1
陳三李曹劉
Chen, the Three Lis, Cao, and Liu
2
◎陳夷行李紳李讓夷曹確劉瞻 （助） 李蔚
◎ Chen Yixing, Li Shen, Li Rangyi, Cao Que, and Liu Zhan (Liu Zhu) Li Wei
3
陳夷行，字周道，其先江左諸陳也，世客潁川。 由進士第，擢累起居郎、史館修撰。 以勞遷司封員外郎，凡再歲，以吏部郎中為翰林學士。 莊恪太子在東宮，夷行兼侍讀，五日一謁，為太子講說。 數遷至工部侍郎。
Chen Yixing, courtesy name Zhoudao, came from the Chen families of the lower Yangtze; his line had long resided in Yingchuan. Having passed the jinshi examination, he rose through the posts of diary attendant and historiography compiler. Rewarded for his labors with appointment as vice director in the Bureau of Appointments, he served there for two years before the Ministry of Personnel made him a Hanlin academician. While Crown Prince Zhuangke resided in the Eastern Palace, Yixing doubled as lecturer-in-attendance, visiting every five days to instruct the heir. He was promoted repeatedly until he became vice minister of works.
4
開成二年，進同中書門下平章事。 而楊嗣復、李玨相次輔政，夷行介特，雅不與合，每議論天子前，往往語相侵短。 夷行不能堪，輒引疾求去，文宗遣使者尉勞起之。 會以王彥威為忠武節度使，史孝章領邠寧，議皆出嗣復。 及夷行對延英，帝問：「除二鎮當否？」 對曰：「茍自聖擇，無不當者。」 嗣復曰：「若用人盡出上意而當，固善。 如小不稱，下安得嘿然？」 夷行曰：「比奸臣數幹權，願陛下無倒持大阿，以鐏授人。」 嗣復曰：「古者任則不疑，齊桓公器管仲於讎虜，豈有倒持慮邪？」 帝以其面相觸，頗不悅。 仙韶樂工尉遲璋授王府率，右拾遺竇洵直當衙論奏，鄭覃、嗣復嫌以細故，謂洵直近名。 夷行曰：「諫官當衙，正須論宰相得失，彼賤工安足言者？ 然亦不可置不用。」 帝即徙璋光州長史，以百縑賜洵直。 進門下侍郎。
In 837 he was made a co-director of the Chancellery with the title of chief minister. Yang Sifu and Li Jue, however, were serving as chief ministers in succession; Yixing was stiff and independent by nature and clashed with them, and their exchanges before the emperor often turned personal. Unable to bear the friction, Yixing repeatedly cited illness to resign, until Wenzong sent messengers to comfort him and recall him to duty. When Wang Yanwei was named military commissioner of Zhongwu and Shi Xiaozhang was put in charge of Binning, the appointments had all been Sifu's doing. At the Yanying audience Yixing was asked, "Were these two frontier appointments appropriate?" He answered, "If Your Majesty chose them yourself, every appointment is fitting." Sifu said, "If every choice that matches the emperor's wish is automatically right, that is well enough. But if something is even slightly unsuitable, how can ministers below keep quiet?" Yixing said, "Treacherous ministers have lately seized power again and again; I beg Your Majesty not to grip the great sword by the blade and offer the hilt to someone else." Sifu replied, "In antiquity to appoint was to trust; Duke Huan of Qi prized Guan Zhong though he had been his enemy's captive—where is the worry about holding the sword backward?" The emperor, seeing them clash face to face, was deeply displeased. The Xianshao musician Yuchi Zhang was made commandant of the princely household; Remonstrance Official Dou Xunzhi protested at court, but Zheng Tan and Sifu dismissed it as trivial and accused Xunzhi of seeking renown. Yixing said, "Remonstrance officials at court ought to debate the chancellors' merits and faults—what business has a lowly musician in the matter? Still, he should not simply be ignored." The emperor immediately reassigned Zhang to Guangzhou as chief secretary and rewarded Xunzhi with a hundred bolts of silk. Yixing was promoted to vice director of the Chancellery.
5
帝常怪天寶政事不善，問：「姚元崇、宋璟於時在否？」 李玨曰：「姚亡而宋罷。」 玨因推言：「玄宗自謂未嘗殺一不辜，而任李林甫，種夷數十族，不亦惑乎？」 夷行曰：「陛下今亦宜戒以權屬人。」 嗣復曰：「夷行失言，太宗易暴亂為仁義，用房玄齡十有六年，任魏徵十有五年，未嘗失道。 人主用忠良久益治，用邪佞一日多矣。」 時用郭薳為坊州刺史，右拾遺宋元阝論不可，果坐贓敗。 帝欲賞邧，夷行曰：「諫官論事是其職，若一事善輒進官，恐後不免有私。」 夷行蓋專詆嗣復。 又素善覃，陰助其力，以排折朋黨。 是時，雖天子亦惡其太過，恩禮遂衰，罷為吏部尚書，尋拜華州刺史。
The emperor often lamented the poor governance of the Tianbao years and asked, "Were Yao Chong and Song Jing still in office then?" Li Jue answered, "Yao was dead and Song had already been removed." Jue went on, "Xuanzong boasted that he had never killed an innocent man, yet he entrusted Li Linfu, who wiped out dozens of clans—was that not delusion?" Yixing said, "Your Majesty today should likewise beware of handing power to others." Sifu said, "Yixing is wrong. Taizong turned chaos into humane rule; he kept Fang Xuanling for sixteen years and Wei Zheng for fifteen without ever losing his way. A ruler who keeps loyal men long grows more orderly; employ the wicked for a day and trouble multiplies." Guo Fan had just been made prefect of Fangzhou; Remonstrance Official Song Fang objected, and Fan was later indeed convicted of corruption. The emperor wanted to reward Fang; Yixing said, "Remonstrance is their duty; promote them for every good memorial and they will soon court favoritism." In truth Yixing was chiefly bent on attacking Sifu. He had always been close to Zheng Tan and quietly backed him in breaking up the factions. By then even the emperor disliked his excesses; imperial favor waned, he was demoted to minister of personnel, and soon made prefect of Huazhou.
