1
二李崔蕭二鄭二盧韋周二裴劉趙王
The Two Lis, Cui, Xiao, the Two Zhengs, the Two Lus, Wei, Zhou, the Two Peis, Liu, Zhao, and Wang
2
李固言，字仲樞，其先趙人。 擢進士甲科，江西裴堪、劍南王播皆表署幕府。 累官戶部郎中。 溫造為御史中丞，表知雜事，進給事中。 將作監王堪坐治太廟不謹，改太子賓客，固言上還制書曰：「陛下當以名臣左右太子，堪以慢官斥，處調護地非所宜。」 詔改它王傅。 固言再遷尚書右丞。
Li Guyán, courtesy name Zhòngshū, came from a Zhao family. He passed the jinshi examination in the top class, and both Pei Kān in Jiangxi and Wáng Bō in Jiannan recommended him for posts on their staffs. He rose through the ranks to become a director in the Ministry of Revenue. When Wēn Zào was vice censor-in-chief, he recommended Guyán to handle routine business and had him promoted to attendant censor. Wáng Kān, director of palace construction, was demoted for mismanaging the ancestral temple and made mentor to the crown prince. Guyán returned the edict, writing: "Your Majesty should surround the heir with eminent ministers. Kān was removed for dereliction; a nurturing post is no fit place for him." The emperor then ordered someone else appointed crown prince tutor. Guyán was soon promoted again to right vice director of the Secretariat.
3
李德裕輔政，出固言華州刺史。 俄而李宗閔復用，召為吏部侍郎。 州大豪何延慶橫猾，嘩眾遮道，使不得去，固言怒，捕取杖殺之，屍諸道。 既領選，按籍自擬，先收寒素，柅吏奸。 進御史大夫。
While Lǐ Déyù held power, Guyán was posted out as governor of Huazhou. Soon afterward Lǐ Zōngmǐn returned to power and recalled him as vice minister of personnel. A local magnate, Hé Yánqìng, ruled by force and fraud; he roused a mob to bar the road and keep the new governor from departing. Guyán had him seized, beaten to death, and his body displayed along the highway. Once in charge of appointments, he reviewed the registers himself, giving priority to candidates of modest background and curbing graft among the clerks. He was promoted to censor-in-chief.
4
太和九年，宗閔得罪，李訓、鄭註用事，訓欲自取宰相，乃先以固言為門下侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 旋坐黨人，出為山南西道節度使，訓自代其處。 訓敗，文宗頗思之，復召為平章事，仍判戶部。
In Taihe 9, Zōngmǐn was disgraced and Lǐ Xùn and Zhèng Zhù took control. Xùn wanted the chancellorship for himself, so he first installed Guyán as vice director of the Chancellery and grand councilor. He was soon banished as a factional ally and made military commissioner of Shannan West, while Xùn took his place. After Xùn's downfall, Emperor Wénzōng missed him and recalled him as grand councilor, with continued charge of the Ministry of Revenue.
5
群臣請上徽號，帝曰：「今治道猶郁，群臣之請謂何？ 比州縣多不治，信乎？」 固言因白鄧州刺史王堪、隋州刺史鄭襄尤無狀。 帝曰：「貞元時御史，獨王堪爾。」 鄭覃本舉堪，疑固言抵己，即曰：「臣知堪，故用為刺史。 舉天下不職，何獨二人？」 帝識其意，不主前語，因稱：「《詩》曰『濟濟多士，文王以寧。』 聞德宗時多闕官，寧乏才邪？」 固言曰：「用人之道，隨所保任，觀稱與否而升黜之，無乏才矣。」 帝曰：「宰相用人毋計親疏。 竇易直為宰相，未嘗用姻戚。 使己才不足任天下重，自宜引去； 茍公舉，雖親何嫌？ 用所長耳！」 帝不欲大臣有黨，故語兩與之。
The court asked that an honorific epithet be conferred. The emperor said: "The realm is still unsettled—what is the point of your petition? Is it true that so many prefectures and counties are poorly governed lately?" Guyán then named Dèngzhou governor Wáng Kān and Suízhou governor Zhèng Xiāng as especially incompetent. The emperor said: "In the Zhenyuan reign, among censors there was only Wáng Kān." Zhèng Tán, who had recommended Kān, suspected a personal attack and replied: "I knew Kān well, which is why I made him prefect. Neglect is everywhere under heaven—why single out these two?" The emperor saw his point, set aside his earlier remark, and said: "The Book of Songs says, 'With officers thronging, King Wen knew peace. I hear that under Dézōng many posts went unfilled—can talent really be so scarce?" Guyán said: "The art of appointment is to stand behind those you recommend, watch whether they earn praise, and promote or remove them accordingly—then talent will never run short." The emperor said: "In appointing men, a chancellor must not weigh kinship. Dòu Yìzhí, as chancellor, never favored his in-laws. If one's own ability cannot bear the empire's burden, one should step down; but if the nomination is merit-based, what harm if the man is a relative? One simply employs his strengths!" The emperor, wishing to discourage faction among his ministers, addressed them both in these terms.
6
俄以門下侍郎平章事為西川節度使，詔雲韶雅樂即臨臯館送之。 讓還門下侍郎，乃檢校尚書左僕射。 始置騾軍千匹，又募銳士三千，武備雄完。 武宗立，召授右僕射。 會崔珙、陳夷行以僕射為宰相，改檢校司空兼太子少師，領河中節度使。 蒲津歲河水壞梁，吏撤笮用舟，邀丐行人。 固言至，悉除之。 帝伐回鶻，詔方鎮獻財助軍，上疏固諫，不從。 以疾復為少師，遷東都留守。 宣宗初，還右僕射。 後以太子太傅分司東都。 卒，年七十八，贈太尉。
He was soon sent from the chancellery to serve as military commissioner of Xichuan, with court musicians ordered to perform at Lingao Pavilion for his farewell. He declined and resumed the vice chancellorship, then received the acting post of left vice director of the Secretariat. He raised a thousand-pack mule train and recruited three thousand elite troops, bringing the command's defenses to full strength. When Emperor Wǔzōng took the throne, Guyán was recalled as right vice director. When Cuī Gǒng and Chén Yíxíng became chancellors while still vice directors, Guyán was reassigned as acting minister of works and junior tutor to the heir, with command of Hezhong. At Pujin the Yellow River annually wrecked the bridge; officials dismantled the pontoon, ferried travelers by boat, and extorted tolls from them. Guyán abolished the practice entirely on taking office. When the emperor marched against the Uyghurs and ordered the provinces to contribute funds, Guyán submitted a strong protest, but the court would not listen. Illness led to his reassignment as junior tutor and protector of the eastern capital. Early in Xuānzōng's reign he was restored as right vice director. He later held the title of grand tutor to the heir while on detached duty in Luoyang. He died at seventy-eight and was posthumously honored as grand marshal.
7
固言吃，接賓客頗謇緩，然每議論人主前，乃更詳辯。
Guyán had a stammer and was rather slow and stiff with guests, yet in debate before the throne he grew notably fluent and precise.
8
李玨，字待價，其先出趙郡，客居淮陰。 幼孤，事母以孝聞。 甫冠，舉明經。 李絳為華州刺史，見之，曰：「日角珠廷，非庸人相。 明經碌碌，非子所宜。」 乃更舉進士高第。 河陽烏重胤表置幕府。 以拔萃補渭南尉，擢右拾遺。
Lǐ Jué, courtesy name Dàijià, was of Zhao commandery ancestry but had settled in Huaiyin. Left fatherless early, he won renown for devotion to his mother. Soon after reaching manhood he passed the classics examination. Lǐ Jiàng, then governor of Huazhou, met him and said: "With a brow like the sun and a jeweled forehead, you are no ordinary face. The classics degree is a pedestrian road—not for you." Jué then sat for the jinshi and graduated with highest honors. Wū Zhòngyǐn of Heyang recommended him for a staff post. Selected on merit, he became magistrate of Weinan and was then raised to right reminder.
9
鹽鐵使王播增茶稅十之五以佐用度。 玨上疏謂：「榷率本濟軍興，而稅茶自貞元以來有之。 方天下無事，忽厚斂以傷國體，一不可。 茗為人飲，與鹽粟同資，若重稅之，售必高，其敝先及貧下，二不可。 山澤之產無定數，程斤論稅，以售多為利，若價騰踴，則市者稀，其稅幾何？ 三不可。 陛下初即位，詔懲聚斂，今反增茶賦，必失人心。」 帝不納。 方是時，禁中造百尺樓，土木費鉅萬，故播亟斂，陰中帝欲。 玨以數諫不得留，出為下邽令。 武昌牛僧孺辟署掌書記，還為殿中侍御史。 宰相韋處厚曰：「清廟之器，豈擊搏才乎？」 除禮部員外郎。 僧孺還相，以司勛員外郎知制誥為翰林學士，加戶部侍郎。
Wáng Bō, commissioner of salt and iron, raised the tea levy by half again to cover expenses. Jué submitted a memorial arguing: "State monopolies were meant to fund armies, and the tea tax has stood since Zhenyuan. When the realm is at peace, a sudden heavy levy wounds the state—this is unacceptable for one reason. Tea is a daily drink, as essential as salt and grain; heavier taxes will raise prices and hurt the poor first—a second reason to refuse. Harvests from hill and marsh are uncertain; taxing by weight assumes volume brings profit—yet if prices spike, buyers vanish and revenue with them—a third objection. For a third reason, it must not be done. At your accession you vowed to punish extortion; to raise the tea tax now will surely cost you the people's trust." The emperor rejected the advice. The palace was then building a hundred-foot tower at vast cost, so Bō rushed to raise funds and quietly played to the emperor's wishes. After repeated remonstrance left him unwelcome at court, Jué was posted out as magistrate of Xiagui. Niú Sēnglú at Wuchang made him chief secretary; he later returned to the capital as palace attending censor. Chancellor Wéi Chùhòu said: "He is fit for the ancestral temple, not for rough work." Jué was appointed an outer gentleman in the Ministry of Rites. When Sēnglú returned as chancellor, Jué became a Hanlin academician drafting edicts and was made vice minister of revenue.
