 元濟平，遷刑部侍郎。
He also wrote: "The troops from the various circuits are strangers here, isolated and weak, and of little use; but in counties on the rebel border the people are seasoned in fighting and know the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. If recruited into the central army and trained for less than three months, they would all be fit for service." He also proposed "posting troops on four routes, thirty thousand men per route, gathering strength and waiting for the right moment; if all were unleashed on a single day, Cai could not rescue both ends at once, and victory could be secured." The chief ministers were displeased. Then someone accused Yu of having been favored by Pei Jun while at Jiangling. Jun's son E was notoriously ill-behaved; Yu had written pieces that, though naming E only obliquely, contained violent slanderous language—whereupon Yu was reassigned as Right Subordinate of the Heir Apparent. When Pei Du, serving as Chancellor, assumed command of the Zhangyi army and went as imperial envoy to pacify Huai West, he recommended Han Yu as army marshal on the campaign staff. Han Yu asked to ride express relays ahead into Bian to urge Han Hong to throw his full weight behind the effort. After Wu Yuanji was defeated, Han Yu was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice.
11
憲宗遣使者往鳳翔迎佛骨入禁中，三日，乃送佛祠。 王公士人奔走膜唄，至為夷法，灼體膚，委珍貝，騰遝系路。 愈聞惡之，乃上表曰：
Emperor Xianzong sent envoys to Fengxiang to escort the Buddha's finger bone into the palace; three days later it was sent on to the Buddhist shrine. Court nobles and literati rushed to worship with joined palms; some adopted foreign rites, burning their flesh and casting jewels and cowries as offerings, until the roads were jammed with surging crowds. Han Yu was revolted on hearing of it and submitted a memorial that read:
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佛者，夷狄之一法耳。 自後漢時始入中國，上古未嘗有也。 昔黃帝在位百年，年百一十歲； 少昊在位八十年，年百歲； 顓頊在位七十九年，年九十歲； 帝嚳在位七十年，年百五歲； 堯在位九十八年，年百一十八歲； 帝舜在位及禹年皆百歲。 此時天下太平，百姓安樂壽考，然而中國未有佛也。 其後，湯亦年百歲，湯孫太戊在位七十五年，武丁在位五十年，書史不言其壽，推其年數，蓋不減百歲。 周文王年九十七歲，武王年九十三歲，穆王在位百年。 此時佛法亦未至中國，非因事佛而致然也。 漢明帝時始有佛法，明帝在位才十八年。 其後亂亡相繼，運祚不長。 宋、齊、梁、陳、元魏以下，事佛漸謹，年代尤促。 唯梁武帝在位四十八年，前後三捨身施佛，宗廟祭不用牲牢，晝日一食，止於菜果，後為侯景所逼，餓死台城，國亦尋滅。 事佛求福，乃更得禍。 由此觀之，佛不足信，亦可知矣。
Buddhism is only one doctrine among the barbarian peoples. It entered China only in Later Han times; antiquity never knew it. In remote antiquity the Yellow Emperor reigned a hundred years and lived to a hundred and ten; Shaohao reigned eighty years and lived to a hundred; Zhuanxu reigned seventy-nine years and lived to ninety; Emperor Ku reigned seventy years and lived to a hundred and five; Yao reigned ninety-eight years and lived to a hundred and eighteen; Emperor Shun in office and Yu in years each reached a hundred. In those ages the realm was at peace and the people lived long in security—yet China had no Buddhism. Later Tang of Shang also lived a hundred years; his grandson Taiwu reigned seventy-five years and Wuding fifty—the annals do not record their ages, but by any count they can hardly have been less than a hundred. King Wen of Zhou lived ninety-seven years, King Wu ninety-three, and King Mu reigned a hundred years. In that era the Buddhist teaching had not yet reached China; their longevity was not owed to worship of Buddha. Buddhism first appeared under Emperor Ming of Han, who reigned only eighteen years. Thereafter turmoil and ruin followed one upon another, and their dynastic fortunes were brief. From the Song, Qi, Liang, Chen, and Northern Wei dynasties onward, the more devoutly rulers served Buddhism, the briefer their reigns became. Only Emperor Wu of Liang reigned forty-eight years; three times he yielded the throne to fund the sangha, state sacrifices went without animal victims, and he ate but one vegetarian meal a day—until Hou Jing forced him, he starved to death at Terrace City, and the dynasty soon fell. To seek blessing through Buddha was only to invite disaster. From this it is plain that Buddhism is not to be trusted—and that much is already clear.