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武宗即位，召為御史大夫，俄還門下侍郎平章事，進位尚書左仆射。 夷行與崔珙俱拜，乃奏：「仆射始視事，受四品官拜，無著令。 比日左右丞、吏部侍郎、御史中丞皆為仆射拜階下，謂之『隔品致敬』。 準禮，皇太子見上臺群官，群官先拜而後答，以無二上也。 仆射與四品官並列朝廷，不容獨優。 前日鄭餘慶著《仆射上儀》，謂隔品官無亢禮。 時竇易直任御史中丞，議不可。 及易直自為仆射，乃忘前議，當時鄙厭之。 臣等不願以失禮速誚於時。 且開元元年，以左右仆射為左右丞相，位次三公，三公上日答拜，而仆射受之，非是。 望敕所司約《三公上儀》，著定令。」 詔可。 始，累朝紛議不決，至夷行遂定。 以足疾乞身，罷為太子太保，以檢校司空為河中節度使，卒。
When Wuzong acceded, Yixing was recalled as censor-in-chief, soon restored as vice chancellor, and promoted to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. When Yixing and Cui Gong took office together, they submitted: "When a vice director begins his duties and receives bows from fourth-rank officials, no statute authorizes it. Lately the assistant directors, vice minister of personnel, and vice censor-in-chief have all bowed to the vice director on the lower steps—the so-called 'cross-rank salute.' By ritual, when the crown prince meets senior officials, they bow first and he responds, for there cannot be two superiors. The vice director ranks with fourth-grade officials at court and must not be singled out for privilege. Earlier Zheng Yuqing had written the Ceremonial for Vice Directors at Court, holding that officials of different rank owed no reciprocal salute. Dou Yizhi, then vice censor-in-chief, argued against it. When Yizhi himself became vice director, he forgot his earlier view, and contemporaries despised him for it. We do not wish to be swiftly reproached for breach of ritual. Moreover, in 713 the left and right vice directors were made chief ministers ranking after the Three Dukes; on the dukes' court days they returned bows while the vice directors merely received them—this was wrong. We ask that the relevant offices be ordered to follow the Ceremonial for the Three Dukes at Court and fix the rule in law." The edict approved the request. For generations the court had debated without resolution; Yixing settled the matter. Citing foot ailment he resigned, was made grand guardian of the heir apparent, then military commissioner of Hezhong with honorary minister of works, and died in office.
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李紳，字公垂，中書令敬玄曾孫。 世宦南方，客潤州。 紳六歲而孤，哀等成人。 母盧，躬授之學。 為人短小精悍，於詩最有名，時號「短李」。 蘇州刺史韋夏卿數稱之。 葬母，有烏銜芝墜輔車。
Li Shen, courtesy name Gongchui, was the great-grandson of Chief Minister Jingxuan. His family had served in the south for generations and lived as guests in Runzhou. Shen lost his father at six and grieved as deeply as an adult. His mother, née Lu, taught him herself. Short in stature but sharp and forceful, he was famed above all for poetry and was known as 'Short Li.' Wei Xiaqing, prefect of Suzhou, often praised him. At his mother's burial a crow dropped a piece of lingzhi fungus onto the hearse.
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元和初，擢進士第，補國子助教，不樂，輒去。 客金陵，李锜愛其才，辟掌書記。 锜浸不法，賓客莫敢言，紳數諫，不入； 欲去，不許。 會使者召锜，稱疾，留後王淡為具行，锜怒，陰教士臠食之，即脅使者為眾奏天子，幸得留。 锜召紳作疏，坐锜前，紳陽怖栗，至不能為字，下筆輒塗去，盡數紙。 锜怒罵曰：「何敢爾，不憚死邪？」 對曰：「生未嘗見金革，今得死為幸。」 即註以刃，令易紙，復然。 或言許縱能軍中書，紳不足用。 召縱至，操書如所欲，即囚紳獄中，锜誅，乃免。 或欲以聞，謝曰：「本激於義，非市名也。」 乃止。
Early in the Yuanhe reign he passed the jinshi examination and was made an assistant instructor at the Imperial University, but he was unhappy and soon resigned. While staying in Jinling he was recruited by Li Qi, who admired his talent, as chief secretary. Qi grew lawless; none of his staff dared speak up, though Shen admonished him again and again to no effect; he tried to leave but was not allowed. When an imperial envoy summoned Qi to court, Qi feigned illness and had the acting commissioner Wang Dan prepare to go in his place; enraged, Qi secretly had soldiers dismember and eat Dan, then forced the envoy to petition the throne in the troops' name and was allowed to stay. Qi ordered Shen to draft the memorial and sat him before him; Shen pretended to tremble with fear until he could not write a word, smearing out every stroke until several sheets were ruined. Qi raged and shouted, "How dare you—are you not afraid to die?" He answered, "I have never known war; to die now would be a blessing." Qi pressed a blade to him and ordered fresh paper; Shen did the same again. Someone said Xu Zong could write the needed document and that Shen was useless. Zong was summoned, wrote as required, and Shen was thrown into prison; he was freed only when Qi was executed. Some wanted to report his conduct to the court; he refused, saying, "I acted from duty, not to buy a reputation." So they let the matter drop.
