1
高祖皇后李氏
Empress Li, Consort of Gaozu
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高祖皇后李氏，唐明宗皇帝女也。 后初號永寧公主，清泰二年封魏國長公主。 自廢帝立，常疑高祖必反。 三年，公主自太原入朝千春節，辭歸，留之不得，廢帝醉，語公主曰：「爾歸何速，欲與石郎反邪？」 既醒，左右告之，廢帝大悔。 公主歸，以語高祖，高祖由是益不自安。 高祖即位，公主當為皇后。 天福二年三月，有司言：「皇太妃尊號已正，請上寶冊。」 太妃，高祖庶母劉氏也。 高祖以宗廟未立，謙抑未皇。 七年夏五月，高祖已病，乃詔尊太妃為皇太后，然卒不奉冊而高祖崩，故后訖高祖世亦無冊命。 出帝天福八年七月，冊尊皇后為皇太后。 太后為人強敏，高祖常嚴憚之。 出帝馮皇后用事，太后數訓戒之，出帝不從，乃及於敗。
Empress Li, Gaozu’s consort, was a daughter of Tang’s Emperor Mingzong. She was first styled Princess Yongning; in Qingtai 2 she was made Grand Princess of Wei. Once the Deposed Emperor rose, he constantly feared Gaozu would rebel. In the third year the princess came from Taiyuan for the Qianchun Festival; when she asked leave to go home they could not hold her. The Deposed Emperor, drunk, told the princess: “Why leave so fast—do you plan to rebel with that Shi fellow?” When he woke, his attendants told him what he had said, and the Deposed Emperor was filled with remorse. The princess went home and told Gaozu; from then on he felt still less secure. When Gaozu succeeded, the princess was to be made empress. In the third month of Tianfu 2 the court said: “The Grand Consort’s title is now settled—we beg to invest her with seal and patent.” The Grand Consort was Liu, Gaozu’s stepmother. Gaozu, the ancestral temple not yet built, was humble and deferred. In the fifth month of summer, Tianfu 7, Gaozu, already failing, decreed the Grand Consort empress dowager—but died before the patent could be given, and the empress received no investiture at all in Gaozu’s lifetime. In the seventh month of Tianfu 8, under Emperor Chu, the empress was invested as empress dowager. The dowager was sharp and resolute; Gaozu often feared her. Empress Feng, Emperor Chu’s consort, ran affairs; the dowager warned her again and again, but Emperor Chu would not heed her—and ruin followed.
3
開運三年十二月，耶律德光已降晉兵，遣張彥澤先犯京師，以書遺太后，具道已降晉軍，且曰：「吾有梳頭妮子竊一藥囊以奔於晉，今皆在否？ 吾戰陽城時，亡奚車一乘，在否？」 又問契丹先為晉獲者及景延廣、桑維翰等所在。 太后與帝聞彥澤至，欲自焚，嬖臣薛超勸止之。 及得德光所與書，乃滅火，出上苑中。 帝召當直學士範質，謂曰：「杜郎一何相負！ 昔先帝起太原時，欲擇一子留守，謀之北朝皇帝，皇帝以屬我，我素以為其所知，卿為我草奏具言之，庶幾活我子母。」 質為帝草降表曰：
In the twelfth month of Kaiyun 3 Yelü Deguang had already taken the surrender of the Jin armies and sent Zhang Yanze ahead against the capital; he wrote the dowager, setting out how the Jin had submitted, and asked: “I had a girl who combed my hair—she stole a medicine pouch and ran off to Jin. Are they all still there? When I fought at Yangcheng I lost a Xi carriage—is it still there?” He also asked after Khitan taken earlier by Jin, and where Jing Yanguang, Sang Weihan, and the rest might be. When the dowager and the emperor heard Yanze was coming, they prepared to die by fire; the favorite Xue Chao persuaded them to hold back. Once Deguang’s letter arrived, they put out the flames and went out into the upper garden. The emperor called the duty academician Fan Zhi and said: “How Du has failed us! When my late father first raised the banner at Taiyuan, he meant to leave one son behind and asked the Khitan emperor’s counsel; the emperor chose me—I always thought he understood. Draft a memorial for me and tell the whole story plainly; perhaps it will save my mother and me.” Fan Zhi drafted a surrender memorial for the emperor:
4
孫男臣重貴言：頃者唐運告終，中原失馭，數窮否極，天缺地傾。 先人有田一成，有眾一旅，兵連禍結，力屈勢孤。 翁皇帝救患摧剛，興利除害，躬擐甲胃，深入寇場。 犯露蒙霜，度雁門之險； 馳風擊電，行中冀之誅。 黃鉞一麾，天下大定，勢淩宇宙，義感神明。 功成不居，遂興晉祚，則翁皇帝有大造於石氏也。
Your Majesty’s grandson and subject Chonggui speaks: Lately the Tang mandate ended, the Central Plains lost their guide, number and fortune were spent and ruin complete—Heaven gaped and Earth gave way. My forebear held one field and one band of men; battle piled on disaster until his strength failed and he stood alone. Honored Imperial Father, you rescued the afflicted and broke the hard-hearted, brought profit and cleared away harm, yourself donning armor and driving deep into the enemy’s ground. You faced dew and frost and crossed the danger of Yanmen Pass; like wind and thunder you struck to punish the heart of Ji. One sweep of the yellow axe and the realm was settled; your might rose above Heaven and Earth, your righteousness touched the spirits. You took no reward for victory but raised the Jin throne—thus the Honored Imperial Father gave the House of Shi a new life.
