1
唐受命二百八十八年，以孝悌名通朝廷者，多閭巷刺草之民，皆得書於史官。
Over the two hundred eighty-eight years of Tang rule, those famed at court for filial piety and brotherly devotion were largely humble folk from back lanes who pricked and collected herbs—yet all earned a place in the official histories.
2
萬年王世貴，長安嚴待封，涇陽田伯明，華原韓難陀，華州王瞿曇，鄭縣辛法汪、郭士舉、張長、郭士度、鄭迪、柳仁忠、能君德、劉崇、甘元爽、韓子尚、韓思約，下邽張萬徹，朝邑申屠思恭、呂昂，鶉觚張元亮，靈臺孫智和，新平馮猛將，宜川司馬芬，洛交周崇俊，洛川何善宜，博陵崔定仁，冀州燕遺倩，貝州馬衡，滄州鄭士才，清池孫楚信、劉賢，渤海邊鳳舉，瀛州朱寶積，樂陵蘇伏念，邯鄲章征，雞澤馮仁海、郭守素，文安董相，武邑王達多、張丘感、張藝朗暨孫師才、張義節，沙河趙君惠，南樂谷感德，魏縣毛仁，武城茹智達，歷亭王師威、李肆仁，臨河李文綢，湯陰後斥奴，鼓城彭思義、陳屺、田堤嶽，太原盧遺仁、王知道，蒲州賈孝才，解縣衛玄表，南嶽張利見，安邑曹文行、孫懷應、相裏誌降、楊王操、邵玄同、張衡、曹存勛、李文褒、董文海、李文秀、張仙兒、張公憲，虞鄉董敬直，河東張金城、呂神通、呂雲、呂誌挺、呂元光、趙舉、張祐、姚熾、張師德、馮巨源、杜山藏，河西郭文政，伊闕任仲濟、源榮璧，汴州張士巖，陳留家師諒、董允恭，尉氏楊思貞，中牟潘良瑗暨子季通，陽武時惠珣，封丘楊嵩珪，許田李頤道，胙城蔡洪、石善雄暨孫彥威，朗山胡君才，徐州皇甫恒，彭城尹務榮，荊州劉寶，長壽史摶，益州焦懷肅、郭景華，郪縣曹少微，涪城趙煙，資陽趙光寓、黃，梓潼馬冬王、秦舉、王興嗣，依政樊漪，巴西韋士宗、文博熒暨子詮，南鄭李貞古，巢縣張進昭，萬載廖洪，南陵蘇仲方，鄱陽張讃，樂平謝惟勤、沈普、姜居，上饒鮑嘉福、虞熔真，句容張常洧，弋陽張球、李營暨子凝孫楚，貴溪黃舟，建昌熊士贍，臨江袁鳴，贛縣謝俊，餘杭何公弁、章成緬、方宗，建德何起門，桐廬祝希進，諸暨張萬和，蕭山李渭、許伯會、戴恭、俞僅，信安徐知新、徐惠諲，東陽應先、唐君祐，睦州許利川，建陽劉常，邵武黃亙、張巨篯、吳海，泉山黃嘉猷，永泰王奭，皆事親居喪著至行者。 萬年宋興貴，奉先張郛，澧陽張仁興，櫟陽董思寵，湖城閻旻，高平雍仙高，湖城閻酆，正平周思藝、張子英，曲沃張君密、秦德方、馬玄操、李君則，太平趙德儼，隴西陳嗣，北海呂元簡，經城宋洸之，單父劉九江，無棣徐文亮，樂陵吳正表，河間劉宣、董永，安邑任君義、衛開，龍門梁神義、賀見涉、張奇異，鄭縣王元緒、寇元童，舒城徐行周，睦州方良琨，桐廬戴元益，高安宋練，涇縣萬晏，弋陽李植，繁昌王丕，皆數世同居者。 天子皆旌表門閭，賜粟帛，州縣存問，復賦稅，有授以官者。
From Wannian came Wang Shigui; from Chang'an, Yan Daifeng; from Jingyang, Tian Boming; from Huayuan, Han Nantuo; from Huazhou, Wang Qutan; and from Zheng County, Xin Fawang, Guo Shiju, Zhang Chang, Guo Shidu, Zheng Di, Liu Renzhong, Neng Junde, Liu Chong, Gan Yuanshuang, Han Zishang, and Han Siyue—together with Zhang Wanche of Xiaji; Shentu Sigong and Lü Ang of Chaoyi; Zhang Yuanliang of Hequ; Sun Zhihe of Lingtai; Feng Mengjiang of Xinping; Sima Fen of Yichuan; Zhou Chongjun of Luojiao; He Shanyi of Luochuan; Cui Dingren of Boling; Yan Yiqian of Jizhou; Ma Heng of Beizhou; Zheng Shicai of Cangzhou; Sun Chuxin and Liu Xian of Qingchi; Bian Fengju of Bohai; Zhu Baoji of Yingzhou; Su Funian of Leling; Zhang Zheng of Handan; Feng Renhai and Guo Shousu of Jize; Dong Xiang of Wen'an; Wang Daduo, Zhang Qiugan, and Zhang Yilang of Wuyi, with grandsons Shi Shicai and Zhang Yijie; Zhao Junhui of Shahe; Gu Gande of Nanle; Mao Ren of Weixian; Ru Zhida of Wucheng; Wang Shiwei and Li Siren of Liting; Li Wenchou of Linhe; Hou Chinu of Tangyin; Peng Siyi, Chen Qi, and Tian Diyue of Gucheng; Lu Yiren and Wang Zhidao of Taiyuan; Jia Xiaocai of Puzhou; Wei Xuanbiao of Jie County; Zhang Lijian of Nanyue; the many filial men of Anyi led by Cao Wenxing; Dong Jingzhi of Yuxiang; the Lü and Zhang households of Hedong; Guo Wenzheng of Hexi; Ren Zhongji and Yuan Rongbi of Yique; Zhang Shiyan of Bianzhou; Jia Shiliang and Dong Yungong of Chenliu; Yang Sizhen of Weishi; Pan Liangyuan and his son Ji Tong of Zhongmou; Shi Huixun of Yangwu; Yang Songgui of Fengqiu; Li Yidao of Xutian; Cai Hong and Shi Shanxiong of Zuocheng, with grandson Yanwei; Hu Juncai of Langshan; Huangfu Heng of Xuzhou; Yin Wurong of Pengcheng; Liu Bao of Jingzhou; Shi Chuan of Changshou; Jiao Huaisu and Guo Jinghua of Yizhou; Cao Shaowei of Qixian; Zhao Yan of Fucheng; Zhao Guangyu and Huang of Ziyang; Ma Dongwang, Qin Ju, and Wang Xingsi of Zitong; Fan Yi of Yizheng; Wei Shizong and Wen Boying of Brazil, with son Quan; Li Zhengu of Nanzheng; Zhang Jinzhao of Chaoxian; Liao Hong of Wanzai; Su Zhongfang of Nanling; Zhang Zan of Poyang; Xie Weiqin, Shen Pu, and Jiang Ju of Leping; Bao Jiafu and Yu Rongzhen of Shangrao; Zhang Changyu of Jurong; Zhang Qiu and Li Ying of Yiyang, with sons Ning and Sun Chu; Huang Zhou of Guixi; Xiong Shishan of Jianchang; Yuan Ming of Linjiang; Xie Jun of Gan County; He Gongbian, Zhang Chengmian, and Fang Zong of Yuhang; He Qimen of Jiande; Zhu Xijin of Tonglu; Zhang Wanhe of Zhuji; Li Wei, Xu Bohui, Dai Gong, and Yu Jin of Xiaoshan; Xu Zhixin and Xu Huichen of Xin'an; Ying Xian and Tang Junyou of Dongyang; Xu Lichuan of Muzhou; Liu Chang of Jianyang; Huang Gen, Zhang Jushao, and Wu Hai of Shaowu; Huang Jiayou of Quanshan; and Wang Yi of Yongtai—each renowned for serving parents and observing mourning with utmost devotion. Song Xinggui of Wannian; Zhang Kuo of Fengxian; Zhang Renxing of Liyang; Dong Sichong of Yueyang; Yan Min and Yan Feng of Hucheng; Yong Xiangao of Gaoping; Zhou Siyi and Zhang Ziying of Zhengping; Zhang Junmi, Qin Defang, Ma Xuancao, and Li Junze of Quwo; Zhao Deyan of Taiping; Chen Si of Longxi; Lü Yuanjian of Beihai; Song Guangzhi of Jingcheng; Liu Jiujiang of Shanfu; Xu Wenliang of Wudi; Wu Zhengbiao of Leling; Liu Xuan and Dong Yong of Hejian; Ren Junyi and Wei Kai of Anyi; Liang Shenyi, He Jianshe, and Zhang Qiyi of Longmen; Wang Yuanxu and Kou Yuantong of Zheng County; Xu Xingzhou of Shucheng; Fang Liangkun of Muzhou; Dai Yuanyi of Tonglu; Song Lian of Gao'an; Wan Yan of Jingxian; Li Zhi of Yiyang; and Wang Pi of Fanchang—each from a household where several generations lived together under one roof. In each case the throne publicly honored their households at gate and lane, granted grain and cloth, had local officials look in on them, exempted them from taxes, and in some instances even appointed them to office.