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久之，從辟山南觀察府。 穆宗召為右拾遺、翰林學士，與李德裕、元稹同時，號「三俊」。 累擢中書舍人。 稹為宰相，而李逢吉教人告於方事，稹遂罷； 欲引牛僧孺，懼紳等在禁近沮解，乃授德裕浙西觀察使。 僧孺輔政，以紳為御史中丞，顧其氣剛卞，易疵累，而韓愈勁直，乃以愈為京兆尹，兼御史大夫，免臺參以激紳。 紳、愈果不相下，更持臺府故事，論詰往反，詆訐紛然，繇是皆罷之，以紳為江西觀察使。 帝素厚遇紳，遣使者就第勞賜，以為樂外遷，紳泣言為逢吉中傷。 入謝，又自陳所以然，帝悟，改戶部侍郎。 逢吉終欲陷之。 紳族子虞，有文學名，隱居華陽，自言不願仕，時來省紳，雅與柏耆、程昔範善。 及耆為拾遺，虞以書求薦，紳惡其無立操，痛誚之。 虞失望，後至京師，悉暴紳所言於逢吉。 逢吉滋怒，乃用張又新、李續等計，擢虞、昔範與劉棲楚皆為拾遺，以伺紳隙，內結中人王守澄自助。 會敬宗立，逢吉知紳失勢可乘，使守澄從容奏言：「先帝始議立太子，杜元穎、李紳勸立深王，獨宰相逢吉請立陛下，而李續、李虞助之。」 逢吉乘間言紳嘗不利於陛下，請逐之。 帝初即位，不能辨，乃貶紳為端州司馬。 棲楚等怒得善地，皆切齒。 詔下，百官賀逢吉，唯右拾遺吳思不往，逢吉斥思，令告大行喪於吐蕃。 此時，人無敢言者，惟韋處厚屢言紳枉，折逢吉之奸。 後天子於禁中得先帝手緘書一笥，發之，見裴度、元穎、紳三疏請立帝為嗣，始大感悟，悉焚逢吉黨所上謗書。
After some time he entered the staff of the Shannan observation commission. Muzong made him right remonstrance official and Hanlin academician; with Li Deyu and Yuan Zhen he was called one of the 'Three Talents.' He rose to secretariat drafter. When Zhen became chief minister, Li Fengji engineered an accusation in the Fang affair and had him dismissed; wishing to bring in Niu Sengru, he feared Shen and others near the throne would block him, and sent Deyu to Zhexi as observation commissioner. When Sengru took power he made Shen vice censor-in-chief, counting on his stiff temper to invite mistakes; he paired him with the blunt Han Yu as metropolitan prefect and concurrent censor-in-chief, exempting Yu from censorate attendance to provoke Shen. Shen and Han Yu would not yield; they traded censorate precedents in endless dispute until both were dismissed, and Shen was sent to Jiangxi as observation commissioner. The emperor, who had always favored Shen, sent messengers to his home with gifts, assuming he welcomed the provincial post; Shen wept and said Fengji had slandered him. At his audience of thanks he explained everything again; the emperor understood and made him vice minister of revenue. Fengji still meant to destroy him. Shen's kinsman Yu was known for letters, lived in seclusion at Huayang, claimed he would not take office, visited Shen from time to time, and was close to Bai Qi and Cheng Xifan. When Qi became remonstrance official, Yu wrote asking Shen to recommend him; Shen despised his lack of principle and rebuked him harshly. Disappointed, Yu later came to the capital and repeated everything Shen had said to Fengji. Fengji, enraged, followed the counsel of Zhang Youxin and Li Xu, promoting Yu, Xifan, and Liu Qichu as remonstrance officials to spy on Shen while secretly winning the eunuch Wang Shoucheng. When Jingzong succeeded, Fengji saw Shen was vulnerable and had Shoucheng report calmly: "When the late emperor first debated the heir, Du Yuanying and Li Shen favored Prince Shen; only Chief Minister Fengji urged installing Your Majesty, aided by Li Xu and Li Yu." Fengji then said Shen had once opposed the emperor and asked that he be banished. The new emperor could not tell truth from slander and demoted Shen to military adjutant of Duanzhou. Qichu and his allies, furious that Shen had received so mild a posting, gnashed their teeth. When the edict appeared, the officials congratulated Fengji—all except Right Remonstrance Official Wu Si, whom Fengji banished to announce the late emperor's mourning in Tibet. No one dared speak then except Wei Chuhou, who repeatedly declared Shen's innocence and exposed Fengji's malice. Later the emperor found in the palace a box of the late emperor's sealed papers; inside were memorials by Pei Du, Yuan Ying, and Shen urging his installation as heir. Greatly enlightened, he burned every slanderous document from Fengji's faction.