10
始，鄭註以醫進，文宗一日語玨曰：「卿亦知有鄭註乎？ 宜與之言。」 玨曰：「臣知之，奸回人也。」 帝愕然曰：「朕疾愈，註力也。 可不一見之？」 註由是怨玨。 及李宗閔以罪去，玨為申辨，貶江州刺史。 徙河南尹，復為戶部侍郎。
Zhèng Zhù had risen as a physician; one day Wénzōng asked Jué: "Have you heard of Zhèng Zhù? You should speak with him." Jué replied: "I know him, Your Majesty—a devious man." The emperor was taken aback: "My recovery was Zhù's doing. Will you not at least meet him?" From that day Zhù bore Jué a grudge. When Zōngmǐn fell, Jué spoke in his defense and was banished to Jiangzhou. He was moved to mayor of Henan and restored as vice minister of revenue.
11
開成中，楊嗣復得君，引玨同中書門下平章事，與李固言皆善。 三人者居中秉權，乃與鄭覃、陳夷行等更持議，一好惡，相影和，朋黨益熾矣。 玨數辭位，不許。 帝嘗自謂：「臨天下十四年，雖未至治，然視今日承平亦希矣！」 玨曰：「為國者如治身，及身康寧，調適以自助，如恃安而忽，則疾生。 天下當無事，思所闕，禍亂可至哉？」
During Kaicheng, Yáng Sìfù won the emperor's favor and made Jué grand councilor; he and Li Guyán were close allies. The three held the center of power; they and rivals such as Zhèng Tán and Chén Yíxíng traded arguments in lockstep blocs, and court factions burned hotter than ever. Jué repeatedly tried to resign, but the emperor would not allow it. The emperor once said: "I have ruled fourteen years; we are not yet in full order, but peace like today's is rare!" Jué said: "Governing a state is like caring for the body: when you are well, you must still regulate your habits; if you trust ease and grow careless, sickness follows. When the realm seems untroubled, consider what is missing—disaster may be closer than you think."
12
杜悰領度支有勞，帝欲拜戶部尚書，以問宰相。 陳夷行答曰：「恩權予奪，願陛下自斷。」 玨曰：「祖宗倚宰相，天下事皆先平章，故官曰平章事。 君臣相須，所以致太平也。 茍用一吏、處一事皆決於上，將焉用彼相哉？ 隋文帝勞於小務，以疑待下，故二世而亡。 陛下嘗謂臣曰：『竇易直勸我，凡宰相啟擬，五取三，二取一。 彼宜勸我擇宰相，不容勸我疑宰相。』」 帝曰：「易直此言殊可鄙。」 帝又語：「貞元初政事誠善。」 玨曰：「德宗晚喜聚財，方鎮以進奉市恩，吏得賦外求索，此其敝也。」 帝曰：「人君輕所賦，節所用，可乎？」 玨曰：「貞觀時，房、杜、王、魏為文皇帝謀，固此耳！」 帝頗向納。 進封贊皇縣男。
Dù Zōng had distinguished service at the revenue directorate, and the emperor wished to make him minister of revenue and asked the chancellors. Chén Yíxíng answered: "Favor and power are yours to give or withhold; let Your Majesty decide alone." Jué said: "Our forebears relied on chancellors; state business was settled by the council first—hence the title 'grand councilor. Sovereign and minister need one another; that is how peace is achieved. If every clerk and every affair is settled only by the throne, what need is there for chancellors? Emperor Wén of Sui wore himself on trifles and met his officials with suspicion, and his house fell in the second generation. Your Majesty once told me: 'Dòu Yìzhí urged that of every five chancellor nominations I should accept three, and of every two, one.' He should have helped me choose chancellors, not taught me to distrust them.' The emperor said: "That advice of Yìzhí's was truly base." The emperor added: "Early Zhenyuan administration was indeed sound." Jué said: "Late in his reign Dézōng loved hoarding wealth; provinces bought favor with tribute, and officials preyed beyond the tax rolls—that was its flaw." The emperor asked: "Would it suffice for a ruler to levy lightly and spend sparingly?" Jué said: "In Zhenguan, Fáng, Dù, Wáng, and Wèi advised Taizong—precisely on this point!" The emperor was much persuaded. He was ennobled as baron of Zanhuang county.
13
宣宗立，內徙郴、舒二州，以太子賓客分司東都。 遷河陽節度使，罷橫賦宿逋百餘萬。 以吏部尚書召，玨去鎮，而府庫十倍於初。 俄檢校尚書右僕射、淮南節度使。 玨顧己大臣，誼不以內外自異，表請立皇太子維天下心。 江淮旱，發倉廩賑流民，以軍羨儲殺半價與人。 卒，年六十九，贈司空，謚曰貞穆。
When Xuānzōng came to the throne, Jué was shifted inland to Chén and Shū, then served as guest of the heir on detached duty in Luoyang. As military commissioner of Heyang he abolished illegal surcharges and cleared more than a million in old arrears. Recalled as minister of personnel, he left the command with the treasury ten times fuller than when he arrived. He was soon made acting right vice director and military commissioner of Huainan. Mindful of his rank as a senior minister and that duty did not change inside or outside the capital, he memorialized to establish a crown prince and steady the realm. When drought struck the Jiang-Huai region, he opened the granaries to aid refugees and sold army reserve grain to the people at half price. He died at sixty-nine and was posthumously honored as minister of works with the epithet Zhenmu, "Upright and Solemn."
14
始，淮南三節度皆卒於鎮，人勸易署寢，玨曰：「上命我守揚州，是實正寢，若何去之？」 及疾亟，官屬見臥內，惟以州有稅酒直而神策軍常為豪商占利，方論奏，未見報為恨，一不及家事。 性寡欲，早喪妻，不置妾侍，門無饋餉。 淮南之人德之，玨已歿，叩闕下，願立碑刻其遺愛雲。
Earlier, each of three successive Huainan commissioners had died in office, and his staff urged him to move to another residence. Jué said: "The throne ordered me to hold Yangzhou; this room is the rightful one—why should I abandon it?" As his illness worsened, those who attended him in his chamber heard him speak only of wine-tax revenue in the prefecture that the Shence Army habitually seized for powerful merchants; he was still pressing a memorial on the matter and grieved that no answer had come—not once did he mention his household. He lived simply, was widowed young, kept no concubines, and accepted no presents at his door. The people of Huainan revered him; after his death they petitioned at the palace to raise a monument to his enduring benevolence.
15
贊曰：天子待宰相以不疑，是矣。 雖然，於賢不肖當別白分明，乃可與言治。 文宗無知人之明，但以不疑責宰相。 是時善惡混淆，故黨人成於下，主聽亂於上，王室之衰，由此為之階。 劉向所雲「持不斷之慮者，開群枉之門」，殆文宗為邪！
The historian comments: For a ruler to meet his chancellors with unwavering trust is indeed proper. Yet the worthy and the unworthy must be told apart with clarity before one can speak of good government. Emperor Wénzōng had no eye for talent and merely demanded unquestioning loyalty from his chancellors. Good and evil were then hopelessly mixed, so factions rose below while the throne was misled above—the dynasty's fall began on this path. Liú Xiàng's words, "He who cannot decide opens the gate to countless injustices," surely describe Wénzōng!
16
崔珙，其先博陵人。 父颋，官同州刺史，生八子，皆有才，世以擬漢荀氏「八龍」。 珙為人有威重，精吏治，以拔萃異等，累擢至泗州刺史。 由太府卿為嶺南節度使，入對延英，文宗訪治撫後先，珙對精亮有理趣，帝咨嗟迂久。
Cuī Gǒng came from a Boling family. His father Cuī Yǐng was governor of Tongzhou and had eight gifted sons, whom contemporaries likened to the "Eight Dragons" of the Xún family in Hàn times. Gǒng was imposing in bearing and skilled in administration; chosen through the exceptional civil-service track, he rose to governor of Sizhou. Promoted from grand treasury director to commissioner of Lingnan, he was questioned at Yányīng Hall on priorities in rule and pacification; his answers were lucid and principled, and the emperor lamented how long he had been kept from court.