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旋屬天降鞠兇，先君即世，臣遵承遺旨，篡紹前基。 諒闇之初，荒迷失次，凡有軍國重事，皆委將相大臣。 至於擅繼宗祧，既非廩命； 輕發文字，輒敢抗尊。 自啟釁端，果貽赫怒，禍至神惑，運盡天亡。 十萬師徒，望風束手； 億兆黎庶，延頸歸心。 臣負義包羞，貪生忍恥，自貽顛覆，上累祖宗，偷度朝昏，茍存視息。 翁皇帝若惠顧疇昔，稍霽雷霆，未賜靈誅，不絕先祀，則百口荷更生之德，一門銜無報之恩，雖所願焉，非敢望也。 臣與太后、妻馮氏於郊野面縛俟罪次。
Then Heaven sent down grief and my late father died; I obeyed his last charge and usurped the line to carry on what he had built. At the start of my mourning I was dazed and without bearing; every grave matter of army and state I left to my generals and ministers. Yet to take the ancestral succession on my own was no mandate from Heaven; I sent out words too lightly and again and again resisted Your Majesty’s supreme will. I began the breach myself and brought down your thunder; disaster arrived, the gods were troubled, my luck ran out and Heaven pronounced my fall. A hundred thousand troops waited with bound hands at the wind of your coming; millions of common people stretched their necks and gave you their hearts. I am guilty and shamed, greedy for life and swallowing humiliation, overthrowing myself and burdening my ancestors; I crawl through each dawn and dusk, barely drawing breath. Honored Imperial Father, if you would remember old kindness and soften your thunder, withhold the stroke of punishment, and not sever our ancestral rites, then our hundred mouths would owe the debt of rebirth and our whole house would carry a gratitude beyond repayment. That is our wish, though we dare not hope for it. I, with the Empress Dowager and my wife Lady Feng, wait in the open fields with faces and hands bound for judgment.
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又為太后表曰：
Another memorial was drafted for the Empress Dowager:
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晉室皇太后新婦李氏妾言：張彥澤、傅住兒等至，伏蒙皇帝阿翁降書安撫者。 妾伏念先皇帝頃在並、汾，適逢屯難，危同累卵，急若倒懸，智勇俱窮，朝夕不保。 皇帝阿翁發自冀北，親抵河東，跋履山川，逾越險阻。 立平巨孽，遂定中原，救石氏之覆亡，立晉朝之社稷。 不幸先帝厭代，嗣子承祧，不能繼好息民，而反虧恩辜義。 兵戈屢動，駟馬難追，戚實自貽，咎將誰執！ 今穹旻震怒，中外攜離，上將牽羊，六師解甲。 妾舉宗負釁，視景偷生，惶惑之中，撫問斯至，明宣恩旨，典示含容，慰諭丁寧，神爽飛越。 豈謂已垂之命，忽蒙更生之恩，省罪責躬，九死未報。 今遣孫男延煦、延寶，奉表請罪，陳謝以聞。
The Empress Dowager of Jin, new wife and subject Li, speaks: Zhang Yanze, Fu Zhuer, and others have come; we humbly received the reassuring letter from the Emperor Honored Father-in-Law. I remember when my late husband was at Bing and Fen, sudden hardship fell; danger stacked like eggs, urgency like a man hung upside down; wit and courage were spent and each day and night held no promise. The Emperor Honored Father-in-Law set out from north of Ji, came himself to Hedong, tramped over mountains and rivers, and crossed every peril. He quickly put down the great scourge and settled the Central Plains, saving the House of Shi from ruin and raising the altars of Jin. Alas, my late husband died; the heir took the ancestral line but could not keep peace and renew friendship—instead he wronged kindness and broke faith. Arms moved again and again; even four horses could not chase back what was done—sorrow was truly self-made; on whom else can blame be laid? Now Heaven rages; within and without all have parted; the lords come leading sheep and the six armies cast off their armor. I and my whole house bear fault; we clung to life while we could. In our confusion your inquiry came; your gracious will was declared, your tolerant example shown, your comforting words repeated—and our spirits lifted. Who could have thought lives already forfeit would suddenly receive the gift of life again? We review our crimes and blame ourselves; nine deaths would not repay this mercy. Now I send my grandsons Yanxu and Yanbao with this memorial to beg forgiveness and report our shame.
8
德光報曰：「可無憂，管取一吃飯處。」
Deguang answered: “Do not worry—I’ll see you get a place to eat.”
9
四年正月丁亥朔，德光入京師，帝與太后肩輿至郊外，德光不見，館於封禪寺，遣其將崔延勛以兵守之。 是時雨雪寒凍，皆苦饑。 太后使人謂寺僧曰：「吾嘗於此飯僧數萬，今日豈不相憫邪？」 寺僧辭以虜意難測，不敢獻食。 帝陰祈守者，乃稍得食。
On dinghai, the first day of the first month of the fourth year, Deguang entered the capital. The emperor and the dowager came in palanquins to the outskirts; Deguang would not see them and housed them at Fengchan Temple, posting his general Cui Yanxun with soldiers to keep watch. Snow and icy rain fell then; hunger tormented them all. The dowager sent word to the temple monks: “I once fed tens of thousands of monks here—will you not show mercy today?” The monks answered that the invaders’ mood was unknowable and they dared not bring food. The emperor quietly begged the guards and so received a little food.