13
高祖始受隋禪，則議除之。 當時君臣識見不遠，不能深究先王之道、古今之宜，推闡聖明，以救斯弊，其事遂止。 臣常恨焉！ 伏惟睿聖文武皇帝陛下，神聖英武，數千百年以來，未有倫比。 即位之初，即不許度人為僧尼、道士，又不許別立寺觀。 臣當時以為高祖之志，必行于陛下。 今縱未能即行，豈可恣之令盛也！ 今陛下令群僧迎佛骨於鳳翔，禦樓以觀，舁入大內，又令諸寺遞加供養。 臣雖至愚，必知陛下不惑于佛，作此崇奉以祈福祥也。 直以豐年之樂，徇人之心，為京都士庶設詭異之觀、戲玩之具耳。 安有聖明若此，而肯信此等事哉？ 然百姓愚冥，易惑難曉，苟見陛下如此，將謂真心信佛，皆云：「天子大聖，猶一心信向； 百姓微賤，于佛豈合更惜身命？」 以至灼頂燔指，十百為群，解衣散錢，自朝至暮，轉相仿效，唯恐後時，老幼奔波，棄其生業。 若不即加禁遏，更曆諸寺，必有斷臂臠身以為供養者。 傷風敗俗，傳笑四方，非細事也。
When Gaozu first took the throne from the Sui, he debated abolishing Buddhism. The court's vision then was short; unable to probe deeply the ways of the ancient kings and the needs of their own age, they failed to extend enlightened policy to remedy the evil, and the effort was abandoned. I have long bitterly regretted it! I bow my head: Your Majesty, sage, martial, and cultured—sacred and heroic, without peer in thousands of years. At the outset of your reign you forbade new ordinations of monks, nuns, and Daoist priests and the building of new temples. I then believed that Gaozu's purpose would surely be fulfilled under Your Majesty. Even if you cannot act at once, how can you let it run wild and flourish! Now Your Majesty has ordered monks to welcome the Buddha bone from Fengxiang, to view it from the imperial tower, to carry it into the inner palace, and to have every temple supply offerings in turn. Foolish though I am, I know Your Majesty is not duped by Buddhism and does not perform this worship to seek fortune. It is only the pleasure of a bountiful year, indulging popular sentiment, staging marvels and diversions for the capital's elite—that is all. How could such sagacity believe such things? Yet the people are benighted, quick to be misled and slow to understand; if they see Your Majesty act thus they will take it for true faith, saying: "The Son of Heaven, himself a great sage, still gives his whole heart to Buddhism; how can we humble folk cling to our bodies and lives? —until men burn their scalps and fingers in crowds of tens and hundreds, strip off clothing and scatter coin from dawn till dusk, each imitating the next for fear of lagging behind, while young and old rush about and abandon their trades. Unless this is stopped at once, as the relic tours the temples there will surely be those who hack off arms and flesh as offerings. It will corrupt custom and invite mockery throughout the realm—no small affair.
14
佛本夷狄之人，與中國言語不通，衣服殊制； 口不道先王之法言，身不服先王之法服，不知君臣之義、父子之情。 假如其身尚在，奉其國命來朝京師，陛下容而接之，不過宣政一見，禮賓一設，賜衣一襲，衛而出之於境，不令貳於眾也。 況其身死已久，枯朽之骨，凶穢之餘，豈宜以入宮禁？ 孔子曰：「敬鬼神而遠之。」 古之諸侯吊于其國，必令巫祝先以桃茢祓除不祥，然後進吊。 今無故取朽穢之物，親臨觀之，巫祝不先，桃茢不用，君臣不言其非，御史不舉其失，臣實恥之。 乞以此骨付之水火，永絕根本，斷天下之疑，絕前代之惑，使天下之人知大聖人之所作為，出於尋常萬萬也。 佛如有靈，能作禍祟，凡有殃咎，宜加臣身。 上天鑒臨，臣不怨悔。
Buddha was originally a barbarian: his language is not ours, his dress alien; his mouth does not utter the teachings of the ancient kings, his body does not wear their ritual garb, and he knows neither the duties of ruler and subject nor the bonds of father and son. If he were alive today and came to court on his ruler's orders, Your Majesty might receive him—but only for one audience in Xuane Hall, one banquet in the Host of Guests office, one gift of robes, and an escort beyond the frontier, never allowing him to dwell among the people. How much less should his long-dead body—withered bone, foul and unclean remnant—be brought within the palace? Confucius said: "Respect the spirits, yet keep them at a distance. When ancient feudal lords offered condolences abroad, they always had shamans purify the way with peach wands and reed brushes before entering to mourn. Now a foul and rotten thing is fetched for Your Majesty to view in person; no shamans precede it, no peach wands or reed brushes are employed; neither court nor censors protest the offense—and I am deeply ashamed. I beg that this bone be committed to fire and water, root and branch destroyed forever, all doubt under heaven ended and the delusions of past ages cut off, so that the people may know Your Majesty's deeds rise immeasurably above the common run. If the Buddha has power to bring harm, let every misfortune fall on me alone. Heaven is my witness; I shall bear no resentment or regret.
15
表入，帝大怒，持示宰相，將抵以死。 裴度、崔群曰：「愈言訐牾，罪之誠宜。 然非內懷至忠，安能及此？ 願少寬假，以來諫爭。」 帝曰：「愈言我奉佛太過，猶可容； 至謂東漢奉佛以後，天子感夭促，言何乖剌邪？ 愈，人臣，狂妄敢爾，固不可赦！」 於是中外駭懼，雖戚裏諸貴，亦為愈言，乃貶潮州刺史。
When the memorial was submitted, the emperor was furious, showed it to his chancellors, and was ready to put him to death. Pei Du and Cui Qun said: "Han Yu's language is confrontational and offensive; he deserves punishment. Yet unless he were utterly loyal at heart, how could he have dared so much? We beg Your Majesty to show a little mercy, that remonstrance may not be discouraged. The emperor said: "When Han Yu said I revered Buddhism too deeply, that I could bear; but to claim that since the Eastern Han worshipped Buddha, emperors' lives have been cut short—how perverse and wounding is that! Han Yu, a mere subject, dares such insolence—he truly cannot be forgiven! At this the court and country were alarmed; even imperial relatives pleaded for him, and he was demoted to prefect of Chaozhou.
16
既至潮，以表哀謝曰：
On reaching Chaozhou he submitted a memorial of repentance, which read:
17
臣以狂妄戇愚，不識禮度，陳佛骨事，言涉不恭，正名定罪，萬死莫塞。 陛下哀臣愚忠，恕臣狂直，謂言雖可罪，心亦無他，特屈刑章，以臣為潮州刺史。 既免刑誅，又獲祿食，聖恩寬大，天地莫量，破腦刳心，豈足為謝！
I, through arrogant folly and reckless ignorance of ritual, spoke disrespectfully on the Buddha bone; by the standards of law and duty, ten thousand deaths would not suffice. Your Majesty pitied my foolish loyalty, forgave my blunt rashness, held that though my words were culpable my heart was innocent, and mercifully bent the law to make me prefect of Chaozhou. Spared execution and granted a stipend—Your grace is wider than heaven and earth; were I to rend my skull and lay bare my heart, it could not repay you!