3
唐時陳藏器著《本草拾遺》，謂人肉治羸疾，自是民間以父母疾，多刲股肉而進。 又有京兆張阿九、趙言，奉天趙正言、滑清泌，羽林飛騎啖榮祿，鄭縣吳孝友，華陰尹義華，潞州張光玼，解縣南鍛，河東李忠孝、韓放，鄢陵任客奴，絳縣張子英，平原楊仙朝，樂工段日升，河東將陳涉，襄陽馮子，城固雍孫八，虞鄉張抱玉、骨英秀，榆次馮秀誠，封丘楊嵩珪、劉浩，清池朱庭玉、弟庭金，繁昌朱忄存，歙縣黃芮，左千牛薛鋒及河陽劉士約，或給帛，或旌表門閭，皆名在國史。 善乎！ 韓愈之論也，曰：「父母疾，亨藥餌，以是為孝，未聞毀支體者也。 茍不傷義，則聖賢先眾而為之。 是不幸因而且死，則毀傷滅絕之罪有歸矣，安可旌其門以表異之？」 雖然，委巷之陋，非有學術禮義之資，能忘身以及其親，出於誠心，亦足稱者。 故列十七八焉。 廣明後，方鎮淩法，誇地千里，事不上聞，孝悌篤行之士，旌命所不及。 載小說者，名字不參見他書，不可錄。 若李知本、張誌寬之屬，承上順下，有禮讓君子之風，故輯而序之。 張士巖父病，藥須鯉魚，冬月冰合，有獺銜魚至前，得以供父，父遂愈。 母病癰，士巖吮血。 父亡，廬墓，有虎狼依之。 焦懷肅母病，每嘗其唾，若味異，輒悲號幾絕。 母終，水漿不入口五日，負土成墳，廬守，日一食，杖然後起。 繼母沒，亦如之。 張進昭，母患狐刺，左手墮而終。 及殯，進昭截左腕廬於墓。 張公藝九世同居，北齊東安王永樂、隋大使梁子恭躬慰撫，表其門。 高宗有事太山，臨幸其居，問本末，書「忍」字以對，天子為流涕，賜縑帛而去。 四人名頗著，詳見於篇。
During the Tang, Chen Cangqi wrote Supplement to the Materia Medica and claimed that human flesh could cure emaciating disease; thereafter, whenever parents were sick, people commonly gouged flesh from their own thighs to feed them. The annals also record filial exemplars from across the empire: Zhang Ajiu and Zhao Yan of the capital region, Zhao Zhengyan of Fengtian, the Yulin guardsman Tan Ronglu, Wu Xiaoyou of Zheng County, Yin Yihua of Huayin, Zhang Guangci of Luzhou, Nan Duan of Jie County, Li Zhongxiao and Han Fang of Hedong, Ren Kenü of Yanling, Zhang Ziying of Jiang County, Yang Xianchao of Pingyuan, the musician Duan Risheng, the Hedong general Chen She, Feng Zi of Xiangyang, Yong Sunba of Chenggu, Zhang Baoyu and Gu Yingxiu of Yuxiang, Feng Xiucheng of Yuci, Yang Songgui and Liu Hao of Fengqiu, Zhu Tingyu and his brother Tingjin of Qingchi, Zhu Cun of Fanchang, Huang Rui of She County, the Left Thousand-Bull Cavalryman Xue Feng, and Liu Shiyue of Heyang; some were rewarded with silks, others had their homes publicly honored, and every one of them earned a place in the state's official record. Admirable indeed! As Han Yu argued: "When one's parents fall ill, one prepares medicines and tonics—that is filial duty; I have never heard that mutilating one's body counts as filial. If such acts did not violate moral principle, the sages would long since have led the common people in doing them. And if, through mischance, one dies of the wound, the guilt of self-mutilation and the extinguishing of one's line falls squarely upon that person—how then could the court honor their household as a model of excellence? Still, though these were humble folk of narrow lanes, without the cultivation of learning or ritual, anyone who could forget self for the sake of kin—and do so with genuine devotion—deserved commendation all the same. Hence roughly a score of such cases are recorded below. After the Guangming reign, military governors trampled the law and ruled vast domains as petty kingdoms; word of worthy deeds no longer reached the throne, and even the most devoted sons of filial piety lay beyond the reach of imperial reward. Accounts drawn from popular tales, whose names cannot be verified in other sources, have been left out. Men such as Li Zhiben and Zhang Zhikuan, who deferred to superiors and yielded to inferiors in the manner of true gentlemen, have been collected and set down in sequence. When Zhang Shiyan's father fell ill, his remedy called for carp, but winter had sealed the waters with ice—until an otter swam up bearing a fish in its jaws. Zhang fed it to his father, who recovered. When his mother developed a festering sore, Shiyan drew out the pus and blood with his mouth. After his father's death he kept mourning watch at the tomb, and tigers and wolves came to nestle beside him. When Jiao Huaisu's mother fell ill, he tasted her saliva each day; whenever the flavor seemed wrong, he would sob until he nearly fainted. At his mother's death he took neither food nor drink for five days, carried earth to build her tomb, and kept vigil beside it—eating once a day and rising only with the aid of a staff. When his stepmother died, he observed the same rites. Zhang Jinzhao's mother contracted a wasting disease of the hand known as "fox barb"; her left hand withered away before she died. At her burial Zhang Jinzhao severed his own left wrist and maintained a mourning hut beside the tomb. Zhang Gongyi's clan lived under one roof for nine generations; the Eastern An prince Wang Yongle of Northern Qi and the Sui envoy Liang Zigong both came in person to console them and had their gate publicly honored. When Emperor Gaozong performed the Feng sacrifice at Mount Tai, he called at Zhang's home, asked how his family had endured together so long, and Zhang answered by writing a single character—"forbearance" (ren). The emperor wept, rewarded him with silks, and took his leave. These four men were already well known; fuller accounts appear in the sections below.
4
李知本，趙州元氏人，元魏洛州刺史靈六世孫。 父孝端，仕隋為獲嘉丞。 與族弟太沖俱有世閥，而太沖官婚最高，鄉人語曰：「太沖無兄，孝端無弟。」
Li Zhiben was a native of Yuanshi in Zhao Prefecture and a sixth-generation descendant of Ling, who had served as governor of Luozhou under the Northern Wei. His father Li Xiaoduan held office under the Sui as magistrate of Huojia. He and his clansman Taichong both came from eminent families, but Taichong outranked him in office and marriage; the villagers joked, "Taichong has no elder brother, and Xiaoduan has no younger brother."
5
知本涉經術，事親篤至，與弟知隱雍順，子孫百餘，至貲用僮仆無間也。 大業末，盜賊過閭不入，相戒曰：「無犯義門。」 往依者五百餘室，皆以免。 貞觀初，知隱為伊闕丞，知本夏津令。 開元中，孫瑱為給事中、揚州長史。 知隱孫颙，有文辭，至太常少卿。 從祖兄弟位給事中，凡四人。
Zhiben was versed in the classics and utterly devoted in serving his parents; with his brother Zhiyin he lived in perfect harmony. Their descendants numbered more than a hundred, who shared wealth, provisions, and servants without distinction. In the closing years of Daye, raiders would pass the neighborhood yet never step inside, warning each other: "Don't touch the Gate of Righteousness. Every one of the five hundred-odd households that sought shelter there was spared. Early in the Zhenguan era, Zhi Yin became magistrate of Yique and Zhi Ben magistrate of Xiajin. Under Kaiyuan, his grandson Zhen rose to Attendant-in-Ordinary and chief administrator of Yangzhou. Zhi Yin's grandson Yong, a gifted writer, eventually became vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Four of his father's cousins altogether served as attendants-in-ordinary.
6
張誌寬，蒲州安邑人。 居父喪而毀，州裏稱之。 王君廓兵略地，不暴其閭，倚全者百許姓。 後為裏正，忽詣縣稱母疾求急，令問狀，對曰：「母有疾，誌寬輒病，是以知之。」 令謂其妄，系於獄，馳驗如言，乃慰遣之。 母終，負土成墳，手蒔松柏。 高祖遣使者就吊，拜員外散騎常侍，賜物四十段，表其閭。
Zhang Zhikuan came from Anyi in Pu Prefecture. He wasted away in grief during his father's mourning, and the whole district spoke of his devotion. Wang Junkuo's armies overran the countryside, yet left their lane untouched—nearly a hundred clans who sheltered with them survived unscathed. Later, as village head, he rushed to the county office claiming his mother was gravely ill and pleading to be sent home at once. When the magistrate pressed him, he said, "Whenever my mother sickens, I sicken too—that is how I know. The magistrate judged him a liar and threw him in jail, then dispatched messengers to check—and found it exactly so. Only then was he consoled and released. After her death he piled the grave with his own labor and planted every pine and cypress himself. Emperor Gaozu dispatched envoys to mourn him in person, named him extraordinary attendant-in-ordinary, granted forty bolts of goods, and ordered his neighborhood honored with an imperial plaque.