17
時徐州以王智興後，軍驕，數犯法，節度使高瑀未能制。 天子思材望威烈者檢革其弊，見珙意慷慨，又知治泗得士心，即謂宰相曰：「欲武寧節度使者，無易珙才。」 更詔王茂元帥嶺南，而以珙代瑀。 居二歲，徐人戢畏。
After Wáng Zhìxīng's time at Xuzhou the garrison grew insolent and lawless, and Commissioner Gāo Yǔ could not restrain them. The emperor wanted a man of ability, standing, and force to correct the abuses; finding Gǒng resolute and knowing he had won the troops' loyalty at Si, he told the chancellors: "For Wuning commissioner, no one matches Gǒng." He reassigned Wáng Màoyuán to Lingnan and sent Gǒng to replace Yǔ. Within two years the Xuzhou soldiery were subdued and fearful.
18
入為右金吾大將軍，遷京兆尹。 會大旱，奏析浐入禁中者，取十九溉民田。 仇士良使盜擊宰相李石於親仁裏，跡出禁軍，珙坐不能捕，以為負，望少衰。 開成末，累進刑部尚書、諸道鹽鐵轉運使。 俄同中書門下平章事，仍領鹽鐵，即拜中書侍郎。 會昌二年，進位尚書左僕射。 明年，以兄琯喪，被疾求解，以所守官罷。
He was recalled as general of the right golden guards and made mayor of the capital district. During a severe drought he petitioned to divert nine-tenths of the Chan River water reserved for the palace to irrigate farmland. Qiū Shìliáng had assassins attack Chancellor Lǐ Shí in Qīnrén Lane, and the trail pointed to the palace guard. Gǒng was faulted for not making arrests, and his standing suffered. Late in Kaicheng he rose to minister of justice and salt-and-iron transport commissioner for all circuits. He was soon made grand councilor while retaining the salt monopoly, and appointed vice director of the secretariat. In Huichang year two he was promoted to left vice director of the secretariat. The following year, mourning his brother Guàn, he fell ill and asked to resign, and was relieved of his posts.
19
與崔鉉故有怨，及鉉宰相代為使，即奏珙妄費宋滑院鹽鐵錢九十萬緡，又劾與劉從諫厚，數護其奸。 貶澧州刺史，再斥恩州司馬。 宣宗立，徙商州刺史，以太子賓客分司東都，起為鳳翔節度使。 鉉復執政，珙懼，以疾自乞。 方是時，西戎歸故地，邊奏系驛，議所以綏接，珙坐不自力避事，下除太子少師，分司東都，就拜留守。 復節度鳳翔，卒於官。
He and Cuī Xuàn were old enemies; when Xuàn became chancellor and succeeded him as transport commissioner, he accused Gǒng of squandering nine hundred thousand strings from the Song-Hua salt office and of repeatedly shielding Liú Cóngjiàn's misconduct. Gǒng was demoted to prefect of Lǐ and then further banished as vice commandant of En. When Xuānzōng came to the throne, Gǒng was transferred to Shangzhou, served as guest of the heir on detached duty in Luoyang, then was recalled as commissioner of Fengxiang. When Xuàn was back in office, Gǒng, fearing him, resigned on grounds of illness. At that time the western tribes reclaimed old territory, and frontier dispatches flooded in while the court debated how to manage them. Gǒng was faulted for evading the work; demoted to junior tutor of the heir on detached duty in Luoyang, he was soon named metropolitan guardian. He returned to command Fengxiang and died in office.
20
子涓，性開敏。 為杭州刺史，受署，未盡識卒史，乃以紙各署姓名傅襟上，過前一閱，後數百人呼指無誤。 終御史大夫。
His son Juān was quick-witted and alert. As governor of Hangzhou he had not yet learned his staff by sight; he wrote each clerk's name on a slip pinned to his robe, glanced once as they filed past, and thereafter could summon hundreds by name without mistake. He rose to censor-in-chief.
21
琯，字從律，珙兄。 舉進士、賢良方正，皆高第。 累辟諸使府。 入朝，稍歷吏部員外郎。 李德裕任御史中丞，引知雜事。 進給事中。 太和初，持節宣慰盧龍，使有指。 及興元殺李絳，復往尉撫，軍皆按堵。 還，遷工部侍郎、京兆尹。
Guàn, courtesy name Cónglǜ, was Gǒng's elder brother. He passed the jinshi and the "worthy and upright" examinations with top honors. He was repeatedly invited onto commissioners' staffs. Recalled to court, he rose to vice director in the ministry of personnel. When Lǐ Déyù was vice censor-in-chief, he put Guàn in charge of routine business. He was promoted to attendant censor. Early in Taihe he was dispatched with imperial credentials to pacify Lulong on a mission with definite purpose. When Xingyuan killed Lǐ Jiàng, he returned to calm the troops, and the garrison was restored to order. On returning he was made vice minister of works and mayor of the capital.
22
宋申錫為讒所危，宦豎切齒，時罕敢辨者。 琯與大理卿王正雅固請出獄付外，與眾治之，天下重其賢。 以尚書右丞出為荊南節度使，進左丞。 時弟珙任京兆尹，並據顯劇處，世以為榮。 俄判兵部西銓、吏部東銓，徙東都留守。 以吏部尚書召，辭疾不拜。 會昌中，終山南西道節度使，贈尚書左僕射。 琯行方介，有器蘊，人屬以為相而卒不至，當時共咨雲。
Sòng Shēnxī was imperiled by calumny, and the eunuchs hated him; scarcely anyone dared defend him. Guàn and the chief justice Wáng Zhèngyǎ insisted he be removed from custody and tried openly; the realm honored their integrity. He left court as right vice director to serve as commissioner of Jingnan, then was promoted to left vice director. His brother Gǒng was then mayor of the capital; both held weighty posts, and contemporaries took it as a family triumph. He soon oversaw both the western military and eastern civil selection boards, then became metropolitan guardian of Luoyang. Recalled as minister of personnel, he pleaded illness and refused the appointment. In Huichang he finished as commissioner of Shannan West and was posthumously honored as left vice director. Guàn was upright and substantial, and many expected him to reach the chancellorship, but he never did—a loss widely mourned.
23
弟璪、玙尤顯，璪位刑部尚書，玙河中節度使。
Younger brothers Sǎo and Yú also rose high—Sǎo to minister of justice and Yú to commissioner of Hedong.
24
玙子淡，舉止秀峙，時謂玉而冠者。 擢進士第，累進禮部員外郎。 當時士大夫以流品相尚，推名德者為之首。 咸通中，世推李都為大龍甲，涓豪放不得預，雖自抑下，猶不許，而淡與焉。 終吏部侍郎。
Yú's son Dàn was graceful in bearing; contemporaries called him the finest jade of the age. He passed the jinshi examination and rose to vice director in the ministry of rites. Gentry of the day prized lineage and standing and ranked men of renown and virtue foremost. In Xiantong, Lǐ Dū led the elite "great dragon" circle; Juān's brash manner barred him even when he tried to defer, but Dàn was admitted. He rose to vice minister of personnel.
25
子遠，有文而風致整峻，世慕其為，目曰「饤座梨」，言座所珍也。 乾寧中，以兵部侍郎同中書門下平章事，遷中書侍郎。 從遷洛，罷為尚書右僕射。 柳璨忌衣冠有望者，貶為白州長史，被殺於白馬驛，家沒掖庭。
His son Yuǎn was learned and austere in manner; admirers nicknamed him the "pear on the banquet tray," the choicest ornament of any table. In Qianning he became grand councilor from the post of vice minister of war and was promoted to vice director of the secretariat. After the court moved to Luoyang he was removed and made right vice director. Liǔ Càn feared promising officials; Yuǎn was banished to Baizhou, murdered at Baima Post, and his family was seized for the palace workshops.
26
諸崔自咸通後有名，歷臺閣藩鎮者數十人，天下推士族之冠。 始，其曾王母長孫春秋高，無齒，祖母唐事姑孝，每旦乳姑。 一日病，召長幼言：「吾無以報婦，願後子孫皆若爾孝。」 世謂崔氏昌大有所本雲。
After Xiantong the Cui produced dozens of men in central office and in the provinces, and the realm hailed them the foremost clan. Long before, a great-grandmother of the line, née Zhǎngsūn, lived to great age without teeth; her daughter-in-law, née Táng, nursed her mother-in-law each morning in filial devotion. On her deathbed she gathered the clan and said: "I cannot repay my daughter-in-law; may all our descendants show such devotion as yours." People said the Cui family's eminence had its source in this.
27
蕭鄴，字啟之，梁長沙宣王懿九世孫。 及進士第，累進監察御史、翰林學士，出為衡州刺史。 大中中，召還翰林，拜中書舍人，遷戶部侍郎，判本司，以工部尚書同中書門下平章事。 懿宗初，罷為荊南節度使，仍平章事，進檢校尚書左僕射，徙劍南西川。 南詔內寇，不能制，下遷檢校右僕射、山南西道觀察使。 歷戶部、吏部二尚書，拜右僕射。 還，以平章事節度河東。 在官無足稱道，卒。
Xiāo Yè, courtesy name Qǐzhī, was a ninth-generation descendant of Liáng's Prince Yì of Changsha. A jinshi graduate, he rose to investigating censor and Hanlin academician, then was posted as governor of Hengzhou. In Dazhong he returned to the Hanlin, became a drafting official in the secretariat, then vice minister of revenue directing that ministry, and finally grand councilor as minister of works. Early in Yìzōng's reign he was sent out as commissioner of Jingnan while retaining the councilorship, made acting left vice director, then transferred to Jiannan West. When Nánzhāo invaded and he failed to repel them, he was demoted to acting right vice director and observation commissioner of Shannan West. He served as minister of revenue and of personnel in succession, then was appointed right vice director. Recalled, he governed Hedong as commissioner while remaining on the council. He accomplished little in office and died.
