Volume 12 Later Zhou Annals 3: Shizong, Emperor Gong

卷十二周本纪第十二

Volume 12 — Annals of Zhou, Chapter 12

世宗睿武孝文皇帝，本姓柴氏，邢州龙冈人也。柴氏女适太祖，是为圣穆皇后。后兄守礼子荣，幼从姑长太祖家，以谨厚见爱，太祖遂以为子。太祖后稍贵，荣亦壮，而器貌英奇，善骑射，略通书史黄老，性沈重寡言。太祖为汉枢密使，荣为左监门卫大将军。太祖镇天雄，荣领贵州刺史、天雄军牙内都指挥使。乾祐三年冬，周兵起魏，犯京师，留荣守魏。太祖入立，拜澶州刺史、镇宁军节度使，检校太傅、同中书门下平章事。荣素为枢密使王峻所忌，广顺三年正月来朝，不得留。既而峻有罪诛，三月，拜荣开封尹，封晋王。是冬，卜以来年正月朔旦有事于南郊，而太祖遇疾，不能视朝者久之。

Shizong, temple name the Sagacious Martial Filial Civil Emperor, was born of the Chai clan at Longgang in Xingzhou. A Chai clanswoman wed Taizu and was enthroned as Empress Shengmu. Rong, Shouli’s son and the empress’s nephew, was raised from boyhood in Taizu’s house through his aunt; his sober loyalty won affection, and Taizu adopted him as a son. As Taizu’s star rose, Rong matured into a man of striking looks and presence, expert in the saddle and bow, with a modest grounding in the classics, histories, and Daoist texts, and a temperament grave and quiet. While Taizu served Later Han as privy commissioner, Rong held the post of Grand General of the Left Gate Guard. When Taizu took command at Tianxiong, Rong became prefect of Guizhou and commander-in-chief of the Tianxiong inner guard. In the winter of Qianyou 3 the Zhou army rose in Wei and struck for the capital; Rong stayed behind to guard Wei. After Taizu seized the throne, Rong was made prefect of Cao, military commissioner of Zhenning, honorary grand tutor, and associate grand councilor. Privy Commissioner Wang Jun had long resented Rong; when Rong came to court in the first month of Guangshun 3, he was sent back and not allowed to remain. Jun was soon condemned and put to death; in the third month Rong became Mayor of the Eastern Capital and Prince of Jin. That winter auguries fixed the southern suburb rite for dawn on the coming new year, yet Taizu fell ill and went long without holding court.

显德元年正月丙子，郊，仅而成礼，即以王判内外兵马事。壬辰，太祖崩，秘不发丧。丙申，发丧，皇帝即位于柩前。于书封晋王，正其非子矣。其余假窃嗣君之礼，不待讥贬而可知，故皆无异辞。右监门卫大将军魏仁浦为枢密副使。二月庚戌，回鹘遣使者来。丁卯，冯道为大行皇帝山陵使，太常卿田敏为礼仪使，兵部尚书张昭为卤簿使，御史中丞张煦为仪仗使，开封少尹权判府事王敏为桥道顿递使。汉人来讨，攻自潞州。三月辛巳，大赦。癸未，郑仁诲留守东京。乙酉，如潞州以攻汉。不曰伐，曲在周，不可以大小为言，故用两相攻为文。壬辰，次泽州，阅兵于北郊。癸巳，及刘旻战于高原，败之，与其不屈于周，不与其称帝，故书姓名。追及于高平，又败之。丁酉，幸潞州。己亥，侍卫马军都指挥使樊爱能、步军都指挥使何徽伏诛。壬寅，天雄军节度使符彦卿为河东行营都部署。夏四月乙卯，葬神圣文武恭肃孝皇帝于嵩陵。在郑州新郑县。汾州防御使董希颜叛于汉来附。丙辰，辽州刺史张汉超叛于汉来附。辛酉，取岚、宪州。壬戌，立卫国夫人符氏为皇后。取石、沁州。乙丑，冯道薨。庚午，赦潞州流罪以下囚。如太原。忻州监军李勍杀其刺史赵皋，叛于汉来附。五月丙子，代州守将郑处谦叛于汉来附，契丹救汉。丁酉，回鹘使因难敌略来。符彦卿及契丹战于忻口，败绩，先锋都指挥使史彦超死之。六月乙巳，班师。乙丑，次新郑，遂拜嵩陵。庚午，至自太原。秋七月庚辰，阅稼于南御庄。癸巳，枢密院直学士、工部侍郎景范为中书侍郎、同中书门下平章事，魏仁浦为枢密使。冬十月甲辰，杀左羽林大将军孟汉卿。

