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元史卷一百三十列传第十七
History of Yuan, Volume 130, Biography 17
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○彻里
Cheli
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彻里,燕只吉台氏。 曾祖太赤,为马步军都元帅,从太祖定中原,以功封徐、邳二州,因家于徐。 彻里幼孤,母蒲察氏教以读书。 至元十八年,世祖召见,应对详雅,悦之,俾常侍左右,民间事时有所咨访。 从征东北边还,因言大军所过,民不胜烦扰,寒饿且死,宜加赈给,帝从之,乃赐边民谷帛牛马有差,赖以存活者众。 擢利用监。 二十三年,奉使江南,省风俗,访遗逸。 时行省理财方急,卖所在学田以价输官。 彻里曰:「学田所以供祭礼、育人才也,安可鬻?」 遽止之。 还朝以闻,帝嘉纳焉。 二十四年,分中书为尚书省。 桑哥为相,引用党与,钩考天下钱粮,凡昔权臣阿合马积年负逋,举以中书失征奏,诛二参政。 行省乘风,督责尤峻。 主无所偿,则责及亲戚,或逮系邻党,械禁榜掠。 民不胜其苦,自裁及死狱者以百数,中外骚动。 廷臣顾忌,皆莫敢言。 彻里乃于帝前具陈桑哥奸贪误国害民状,辞语激烈。 帝怒,谓其毁诋大臣,失礼体,命左右批其颊。 彻里辩愈力,且曰:「臣与桑哥无仇,所以力数其罪而不顾身者,正为国家计耳。 苟畏圣怒而不复言,则奸臣何由而除,民害何由而息! 且使陛下有拒谏之名,臣窃惧焉。」 于是帝大悟,即命帅羽林三百人往籍其家,得珍宝如内藏之半。 桑哥既诛,诸枉系者始得释。 复奉旨往江南,籍桑哥姻党江浙省臣乌马兒、蔑列、忻都、王济,湖广省臣要束木等,皆弃市,天下大快之。 彻里往来,凡四道徐,皆过门不入。 进拜御史中丞,俄升福建行省平章政事,赐黄金五十两、白金五千两。 汀、漳剧盗欧狗久不平,遂引兵征之,号令严肃,所过秋毫无犯。 有降者,则劳以酒食而慰遣之,曰:「吾意汝岂反者耶,良由官吏污暴所致。 今既来归,即为平民,吾安忍罪汝。 其返汝耕桑,安汝田里,毋恐。」 他栅闻之,悉款附。 未几,欧狗为其党缚致于军,枭首以徇,胁从者不戮一人,汀、漳平。 三十一年,帝不豫,彻里驰还京师,侍医药。 帝崩,与诸王大臣共定策,迎立成宗。 大德元年,拜江南诸道行台御史大夫。 一日,召都事贾钧谓曰:「国家置御史臺,所以肃清庶官、美风俗、兴教化也。 乃者御史不存大体,按巡以苛为明,征赃以多为功,至有迫子证父、弟证兄、奴讦主者。 伤风败教,莫兹为甚。 君为我语诸御史,毋庸效尤为也。」 帝闻而善之,改江浙行省平章政事。 江浙税粮甲天下,平江、嘉兴、湖州三郡当江浙什六七,而其地极下,水钟为震泽。 震泽之注,由吴松江入海。 岁久,江淤塞,豪民利之,封土为田,水道淤塞,由是浸淫泛溢,败诸郡禾稼。 朝廷命行省疏导之,发卒数万人,彻里董其役,凡四阅月毕工。 九年,召入为中书平章政事。 十月,以疾薨,年四十七。 薨之日,家资不满二百缗,人服其廉。 赠推忠守正佐理功臣、太傅、开府仪同三司、上柱国,追封徐国公,谥忠肃。 至治二年,加赠宣忠同德弼亮功臣、太师、开府仪同三司、上柱国,追封武宁王,谥正宪。 子朵兒只,江浙行省左丞。
Cheli belonged to the Yanzhijitai clan. His great-grandfather Taichi had been commander-in-chief of horse and foot. He followed Taizu in the conquest of the Central Plain and, rewarded for his service, was granted Xu and Pi prefectures, where the family made its home. Cheli lost his father in childhood. His mother, a Pucha, taught him to read. In the eighteenth year of the Zhiyuan era (1281), Kublai summoned him. Cheli answered with polish and ease, and the emperor was pleased. He kept Cheli constantly at his side and would consult him from time to time on conditions among the people. On his return from a campaign on the northeastern frontier, he reported that wherever the main army had marched, the populace had been harried beyond endurance and many were perishing from cold and hunger. Relief should be sent, he urged. The emperor agreed, and grain, cloth, cattle, and horses were distributed to the border people in proportion to their need. Many lives were saved. He was promoted to the Directorate of Utilization. In the twenty-third year (1286), he was dispatched to Jiangnan to survey local customs and seek out recluses and men of talent. The provincial administration was then urgently raising revenue and was selling school lands throughout the region, forwarding the proceeds to the court. Cheli said, "School lands exist to fund sacrifices and nurture talent. How can they be sold off?" He stopped the sale at once. On his return to court he reported what he had done, and the emperor praised and approved it. In the twenty-fourth year (1287), the Central Secretariat was divided and a Ministry Secretariat was set up. Sangge became chief minister, installed his faction, and launched a sweeping audit of revenue and grain accounts empire-wide. Arrears that had piled up for years under the former powerful minister Ahmad were blamed on the Central Secretariat for lax collection; two vice grand councilors were put to death. Provincial administrations seized the moment and pressed collection with especial harshness. When the debtor could not pay, kin were held liable; neighbors and associates were sometimes seized, shackled, imprisoned, and beaten. The people could not endure the suffering. Suicides and deaths in custody ran into the hundreds, and unrest spread through the court and the provinces alike. Court officials were afraid and none dared speak out. Cheli then laid out before the emperor in full Sangge's treachery, greed, and the harm he had done to state and people, speaking with fierce urgency. The emperor flew into a rage, saying Cheli was slandering a senior minister and had overstepped propriety, and ordered attendants to slap his face. Cheli argued all the more forcefully. "I bear Sangge no personal grudge," he said. "I enumerate his crimes at the risk of my life solely for the sake of the realm. If I fear Your Majesty's wrath and fall silent, how will treacherous ministers be removed and the people's suffering be ended! Moreover, it would give Your Majesty a name for rejecting honest counsel — that is what I fear." At this the emperor saw clearly. He immediately sent three hundred guards of the Imperial Guard to inventory Sangge's household. The treasures seized amounted to half the imperial treasury. Once Sangge had been executed, all who had been wrongly imprisoned were at last released. He was again ordered to Jiangnan to seize the property of Sangge's kin and allies: the Jiang-Zhe provincial ministers Umar, Mielie, Xindu, and Wang Ji, and the Huguang minister Yaosumu, among others. All were executed in the marketplace, and the empire rejoiced. On all his journeys Cheli passed through Xu four times and each time went past his own gate without entering. He was promoted to vice censor-in-chief and soon made pacification commissioner of Fujian Province, with a grant of fifty taels of gold and five thousand taels of silver. The fierce bandit Ougou in Ting and Zhang had long defied pacification. Cheli led troops against him. His orders were strict and discipline firm; wherever the army passed, not a stalk of grain was touched. When men surrendered, he feasted them with wine and food, comforted them, and sent them home, saying, "I do not believe you were rebels at heart. This was surely brought on by corrupt and brutal officials. Now that you have come back, you are simply common people. How could I bear to punish you? Go back to your fields and mulberry groves, settle your homes, and have no fear." When other stockades heard this, all submitted in good faith. Before long Ougou's own followers bound him and delivered him to the army. His head was displayed as a warning, and not one coerced follower was put to death. Ting and Zhang were pacified. In the thirty-first year (1294) the emperor fell ill. Cheli galloped back to the capital and attended him with medicines. When the emperor died, he joined the princes and senior ministers in settling the succession and welcomed Chengzong to the throne. In the first year of the Dade era (1297) he was appointed censor-in-chief of the Jiangnan regional censorate. One day he summoned his secretariat officer Jia Jun and said, "The state established the Censorate to keep officials honest, refine custom, and promote moral transformation. Yet lately censors have lost sight of the larger purpose. On inspection tours they take harshness for clarity; in pursuing illicit gains they take quantity for merit — even forcing sons to testify against fathers, younger brothers against elders, and slaves to accuse their masters. Nothing does more harm to custom and moral teaching than this. Tell all the censors for me that they must not imitate such excess." When the emperor heard of this he approved, and Cheli was transferred to pacification commissioner of Jiang-Zhe Province. Jiang-Zhe's tax grain led the empire. Pingjiang, Jiaxing, and Huzhou together accounted for six or seven tenths of Jiang-Zhe's yield, yet their land was extremely low-lying and the waters gathered in Lake Tai. Lake Tai's outflow passed through the Wusong River to reach the sea. Over the years the river silted up. Powerful families profited by enclosing the land as fields, and the waterways clogged. The waters then spread and overflowed, ruining the grain crops of the prefectures. The court ordered the province to dredge and clear the waterways. Tens of thousands of laborers were mobilized, and Cheli supervised the work. The project was completed in four months. In the ninth year (1305) he was summoned to the capital as pacification commissioner of the Central Secretariat. In the tenth month he died of illness, aged forty-seven. On the day of his death his household possessions amounted to less than two hundred strings of cash. All admired his integrity. He was posthumously granted the title Meritorious Minister Who Promotes Loyalty, Upholds Rectitude, and Assists in Governance, together with Grand Tutor, Grand Master of the Palace with credentials equal to the Three Excellencies, and Pillar of the State of the First Rank. He was enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Xu with the posthumous name Zhongsu (Loyal and Solemn). In the second year of Zhizhi (1322) he was further granted the title Meritorious Minister Who Proclaims Loyalty, Shares Virtue, and Illuminates with Aid, together with Grand Preceptor, Grand Master of the Palace with credentials equal to the Three Excellencies, and Pillar of the State of the First Rank. He was enfeoffed posthumously as Prince of Wuning with the posthumous name Zhengxian (Upright and Law-abiding). His son Duorezhi served as left vice councilor of Jiang-Zhe Province.