28
鄭肅，字乂敬，其先滎陽人，以儒世家。 肅力於學，有根柢。 第進士、書判拔萃，補興平尉。 累擢太常少卿，博士有疑議往咨，必據經條答。 文宗高擇魯王府屬，肅以諫議大夫兼長史。 王為皇太子，遷給事中，進尚書右丞。 出為陜虢觀察使。
Zhèng Sù, courtesy name Yìjìng, was of a Xingyang family long devoted to classical learning. Sù studied with rigor and had a solid grounding in the classics. He passed the jinshi and excelled in the document-judgment examination, then was appointed sheriff of Xingping. He rose to vice director of the court of imperial sacrifices; ritual specialists brought him doubtful cases, and he always answered from the canonical texts. Wénzōng carefully chose staff for the Prince of Lu, and Sù served as remonstrance official and chief administrator of the household. When the prince became heir apparent, Sù was made attendant censor and then right vice director. He was posted as observation commissioner of Shǎn and Guǒ.
29
開成二年，召拜吏部侍郎。 帝以肅嘗輔導東宮，詔兼賓客，為太子授經。 既而太子母愛弛，為讒所乘，廢斥有端。 肅因入見，言天下大本，不可輕動，意致深切，帝為動容。 然內寵方煽，太子終以憂死。 出為檢校禮部尚書、河中節度使。 武宗知太子無罪，特困於讒，而朝廷謂肅臨義不可奪，侹侹有大臣節，召為太常卿。 遷山南東道節度使。 五年，以檢校尚書右僕射同中書門下平章事，與李德裕葉心輔政。 宣宗即位，遷中書侍郎，罷為荊南節度使。 卒，贈司空，謚曰文簡。
In Kaicheng year two he was recalled as vice minister of personnel. Because he had once instructed the heir's household, the emperor named him also guest of the heir and had him lecture the crown prince in the classics. Soon the crown prince's mother fell from favor; slander found its opening, and grounds for his removal appeared. Sù seized an audience to warn that the throne's foundation must not be lightly shaken; his plea was urgent, and the emperor was visibly moved. But palace favorites were ascendant, and the crown prince ultimately died of grief. He was sent out as acting minister of rites and commissioner of Hedong. Wǔzōng knew the heir had been innocent and deeply resented the slander; the court held that Sù, faced with injustice, could not be bent—unyielding, he showed a great minister's spine—and recalled him as director of the court of imperial sacrifices. He was transferred to commissioner of Shannan East. In year five he became acting right vice director and grand councilor and governed in concert with Lǐ Déyù. When Xuānzōng came to the throne, Sù was made vice director of the secretariat, then sent out as commissioner of Jingnan. He died and was posthumously honored as minister of works with the epithet Wenjian, "Cultivated and Simple."
30
子洎，仕至州刺史。 洎子仁規、仁表，皆豪爽有文。 仁規位中書舍人。
His son Jì rose to a prefectural governorship. Jì's sons Rén'guī and Rén'biǎo were both bold, open-handed, and literary. Rén'guī became a drafting official in the secretariat.
31
仁表累擢起居郎。 嘗以門閥文章自高，曰：「天瑞有五色雲，人瑞有鄭仁表。」 傲縱多所陵藉，人畏薄之。 劉鄴未仕，往謁洎，而仁表等鄙訿其文。 鄴為相，因罪貶仁表，死嶺外。
Rén'biǎo rose to attendant of the imperial diary. He once boasted of his pedigree and prose, saying: "Heaven's omen is the five-colored cloud; the age's omen is Zhèng Rén'biǎo." Arrogant and overbearing, he often insulted others, and men feared and scorned him. Before he had entered office, Liú Yè called on Jì, but Rén'biǎo and his kin mocked his literary efforts. When Yè became chancellor, he found cause to banish Rén'biǎo, who died in the far south.
32
始，肅罷政事，帝以盧商代之。 商字為臣，蚤孤，家窶困，能以學自奮。 舉進士、拔萃，皆中。 由校書郎佐宣歙、西川幕府。 入朝，累十餘遷，至大理卿。 為蘇州刺史，吏以鹽法求贏貲，民愈困，商令計口售鹽，無常額，人便之，歲貲返增。 宰相上其勞，進浙西觀察使，召為刑部侍郎、京兆尹。
When Zhèng Sù left the council, the emperor named Lú Shāng in his place. Shāng, courtesy name Wéichén, lost his father early and grew up in poverty, yet drove himself forward through study. He passed both the jinshi examination and the advanced selection. Starting as a collator, he served on the staffs of the Xuān and Shè region and of Xīchuān. Called to the capital, he rose through more than ten postings to director of the court of judicial review. As governor of Sūzhōu, where officials had squeezed extra profit from the salt monopoly and deepened the people's hardship, he ordered salt sold per capita at no fixed quota—a measure the people welcomed—and annual remittances to the court actually rose. The chancellors cited his achievements; he was promoted to commissioner of Zhèxī, then recalled as vice minister of justice and intendant of the capital district.
33
方伐潞，芻糧逾太行餉軍，環六七鎮，詔商以戶部侍郎判度支，又詔杜悰兼鹽鐵、度支，並二使財以贍兵，乃不乏。 出為東川節度使，以兵部侍郎還判度支，擢中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，范陽郡公。
During the campaign against Lù, fodder crossed the Tàiháng to feed armies across six or seven circuits. Shāng was ordered to run the revenue bureau as vice minister of revenue; Dù Zōng was also named to the salt and iron and revenue posts. By pooling both agencies' funds they kept the armies supplied. Posted as commissioner of East Chuān, he returned as vice minister of war to run the revenue bureau again, then rose to vice director of the secretariat, grand councilor, and Duke of Fànyáng.
34
大中元年春旱，詔商與御史中丞封敖理囚系於尚書省，誤縱死罪，罷為武昌軍節度使。 以疾解，拜戶部尚書，卒。
In a drought year of Dàzhōng's first year, Shāng and vice censor-in-chief Fēng Áo were ordered to review prisoners at the Ministry of Justice. They mistakenly freed men under death sentence. Shāng was demoted to commissioner of Wǔchāng. He resigned on grounds of illness, was named minister of revenue, and died.
35
盧鈞，字子和，系出范陽，徙京兆藍田。 舉進士中第，以拔萃補秘書正字。 從李絳為山南府推官，調長安尉。 又從裴度為太原觀察支使，遷監察御史，爭宋申錫獄知名。 進吏部郎中，出為常州刺史。 遷給事中，有大詔令，必反覆省審，駁奏無私。 拜華州刺史。 關輔驛馬疲耗，鈞為市健馬，率三歲一易，自是無乏事。
Lú Jūn, courtesy name Zǐhé, came of a Fànyáng clan that had settled in Lántian in the capital region. He passed the jinshi and, on the advanced selection, became a proofreader in the secretariat. He served under Lǐ Jiàng as a judicial aide in Shānnán, then was posted as sheriff of Cháng'ān. Under Péi Dù he served as staff commissioner at Tàiyuán, then became supervising censor and won renown for his stand in the Sòng Shēnxī affair. Promoted to a director in the Ministry of Personnel, he went out as governor of Chángzhōu. As attendant censor, he scrutinized every major edict repeatedly and filed refusals without favoritism. He was appointed governor of Huázhōu. Relay horses in the capital approaches were exhausted; Jūn purchased strong replacements on a three-year cycle, and shortages ceased.
36
擢嶺南節度使。 海道商舶始至，異時帥府爭先往，賤售其珍，鈞一不取，時稱絜廉。 專以清靜治。 蕃獠與華人錯居，相婚嫁，多占田營第舍，吏或撓之，則相為亂； 鈞下令蕃華不得通婚，禁名田產，闔部肅壹無敢犯。 貞元後流放衣冠，其子姓窮弱不能自還者，為營棺槥還葬，有疾若喪則經給醫藥、殯斂，孤女稚兒，為立夫家，以奉稟資助，凡數百家。 南方服其德，不懲而化。 又除采金稅。 華、蠻數千走闕下，請為鈞生立祠，刻石頌德，鈞固辭。 以戶部侍郎召判戶部。
He was made commissioner of Língnán. When the first sea-traders arrived, commanders had habitually rushed to buy their goods cheap; Jūn took nothing, and men praised his scrupulous probity. He governed through quiet restraint. Tribal peoples and Han Chinese lived intermingled and intermarried, often seizing land and building mansions; when officials interfered, the communities rioted; Jūn forbade intermarriage between tribes and Han Chinese and banned illegal landholding; the whole territory fell in line and none dared defy him. For families of officials banished after the Zhēnyuán era who could not afford the journey home, he provided coffins and burial transport; he supplied medicine and funeral costs for the sick and bereaved; he found husbands for orphaned girls and support for young sons—aiding several hundred households in all. The south submitted to his virtue and was reformed without coercion. He also abolished the gold-mining tax. Thousands of Han and tribal subjects went to the capital to ask leave for a living shrine and commemorative stele; Jūn firmly refused. Recalled as vice minister of revenue, he concurrently ran the ministry.