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始，紳南逐，歷封、康間，湍瀨險澀，惟乘漲流乃濟。 康州有媼龍祠，舊傳能致雲雨，紳以書禱，俄而大漲。 寶歷赦令不言左降官與量移，處厚執爭，詔為追定，得徙江州長史，遷滁、壽二州刺史。 霍山多虎，擷茶者病之，治機阱，發民跡射，不能止。 紳至，盡去之，虎不為暴。 以太子賓客分司東都。 太和中，李德裕當國，擢紳浙東觀察使。 李宗閔方得君，復以太子賓客分司。 開成初，鄭覃以紳為河南尹。 河南多惡少，或危帽散衣，擊大毯，屍官道，車馬不敢前。 紳治剛嚴，皆望風遁去。 遷宣武節度使。 大旱，蝗不入境。
When Shen was first exiled south, the rapids between Feng and Kang were so dangerous that only a flood tide made passage possible. At Kangzhou stood the Old Dragon Shrine, said to summon rain; Shen prayed there in writing, and the river soon swelled. The Baoli amnesty omitted demoted officials eligible for transfer; Chuhou protested until an edict amended it, and Shen was moved to chief secretary of Jiangzhou, then made prefect of Chuzhou and Shouzhou. Huoshan had many tigers that plagued tea pickers; traps were set and the people sent to hunt them, without success. When Shen arrived he had the traps removed, and the tigers ceased their depredations. He served as guest of the heir apparent at the Eastern Capital. During the Taihe reign, with Li Deyu in power, Shen was made observation commissioner of Zhedong. When Li Zongmin gained the emperor's ear, Shen was again made guest of the heir apparent at the Eastern Capital. Early in the Kaicheng reign, Zheng Tan made him metropolitan prefect of Henan. Henan teemed with hoodlums who wore outlandish dress, beat huge drums, and sprawled across the highway until traffic dared not pass. Shen ruled with iron discipline, and they fled at his approach. He was transferred to military commissioner of Xuanwu. Though drought struck the region, locusts did not cross his border.
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武宗即位，徙淮南，召拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，進尚書右仆射、門下侍郎，封趙郡公。 居位四年，以足緩不任朝謁，辭位，以檢校右仆射平章事，復節度淮南。 卒，贈太尉，謚文肅。
When Wuzong succeeded, Shen was shifted to Huainan, then recalled as vice director of the Secretariat and chief minister, promoted to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs and vice chancellor, and created Duke of Zhao. After four years in office his feet failed him for court attendance; he resigned, took honorary rank as right vice director and chief minister, and returned to command Huainan. He died and was posthumously made grand mentor with the posthumous title Wensu.
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始，灃人吳汝納者，韶州刺史武陵兄子也。 武陵坐贓貶潘州司戶參軍死，汝納家被逐，久不調。 時李吉甫任宰相，汝納怨之，後遂附宗閔黨中。 會昌時，為永寧尉，弟湘為江都尉。 部人訟湘受贓狼籍，身娶民顏悅女。 紳使觀察判官魏铏鞫湘，罪明白，論報殺之。 時，議者謂吳氏世與宰相有嫌，疑紳內顧望，織成其罪。 諫官屢論列，詔遣御史崔元藻覆按，元藻言湘盜用程糧錢有狀，娶部人女不實，按悅嘗為青州衙推，而妻王故衣冠女，不應坐。 德裕惡元藻持兩端，奏貶崖州司戶參軍。 宣宗立，德裕去位，紳已卒。 崔鉉等久不得誌，導汝納使為湘訟，言：「湘素直，為人誣蔑，大校重牢，五木被體，吏至以娶妻資媵結贓。」 且言：「顏悅故士族，湘罪皆不當死，紳枉殺之。」 又言：「湘死，紳令即瘞，不得歸葬。 按紳以舊宰相鎮一方，恣威權。 凡戮有罪，猶待秋分； 湘無辜，盛夏被殺。」 崔元藻銜德裕斥己，即翻其辭，因言：「御史覆獄還，皆對天子別白是非，德裕權軋天下，使不得對，具獄不付有司，但用紳奏而寘湘死。」 是時，德裕已失權，而宗閔故黨令狐、崔鉉、白敏中皆當路，因是逞憾，以利誘動元藻等，使三司結紳杖鉞作藩，虐殺良平，準神龍詔書，酷吏歿者官爵皆奪，子孫不得進宦，紳雖亡，請從《春秋》戮死者之比。 詔削紳三官，子孫不得仕。 貶德裕等，擢汝納左拾遺，元藻武功令。
This concerns Wu Runa of Feng, nephew of Wuling, prefect of Shaozhou. Wuling was demoted for corruption to Panzhou as army adjutant and died there; Runa's family was exiled and he long went without office. Li Jifu was then chief minister; Runa bore him a grudge and later joined Li Zongmin's faction. During the Huichang reign he was captain of Yongning; his brother Xiang was captain of Jiangdu. District people accused Xiang of rampant corruption and of marrying a commoner's daughter, Yan Yue. Shen had observation commissioner Wei Yin try Xiang; the case was clear and Xiang was sentenced to death. Commentators said the Wu family had long feuded with chief ministers and suspected Shen of bias in fabricating the case. Remonstrance officials protested repeatedly until Censor Cui Yuanzao was sent to reinvestigate; he found Xiang had misused transport funds, that the charge of marrying a commoner's daughter was false—Yue had been a Qingzhou yamen officer and his wife Wang came from an official family and was not liable. Deyu despised Yuanzao's wavering and had him demoted to army adjutant of Yazhou. When Xuanzong succeeded, Deyu fell from power and Shen was already dead. Cui Xuan and others, long thwarted, coached Runa to sue for Xiang, claiming: "Xiang was upright but slandered; he was thrown into a commander's dungeon, tortured with the five punishments, and officials even counted his bride-price as stolen goods." They added that Yan Yue was of gentry stock, that none of Xiang's offenses warranted death, and that Shen had murdered him." They also said Shen had Xiang buried at once and forbade his family to take the body home. They charged that Shen, a former chief minister ruling a circuit, had abused his power. Even for the guilty, executions normally wait until the autumn equinox; yet innocent Xiang was killed in midsummer." Cui Yuanzao, bitter at Deyu's demotion of him, reversed his story, saying censors normally report findings directly to the emperor, but Deyu had blocked this, withheld the full dossier from the courts, and relied solely on Shen's memorial to execute Xiang." Deyu was already out of power, but Zongmin's allies Linghu, Cui Xuan, and Bai Minzhong controlled the government; they vented old grudges, bribed Yuanzao to change his story, and had the Three Offices find that Shen, as a frontier commissioner wielding the axe, had murdered the innocent; citing the Shenlong edict stripping dead cruel officials and barring their descendants, they demanded posthumous punishment of Shen under the Spring and Autumn precedent. An edict stripped three ranks from Shen and barred his descendants from office. Deyu and others were demoted; Runa was made left remonstrance official and Yuanzao magistrate of Wugong.