7
劉君良，瀛州饒陽人。 四世同居，族兄弟猶同產也，門內鬥粟尺帛無所私。 隋大業末，荒饉，妻勸其異居，因易置庭樹鳥雛，令鬥且鳴，家人怪之，妻曰：「天下亂，禽鳥不相容，況人邪！」 君良即與兄弟別處。 月餘，密知其計，因斥去妻，曰：「爾破吾家！」 召兄弟流涕以告，更復同居。 天下亂，鄉人共依之，眾築為堡，因號義成堡。 武德中，深州別駕楊弘業至其居，凡六院共一庖，子弟皆有禮節，嘆挹而去。 貞觀六年，表異門閭。
Liu Junliang came from Raoyang in Ying Prefecture. Four generations dwelt together; cousins behaved like full brothers, and under their roof not a single peck of grain or span of cloth was held back for oneself alone. In the great famine at the close of Sui Daye, his wife pressed for separate households. She secretly swapped the nestlings in the courtyard trees until the birds were fighting and shrieking. When the family marveled, she said, "The world is falling apart—if birds cannot share a branch, what hope is there for men? Junliang yielded at once and moved out with his brothers. A month later he saw through her plot, cast her out, and cried, "You have ruined our house! He called his brothers back, told them through tears what had happened, and they took up common life once more. As the empire unraveled, neighbors flocked to him; hundreds banded together into a walled refuge they named Fort of Righteous Accomplishment. During Wude, Shen Prefecture's vice-prefect Yang Hongye visited his home. Six courtyards cooked from a single hearth; every son and nephew showed flawless courtesy. Hongye left sighing in wonder. In Zhenguan 6 his household was formally commended for its extraordinary unity.
8
王少玄，博州聊城人。 父隋末死亂兵，遺腹生少玄。 甫十歲，問父所在，母以告，即哀泣求屍。 時野中白骨覆壓，或曰：「以子血漬而滲者，父胔也。」 少玄镵膚，閱旬而獲，遂以葬。 創甚，彌年乃興。 貞觀中，州言狀，拜徐王府參軍。
Wang Shaoxuan came from Liaocheng in Bo Prefecture. His father was killed in the civil wars at the end of Sui; Shaoxuan was born after his death. Barely ten, he asked where his father lay. When his mother told him, he broke into mourning wails and set out to find the body. The fields were choked with anonymous bones. People said that if you smeared a bone with a son's blood and the blood sank in, you had found your father's remains. Shaoxuan cut his flesh again and again. In ten days he found the right bones and buried his father. The injuries were grave; a full year passed before he could stand again. During Zhenguan the prefecture reported his story, and he was named a staff officer in the household of the Prince of Xu.
9
任敬臣，字希古，棣州人。 五歲喪母，哀毀天至。 七歲，問父英曰：「若何可以報母？」 英曰：「揚名顯親可也。」 乃刻誌從學。 汝南任處權見其文，驚曰：「孔子稱顏回之賢，以為弗如也。 吾非古人，然見此兒，信不可及。」 十六，刺史崔樞欲舉秀才，自以學未廣，遁去。 又三年卒業，舉孝廉，授著作局正字。 父亡，數殞絕，繼母曰：「而不勝喪，謂孝可乎？」 敬臣更進饘粥。 服除，遷秘書郎。 休沐，闔門誦書。 監虞世南器其人，歲終，書上考，固辭。 召為弘文館學士，俄授越王府西閣祭酒。 當代，王再表留，進朝請郎。 舉制科，擢許王文學。 復為弘文館學士，終太子舍人。
Ren Jingchen, courtesy name Xigu, came from Di Prefecture. He lost his mother at five and mourned with a child's grief so fierce it seemed to shake the sky. At seven he asked his father Ying, "What can I do to repay Mother? Ying answered, "Bring honor to the family and let your name be known—that is repayment enough." He carved that vow into his heart and threw himself into learning. Ren Chujian of Runan read his essays and exclaimed, "Confucius praised Yan Hui and said he himself fell short— I am no sage of old, but meeting this boy I know I can never catch up to him. At sixteen Prefect Cui Shu meant to nominate him as a presented scholar. Judging his learning still shallow, Jingchen slipped away. Three years later he finished his studies, earned recommendation as filial and incorrupt, and received appointment as proofreader in the Bureau of Authorship. At his father's death he collapsed again and again. His stepmother said, "If you cannot survive your mourning, what filial piety is that? Jingchen forced himself to take thin gruel once more. After the mourning period he was promoted to secretary in the Palace Library. On rest days he barred the gate and read aloud through the house. Supervisor Yu Shinan admired him. At year's end Shinan marked him top of the roster; Jingchen refused the honor outright. He was called to the Hongwen Hall as a scholar, then soon made libationer of the Western Pavilion in the Prince of Yue's household. The prince repeatedly petitioned to keep him at court, and he rose to gentleman for court audiences. He passed the decree examination and was appointed literary scholar to the household of the Prince of Xu. Zhi Shucai came from Ding Prefecture.
10
支叔才，定州人。 隋末荒饉，夜丐食野中，還進母，為賊執，欲殺之，告以情，賊閔其孝，為解縛。 母病癰，叔才吮瘡註藥。 及亡，廬墓，有白鵲止廬傍。 高宗時，表異其家。
Zhi Shucai came from Ding Prefecture. When the Sui dynasty collapsed into famine, he scavenged food in the fields by night and brought it home to his mother. Bandits seized him and were about to kill him; when he explained why he was out, they were moved by his devotion and let him go. His mother developed an abscess; he sucked the wound clean and applied the medicines himself. After her death he kept vigil in a hut by the grave, and a white magpie alighted beside his shelter. Under Emperor Gaozong, the court singled out his family for special honor.
11
至德間，有常州人王遇、弟遐俱為賊執，將釋一人，兄弟相讓死，賊感其意，盡縱之。
In the Zhide era, Wang Yu of Changzhou and his younger brother Xia were both taken by robbers, who said they would free only one. Each brother insisted the other should live; touched by their mutual sacrifice, the thieves set them both free.
12
程袁師，宋州人。 母病，十旬不褫帶，藥不嘗不進。 代弟戍洛州。 母終，聞訃，日走二百里，因負土築墳，號臒，人不復識。 改葬曾門以來，閱二十年乃畢。 常有白狼、黃蛇馴墓左，每哭，群鳥鳴翔。 永徽中，刺史狀諸朝，詔吏敦駕。 既至，不願仕，授儒林郎，還之。
Cheng Yuanshi came from Song Prefecture. While his mother lay ill, he went a hundred days without loosening his clothes to sleep; no dose reached her lips until he had tasted it himself. He relieved his younger brother of military service at Luozhou. When news of his mother's death reached him, he covered two hundred li in a single day, then hauled earth to raise the grave. He wailed until he was wasted to skin and bone, and his own kin could scarcely tell who he was. The task of reburying his ancestors in the main lineage alone took him twenty years to complete. A white wolf and a yellow serpent would linger tamely to the left of the mound; whenever he broke into mourning cries, birds gathered overhead, calling and circling. During Yonghui, the prefect reported his case to the throne, and the emperor commanded officials to bring him to court with all due honor. Once he reached the capital he declined appointment; the court named him a Gentleman of the Forest of Scholars and sent him back.
13
武弘度，士兄之子，補相州司兵參軍。 永徽中，父卒，自徐州被發徒跣趨喪所，負土築塋，晨夕號，日一溢米。 素芝產廬前，貍擾其旁。 高宗下詔褒美，旌其門。
Wu Hongdu, son of Zhang Shiyan's elder brother Shixiong, was appointed assistant military registrar of Xiang Prefecture. During Yonghui his father died. He set out from Xuzhou in mourning weeds, barefoot, and ran to the burial ground. There he heaped the grave with his own hands, keening day and night on a single cup of rice a day. White lingzhi sprang up before his tomb shelter, and tanuki sported peacefully at his side. Emperor Gaozong issued a commendatory edict and had his household gate ceremonially honored.
14
宋思禮，字過庭，事繼母徐為聞孝。 補蕭縣主簿。 會大旱，井池涸，母羸疾，非泉水不適口，思禮憂懼且禱，忽有泉出諸庭，味甘寒，日不乏汲。 縣人異之，尉柳晃為刻石頌其感。
Song Silu, styled Guoting, won wide renown for the devotion he showed his stepmother, Lady Xu. He served as chief clerk of Xiaoxian County. A severe drought dried every well and pool. His mother, wasted by illness, could stomach only spring water. Silu prayed in dread—and a spring suddenly welled up in the courtyard, cool and sweet, never failing day after day. The county was astonished; Assistant Magistrate Liu Huang had a stele cut to celebrate how Heaven had answered his grief.