37
會昌中，漢水害襄陽，拜鈞山南東道節度使，築堤六千步，以障漢暴。 王師伐劉稹，武宗以鈞寬厚能得眾，詔兼節度昭義軍。 會稹死，敕乘驲往，進檢校兵部尚書，專領昭義。 鈞及潞，石雄兵已入，而稹將白惟信率餘卒三千保潞，城未下。 雄召之，使往十餘輩皆死。 鈞次高平，惟信獻款，且曰：「不即降者，畏石尚書爾。」 鈞與約而遣。 方雄欲盡夷潞兵，鈞不聽，坐治堂上，左右皆雄親卒，擊鼓傳漏，鈞自居甚安，雄引去，乃召惟信至，送闕下，餘眾悉原。
During Huìchāng, when the Hàn River devastated Xiāngyáng, Jūn was named commissioner of Shānnán East and built a six-thousand-pace levee against the floods. When imperial armies marched against Liú Zhěn, Wǔzōng—trusting Jūn's open hand with troops—named him also commissioner of the Zhàoyì army. When Zhěn died, he was ordered to ride post-horses to the front, promoted to acting minister of war, and given sole charge of Zhàoyì. Jūn reached Lù after Shí Xióng's troops had entered, but Zhěn's general Bái Wéixìn still held the city with three thousand men. Xióng sent envoys to summon him; more than a dozen went and all were killed. At Gāopíng, Wéixìn submitted and said, "We hesitate to surrender only because we fear Minister Shí." Jūn agreed to terms and sent him back. As Xióng was poised to slaughter the garrison, Jūn refused. He held court surrounded by Xióng's own troops while drums beat and the water-clock marked the hours, himself perfectly calm. When Xióng left, he summoned Wéixìn, sent him to the capital, and pardoned the rest.
38
俄而興士五千戍代北，鈞坐城門勞遣，帷家人以觀。 戍卒驕，顧家屬不欲去，酒酣，反攻城，迫大將李文矩為帥，鈞倉卒奔潞城。 文矩投地僵臥，稍諭叛者，眾乃悔服，即相與謝鈞，迎還府，斬首惡乃定。 詔趣戍者行，密使盡戮之。 鈞請徐乘其變，而使者不發，須報。 時戍人已去潞一舍，鈞選牙卒五百，壯騎百，以騎載兵夜趨； 遲明，至太平驛，盡斬之。 即拜檢校尚書左僕射。
Soon five thousand fresh recruits were sent north; Jūn saw them off at the gate, with his family watching from behind a screen. The troops, drunk and reluctant to leave their families, mutinied, besieged the city, and forced General Lǐ Wénjǔ to lead them; Jūn fled in haste to the inner citadel. Wénjǔ threw himself down as if dead until he had talked the mutineers around; repentant, they apologized to Jūn, escorted him back, and beheaded the ringleaders to restore order. The court ordered the troops to march north and secretly authorized their wholesale execution. Jūn asked leave to act when the moment ripened, but the imperial messenger would not move without fresh orders. By then the mutineers were one post-stage from Lù; Jūn picked five hundred guards and a hundred picked horsemen, and by night carried infantry on horseback in pursuit; At dawn he reached Tàipíng Post and cut them all down. He was at once made acting left vice director.
39
宣宗即位，改吏部尚書。 會劉約自天平徙宣武，未至，暴死。 家僮五百無所仰衣食，思亂，乃授鈞宣武節度使，人情妥然。 召入，復為吏部尚書，遷檢校司空、太子少師，封范陽郡公，節度河東。
When Xuānzōng came to the throne, Jūn became minister of personnel. Liú Yuē was transferring from Tiānpíng to Xuānwǔ when he died suddenly en route. His five hundred retainers faced ruin and mutiny loomed; appointing Jūn commissioner of Xuānwǔ settled every heart. Recalled, he again headed personnel, then rose to acting minister of works, junior mentor to the heir, Duke of Fànyáng, and commissioner of Hedong.
40
大中九年，召為左僕射。 鈞宿齒，數外遷，而後來多至宰相。 始被召，自以當輔政，既失誌，故內怨望，數移病不事事，邀遊林墅，累日一還。 令狐惡之，罷僕射，以檢校司空守太子太師。 帝元日大饗含元殿，鈞年八十，升降如儀，音吐鴻暢，舉朝咨嘆。 以鈞耆碩長者，顧不任職，咎為冒賢。 聞，言於帝，即以鈞同中書門下平章事，為山南西道節度使。 俄檢校司徒，為東都留守。 懿宗初，復節度宣武，辭不拜，以太保致仕。 卒，年八十七，贈太傅，謚曰元。
In Dàzhōng year nine he was recalled as left vice director. Elder in years and repeatedly posted to the provinces while younger men rose to the chancellorship, he had expected this recall to mean the council; disappointed, he nursed a private grievance, pleaded illness to shirk duty, and wandered his estates for days on end. Líng Hú turned on him, stripped him of the vice directorship, and kept him only as acting minister of works and grand mentor to the heir. At the New Year feast in Hányuán Hall, eighty-year-old Jūn mounted and descended the steps with perfect grace, his voice ringing clear—the whole court marveled. Because such a revered elder held a title yet served no function, critics charged that he was blocking worthier men. When the emperor heard of it, he named Jūn grand councilor and sent him out as commissioner of Shānnán West. Soon he was made acting minister of education and guardian of the Eastern Capital. At Yìzōng's accession he was again offered Xuānwǔ but declined and retired as grand preceptor. He died at eighty-seven, was posthumously honored as grand tutor, and given the epithet Yuán.
41
鈞與人交，始若淡薄，既久乃益固。 所居官必有績，大抵根仁恕至誠而施於事。 玩服不為鮮明，位將相，沒而無贏財。
In friendship he seemed aloof at first, yet bonds deepened with time. Every post he held showed results, rooted in sincere humanity and forbearance. He wore no finery even as a minister; when he died he left no surplus wealth.
42
盧簡方，失其系世，不知所以進。 盧鈞鎮太原，表為節度府判官。 會党項羌叛，鈞使簡方督兵乘邊，旁河相險，集樹堡鄣，自神山至鹿泉縣，三百里，扈遏其沖，賊不得騁，候邏便之。 累遷江州刺史。 徙大同軍防禦使，大開屯田，練兵侈鬥，沙陀畏附。 擢義昌節度使，入拜太仆卿，領大同節度。 久之，徙振武軍，道病卒。
Lú Jiǎnfāng's pedigree was not recorded; how he entered office is unknown. When Jūn held Tàiyuán, he recommended Jiǎnfāng as chief aide on his staff. During the Dǎngxiàng rebellion, Jūn put Jiǎnfāng in charge of frontier troops, building fortifications along three hundred lǐ of the river from Shénshān to Lùquán to choke raiders' routes and ease border patrols. He rose to governor of Jiāngzhōu. Posted to defend the Dàtóng army, he expanded military colonies, drilled fierce fighters, and won the Shātóu's fearful loyalty. Made commissioner of Yìchāng, he entered court as grand master of the stud and retained command of Dàtóng. Later transferred to Zhènwǔ, he died of illness en route.
43
韋琮，字禮玉，世顯仕。 琮進士及第，稍進殿中侍御史。 坐訊獄不得實，改太常博士。 擢累戶部侍郎、翰林學士承旨。 以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事，遷門下侍郎兼禮部尚書，無功。 罷為太子賓客分司，卒。
Wéi Cóng, courtesy name Lǐyù, came from a long line of eminent officials. Cóng passed the jinshi and rose to attendant imperial censor. After mishandling a criminal inquiry, he was demoted to ritual scholar in the court of imperial sacrifices. He rose to vice minister of revenue and chief Hanlin academician. He served as vice director of the secretariat and grand councilor, then as vice director of the chancellery and minister of rites, but accomplished nothing. Removed to honorary mentor of the heir in the eastern office, he died.
44
周墀，字德升，本汝南人。 少孤，事母孝。 及進士第，辟湖南團練府巡官，入為監察御史、集賢殿學士。 長史學，屬辭高古，文宗雅重之。 李宗閔鎮山南，表行軍司馬，閱歲召還。 太和末，訓、註亂政，以黨語汙搢紳有名士，分逐之，獨墀雖嘗為宗閔所禮，不能以罪誣也。 遷起居舍人，改考功員外郎，兼舍人事。 帝禦紫宸，與宰相語事已，或召左右史咨質所宜，墀最為天子欽矚。 俄知制誥，入翰林為學士。
Zhōu Chí, courtesy name Déshēng, was originally from Rǔnán. Orphaned young, he was devoted to his mother. After his jinshi degree he joined the Húnán defense staff, then entered court as supervising censor and academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. A skilled historian who wrote in a lofty archaic style, he won Wénzōng's special regard. When Lǐ Zōngmǐn held Shānnán, Chí served as his army marshal and was recalled after a year. In late Tàihé, when Zhù and Xùn's faction purged famous scholars with smears, Chí alone—though once favored by Zōngmǐn—escaped false accusation. Promoted to diarist, then made an outer director in the appointments bureau while keeping diary duties. After audience at Zǐchén Hall the emperor sometimes consulted the court historians on propriety—Chí won the deepest imperial trust. Soon he drafted edicts and entered the Hanlin as academician.