18
臣所領州，在廣府極東，過海口，下惡水，濤瀧壯猛，難計期程，颶風鱷魚，患禍不測。 州南近界，漲海連天，毒霧瘴氛，日夕發作。 臣少多病，年才五十，發白齒落，理不久長。 加以罪犯至重，所處遠惡，憂惶慚悸，死亡無日。 單立一身，朝無親党，居蠻夷之地，與魑魅同群，苟非陛下哀而念之，誰肯為臣言者？
The prefecture I govern lies at the far eastern edge of Guang; beyond Haikou lie foul waters where surges and rapids are fierce and the route cannot be timed; typhoons and crocodiles bring perils no man can foresee. South of the prefecture the frontier presses close; the swollen sea meets the sky, and poisonous vapors and miasma rise morning and night. I have been sickly since youth; I am only fifty, my hair white and teeth gone—my days cannot be many. Add to this a grave offense and a remote, hostile post, and I live in anxious shame with death ever near. Alone, without allies at court, I dwell in barbarian country among demons—were it not for Your Majesty's pity, who would plead for me?
19
臣受性愚陋，人事多所不通，惟酷好學問文章，未嘗一日暫廢，實為時輩所見推許。 臣于當時之文，亦未有過人者。 至於論述陛下功德，與《詩》、《書》相表裏，作為歌詩，薦之郊廟，紀太山之封，鏤白玉之牒，鋪張對天之宏休，揚厲無前之偉績，編於《詩》、《書》之策而無愧，措於天地之間而無虧，雖使古人復生，臣未肯讓。
My nature is dull and awkward, and I am unversed in worldly affairs—only in scholarship and letters have I never ceased a single day, and this my peers have acknowledged. Among the writers of my day I was not without standing. But to expound Your Majesty's merit and virtue in words worthy of the Odes and Documents, to compose hymns for the suburban sacrifices, to record a feng on Mount Tai and inscribe the jade tablet, to proclaim blessings that face Heaven and achievements without precedent in history—texts fit for the Book of Songs and Documents without shame, deeds that stand between heaven and earth without fault—even were the ancients restored to life, I would not yield.
20
伏以皇唐受命有天下，四海之內，莫不臣妾，南北東西，地各萬里。 自天寶以後，政治少懈，文致未優，武克不剛，孽臣奸隸，蠹居棋處，搖毒自防，外順內悖，父死子代，以祖以孫，如古諸侯，自擅其地，不朝不貢，六七十年。 四聖傳序，以至陛下。 陛下即位以來，躬親聽斷，旋乾轉坤，關機闔開，雷厲風飛，日月清照，天戈所麾，無不從順。 宜定樂章，以告神明，東巡泰山，奏功皇天，具著顯庸，明示得意，使永永年服我成烈。 當此之際，所謂千載一時不可逢之嘉會，而臣負罪嬰釁，自拘海島，戚戚嗟嗟，日與死迫，曾不得奏薄伎於從官之內、隸禦之間，窮思畢精，以贖前過。 懷痛窮天，死不閉目，伏惟陛下天地父母，哀而憐之。
I bow my head: when great Tang received the Mandate, it ruled all within the seas; to every quarter of the earth, ten thousand li in extent, none failed to submit. Since Tianbao, governance slackened, culture was not yet refined nor arms fully restored; treacherous ministers nested like worms on a board, hoarding poison to shield themselves, compliant without yet rebel within; fathers died and sons inherited, grandsons followed grandfathers, like ancient feudal lords seizing their own domains, neither attending court nor paying tribute—for sixty or seventy years. Four sage rulers handed down the succession until Your Majesty. Since Your Majesty took the throne you have personally judged affairs, turning the cosmos on its pivot, opening and closing the gates of power; like thunder and wind you have swept the realm, sun and moon shining clear; wherever the imperial arms have pointed, none has failed to obey. You should fix the ritual music and announce it to the gods, tour east to Mount Tai, present your achievements to Heaven, display your merit in full, declare your triumph, and make all ages forever serve your great accomplishment. At such a moment—what men call a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity—I, guilty and disgraced, am confined on a distant shore, grieving day by day toward death, unable to offer my poor talents among your attendants and within the imperial household, to pour out all my mind and redeem my fault. My grief reaches to heaven; I could not die with closed eyes. I bow my head: Your Majesty, my heaven and earth, my father and mother—pity me and show mercy.
21
帝得表，頗感悔，欲復用之，持示宰相曰：「愈前所論是大愛朕，然不當言天子事佛乃年促耳。」 皇甫鎛素忌愈直，即奏言：「愈終狂疏，可且內移。」 乃改袁州刺史。 初，愈至潮州，問民疾苦，皆曰：「惡溪有鱷魚，食民畜產且盡，民以是窮。」 數日，愈自往視之，令其屬秦濟以一羊一豚投溪水而祝之曰：
When the emperor received the memorial he was deeply moved and wished to recall him; he showed it to the chancellors, saying: "Han Yu's earlier remonstrance sprang from great love for me, yet he should not have said that emperors who served Buddhism lived short lives. Huangfu Bo, who had long resented Han Yu's outspokenness, immediately memorialized: "Han Yu remains incorrigibly rash; for now he may be transferred closer to the capital." Han Yu was then reassigned as prefect of Yuanzhou. When Han Yu first reached Chaozhou, he asked about the people's hardships; all said: "Evil Creek holds crocodiles that devour livestock until nothing is left, and the people are ruined thereby. Days later Han Yu went to see for himself; he had his aide Qin Ji cast a sheep and a pig into the creek and pronounced this address:
22
昔先王既有天下，列山澤，罔繩擉刃以除蟲蛇惡物為民物害者，驅而出之四海之外。 及德薄，不能遠有，則江、漢之間尚皆棄之以與蠻夷楚越，況湖、嶺之間去京師萬里哉？ 鱷魚之涵淹卵育於此，亦固其所。
In antiquity, when the former kings possessed the realm, they marked mountains and marshes, spread nets and bared blades to rid the land of insects, serpents, and creatures harmful to the people, and drove them out beyond the four seas. When virtue waned and distant lands could not be held, even between the Yangtze and Han they yielded ground to the southern tribes—how much more this country between lake and range, ten thousand li from the capital! That crocodiles breed and dwell here is, after all, only fitting.