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辛卯，德光降帝為光祿大夫、檢校太尉，封「負義侯」，遷於黃龍府。 德光使人謂太后曰：「吾聞重貴不從母教而至於此，可求自便，勿與俱行。」 太后答曰：「重貴事妾甚謹。 所失者，違先君之志，絕兩國之歡。 然重貴此去，幸蒙大惠，全生保家，母不隨子，欲何所歸！」 於是太后與馮皇后、皇弟重睿、皇子延煦、延寶等舉族從帝而北，以宮女五十、宦者三十、東西班五十、醫官一、控鶴官四、禦廚七、茶酒司三、儀鸞司三、六軍士二十人從，衛以騎兵三百。 所經州縣，皆故晉將吏，有所供饋，不得通。 路傍父老，爭持羊酒為獻，衛兵推隔不使見帝，皆涕泣而去。
On xinmao Deguang reduced the emperor to Grand Counselor of the Imperial Insignia and acting Grand General, enfeoffed him “Marquis Who Betrayed Righteousness,” and sent him to Huanglong Prefecture. Deguang sent word to the dowager: “I hear Chonggui ignored his mother’s counsel and brought this on himself—take your own ease; do not go with him.” The dowager replied: “Chonggui served me faithfully. What failed was that he betrayed our late lord’s intent and severed friendship between our two states. Yet if Chonggui goes now under great mercy, with life and house spared, how could a mother leave her son—where would I turn? So the dowager, Empress Feng, the emperor’s younger brother Chongrui, and the princes Yanxu and Yanbao went north with the whole clan—fifty palace women, thirty eunuchs, fifty eastern and western attendants, one physician, four Crane-Taming officers, seven imperial cooks, three tea-and-wine offices, three ceremonial offices, and twenty soldiers of the Six Armies in attendance, escorted by three hundred horsemen. Every prefecture and county they passed was manned by former Jin officers, yet nothing could get through to them. Elders along the road pressed forward with sheep and wine; the guards held them off and kept them from the emperor, and all went away weeping.
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自幽州行十餘日，過平州，出榆關，行砂磧中，饑不得食，遣宮女、從官，采木實、野蔬而食。 又行七八日，至錦州，虜人迫帝與太后拜阿保機畫像。 帝不勝其辱，泣而呼曰：「薛超誤我，不令我死！」 又行五六日，過海北州，至東丹王墓，遣延煦拜之。 又行十餘日，渡遼水，至渤海國鐵州。 又行七八日，過南海府，遂至黃龍府。
More than ten days out from Youzhou, through Pingzhou and Yugu Pass, they crossed sandy wastes, starving for food; palace women and attendants gathered tree fruit and wild herbs to eat. Seven or eight days later they reached Jin Prefecture; the Khitan forced the emperor and the dowager to bow before Abaoji’s portrait. The emperor could not bear the shame and wept, crying: “Xue Chao misled me—he would not let me die!” Five or six days later they passed Haibei Prefecture, came to the Prince of Dongdan’s tomb, and sent Yanxu to bow there. Ten-odd days later they crossed the Liao River and reached Tied Prefecture in Bohai. Seven or eight days later they passed Nanhai Prefecture and finally reached Huanglong Prefecture.
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是歲六月，契丹國母徙帝、太后於懷密州，州去黃龍府西北一千五百里。 行過遼陽二百里，而國母為永康王所囚，永康王遣帝、太后還止遼陽，稍供給之。 明年四月，永康王至遼陽，帝白衣紗帽，與太后、皇后詣帳中上謁，永康王止帝以常服見。 帝伏地雨泣，自陳過咎。 永康王使人扶起之，與坐，飲酒奏樂。 而永康王帳下伶人、從官，望見故主，皆泣下，悲不自勝，爭以衣服藥餌為遺。
That sixth month the Khitan empress dowager moved the emperor and the dowager to Huaimi Prefecture, fifteen hundred li northwest of Huanglong. Two hundred li beyond Liaoyang the Khitan empress dowager was seized by Prince Yongkang; he sent the emperor and the dowager back to stay at Liaoyang and gave them some provisions. The next fourth month Prince Yongkang came to Liaoyang; the emperor in white cloth and gauze cap, with the dowager and empress, went to his tent to pay court; Prince Yongkang had him received in plain clothes. The emperor fell to the ground weeping and confessed his crimes. Prince Yongkang had men lift him up and sat with him, drinking and listening to music. Actors and attendants in Prince Yongkang’s camp, seeing their old master, wept until they could not stand it and pressed clothes, medicine, and food on him.
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五月，永康王上陘，取帝所從行宦者十五人、東西班十五人及皇子延煦而去。 永康王妻兄禪奴愛帝小女，求之，帝辭以尚幼。 永康王馳一騎取之，以賜禪奴。 陘，虜地，尤高涼，虜人常以五月上陘避暑，八月下陘。 至八月，永康王下陘，太后自馳至霸州見永康王，求於漢兒城側賜地種牧以為生。 永康王以太后自從，行十餘日，遣與延煦俱還遼陽。
In the fifth month Prince Yongkang went up to the heights and took fifteen of the emperor’s eunuchs, fifteen eastern and western attendants, and Prince Yanxu with him. Prince Yongkang’s brother-in-law Chanu wanted the emperor’s younger daughter and asked for her; the emperor refused, saying she was still young. Prince Yongkang rode off alone, seized her, and gave her to Chanu. The heights were Khitan land, cool and lofty; the Khitan usually went up in the fifth month to escape the heat and came down in the eighth. In the eighth month, when Prince Yongkang came down from the heights, the dowager rode hard to Bazhou to see him and begged for land near Hanyang City to farm and herd and live by. Prince Yongkang, the dowager having come with him, after ten-odd days sent her back with Yanxu to Liaoyang.