45
武宗即位，以疾改工部侍郎，出為華州刺史。 徙江西觀察使。 劾舉部刺史，翦捕劇賊，出兵戍彭蠡湖，禁止剽劫。 進拜義成節度使，封汝南縣男。 宿將暴謷不循令者，墀命鞭其背，一軍大治。
When Wǔzōng came to the throne, citing illness Chí became vice minister of works and then governor of Huázhōu. He was posted as commissioner of Jiāngxī. He disciplined negligent governors, crushed major bandit gangs, garrisoned Pénglí Lake, and suppressed river piracy. Promoted to commissioner of Yìchéng and ennobled as Baron of Rǔnán. He had insubordinate senior officers flogged on the back, and the army came to rigid order.
46
以兵部侍郎召判度支，進同中書門下平章事、遷中書侍郎。 建言：「故宰相德裕重定《元和實錄》，竄寄它事，以廣父功。 凡人君尚不改史，取必信也。」 遂削新書。 河東節度使王宰重賂權幸，求同平章事，領宣武，墀言：「天下大鎮如並、汴者才幾，宰之求何可厭？」 宣宗納之。 駙馬都尉韋讓求為京兆，持不與。 繇是妄進者少衰。
Recalled as vice minister of war to run the revenue bureau, he rose to grand councilor and vice director of the secretariat. He memorialized: "Former Chancellor Déyù's revision of the Veritable Records of the Yuánhé era inserted extraneous material to magnify his father's deeds. A ruler must not tamper with history if the record is to be trusted." The revised portions were struck from the record. Hedong commissioner Wáng Zǎi, bribing palace favorites, sought the chancellorship and command of Xuānwǔ too. Chí objected: "How many circuits rank with Tàiyuán or Biànliáng—and how much more does Wáng Zǎi intend to take?" Xuānzōng agreed. When the princess's husband Wéi Ràng sought the capital intendant's post, Chí flatly refused. Unworthy promotions thereafter slackened.
47
會吐蕃微弱，以三州七關自歸。 帝召宰相議河湟事，墀對不合旨，罷為劍南東川節度使。 駙馬都尉鄭顥言於帝曰：「世謂墀以直言相，亦以直言免。」 帝悟，加拜檢校尚書右僕射，卒，年五十九，贈司徒。
When weakening Tibet offered the return of three prefectures and seven passes, the emperor convened the council on the northwest; Chí's advice missed the mark, and he was sent out as commissioner of Eastern Chuān. The princess's husband Zhèng Hào told the emperor, "Men say Chí entered the council for frank counsel and left it for the same." The emperor saw the point and promoted Chí to acting right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. He died at fifty-nine and was posthumously ennobled as grand tutor.
48
裴休，字公美，孟州濟源人。 父肅，貞元時為浙東觀察使，劇賊栗锽誘山越為亂，陷州縣，肅引州兵破禽之，自記平賊一篇上之，德宗嘉美。 生三子。 休，仲子也，操守嚴正。 方兒童時，兄弟偕隱家墅，晝講經，夜著書，終年不出戶。 有饋鹿者，諸生共薦之，休不食，曰：「疏食猶不足，今一啖肉，後何以繼？」
Pei Xiū, courtesy name Gōngměi, came from Jìyuán in Mèngzhōu. His father Sù served as commissioner of Eastern Zhèjiāng under Zhēnyuán. When the outlaw Lì Chéng stirred the Shānyuè to revolt and overran local districts, Sù led prefectural troops, defeated him, and took him alive. He then memorialized with his own account of the campaign, which Dézōng commended. He had three sons. Xiū was the middle son, known for stern integrity. As boys the brothers withdrew to the family estate, studying the classics by day and writing at night, and did not leave the house for a full year. When a deer was sent as a gift and his fellow students urged him to share it, Xiū refused: "Plain fare is scarce enough; one bite of meat today—how would I justify more tomorrow?"
49
擢進士第，舉賢良方正異等。 歷諸府辟署，入為監察御史，更內外任。 至大中時，以兵部侍郎領諸道鹽鐵轉運使。 六年，進同中書門下平章事，即奏言：「宰相論政上前，知印者次為時政記，所論非一，詳己辭，略它議，事有所缺，史氏莫得詳。 請宰相人自為記，合付史官。」 詔可。 進中書侍郎。
He passed the jinshi examination and was nominated in the exalted and upright category at the highest grade. After serving on several prefectural staffs he became an investigating censor and moved between capital and provincial posts. In the Dàzhōng period he was vice minister of war and head of the salt, iron, and transport service. In his sixth year in office he became grand councilor and at once proposed: "When councilors debate before the throne, the seal-holder drafts the policy record. Because each man details only his own remarks and skimps on colleagues' points, the historians never get the full picture. Let each councilor keep his own record and submit the set to the historiography office. The emperor approved. He was promoted to vice director of the secretariat.
50
太和後，歲漕江、淮米四十萬斛，至渭河倉者才十三，舟楫僨敗，吏乘為奸，冒沒百端，劉晏之法盡廢。 休分遣官詢按其弊，乃命在所令長兼董漕，褒能者，謫怠者。 由江抵渭，舊歲率雇緡二十八萬，休悉歸諸吏，敕巡院不得輒侵牟。 著新法十條，又立稅茶十二法，人以為便。 居三年，粟至渭倉者百二十萬斛，無留壅。 時方鎮設邸閣居茶取直，因視商人它貨橫賦之，道路苛擾。 休建言：「許收邸直，毋擅賦商人。」 又：「收山澤寶冶，悉歸鹽鐵。」
After Tàihé, four hundred thousand hu of grain were shipped annually from the Jiāng and Huái region, yet only about a third reached the Wèi granaries. Wrecks multiplied, officials turned the system to fraud, and Liú Yàn's reforms were dead letter. Xiū dispatched investigators to trace the abuses, then made local magistrates responsible for transport, rewarding diligence and punishing neglect. The old annual hiring costs from the Yangtze to the Wèi ran to 280,000 strings of cash; Xiū turned the funds back to the transport clerks and forbade patrol offices from extorting merchants. He drafted ten new regulations and twelve articles on the tea tax, which the public found workable. Within three years deliveries to the Wèi granaries rose to 1.2 million hu with no backlog. Military governors had set up lodge offices to warehouse tea and collect fees, then imposed arbitrary levies on merchants' other goods, harassing the highways. Xiū proposed: "Allow only the authorized lodge fees—no arbitrary taxes on merchants." He also urged that revenues from mountains, marshes, mines, and smelters be centralized under the salt and iron bureau."
51
秉政凡五歲，罷為宣武軍節度使，封河東縣子。 久之，由太子少保分司東都，復起歷昭義、河東、鳳翔、荊南四節度。 卒，年七十四，贈太尉。
After five years in power he was sent out as commissioner of Xuānwǔ and ennobled as Viscount of Hédōng. Later he served as junior tutor at the Eastern Capital, then returned to office and held four successive commands: Zhāoyì, Hédōng, Fèngxiáng, and Jīngnán. He died at seventy-four and was posthumously made grand commandant.
52
休不為察行，所治吏下畏信。 能文章，書楷遒媚有體法。 為人醞藉，進止雍閑。 宣宗嘗曰：「休真儒者。」 然嗜浮屠法，居常不禦酒肉，講求其說，演繹附著數萬言，習歌唄以為樂。 與紇幹素善，至為桑門號以相字，當世嘲薄之，而所好不衰。
Xiū did not nitpick his subordinates' conduct, yet in every post his staff feared and trusted him. He wrote well, and his regular script was vigorous, elegant, and disciplined. Urbane in manner, he moved with dignified ease. Xuānzōng once said, "Xiū is a true Confucian." Yet he was devoted to Buddhism, abstained from wine and meat, wrote tens of thousands of words expounding the doctrine, and took his pleasure in chanting sutras. He was close to the monk Gégān Sù, even exchanging monastic names as courtesy names—a habit contemporaries ridiculed, which he never gave up.
53
劉瑑，字子全，高宗宰相仁軌五世孫。 第進士，鎮國陳夷行表為判官。 入遷左拾遺，諫罷武宗方士，言多懇愊。 大中初，擢翰林學士。 宣宗始復關隴，裁處叢繁，書詔夜數十，雖捉筆遽成，辭皆允切。 會伐党項，詔為行營宣慰使。
Liú Zhuàn, courtesy name Zǐquán, was a fifth-generation descendant of Gāozōng's chancellor Rénkuǐ. He passed the jinshi examination, and Chén Yíxíng of Zhèngguó appointed him as a staff judge. Promoted to left remonstrator, he urged Wǔzōng to dismiss his Daoist adepts in language both firm and sincere. Early in Dàzhōng he entered the Hanlin Academy. When Xuānzōng began recovering the northwest, affairs piled up and edicts ran to dozens each night; Zhuàn drafted them at speed, yet every line was apt. During the campaign against the Dǎngxiàng he was named campaigning consolation commissioner.
54
遷刑部侍郎，乃裒匯敕令可用者，由武德訖大中，凡二千八百六十五事，類而析之，參訂重輕，號《大中刑律統類》以聞，法家推其詳。
As vice minister of justice he compiled 2,865 usable statutes and edicts from Wǔdé through Dàzhōng, classified them by topic, harmonized their penalties, and submitted the Comprehensive Categories of the Dàzhōng Penal Code, which jurists hailed for its thoroughness.