On bingzi in the first month of Xiande 1 the suburban sacrifice was rushed through; the Prince of Jin was then put in charge of all military affairs within and without. On renchen Taizu died; the court concealed the death and withheld the mourning proclamation. On bingshen the mourning was proclaimed and the new emperor took the throne before the bier. By recording the enfeoffment as Prince of Jin, the annals expose the fiction that he was a true son. The other stolen rites of succession need no added rebuke or praise; the facts speak for themselves, and the text therefore gives them without comment. Wei Renpu, Grand General of the Right Gate Guard, became vice privy commissioner. On gengxu in the second month Uyghur envoys arrived. On dingmao Feng Dao was named mausoleum commissioner for the late emperor; Tian Min, Minister of Rites, oversaw ritual; Zhang Zhao, Minister of War, insignia; Zhang Xu, Vice Censor-in-Chief, ceremonial guards; and Wang Min, junior mayor of Kaifeng acting as mayor, bridges, roads, and relays. Northern Han forces marched to punish Zhou, advancing from Luzhou. On xinsi in the third month a general amnesty was proclaimed. On guimao Zheng Renhui was posted to guard the Eastern Capital. On yiyou the emperor marched on Luzhou against Northern Han. The annals avoid saying “campaign against,” favoring Zhou without framing the war as large against small, and therefore write of two sides attacking each other. On renchen he stopped at Ze Prefecture and held a military review north of the city. On guisi he met Liu Chong on the high plain and routed him, The text neither concedes his refusal to bow to Zhou nor calls him emperor, and so records him by personal name. He chased Liu Chong to Gaoping and routed him again. On dingyou he went in person to Luzhou. On jihai Fan Aineng, commander of the palace horse guard, and He Hui, commander of the palace foot guard, were put to death. On renyin Fu Yanqing, military commissioner of Tianxiong, was appointed overall commander of the Hedong campaign. On yimao in the fourth month Taizu, the Sagely, Divine, Martial, Civil, Reverent, Filial Emperor, was interred at Songling. The tomb lay at Xinzheng County in Zheng Prefecture. Dong Xiyan, defense commissioner of Fen Prefecture, broke with Northern Han and defected to Zhou. On bingchen Liao Prefecture prefect Zhang Hanchao rebelled against Northern Han and submitted to Zhou. On xinyou Lan and Xian prefectures fell. On renxu Lady Fu of Wei was enthroned as empress. Shi and Qin prefectures were captured. On yichou Feng Dao died. On gengwu Luzhou prisoners sentenced to exile or below were pardoned. The emperor marched on Taiyuan. Li Qiong, Xin Prefecture’s military supervisor, killed Prefect Zhao Gao, turned on Northern Han, and defected to Zhou. On bingzi in the fifth month Dai’s garrison commander Zheng Chuqian rebelled against Northern Han and submitted; the Khitan marched to relieve Han. On dingyou the Uyghur envoy Yinandielue arrived. Fu Yanqing met the Khitan at Xinkou and was beaten; Vanguard Commander Shi Yanchao fell in the fight. On yisi in the sixth month the army marched home. On yichou he stopped at Xinzheng and then visited Songling to mourn Taizu. On gengwu he came back from the Taiyuan campaign. On gengchen in the seventh month he inspected the harvest at the Southern Imperial Farm. On guisi Privy Council academician and Vice Minister of Works Jing Fan became vice director of the Secretariat and associate grand councilor; Wei Renpu was named privy commissioner. On jiachen in the tenth month Meng Hanqing, Grand General of the Left Feathered Forest, was put to death.