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明年乃漢乾祐二年，其二月，徙帝、太后於建州。 自遼陽東南行千二百里至建州，節度使趙延暉避正寢以館之。 去建州數十里外得地五十餘頃，帝遣從行者耕而食之。
The next year was Han Qianyou 2; in the second month the emperor and the dowager were moved to Jian Prefecture. From Liaoyang they went southeast twelve hundred li to Jian Prefecture; Military Governor Zhao Yanhui gave up his own main hall to house them. Several tens of li from Jian Prefecture they were given more than fifty qing of land; the emperor had his followers farm it to eat.
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明年三月，太后寢疾，無醫藥，常仰天而泣，南望戟手罵杜重威、李守貞等曰：「使死者無知則已，若其有知，不赦爾於地下！」 八月疾亟，謂帝曰：「我死，焚其骨送范陽佛寺，無使我為虜地鬼也！」 遂卒。 帝與皇后、宮人、宦者、東西班，皆被髮徙跣，扶舁其柩至賜地，焚其骨，穿地而葬焉。
The next third month the dowager sickened; without medicine or physicians she often wept to Heaven, and facing south shook her fist at Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, and the rest, saying: “If the dead know nothing, so be it; if they know, may they never pardon you beneath the earth!” In the eighth month, near death, she told the emperor: “When I die, burn my bones and send them to a Fan Yang temple—do not let me be a ghost in barbarian soil!” Then she died. The emperor, with the empress, palace women, eunuchs, and eastern and western attendants, all let down their hair and went barefoot, carrying the coffin to the allotted land, burning the bones and burying them in a pit.
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周顯德中，有中國人自契丹亡歸者，言見帝與皇后諸子皆無恙。 後不知其所終。
In Later Zhou’s Xiande era a Chinese who fled the Khitan said he had seen the emperor and empress with their sons—all still alive. After that no one knew their fate.
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太妃安氏
Grand Consort An
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安太妃，代北人也，不知其世家，為敬儒妻，生出帝，封秦國夫人。 出帝立，尊為皇太妃。 妃老而失明，從出帝北遷，自遼陽徙建州，卒於道中。 臨卒謂帝曰：「當焚我為灰，南向揚之，庶幾遺魂得反中國也。」 既卒，砂磧中無草木，乃毀奚車而焚之，載其燼骨至建州。 李太后亦卒，遂並葬之。
Grand Consort An came from northern Dai; her lineage is unknown. Wife of Jing Ru, she bore Emperor Chu and was made Lady of Qin. When Emperor Chu succeeded, she was honored as imperial grand consort. Old and blind, she followed Emperor Chu north; from Liaoyang she was moved toward Jian Prefecture and died on the way. Near death she told the emperor: “Burn me to ash and scatter it toward the south, so perhaps my wandering soul may reach China again.” When she died there was no wood or grass in the sandy wastes, so they broke up a Xi cart to burn her and carried the ashes on to Jian Prefecture. Empress Dowager Li had died as well, and they were buried together.
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出帝皇后馮氏
Empress Feng, Consort of Emperor Chu
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出帝皇后馮氏，定州人也。 父濛，為州進奏吏，居京師，以巧佞為安重誨所喜，以為鄴都副留守。 高祖留守鄴都，得濛歡甚，乃為重胤娶濛女，後封吳國夫人。 重胤早卒，后寡居，有色，出帝悅之。 高祖崩，梓宮在殯，出帝居喪中，納之以為后。 是日，以六軍仗衛、太常鼓吹，命后至西禦莊，見於高祖影殿。 群臣皆賀。 帝顧謂馮道等曰：「皇太后之命，與卿等不任大慶。」 群臣出，帝與皇后酣飲歌舞，過梓宮前，酹而告曰：「皇太后之命，與先帝不任大慶。」 左右皆失笑，帝亦自絕倒，顧謂左右曰：「我今日作新女婿，何似？」 后與左右皆大笑，聲聞於外。 后既立，專內寵，封拜宮官尚宮、知客等皆為郡夫人，又用男子李彥弼為皇后宮都押衙。 其兄玉執政，內外用事，晉遂以亂。 契丹犯京師，暴帝之惡於天下曰：「納叔母於中宮，亂人倫之大典。」 後隨帝北遷，哀帝之辱，數求毒藥，欲與帝俱飲以死，而藥不可得。 後不知其所終。
Empress Feng, consort of the Fleeing Emperor, came from Dingzhou. Her father Meng was the circuit’s memorial courier in the capital; by smooth deceit he pleased An Chonghui and was made deputy regent at Ye. Gaozu, regent at Ye, grew fond of Meng and had Chongyin marry his daughter; later she was made Lady of Wu. Chongyin died young. The widow was beautiful, and the Fleeing Emperor desired her. Gaozu had barely died—the coffin still in state—when the Fleeing Emperor, still in mourning, took her as empress. That same day he sent the empress, escorted by the Six Armies and imperial music, to the Western Imperial Manor to be presented at Gaozu’s spirit hall. The ministers all offered congratulations. The emperor turned to Feng Dao and the rest and said: “The empress dowager’s command forbids me to share this great rejoicing with you.” After the ministers left, he and the empress drank and danced. Passing the coffin he poured wine and said: “By the empress dowager’s command, I cannot rejoice with the late emperor.” His attendants burst out laughing; the emperor himself doubled over and asked them: “How do I look as a new bridegroom today?” The empress and the attendants roared with laughter until the sound carried beyond the hall. Once enthroned she monopolized favor within the palace; every officer she raised—Shanggong, Guest Manager, and the rest—became a Lady of Commandery, and she even set the man Li Yanbi over the empress’s household guard. Her brother Yu ran affairs inside and outside the court, and Jin slid into chaos. When the Khitan took the capital they proclaimed the emperor’s crimes to the world: “He brought his uncle’s widow into the inner palace and violated the great canon of human relations.” She followed him north. Grieving his disgrace, she begged again and again for poison so they might die together, but none could be found. What became of her afterward is unknown.