55
繇河南尹進宣武軍節度使。 先時，大饗雜進倡舞，彖曰：「豈軍中樂邪？」 取壯士千人，被鎧擁矛盾，習擊刺，與吏士臨觀。 又下令不訶止夜行，使民自便，境內以安。 徙河東節度使。
From the capital intendant's post he was promoted to commissioner of Xuānwǔ. At first the command held grand feasts with singers and dancers. Zhuàn asked, "Is this what an army should hear?" He mustered a thousand armored men with spear and shield, drilled them in combat, and made officers and troops watch. He lifted curfews so people could travel freely, and the circuit grew calm. He was transferred to Hédōng.
56
未幾，以戶部侍郎召判度支。 始，瑑在翰林，帝素器遇。 至是，手詔追還，外無知者，既發太原，人方大驚。 後請間，帝視案上歷，謂彖：「為朕擇一令日。」 瑑跪曰：「某日良。」 帝笑曰：「是日卿可遂相。」 即詔同中書門下平章事，仍領度支。
Soon he was recalled as vice minister of revenue to run the treasury. The emperor had long favored Zhuàn since his Hanlin days. Now the emperor recalled him by autograph in secret. When he left Tàiyuán the court was astonished. At a later private audience the emperor studied the calendar and told Zhuàn, "Pick me an auspicious day." Zhuàn knelt and said, "That day is auspicious." The emperor smiled. "On that day you shall become my chancellor. An edict at once named him grand councilor while he kept charge of revenue.
57
嘗與崔慎由議帝前，慎由請甄別流品，彖質曰：「王夷甫相晉，崇尚浮虛，以述流品，卒致淪夷。 今日不循名責實，使百吏各稱職，而先流品，未知所以致治也。」 慎由不得對，繇是罷宰相。 俄而瑑大病，加工部尚書，拜臥內，猶手疏陳政事。 居位半歲卒，年六十三，贈尚書左僕射。
Once, debating before the throne with Cuī Shènyóu, who urged sorting men by pedigree, Zhuàn replied: "When Wáng Yífǔ led Jin he exalted empty talk and ranked families by pedigree—and the dynasty fell. If today we do not match names to deeds and make every officer do his job, but put pedigree first, I see no path to good government." Shènyóu had no answer and was removed from the council. Zhuàn soon fell gravely ill. Promoted to minister of works, he received investiture at the bedside yet still drafted memorials on state affairs. He died six months later at sixty-three and was posthumously made left vice director of the Department of State Affairs.
58
瑑以名節自將，凡議論處事不私，趨於當乃止，未嘗以言色借貴近。 與瑑同知政者夏侯孜。
Zhuàn held himself to reputation and integrity, argued and acted without favoritism, stopped when justice was done, and never softened his tone for the powerful. His colleague on the council was Xiàhóu Zī.
59
孜，字好學，亳州譙人。 累遷婺、絳州刺史。 繇兵部侍郎、諸道鹽鐵轉運使為同中書門下平章事，仍領鹽鐵。 懿宗立，進門下侍郎、譙郡侯。 俄以同平章事出為西川節度使。 召拜尚書左僕射，還執政，進司空，為貞陵山陵使。 坐隧壞，出為河中節度使，猶同平章事。 初，堂史署制，仆孜懷中，即死。 不數日，孜罷。
Zī, courtesy name Hàoxué, came from Qiào in Bózhōu. He rose to govern Wù and Jiàng prefectures. From vice minister of war and head of salt, iron, and transport he became grand councilor while retaining the transport portfolio. When Yìzōng came to the throne, Zī became vice director of the chancellery and Marquis of Qiào. Soon he left the capital as grand councilor and commissioner of Western Chuān. Recalled as left vice director, he returned to power, rose to minister of works, and directed construction of Emperor Xuānzōng's mausoleum. When the imperial tunnel collapsed he was sent to Hézhōng as commissioner, retaining his council title. Once a secretariat clerk drafting an edict slipped the draft into Zī's robe—and dropped dead on the spot. Within days Zī was dismissed.
60
咸通時，蠻犯蜀深入，士乏糧，追責孜治蜀無素備，以太子少保分司東都，卒。
In Xiántōng, when Nanzhao raided deep into Shǔ and troops went hungry, the court blamed Zī for leaving Sichuan unprepared, demoted him to junior tutor at the Eastern Capital, and he died there.
61
趙隱，字大隱，京兆奉天人。 祖植，當德宗出狩，變倉卒，羽衛單寡，朱泚攻城急，植率家人奴客以死拒守，獻家財勞軍，帝嘉之。 賊平，渾瑊引在幕府。 累擢鄭州刺史。 鄭滑節度使李融奏以自副，融疾病，委以軍政。 大將宋朝晏火其營，夜為亂，植列卒不動須之，遲明而潰，捕斬皆盡，優詔嘉慰。 累擢嶺南節度使，終於官。 父存約，辟署興元李絳府。 值軍亂，方與絳燕間，吏報賊至，絳麾存約使去，對曰：「荷公德厚，誼不當獨免。」 即部勒左右捍之，而同被害。
Zhào Yǐn, courtesy name Dàyǐn, came from Fèngtiān in the capital district. His grandfather Zhí, when Dézōng fled the capital in haste with a thin guard, held his home against Zhū Cī's fierce siege with kin and retainers, gave his family wealth to the troops, and won the emperor's praise. After the rebellion he entered Húnzhuǎn's staff. He rose to governor of Zhèngzhōu. Lǐ Róng, commissioner of Zhèng and Huá, took him as deputy and, when illness struck, entrusted him with the command. When the general Sòng Cháoyàn burned the camp and mutiny broke out at night, Zhí held his ranks without stirring until dawn, when the rebels collapsed. The ringleaders were executed to a man, and the throne sent warm commendation. He eventually became commissioner of Lǐngnán and died in post. His father Cúnyuē served on Lǐ Jiàng's staff at Xīngyuán. During a mutiny, as he feasted with Jiàng, word came that rebels were approaching. Jiàng urged him to flee; Cúnyuē answered, "You have shown me great kindness—I cannot save myself alone." He rallied his guards to resist and perished with Jiàng.
62
隱以父死難，與兄騭廬墓幾十年，闔門誦書，不應辟召。 親友更敦勉令仕，會昌中，擢進士第，歷州刺史、河南尹。 以兵部侍郎領鹽鐵轉運使。 咸通末，進同中書門下平章事，遷中書侍郎，封天水縣伯。
After his father's death in the crisis, Yǐn and his elder brother Zhì mourned at the tomb for nearly ten years, the household studying together and refusing every summons. Relatives finally persuaded him to serve; in Huìchāng he passed the jinshi, became a prefectural governor, and then capital intendant. As vice minister of war he headed salt, iron, and transport. Late in Xiántōng he became grand councilor and vice director of the secretariat, and was ennobled Baron of Tiānshuǐ.
63
性仁悌，不敢以貴權自處。 始布衣時，家無貲，與騭同耕以養，雖姻宗之富，未嘗幹以財。 宦浸顯，還家，易衣侍左右，猶布衣也。 騭終宣歙觀察使。
Gentle and dutiful by nature, he never threw his rank about. As a commoner he was poor and farmed with Zhì to support the family, never asking wealthy in-laws for help. Even after high office, when he came home he changed into plain clothes to wait on his mother as a farmer's son. Zhì ended his career as commissioner of Xuān and Shè.
64
既輔政，它宰相及百官皆詣第升堂慶母，歲時公卿必參訊。 懿宗誕日，宴慈恩寺，隱侍母以安輿臨觀，宰相方率百官拜恩於廷，即回班候夫人起居，搢紳以為榮。 後崔顏昭、張浚當國，皆有母，遂踵其禮。
Once in power, fellow councilors and officials called at his home to congratulate his mother, and ministers visited her every season. On Yìzōng's birthday, at a feast in Cí'ēn Temple, Yǐn brought his mother in a palanquin while the council led officials in court obeisance, then the whole cohort waited on her health—a ritual the elite took as supreme honor. Later, when Cuī Yánzhāo and Zhāng Jùn held power, each with a living mother, they copied the ceremony.
65
僖宗初，罷為鎮海軍節度使。 王郢之亂，坐撫禦失宜，下除太常卿。 廣明初，為吏部尚書。 居母喪，卒。
Early in Xīzōng's reign he was sent out as commissioner of Zhènhǎi. After Wáng Yǐng's rebellion he was demoted for mishandling the crisis, reduced to minister of imperial sacrifices. At the start of Guǎngmíng he was minister of personnel. He died while mourning his mother.
66
子光逢、光裔、光胤，皆第進士，歷臺省華劇。 光逢尤規矱自持，以中書舍人為翰林學士。 時光裔由膳部郎中知制誥，對掌內外命書，士歆羨之。
His sons Guāngféng, Guāngyì, and Guāngyìn all passed the jinshi and rose to eminent posts in the censorate and secretariat. Guāngféng was the most self-disciplined; from secretariat drafter he entered the Hanlin. Meanwhile Guāngyì drafted edicts as a director in the ministry of rites, so the brothers held inner and outer drafting between them—a feat scholars envied.