23
今天子嗣唐位，神聖慈武，四海之外，六合之內，皆撫而有之，況禹跡所掩，揚州之近地，刺史縣令之所治，出貢賦以供天地、宗廟、百神之祀之壤者哉？ 鱷魚其不可與刺史雜處此土也。 刺史受天子命，守此土，治此民，而鱷魚旰然不安溪潭據處，食民畜熊豕鹿麞以肥其身，以種其子孫，與刺史拒爭為長雄。 刺史雖駑弱，亦安肯為鱷魚低首下心，伈々睍斯，為吏民羞，以偷活於此也？ 承天子命以來為吏，固其勢不得不與鱷魚辨。 鱷魚有知，其聽刺史。
Today the Son of Heaven has inherited Tang, sacred, merciful, and martial; beyond the four seas and within the six realms all are ruled—how much less should this land within Yu's footprint, this ground near Yangzhou, this soil of prefects and magistrates that pays tribute for the rites of Heaven, Earth, the ancestors, and the hundred spirits, harbor such creatures! The crocodile cannot share this soil with the prefect. The prefect bears the Son of Heaven's commission to guard this land and govern these people, yet the crocodile glares from the deep, devouring cattle, swine, deer, and roebuck to fatten itself and breed its young, contending with the prefect as a rival chieftain. Weak and timid though the prefect may be, how could he bow his head, cringe and fawn, and shame his officers and people merely to cling to life here? Commissioned by the Son of Heaven to govern, by duty I cannot but dispute with the crocodile. If the crocodile has sense, let it heed the prefect.
24
潮之州，大海在其南，鯨鵬之大，蝦蟹之細，無不容歸，以生以食，鱷魚朝發而夕至也。 今與鱷魚約：「盡三日，其率丑類南徙於海，以避天子之命吏。 三日不能，至五日； 五日不能，至七日，七日不能，是終不肯徙也，是不有刺史、聽從其言也。 不然，則是鱷魚冥頑不靈，刺史雖有言，不聞不知也。 夫傲天子之命吏，不聽其言，不徙以避之，與頑不靈而為民物害者，皆可殺。 刺史則選材技民，操強弓毒矢，以與鱷魚從事，必盡殺乃止，其無悔！」
Chaozhou lies beside the sea: to the south the ocean holds all, from leviathans to the smallest shrimp; all may dwell there and find food. A crocodile can leave at dawn and be there by evening. Now I set this covenant with the crocodile: "Within three days lead your kind south to the sea and avoid the Son of Heaven's officer. If three days are not enough, take five; if five are not enough, take seven; if seven are not enough, you refuse to move—then you deny the prefect and reject his command. Otherwise the crocodile is stupid and without understanding; though the prefect has spoken, you neither hear nor know. Whoever defies the Son of Heaven's officer, ignores his words, and will not flee—all such benighted creatures that harm the people may be put to death. The prefect will choose able men, arm strong bows and poisoned arrows, and make war on the crocodile until all are slain—let there be no remorse!"
25
祝之夕，暴風震電起溪中，數日水盡涸，西徙六十里。 自是潮無鱷魚患。 袁人以男女為隸，過期不贖，則沒入之。 愈至，悉計庸得贖所沒，歸之父母七百余人。 因與約，禁其為隸。 召拜國子祭酒，轉兵部侍郎。
That very night, as the prayers were offered, a violent storm erupted from the stream with thunder and lightning; within days the water ran dry, and [the crocodiles] shifted west sixty li. From that time forward, Chaozhou was free of the crocodile menace. In Yuan prefecture, people held men and women as bond-slaves; if not ransomed by the deadline, they were forfeited to the holder. When Han Yu arrived, he calculated wages owed and ransomed every forfeited person, restoring more than seven hundred to their families. He then entered into agreements forbidding the holding of bond-slaves. He was recalled and appointed Director of the Imperial Academy, then transferred to Vice Minister of War.