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高祖叔父兄弟
Gaozu’s Paternal Uncles and Brothers
22
晉氏始出夷狄而微，終為夷狄所滅，故其宗室次序本末不能究見。 其可見者，曰高祖二叔父，一兄六弟，七子二孫，而有略有詳，非惟禍亂多故而失其事實，抑亦無足稱焉者。 然粗存其見者，以備其闕云。 二叔父曰萬友、萬詮，兄曰敬儒，弟曰敬威、敬德、敬殷、敬赟、敬暉、重胤，子曰重貴、重信、重乂、重英、重進、重睿、重杲，孫曰延煦、延寶。 孝平皇帝生孝元皇帝、萬友、萬詮，孝元皇帝生高祖，萬友生敬威、敬赟，萬詮生敬暉，而敬儒、敬德、敬殷、重胤皆不知其於高祖為親疏也。
The Jin house rose from humble border barbarians and was destroyed by barbarians in the end, so the order and origins of its clan cannot be fully traced. What survives shows Gaozu had two paternal uncles, one elder brother, six younger brothers, seven sons, and two grandsons—some noted in passing, some at length. Facts were lost not only to war and disorder; little here merits praise. Still, I preserve what can be seen, however roughly, to fill the gaps. The two paternal uncles were Wanyou and Wanyuan; the elder brother, Jingru; the younger brothers Jingwei, Jingde, Jingyin, Jingyun, Jinghui, and Chongyin; the sons Chonggui, Chongxin, Chongyi, Chongying, Chongjin, Chongrui, and Chonggao; the grandsons Yansxu and Yanbao. Emperor Xiaoping fathered Emperor Xiaoyuan, Wanyou, and Wanyuan; Emperor Xiaoyuan fathered Gaozu; Wanyou fathered Jingwei and Jingyun; Wanyuan fathered Jinghui; but whether Jingru, Jingde, Jingyin, and Chongyin stood near or far from Gaozu in kinship is unknown.
23
高祖，孝元皇帝第二子也，而敬儒為兄，疑其長子也，則於高祖屬長而親，然贈官反最後於諸弟，而高祖世獨不得追封，此又可疑也。 重胤，高祖弟也，亦不知其為親疏，然高祖愛之，養以為子，故於名加「重」而下齒諸子。 高祖叔、兄與弟敬殷、子重進，皆前即位卒，而敬威、敬德、重胤、重英，高祖反時死。 高祖少子曰馮六，未名而卒，而舊說以重睿為幼子者，非也。
Gaozu was Emperor Xiaoyuan’s second son, yet Jingru is styled elder brother—as if he were the eldest—making him Gaozu’s senior close kin; yet posthumous honors came to him last among the brothers, and under Gaozu alone he received no princely enfeoffment. That too is suspect. Chongyin was Gaozu’s younger brother—again, near or distant kin is unclear—but Gaozu loved him, raised him as a son, gave him the “Chong” name, and ranked him with his sons. Gaozu’s paternal uncles, elder brother, younger brother Jingyin, and son Chongjin all died before his accession; Jingwei, Jingde, Chongyin, and Chongying died when Gaozu rose in rebellion. Gaozu’s youngest son was Feng Liu, unnamed when he died; the old story that Chongrui was the youngest is mistaken.
24
石氏世事軍中，萬友、萬詮職卑不見。 天福二年正月，萬友自故金紫光祿大夫、檢校司徒兼御史大夫、上柱國贈太師。 萬詮亦自金紫光祿大夫、檢校司空兼御史大夫、上柱國贈太傅。 出帝天福八年五月，追封皇叔祖萬友為秦王，萬詮加贈太師，追封趙王。
The Shi house had long served in the army; Wanyou and Wanyuan held humble posts and leave no trace in the records. In the first month of Tianfu 2, Wanyou was posthumously raised from Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Grand Preceptor with the Staff, concurrent Grand Censor, and Pillar of the State to Grand Preceptor. Wanyuan was likewise raised from Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Grand Mentor with the Staff, concurrent Grand Censor, and Pillar of the State to Grand Tutor. In the fifth month of Tianfu 8 under the Fleeing Emperor, the imperial great-uncle Wanyou was posthumously made Prince of Qin; Wanyuan received an added grant of Grand Preceptor and was posthumously made Prince of Zhao.