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○不忽木
Buhumu
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不忽木,一名时用,字用臣,世为康里部大人。 康里,即汉高车国也。 祖海蓝伯,尝事克烈王可汗。 王可汗灭,即弃家从数千骑望西北驰去,太祖遣使招之,答曰:「昔与帝同事王可汗,今王可汗既亡,不忍改所事。」 遂去,莫知所之。 子十人,皆为太祖所虏,燕真最幼,年方六岁,太祖以赐庄圣皇后。 后怜而育之,遣侍世祖于籓邸。 长从征伐,有功。 世祖威名日盛,宪宗将伐宋,命以居守。 燕真曰:「主上素有疑志,今乘舆远涉危难之地,殿下以皇弟独处安全,可乎?」 世祖然之,因请从南征。 宪宗喜,即分兵命趋鄂州,而自将攻蜀之钓鱼山,令阿里不哥居守。 宪宗崩,燕真统世祖留部,觉阿里不哥有异志,奉皇后稍引而南,与世祖会于上都。 世祖即位,燕真未及大用而卒,官止卫率。 不忽木其仲子也,资禀英特,进止详雅,世祖奇之,命给事裕宗东宫,师事太子赞善王恂。 恂从北征,乃受学于国子祭酒许衡。 日记数千言,衡每称之,以为有公辅器。 世祖尝欲观国子所书字,不忽木年十六,独书《贞观政要》数十事以进,帝知其寓规谏意,嘉叹久之。 衡纂历代帝王名谥、统系、岁年,为书授诸生,不忽木读数过即成诵,帝召试,不遗一字。 至元十三年,与同舍生坚童、太答、秃鲁等上疏曰:臣等闻之,《学记》曰:「君子如欲化民成俗,其必由学乎!」 「玉不琢不成器,人不学不知道。」 故古之王者,建国君民,教学为先。 盖自尧、舜、禹、汤、文、武之世,莫不有学,故其治隆于上,俗美于下,而为后世所法。 降至汉朝,亦建学校,诏诸生课试补官。 魏道武帝起自北方,既定中原,增置生员三千,儒学以兴。 此历代皆有学校之证也。 臣等今复取平南之君建置学校者,为陛下陈之。 晋武帝尝平吴矣,始起国子学。 隋文帝尝灭陈矣,俾国子寺不隶太常。 唐高祖尝灭梁矣,诏诸州县及乡并令置学。 及至太宗,数幸国学,增筑学舍至千二百间,国学、太学、四门学亦增生员,其书、算各置博士,乃至高丽、百济、新罗、高昌、吐蕃诸国酋长亦遣子弟入学,国学之内至八千餘人。 高宗因之,遂令国子监领六学:一曰国子学,二曰太学,三曰四门学,四曰律学,五曰书学,六曰算学,各置生徒有差,皆承高祖之意也。 然晋之平吴得户五十二万而已,隋之灭陈得郡县五百而已,唐之灭梁得户六十餘万而已,而其崇重学校已如此。 况我堂堂大国,奄有江岭之地,计亡宋之户不下千万,此陛下神功,自古未有,而非晋、隋、唐之所敢比也。 然学校之政,尚未全举,臣窃惜之。 臣等向被圣恩,俾习儒学。 钦惟圣意,岂不以诸色人仕宦者常多,蒙古人仕宦者尚少,而欲臣等晓识世务,以任陛下之使令乎? 然以学制未定,朋从数少。 譬犹责嘉禾于数苗,求良骥于数马,臣等恐其不易得也。 为今之计,如欲人材众多,通习汉法,必如古昔遍立学校然后可。 若曰未暇,宜且于大都弘阐国学。 择蒙古人年十五以下、十岁以上质美者百人,百官子弟与凡民俊秀者百人,俾廪给各有定制。 选德业充备足为师表者,充司业、博士、助教而教育之。 使其教必本于人伦,明乎物理,为之讲解经传,授以修身、齐家、治国、平天下之道。 其下复立数科,如小学、律、书、算之类。 每科设置教授,各令以本业训导。 小学科则令读诵经书,教以应对进退事长之节; 律科则专令通晓吏事; 书科则专令晓习字画; 算科则专令熟闲算数。 或一艺通然后改授,或一日之间更次为之。 俾国子学官总领其事,常加点勘,务要俱通,仍以义理为主。 有餘力者听令学作文字。 日月岁时,随其利钝,各责所就功课,程其勤惰而赏罚之。 勤者则升之上舍,惰者则降之下舍,待其改过则复升之。 假日则听令学射,自非假日,无故不令出学。 数年以后,上舍生学业有成就者,乃听学官保举,蒙古人若何品级,诸色人若何仕进。 其未成就者,且令依旧学习,俟其可以从政,然后岁听学官举其贤者、能者,使之依例入仕。 其终不可教者,三年听令出学。 凡学政因革、生员增减,若得不时奏闻,则学无弊政,而天下之材亦皆观感而兴起矣。 然后续立郡县之学,求以化民成俗,无不可者。 臣等愚幼,见于书、闻于师者如此。 未敢必其可行,伏望圣慈下臣此章,令诸老先与左丞王赞善等,商议条奏施行,臣等不胜至愿。 书奏,帝览之喜。 十四年,授利用少监。 十五年,出为燕南河北道提刑按察副使。 帝遣通事脱虎脱护送西僧往作佛事,还过真定,箠驿吏几死,诉之按察使,不敢问。 不忽木受其状,以僧下狱。 脱虎脱直欲出僧,辞气倔强,不忽木令去其冠庭下,责以不职。 脱虎脱逃归以闻,帝曰:「不忽木素刚正,必尔辈犯法故也。」 继而燕南奏至,帝曰:「我固知之。」 十九年,升提刑按察使。 有讼净州守臣盗官物者,净州本隶河东,特命不忽木往按之,归报称旨,赐白金千两、钞五千贯。 二十一年,召参议中书省事。 时榷茶转运使卢世荣阿附宣政使桑哥,言能用己,则国赋可十倍于旧。 帝以问不忽木,对曰:「自昔聚敛之臣,如桑弘羊、宇文融之徒,操利术以惑时君,始者莫不谓之忠,及其罪稔恶著,国与民俱困,虽悔何及。 臣愿陛下无纳其说。」 帝不听,以世荣为右丞,不忽木遂辞参议不拜。 二十二年,世荣以罪被诛,帝曰:「朕殊愧卿。」 擢吏部尚书。 时方籍没阿合马家,其奴张散札兒等罪当死,缪言阿合马家赀隐寄者多,如尽得之,可资国用。 遂钩考捕系,连及无辜,京师骚动。 帝颇疑之,命丞相安童集六部长贰官询问其事,不忽木曰:「是奴为阿合马心腹爪牙,死有餘罪。 为此言者,盖欲苟延岁月,徼幸不死尔。 岂可复受其诳,嫁祸善良耶? 急诛此徒,则怨谤自息。」 丞相以其言入奏,帝悟,命不忽木鞫之,具得其实,散札兒等伏诛,其捕系者尽释之。 二十三年,改工部尚书。 九月,迁刑部。 河东按察使阿合马,以赀财谄媚权贵,货钱于官,约偿羊马,至则抑取部民所产以输。 事觉,遣使按治,皆不伏,及不忽木往,始得其不法百餘事。 会大同民饥,不忽木以便宜发仓廪赈之。 阿合马所善幸臣奏不忽木擅发军储,又锻炼阿合马使自诬服。 帝曰:「使行发粟以活吾民,乃其职也,何罪之有。」 命移其狱至京师审视,阿合马竟伏诛。 吐土哈求钦察之为人奴者增益其军,而多取编民。 中书佥省王遇验其籍改正之。 吐土哈遂奏遇有不臣语。 帝怒,欲斩之,不忽木谏曰:「遇始令以钦察之人奴为兵,未闻以编民也。 万一他卫皆仿此,户口耗矣。 若诛遇,后人岂肯为陛下尽职乎?」 帝意解,遇得不死。 二十四年,桑哥奏立尚书省,诬杀参政杨居宽、郭佑。 不忽木争之不得,桑哥深忌之,尝指不忽木谓其妻曰:「他日籍我家者此人也。」 因其退食,责以不坐曹理务,欲加之罪,遂以疾免。 车驾还自上都,其弟野礼审班侍坐辇中,帝曰:「汝兄必以某日来迎。」 不忽木果以是日至。 帝见其癯甚,问其禄几何,左右对以满病假者例不给,帝念其贫,命尽给之。 二十七年,拜翰林学士承旨、知制诰兼修国史。 二十八年春,帝猎柳林,彻里等劾奏桑哥罪状,帝召问不忽木,具以实对。 帝大惊,乃决意诛之。 罢尚书省,复以六部归于中书,欲用不忽木为丞相,固辞,帝曰:「朕过听桑哥,致天下不安,今虽悔之,已无及矣。 朕识卿幼时,使卿从学,政欲备今日之用,勿多让也。」 不忽木曰:「朝廷勋旧,齿爵居臣右者尚多,今不次用臣,无以服众。」 帝曰:「然则孰可?」 对曰:「太子詹事完泽可。 向者籍没阿合马家,其赂遗近臣,皆有簿籍,唯无完泽名; 又尝言桑哥为相,必败国事,今果如其言,是以知其可也。」 帝曰:「然非卿无以任吾事。」 乃拜完泽右丞相,不忽木平章政事。 上都留守木八剌沙言改按察司置廉访司不便,宜罢去,乃求宪臣赃罪以动上听。 帝以责中丞崔彧,彧谢病不知。 不忽木面斥彧不直言,因历陈不可罢之说,帝意乃释。 王师征交趾失利,复谋大举,不忽木曰:「岛夷诡诈,天威临之,宁不震惧,兽穷则噬,势使之然。 今其子日燇袭位,若遣一介之使,谕以祸福,彼能悔过自新,则不烦兵而下矣。 如或不悛,加兵未晚。」 帝从之。 于是交趾感惧,遣其伪昭明王等诣阙谢罪,尽献前六岁所当贡物。 帝喜曰:「卿一言之力也。」 即以其半赐之,不忽木辞曰:「此陛下神武不杀所致,臣何功焉。」 惟受沉水假山、象牙镇纸、水晶笔格而已。 麦术丁请复立尚书省,专领右三部,不忽木庭责之曰:「阿合马、桑哥相继误国,身诛家没,前鉴未远,奈何又欲效之乎!」 事遂寝。 或劝征流求,及赋江南包银,皆谏止之。 桑哥党人纳速剌丁等既诛,帝以忻都长于理财,欲释不杀。 不忽木力争之,不从。 日中凡七奏,卒正其罪。 释氏请以金银币帛祠其神,帝难之。 不忽木曰:「彼佛以去贪为宝。」 遂弗与。 或言京师蒙古人宜与汉人间处,以制不虞。 不忽木曰:「新民乍迁,犹未宁居,若复纷更,必致失业。 此盖奸人欲擅货易之利,交结近幸,借为纳忠之说耳。」 乃图写国中贵人第宅已与民居犬牙相制之状上之而止。 有谮完泽徇私者,帝以问不忽木。 对曰:「完泽与臣俱待罪中书,设或如所言,岂得专行。 臣等虽愚陋,然备位宰辅,人或发其阴短,宜使面质,明示责降,若内怀猜疑,非人主至公之道也。」 言者果屈,帝怒,命左右批其颊而出之。 是日苦寒,解所御黑貂裘以赐。 帝每顾侍臣,称塞咥旃之能,不忽木从容问其故,帝曰:「彼事宪宗,常阴资朕财用,卿父所知。 卿时未生,诚不知也。」 不忽木曰:「是所谓为人臣怀二心者。 今有以内府财物私结亲王,陛下以为若何?」 帝急挥以手曰:「卿止,朕失言。」 三十年,有星孛于帝座。 帝忧之,夜召入禁中,问所以销天变之道,奏曰:「风雨自天而至,人则栋宇以待之; 江河为地之限,人则舟楫以通之。 天地有所不能者,人则为之,此人所以与天地参也。 且父母怒,人子不敢疾怨,惟起敬起孝。 故《易·震》之象曰『君子以恐惧修省』,《诗》曰『敬天之怒』,又曰『遇灾而惧』。 三代圣王,克谨天戒,鲜不有终。 汉文之世,同日山崩者二十有九,日食地震频岁有之,善用此道,天亦悔祸,海内乂安。 此前代之龟鉴也,臣愿陛下法之。」 因诵文帝《日食求言诏》。 帝悚然曰:「此言深合朕意,可复诵之。」 遂详论款陈,夜至四鼓,明日进膳,帝以盘珍赐之。 三十年,帝不豫,故事,非国人勋旧不得入卧内。 不忽木以谨厚,日视医药,未尝去左右。 帝大渐,与御史大夫月鲁那颜、太傅伯颜并受遗诏,留禁中。 丞相完泽至,不得入,伺月鲁那颜、伯颜出,问曰:「我年位俱在不忽木上,国有大议而不预,何耶?」 伯颜叹息曰:「使丞相有不忽木识虑,何至使吾属如是之劳哉!」 完泽不能对,入言于太后。 太后召三人问之,月鲁那颜曰:「臣受顾命,太后但观臣等为之。 臣若误国,即日伏诛,宗社大事,非宫中所当预知也。」 太后然其言,遂定大策。 其后发引、升祔、请谥南郊,皆不忽木领之。 成宗即位,执政皆迎于上都之北。 丞相常独入,不忽木至数日乃得见,帝问知之,慰劳之曰:「卿先朝腹心,顾朕寡昧,惟朝夕启沃,以匡朕不逮,庶无负先帝付托之重也。」 成宗躬揽庶政,听断明果,廷议大事多采不忽木之言。 太后亦以不忽木先朝旧臣,礼貌甚至。 河东守臣献嘉禾,大臣欲奏以为瑞。 不忽木语之曰:「汝部内所产尽然耶,惟此数茎耶?」 曰:「惟此数茎尔。」 不忽木曰:「若如此,既无益于民,又何足为瑞。」 遂罢遣之。 西僧为佛事,请释罪人祈福,谓之秃鲁麻。 豪民犯法者,皆贿赂之以求免。 有杀主、杀夫者,西僧请被以帝后御服,乘黄犊出宫门释之,云可得福。 不忽木曰:「人伦者,王政之本,风化之基,岂可容其乱法如是!」 帝责丞相曰:「朕戒汝无使不忽木知,今闻其言,朕甚愧之。」 使人谓不忽木曰:「卿且休矣! 朕今从卿言,然自是以为故事。」 有奴告主者,主被诛,诏即以其主所居官与之。 不忽木言:「若此必大坏天下之风俗,使人情愈薄,无复上下之分矣。」 帝悟,为追废前命。 执政奏以为陕西行省平章政事,太后谓帝曰:「不忽木朝廷正人,先皇帝所付托,岂可出之于外耶!」 帝复留之。 竟以与同列多异议,称疾不出。 元贞二年春,召至便殿曰:「朕知卿疾之故,以卿不能从人,人亦不能从卿也。 欲以段贞代卿,如何?」 不忽木曰:「贞实胜于臣。」 乃拜昭文馆大学士、平章军国重事。 辞曰:「是职也,国朝惟史天泽尝为之,臣何功敢当此。」 制去「重」字。 大德二年,御史中丞崔彧卒,特命行中丞事。 三年,兼领侍仪司事。 有因父官受贿赂,御史必欲归罪其父,不忽木曰:「风纪之司,以宣政化、励风俗为先,若使子证父,何以兴孝!」 枢密臣受人玉带,征赃不叙,御史言罚太轻,不忽木曰:「礼,大臣贪墨,惟曰簠簋不饰,若加笞辱,非刑不上大夫之意。」 人称其平恕。 四年,病复作,帝遣医治之,不效,乃附奏曰:「臣孱庸无取,叨承眷渥,大限有终,永辞昭代。」 引觞满饮而卒,年四十六。 帝闻之惊悼,士大夫皆哭失声。 家素贫,躬自爨汲,妻织纴以养母。 后因使还,则母已死,号恸呕血,几不起。 平居服儒素,不尚华饰。 禄赐有餘,即散施亲旧。 明于知人,多所荐拔,丞相哈剌哈孙答剌罕亦其所荐也。 其学先躬行而后文艺。 居则简默,及帝前论事,吐辞洪暢,引义正大,以天下之重自任,知无不言。 世祖尝语之曰:「太祖有言,人主理天下,如右手持物,必资左手承之,然后能固。 卿实朕之左手也。」 每侍燕间,必陈说古今治要,世祖每拊髀叹曰:「恨卿生晚,不得早闻此言,然亦吾子孙之福。」 临崩,以白璧遗之,曰:「他日持此以见朕也。」 武宗时,赠纯诚佐理功臣、太傅、开府仪同三司、上柱国、鲁国公,谥文贞。 子回回,陕西行省平章政事; 巙巙,由江浙行省平章政事入为翰林学士承旨。
Buhumu, also called Shiyong, style Yunchen, came from a line of great men of the Kangli tribe. The Kangli were the Gaoche people of Han times. His grandfather Hailanbo had once served Wang Khan of the Kerait. When Wang Khan fell, he abandoned his household and rode northwest with several thousand horsemen. Taizu sent envoys to summon him. He replied, "Your Majesty and I once served Wang Khan together. Now that Wang Khan is gone, I cannot bear to change whom I serve." He then departed, and none knew where he went. His ten sons were all captured by Taizu. Yan Zhen was the youngest, only six years old, and Taizu gave him to Empress Zhuang Sheng. The empress took pity on him and raised him, then sent him to attend Kublai at the princely residence. As a man he followed on campaigns and distinguished himself. Kublai's renown grew daily. When Möngke prepared to campaign against Song, he ordered Kublai to remain behind and guard the residence. Yan Zhen said, "The Great Khan has long been suspicious. Now he goes far into peril while Your Highness, his younger brother, remains alone in safety. Is that fitting?" Kublai saw he was right and asked to join the southern campaign. Möngke was pleased. He divided the army, ordering Kublai to advance on Ezhou while he himself led the attack on Diaoyu Mountain in Shu and left Ariq Böke to guard the rear. When Möngke died, Yan Zhen commanded the forces Kublai had left behind. Seeing that Ariq Böke harbored divergent ambitions, he escorted the empress and gradually withdrew south, joining Kublai at Shangdu. When Kublai took the throne, Yan Zhen died before he could be greatly employed. His highest office was commandant of the guard. Buhumu was his second son. He was exceptionally gifted and carried himself with refined ease. Kublai took notice and assigned him to the Eastern Palace of Crown Prince Yuzong, where he studied under the crown prince's tutor Wang Xun. When Wang Xun went on the northern campaign, Buhumu studied under Xu Heng, chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Each day he wrote several thousand characters. Xu Heng often praised him, saying he had the makings of a chief minister. Kublai once wished to see specimens of the students' calligraphy. Buhumu, aged sixteen, alone copied out several dozen passages from the Essentials of Government in the Zhenguan Reign and presented them. The emperor saw the admonitory intent and praised him at length. Xu Heng compiled the posthumous names, titles, lines of descent, and reign years of emperors through the ages into a book for the students. Buhumu