15
鄭潛曜者，父萬鈞，駙馬都尉、滎陽郡公。 母，代國長公主。 開元中，主寢疾，潛曜侍左右，造次不去，累三月不靧面。 主疾侵，刺血為書請諸神，丐以身代。 火書，而「神許」二字獨不化。 翌日主愈，戒左右無敢言。 後尚臨晉長公主，歷太仆光祿卿。
Zheng Qianyao was the son of Wan Jun, Princess's consort and Duke of Xingyang. His mother was the Princess of the Dai domain. During Kaiyuan, as his mother grew sick, Qianyao kept constant vigil at her bedside, never stirring even for a moment, and for three full months he would not wash his face. As her condition worsened, he pricked his arm and wrote a blood-letter pleading with the gods to take his life in place of hers. He set the letter to flame, but the words "Divine Assent" alone would not burn away. The next day his mother was well again, and he forbade anyone in her household to breathe a word of what had happened. He later married the Princess of Linjin and rose from Grand Master of Studs to Minister of Imperial Entertainments.
16
元讓，雍州武功人。 擢明經，以母病不肯調，侍膳不出閭數十年。 母終，廬墓次，廢櫛沐，飯菜飲水。 咸亨中，太子監國，下令表闕於門。 永淳初，巡察使表讓孝悌卓越，擢太子右內率府長史。 歲滿，還鄉里，人有所訟，皆詣讓判。 中宗在東宮，召拜司議郎，入謁，武後望謂曰：「卿孝於家，必能忠於國，宜以治道輔吾子。」 尋卒。
Yuan Rang came from Wugong in Yong Prefecture. Though he passed the Mingjing examination, he refused office while his mother was sick and for decades never left the lane, tending her at every meal. After her death he lived in a mourning hut by the tomb, forgoing bath and grooming and subsisting on plain vegetables and water alone. During Xianheng, with the crown prince regent, the court ordered a filial-honor marker raised at his gate. In early Yongchun an inspector reported his filial devotion as extraordinary, and he was appointed chief secretary in the crown prince's Right Inner Rate Palace. When his term ended he went home, and villagers with any dispute would bring it to Rang for judgment. While Emperor Zhongzong was still heir apparent, Rang was summoned as palace reviewer. At his audience Empress Wu regarded him and said, "Filial at home, you will be loyal abroad—guide my son in the arts of rule. He died not long afterward.
17
裴敬彜，絳州聞喜人。 曾祖子通，隋開皇中以太中大夫居母喪，哭喪明，有白烏巢冢樾。 兄弟八人皆為名孝，詔表門闕，世謂「義門裴氏」。
Pei Jingyi came from Wenxi in Jiang Prefecture. His great-grandfather Zitong, a Grand Master for Palace Discourse under Sui Kaihuang, mourned his mother until weeping left him blind; a white crow nested in the tree above her grave. All eight brothers won renown for filial devotion; the throne honored their gate, and men spoke of the "Righteous Gate Pei Clan."
18
敬彜七歲能文章，性謹敏，宗族重之，號「甘露頂」。 父智周，補臨黃令，為下所訟。 敬彜年十四，詣巡察使唐臨直枉，臨奇之，試命作賦，賦工。 父罪已釋，表敬彜於朝，補陳王府典簽。 一日，忽泣涕謂左右曰：「大人病痛，吾輒然，今心悸而痛，事叵測。」 乃請急，倍道歸，而父已卒，羸毀逾禮。 乾封初，遷累監察御史。 母病，醫許仁則者鐍不能乘，敬彜自為輿往迎。 既居喪，詔贈縑帛，官為作靈輿。 終服，以著作郎兼修國史。 歷中書舍人、太子左庶子。 武後時，為酷吏所陷，死嶺南。
Jingyi could already write at seven, and his careful, quick mind won the clan's esteem—they nicknamed him the "Sweet Dew Crown." His father Zhizhou served as magistrate of Linhuang until subordinates brought suit against him. At fourteen he sought out the inspector Tang Lin to protest his father's injustice. Tang was astonished, set him a fu to write, and the piece was masterly. Once his father was cleared, Jingyi was recommended to court and made recorder in the household of the Prince of Chen. One day he burst into tears before his attendants: "When my father suffers, I feel it at once—now my heart pounds and aches, and I fear the worst. He begged emergency leave and raced home, only to find his father already dead; his grief wasted him beyond what ritual prescribed. In early Qianfeng he rose through successive postings to investigating censor. During his mother's illness the physician Xu Renze was too crippled to ride; Jingyi built a sedan chair and went to fetch him on foot. In mourning the court granted him silks, and officials provided his funeral carriage. After the mourning period he became a palace author and helped compile the dynastic history. He later held posts as secretariat drafting secretary and left subordinate to the crown prince. Under Empress Wu, cruel officials destroyed him, and he died in exile in Lingnan.
19
梁文貞，虢州閺鄉人。 少從軍守邊，逮還，親已亡。 自傷不得養，即穿壙為門，晨夕汛掃，廬墓左，喑默三十年，家人有所問，畫文以對。 會官改新道，出文貞廬前，行旅見之，皆為流涕。 有甘露降塋木，白兔馴擾，縣令刊石紀之。 開元中，刺史許景先表文貞孝絕倫類，詔付史官。
Liang Wenzhen came from Minxiang in Guo Prefecture. He joined the army young and served on the frontier; by the time he came home, both parents were gone. Stricken that he had never cared for them in life, he cut a doorway into the tomb vault, swept it morning and night, and lived in a hut beside the mound—silent for thirty years, answering kin only in written words. When authorities rerouted the highway past his mourning hut, every traveler who passed wept at the sight. Sweet dew fell on the grave trees, a white rabbit lingered tamely about the mound, and the county magistrate had the marvels cut in stone. During Kaiyuan, Prefect Xu Jingxian reported his filial piety as without parallel, and the throne ordered the historians to record it.
20
沈季詮，字子平，洪州豫章人。 少孤，事母孝，未嘗與人爭，皆以為怯。 季詮曰：「吾怯乎？ 為人子者，可遺憂於親乎哉！」 貞觀中，侍母度江，遇暴風，母溺死，季詮號呼投江中，少選，持母臂浮出水上。 都督謝叔方具禮祭而葬之。
Shen Jiquan, styled Ziping, came from Yuzhang in Hong Prefecture. Fatherless from boyhood, he devoted himself to his mother and never quarreled—neighbors mistook his gentleness for cowardice. Jiquan asked, "Do you call this cowardice? What son would heap trouble on the mother who bore him! In Zhenguan, escorting his mother across the Yangzi, they were caught in a squall and she drowned. Shen wailed and threw himself in after her; moments later he surfaced, bearing her arm above the flood. Regional Inspector Xie Shufang conducted the full funeral rites and laid them both to rest.
21
許伯會，越州蕭山人。 或曰玄度十二世孫。 舉孝廉。 上元中，為衡陽博士。 母喪，負土成墳，不禦絮帛、嘗滋味。 野火將逮塋樹，悲號於天，俄而雨，火滅。 歲旱，泉湧廬前，靈芝生。
Xu Bohui came from Xiaoshan in Yue Prefecture. Tradition held him a twelfth-generation descendant of the filial exemplar Xuandu. He entered service through the Filial and Incorrupt recommendation. During Shangyuan he was erudite at Hengyang. At his mother's death he piled the grave with his own hands, shunning padded garments and any food with flavor. When wildfire threatened the trees around her tomb, he wailed to Heaven—and rain fell at once, and the flames died. During a drought year a spring welled up before his mourning hut, and sacred fungus sprang from the ground.
22
陳集原，瀧州開陽人。 世為酋長。 父龍樹，為欽州刺史，有疾，即集原輒不食。 及亡，嘔血數升，即塋作廬，盡以田貲讓兄弟，裏人高之。 武後時，歷右豹韜衛大將軍。
Chen Jiyuan came from Kaiyang in Long Prefecture. His clan had led as chieftains for generations. His father Longshu was prefect of Qinzhou; whenever Longshu fell ill, Jiyuan would immediately stop eating. After his father's death Jiyuan vomited blood by the quart; he built a hut at the tomb, gave all his land and property to his brothers, and his neighbors held him in high regard. Under Empress Wu he rose to General of the Right Leopard-Tarsus Guard.