26
鎮州亂，殺田弘正而立王廷湊，詔愈宣撫。 既行，眾皆危之。 元稹言：「韓愈可惜。」 穆宗亦悔，詔愈度事從宜，無必入。 愈至，廷湊嚴兵迓之，甲士陳廷。 既坐，廷湊曰：「所以紛紛者，乃此士卒也。」 愈大聲曰； 「天子以公為有將帥材，故賜以節，豈意同賊反邪？」 語未終，士前奮曰：「先太師為國擊硃滔，血衣猶在，此軍何負，乃以為賊乎？」 愈曰：「以為爾不記先太師也，若猶記之，固善。 天寶以來，安祿山、史思明、李希烈等有子若孫在乎？ 亦有居官者乎？」 眾曰：「無。」 愈曰：「田公以魏博六州歸朝廷，官中書令，父子受旗節； 劉悟、李祐皆大鎮。 此爾軍所其聞也。」 眾曰：「弘正刻，故此軍不安。」 愈曰：「然爾曹亦害田公，又殘其家矣，復何道？」 眾訁雚曰：「善。」 廷湊慮眾變，疾麾使去。 因曰：「今欲廷湊何所為？」 愈曰：「神策六軍將如牛元翼者為不乏，但朝廷顧大體，不可棄之。 公久圍之，何也？」 廷湊曰：「即出之。」 愈曰：「若爾，則無事矣。」 會元翼亦潰圍出，延湊不追。 愈歸奏其語，帝大悅。 轉吏部侍郎。
Zhenzhou rose in revolt, killing Tian Hongzheng and enthroning Wang Tingcou in his place; the court appointed Han Yu pacification commissioner. After he departed, everyone feared for his safety. Yuan Zhen remarked, "Han Yu is too valuable to risk." Emperor Muzong likewise regretted the assignment and ordered Han Yu to handle matters as he saw fit, without insisting that he enter the rebel stronghold. When Han Yu arrived, Wang Tingcou met him with troops drawn up in battle order, armored soldiers filling the hall. After they were seated, Wang Tingcou said, "These soldiers here are the cause of all the turmoil." Han Yu raised his voice and said: "The Son of Heaven believed you had the makings of a general and gave you the commander's baton—did he mean for you to side with rebels?" Before he could finish, soldiers surged forward: "Our late Grand Tutor fought Zhu Tao for the empire—his bloody garments remain! What crime has this army committed, that you brand us rebels?" Han Yu replied, "I thought you had forgotten your Grand Tutor; if you still honor his memory, all the better. Since the Tianbao era, have the sons or grandsons of An Lushan, Shi Siming, Li Xilie, and their kind survived among you? Did any of them hold government posts?" The soldiers answered, "None." Han Yu continued, "Lord Tian surrendered Weibo's six prefectures to the court and rose to Grand Counselor; father and son both received command banners and staffs of office— Liu Wu and Li You each governed major circuits. These are deeds your army well knows." They replied, "Hongzheng was severe—that is why the army grew restless." Han Yu said, "Yet you yourselves killed Lord Tian and destroyed his family—what excuse remains?" The soldiers broke into an uproar, crying, "Fair enough!" Wang Tingcou, fearing the troops might turn, quickly gestured for them to leave. He then asked, "What do you wish Tingcou to do now?" Han Yu answered, "The Shence Armies have no lack of generals like Niu Yuanyi, yet the court cares for the larger interest and cannot abandon him. Why have you besieged him so long?" Wang Tingcou said, "I will release him forthwith." Han Yu said, "Then all will be well." Just then Niu Yuanyi had already broken out of the encirclement; Wang Tingcou did not give chase. Han Yu returned and reported what had been said; the emperor was delighted. He was transferred to Vice Minister of Personnel.
27
時宰相李逢吉惡李紳，欲逐之，遂以愈為京兆尹、兼御史大夫，特詔不台參，而除紳中丞。 紳果劾奏愈，愈以詔自解。 其後文刺紛然，宰相以台、府不協，遂罷愈為兵部侍郎，而出紳江西觀察使。 紳見帝，得留，愈亦復為吏部侍郎。 長慶四年卒，年五十七，贈禮部尚書，諡曰文。
The chief minister Li Fengji detested Li Shen and sought to drive him out. He appointed Han Yu Metropolitan Governor of Jingzhao and concurrent Censor-in-Chief, with a special exemption from Censorate audiences, while installing Li Shen as Vice Censor-in-Chief. Li Shen duly impeached Han Yu, who defended himself by citing the special imperial order. Memorials and counter-memorials followed; concluding that the Censorate and the metropolitan government could not work together, the chief minister demoted Han Yu to Vice Minister of War and sent Li Shen out as Jiangxi observation commissioner. Li Shen gained an audience with the emperor and was allowed to stay; Han Yu likewise resumed his post as Vice Minister of Personnel. He died in the fourth year of the Changqing reign (824), at fifty-seven. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites, with the posthumous epithet Wen ("Literary").
28
愈性明銳，不詭隨。 與人交，始終不少變。 成就後進士，往往知名。 經愈指授，皆稱「韓門弟子」，愈官顯，稍謝遣。 凡內外親若交友無後者，為嫁遣孤女而恤其家。 嫂鄭喪，為服期以報。
Han Yu was sharp and incisive by nature, unwilling to trim his sails or follow the crowd. In his dealings with others, he remained steadfast from first to last. He nurtured younger scholars, many of whom achieved fame. Those he tutored were called "disciples of Master Han's gate"; as his rank rose, he gradually released them from formal patronage. For kin and friends alike who left no heirs, he saw orphan daughters married off and sustained their households. When his sister-in-law the Lady Zheng died, he observed the full mourning period in gratitude for her care.
29
每言文章自漢司馬相如、太史公、劉向、揚雄後，作者不世出，故愈深探本元，卓然樹立，成一家言。 其《原道》、《原性》、《師說》等數十篇，皆奧衍閎深，與孟軻、揚雄相表裏而佐佑《六經》云。 至它文，造端置辭，要為不襲蹈前人者。 然惟愈為之，沛然若有餘，至其徒李翱、李漢、皇甫湜從而效之，遽不及遠甚。 從愈游者，若孟郊、張籍，亦皆自名于時。
He often declared that since the Han masters—Sima Xiangru, Sima Qian, Liu Xiang, and Yang Xiong—literary genius had not appeared every generation; accordingly Han Yu plumbed the deepest sources, established himself with distinction, and founded a literary school of his own. His treatises—"Essay on the Way," "Essay on Human Nature," "On the Teacher," and dozens more—were profound and capacious, framing and reinforcing the Six Classics as Mencius and Yang Xiong had done. In his other compositions, he invariably opened and phrased his work without imitating earlier models. Only Han Yu could write thus, with effortless abundance; when his disciples Li Ao, Li Han, and Huangfu Shi tried to follow his example, they fell far short at once. Among those who studied with him—Meng Jiao and Zhang Ji, for example—each likewise won renown in his own day.