二年五代乱世，以嗣君即位者五，而改元不依古者四，梁末帝、晋出帝即位逾年，宜改元而不改，又明年然后改，汉隐帝、周世宗皆仍称先帝年号，终其世不改，而本纪无讥者，但书其实，自见其失也。春二月，御札求直言。夏五月辛未，宣徽南院使向训、凤翔节度使王景伐蜀。甲戌，大毁佛寺，禁民亲无侍养而为僧尼及私自度者。秋九月丙寅朔，颁铜禁。闰月癸丑，向训克秦州。冬十月辛未，取成州。戊寅，高丽使王子太相融来。取阶州。十一月乙未朔，李穀为淮南道行营都部署以伐唐。戊申，王景克凤州。十二月丙戌，郑仁诲薨。三年春正月，增筑京城。庚子，向训留守东京。壬寅，南征。辛亥，侍卫亲军都指挥使李重进及唐人战于正阳，败之。甲寅，重进为淮南道行营都招讨使。二月丙寅，幸下蔡浮桥。壬申，克滁州。甲戌，李景来求成，不答。壬午，景使其臣钟谟来奉表。丙戌，取扬州。辛卯，取泰州。三月庚子，內外馬步軍都軍頭袁彥為竹龍都部署。是月，取光、舒、常州。夏四月，常、泰州复入于唐。五月乙卯，至自淮南，赦京师囚。六月壬申，德音赦淮南囚。秋七月，皇后崩。扬、光、舒、滁州复入于唐。八月乙丑，课民种木及韭。九月丙午，端明殿学士、左散骑常侍王朴为尚书户部侍郎、枢密副使。冬十月辛酉，葬宣懿皇后于懿陵。十一月庚寅，废诸祠不在祀典者。乙巳，杀李景之臣孙晟。

Year two opens with Ouyang Xiu’s note: in the Five Dynasties’ chaos five heirs took throne, yet four broke ancient practice on era names. Liang’s last emperor and Jin’s deposed emperor waited more than a year; Han’s Hidden Emperor and Zhou’s Shizong kept prior reign titles for life. The annals do not rebuke them—they record facts, and the fault is plain. In the second month of spring an imperial note called for frank remonstrance. On xinwei in the fifth month Xiang Xun of the Southern Court and Fengxiang commissioner Wang Jing marched against Shu. On jiaxu the court demolished Buddhist temples on a large scale and forbade ordination without filial support or private tonsure. On the new-year day bingyin in the ninth month the copper ban was issued. In the intercalary month on guichou Xiang Xun captured Qin Prefecture. On xinwei in the tenth month Cheng Prefecture fell. On wuyin the Goryeo envoy Prince Tae Sang-yung arrived. Jie Prefecture was captured. On the new-year day yimao in the eleventh month Li Gu was appointed overall commander of the Huainan campaign against Southern Tang. On wushen Wang Jing captured Feng Prefecture. On bingxu in the twelfth month Zheng Renhui died. In the first month of Xiande 3 the capital fortifications were extended. On gengzi Xiang Xun was posted to guard the Eastern Capital. On renyin the emperor launched the southern campaign. On xinhai Li Chongjin, commander of the palace personal guard, met Southern Tang forces at Zhengyang and routed them. On jiayin Li Chongjin was appointed overall commander of the Huainan campaign. On bingyin in the second month he inspected the floating bridge at Xiacai. On renshen Chu Prefecture fell. On jiaxu Li Jing of Southern Tang sued for peace; the court gave no reply. On renwu Li Jing sent his minister Zhong Mo with a formal petition. On bingxu Yang Prefecture was captured. On xinmao Tai Prefecture fell. On gengzi Yuan Yan, chief of the inner and outer horse and foot forces, was named commander of the bamboo-dragon formation. That month Guang, Shu, and Chang prefectures were captured. In the fourth month Chang and Tai prefectures slipped back to Southern Tang control. On yimao in the fifth month he returned from Huainan and granted amnesty to capital prisoners. On renshen in the sixth month a lenient edict freed Huainan prisoners. In the seventh month the empress died. Yang, Guang, Shu, and Chu prefectures reverted to Southern Tang. On yichou in the eighth month the court ordered households to plant trees and leeks. On bingwu in the ninth month Duanming Hall academician and Left Regular Attendant Wang Pu became Vice Minister of Revenue and vice privy commissioner. On xinyou in the tenth month Empress Xuanyi was interred at Yiling. On gengyin in the eleventh month unauthorized local cults were shut down. On yisi Sun Sheng, a Southern Tang minister of Li Jing, was put to death.