25
從弟敬威
Younger Cousin Jingwei
26
敬威字奉信，唐廢帝時為彰聖右第三都指揮使，領常州刺史。 聞高祖舉兵太原，謂人曰「生而有死，人孰能免？ 吾兄方舉大事，吾不可偷生取辱，見笑一時。」 遂自殺。 敬德時為沂州馬步軍指揮使，以高祖反誅。 天福二年正月，贈敬威、敬德皆為太傅，並贈敬殷以檢校太子賓客，亦贈太傅，而不及敬儒。 七年正月，追封敬威廣王，敬德福王，敬殷通王，皆贈太尉。 敬儒始以故金紫光祿大夫、檢校尚書左僕射兼御史大夫、上柱國贈太傅，而獨不得封。 出帝天福八年五月，加贈三皇叔皆為太師，而皇伯敬儒始追封宋王，亦加贈太師。
Jingwei, styled Fengxin, commanded the third division of the Right Zhangsheng Guard under Tang’s Deposed Emperor and served concurrently as prefect of Changzhou. Hearing Gaozu had risen at Taiyuan, he said: “Life ends in death—who escapes it? My brother is attempting a great thing; I will not cling to life and invite shame, to be mocked for a season.” He killed himself. Jingde, then commander of Yizhou’s horse and foot, was executed when Gaozu rebelled. In the first month of Tianfu 2, Jingwei and Jingde were both posthumously made Grand Tutor; Jingyin received the same with the acting post of Guest of the Heir Apparent—but Jingru was passed over. In the first month of the seventh year, Jingwei was posthumously made Prince of Guang, Jingde Prince of Fu, and Jingyin Prince of Tong; each also received Grand Commandant. Jingru alone was first granted Grand Tutor from Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Grand Preceptor with the Staff, concurrent Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and Pillar of the State—yet received no princely title. In the fifth month of Tianfu 8 under the Fleeing Emperor, all three imperial uncles received added grants of Grand Preceptor, and the imperial elder Jingru was at last posthumously made Prince of Song, likewise raised to Grand Preceptor.
27
從兄敬赟
Older Cousin Jingyun
28
從弟韓王敬暉
Younger Cousin, Prince of Han Jinghui
29
韓王敬暉字德昭，為人厚重剛直，勇而多智，高祖尤愛之。 高祖時為曹州防禦使，以廉儉見稱，卒於官，贈太傅。 天福八年，加贈太師，追封韓王。 子曦嗣。
Prince of Han Jinghui, styled Dezhao, was steady, upright, brave, and shrewd; Gaozu loved him above the rest. Under Gaozu he served as defense commissioner of Caozhou, praised for integrity and thrift; he died in office and received Grand Tutor. In Tianfu 8 he was additionally made Grand Preceptor and posthumously enfeoffed Prince of Han. His son Xi succeeded him.
30
高祖諸子孫
Gaozu’s Sons and Grandsons
31
高祖李皇后生楚王重信，其諸子皆不知其母。 當高祖起太原，重英為右衛將軍，重胤為皇城副使，居京師。 聞高祖舉事，匿民家井中，捕得誅之，並族民家。 天福二年正月，高祖為二子發哀，皆贈為太保； 並贈重進以故左金吾衛將軍贈太保。 七年正月，皆加贈太傅，追封重英虢王，重胤郯王，重進夔王。 出帝天福八年五月，皆加贈太師。
Gaozu’s Empress Li bore Prince of Chu Chongxin; the mothers of his other sons are unknown. When Gaozu rose at Taiyuan, Chongying was Right Guard general and Chongyin deputy commissioner of the Imperial City—both in the capital. Hearing of the rebellion, they hid in a commoner’s well; seized, they were put to death, and the host family was exterminated. In the first month of Tianfu 2, Gaozu mourned the two sons; both received posthumous rank as Grand Guardian. Chongjin, former Left Golden Guard general, was likewise posthumously made Grand Guardian. In the first month of the seventh year all were raised to Grand Tutor; Chongying was posthumously made Prince of Guo, Chongyin Prince of Tan, and Chongjin Prince of Kui. In the fifth month of Tianfu 8 under the Fleeing Emperor, all received additional grants of Grand Preceptor.
32
子楚王重信
The Son: Prince of Chu Chongxin
33
楚王重信字守孚，為人敏悟多智而好禮。 天福二年二月，以左驍衛上將軍拜河陽三城節度使，有善政，高祖下詔褒之。 是歲範延光反，詔前靈武節度使張從賓發河陽兵討延光，從賓亦反，重信見殺，時年二十。 高祖欲贈重信太尉，大臣引漢故事，皇子無為三公者。 高祖曰：「此兒為善被禍，吾哀之甚，自我而已，豈有例邪！」 乃贈太尉。 七年正月，加贈太師，追封沂王。 出帝天福八年五月，易封楚王。
Prince of Chu Chongxin, styled Shoufu, was sharp, clever, and devoted to ritual. In the second month of Tianfu 2 he was made military commissioner of the Three Cities of Heyang from senior general of the Left Flying Cavalry; Gaozu issued an edict praising his governance. That year Fan Yanguang rebelled; the court ordered former Lingwu commissioner Zhang Congbin to march Heyang troops against him. Congbin rebelled too, and Chongxin was killed at twenty. Gaozu wished to grant Chongxin Grand Commandant; the chief ministers cited Han precedent: no imperial son had ever held one of the Three Excellencies. Gaozu said: “This boy did good and met calamity; my grief for him runs deep. Let the rule begin with me—what need of precedent!” He was granted Grand Commandant. In the first month of the seventh year he was additionally made Grand Tutor and posthumously enfeoffed Prince of Yi. In the fifth month of Tianfu 8 under the Fleeing Emperor, his title was changed to Prince of Chu.
