1
王磐字文炳，廣平永年人，世業農，歲得麥萬石，鄉人號萬石王家。 父禧，金末入財佐軍興，補進義副尉。 國兵破永年，將屠其城，禧復罄家貲以助軍費，衆賴以免。 金人遷汴，乃舉家南渡河，居汝之魯山。
Wang Pan, courtesy name Wenbing, came from Yongnian in Guangping. For generations his family worked the land and harvested ten thousand shi of wheat a year, so locals nicknamed them the "Ten-Thousand-Shi Wangs." His father Xi, in the closing years of the Jin, donated funds to support the war effort and received appointment as Assistant Commander of the Advance Righteousness unit. When the Mongol army captured Yongnian and prepared to massacre the city, Xi once more poured out the family wealth to help pay military costs, and the townspeople owed their survival to him. When the Jin court moved its capital to Bian [Kaifeng], the whole household crossed south over the Yellow River and settled at Lushan in Ru prefecture.
2
磐年方冠，從麻九疇學于郾城，客居貧甚，日作糜一器，畫為朝暮食。 年二十六，擢正大四年經義進士第，授歸德府錄事判官，不赴。 自是大肆力於經史百氏，文辭宏放，浩無涯涘。 及河南被兵，磐避難，轉入淮、襄間，宋荊湖制置司，素知其名，辟為議事官。 丙申，襄陽兵變，乃北歸，至洛西，會楊惟中被旨招集儒士，得磐，深禮遇之，遂寓河內。 東平緫管嚴實興學養士，迎磐為師，受業者常數百人，後多為名士。
Pan had only just reached manhood when he studied with Ma Jiuchou in Yancheng. Living there as a guest, he was desperately poor: each day he cooked a single pot of gruel and divided it between morning and evening meals. At twenty-six he passed the metropolitan examination in Classics and Meaning in the fourth year of Zhengda, was named Registrar and Adjudicator of Guide Prefecture, and declined the post. Thereafter he threw himself into the classics, histories, and the hundred schools of thought. His writing was expansive and free, seemingly boundless. When war ravaged Henan, Pan fled and drifted between the Huai and Xiang regions. The Song Jing-Hu Pacification Commission, already familiar with his reputation, appointed him as a policy adviser. In 1236, after the mutiny at Xiangyang, he went north again. West of Luoyang he met Yang Weizhong, who had been ordered to gather scholars; Yang received Pan with great honor, and Pan took up residence at Henei. Yan Shi, the regional commander of Dongping, founded schools to cultivate talent and welcomed Pan as his teacher. Students often numbered in the hundreds, and many later became celebrated figures.
3
中統元年，即拜益都等路宣撫副使，居頃之，以疾免。 李璮素重磐，以禮延致之，磐亦樂青州風土，乃買田渳河之上，題其居曰鹿菴，有終焉之意。 及璮謀不軌，磐覺之，脫身至濟南，得驛馬馳去，入京師，因侍臣以聞。 世祖即日召見，嘉其誠節，撫勞甚厚。 璮據濟南，大軍討之，帝命磐參議行省事。 璮平，遂挈妻子至東平。
In 1260 he was promptly appointed Vice Pacification Commissioner for Yidu and neighboring circuits, but soon resigned citing illness. Li Tan had long admired Pan and invited him with full courtesy. Pan also loved Qingzhou's landscape, bought land along the Mi River, named his home Deer Hermitage, and intended to live out his days there. When Tan plotted treason, Pan sensed it, slipped away to Jinan, seized relay horses, and raced to the capital to alert the court through the emperor's attendants. Kublai summoned him that same day, praised his loyalty, and treated him with exceptional warmth and reward. With Tan holding Jinan, the imperial army marched against him, and the emperor appointed Pan to advise the metropolitan administration. After Tan's defeat, he moved his wife and children to Dongping.