read it a few times and could recite it entire. The emperor summoned him for examination and he omitted not a single character. In the thirteenth year of Zhiyuan (1276), together with his fellow students Jiantong, Taida, Tulü, and others he submitted a memorial: We have heard that the Record of Learning says, "If the gentleman wishes to transform the people and perfect custom, must he not do so through learning?" "Jade unworked does not become a vessel; a person who does not study does not know the Way." Therefore the kings of antiquity, in founding the state and ruling the people, put instruction first. From the age of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu, none lacked schools. Their governance flourished above and custom was refined below, and they became models for later ages. Down to the Han dynasty, schools were also established, and students were examined and appointed to office according to merit. Emperor Daowu of Wei rose from the north. After he settled the Central Plain he added three thousand students, and Confucian learning flourished. This shows that every dynasty had maintained schools. We now cite for Your Majesty the rulers who pacified the south and established schools. After Emperor Wu of Jin had pacified Wu, he first established the Imperial Academy. After Emperor Wen of Sui had destroyed Chen, he made the Directorate of the Imperial Academy independent of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. After Emperor Gaozu of Tang had destroyed Liang, he ordered schools established in all prefectures, counties, and townships. Under Taizong he often visited the Imperial Academy, expanded the school buildings to twelve hundred rooms, and increased enrollment in the Imperial Academy, the National University, and the Four Gates Academy. He appointed erudites for the schools of writing and calculation. Even chieftains of Goryeo, Baekje, Silla, Gaochang, and Tibet sent their sons to study. The Imperial Academy came to hold more than eight thousand students. Gaozong followed this and ordered the Directorate of the Imperial Academy to oversee six schools: the Imperial Academy, the National University, the Four Gates Academy, the School of Law, the School of Writing, and the School of Calculation, each with a fixed number of students — all continuing Gaozu's intent. Yet Jin in pacifying Wu gained only five hundred twenty thousand households; Sui in destroying Chen gained only five hundred prefectures and counties; Tang in destroying Liang gained only a little more than six hundred thousand households — and still they honored schools to this degree. How much more so for our great and august state, which holds the lands south of the Yangtze. The households of the fallen Song are estimated at no fewer than ten million. This is Your Majesty's divine achievement, unmatched since antiquity — not to be compared with Jin, Sui, or Tang. Yet the policy on schools has not been fully carried out. We regret this deeply. We have been favored by Your Majesty's grace and ordered to study Confucian learning. Reverently considering Your Majesty's intent — is it not because people of various categories already fill office while Mongols in office are still few, and you wish us to understand affairs of state so we may serve your commissions? Yet because the school system is not yet settled and our companions are few — it is like demanding fine grain from a few seedlings or fine steeds from a few horses — we fear they will not easily be found. For the present, if you wish talent to be numerous and thoroughly versed in Han institutions, you must, as in antiquity, establish schools everywhere — only then will it suffice. If you say there is not yet leisure, you should for the present expand the Imperial Academy at Dadu. Select a hundred fine Mongol youths between ten and fifteen years of age, and a hundred sons of officials and outstanding commoners, and grant them stipends according to fixed regulations. Choose men of complete virtue and learning sufficient to serve as models, and appoint them vice chancellors, erudites, and assistant instructors to teach them. Let instruction be rooted in human relations and clear on the principles of things. Expound the classics and commentaries for them and teach them the way of cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under Heaven. Below this establish several branches, such as elementary learning, law, writing, and calculation. For each branch appoint instructors and have each teach according to his specialty. For the elementary-learning branch, students should read and recite the classics and be taught the proprieties of conversation, deportment, and serving their elders. The law branch should focus on mastering administrative and clerical affairs. The writing branch should focus on mastering script and characters. The calculation branch should focus on becoming thoroughly skilled in arithmetic. Students may proceed to a new subject only after mastering one art, or rotate through subjects within a single day. The officials of the Directorate of Education should oversee the whole program, conduct regular inspections, require students to master every subject, and always treat moral principles as primary. Those with spare capacity may be permitted to study literary composition. By month, season, and year, according to each student's aptitude, assess the lessons completed, measure diligence and idleness, and mete out rewards and punishments. Diligent students are promoted to the upper dormitory; idle ones are demoted to the lower dormitory and restored only after they reform. On holidays students may practice archery; except on holidays, they may not leave the academy without good cause. After several years, upper-dormitory students who have achieved success in their studies may be recommended by academy officials — specifying what rank Mongols should receive and what offices persons of other categories should enter. Those who have not yet succeeded should continue their studies. When they are ready to serve in government, academy officials may each year recommend the worthy and capable among them for office according to established precedent. Those who prove unteachable after three years may be dismissed from the academy. If changes in school administration and enrollment can be reported promptly to the throne, corrupt practice in education will be prevented, and talented men throughout the realm will be inspired to come forward. Schools could then be established in the commanderies and districts in succession, transforming the people and completing local custom — nothing would be beyond reach. We, your servants, young and ignorant as we are, have learned no more than what books and our teachers have taught us. We dare not insist that our proposal will surely work. We humbly beseech Your Majesty in your sacred compassion to receive this memorial and charge the senior ministers, together with Left Chancellor Wang Zanshan and others, to discuss it, submit detailed recommendations, and implement what is agreed — this is our deepest wish. When the memorial was submitted, the Emperor read it and was pleased. In the fourteenth year, he was appointed vice director of the Directorate for Profit and Use. In the fifteenth year, he was appointed vice intendant of the Commission for Punishments and Inspection for the Yan South and Hebei Circuit. The Emperor dispatched the interpreter Tuoheduo to escort a Western monk to perform Buddhist rites. On their return through Zhending, Tuoheduo beat a courier-station clerk nearly to death. The clerk lodged a complaint with the intendant, who dared not investigate. Buhumu accepted the complaint and imprisoned the monk. Tuoheduo immediately sought to free the monk, speaking in a stubborn and defiant tone. Buhumu had his cap removed in open court and rebuked him for dereliction of duty. Tuoheduo fled home and reported the matter. The Emperor said, "Buhumu has always been upright and firm; you must have broken the law — that is why." Soon afterward the report from Yan South arrived. The Emperor said, "I knew it all along." In the nineteenth year, he