34
子壽王重乂
The Son: Prince of Shou Chongyi
35
子重睿
The Son Chongrui
36
重睿為人貌類高祖。 高祖臥疾，宰相馮道入見臥內，重睿尚幼，高祖呼出使拜道於前，因以宦者抱持寘道懷中，高祖雖不言，左右皆知其以重睿托道也。 高祖崩，晉大臣以國家多事，議立長君，而景延廣已陰許立出帝，重睿遂不得立。 出帝以重睿為檢校太保、開封尹，以左散騎常侍邊蔚權知開封府事。 開運二年五月，拜重睿雄武軍節度使，歲餘，徙鎮忠武，皆不之鎮。 契丹滅晉，重睿從出帝北遷，後不知其所終。
Chongrui resembled Gaozu in face. Gaozu lay ill when Chancellor Feng Dao came to his bedside; Chongrui was still small. Gaozu had the boy brought forward to bow to Dao, then a eunuch lifted him into Dao’s arms. Gaozu never spoke, but everyone present knew he was entrusting Chongrui to Dao. At Gaozu’s death the chief ministers, with the realm in turmoil, debated raising an elder prince; but Jing Yanguang had already secretly pledged the throne to the Fleeing Emperor, and Chongrui was passed over. The Fleeing Emperor made Chongrui Acting Grand Guardian and prefect of Kaifeng, with Left Regular Attendant Bian Wei acting in his stead. In the fifth month of Kaiyun 2 he was named commissioner of the Xiongwu Army; a year later he was shifted to Zhongwu, but never reported to either command. When the Khitan destroyed Jin, Chongrui followed the Fleeing Emperor north; his fate afterward is unknown.
37
子重杲
The Son Chonggao
38
陳王重杲，高祖幼子也。 小字馮六，未名而卒，贈太傅，追封陳王，賜名重杲。 出帝天福八年五月，加贈太師。
Prince of Chen Chonggao was Gaozu’s youngest son. His childhood name was Feng Liu; he died unnamed, received Grand Tutor, was posthumously made Prince of Chen, and granted the name Chonggao. In the fifth month of Tianfu 8 under the Fleeing Emperor, he was additionally made Grand Preceptor.
39
孫延煦延寶
The Grandsons Yansxu and Yanbao
40
延煦、延寶，高祖諸孫也，出帝以為子。
Yansxu and Yanbao, Gaozu’s grandsons, were adopted as sons by the Fleeing Emperor.
41
開運二年秋，以延煦為鄭州刺史。 延煦少，不能視事，以一宦者從之，又選尚書郎路航參知州事。 宦者遂專政事，每詬辱航，出帝召航還。 已而徙延煦齊州防禦使。 三年，拜鎮寧軍節度使。 是時，河北用兵，天下旱蝗，民餓死者百萬計，而諸鎮爭為聚斂，趙在禮所積鉅萬，為諸侯王最。 出帝利其貲，乃以延煦娶在禮女，在禮獻絹三千匹，前後所獻不可勝數。 三年五月，遣宗正卿石光贊以聘幣一百五十床迎於其第，出帝宴在禮萬歲殿，所以賜予甚厚，君臣窮極奢侈，時人以為榮。 在禮謂人曰：「吾此一婚，其費十萬。」 十一月，徙延煦鎮保義。
In autumn of Kaiyun 2, Yansxu was appointed prefect of Zhengzhou. Yansxu was too young to govern; a eunuch attended him, and Secretariat Gentleman Lu Hang was chosen to assist in prefectural affairs. The eunuch seized control of government, repeatedly reviled Hang, and the Fleeing Emperor recalled him. Soon Yansxu was transferred to defense commissioner of Qizhou. In the third year he was made military commissioner of the Zhenning Army. War raged north of the Yellow River; drought and locusts scourged the land, and starvation deaths ran into the millions—yet every command squeezed revenue. Zhao Zaili’s hoard was the largest among the feudatories. The Fleeing Emperor coveted his wealth and married Yansxu to Zaili’s daughter; Zaili sent three thousand bolts of silk, with gifts before and after beyond reckoning. In the fifth month of the third year, Imperial Clan Director Shi Guangzan went with one hundred fifty beds of betrothal gifts to fetch the bride from Zaili’s house; the Fleeing Emperor feasted him in the Hall of Ten Thousand Years with gifts so lavish that ruler and subject outdid each other in excess—contemporaries called it glory. Zaili told others: “This marriage cost me a hundred thousand.” In the eleventh month Yansxu was transferred to the Baoyi command.