23
陸南金，蘇州吳人。 祖士季，從同郡顧野王學《左氏春秋》、《司馬史》、《班氏漢書》。 仕隋為越王侗記室兼侍讀。 侗稱制，擢著作郎。 時王世充將篡逆，侗謂士季曰：「隋有天下三十年，朝果無忠臣乎？」 士季對曰：「見危授命，臣宿誌也。 請因啟事為陛下殺之。」 謀泄，停侍讀，乃不克。 貞觀初，終太學博士兼弘文館學士。
Lu Nanjin came from Wu district in Suzhou. His grandfather Shiji had studied the Zuoshi Chunqiu, the Sima shi, and the Banshi Han shu under Gu Yewang, a fellow townsman. Under the Sui he served as secretarial aide and reader-in-waiting to Yang Tong, Prince of Yue. When Tong took up the regency, Shiji was promoted to Master of Writings. Wang Shichong was then on the verge of usurpation. Tong said to Shiji, "The Sui have ruled for thirty years—are there really no loyal ministers left in court? Shiji answered, "To meet danger and give up one's life is what I have long resolved to do as your servant. Let me seize the next memorial audience and kill him on Your Majesty's behalf. The plot was exposed; his post as tutor was revoked, and the plan failed. Early in Zhenguan he died in office as Doctor of the Grand Academy and Scholar of the Hongwen Institute.
24
南金仕為太常奉禮郎。 開元初，少卿廬崇道抵罪徙嶺南，逃還東都。 南金居母喪，崇道偽稱吊客，入而道其情，南金匿之。 俄為仇人跡告，詔侍御史王旭捕按，南金當重法，弟趙璧詣旭自言：「匿崇道者我也，請死。」 南金固言弟自誣不情，旭怪之，趙璧曰：「母未葬，妹未歸，兄能辦之，我生無益，不如死。」 旭驚，上狀。 玄宗皆宥之。
Nanjin held the post of Ritual Officer in the Directorate of Ceremonies. Early in Kaiyuan, Vice Minister Lu Chongdao was sentenced and banished to Lingnan, but escaped and returned to the Eastern Capital. Nanjin was observing mourning for his mother. Chongdao came disguised as a condolence visitor, told him his story once inside, and Nanjin concealed him. Before long a foe tracked him down and denounced him to the throne. The emperor ordered Attending Censor Wang Xu to seize and try the case. Nanjin faced a capital sentence. His younger brother Zhao Bi went to Xu and said, "I hid Chongdao. Put me to death. Nanjin insisted his brother was falsely confessing out of fraternal feeling. Xu was astonished. Zhao Bi said, "Our mother is still unburied and our sister still unwed. My brother can see to both. I am of no further use alive—death is better. Stunned, Xu memorialized the throne. Xuanzong pardoned them both.
25
南金知書史，履操謹完。 張說、陸象先以賢謂之，由庫部員外以痼疾改太子洗馬，卒。
Nanjin was learned in history and meticulous in his personal conduct. Zhang Yue and Lu Xiangxian praised his worth. He rose from Vice Director in the Treasury to Crown Prince Libationer, but chronic illness forced the transfer, and he died in that post.
26
張琇，河中解人。 父審素，為巂州都督，有陳纂仁者，誣其冒戰級、私庸兵。 玄宗疑之，詔監察御史楊汪即按。 纂仁復告審素與總管董堂禮謀反。 於是汪收審素系雅州獄，馳至巂州按反狀。 堂禮不勝忿，殺纂仁，以兵七百圍汪，脅使露章雪審素罪。 既而吏共斬堂禮，汪得出，遂當審素實反，斬之，沒其家。 琇與兄皇尚幼，徙嶺南。 久之，逃還。 汪更名萬頃。 皇時年十三，琇少二歲。 夜狙萬頃於魏王池，皇斫其馬，萬頃驚，不及鬥，為琇所殺。 條所以殺萬頃狀系於斧，奔江南，將殺構父罪者，然後詣有司。 道汜水，吏捕以聞。 中書令張九齡等皆稱其孝烈，宜貸死，侍中裴耀卿等陳不可，帝亦謂然，謂九齡曰：「孝子者，義不顧命。 殺之可成其誌，赦之則虧律。 凡為子，孰不願孝？ 轉相仇殺，遂無已時。」 卒用耀卿議，議者以為冤。 帝下詔申諭，乃殺之。 臨刑賜食，皇不能進，琇色自如，曰：「下見先人，復何恨！」 人莫不閔之，為誄揭於道，斂錢為葬北邙，尚恐仇人發之，作疑冢，使不知其處。
Zhang Xiu came from Jie district in Hezhong. His father Shensu served as prefect of Xi. Chen Zanren falsely accused him of inflating battle honors and keeping soldiers for private use. The emperor grew suspicious and ordered Investigating Censor Yang Wang to look into the case at once. Zanren then charged that Shensu and the regional commander Dong Tangli were plotting rebellion. Wang arrested Shensu, threw him into the Yazhou jail, and raced to Xi to verify the treason accusation. Tangli, beside himself with fury, killed Zanren, then surrounded Wang with seven hundred men and forced him to submit a public memorial clearing Shensu. Soon the clerks joined in beheading Tangli, and Wang escaped. He then found Shensu guilty of actual rebellion, executed him, and seized his property. Xiu and his elder brother Huang were still boys when the family was banished to Lingnan. Years later they slipped back home. Wang had taken the new name Wanqing. Huang was thirteen; Xiu two years younger. One night they lay in wait for Wanqing at the Prince of Wei's pool. Huang struck down his horse. Wanqing panicked and never got to fight back before Xiu killed him. Xiu wrote out the reasons for the killing and fastened the note to the axe, then fled south of the Yangtze to slay those who had framed his father before surrendering to the law. At Sishui an official seized them and reported to the capital. Chief Minister Zhang Jiuling and others urged that their filial valor warranted sparing their lives. Vice Minister Pei Yaoging and others argued against it. The emperor agreed with Pei and told Jiuling, "A true filial son will not flinch from death for righteousness's sake. Execution would complete their purpose; pardon would breach the law. What son does not long to be filial? If each took revenge in turn, killing would never cease. He finally followed Pei Yaoging's counsel, though many thought the brothers were wronged. The emperor issued an edict setting out his reasoning, then had them put to death. On the scaffold they were given a last meal. Huang could not swallow; Xiu's face stayed composed. He said, "Soon I shall meet our ancestors below—what is left to regret! All who saw it grieved for them. Elegies were posted along the roads, and money was collected to bury them on Beimang. Fearing the enemy clan might desecrate the graves, they also raised false tombs so the true resting place could not be found.
27
太宗時，有即墨人王君操，父隋末為鄉人李君則所殺，亡命去，時君操尚幼。 至貞觀時，朝世更易，而君操窶孤，仇家無所憚，詣州自言。 君操密挾刃殺之，剔其心肝啖立盡，趨告刺史曰：「父死兇手，歷二十年不克報，乃今刷憤，願歸死有司。」 州上狀，帝為貸死。
Under Taizong there lived Wang Juncao of Jimo. At the close of the Sui his father was murdered by a neighbor, Li Junze, who then fled. Juncao was still a child. By Zhenguan the dynasty had turned over anew. Juncao was destitute and alone, and his enemy no longer feared him—so he went to the prefecture to report the case himself. Juncao had hidden a knife, struck him down, cut out his heart and liver, and devoured them on the spot. He then ran to the prefect and said, "My father was slain by this man. Twenty years I could not settle the score. Today I have at last drained my wrath. I surrender myself to die by the law. The prefect memorialized the throne, and the emperor spared his life.
28
高宗時，絳州人趙師舉父為人殺，師舉幼，母改嫁，仇家不疑。 師舉長，為人庸，夜讀書。 久之，手殺仇人，詣官自陳，帝原之。
Under Gaozong, Zhao Shiju of Jiangzhou lost his father to murder while still a boy. His mother remarried, and the killer's family never suspected him. As a man he hired himself out by day and read books by night. In time he killed the murderer with his own hand, walked into the magistrate's office, and confessed. The emperor granted him pardon.
29
永徽初，同官人同蹄智壽父為族人所害，智壽與弟智爽候諸塗，擊殺之，相率歸有司爭為首，有司不能決者三年。 或言弟始謀，乃論死，臨刑曰：「仇已報，死不恨。」 智壽自投地委頓，身無完膚，舐智爽血盡乃已，見者傷之。
Early in the Yonghui reign, Tong Ti Zhishou of Tongguan learned that clansmen had murdered his father. He and his brother Zhishuang ambushed them on the road and killed them, then marched together to the magistrate's office, each insisting he had led the attack. For three years the court could not settle who was chief culprit. Word reached the judges that the younger brother had hatched the plot, and he alone was condemned to die. On the scaffold he said, "The score is settled—I have no regret in dying." Zhishou flung himself down in a swoon, his flesh torn everywhere, and licked his brother's blood until none was left. All who witnessed it wept.