四年春正月己丑朔，赦非死罪囚。二月甲戌，王朴留守东京。乙亥，南征。三月丁未，克寿州。不书刘仁赡降，事见死节传。盖仁赡实不降，故书周自克之尔。「克」者，难取之名也，寿难取，则见仁赡之节著，不书「死之」者，仁赡自以病死，以其至死守节，故列之死节传。夏四月己巳，至自寿州。己卯，放降卒八百归于蜀。癸未，追册彭城郡夫人刘氏为皇后。五月丙申，杀密州防御使侯希进。秋八月乙亥，李穀罢，王朴为枢密使。癸未，蜀人来归我濮州刺史胡立。冬十月己巳，王朴留守东京，三司使张美为大内都点检。壬申，南征。十二月乙卯，泗州守将范再遇叛于唐，以其州来降。庚申，濠州团练使郭廷谓以其州来降。身居其地而来降者书「附」，再遇、廷谓虽以地降，既降而不居其地，故不书「附」而书「降」。廷谓不书「叛」，事见南唐世家。丁丑，取泰州。五年春正月丁亥，取海州。壬辰，取静海军。丁未，克楚州，守将张彦卿、郑昭业死之。自四年十二月辛酉攻之，彦卿等坚守四十余日乃克之，其不走不降可知，故予其死。然所贵者死尔，本纪著其大节可矣。二月甲寅，取雄州。丁卯，如揚州。癸酉，如瓜洲。三月壬午朔，如泰州。丁亥，复如扬州。辛卯，幸迎銮。己亥，克淮南十有四州，以江为界。并前所得通十四州耳，书之，见其本志所止。三月辛亥，李景来买宴。四月庚申，祔五室神主于新庙。壬申，至自淮南，回鹘、达靼遣使者来。六月辛未，放降卒四千六百于唐。秋七月乙酉，水部员外郎韩彦卿市铜于高丽。丁亥，颁《均田图》。九月，占城国王释利因德缦使莆诃散来。冬十月丁酉，括民租。十一月庚戌，作《通礼》、《正乐》。十二月丙戌，罢州县课户、俸户。

On the new-year day jichou in the first month of Xiande 4, all prisoners short of capital crimes were pardoned. On jiaxu in the second month Wang Pu was posted to guard the Eastern Capital. On yihai the emperor launched the southern campaign again. On dingwei in the third month Shou Prefecture fell. Liu Renzan’s surrender is not recorded; see the Biographies of Those Who Died for Principle. Renzan never truly surrendered, so the annals say Zhou “took” the city—the word for a hard-won capture. Shouzhou’s difficulty shows Renzan’s steadfastness. The text does not say he “died in battle” because he died of illness; having held firm to the end, he belongs in the martyrs’ biographies. On jisi in the fourth month he returned from the Shouzhou campaign. On jimao eight hundred captives were sent home to Shu. On guimao Lady Liu of Pengcheng was posthumously enthroned as empress. On bingshen in the fifth month Mi Prefecture defense commissioner Hou Xijin was put to death. On yihai in the eighth month Li Gu left office and Wang Pu became privy commissioner. On guimao Shu sent back Hu Li, Zhou’s prefect of Pu Prefecture. On jisi in the tenth month Wang Pu guarded the Eastern Capital while Zhang Mei, head of the three fiscal departments, was named chief inspector of the inner palace. On renshen the southern campaign resumed. On yimao in the twelfth month Si Prefecture commander Fan Zaiyu turned on Southern Tang and surrendered his prefecture. On gengshen Hao Prefecture training commissioner Guo Tingwei surrendered his prefecture. Defectors who still held their posts are recorded as “attached.” Zaiyu and Tingwei surrendered territory but did not stay to hold it, so the text says “surrendered” rather than “attached.” Tingwei is not called a “rebel”; see the Southern Tang house chronicle. On dingchou Tai Prefecture was captured. On dinghai in the first month of Xiande 5 Hai Prefecture fell. On renchen the Jinghai command was captured. On dingwei Chu Prefecture fell; its defenders Zhang Yanqing and Zheng Zhaoye died in the assault. The siege began on xinyou in the twelfth month of the fourth year. Yanqing and the others held out more than forty days before the city fell—they plainly neither fled nor surrendered, so the text records their deaths. What counts is dying in place; the annals need only note their steadfastness. On jiayin Xiong Prefecture was captured. On dingmao the emperor traveled to Yang Prefecture. On guiyou he went on to Guazhou. On the new-year day renwu in the third month he went to Tai Prefecture. On dinghai he went back to Yang Prefecture. On xinmao he toured Yingluan. On jihai fourteen Huainan prefectures were secured, the Yangzi River set as the border. With earlier gains, fourteen prefectures in all—the record shows the limit of his original aim. On xinhai in the third month Li Jing came in person to tender submission at a feast. On gengshen in the fourth month the five ancestral tablets were installed in the new imperial temple. On renshen he returned from Huainan; envoys arrived from the Uyghurs and the Tatars. On xinwei in the sixth month 4,600 captives were sent back to Southern Tang. On yiyou in the seventh month Han Yanqing of the Water Ministry was dispatched to buy copper in Goryeo. On dinghai the court issued the Equal-Field Diagram. In the ninth month the king of Champa, Shili Yinde Man, dispatched the envoy Puhesan. In winter, on dingyou in the tenth month, the court levied grain rents from the people. In the eleventh month on gengxu the court compiled the Comprehensive Rites and the Correct Music. In the twelfth month on bingxu the court abolished tax-account and salary households in prefectures and counties.