30
附孟郊
Appended biography: Meng Jiao
31
孟郊者，字東野，湖州武康人。 少隱嵩山，性介，少諧合。 愈一見為忘形交。 年五十，得進士第，調溧陽尉。 縣有投金瀨、平陵城，林薄蒙翳，下有積水。 郊閑往坐水旁，裴回賦詩，而曹務多廢。 令白府，以假尉代之，分其半奉。 鄭余慶為東都留守，署水陸轉運判官。 余慶鎮興元，奏為參謀。 卒，年六十四。 張籍諡曰貞曜先生。
Meng Jiao, courtesy name Dongye, was from Wukang in Huzhou prefecture. In youth he lived as a recluse on Mount Song; upright and uncompromising by nature, he mingled poorly with others. At their first meeting, Han Yu and he became intimate friends without regard for rank. At fifty he finally passed the jinshi examination and was appointed magistrate of Liyang. The county boasted the Toujin Brook and the ruins of Pingling, where dense woods cast deep shade over pools of stagnant water. Jiao often spent his idle hours sitting by the water, wandering and composing verse while his official duties went largely undone. The county magistrate reported to the prefecture; an acting deputy was installed to handle affairs, taking half of Jiao's stipend. Zheng Yuqing, as regent of the eastern capital, appointed him transport commissioner for water and land routes. When Zheng Yuqing took command at Xingyuan, he recommended Jiao as staff adviser. He died at the age of sixty-four. Zhang Ji honored him with the posthumous epithet Master True Radiance (Zhenyao).
32
郊為詩有理致，最為愈所稱，然思苦奇澀。 李觀亦論其詩曰：「高處在古無上，平處下顧二謝」雲。
Jiao's poetry was rigorously structured and won Han Yu's highest praise, yet his verse was painstaking, strange, and austere. Li Guan likewise wrote of his poetry: "At its heights it surpasses all antiquity; at its middling passages it still eclipses the Two Xies (Xie Lingyun and Xie Tiao)."
33
附張籍
Appended biography: Zhang Ji
34
張籍者，字文昌，和州烏江人。 第進士，為太常寺太祝。 久次，遷秘書郎。 愈薦為國子博士。 曆水部員外郎、主客郎中。 當時有名士皆與游，而愈賢重之。 籍性狷直，嘗責愈喜博褭及為駁雜之說，論議好勝人，其排釋老不能著書若孟軻、揚雄以垂世者。 愈最後答書曰：
Zhang Ji, courtesy name Wenchang, was from Wujiang in Hezhou. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed libationer in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. After long service in rank, he was promoted to secretary in the imperial archives. Han Yu recommended him for a lectureship at the Imperial University. He rose through the posts of vice-director in the Ministry of Works and director in the Ministry of Rites' Bureau of Foreign Guests. All the celebrated men of the age counted him among their companions, and Han Yu held him in especial esteem. Blunt and uncompromising by nature, Zhang Ji once reproached Han Yu for his love of gambling and gewgaws, his miscellaneous essays, his habit of arguing to dominate others, and above all his failure to compose systematic refutations of Buddhism and Daoism on the scale of Mencius or Yang Xiong—works that might endure for ages. Han Yu's final reply read:
35
吾子不以愈無似，意欲推之納諸聖賢之域，拂其邪心，增其所未高。 謂愈之質有可以至於道者，浚其源，道其所歸，溉其根，將食其實。 此盛德之所辭讓，況於愈者哉？ 抑其中有宜復者，故不可遂已。 昔者聖人之作《春秋》也，既深其文辭矣，然猶不敢公傳道之，口授弟子，至於後世，其書出焉。 其所以慮患之道，微也。 今夫二氏之所宗而事之者，下及公卿輔相，吾豈敢昌言排之哉？ 擇其可語者誨之，猶時與吾悖，其聲嘵嘵。 若遂成其書，則見而怒之者必多矣，必且以我為狂為惑。 其身之不能恤，書于何有？ 夫子，聖人也，而曰：「自吾得子路，而惡聲不入於耳。」 其餘輔而相者周天下，猶且絕糧于陳，畏于匡，毀于叔孫，奔走于齊、魯、宋、衛之郊。 其道雖尊，其窮亦至矣。 賴其徒相與守之，卒有立於天下。 向使獨言之而獨書之，其存也可冀乎？ 今夫二氏行乎中土也，蓋六百年有餘矣。 其植根固，其流波漫，非可以朝令而夕禁也。 自文王沒，武王、周公、成、康相與守之，禮樂皆在，及乎夫子未久也，自夫子而至乎孟子未久也，自孟子而至乎揚雄亦未久也。 然猶其勤若此，其困若此，而後能有所立，吾豈可易而為之哉？ 其為也易，則其傳也不遠，故餘所以不敢也。 然觀古人，得其時，行其道，則無所為書。 為書者，皆所為不行乎今，而行乎後世者也。 今吾之得吾志、失吾志未可知，則俟五十、六十為之，未失也。 天不欲使茲人有知乎，則吾之命不可期； 如使茲人有知乎，非我其誰哉！ 其行道，其為書，其化今，其傳後，必有在矣。 吾子其何遽戚戚於吾所為哉？
You do not dismiss me as unworthy; you mean to lift me into the company of sages, to brush away my wayward impulses and raise me to heights I have not yet attained. You believe my nature capable of reaching the Way—that you would dredge its source, point out its course, water its roots, and reap its fruit. Such generosity is what the greatly virtuous modestly decline—how much more should I, Han Yu, decline it? Yet some of your points deserve a reply, and I cannot simply let the matter drop. When the sage composed the Spring and Autumn Annals, he had already steeped its language in profundity, yet he still dared not openly transmit the Way through it—he taught his disciples by word of mouth, and only in later ages did the book appear. Such was the subtlety of his foresight against disaster. Those whom Buddhism and Daoism command as adherents now include even grandees and chief ministers—how dare I proclaim open opposition? Even when I select those fit to teach and instruct them, they still at times oppose me, their objections clamorous. Were I to complete such a systematic work, many who read it would be enraged; they would surely deem me mad or deluded. If I cannot even protect my own person, what use is a book? Confucius himself was a sage, yet he said, "Since I gained Zilu, no harsh word has reached my ears." Yet with helpers and ministers all across the realm, he still went hungry in Chen, was threatened at Kuang, was slandered by Uncle Sun, and was driven to wander the borders of Qi, Lu, Song, and Wei. Though his Way was supreme, his straits were the deepest imaginable. Only because his disciples together preserved it was it finally established in the world. Had he spoken and written entirely on his own, could it have survived at all? Buddhism and Daoism have flourished in the Central Plains for well over six hundred years. Their roots run deep, their currents spread wide—they cannot be banned by morning decree and extinguished by nightfall. From King Wen's death, King Wu, the Duke of Zhou, and the kings Cheng and Kang together preserved the Way—rites and music were intact—yet scarcely long had passed before Confucius; from Confucius to Mencius, scarcely long; from Mencius to Yang Xiong, scarcely long again. Yet even with such diligence and such hardship they only then could establish something—how could I lightly attempt the same? What is done easily does not endure—that is why I dare not. Consider the ancients: when the age was right and the Way could be practiced, they had no need to write. Books are written only when the Way cannot be practiced in the present but may be practiced in ages to come. Whether I shall achieve my aims remains unknown; to wait until my fifties or sixties would not be too late. If Heaven does not wish this generation to know the truth, then my span of life cannot be foreseen; but if Heaven does wish this generation to know, who else if not I? Whether in practicing the Way, writing books, transforming the present, or reaching posterity—something will surely come of it. Why, my friend, do you fret so urgently over what I am doing?