30
武後時，下邽人徐元慶父爽為縣尉趙師韞所殺，元慶變姓名為驛家保。 久之，師韞以御史舍亭下，元慶手殺之，自囚詣官。 後欲赦死，左拾遺陳子昂議曰：
Under Empress Wu, Xu Yuanqing of Xiayi saw his father Shuang murdered by the county lieutenant Zhao Shiyun. He assumed a false name and hired on as a groom at a post station. Years later Shiyun, now a censor, put up at a relay inn. Yuanqing stabbed him to death, then walked in chains to surrender himself. When the throne later moved to spare him from execution, Left Remonstrator Chen Zi'ang submitted a memorial that read:
31
先王立禮以進人，明罰以齊政。 枕幹仇敵，人子義也； 誅罪禁亂，王政綱也。 然無義不可訓人，亂綱不可明法。 聖人修禮治內，飭法防外，使守法者不以禮廢刑，居禮者不以法傷義，然後暴亂銷，廉恥興，天下所以直道而行也。
The former kings set up ritual to lift men up and made penalties plain to bring government into order. To keep vigil with weapon ready against a father's killer is what a son owes; to punish crime and bar chaos is the sovereign cord of rule. Yet where righteousness fails, the people cannot be taught; where that cord is tangled, the law cannot be made clear. The sage cultivates ritual inward and sharpens law outward, so that law-abiders do not void punishment in the name of ritual, and ritual-abiders do not wound righteousness in the name of law—only then do outrage and rebellion fade, honor and shame revive, and the realm walk the upright road.
32
元慶報父仇，束身歸罪，雖古烈士何以加？ 然殺人者死，畫一之制也，法不可二，元慶宜伏辜。 《傳》曰：「父仇不同天。」 勸人之教也。 教之不茍，元慶宜赦。
Yuanqing settled his father's blood-debt and came bound to accept sentence—what hero of antiquity could outdo him? Yet the single statute stands: life for life. The law admits no double standard; Yuanqing should bear the penalty. The Commentary says, "With a father's foe one cannot live under the same heaven." That is the teaching meant to stir men's hearts. If that teaching were not held inviolate, Yuanqing would deserve pardon.
33
臣聞刑所以生，遏亂也； 仁所以利，崇德也。 今報父之仇，非亂也； 行子之道，仁也。 仁而無利，與同亂誅，是曰能刑，未可以訓。 然則邪由正生，治必亂作，故禮防不勝，先王以制刑也。 今義元慶之節，則廢刑也。 跡元慶所以能義動天下，以其忘生而及於德也。 若釋罪以利其生，是奪其德，虧其義，非所謂殺身成仁、全死忘生之節。 臣謂宜正國之典，寘之以刑，然後旌閭墓可也。
I have heard that penalties exist to preserve life—that is, to hold back chaos; benevolence exists to do good—that is, to raise up virtue. To avenge a father today is not chaos; to walk the son's road is benevolence. Benevolence that brings no benefit, punished like ordinary riot—one may call that skill in sentencing, but it cannot teach the people. For evil springs from what is upright, and order itself breeds turmoil when ritual's bulwarks fail—hence the former kings forged penal law. To honor Yuanqing's act of righteousness now is to cast punishment aside. Consider how he moved the realm by righteousness: he forgot his life and reached virtue. To absolve him for the sake of keeping him alive would strip away his virtue and wound his righteousness—it would not be the stature of one who dies to perfect humanity and meets death forgetful of life. I submit that the national code should first be upheld and he subjected to sentence; only afterward may his lane and grave be publicly honored.
34
時韙其言。 後禮部員外郎柳宗元駁曰：
The court at the time endorsed his view. Later Liu Zongyuan, Ministerial Aide in the Ministry of Rites, wrote in rebuttal:
35
禮之大本，以防亂也。 若曰：無為賊虐，凡為子者殺無赦。 刑之大本，亦以防亂也。 若曰：無為賊虐，凡為治者殺無赦。 其本則合，其用則異。 旌與誅，不得並也。 誅其可旌，茲謂濫，黷刑甚矣； 旌其可誅，茲謂僭，壞禮甚矣。
The great root of ritual, too, is to ward off chaos. One may put it thus: commit no robbery or cruelty—whoever is a son, put to death without mercy. The great root of penal law is likewise to ward off chaos. One may put it thus: commit no robbery or cruelty—whoever holds office, put to death without mercy. Their foundations are one; their uses diverge. Public honor and capital punishment cannot be joined. To execute a man fit for praise is excess—an abuse of sentencing past bearing; to praise a man fit for execution is presumption—a wound to ritual past bearing.
36
若師韞獨以私怨，奮吏氣，虐非辜，州牧不知罪，刑官不知問，上下蒙冒，籲號不聞。 而元慶能處心積慮以沖仇人之胸，介然自克，即死無憾，是守禮而行義也。 執事者宜有慚色，將謝之不暇，而又何誅焉？
Suppose Shiyun alone, nursing private spite, let an officer's swagger run wild and tortured the guiltless, while the prefect never charged a crime and the judge never held an inquiry—high and low wrapped in concealment, wails of the wronged never reaching the throne— yet Yuanqing could brood and plan until he drove the blade into his foe's breast, upright and self-mastered, content even in death—that is to keep ritual and walk in righteousness. Men in office ought to blush; they would scarcely have breath to apologize—how then put him to death?
37
其或父不免於罪，師韞之誅，不愆於法，是非死於吏也，是死於法也。 法其可仇乎？ 仇天子之法，而戕奉法之吏，是悖驁而淩上也。 執而誅之，所以正邦典，而又何旌焉？
Yet if the father could not escape conviction, and Shiyun's punishment broke no statute—that was death by law, not death at an officer's whim. Can one treat the law itself as a foe? To hate the Son of Heaven's law and cut down the officer who carries it out is defiance and insolence, an assault upon authority. To arrest and execute him is to set the national code straight—so where is room for praise?
38
禮之所謂仇者，冤抑沈痛而號無告也，非謂抵罪觸法，陷於大戮，而曰彼殺之我乃殺之，不議曲直，暴寡脅弱而已。 《春秋傳》曰：「父不受誅，子復仇可也； 父受誅，子復仇，此推刃之道。 復仇不除害。」 今若取此以斷兩下相殺，則合於禮矣。
The foe ritual speaks of is one crushed by injustice, drowning in grief, whose cry finds no ear—not one who broke the law, faced the supreme penalty, and then said, "He killed, so I kill," without weighing right from wrong, merely preying on the helpless. The "Zuo Commentary" says, "If the father was not condemned, the son may avenge him; if the father was condemned and the son still avenges him, that is the road of passing the blade onward. Vengeance does not clear the wrong." Apply that rule to a killing between high and low, and the case falls within ritual.
39
且夫不忘仇，孝也； 不愛死，義也。 元慶能不越於禮，服孝死義，是必達理而聞道者也。 夫達理聞道之人，豈其以王法為敵仇者哉！ 議者反以為戮，黷刑壞禮，其不可以為典明矣。 請下臣議附於令，有斷斯獄者，不宜以前議從事。
Not to forget the feud is filial; not to cling to life is righteous. Yuan Qing never stepped outside ritual bounds: he lived filial piety and died for righteousness. Surely he was a man who had grasped principle and truly heard the Way. A man who comprehends principle and hears the Way—would he ever treat the king's law as his enemy? Yet the court turned around and marked him for execution—an abusive sentence that shatters ritual. That plainly cannot stand as precedent. I ask that our deliberation be entered into the statutes, so that anyone who judges such a case hereafter will not be bound by the earlier opinion.
40
憲宗時，衢州人余常安父、叔皆為裏人謝全所殺。 常安八歲，已能謀復仇。 十有七年，卒殺全。 刺史元錫奏輕比，刑部尚書李鄘執不可，卒抵死。
Under Emperor Xianzong, Yu Chang'an of Quzhou saw both his father and uncle killed by a neighbor, Xie Quan. At eight years old Chang'an was already plotting revenge. Seventeen years on, he at last killed Quan. Prefect Yuan Xi urged a lighter sentence, but Minister of Justice Li Yong would not yield, and in the end Chang'an was executed.
41
又富平人梁悅父為秦果所殺，悅殺仇，詣縣請罪。 詔曰：「在《禮》父仇不同天，而法殺人必死。 禮、法，王教大端也，二說異焉。 下尚書省議。」 職方員外郎韓愈曰：
There was also Liang Yue of Fuping, whose father had been killed by Qin Guo. Yue slew his enemy and went to the county magistrate to surrender himself. An edict declared: "As the "Book of Rites" states, a father's enemy cannot share the same heaven with his son, yet the law demands death for anyone who kills. Ritual and law are the twin pillars of royal teaching, yet here the two teachings pull apart. Let the matter be referred to the Secretariat for deliberation." Vice Director of Personnel Han Yu submitted:
42
子復父仇，見於《春秋》、於《禮記》、《周官》，若子史，不勝數，未有非而罪者。 最宜詳於律，而律無條，非闕文也。 蓋以為不許復仇，則傷孝子之心； 許復仇，則人將倚法顓殺，無以禁止。 夫律雖本於聖人，然執而行之者，有司也。 經之所明者，制有司者也。 丁寧其義於經而深沒其文於律者，將使法吏一斷於法，而經術之士得引經以議也。
Sons who avenged their fathers appear in the "Spring and Autumn Annals," the "Record of Rites," and the "Rites of Zhou," and in histories beyond number—never once were they judged wrong and punished. This is precisely what statutes ought to spell out, yet the code contains no article on it—not because the text is incomplete. The reason, I believe, is that forbidding revenge would break a filial son's heart; yet permitting it would let men lean on the law to kill at will, with no way to stop them. Though statutes spring from the sages, it is officials who grasp and apply them. What the classics make clear is what binds those officials. To lodge the meaning plainly in the classics while burying the letter deep in the statutes is to let law officers judge by statute alone, while men versed in the classics may still bring the classics to bear in debate.