4
召拜翰林直學士，同修國史。 出為真定、順德等路宣慰使。 衡水縣達魯花赤忙兀，貪暴不法，縣民苦之。 有趙清者，發其罪，既具伏矣，適初置監司，其妻懼無以滅口，召家人飲酒至醉，以利啗之，使夜殺清，清逃獲免，乃盡殺其父母妻子。 清訴諸官，權要蔽忙兀，不為理，又欲反其具獄。 磐竟奏置諸法，籍其家貲，以半給清。 郡有西域大賈，稱貸取息，有不時償者，輒置獄于家，拘繫榜掠。 其人且恃勢干官府，直來坐廳事，指麾自若。 磐大怒，叱左右捽下，箠之數十。 時府治寓城上，即擠諸城下，幾死，郡人稱快。 未幾，蝗起真定，朝廷遣使者督捕，役夫四萬人，以為不足，欲牒鄰道助之。 磐曰：「四萬人多矣，何煩他郡！」 使者怒，責磐狀，期三日盡捕蝗，磐不為動，親率役夫走田間，設方法督捕之，三日而蝗盡滅，使者驚以為神。
He was summoned as Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy and helped compile the dynastic history. He was sent out to serve as Pacification Commissioner for Zhending, Shunde, and neighboring circuits. Mangwu, the Mongol overseer of Hengshui County, was greedy and brutal; the people suffered greatly under him. A local man named Zhao Qing exposed Mangwu's crimes, and Mangwu had already confessed. When new supervisory offices were set up, Mangwu's wife feared witnesses would talk. She got her household drunk, bribed them, and sent them to kill Zhao Qing by night. Qing escaped, so they murdered his entire family—parents, wife, and children. Zhao Qing appealed to the authorities, but powerful patrons shielded Mangwu. Officials refused to act and even tried to overturn the closed case. Pan finally secured a memorial sentencing Mangwu under the law, confiscating his estate and awarding half of it to Zhao Qing. A wealthy merchant from the Western Regions in the prefecture made loans at interest. When borrowers missed payments, he locked them in his house and beat them. He also used his connections to bully officials, walking into the yamen hall, taking a seat, and ordering people about as if he owned the place. Pan flew into a rage, ordered his men to drag the merchant down, and had him beaten dozens of times. The prefectural offices were then housed atop the city wall; Pan had the man thrown over the parapet. He nearly died, and the whole prefecture cheered. Soon locusts swarmed Zhending. The court sent an envoy to supervise eradication with forty thousand laborers, judged that insufficient, and wanted to draft neighboring circuits for help. Pan said, "Forty thousand men are already plenty—why bother other circuits?" The envoy was furious, filed charges against Pan, and gave him three days to eliminate every locust. Unshaken, Pan led the workers into the fields himself, organized an effective campaign, and wiped out the plague in three days. The envoy was astounded and called it miraculous.
5
復入翰林為學士，入謁宰相，首言：「方今害民之吏，轉運司為甚，至稅人白骨，宜罷去之，以蘇民力。」 由是運司遂罷。 阿合馬諷大臣，請合中書、尚書兩省為一，拜右丞相安童為三公，陰欲奪其政柄。 有詔會議，磐言：「合兩省為一，而以右丞相緫之，實便，不然，則宜仍舊，三公既不預政事，則不宜虛設。」 其議遂沮。 遷太常少卿，乞致仕，不允。
Back in the Hanlin as an academician, he visited the chief minister and said first, "Among today's oppressive officials, the transport commissioners are the worst—they tax people to the bone. Abolish the office and let the people breathe." The transport offices were abolished as a result. Ahmad urged senior ministers to merge the Central Secretariat and the Department of State Affairs, elevate Right Chancellor Antong to the rank of Three Dukes, and thereby quietly strip him of real authority. The emperor ordered a debate. Pan argued, "If the two departments are merged under the Right Chancellor, that may work—but otherwise keep the old system. The Three Dukes do not govern; there is no point creating empty titles." The scheme was blocked. Promoted to Vice Minister of Rites, he asked to retire, but the request was denied.
6
時宮闕未建，朝儀未立，凡遇稱賀，臣庶雜至帳殿前，執法者患其諠擾，不能禁。 磐上疏曰：「按舊制：天子宮門，不應入而入者，謂之闌入。 闌入之罪，由第一門至第三門，輕重有差。 宜令宣徽院，籍兩省而下百官姓名，各依班序，聽通事舍人傳呼贊引，然後進。 其越次者，殿中司糾察定罰，不應入而入者，準闌入罪，庶朝廷之禮，漸可整肅。」 於是儀制始定。
The palace was still unfinished and court ceremony unsettled. At congratulatory audiences, officials and commoners crowded the tent hall, and guards could not keep order. Pan memorialized: "Under the old rules, anyone who enters the Son of Heaven's gates without authorization commits forcible entry. Penalties for forcible entry varied in severity from the outer gate to the inner gates. The Palace Service should register every official from the two secretariats down, line them up by rank, and have relay clerks announce and escort them in turn. The Hall Service should punish anyone who breaks rank. Unauthorized entrants should be charged with forcible entry. Only then can court decorum be restored." Court ceremony was established accordingly.