67
裴坦，字知進，隋營州都督世節裔孫。 父乂，福建觀察使。 坦及進士第，沈傳師表置宣州觀察府，召拜左拾遺、史館修撰。 歷楚州刺史。 令狐當國，薦為職方郎中，知制誥，而裴休持不可，不能奪。 故事，舍人初詣省視事，四丞相送之，施一榻堂上，壓角而坐。 坦見休，重愧謝，休勃然曰：「此令狐丞相之舉，休何力？」 顧左右索肩輿亟出，省吏眙駭，以為唐興無有此辱，人為坦羞之。 再進禮部侍郎，拜江西觀察使、華州刺史。 召為中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，不數月卒。
Pei Tǎn, courtesy name Zhījìn, descended from the Suí area commander Shìjié of Yíngzhōu. His father Yì was commissioner of Fújiàn. Tǎn passed the jinshi; Shěn Chuánshī placed him on the Xuānzhōu staff; he was recalled as left remonstrator and historiography compiler. He served as governor of Chǔzhōu. When Líng Hú dominated the court he recommended Tǎn as appointments director and edict drafter, but Pei Xiū firmly objected and could not be overruled. By custom, when a Secretariat drafter first reported to the Secretariat to assume his duties, four chancellors would escort him in; a couch would be set up in the hall, and all would sit each on a corner of it. When Tǎn went to see Xiū and bowed again and again in apology, Xiū flushed with anger and said, "This was Chancellor Líng Hú's appointment — what had I to do with it? He turned to his attendants for a sedan chair and left at once. The Secretariat staff stood gaping, holding that nothing like this humiliation had occurred since the dynasty was founded; many felt embarrassment on Tǎn's behalf. He was promoted again to vice minister of rites, then appointed commissioner of Jiāngxī and governor of Huá Prefecture. He was recalled as vice director of the Secretariat and grand councilor; he died within a few months.
68
坦性簡儉，子娶楊收女，賫具多飾金玉，坦命撤去，曰：「亂我家法。」 世清其概。 從子贄。
Tǎn was spare and frugal by nature. When his son married Yáng Shōu's daughter, the bridal outfit was lavish with gold and jade. Tǎn had it stripped away, saying, "This overturns the way of our household. His contemporaries admired his principled bearing. His nephew Zhì.
69
贄，字敬臣，及進士第，擢累右補闕、御史中丞、刑部尚書。 昭宗引拜中書侍郎兼本官、同中書門下平章事，尋兼戶部尚書。 帝疑其外風檢而匿帷薄，逮問翰林學士韓偓，偓曰：「贄，咸通大臣坦從子，內雍友，合疏屬以居，故臧獲猥眾，出入無度，殆此致謗言者。」 帝每聞咸通事，必肅然斂衽，故偓稱之為贄地。
Zhì, courtesy name Jìngchén, passed the jinshi examination and rose through the posts of right-reminder, censor-in-chief, and vice minister of justice. Emperor Zhāozōng personally invested him as vice director of the Secretariat while retaining his existing rank, made him grand councilor, and shortly thereafter added minister of revenue. The emperor suspected that Zhì maintained an upright public manner while hiding domestic misconduct. He questioned Hanlin academician Hán Wō, who replied: "Zhì is the nephew of Tǎn, a senior minister from the Xiántōng reign. He is warm-hearted at home and ought to have had more distant relatives living with him; instead his household was crowded with riffraff whose comings and goings knew no bounds — that is likely what drew the gossip. Whenever the emperor heard matters from the Xiántōng era, he would compose himself and straighten his robes; hence Wō called such topics "Zhì territory."
70
帝幸鳳翔，為大明宮留守，罷。 俄進尚書左僕射，以司空致仕。 朱全忠將篡，貶青州司戶參軍，殺之。
When the emperor went to Fengxiang, Zhì was left as warden of Daming Palace and later removed. He was soon promoted to left vice director of the Secretariat and retired with the title minister of works. When Zhū Quánzhōng was poised to seize the throne, Zhì was demoted to registrar of Qingzhou and executed.
71
鄭延昌，字光遠，咸通末，得進士第，遷監察御史。 鄭畋鎮鳳翔，表在其府。 黃巢亂京師，畋倚延昌調兵食，且諭慰諸軍。 畋再秉政，擢司勛員外郎、翰林學士。 進累兵部侍郎，兼京兆尹判度支。 拜戶部尚書，以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事，兼刑部尚書。 無它功，以病罷，拜尚書左僕射，卒。
Zhèng Yánchāng, courtesy name Guāngyuǎn, passed the jinshi at the close of Xiántōng and became an investigating censor. When Zhèng Tián held Fengxiang, he had Yánchāng appointed to his staff. When Huáng Cháo ravaged the capital, Tián relied on Yánchāng to manage troops and supplies and to reassure the various armies. When Tián returned to office, he promoted Yánchāng to an outer adjunct in the Ministry of Personnel and Hanlin academician. He rose to vice minister of war, concurrently serving as metropolitan intendant of the capital while overseeing the treasury. He was made minister of revenue, then vice director of the Secretariat and grand councilor, with the additional title of minister of justice. Having accomplished little else, he was removed because of illness, named left vice director of the Secretariat, and died.
72
王溥，字德潤，失其何所人。 第進士，擢累禮部員外郎、史館脩撰。 崔胤鎮武安，表署觀察府判官。 胤不赴鎮，溥留充集賢殿直學士。 御史中丞趙光逢奏為刑部郎中，知雜事。 昭宗蒙難東內，溥與胤說衛軍執劉季述等殺之。 帝反正，驟拜翰林學士、戶部侍郎，以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事，判戶部。 不能有所裨益，罷為太子賓客，分司東部。 未幾，召拜太常卿、工部尚書。 會朱溫侵逼，貶淄州司戶參軍，賜自盡，與裴樞等投屍於河。
Wáng Pǔ, courtesy name Déyùn, was a man whose native place is unrecorded. He passed the jinshi and rose through outer adjunct in the Ministry of Rites and compiler in the Historiography Institute. When Cuī Yìn took command of Wǔ'ān, he had Pǔ appointed administrative aide in his observation staff. Yìn never went to his post, and Pǔ stayed on as a direct academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. Censor-in-chief Zhào Guāngféng had him appointed a director in the Ministry of Justice with charge of assorted bureau business. While Emperor Zhāozōng was besieged in the eastern inner palace, Pǔ and Yìn persuaded the imperial guards to seize Liú Jìshù and his faction and put them to death. After the emperor was restored, Pǔ was swiftly made Hanlin academician and vice minister of revenue, then vice director of the Secretariat, grand councilor, and overseer of the Ministry of Revenue. Finding he could be of little use, the court removed him to honorary mentor of the heir with a nominal post in the eastern capital. Before long he was recalled as minister of imperial sacrifices and minister of works. As Zhū Wēn tightened his grip, Pǔ was demoted to registrar of Zī Prefecture and ordered to take his own life; his body, like those of Pei Shū and the others, was thrown into the river.
73
盧光啟，字子忠，不詳何所人。 第進士，為張浚所厚，擢累兵部侍郎。 昭宗幸鳳翔，宰相皆不從，以光啟權總中書事，兼判三司，進左諫議大夫，參知機務。 復拜兵部侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 俄罷為太子少保，改吏部侍郎。
Lú Guāngqǐ, courtesy name Zǐzhōng, was a man whose origins are unknown. A jinshi graduate, he won Zhāng Jùn's favor and rose to vice minister of war. When Emperor Zhāozōng fled to Fengxiang and none of the chancellors went with him, Guāngqǐ was left to handle Secretariat business provisionally, also oversee the three treasury offices; he was promoted to left remonstrating aide and given a role in deliberations on state affairs. He was again appointed vice minister of war and grand councilor. He was soon removed to junior mentor of the heir, then transferred to vice minister of personnel.
74
初，光啟執政，韋貽範、蘇檢相繼為宰相。 貽範，字垂憲，以龍州刺史貶通州，檢為洋州刺史。 二人奔行在，貽範遷給事中。 用李茂貞薦，閱旬為工部侍郎、同中書門下平章事，判度支。 倚權臣，恣驁不恭。 會母喪免，逾月奪服。 不數月卒。 檢初拜中書舍人，貽範薦於茂貞，即拜工部侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 茂貞與朱全忠通好，乃求尚主，取檢女為景王妃以固恩。 帝還京師，檢長流環州，光啟賜死。
Earlier, during Guāngqǐ's tenure, Wéi Yífàn and Sū Jiǎn each in turn became chief minister. Yífàn, courtesy name Chuíxiàn, had been demoted from governor of Longzhou to Tongzhou; Jiǎn had served as governor of Yangzhou. Both men rushed to join the emperor on campaign; Yífàn was promoted to supervising drafter. On Lǐ Màozhēn's recommendation, within ten days he became vice minister of works, grand councilor, and overseer of the treasury. Backed by men in power, he behaved arrogantly and without deference. When his mother died he left office for mourning, but a month later he was recalled from bereavement by imperial order. He died within a few months. Jiǎn had first been made a Secretariat drafter; Yífàn commended him to Màozhēn, and he was at once named vice minister of works and grand councilor. On good terms with Zhū Quánzhōng, Màozhēn sought an imperial marriage alliance and took Jiǎn's daughter as wife for the Prince of Jǐng to cement their bond. After the emperor returned to Chang'an, Jiǎn was sentenced to distant exile in Huanzhou, and Guāngqǐ was ordered to take his own life.