42
自延煦為齊州防禦使，而延寶代為鄭州刺史。 及契丹滅晉，出帝與太后遣延煦、延寶賫降表、玉璽、金印以歸契丹，而延寶時亦為威信軍節度使矣。 契丹得璽，以為制作非工，與前史所傳者異，命延煦等還報求真璽。 出帝以狀答曰：「頃潞王從珂自焚於洛陽，玉璽不知所在，疑已焚之。 先帝受命，命玉工制此璽，在位群臣皆知之。」 乃已。 後延煦等從出帝北遷，不知其所終。
Once Yansxu took Qizhou, Yanbao replaced him as prefect of Zhengzhou. When the Khitan destroyed Jin, the Fleeing Emperor and empress dowager sent Yansxu and Yanbao with the surrender memorial, jade seal, and gold seal to the Khitan; Yanbao was by then commissioner of the Weixin Army. The Khitan took the seal, found the workmanship poor and unlike seals in earlier histories, and sent Yansxu back to demand the true one. The Fleeing Emperor answered: “When Prince of Lu Congke burned himself at Luoyang, the jade seal vanished—it was likely destroyed in the fire. When the late emperor received the Mandate he had craftsmen fashion this seal; every minister then in office knows it.” And there the matter ended. Later Yansxu and the others followed the Fleeing Emperor north; their fate is unknown.
43
嗚呼！ 古之不幸無子，而以其同宗之子為後者，聖人許之，著之《禮》經而不諱也。 而後世閭閻鄙俚之人則諱之，諱則不勝其欺與偽也。 故其茍偷竊取嬰孩繈褓，諱其父母，而自欺以為我生之子，曰：「不如此，則不能得其一誌盡愛於我，而其心必二也。」 而為其子者，亦自諱其所生，而絕其天性之親，反視以為叔伯父，以此欺其九族，而亂其人鬼親疏之屬。 凡物生而有知，未有不愛其父母者。 使是子也，能忍而真絕其天性歟，曾禽獸之不若也。 使其不忍而外陽絕之，是大偽也。 夫閭閻鄙俚之人之慮於事者，亦已深矣！ 然而茍竊欺偽不可以為法者，小人之事也。 惟聖人則不然，以謂人道莫大於繼絕，此萬世之通制而天下之公行也，何必諱哉！ 所謂子者，未有不由父母而生者也，故為人後者，必有所生之父，有所後之父，此理之自然也，何必諱哉！ 其簡易明白，不茍不竊，不欺不偽，可以為通制而公行者，聖人之法也。 又以謂為人之後者所承重，故加其服以斬。 而不絕其所生之親者，天性之不可絕也，然而恩有屈於義，故降其服以期。 服，外物也，可以降，而父母之名不可改，故著於經曰：「為人後者，為其父母報。」 自三代以來，有天下國家者莫不用之，而晉氏不用也。 出帝之於敬儒，絕其父道，臣而爵之，非特以其義不當立，不得已而絕之，蓋亦習見閭閻鄙俚之所為也。 五代，干戈賊亂之世也，禮樂崩壞，三綱五常之道絕，而先王之制度文章掃地而盡於是矣！ 如寒食野祭而焚紙錢，天子而為閭閻鄙俚之事者多矣！ 而晉氏起於夷狄，以篡逆而得天下，高祖以耶律德光為父，而出帝於德光則以為祖而稱孫，於其所生父則臣而名之，是豈可以人理責哉！
Alas! In antiquity, when a man had no son and took a kinsman’s child as heir, the sages permitted it and set it down openly in the Book of Rites. Later generations of common folk hide the matter; and hiding it, they cannot escape fraud and pretense. So they furtively seize an infant in swaddling clothes, conceal its parents, and persuade themselves it is their own, saying: “Otherwise I cannot win its whole heart—and its heart would be divided.” The child, too, hides its birth and cuts natural ties, treating its own parents as uncles and aunts, deceiving the nine agnates and confounding kinship among the living and the dead. Every living thing that knows loves its parents—none fails to. If such a son could truly endure and kill natural feeling, he would fall below birds and beasts. If he cannot endure yet outwardly feigns severance, that is the deepest fraud. Common folk calculate such matters very deeply indeed! Yet furtive fraud cannot be law—that is the petty man’s way. The sages are otherwise. They hold that no human duty exceeds continuing a severed line—the universal rule for all ages and the open practice of the world. Why hide it! A son is never born except of parents; one who becomes another’s heir must have both a natural father and a successor father—that is reason’s natural order. Why hide it! What is plain and simple—neither furtive nor stolen, neither deceitful nor false—and can serve as universal rule and public practice: that is the sages’ law. They also hold that one who becomes another’s heir bears the weight of succession, and so his mourning is raised to the highest grade of hemp. Not severing the natural tie is because affection cannot be killed; yet where affection yields to duty, mourning is lowered to the one-year grade. Garments are outward and may be lowered; but a parent’s name cannot be changed, so the classic says: “One who becomes another’s heir still mourns his natural parents.” Since the Three Dynasties, every ruler of realm or state has followed this—yet the Jin house did not. The Fleeing Emperor toward Jingru severed the way of fatherhood, ennobled the man who begot him and styled himself that man’s subject—not only because his accession was illegitimate and severance seemed unavoidable, but because he had grown used to the ways of common folk. The Five Dynasties were an age of war, rebellion, and chaos; ritual and music collapsed, the Three Bonds and Five Constants were severed, and the institutions and writings of the former kings were swept away! Cold Food rites in the open wild, spirit money burned—how many emperors practiced the petty customs of common folk! Yet the Jin house rose from barbarians and won the realm by usurpation; Gaozu called Yelü Deguang father, and the Fleeing Emperor called Deguang grandfather and styled himself grandson, while toward his own father he made a subject and spoke his name—how can human reason be asked of such men!