13
始，紳以文藝節操見用，而屢為怨仇所拫卻，卒能自伸其才，以名位終。 所至務為威烈，或陷暴刻，故雖沒而坐湘冤雲。
Shen had risen on literary talent and integrity, was repeatedly struck down by enemies, yet in the end fulfilled his gifts and died with rank and renown. Everywhere he went he ruled with fierce severity, sometimes to the point of cruelty; hence even after death the injustice of Xiang's case clung to his name.
14
李讓夷，字達心，系本隴西。 擢進士第，辟鎮國李絳府判官。 又從西川杜元穎幕府。 與宋申錫善，申錫為翰林學士，薦讓夷右拾遺，俄召拜學士。 素善薛廷老，廷老不飭細檢，數飲酒不治職，罷去，坐是亦奪職。 累進諫議大夫。
Li Rangyi, courtesy name Daxin, was of Longxi descent. After passing the jinshi examination he joined Li Jiang's Zhenguo staff as administrative aide. He later served on Du Yuanying's staff in western Sichuan. Close to Song Shenxi, he was recommended by Shenxi as right remonstrance official when Shenxi entered the Hanlin Academy, and soon became a Hanlin academician himself. He was also close to Xue Tinglao, who was lax in conduct, often drank on duty, and was dismissed; Rangyi lost his post for the association. He rose to remonstrance grandee.
15
開成初，起居舍人李褒免，文宗謂李石曰：「褚遂良以諫議大夫兼起居郎，今諫議誰歟？ 可言其人。」 石以馮定、孫簡、蕭俶、李讓夷對，帝曰：「讓夷可也。」 李固言請用崔球、張次宗。 鄭覃曰：「球故與李宗閔善，且記註操筆在赤墀下，所書為後世法，不可用黨人。 若裴中孺、李讓夷，臣不敢有言。」 乃決用讓夷，進中書舍人。 既而李玨、楊嗣復以覃之薦，終帝世不得遷。
Early in Kaicheng, diary attendant Li Bao was dismissed; Wenzong asked Li Shi, "Chu Suiliang once combined remonstrance grandee with diary attendant—who holds that remonstrance post now? Name a suitable candidate." Shi named Feng Ding, Sun Jian, Xiao Chu, and Li Rangyi; the emperor said, "Rangyi will do." Li Guyuan urged Cui Qiu and Zhang Cizong instead. Zheng Tan said, "Qiu was close to Li Zongmin, and the diary is written on the red steps as a model for posterity—a faction man must not hold it. As for Pei Zhongru and Li Rangyi, I have no objection." Rangyi was appointed and promoted to secretariat drafter. Thereafter Li Jue and Yang Sifu, blocked by Tan's influence, could not advance for the rest of Wenzong's reign.
16
武宗初，李德裕復入，三遷至尚書右丞，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 潞州平，檢校尚書右仆射。 宣宗立，進司空、門下侍郎，為大行山陵使。 未復土，拜淮南節度使。 以疾願還，卒於道，贈司徒。 讓夷廉介不妄交，位雖顯劇，以儉約自將，為世咨美。
Early in Wuzong's reign Li Deyu returned; after three promotions he became right vice director of the Department of State Affairs, then vice chancellor. After the pacification of Luzhou he was made honorary right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. When Xuanzong succeeded, he was made minister of works and vice chancellor and appointed commissioner for the late emperor's tomb. Before the tomb was closed he was made military commissioner of Huainan. Illness forced him to turn back; he died on the road and was posthumously made minister of education. Rangyi was upright and cautious in friendship; though his posts were weighty, he lived frugally and was widely admired.
17
曹確，字剛中，河南河南人。 擢進士第，歷踐中外官，累拜兵部侍郎。 懿宗咸通中，以本官同中書門下平章事，俄進中書侍郎。
Cao Que, courtesy name Gangzhong, was from Henan in Henan circuit. After passing the jinshi he served in central and provincial posts and rose to vice minister of war. Under Yizong in the Xiantong era he became chief minister from his present rank and soon vice director of the Secretariat.