was promoted to intendant of the Commission for Punishments and Inspection. When an official of Jingzhou was accused of stealing government property, the Emperor specially ordered Buhumu — though Jingzhou normally fell under Hedong — to investigate. His report on returning pleased the Emperor, who rewarded him with one thousand taels of silver and five thousand strings of paper money. In the twenty-first year, he was summoned to serve as a deliberative official of the Secretariat. At the time the tea monopoly transport commissioner Lu Shirong had curried favor with the commissioner of political affairs Sangge, claiming that if put to use he could increase state revenue tenfold. The Emperor asked Buhumu, who replied, "Revenue-grabbing ministers of old, men like Sang Hongyang and Yuwen Rong, used schemes of profit to beguile their rulers. At first all called them loyal servants; but when their crimes matured and their evil became plain, both state and people were ruined — and regret came too late. I urge Your Majesty not to accept his proposal." The Emperor would not listen. He made Lu Shirong right chancellor, and Buhumu declined the deliberative post and refused to accept the appointment. In the twenty-second year, Lu Shirong was executed for his crimes. The Emperor said, "I am deeply ashamed before you." Buhumu was promoted to minister of personnel. At the time the government was confiscating the property of Ahama's household. Ahama's slave Zhang Sanzhar, who deserved death for his crimes, falsely claimed that much of the family's wealth had been hidden elsewhere and that recovering it all would replenish the treasury. Officials launched sweeping investigations and arrests, implicating innocent people as well and throwing the capital into turmoil. The Emperor grew suspicious and ordered Chancellor Antong to convene the heads and deputies of the Six Ministries to examine the matter. Buhumu said, "That slave was Ahama's trusted henchman; he deserved death many times over. He said this only to drag out his days and hope by luck to escape death. How can we accept his deceit again and shift calamity onto innocent people? Execute these men at once, and public resentment will die down of its own accord." The chancellor reported Buhumu's words to the throne. The Emperor saw the truth, ordered Buhumu to try the case, and the full facts came out. Sanzhar and his accomplices were executed, and all who had been arrested were released. In the twenty-third year, he was transferred to minister of works. In the ninth month, he was transferred to the Ministry of Punishments. The Hedong intendant Ahama used his wealth to flatter the powerful. He borrowed money from the government on promise of repayment in sheep and horses, but when payment came due he forcibly seized the produce of local people to cover it. When the affair came to light, investigators were sent, but all denied wrongdoing. Only when Buhumu went in person were more than a hundred of Ahama's unlawful acts uncovered. When the people of Datong suffered famine, Buhumu used his discretionary authority to open the granaries and provide relief. A minister favored by Ahama memorialized that Buhumu had issued military stores on his own authority, and also framed Ahama to force a false confession. The Emperor said, "Issuing grain to save our people is his duty. Where is the crime in that?" He ordered the case transferred to the capital for review, and Ahama was ultimately executed. Tutuha sought to augment his army with Kipchak men who had been others' slaves, but in the process he also enrolled many registered civilians. Wang Yu of the Secretariat checked the registers and corrected the irregularities. Tutuha then memorialized that Wang Yu had spoken words of disloyalty. The Emperor was furious and wanted to execute him. Buhumu remonstrated, "Wang Yu was originally ordered to enroll Kipchak men who had been others' slaves as soldiers — not registered civilians. If every guard unit followed this example, the population registers would be depleted. If Wang Yu is executed, who afterward will dare serve Your Majesty faithfully?" The Emperor's anger subsided, and Wang Yu was spared. In the twenty-fourth year, Sangge memorialized to establish the Ministry of State Affairs and had the grand councillors Yang Jukuan and Guo You falsely charged and executed. Buhumu argued against it without success. Sangge came to hate him deeply and once pointed at Buhumu and told his wife, "This is the man who will one day confiscate our household." Seizing on Buhumu's leaving at mealtimes, Sangge accused him of neglecting office duties and sought to attach guilt to him. Buhumu was then dismissed on grounds of illness. When the imperial procession returned from Shangdu, Buhumu's younger brother Yelizhenban sat in attendance within the carriage. The Emperor said, "Your elder brother will surely come to welcome us on a certain day." Buhumu did indeed arrive on that day. Seeing how emaciated he was, the Emperor asked how much salary he received. Attendants replied that those who had exhausted sick leave received none by regulation. Mindful of Buhumu's poverty, the Emperor ordered his full salary restored. In the twenty-seventh year, he was appointed academician expositor-in-chief of the Hanlin Academy, drafter of imperial edicts, and concurrently compiler of the national history. In the spring of the twenty-eighth year, while the Emperor was hunting at Willow Grove, Cheli and others impeached Sangge and memorialized his crimes. The Emperor summoned Buhumu and questioned him; he answered with the full truth. The Emperor was greatly shocked and resolved to have Sangge executed. The Ministry of State Affairs was abolished and the Six Ministries restored to the Secretariat. The Emperor wished to appoint Buhumu chancellor, but he firmly declined. The Emperor said, "I listened too much to Sangge and brought unrest to the empire. Though I regret it now, it is already too late. I knew you as a child and had you schooled precisely to prepare you for a day like this. Do not decline so much." Buhumu said, "Many meritorious elders of the court still outrank me in age and rank. If you promote me out of turn, you will not win the assent of others." The Emperor said, "Then who is suitable?" He replied, "Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent Wanze would be suitable. When Ahama's household was confiscated earlier, ledgers recorded his bribes to court favorites — Wanze's name appeared on none of them; and he once said that Sangge as chancellor would ruin state affairs — which has now proved true. That is why I know he is suitable." The Emperor said, "But without you there is no one who can handle my affairs." Thereupon Wanze was appointed right chancellor and Buhumu grand councillor. The Shangdu garrison commander Mubalasha argued that converting the inspection commissions into integrity-visitation commissions was impracticable and should be abolished, and sought corrupt crimes among censorial officials to sway the Emperor. The Emperor blamed Vice Censor-in-Chief Cui Yu, who pleaded illness and claimed ignorance. Buhumu rebuked Cui Yu to his face for failing to speak plainly, then set forth at length why the commissions should not be abolished, and the Emperor's doubts were resolved. After the imperial army's failed expedition against Jiaozhi, the court again planned a major campaign. Buhumu said, "The island peoples are crafty. When imperial majesty presses upon them, will they not tremble with fear? A cornered beast will bite — that is what circumstance drives them to do. Now his son Ridian has succeeded to the throne. If a single envoy is sent to explain the consequences of fortune and disaster, and they repent and reform, they will submit without the trouble of armies. If they do not repent, it will not be too late to send troops." The Emperor accepted his advice. Jiaozhi, awed by fear, sent its envoy the so-called King Zhaoming and others to the court to apologize and submit the tribute owed for the previous six years in full. The Emperor said with pleasure, "This is the power of a single word from you." He