36
前書謂吾與人論不能下氣，若好勝者。 雖誠有之，抑非好己勝也，好己之道勝也。 非好己之道勝也，己之道乃夫子、孟軻、揚雄之道。 傳者若不勝，則無所為道，吾豈敢避是名哉！ 夫子之言曰：「吾與回言，終日不違。」 如愚則其與眾人辯也有矣。 駁雜之譏，前書盡之，吾子其復之。 昔者夫子猶有所戲，《詩》不雲乎：「善戲謔兮，不為虐兮。」 《記》曰：「張而不弛，文武不為也。」 惡害於道哉？ 吾子其未之思乎？
Your earlier letter said that when I debate with others I cannot humble myself, as though I were someone who loves to win. Though that is indeed true, it is not that I love my own victory, but that I love the victory of my Way. Nor is it the victory of my Way that I love—my Way is the Way of the Master, Mencius, and Yang Xiong. If the transmitter does not prevail, then nothing can be done for the Way—how could I dare shun that reputation! The Master said: "When I talk with Hui, he does not contradict me all day. If he seemed stupid, then his debating with the multitude would make sense." The criticism of my miscellaneous writings—your earlier letter stated it fully; you may repeat it if you wish. In former times even the Master still had his playful side. Does not the Book of Songs say: "Skillful is the jest and banter, yet it is not cruel"? The Record of Rites says: "To draw the bow without ever relaxing—this is what King Wen and King Wu would not do." How could such things harm the Way? Have you, my friend, not yet considered this?
37
籍為詩，長於樂府，多警句。 仕終國子司業。
Zhang Ji wrote poetry, excelled in yuefu, and produced many striking lines. He ended his official career as Vice Director of the Imperial University.
38
附皇甫湜
Appended biography: Huangfu Shi
39
皇甫湜，字持正，睦州新安人。 擢進士第，為陸渾尉，仕至工部郎中，辨急使酒，數忤同省，求分司東都。 留守裴度辟為判官。 度脩福先寺，將立碑，求文於白居易。 湜怒曰：「近舍湜而遠取居易，請從此辭。」 度謝之。 湜即請鬥酒，飲酣，援筆立就。 度贈以車馬繒彩甚厚，湜大怒曰：「自吾為《顧況集序》，未常許人。 今碑字三千，字三縑，何遇我薄邪？」 度笑曰：「不羈之才也。」 從而酬之。
Huangfu Shi, whose style name was Chizheng, came from Xin'an in Muzhou. He passed the jinshi examination, served as magistrate of Luhun, and rose to director in the Ministry of Works; quick-tempered and fond of wine, he often offended colleagues in the same ministry and sought a branch appointment at the Eastern Capital. The Eastern Capital defender Pei Du took him on as an administrative aide. When Pei Du was renovating Fuxian Temple and was about to erect a stele, he asked Bai Juyi for the inscription. Shi said angrily: "You pass me by nearby and go far to fetch Juyi—please accept my resignation from this post. Pei Du apologized to him. Shi then asked for wine to drink in contest; when thoroughly drunk, he took up the brush and finished the text on the spot. Pei Du gave him carriages, horses, silks, and brocades in great quantity; Shi flew into a rage: "Since I wrote the preface to Gu Kuang's collected works, I have never lightly promised anyone. Now the stele has three thousand characters—three bolts of silk per character—why do you treat me so stingily? Pei Du laughed and said: "A truly untrammeled talent." He then increased the payment.
40
湜嘗為蜂螫指，購小兒斂蜂，搗取其液。 一日命其子錄詩，一字誤，詬躍呼杖，杖未至，齧其臂血流。
Shi was once stung on the finger by a bee; he paid a boy to gather bees and pound out their venom. One day he ordered his son to copy out a poem; on one wrong character he cursed and leaped about, shouting for the cane; before it arrived he bit his own arm until blood flowed.
41
附盧仝
Appended biography: Lu Tong
42
盧仝居東都，愈為河南令，愛其詩，厚禮之。 仝自號玉川子，嘗為《月蝕詩》以譏切元和逆黨，愈稱其工。
Lu Tong lived in the Eastern Capital; when Han Yu was magistrate of Henan he admired Tong's poetry and treated him with great generosity. Tong styled himself Master Jade River; he once wrote "Ode on the Moon's Eclipse" to satirize the Yuanhe faction, and Han Yu praised its workmanship.
43
時又有賈島、劉乂，皆韓門弟子。
At that time there were also Jia Dao and Liu Yi, both disciples of Han Yu's school.