18
確邃儒術，器識方重，動循法度。 時帝薄於德，昵寵優人李可及。 可及者，能新聲，自度曲，辭調悽折，京師俞薄少年爭慕之，號為「拍彈」。 同昌公主喪畢，帝與郭淑妃悼念不已，可及為帝造曲，曰《嘆百年》，教舞者數百，皆珠翠襐飾，刻畫魚龍地衣，度用繒五千，倚曲作辭，哀思裴回，聞者皆涕下。 舞闋，珠寶覆地，帝以為天下之至悲，愈寵之。 家嘗娶婦，帝曰：「第去，吾當賜酒。」 俄而使者負二銀珰與之，皆珠珍也。 可及憑恩橫甚，人無敢斥，遂擢為威衛將軍。 確曰：「太宗著令，文武官六百四十三，謂房玄齡曰：『朕設此待天下賢士。 工商雜流，假使技出等夷，正當厚給以財，不可假以官，與賢者比肩立、同坐食也。』 文宗欲以樂工尉遲璋為王府率，拾遺竇洵直固爭，卒授光州長史。 今而位將軍，不可。」 帝不聽。 至僖宗立，始貶死。 方幸時，惟確屢言之。 而神策中尉西門季玄者，亦剛鯁，謂可及曰：「汝以巧佞惑天子，當族滅！」 嘗見其受賜，謂曰：「今載以官車，後籍沒亦當爾。」
Que was deeply learned, grave in judgment, and scrupulous in following the law. The emperor was weak in virtue and doted on the actor Li Keji. Keji composed new music with mournful lyrics; frivolous youths in the capital idolized him and called his style 'strumming and plucking.' After Princess Tongchang's mourning ended, the emperor and Consort Guo could not cease grieving; Keji composed 'Lament for a Century' for hundreds of dancers in jeweled dress on carved dragon-and-fish carpets, using five thousand bolts of silk; the mournful lyrics moved all who heard them to tears. When the dance ended pearls and gems littered the floor; the emperor called it the deepest sorrow imaginable and favored Keji all the more. At his son's wedding the emperor said, "Go home—I will send wine." Soon messengers arrived bearing two silver flasks filled with pearls and gems. Keji grew insolent on imperial favor; no one dared criticize him, and he was made a guard general. Que said, "Taizong fixed six hundred forty-three civil and military posts and told Fang Xuanling, 'These are for the worthy of the realm. Merchants and artisans, however skilled, should be paid generously, not given office to stand and dine beside the worthy. Wenzong wanted the musician Yuchi Zhang as princely commandant; Remonstrance Official Dou Xunzhi protested until Zhang was sent to Guangzhou as chief secretary. To make him a general now is unacceptable." The emperor refused to listen. Only when Xizong succeeded was Keji demoted and executed. While Keji was in favor, only Que spoke against him repeatedly. The Shence vice-director Ximen Jixuan was equally blunt; he told Keji, "You bewitch the emperor with flattery—your clan deserves extinction!" Seeing imperial gifts borne on official carts, he said, "Today they come by carriage; when your property is confiscated it will be the same."
19
確居位六年，進尚書右仆射，以同平章事出為鎮海節度使，徙河中，卒。 始，畢諴與確同宰相，俱有雅望，世謂「曹畢」雲。 弟汾，以忠武軍節度使入為戶部侍郎，判度支，卒。
After six years Que was made right vice director of the Department of State Affairs, left office as chief minister to command Zhenhai, transferred to Hezhong, and died. Bi Tan and Que had served together as chief ministers, both with fine reputations; people spoke of 'Cao and Bi.' His brother Fen came from Zhongwu as military commissioner to serve as vice minister of revenue overseeing the treasury, and died in office.
20
劉瞻，字幾之，其先出彭城，後徙桂陽。 舉進士、博學宏詞，皆中。 徐商辟署鹽鐵府，累遷太常博士。 劉彖執政，薦為翰林學士，拜中書舍人，進承旨。 出為河東節度使。
Liu Zhan, courtesy name Jizhi, came from Pengcheng and later moved to Guiyang. He passed both the jinshi and the erudite literatus examinations. Xu Shang recruited him to the Salt and Iron Commission; he rose to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When Liu Cong was in power he recommended Zhan as Hanlin academician; Zhan became secretariat drafter and then chief drafting secretary. He was sent out as military commissioner of Hedong.