immediately offered Buhumu half of the tribute as a gift. Buhumu declined, saying, "This came about through Your Majesty's divine martial virtue and restraint from killing — what merit have I?" He accepted only an agarwood rockery, an ivory paperweight, and a crystal brush rack — and nothing more. Maiduding requested re-establishing the Ministry of State Affairs to take exclusive charge of the three right departments. Buhumu rebuked him in open court: "Ahama and Sangge in succession misled the state and were executed with their households confiscated — the warning is still recent. How can you wish to repeat their example!" The proposal was thereupon dropped. When some urged campaigns against Liuqiu and the imposition of the baoyin tax in Jiangnan, he remonstrated and blocked both proposals. After Sangge's followers Nasir al-Din and others were executed, the Emperor, believing Xindu excelled at fiscal management, wished to spare him. Buhumu argued vigorously against it, but the Emperor would not listen. Within a single day he memorialized seven times, until at last the proper sentence was fixed. The Buddhist clergy requested gold, silver, silk, and cloth to sacrifice to their deity, and the Emperor was reluctant. Buhumu said, "The Buddha treasures the relinquishment of greed." The request was thereupon denied. Some argued that Mongols in the capital should live intermixed with Han people as a precaution against unforeseen trouble. Buhumu said, "The new subjects have only just moved and are not yet settled. Further upheaval will surely deprive them of their livelihoods. This is surely the work of scoundrels who wish to monopolize trade profits, colluding with court favorites and dressing their scheme up as loyal counsel." He then submitted a map showing how throughout the capital the mansions of the nobility already interlocked with common dwellings like teeth in a jaw — and the proposal was dropped. When someone slandered Wanze for favoritism, the Emperor asked Buhumu about it. He replied, "Wanze and I both serve at the Secretariat under shared responsibility. If things were as alleged, how could he act alone? Though we ministers are unremarkable men, we hold the highest offices of state. When someone is accused of hidden faults, he ought to be brought face to face with his accuser and the charge openly examined. To act on secret suspicion alone is not the way of a truly just sovereign." The slanderer was indeed refuted. The Emperor was angry and ordered his attendants to slap the man's cheeks and drive him out. That day was bitterly cold; the Emperor took off his own black sable fur coat and bestowed it on Buhumu. The Emperor would often turn to his attending ministers and praise Saidian Zhan's abilities. Buhumu calmly asked why. The Emperor said, "When he served Möngke Khan, he secretly supplied me with funds — your father knew of this. You had not yet been born; you truly would not know. Buhumu said, "That is what we call a minister who serves two masters. If someone were now to use imperial treasury goods to cultivate a prince in secret, what would Your Majesty think of that? The Emperor hastily waved his hand. "Enough," he said. "I spoke out of turn. In the thirtieth year (1293), a comet appeared near the Imperial Throne constellation. The Emperor was troubled. At night he summoned Buhumu into the inner palace and asked how to avert the heavenly omen. Buhumu replied, "Wind and rain descend from Heaven — and men build roofs and halls to receive them; Rivers mark the boundaries of the land — and men build boats to cross them. Where Heaven and Earth fall short, men must act — and that is how humans share in the work of Heaven and Earth. When a parent is angry, a dutiful child does not dare resent it — he can only respond with reverence and filial devotion. The Image of Thunder in the Book of Changes enjoins: "The noble man, in fear and trembling, examines himself." The Book of Songs says, "Revere Heaven's wrath," and again: "When calamity strikes, be afraid." The sage kings of the Three Dynasties who heeded Heaven's warnings rarely failed to meet a good end. Under Emperor Wen of Han, twenty-nine mountains collapsed on the same day, and eclipses and earthquakes came year after year. By following this course, Heaven itself relented, and the realm was at peace. These are the lessons of the past, Your Majesty — I urge you to follow their example. He then recited Emperor Wen's edict calling for remonstrance after a solar eclipse. The Emperor was shaken. "Your words strike deeply at my heart," he said. "Recite them again. Buhumu then expounded at length, and the audience lasted until the fourth watch. The next morning at breakfast, the Emperor presented him with delicacies from his own table. In that thirtieth year the Emperor fell ill. By established custom, only Mongols of old merit were permitted to enter the royal bedchamber. Because of his steadfast loyalty, Buhumu attended him daily, supervising his medicine and never leaving his side. When the Emperor's condition turned critical, Buhumu, together with Censor-in-Chief Yelü Nayin and Grand Preceptor Bayan, received the deathbed testament and remained in the inner palace. Grand Chancellor Wanze arrived but was refused entry. When Yelü Nayin and Bayan emerged, he asked, "I am both older and senior in rank to Buhumu — yet I am excluded from a deliberation of state importance. Why? Bayan sighed. "If the Grand Chancellor had Buhumu's insight," he said, "we would never have been burdened with such labor! Wanze had no answer and went in to speak with the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager summoned the three men and questioned them. Yelü Nayin said, "We received the Emperor's final charge. Your Majesty need only watch us fulfill it. If we fail the state, execute us that very day. Affairs of dynasty and realm are not matters the inner palace should learn of in advance. The Empress Dowager accepted this, and the great decision was settled. Thereafter Buhumu oversaw the funeral procession, the enshrinement rites, and the petition for a posthumous title at the Southern Altar. When Chengzong ascended the throne, the chief ministers all went north of Shangdu to welcome him. The Grand Chancellor was admitted alone, while Buhumu waited several days before he could see the new Emperor. When Chengzong learned of this, he sought Buhumu out and said, "You were my father's most trusted adviser. I am young and untested — instruct me day and night, correct my failings, that I may not betray the weight of trust my father placed in us both. Chengzong personally handled affairs of state. His judgments were swift and clear, and in deliberations on weighty matters the court often followed Buhumu's counsel. The Empress Dowager likewise treated Buhumu, as a veteran minister of the previous reign, with the utmost respect. The governor of Hedong presented stalks of extraordinary grain, and senior ministers proposed reporting it to the throne as an auspicious sign. Buhumu asked him, "Did your entire province produce such grain — or only these few stalks? He answered, "Only these few stalks. Buhumu said, "If that is so, it brings no benefit to the people — how can it count as an auspicious omen? The proposal was dropped and the envoy dismissed. Western Buddhist monks performing religious rites requested the release of criminals to earn merit — a practice called tuluoma. Wealthy lawbreakers bribed the monks to secure their release. Murderers of masters and husbands alike — the monks would dress them in robes reserved for the Emperor and Empress, seat them on yellow calves, and escort them out the palace gates to freedom, claiming the act would earn divine blessing. Buhumu protested, "Human relationships are the foundation of governance and the bedrock of public morals — how can we tolerate such contempt for the law! The Emperor rebuked the Grand Chancellor. "I told you to keep this from Buhumu," he said. "Now I have heard what he says, and I am deeply ashamed. He sent word to Buhumu: "Let the matter rest for now. I accept your counsel this once — but hereafter it shall remain established custom. When