六年春正月，高丽王昭遣使者来。辛酉，女真使阿辨来。三月己酉，甘州回鹘来献玉，却之。庚申，王朴薨。丙寅，宣徽南院使吴延祚留守东京。癸酉，停给铜鱼。甲戌，北征。是月，吴延祚为左骁卫上将军、枢密使。夏四月壬辰，取乾宁军。辛丑，取益津关，以为霸州。癸卯，取瓦桥关，以为雄州。州县废置不书，此书，重复中国故地。世宗下三关，瓦桥、益津以建州及见，淤口关止置寨，故旧史、实录皆阙不书，遂不见其取得时日，今信安军是也。五月乙巳朔，取瀛州。复中国故地，故不书「契丹」。甲戌，至自雄州。六月癸未，立皇后符氏，符氏无国爵，不曰立符氏为皇后，嫌同于不正也。盖其位先定而后娶，故书曰「立皇后符氏」，文理宜然，无褒贬也。封子宗训为梁王、宗让燕国公。戊子，占城使莆诃散来。己丑，范质、王溥参知枢密院事，魏仁浦同中书门下平章事。癸巳，皇帝崩于滋德殿。年三十九。

In the first month of Xiande 6 King Zhao of Goryeo sent envoys. On xinyou the Jurchen envoy A Bian arrived. On jiyou in the third month the Ganzhou Uyghurs offered jade; the court declined it. On gengshen Wang Pu died. On bingyin Wu Yanzuo, Southern Court privy commissioner, was posted to guard the Eastern Capital. On guiyou the court stopped issuing bronze tally-fish. On jiaxu the emperor launched the northern campaign. That month Wu Yanzuo became Grand General of the Upper Left Tiger Guard and privy commissioner. On renchen in the fourth month Qianning command fell. On xinchou Yijin Pass was captured and established as Ba Prefecture. On guimao Waqiao Pass was captured and established as Xiong Prefecture. Changes to prefectures and counties are usually omitted; here they are recorded because old Chinese lands were recovered. Shizong took the Three Passes: Waqiao and Yijin were made prefectures and noted, but Yankou was only fortified, so earlier histories and veritable records left the captures undated—today’s Xin’an command is an example. On the new-year day yisi in the fifth month Ying Prefecture fell. Because this was recovery of Chinese territory, the text does not say “Khitan.” On jiaxu he returned from the Xiongzhou campaign. On guiwei in the sixth month Empress Lady Fu was enthroned. She held no state title, so the annals avoid saying “installed Lady Fu as empress” lest it seem irregular. Her status had been settled before the wedding, so the phrasing “installed Empress Lady Fu” is formally correct and carries no judgment. He enfeoffed Zongxun as Prince of Liang and Zongrang as Duke of Yan. On wuzi the Champa envoy Puhesan arrived. On jichou Fan Zhi and Wang Pu joined Privy Council affairs, and Wei Renpu became associate grand councilor. On guisi the emperor died in Zide Hall. He was thirty-nine.