21
咸通十一年，以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事。 同昌公主薨，懿宗捕太醫韓紹宗等送詔獄，逮系宗族數百人。 瞻喻諫官，皆依違無敢言，即自上疏固爭：「紹宗窮其術不能效，情有可矜。 陛下徇愛女，囚平民，忿不顧難，取肆暴不明之謗。」 帝大怒，即日賜罷，以檢校刑部尚書、同平章事為荊南節度使。 路巖、韋保衡從為惡言聞帝，俄斥廉州刺史。 於是，翰林學士鄭畋以責詔不深切，御史中丞孫皇、諫議大夫高湘等坐與瞻善，分貶嶺南。 巖等殊未慊，按圖視州道萬里，即貶州司戶參軍事，命李庾作詔極詆，將遂殺之。 天下謂瞻鯁正，特為讒擠，舉以為冤。 幽州節度使張公素上疏申解，巖等不敢害。 僖宗立，徙康、虢二州刺史，以刑部尚書召，復以中書侍郎平章事，居位三月卒。
In 870 he became vice director of the Secretariat and chief minister. When Princess Tongchang died, Yizong arrested the court physicians Han Shaozong and others and imprisoned hundreds of their kinsmen. Zhan urged the remonstrance officials, but none dared speak; he memorialized firmly: "Shaozong used every skill without success—he deserves pity. Your Majesty indulges grief for your daughter, imprisons commoners in rage, and invites the reproach of arbitrary cruelty." The emperor was furious and dismissed him the same day, sending him to Jingnan as honorary minister of justice with chief ministerial rank. Lu Yan and Wei Baoheng slandered him to the emperor, and he was soon demoted to prefect of Lianzhou. Hanlin academician Zheng Tian was punished for drafting too mild an edict; Vice Censor-in-Chief Sun Huang, Remonstrance Grandee Gao Xiang, and others were banished to Lingnan for their friendship with Zhan. Lu Yan and his allies were still unsatisfied; finding the prefecture ten thousand li away on the map, they demoted Zhan to army adjutant and had Li Yu draft a vicious edict, planning to kill him next. The empire considered Zhan upright and wronged by slander alone. Zhang Gongsu, military commissioner of Youzhou, memorialized in his defense; Lu Yan and his allies did not dare kill him. When Xizong succeeded, Zhan was made prefect of Kang and Guo, recalled as minister of justice, restored as vice chancellor, served three months, and died.
22
瞻為人廉約，所得俸以余濟親舊之窶困者，家不留儲。 無第舍，四方獻饋不及門，行己終始完潔。
Zhan lived frugally, gave his surplus salary to needy kin and friends, and kept no savings. He owned no mansion; gifts never reached his door; his conduct remained spotless to the end.
23
弟助，字元德，性仁孝，幼時與諸兄遊，至食飲，取最下者。 及長，能文辭，喜黃老言。 年二十卒。
His younger brother Zhu, courtesy name Yuande, was kind and filial; as a boy playing with his brothers, he always took the smallest share at meals. Grown, he wrote well and favored Daoist teachings. He died at twenty.
24
李蔚，字茂休，系本隴西。 舉進士、書判拔萃，皆中。 拜監察御史，擢累尚書右丞。
Li Wei, courtesy name Maoxiu, was of Longxi descent. He passed both the jinshi and the distinguished document examination. He became investigating censor and rose to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs.
25
懿宗惑浮屠，常飯萬僧禁中，自為贊唄。 蔚上疏切諫，引狄仁傑、姚元崇、辛替否所言，譏病時弊。 帝不聽，但以虛禮褒答。 俄拜京兆尹、太常卿。 出為宣武節度使，徙淮南。 代還，民詣闕請留，詔許一歲。 僖宗乾符初，以吏部尚書同中書門下平章事。 罷為東都留守。 河東亂，殺其帥崔季康，用邠寧李侃代之，士不附，以蔚嘗在太原府有惠政，為人所懷，拜河東節度使，同平章事。 至鎮三日，卒。
Yizong was obsessed with Buddhism, often feeding ten thousand monks in the palace and composing hymns himself. Wei memorialized sharply, citing Di Renjie, Yao Chong, and Xin Tifen and attacking the abuses of the day. The emperor ignored him and replied with empty praise. Soon he was made metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and minister of imperial sacrifices. He was posted to Xuanwu as military commissioner, then transferred to Huainan. When his successor arrived, the people petitioned the throne to keep him; the court granted one more year. Early in Xizong's Qianfu reign he became minister of personnel and chief minister. He was made defender of the Eastern Capital. Hedong mutinied and killed its commander Cui Jikang; Li Kan of Binning replaced him but the troops would not follow. Because Wei had once governed well in Taiyuan and was still beloved, he was made military commissioner of Hedong with chief ministerial rank. He died three days after reaching his post.