a slave denounced his master and the master was executed, an edict immediately granted the slave his master's official position. Buhumu objected, "Such a policy will destroy public morality, erode all bonds of loyalty, and obliterate the distinction between high and low. The Emperor saw the wisdom of this and revoked his earlier edict. The chief ministers recommended appointing Buhumu Grand Councillor of the Shaanxi Branch Secretariat. The Empress Dowager told the Emperor, "Buhumu is the conscience of this court — your father entrusted the realm to him. How can you send him away? The Emperor kept him at court. In the end, finding himself at odds with his fellow ministers on too many matters, he pleaded illness and withdrew from court. In the spring of 1296, the Emperor summoned him to the side hall. "I understand the cause of your illness," he said. "You cannot follow others — and others cannot follow you. I propose to replace you with Duan Zhen. What do you think? Buhumu replied, "Duan Zhen is indeed the better man. He was then appointed Grand Academician of the Zhaowen Hall and Grand Councillor for Military and State Affairs. He declined, saying, "In our dynasty only Shi Tianze has held that office. What merit have I to dare accept it? The appointment was revised to drop the word "Important" from the title. In 1298, when Censor-in-Chief Cui Yu died, Buhumu was specially ordered to act in his stead. The following year he was additionally placed in charge of the Directorate of Court Ceremonies. When a man took bribes through his father's office and the censor insisted on charging the father, Buhumu said, "The Censorate exists to uphold policy and encourage proper conduct. If we compel a son to testify against his father, how can we promote filial piety! When a Privy Council minister accepted a jade belt as a bribe and, after restitution, was merely barred from office, the censor protested that the penalty was too lenient. Buhumu said, "By ritual propriety, a corrupt minister is rebuked with the phrase 'his vessels are unpolished.' To add beating and public humiliation violates the principle that punishment does not reach up to the Grandee. People praised his fairness and moderation. In 1300 his illness returned. The Emperor sent physicians, but to no avail. Buhumu submitted a final memorial: "Your worthless subject has enjoyed undeserved favor; my appointed span is ended, and I take everlasting leave of this enlightened age. He raised his cup, drained it, and died. He was forty-six. The Emperor was stricken with grief, and the scholar-officials wept aloud. His family had always been poor. He cooked and drew water himself; his wife wove cloth to support his mother. Once, returning from an official mission, he found his mother already dead. He wailed until he vomited blood and nearly died of grief. In daily life he dressed plainly in the Confucian style and scorned ornament. Whenever his salary and gifts exceeded his needs, he gave the surplus to relatives and old friends. He had a keen eye for talent and recommended many men for office — Grand Chancellor Qalaqsun Dalan among them. In his learning he placed moral conduct above literary accomplishment. In private he was quiet and reserved; before the Emperor he spoke with force and clarity, citing principle with unwavering rectitude. He took the welfare of the realm as his personal charge and held nothing back. Kublai once told him, "Taizu said: governing the realm is like holding something in the right hand — you need the left hand to steady it, or the grip will fail. You are truly my left hand. At every informal audience Buhumu would expound the essentials of governance, ancient and modern. Kublai would slap his thigh and sigh, "I regret you came to me so late — yet my descendants will be the richer for it. On his deathbed Kublai left Buhumu a white jade disc, saying, "Keep this — one day bring it when you come to see me again. Under Wuzong he was posthumously ennobled as Pure Loyalty, Assisting Governance Meritorious Subject, Grand Preceptor, and Duke of Lu with the posthumous name Wen Zhen. His son Huihui served as Grand Councillor of the Shaanxi Branch Secretariat; His son Ququ rose from Grand Councillor of the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat to Academician Expositor-in-Chief of the Hanlin Academy.
6
○完泽
Wanze
7
完泽,土别燕氏。 祖土薛,从太祖起朔方,平诸部。 太宗伐金,命太弟睿宗由陕右进师,以击其不备,土薛为先锋,遂去武休关,越汉江,略方城而北,破金兵于阳翟。 金亡,从攻兴元、阆、利诸州,拜都元帅。 取宋成都,斩其将陈隆之,赐食邑六百户。 父纟泉真,宿卫禁中,掌御膳。 中统初,从世祖北征。 四年,拜中书右丞相,与诸儒臣论定朝制。 完泽以大臣子选为裕宗王府僚属。 裕宗为皇太子,署詹事长。 入参谋议,出掌环卫,小心慎密,太子甚器重之。 一日会燕宗室,指完泽语众曰:「亲善远恶,君之急务。 善人如完泽者,群臣中岂易得哉!」 自是常典东宫卫兵。 裕宗薨,成宗以皇孙抚军北方,完泽两从入北。 至元二十八年,桑哥伏诛,世祖咨问廷臣,特拜中书右丞相。 完泽入相,革桑哥弊政,请自中统初积岁逋负之钱粟,悉蠲免之,民赖其惠。 三十一年,世祖崩,完泽受遗诏,合宗戚大臣之议,启皇太后,迎成宗即位,诏谕中外,罢征安南之师,建议加上祖宗尊谥庙号,致养皇太后,示天下为人子之礼。 元贞以来,朝廷恪守成宪,诏书屡下散财发粟,不惜巨万,以颁赐百姓,当时以贤相称之。 大德四年,加太傅、录军国重事。 位望益崇,成宗倚任之意益重,而能处之以安静,不急于功利,故吏民守职乐业,世称贤相云。 七年薨,年五十八,追封兴元王,谥忠宪。
Wanze was of the Tübiyan clan. His grandfather Tüshe followed Taizu from the northern frontier and helped pacify the tribes. When Ögedei invaded Jin, he ordered Prince Ruizong to advance through Shaanxi and strike where the enemy was unready. Tüshe served as vanguard, broke through Wuxiu Pass, crossed the Han River, swept through Fangcheng, and routed Jin forces at Yangzhai. After the fall of Jin he joined campaigns against Xingyuan, Lang, Li, and other prefectures, and was appointed Grand Marshal. He captured the Song city of Chengdu, executed the Song general Chen Longzhi, and was granted a fief of six hundred households. His father Wozhen served in the inner guard and managed the imperial kitchens. At the start of the Zhongtong era (1260), he joined Kublai's northern campaign. In 1263 he was appointed Right Grand Chancellor of the Secretariat and, together with Confucian advisers, helped establish the court's institutions. Wanze, as the son of a senior minister, was selected to serve on the staff of Prince Yuzong's household. When Yuzong was installed as Crown Prince, Wanze was named Chief Steward of his household. He advised the prince on policy within the palace and commanded his guard without. Meticulous and trustworthy, he won the Crown Prince's deep confidence. Once, at a gathering of the imperial clan, the Crown Prince pointed to Wanze and told the assembly, "Drawing near the virtuous and keeping the wicked at a distance — these are a ruler's first duties. A man like Wanze is not easily found among all the officials! From then on Wanze regularly commanded the Crown Prince's guard. After Yuzong's death, Chengzong as imperial grandson took command in the north, and Wanze accompanied him on both northern campaigns. In 1291, after Sangge's execution, Kublai consulted the court and specially appointed Wanze Right Grand Chancellor. As chancellor, Wanze abolished Sangge's abusive policies and petitioned to remit all taxes and grain levies in arrears since the beginning of the Zhongtong era. The people benefited greatly from his relief. In 1294, when Kublai died, Wanze received the deathbed testament. Conferring with the imperial clan and senior ministers, he informed the Empress Dowager and installed Chengzong on the throne. He issued proclamations throughout the realm, recalled the army from Annam, proposed honorific posthumous titles for the imperial ancestors, and set an example of filial devotion to the Empress Dowager for the entire empire. From the Yuanzhen era onward the court adhered faithfully to established law. Edicts poured forth distributing treasure and grain to the people without stint, and at the time Wanze was widely praised as a worthy chancellor. In 1300 he was further appointed Grand Tutor and entrusted with overseeing affairs of military and state importance. His rank and prestige rose ever higher, and Chengzong relied on him more heavily still. Yet Wanze conducted himself with quiet steadiness, never pressing for quick profit or visible achievement. Officials and commoners kept to their duties in contentment, and the age hailed him as a worthy chancellor. He died in 1303, aged fifty-eight. Posthumously enfeoffed as Prince of Xingyuan, he was given the posthumous title Loyal and Lawful.