恭皇帝，世宗第四子宗训也。世宗即位，大臣请封皇子为王，世宗谦抑久之。及北取三关，遇疾还京师，始封宗训梁王，时年七岁。

Emperor Gong was Zongxun, the fourth son of Shizong. After Shizong’s accession his ministers urged that the princes be enfeoffed as kings, but he long refused out of modest restraint. When he marched north to recover the Three Passes he fell ill and returned to the capital; only then did he enfeoff Zongxun as Prince of Liang, at the age of seven.

显德六年六月癸巳，世宗崩。甲午，皇帝即位于柩前。癸卯，范质为大行皇帝山陵使，翰林学士窦俨为礼仪使，兵部尚书张昭为卤簿使，御史中丞边归谠为仪仗使，宣徽南院使、判开封府事昝居润为桥道顿递使。秋七月丁未，户部尚书李涛为山陵副使，度支郎中卢億为判官。八月庚寅，封弟熙让为曹王，熙谨纪王，熙诲蕲王。壬寅，高丽遣使者来。九月丙寅，左骁卫大将军戴交使于高丽。冬十一月壬寅，葬睿武孝文皇帝于庆陵。在郑州管城县。高丽遣使者来。

On guisi in the sixth month of Xiande 6 Shizong died. On jiawu the new emperor took the throne before the bier. On guimao Fan Zhi was named mausoleum commissioner for the late emperor; Dou Yan, Hanlin academician, oversaw ritual; Zhang Zhao, Minister of War, insignia; Bian Guidang, Vice Censor-in-Chief, ceremonial guards; and Zan Jurun, Southern Court privy commissioner acting as mayor of Kaifeng, bridges, roads, and relays. On dingwei in the seventh month Li Tao, Minister of Revenue, became vice mausoleum commissioner, and Lu Yi of the expenditure bureau served as adjutant. On gengyin his younger brothers Xi Rang, Xi Jin, and Xi Hui were enfeoffed as Princes of Cao, Ji, and Qi. On renyin envoys arrived from Goryeo. On bingyin in the ninth month Dai Jiao, Grand General of the Left Tiger Guard, was dispatched to Goryeo. On renyin in the eleventh month Shizong, the Sagacious Martial Filial Civil Emperor, was interred at Qingling. The tomb lay at Guancheng County in Zheng Prefecture. Goryeo sent envoys again.

七年春正月甲辰，逊于位。宋兴。

In the first month of spring in the seventh year, on jiachen, he abdicated the throne. The Song arose.

五代之亡，所书不同，随事为文尔。「梁亡」见唐之速，「汉亡」见周之迟也。唐欺天下以讨贼，周欺天下以立贇。故书「梁亡」，见唐之立速，则知其志不在讨贼也；「汉亡」见周之立迟，则知立贇者伪也。唐亡无辞，庄宗之弑，唐已亡矣，而明宗又称唐，愍帝之奔，唐又亡矣，而废帝又称唐，其亡也不可以屡书，故不书也。晋亡曰「契丹灭晋」，明言以深戒。周曰「逊于位」，逊，顺也，能顺乎天命也。呜呼，五代本纪备矣！备，谓丧乱之事，无所不有。君臣之际，可胜道哉。梁之友珪反，唐戕克宁而杀存乂、从璨，则父子骨肉之恩，几何其不绝矣。太妃薨而辍朝，立刘氏、冯氏为皇后，则夫妇之伦几何其不乖而不至于禽兽矣。寒食野祭而焚纸钱，居丧改元而用乐，杀马延及任圜，则礼乐刑政几何其不坏矣。至于赛雷山、传箭而扑马，则中国几何其不夷狄矣。可谓乱世也欤！而世宗区区五六年间，取秦陇，平淮右，复三关，威武之声震慑夷夏，而方内延儒学文章之士，考制度、修《通礼》、定《正乐》、议《刑统》，其制作之法皆可施于后世。其为人明达英果，论议伟然。即位之明年，废天下佛寺三千三百三十六。是时中国乏钱，乃诏悉毁天下铜佛像以铸钱，尝曰：「吾闻佛说以身世为妄，而以利人为急，使其真身尚在，苟利于世，犹欲割截，况此铜像，岂其所惜哉？」由是群臣皆不敢言。尝夜读书，见唐元稹《均田图》，慨然叹曰：「此致治之本也，王者之政自此始！」乃诏颁其图法，使吏民先习知之，期以一岁，大均天下之田，其规为志意岂小哉！其伐南唐，问宰相李穀以计策；后克淮南，出穀疏，使学士陶穀为赞，而盛以锦囊，尝置之坐侧。其英武之材可谓雄杰，及其虚心听纳，用人不疑，岂非所谓贤主哉！其北取三关，兵不血刃，而史家犹讥其轻社稷之重，而侥幸一胜于仓卒，殊不知其料强弱、较彼我而乘述律之殆，得不可失之机，此非明于决胜者，孰能至哉？诚非史氏之所及也！