43
《周官》曰：「凡殺人而義者，令勿仇，仇之則死。」 義者，宜也。 明殺人而不得其宜者，子得復仇也。 此百姓之相仇者也。 公羊子曰：「父不受誅，子復仇可也。」 不受誅者，罪不當誅也。 誅者，上施下之辭，非百姓相殺也。 《周官》曰：「凡報仇讎者，書於士，殺之無罪。」 言將復仇，必先言於官，則無罪也。
The "Rites of Zhou" states: "When anyone kills with justification, command that he not be avenged; if he is avenged, the avenger dies.' Righteous' means fitting." Where the killing was plainly unfitting, the son may take revenge. This concerns private blood-feuds among commoners. Gongyangzi says: "If the father was not lawfully executed, the son may avenge him." 'Did not receive lawful punishment' means the offense did not merit death. " 'Execution' is the language of the ruler imposing sentence from above—not of commoners killing one another. The "Rites of Zhou" also says: "Whoever intends to avenge a wrong shall record it with the magistrate; if he then kills, he is without guilt." That is to say: before taking revenge, one must first declare it to the authorities—only then is there no crime.
44
復仇之名雖同，而其事各異。 或百姓相仇，如《周官》所稱，可議於今者； 或為官吏所誅，如《公羊》所稱，不可行於今者。 《周官》所稱：將復仇先告於士，若孤稚羸弱，抱微誌而伺敵人之便，恐不能自言，未可以為斷於今也。 然則殺之與赦不可一，宜定其制曰：「有復父仇者，事發，具其事下尚書省，集議以聞，酌處之。」 則經無失指矣。
The word revenge is one, but the cases are not the same. Some are feuds among commoners, as the "Rites of Zhou" describes—these may still be weighed under present law; some concern fathers put to death by officials, as the "Gongyang Commentary" describes—these cannot be applied today. As for the "Rites of Zhou" rule that one must report before avenging: an orphan, a child, the feeble or weak, nursing a small resolve while watching for the enemy's moment, unable to speak for himself—this cannot yet be made the sole standard for judgment today. Execution and pardon cannot be one rule for all. A statute should be fixed, reading: "When anyone avenges a father's murder, upon the matter coming to light, the full facts shall be sent down to the Secretariat; deliberation shall be assembled and reported upward, and disposition made accordingly." Then the intent of the classics will not be lost.
45
有詔以悅申冤，請罪詣公門，流循州。
An edict ruled that because Yue had voiced his grievance and surrendered himself at the capital gate, he was exiled to Xunzhou.
46
穆宗世，京兆人康買得，年十四，父憲責錢於雲陽張蒞，蒞醉，拉憲危死。 買得以蒞趫悍，度救不足解，則舉鍤擊其首，三日蒞死。 刑部侍郎孫革建言：「買得救父難不為暴，度不解而擊不為兇。 先王制刑，必先父子之親。 《春秋》原心定罪，《周書》諸罰有權。 買得孝性天至，宜賜矜宥。」 有詔減死。
In the reign of Emperor Muzong, Kang Maide of the capital district was fourteen. His father Xian had gone to Yunyang to collect a debt from Zhang Li. Li, drunk, seized Xian and dragged him until he was near death. Maide saw that Li was violent and brutal; judging that help could not arrive in time to free his father, he lifted a spade and struck Li's head. Three days later Li died. Vice Minister of Justice Sun Ge argued: "Maide rescued his father from deadly peril—that is not wanton violence; seeing that rescue could not come in time and striking is not murderous intent. The ancient kings fashioned punishments with the bond between father and son foremost. The "Spring and Autumn Annals" judges by the heart in fixing guilt; the "Book of Documents" grants latitude in every penalty. Maide's filial nature was heaven-sent; he deserves compassionate pardon. An edict commuted his death sentence.
47
侯知道、程俱羅者，靈州靈武人。 居親喪，穿壙作冢，皆身執其勞，鄉人助者，即哭而卻之。 廬墳次，哭泣無節，知道七年、俱羅三年不止。 知道垢塵積首，率夜半傅墳，踴而哭，鳥獸為悲號。 李華作《二孝贊》表其行，曰：「厥初生人，有君有親。 孝親為子，忠君為臣。 兆自天命，降及人倫。 背死不義，忘生不仁。 過及智就，為之禮文。 至哉侯氏，創巨病殷。 手足胼胝，以成高墳。 夜黑飈動，如臨鬼神。 哭無常聲，迥徹蒼旻。 苴斬三年，爾獨終身。 嗟嗟程生，其哀也均。 顧後絕配，瞻前無鄰。」
Hou Zhidao and Cheng Juluo were from Lingwu in Lingzhou. During mourning for their parents, they dug the grave and raised the mound with their own hands. When neighbors offered help, they wept and turned them away. They lived beside the graves, weeping without restraint—Zhidao for seven years, Juluo for three, and would not stop. Dust and grime matted Zhidao's hair; night after night he would press against the mound, leap and wail, until birds and beasts cried out in grief beside him. Li Hua composed the "Eulogy to the Two Filial Sons" to celebrate their conduct, writing: "When humankind first arose, there were rulers and there were parents. To honor one's parents is the son's duty; to be loyal to one's ruler is the minister's. The sign issues from Heaven's mandate, descending into the order of human bonds. Who forsakes the dead betrays righteousness; who forgets the living abandons humanity. When excess has run its course, wisdom brings it to rest—and ritual gives such deeds their proper shape. Supreme indeed, the House of Hou—grief wound-deep, sorrow beyond measure. Their palms and soles grew thick with toil until the high tomb stood finished. In the black of night, when wind howled, they seemed to stand before ghosts and gods. Their cries knew no measure, piercing the wide vault of sky. Sackcloth and the deepest cut of mourning end in three years—yet you alone grieve for a lifetime. Ah, Cheng—your sorrow is his equal. Behind you, none can be matched; before you, none stands as kin."
48
又有何澄粹者，池州人。 親病日錮，俗尚鬼，病者不進藥。 澄粹剔股肉進，親疾為瘳。 後親沒，伏於墓，哭踴無數，以毀卒，當時號「青陽孝子」，士為作誄甚眾。
There was also He Chengcui, from Chizhou. As his parent's illness tightened day by day, local custom favored shamans, and the sick refused medicine. Chengcui cut flesh from his thigh and offered it—and his parent's sickness was healed. After his parent died, he lay at the grave, weeping and stamping beyond number until grief destroyed him. His age called him "the Filial Son of Qingyang," and gentlemen wrote dirges for him in great profusion.