26
始，懿宗成安國祠，賜寶坐二，度高二丈，構以沈檀，塗髹，鏤龍鳳葩蘤，金扣之，上施復坐，陳經幾其前，四隅立瑞鳥神人，高數尺，磴道以升，前被繡囊錦襜，珍麗精絕。 咸通十四年春，詔迎佛骨鳳翔，或言：「昔憲宗嘗為此，俄晏駕。」 帝曰：「使朕生見之，死無恨！」 乃以金銀為剎，珠玉為帳，孔鷸周飾之，小者尋丈，高至倍，刻檀為檐註，陛墄塗黃金，每一剎，數百人舉之。 香輿前後系道，綴珠瑟瑟幡蓋，殘彩以為幢節，費無貲限。 夏四月，至長安，彩觀夾路，其徒導衛。 天子禦安福樓迎拜，至泣下。 詔賜兩街僧金幣，京師耆老及見元和事者，悉厚賜之。 不逞小人至斷臂指，流血滿道。 所過鄉聚，皆裒土為剎，相望於塗，爭以金翠抆飾。 傳言剎悉震搖，若有光景雲。 京師高貲相與集大衢，作繒臺縵闕，註水銀為池，金玉為樹木，聚桑門羅像，考鼓鳴螺繼日夜。 錦車繡輿，載歌舞從之。 秋七月，帝崩。 方人主甘心篤向，如蔚言者甚多，皆不能救。 僖宗立，詔歸其骨，都人耆耋辭餞，或嗚咽流涕。
Yizong completed the Chengan Kingdom shrine and received two jeweled thrones, each two zhang high, of heavy sandalwood lacquered and inlaid with gold, carved with dragons and phoenixes; canopy seats stood above sutra tables, with spirit figures at the corners and brocade hangings of surpassing splendor. In the spring of 873 an edict ordered the Buddha's relic brought from Fengxiang; some warned, "Xianzong did the same and soon died." The emperor said, "Let me see it while I live, and I shall die without regret!" Towers of gold and silver were built, canopies of pearl and jade, peacocks set round them; the smallest stood a full zhang, the tallest twice as high, with sandalwood eaves and gold-leafed terraces—each tower required hundreds of men to carry. Incense chariots lined the road for miles, hung with pearl and kingfisher banners and pennants of leftover brocade—the cost was limitless. In the fourth month it reached Chang'an; painted pavilions lined the road as the monks led the procession. The emperor went to the Anfu Tower to receive it and wept as he bowed. Monks of both precincts received gold and coin by edict; elders of the capital who remembered the Yuanhe years were richly rewarded. Desperate men even cut off their own arms and fingers until blood filled the streets. Every village along the route built earthen reliquary towers, competing to adorn them with gold and jade. People said the towers trembled and glowed like clouds of light. The rich of the capital gathered in the main avenues, building silk pavilions and brocade towers, pools of mercury and trees of gold and jade, with monks and Buddha images; drums and conches sounded day and night. Brocade carriages and embroidered litters carried singers and dancers in the train. In the seventh month the emperor died. While the ruler devoted himself to the cult, many had remonstrated as Wei did, yet none could save him. When Xizong succeeded, an edict sent the relic back; the elderly of the capital came to bid it farewell, many weeping.
27
贊曰：人之惑怪神也，甚哉！ 若佛者，特西域一槁人耳。 裸顛露足，以乞食自資，臒辱其身，屏營山樊，行一概之苦，本無求於人，徒屬稍稍從之。 然其言荒茫漫靡，夷幻變現，善推不驗無實之事，以鬼神死生貫為一條，據之不疑。 掊嗜欲，棄親屬，大抵與黃老相出入。 至漢十四葉，書入中國。 跡夫生人之情，以耳目不際為奇，以不可知為神，以物理之外為畏，以變化無方為聖，以生而死、死復生、回復償報、歆艷其間為或然，以賤近貴遠為。 鞮譯差殊，不可研詰。 華人之譎誕者，又攘莊周、列禦寇之說佐其高，層累架騰，直出其表，以無上不可加為勝，妄相誇脅而倡其風。 於是，自天子逮庶人，皆震動而祠奉之。
The commentator says: How deeply people are deluded by the supernatural! The Buddha was nothing but a gaunt man from the Western Regions. Bareheaded and barefoot, he lived by begging, emaciated and abased, dwelling in mountain seclusion and practicing austerity—he sought nothing from others, yet followers gradually gathered. Yet his teachings were vast and vague, exotic and illusory; he excelled at speculating on unproved fantasies, weaving ghosts, death, and rebirth into one doctrine held without question. He renounced desire and kin—much of his teaching overlapped with Daoism. By the fourteenth Han emperor his texts had entered China. Human nature prizes what lies beyond sight and hearing, calls the unknowable divine, fears what lies outside natural law, reveres boundless change, accepts death and rebirth with karmic reward as possible, and scorns the near while honoring the distant. Foreign transliterations differ so widely they cannot be rigorously examined. Crafty Chinese then borrowed Zhuangzi and Liezi to exalt it further, building tower upon tower until it soared beyond measure, vaunting the supreme and coercing one another to spread the cult. Thereupon emperor and commoner alike were moved to worship it.
28
初，宰相王縉以緣業事佐代宗，於是始作內道場，晝夜梵唄，冀禳寇戎，大作盂蘭，肖祖宗像，分供塔廟，為賊臣嘻笑。 至憲宗世，遂迎佛骨於鳳翔，內之宮中。 韓愈指言其弊，帝怒，竄愈瀕死，憲亦弗獲天年。 幸福而禍，無亦左乎！ 懿宗不君，精爽奪迷，復蹈前車而覆之。 興哀無知之場，丐庇百解之胔，以死自誓，無有顧藉，流淚拜伏，雖事宗廟上帝，無以進焉。 屈萬乘之貴，自等於古胡，數千載而遠，以身為徇。 嗚呼，運祚殫，天告之矣！ 懿不三月而徂，唐德之不競，厥有來哉，悲夫！
First Chief Minister Wang Jin, preaching karma, persuaded Daizong to build an inner dharma hall with ceaseless chanting to ward off invaders, grand Ullambana rites, and ancestral images sent to temples—a spectacle that made rebels laugh. Under Xianzong the Buddha's relic was brought from Fengxiang into the palace. Han Yu exposed its harm; the emperor banished him nearly to death—and Xianzong too died before his time. Blessing turned to disaster—is this not perverse! Yizong was no true ruler; his mind was lost to delusion, and he repeated his predecessors' ruin. He mourned in ignorance, begged a relic's protection, pledged his life without restraint, wept and prostrated himself—yet could not approach the ancestral temple or Heaven as he should. He debased imperial dignity, equated himself with barbarians of ages past, and offered his body as sacrifice. Alas, the dynasty's fortune was spent—Heaven had declared it! Yizong died within three months; that Tang virtue had waned had long been foretold—how lamentable!