Each dynasty’s fall is worded differently as the facts require. “The Liang perished” shows Tang’s swift rise; “Han perished” shows Zhou’s delay. Tang fooled the empire with talk of punishing rebels; Zhou fooled it with talk of enthroning Yun. So “the Liang perished” exposes Tang’s haste and its sham crusade; “Han perished” exposes Zhou’s delay and the fraud of enthroning Yun. Later Tang’s end cannot be repeated: after Zhuangzong’s murder Mingzong still claimed Tang; after Min-di’s flight the deposed emperor did too. The annals cannot record every death, so they omit them. Jin’s end reads “the Khitan destroyed Jin”—stated plainly as warning. Zhou is written as “abdicated the throne”—yielding, obeying Heaven’s mandate. Alas! The Five Dynasties annals stand complete—complete meaning that every calamity of the age is recorded. What can fully be told of the bond between ruler and subject! When Liang’s Yougui rebelled, Later Tang slew Kening and put Cunyi and Congcan to death—the tie between father and son, bone and blood, was all but severed. They halted court when the imperial dowager died, yet enthroned Liu and Feng as empresses—the marriage bond was all but wrecked, not far from the conduct of beasts. Cold Food sacrifices in the open with spirit money burned, a new reign title proclaimed amid mourning while music played, Ma Yanji and Ren Yuan put to death—ritual, music, punishments, and policy were all but destroyed. Thunder-Mountain contests, passing the arrow, trampling horses—the Middle Kingdom had all but turned barbarian. Truly it may be called an age of chaos! Yet in only five or six years Shizong seized Qin and Long, pacified the Huai west, and recovered the Three Passes; his martial fame shook both barbarians and Chinese, while within the realm he gathered Confucian scholars, examined institutions, compiled the Comprehensive Rites, fixed the Correct Music, and debated the Penal Code—institutions fit to govern generations yet unborn. He was clear-sighted and resolute, bold in counsel and grand in debate. The year after he took the throne he abolished 3,336 Buddhist temples across the realm. Coin was scarce in China then, and an edict ordered every copper Buddha image in the realm melted for cash. He once said, “I have heard the Buddha call body and worldly life illusion, and urge us to benefit others—had his true body remained, and the world gained from cutting it apart, he would still have it severed; how much less would he spare these copper statues?” After that none of his ministers dared object. One night, reading, he came upon Tang Yuan Zhen’s Equal-Field Diagram and sighed: “Here is the root of good order—royal government begins with this!” He ordered the diagram’s rules published so officials and people could study them in advance, setting a year to equalize fields across the realm—an ambition that was anything but small! When he marched against Southern Tang he consulted Chancellor Li Gu on strategy; After Huainan fell he produced Gu’s memorial, had Academician Tao Gu compose an encomium, and kept it in a brocade pouch at his side. His martial gifts were truly heroic; that he listened with an open mind and employed men without suspicion—was this not the mark of a worthy sovereign? In recovering the Three Passes his armies scarcely drew blood, yet historians still faulted him for gambling the altars of state on a rash stroke—never seeing that he had gauged strength and weakness, weighed foe against self, and struck when Shulü was failing, seizing a moment that would not come again. Who but a man clear in the art of decision could have done it? Truly the historians themselves could not have matched him!

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