44
附賈島
Appended biography: Jia Dao
45
島，字浪仙，范陽人。 初為浮屠，名無本。 來東都，時洛陽令禁僧午後不得出，島為詩自傷。 愈憐之，因教其為文，遂去浮屠，舉進士。 當其苦吟，雖逢值公卿貴人，皆不之覺也。 一日見京兆尹，跨驢不避，謼詰之，久乃得釋。 累舉，不中第。 文宗時，坐飛謗，貶長江主簿。 會昌初，以普州司倉參軍遷司戶，未受命卒，年六十五。
Jia Dao, courtesy name Langxian, was from Fanyang. At first he was a Buddhist monk under the name Wuben. He came to the Eastern Capital; the Luoyang magistrate then forbade monks to go out after noon, and Dao wrote a poem lamenting his plight. Han Yu pitied him and taught him literary composition; Dao then left the clergy and entered the jinshi examination. When he was absorbed in composing poetry, even if he passed great ministers and nobles he took no notice of them. One day he encountered the capital intendant, riding a donkey without yielding; the intendant rebuked and questioned him, and only after a long while was he released. He repeatedly entered the examinations but never passed. Under Emperor Wenzong he was demoted to registrar of Changjiang on account of slander. At the beginning of the Huichang reign he was promoted from revenue adjutant in Puzhou to registrar of the Household Bureau; before he could take up the post he died, aged sixty-five.
46
附劉乂
Appended biography: Liu Yi
47
劉乂者，亦一節士。 少放肆為俠行，因酒殺人亡命。 會赦，出，更折節讀書，能為歌詩。 然恃故時所負，不能俯仰貴人，常穿屐、破衣。 聞愈接天下士，步歸之，作《冰柱》《雪車》二詩，出盧仝、孟郊右。 樊宗師見，為獨拜。 能面道人短長，其服義則又彌縫若親屬然。 後以爭語不能下賓客，因持愈金數斤去，曰：「此諛墓中人得耳，不若與劉君為壽。」 愈不能止，歸齊、魯，不知所終。
Liu Yi was likewise a man of resolute integrity. In youth he was unrestrained and pursued chivalric exploits; in a drunken fit he killed a man and fled as a fugitive. When an amnesty was proclaimed he came forth, reformed his conduct, and devoted himself to study; he could compose songs and poems. Yet relying on his former reputation he could not bow and scrape before the powerful; he often wore clogs and tattered clothes. Hearing that Han Yu welcomed men of talent from throughout the realm, he walked to join him and composed the two poems "Ice Columns" and "Snow Cart," surpassing Lu Tong and Meng Jiao. When Fan Zongshi saw them he bowed to him alone in homage. He could speak to people's faces of their faults and merits; where righteousness was at stake he would mend quarrels as though they were kin. Later, because of a dispute in words he could not defer to guests; he took several jin of Han Yu's gold and left, saying: "This is what flatterers of the dead obtain—better give it to Master Liu for his longevity. Han Yu could not stop him; he returned to Qi and Lu, and his final whereabouts are unknown.
48
贊曰：唐興，承五代剖分，王政不綱，文弊質窮，崿俚混並。 天下已定，治荒剔蠹，討究儒術，以興典憲，薰醲涵浸，殆百餘年，其後文章稍稍可述。 至貞元、元和間，愈遂以《六經》之文為諸儒倡，障堤末流，反刓以樸，剗偽以真。 然愈之才，自視司馬遷、揚雄，至班固以下不論也。 當其所得，粹然一出於正，刊落陳言，橫騖別驅，汪洋大肆，要之無牴牾聖人者。 其道蓋自比孟軻，以荀況、揚雄為未淳，寧不信然？ 至進諫陳謀，排難恤孤，矯拂媮末，皇皇于仁義，可謂篤道君子矣。 自晉汔隋，老佛顯行，聖道不斷如帶。 諸儒倚天下正議，助為怪神。 愈獨喟然引聖，爭四海之惑，雖蒙訕笑，跲而復奮，始若未之信，卒大顯于時。 昔孟軻拒楊、墨，去孔子才二百年。 愈排二家，乃去千餘歲，撥衰反正，功與齊而力倍之，所以過況、雄為不少矣。 自愈沒，其言大行，學者仰之如泰山、北斗雲。
The eulogy says: When Tang arose, inheriting the partitioned realm left by five dynasties of division, royal government lacked coherence, literary culture was exhausted in substance, and rustic vulgarity mingled with the refined. Once the realm was settled, the court governed the wasteland and rooted out corruption, investigated Confucian learning to revive canonical institutions, and steeped the age for nearly a hundred years; only then did writings gradually become worth recounting. By the Zhenyuan and Yuanhe reigns, Han Yu took the language of the Six Classics to lead the Confucians, damming the terminal current, reversing elaborate carving toward simplicity, and cutting away falsehood for truth. Yet in talent Han Yu ranked himself with Sima Qian and Yang Xiong, and would not even discuss Ban Gu and those below. When he hit his mark, his writing issued purely from the orthodox, pared away stale formulas, and ranged abroad with vast force—yet in essentials it never contradicted the sages. In the Way he largely compared himself to Mencius, deeming Xunzi and Yang Xiong insufficiently pure—is this not credible? In advancing remonstrance and offering counsel, resolving difficulties and succoring the orphaned, and correcting frivolous ends, he was earnest in humanity and righteousness—he may truly be called a devoted follower of the Way. From Jin through Sui, Laozi and the Buddha were conspicuous, and the sage's Way hung by a thread. The Confucians leaned on the realm's orthodox judgment yet helped fashion strange spirits. Han Yu alone sighed and summoned the sage, contending with the doubts of all under Heaven; though mocked, he stumbled yet rose again, at first scarcely believed, yet finally shone greatly in his own time. Formerly Mencius resisted Yang Zhu and Mozi, only two hundred years after Confucius. Han Yu repelled the two schools nearly a thousand years later, pulling decay back to the orthodox; his achievement matched Mencius and his force doubled it—thus he surpassed Xunzi and Yang Xiong by no small measure. From Han Yu's death his words spread widely; scholars looked up to him as to Mount Tai and the Northern Dipper.