49
壽州安豐李興亦有至行，柳宗元為作《孝門銘》，曰：「壽州刺史臣承思言：『九月丁亥，安豐令上所部編戶氓興，父被惡疾，歲月就亟，興自刃股肉，假托饋獻，父老病已不能啖，宿而死。 興號呼撫臆，口鼻垂血，捧土就墳，沾漬涕洟。 墳左作小廬，蒙以苫茨，伏匿其中，扶服頓踴，晝夜哭訴。 孝誠幽達，神為見異，廬上產紫芝、白芝，廬中醴泉湧。 此皆陛下孝治神化，陰中其心，而克致斯事。 謹按興匹庶賤陋，循習淺下，性非文字所導，生與耨耒為業，而能鐘彼醇孝，超出古烈，天意神道，猶錫瑞物以表殊異。 伏惟陛下有唐堯如神之德，宜加旌褒，合於上下。 請表其裏閭，刻石明白，宣延風美，觀示後祀，永無極。 臣昧死請。』 制曰可。 銘曰：『懿厥孝思，茲惟淑靈。 稟承粹和，篤守天經。 泣侍羸疾，默禱隱冥。 引刃自向，殘肌敗形。 羞膳奉進，憂勞孝誠。 惟時高高，曾不視聽。 創巨痛仍，號於穹旻。 捧土濡涕，頓首成墳。 搯膺腐眥，寒暑在廬。 草木悴死，鳥獸踟躕。 殊類異族，亦相其哀。 肇有二位，孝道爰興。 克脩厥猷，載籍是登。 在帝有虞，以孝烝烝。 仲尼述經，以教於曾。 惟昔魯侯，見命夷宮。 亦有考叔，寤莊稱純。 顯顯李氏，實與之倫。 哀嗟道路，涕慕裏鄰。 神錫秘祉，三秀靈泉。 帝命薦加，亦表其門。 統一上下，交贊天人。 建此碑號，億齡揚芬。』」
Li Xing of Anfeng in Shouzhou likewise showed supreme devotion; Liu Zongyuan composed for him the "Inscription on the Gate of Filial Piety," which reads: "The prefect of Shouzhou, your servant Cheng Si, states: 'On the dinghai day of the ninth month, the magistrate of Anfeng presented Xing, a registered-household commoner of the district: his father was stricken with a grievous illness that worsened with the passing months. Xing cut flesh from his own thigh and passed it off as a gift of food. His father, too weak to eat, died the next night. Xing wailed and beat his chest until blood ran from mouth and nose; he cupped earth for the grave, steeping it in tears and mucus. To the grave's left he raised a small hut roofed in thatch and hid himself there, staff in hand, bowing and stamping, weeping and pleading through day and night. His filial heart pierced the unseen; the spirits showed signs—purple and white sacred fungus on the hut's roof, a sweet spring bubbling inside. All this springs from Your Majesty's rule by filial piety and divine transformation, moving his heart in secret until such deeds could be achieved. I respectfully note that Xing is a common man—humble in station, shallow in learning, untrained by books, who lived by hoe and plough—yet he gathered pure filial devotion that outstripped the worthies of antiquity. Heaven and the spirit-way even granted omens to proclaim his singularity. I humbly submit that Your Majesty bears the godlike virtue of Tang Yao; such a man should be honored and rewarded, fitting heaven above and earth below. I beg that his neighborhood be marked, stone carved to make it plain, his shining example spread abroad and shown to posterity without limit. Your servant dares this petition at peril of his life. The imperial reply read: Granted. The inscription says: 'How deep his filial mind—here is a noble soul. He took up pure harmony and held fast to heaven's law. In tears he nursed the failing sickness, praying in silence to the hidden powers. He turned the blade on his own body, tearing flesh and breaking his frame. He offered the fine food in tribute, worn down by anxious filial care. Yet the father on high would not see or hear. Grief vast, pain unceasing—he called to the arching heavens. He gathered earth wet with tears, striking his forehead until the tomb rose. He tore at his chest until his eyes grew raw; through winter cold and summer heat he kept to the hut. Grass and trees withered away; birds and beasts circled in anguish. Even alien peoples and strange creatures mourned with him. When the two roles first stood, filial duty was born. He perfected that path and earned his place in the annals. In the age of Emperor Shun, filial hearts multiplied. Confucius laid down the canon to instruct Zeng. Of old the Lord of Lu received his charge in the Yi chamber. There was Kaoshu too, who woke Duke Zhuang and was hailed as wholly filial. Radiant the House of Li—truly of that company. Travelers on the road wept aloud; neighbors within the lanes wept in longing. The spirits granted hidden blessings—auspicious growth in triple shoots and a sacred spring. Heaven's Son ordered rewards and distinctions, and set a mark of honor upon their gate. High and low were brought into accord; Heaven and humankind praised each other in turn. This monument was raised, its renown to bloom through endless generations.'"
50
許法慎，滄州清池人。 甫三歲，已有知。 時母病，不飲乳，慘慘有憂色。 或以珍餌詭悅之，輒不食，還以進母。 後親喪，常廬於塋，有甘露、嘉禾、靈芝、木連理、白兔之祥。 天寶中，表異其閭。
Xu Fashen was from Qingchi in Cangzhou. At three he already showed uncommon sense. When his mother grew ill, he refused the breast and wore a face hollow with worry. When others offered rare delicacies to cheer him, he would not touch them but carried them back to his mother. After his parents died, he kept constant vigil in a hut beside the tomb—and sweet dew fell, grain grew fair, lingzhi sprouted, trees joined in a single trunk, and a white rabbit appeared. During the Tianbao reign, his neighborhood was publicly honored for these signs.
51
林攢，泉州莆田人。 貞元初，仕為福唐尉。 母羸老，未及迎而病。 攢聞，棄官還。 及母亡，水漿不入口五日。 自埏甓作冢，廬其右，有白烏來，甘露降。 觀察使李若初遣官屬驗實，會露晞，裏人失色，攢哭曰：「天所降露，禍我邪？」 俄而露復集，烏亦回翔。 詔作二闕於母墓前，又表其閭，蠲徭役，時號「闕下林家」。
Lin Zan was from Putian in Quanzhou. Early in the Zhenyuan reign he held office as aide to the magistrate of Futang. His mother was frail and old; before he could bring her to him, she took ill. When he heard, Zan abandoned his post and went home. At her death he took neither water nor food for five days. He molded bricks and raised the tomb himself, then kept a mourning hut to its right—a white crow came, and sweet dew descended. Surveillance Commissioner Li Ruochu sent officials to verify the signs; the dew happened to dry in the sun, and the villagers blanched. Zan wept aloud: "Has the dew Heaven granted come to curse me?" In a moment the dew gathered anew, and the crow circled again on the wing. An edict commanded two memorial arches erected before his mother's tomb; his neighborhood was publicly honored as well, and corvée duties were remitted—at the time they were called "the Lin household beneath the arches."
52
陳饒奴，饒州人。 年十二，親並亡，窶弱居喪，又歲饑，或教其分弟妹，可全性命。 饒奴流涕，身丐訴相全養。 刺史李復異之，給資儲，署其門曰「孝友童子」。
Chen Raonu was from Raozhou. At twelve both parents were gone; destitute, frail, and in mourning through a year of famine, some urged him to send his younger brother and sister away so he might save himself. Raonu wept and went begging in person, pleading that all might be kept and raised together. Prefect Li Fu marveled at this, supplied food and stores, and inscribed his gate: "The Filial-and-Fraternal Lad."
53
王博武，許州人。 會昌中，侍母至廣州，及沙湧口，暴風，母溺死，博武自投於水。 嶺南節度使盧貞俾吏沈罟，獲二屍焉，乃葬之，表其墓曰「孝子墓」。 詔為刻石。
Wang Bowu was from Xuzhou. In the Huichang reign, while escorting his mother to Guangzhou, a sudden gale struck at Shayong Ford; his mother drowned, and Bowu threw himself into the water after her. Lingnan Military Governor Lu Zhen had his clerks lower nets into the water; both bodies were recovered and buried, and the grave was publicly marked "Tomb of the Filial Son." An edict ordered stone carved to commemorate him.
54
萬敬儒，廬州人。 三世同居，喪親，廬墓，刺血寫浮屠書，斷手二指，輒復生。 州改所居曰成孝鄉廣孝聚。 大中時，表其家。
Wan Jingru was from Luzhou. Three generations lived under one roof; when kin died he kept vigil at the tomb, pricked his blood to copy Buddhist scriptures, and severed two fingers—yet they grew back. The prefecture renamed his home district Chengxiao Village and Guangxiao Hamlet. In the Dazhong reign, his household was publicly honored.
55
章全益，梓州涪城人。 少孤，為兄全啟所鞠。 母病，全啟刲股膳母而愈。 及全啟亡，全益服斬衰，斷手一指以報。 不畜妻，僮仆處一室，賣藥自業，世傳能作黃金。 居成都四十年，號章孝子，卒，年九十八。
Zhang Quanyi was from Fucheng in Zizhou. Orphaned young, he was raised by his elder brother Quanqi. When their mother fell ill, Quanqi cut flesh from his thigh to feed her, and she recovered. When Quanqi died, Quanyi wore the deepest mourning and severed a finger in requital. He took no wife; servants shared his single room; he earned his bread selling medicines—legend held he could transmute gold. He dwelt in Chengdu forty years, known as Zhang the Filial Son; he died at ninety-eight.
56
贊曰：聖人治天下有道，曰「要在孝弟而已」。 父父也，子子也，兄兄也，弟弟也，推而之國，國而之天下，建一善而百行從，其失則以法繩之。 故曰：「孝者天下大本，法其末也。」 至匹夫單人，行孝一概，而兇盜不敢淩，天子喟而旌之者，以其教孝而求忠也。 故裒而著於篇。
Comment: The sage rules all under Heaven by a Way whose sum is this: "Everything turns on filial piety and brotherly duty." Let the father be father, the son son, the elder brother elder brother, the younger brother younger brother—carry that from the household into the state, and from the state into the world; plant one goodness and a hundred deeds will follow; where men fail, bind them with law. Hence the saying: "Filial piety is the great root of the world; law is but its outer branch." Even when a lone commoner practices filial piety in a single steadfast way, violent robbers dare not molest him; when the Son of Heaven sighs and honors such men, it is because in teaching filial piety he seeks loyalty. Therefore these lives are gathered and recorded in this chapter.