8
○阿鲁浑萨理
Aluhunsali
9
阿鲁浑萨理,畏兀人。 祖阿台萨理,当太祖定西域还时,因从至燕。 会畏兀国王亦都护请于朝,尽归其民,诏许之,遂复西还。 精佛氏学。 生乞台萨理,袭先业,通经、律、论。 业既成,师名之曰万全。 至元十二年,入为释教都总统,拜正议大夫、同知总制院事,加资德大夫、统制使。 年七十卒。 子三人:长曰畏吾兒萨理,累官资德大夫、中书右丞、行泉府太卿; 季曰岛瓦赤萨理; 阿鲁浑萨理,其中子也,以父字为全氏,幼聪慧,受业于国师八哈思巴,既通其学,且解诸国语。 世祖闻其材,俾习中国之学,于是经、史、百家及阴阳、历数、图纬、方技之说皆通习之。 后事裕宗,入宿卫,深见器重。 至元二十年,有西域僧自言能知天象,译者皆莫能通其说。 帝问左右,谁可使者。 侍臣脱烈对曰:「阿鲁浑萨理可。」 即召与论难,僧大屈服。 帝悦,令宿卫内朝。 会有江南人言宋宗室反者,命遣使捕至阙下。 使已发,阿鲁浑萨理趣入谏曰:「言者必妄,使不可遣。」 帝曰:「卿何以言之?」 对曰:「若果反,郡县何以不知? 言者不由郡县,而言之阙庭,必其仇也。 且江南初定,民疑未附,一旦以小民浮言辄捕之,恐人人自危,徒中言者之计。」 帝悟,立召使者还,俾械系言者下郡治之,言者立伏,果以尝贷钱不从诬之。 帝曰:「非卿言,几误,但恨用卿晚耳。」 自是命日侍左右。 二十一年,擢朝列大夫、左侍仪奉御。 遂劝帝治天下必用儒术,宜招致山泽道艺之士,以备任使。 帝嘉纳之,遣使求贤,置集贤馆以待之。 秋九月,命领馆事,阿鲁浑萨理曰:「陛下初置集贤以待士,宜择重望大臣领之,以新观听。」 请以司徒撒里蛮领其事,帝从之。 仍以阿鲁浑萨理为中顺大夫、集贤馆学士,兼太史院事,仍兼左侍仪奉御。 士之应诏者,尽命馆谷之,凡饮食供帐,车服之盛,皆喜过望。 其弗称旨者,亦请加赉而遣之。 有官于宣徽者,欲阴败其事,故盛陈所给廪饩于内前,冀帝见之。 帝果过而问焉,对曰:「此一士之日给也。」 帝怒曰:「汝欲使朕见而损之乎? 十倍此以待天下士,犹恐不至,况欲损之,谁肯至者。」 阿鲁浑萨理又言于帝曰:「国学人材之本,立国子监,置博士弟子员,宜优其廪饩,使学者日盛。」 从之。 二十二年夏六月,迁嘉议大夫。 二十三年,进集贤大学士、中奉大夫。 二十四年春,立尚书省,桑哥用事,诏阿鲁浑萨理与同视事,固辞,不许,授资德大夫、尚书右丞,继拜荣禄大夫、平章政事。 桑哥为政暴横,且进其党与。 阿鲁浑萨理数切诤之,久与乖剌,惟以廉正自持。 桑哥奏立征理司,理天下逋欠,使者相望于道,所在囹圄皆满,道路侧目,无敢言者。 会地震北京,阿鲁浑萨理请罢征理司,以塞天变。 诏下之日,百姓相庆。 未几,桑哥败,以连坐,亦籍其产。 帝问:「桑哥为政如此,卿何故无一言?」 对曰:「臣未尝不言,顾言不用耳。 陛下方信任桑哥甚,彼所忌独臣,臣数言不行,若抱柴救火,只益其暴,不若弥缝其间,使无伤国家大本,陛下久必自悟也。」 帝亦以为然,且曰:「吾甚愧卿。」 桑哥临刑,吏犹以阿鲁浑萨理为问,桑哥曰:「我惟不用其言,故至于败,彼何与焉。」 帝益信其无罪,诏还所籍财产,仍遣张九思赐以金帛,辞不受。 二十八年秋,乞罢政事,并免太史院使,诏以为集贤大学士。 司天刘监丞言,阿鲁浑萨理在太史院时,数言国家灾祥事,大不敬,请下吏治。 帝大怒,以为诽谤大臣,当抵罪。 阿鲁浑萨理顿首谢曰:「臣不佞,赖陛下天地含容之德,虽万死莫报。 然欲致言者罪,臣恐自是无为陛下言事者。」 力争之,乃得释。 帝曰:「卿真长者。」 后虽罢政,或通夕召入论事,知无不言。 三十年,复领太史院事。 明年,帝崩,成宗在边,裕宗太后命为书趣成宗入正大位,又命率翰林、集贤、礼官备礼册命。 明年春,加守司徒、集贤院使,领太史院事。 初,裕宗即世,世祖欲定皇太子,未知所立,以问阿鲁浑萨理,即以成宗为封,且言成宗仁孝恭俭,宜立,于是大计乃决,成宗及裕宗皇后皆莫之知也。 数召阿鲁浑萨理不往,成宗抚军北边,帝遣阿鲁浑萨理奉皇太子宝于成宗,乃一至其邸。 及即位,语阿鲁浑萨理曰:「朕在潜邸,谁不愿事朕者,惟卿虽召不至,今乃知卿真得大臣体。」 自是召对不名,赐坐视诸侯王等。 尝语左右曰:「若全平章者,真全材也,于今殆无其比。」 大德三年,复拜中书平章政事。 十一年,薨,年六十有三。 延祐四年,赠推忠佐理翊亮功臣、太师、开府仪同三司、上柱国,追封赵国公,谥文定。 子三人:长岳柱; 次久著,终翰林侍读学士; 次买住,蚤卒。 岳柱自有传。 阿台萨理赠保德功臣、银青荣禄大夫、司徒、柱国,追封赵国公,谥端愿; 乞台萨理累赠纯诚守正功臣、太保、仪同三司、上柱国,追封赵国公,谥通敏。 岳柱字止所,一字兼山。 自幼容止端严,性颖悟,有远识。 方八岁,观画师何澄画《陶母剪发图》,岳柱指陶母手中金钏诘之曰:「金钏可易酒,何用剪发为也?」 何大惊,即异之。 既长就学,日记千言。 年十八,从丞相答失蛮备宿卫,出入禁中,如老成人。 至大元年,授集贤学士,阶正议大夫,即以荐贤举能为事。 皇庆元年,升中奉大夫、湖南道宣慰使。 日接见儒生,询求民瘼。 延祐三年,进资善大夫、隆禧院使。 七年,授太史院使。 英宗视其进止整暇,顾谓参政速速曰:「全院使真故家令子也。」 泰定元年,改太常礼仪院使。 四年,授礼部尚书,领会同馆事,俄授江西等处行中书省参知政事。 天历元年,进荣禄大夫、集贤大学士。 至顺二年,除江西等处行中书省平章政事。 时有诬告富民负永宁王官帑钱八百餘锭者,中书遣使诸路征之。 使至江西,岳柱曰:「事涉诬罔,不可奉命。」 僚佐重违宰臣意,岳柱曰:「民惟邦本,伤本以敛怨,亦非宰相福也。」 令使者以此意复命。 时燕帖木兒为丞相,闻其言,感悟,命刑部诘治,得诬罔状,罪诬告者若干人。 宰相以奏,帝嘉之,特赐币帛及上尊酒。 桂阳州民张思进等,啸聚二千餘众,州县不能治,广东宣慰司请发兵捕之。 岳柱曰:「有司不能抚绥边民,乃欲侥幸兴兵,以为民害耶? 不可。」 宰执皆失色,宪司亦以兴兵不便为言,岳柱终持不可,遣千户王英往问状。 英直抵贼巢,谕以祸福,贼曰:「致我为非者,两巡检司耳,我等何敢有异心哉!」 谕其众,皆使复业,一方以宁。 三年,迁河南江北等处行中书省平章政事。 旋以军事至扬州,得疾,明年十二月,端坐而卒,年五十三。 岳柱天资孝友,母弟久住早卒,丧之尽哀。 尤嗜经史,自天文、医药之书,无不究极。 度量弘扩,有欺之者,恬不为意。 或问之,则曰:「彼自欺也,我何与焉。」 母郜氏亦常称之曰:「吾子古人也。」 子四人:长普达,同佥行宣政院事; 次安僧,为久住后,章佩监丞; 次仁寿,中宪大夫、长秋寺卿。
Aluhunsali was a Uighur. His grandfather Atai Sali followed Taizu to Yan when the founder returned from pacifying the Western Regions. When the Uighur king Idikut petitioned the court to restore his people in full, the request was granted by edict, and Atai Sali returned west. He was deeply versed in Buddhist learning. He had a son, Qitai Sali, who inherited the family vocation and mastered the sutras, monastic discipline, and treatises. When his training was complete, his teacher gave him the name Wanquan, Wholly Complete. In 1275 he entered court service as Overall President of the Buddhist clergy, was appointed Righteousness Discussion Grandee and associate director of the Directorate for General Regulation, and was further promoted to Virtuous Virtue Grandee and regulatory commissioner. He died at the age of seventy. He had three sons. The eldest, Weiwu'er Sali, rose to Virtuous Virtue Grandee, right vice minister of the Secretariat, and acting director of the Directorate of the Treasury; the youngest was Diaowachi Sali; Aluhunsali was the middle son. He took his father's courtesy name and bore the surname Quan. Bright from childhood, he studied under State Preceptor Phagspa, mastered that learning, and also understood the languages of the various peoples. When Kublai heard of his abilities, he had him study the Chinese learning of the realm. Aluhunsali thereupon mastered the classics and histories, the teachings of the hundred schools, and the arts of yin-yang, calendrical reckoning, portents, and technical skill. He later served Yuzong, entered the palace guard, and won deep trust and esteem. In 1283 a monk from the Western Regions claimed he could read the heavenly signs, yet none of the court interpreters could follow what he said. The emperor asked his attendants whom he could send. Attendant Tolie replied, "Aluhunsali will do." Aluhunsali was summoned at once to debate with him, and the monk was thoroughly bested. The emperor was pleased and ordered him to attend court audiences as a member of the palace guard. It happened that someone from Jiangnan reported that members of the Song imperial clan were plotting rebellion, and the emperor ordered envoys sent to seize them and bring them to court. The envoys had already set out when Aluhunsali hurried in to remonstrate, "The accuser must be lying — the mission must not be sent." The emperor said, "On what grounds do you say this?" He replied, "If they had truly rebelled, how would the prefectures and counties not know? The accuser did not come through prefecture or county but brought word straight to the imperial court — he must be their enemy. Moreover, Jiangnan has only just been pacified and the people's loyalty is still uncertain. If on a commoner's idle rumor we at once seize people, I fear everyone will feel imperiled — and we would only play into the accuser's scheme." The emperor understood at once, recalled the envoys, had the accuser shackled and sent down to the local authorities for trial. The accuser promptly confessed — he had slandered them because they had once refused him a loan. The emperor said, "But for your words I would nearly have erred — I only regret putting you to use so late." From then on he was ordered to attend daily at the emperor's side. In 1284 he was promoted to Court Rank Grandee and left attendant of ceremonial service. He then urged the emperor that to govern the realm one must employ Confucian methods, and that recluses and men of talent from mountains and marshes should be summoned and kept ready for appointment. The emperor praised and accepted this counsel, dispatched envoys to seek out men of talent, and established the Hall of Assembled Worthies to receive them. In the ninth month of autumn he was ordered to direct the institute's affairs. Aluhunsali said, "Your Majesty first established the Hall of Assembled Worthies to await scholars — you should choose a minister of great repute to head it, so as to refresh public regard." He asked that Minister of Works Sariman take charge of the matter, and the emperor consented. Aluhunsali was then appointed Central Harmoniousness Grandee and academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, concurrently serving in the Directorate of Astronomy while retaining his post as left attendant of ceremonial service. All scholars who answered the imperial summons were lodged and fed at the hall; in food, provisions, carriages, and raiment they were all delighted beyond expectation. Even those who did not meet the emperor's expectations were additionally granted gifts and sent on their way. An official of the Household Supply Directorate wished secretly to undermine the project, so he lavishly displayed the rations provided before the inner palace, hoping the emperor would see them. The emperor did pass by and asked about it. The official replied, "This is one scholar's daily provision." The emperor angrily said, "Do you wish me to see this and cut it back? Ten times this to receive the scholars of the realm — I still fear they will not come; how much less if you wish to reduce it — who would be willing to come?" Aluhunsali spoke again to the emperor, "The National University is the root of talent. In establishing the Directorate of Education with doctorate and student posts, their rations should be generously provided so that scholars daily increase." The emperor consented. In the sixth month of summer of 1285 he was transferred to Distinguished Counsel Grandee. In 1286 he was promoted to grand academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and Central Submission Grandee. In the spring of 1287 the Ministry of Works was established and Sangge held power. An edict called Aluhunsali to join in the administration of affairs. He firmly declined but was not permitted. He was granted Virtuous Virtue Grandee and right vice minister of the Ministry of Works, then successively appointed Honorific Salary Grandee and grand councillor. Sangge governed with violence and overbearing arrogance, and he advanced his own faction. Aluhunsali remonstrated with him sharply again and again. Long estranged and at odds, he held to integrity and rectitude alone. Sangge memorialized to establish the Tax Recovery Office to pursue tax arrears throughout the realm. Envoys filled the roads one after another, prisons everywhere were packed, travelers averted their eyes — and none dared speak out. When an earthquake struck Beiping, Aluhunsali petitioned to abolish the Tax Recovery Office in order to appease the heavenly portent. On the day the edict was issued, the people rejoiced together. Before long Sangge fell. By implication of guilt, Aluhunsali's property was also confiscated. The emperor asked, "Sangge governed thus — why did you not say a single word?" He replied, "Your subject never failed to speak — only my words were not heeded. Your Majesty was then trusting Sangge deeply. He hated none but me alone. My repeated remonstrances had no effect — like carrying faggots to put out a fire, they would only increase his violence. Better to patch matters between you so as not to harm the state's great foundation; in time Your Majesty would surely awaken of yourself." The emperor also agreed, and added, "I am deeply ashamed before you." At Sangge's execution the officials still questioned him about Aluhunsali. Sangge said, "It was only because I did not heed his words that I came to ruin — what has he to do with it?" The emperor believed all the more in his innocence, ordered his confiscated property returned, and dispatched Zhang Jiusi to bestow gold and silk — but Aluhunsali declined and would not accept. In the autumn of 1291 he requested dismissal from administration and also to be relieved of the directorship of the Directorate of Astronomy. By edict he was appointed grand academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. Astronomical Supervisor Liu reported that when Aluhunsali was at the Directorate of Astronomy he repeatedly spoke of the state's auspices and calamities — a grave impropriety — and requested that he be handed over to the judicial officers for punishment. The emperor was greatly angered, deeming it slander of a great minister and fit for punishment. Aluhunsali kowtowed and said, "Your subject is without talent, relying on Your Majesty's heaven-and-earth breadth of forbearance — though I should die ten thousand deaths I could not repay it. Yet if you would punish the one who spoke, I fear that from this there will be no one who speaks to Your Majesty on affairs of state." He argued strenuously, and the accuser was released. The emperor said, "You are truly a man of noble character." Later, though he had left office, sometimes he would be summoned through the night to discuss affairs, and he spoke fully on all he knew. In 1293 he again took charge of the Directorate of Astronomy. The next year Kublai died. Chengzong was on the frontier. Yuzong's empress dowager ordered Aluhunsali to write urging Chengzong to enter and take the throne, and also ordered him to lead Hanlin, Assembled Worthies, and rites officials to prepare the ceremonial patent of investiture. The next spring he was additionally made guardian minister of works and director of the Academy of Assembled Worthies, while continuing to head the Directorate of Astronomy. Earlier, when Yuzong died, Kublai wished to settle the succession but did not know whom to install. He asked Aluhunsali, who at once pointed to Chengzong and said that Chengzong was filial, benevolent, reverent, and frugal — he should be installed. Thereupon the great decision was settled; Chengzong and Yuzong's empress knew nothing of it. Chengzong many times summoned Aluhunsali, but he did not go. Chengzong held troops in the north; the emperor sent Aluhunsali to deliver the crown prince's seal to Chengzong — only then did he visit his residence once. When Chengzong took the throne he said to Aluhunsali, "When I was in my private estate, who did not wish to serve me? Only you, though summoned, did not come. Now I know you truly possess the bearing of a great minister." From then on when summoned to audience his name was not called; he was granted a seat on a level with the feudal princes. He once told those around him, "A man like Grand Councillor Quan is truly a wholly complete talent — in our day there is scarcely his equal." In 1299 he was again appointed grand councillor of the Central Secretariat. He died in 1307, aged sixty-three. In 1317 he was posthumously given the title Meritorious Minister for Supporting Loyalty, Assisting Governance, and Illuminating Brightness, grand preceptor, with carriage, seal, and Three Excellencies of a feudatory opening establishment, and senior pillar of state; posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao with the posthumous title Cultured and Settled. He had three sons. The eldest was Yuezhu; the second, Jiuzhu, who ended as Hanlin associate reader; the third, Maizhu, who died young. Yuezhu has his own biography. Atai Sali was posthumously given the title Meritorious Minister for Preserving Virtue, Silver-Green Honorific Salary Grandee, minister of works, and pillar of state; posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao with the posthumous title Upright and Sincere; Qitai Sali was cumulatively posthumously given the title Meritorious Minister of Pure Sincerity and Upright Guarding, grand guardian, with carriage and seal and Three Excellencies, and senior pillar of state; posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao with the posthumous title Comprehensive and Keen. Yuezhu, courtesy name Zhisuo, also styled Jianshan. From youth his bearing was dignified and decorous; by nature he was quick-witted and far-sighted. At just eight years old, viewing the painter He Cheng's Lady Tao Shearing Her Hair, Yuezhu pointed at the golden bracelet in Lady Tao's hand and asked, "The bracelet could be exchanged for wine — why shear hair instead?" He Cheng was greatly startled and at once regarded the boy as extraordinary. When he grew older and entered upon his studies, he wrote a thousand words each day. At eighteen he followed Chancellor Dashman in palace guard duty, entering and leaving the inner palace with the bearing of a seasoned elder. In 1308 he was appointed academician of Assembled Worthies at the rank of Righteousness Discussion Grandee, and at once took recommending the worthy and advancing the capable as his business. In 1312 he was promoted to Central Submission Grandee and pacification commissioner of Hunan Circuit. Each day he received Confucian scholars and inquired into the people's grievances. In 1316 he was promoted to Nurture-the-Good Grandee and director of the Directorate of Imperial Blessings. In 1320 he was appointed director of the Directorate of Astronomy. Emperor Yingzong observed his composed and unhurried demeanor, turned and said to Vice Administrator Susu, "Director Quan is truly a noble scion of an old family." In 1324 he was transferred to director of the Directorate of Imperial Rites and Ceremonials. In 1327 he was appointed minister of rites and placed in charge of the Hall of Mutual Association, and shortly thereafter made vice administrator of the Branch Secretariat of Jiangxi and elsewhere. In 1328 he was promoted to Honorific Salary Grandee and grand academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. In the second year of Zhishun (1331) he was appointed pacification commissioner of the Jiangxi regional secretariat. At the time false accusations claimed that wealthy households owed more than eight hundred ingots from the Prince of Yongning's official treasury. The Central Secretariat sent envoys to all circuits to collect the sums. When the envoy reached Jiangxi, Yuezhu said, "The matter involves false accusation. I cannot obey this order." His subordinates feared defying the chief ministers. Yuezhu said, "The people are the foundation of the state. To wound that foundation and gather resentment is no blessing for a chancellor either." He had the envoy return and report in these terms. El Temür was then chief minister. Hearing Yuezhu's words, he was moved and ordered the Ministry of Punishments to investigate. The false accusation was proved, and several accusers were punished. The chief minister reported this to the throne. The emperor commended Yuezhu and specially granted him silks and wine of the highest grade. Zhang Sijin and others of Guiyang Prefecture gathered more than two thousand followers in a band. The prefecture and county could not control them, and the Guangdong pacification commission requested troops to capture them. Yuezhu said, "The officials cannot pacify the border people, yet hope by luck to raise troops and bring harm to the people? That cannot be done." The chief ministers all paled. The censorate also said raising troops was inadvisable. Yuezhu held firm and sent the chiliarch Wang Ying to inquire into the facts. Wang Ying went straight to the bandits' lair and lectured them on fortune and disaster. The bandits said, "Only the two patrol offices drove us to this — how would we dare harbor rebellious hearts!" He lectured their followers, and all were made to return to their occupations. The region was pacified. In the third year (1332) he was transferred to pacification commissioner of the Henan and Jiangbei regional secretariat. Soon afterward, on military business he reached Yangzhou and fell ill. In the twelfth month of the following year he died sitting upright, aged fifty-three. Yuezhu was filial and fraternal by nature. His younger brother by the same mother, Jiuzhu, died young, and he mourned him with the utmost grief. He was especially fond of the classics and histories. From astronomy to medicine, no book escaped his thorough study. His breadth of mind was great. When others deceived him, he remained calmly unconcerned. When asked about it, he would say, "They deceive themselves. What has that to do with me?" His mother, Lady Gao, also often said of him, "My son is a man of antiquity." He had four sons: the eldest, Puda, served as associate commissioner of the regional commission for Buddhist and Tibetan affairs; the second, Anseng, was posthumous heir to Jiuzhu and supervisor of the Directorate of Insignia; the third, Renshou, was grand master of palace attendance and director of the Directorate of the Autumn Palace.