7
曲阜孔子廟，歷代給民百戶，以供洒掃，復其家，至是，尚書省以括戶之故，盡收為民，磐言：「林廟戶百家，歲賦鈔不過六百貫，僅比一六品官終年俸耳。 聖朝疆宇萬里，財賦歲億萬計，豈愛一六品官俸，不以待孔子哉。 且於府庫所益無多，其損國體甚大。」 時論韙之。 帝以天下獄囚滋多，敕諸路自死罪以下，縱遣歸家，期秋八月，悉來京師聽決，囚如期至，帝惻然憐之，盡原其罪。 他日，命詞臣作詔，戒喻天下，皆不稱旨意，磐獨以縱囚之意命辭，帝喜曰：「此朕所欲言而不能者，卿乃能為朕言之。」 嘉獎不已，取酒賜之。
At Confucius's temple in Qufu, past dynasties had granted a hundred households to maintain the grounds and exempted them from tax. Now the Department of State Affairs, during a household registration drive, reclassified them as ordinary subjects. Pan said, "The temple households number one hundred families. Their yearly tax in paper notes is barely six hundred strings—about one sixth-rank official's annual salary. Our dynasty rules ten thousand li and collects billions in revenue each year. Would the court begrudge a sixth-rank salary and refuse to honor Confucius? The treasury would gain little, yet the damage to the state's dignity would be great." Public opinion strongly agreed. Because prisons were overflowing, the emperor ordered circuits to release all prisoners below capital offense to go home, then return to the capital in the eighth month for final judgment. When they arrived on time, he was moved to pity and pardoned them all. Later the emperor asked literary officials to draft an edict explaining the amnesty to the realm; none satisfied him. Pan alone was told to capture the spirit of the release. The emperor said with delight, "This is what I wanted to say but could not—you said it for me." He praised Pan repeatedly and gave him wine.
8
再乞致仕，不允。 國子祭酒許衡將告歸，帝遣近臣問磐，磐言：「衡素廉介，意其所以求退者，得非生員數少，坐縻廩祿，有所不安耶﹖宜增益生員，使之施教，則庶幾人材有成，衡之受祿亦可少安矣。」 詔從之。
He again asked to retire; again the request was refused. When Xu Heng, Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, planned to resign, the emperor asked Pan's view. Pan said, "Xu Heng is famously upright. Perhaps he feels uneasy drawing a salary while teaching so few students. Increase enrollment so he can teach properly—then students will flourish and his stipend will feel justified." The emperor approved.
9
磐移疾家居，帝遣使存問，賜以名藥。 磐嘗於會集議事之際，數言：「前代用人，二十從政，七十致仕，所以資其材力，閔其衰老，養其廉恥之心也。 今入仕者不限年，而老病者不能退，彼既不自知恥，朝廷亦不以為非，甚不可也。」 至是，以疾，請斷月俸毋給，自秋及春，堅乞致仕。 帝遣使慰諭之曰：「卿年雖老，非任劇務，何以辭為。」 仍詔祿之終身，併還所斷月俸。 磐不得已，復起。
Pan took sick leave at home; the emperor sent envoys to inquire after his health and gifted him fine medicines. At council meetings Pan often said, "Earlier dynasties put men in office at twenty and retired them at seventy—to use their prime, spare their old age, and preserve their sense of honor. Today there is no age limit for office, yet the old and sick cannot step down. They feel no shame, and the court sees nothing wrong with it. That cannot stand." Now, citing illness, he asked that his monthly salary be suspended. From autumn through spring he pressed hard for retirement. The emperor sent an envoy to console him: "You are old, but you are not given heavy duties—why insist on leaving?" He ordered lifetime salary anyway and restored the payments Pan had refused. Pan had no choice but to return to service.
10
時方伐宋，凡帷幄謀議，有所未決，即遣使問之，磐所敷陳，每稱上意。 帝將用兵日本，問以便宜，磐言：「今方伐宋，當用吾全力，庶可一舉取之。 若復分力東夷，恐曠日持久，功卒難成。 俟宋滅，徐圖之未晚也。」 江南既下，磐上疏，大略言：「禁戢軍士，選擇官吏，賞功罰罪，推廣恩信，所以撫安新附，銷弭寇盜。」 其言要切，皆見施行。
While the Song campaign was underway, whenever strategy in council stalled, the emperor sent for Pan. Pan's advice always hit the mark. When the emperor planned war against Japan and asked his view, Pan said, "We are already fighting the Song. Commit our full strength and we can take them in one stroke. If we split our forces toward the eastern islands, the war will drag on and success may slip away. Wait until the Song are gone; Japan can be dealt with later." After the south fell, Pan memorialized in essence: "Restrain the troops, choose good officials, reward merit and punish wrongdoing, and extend grace and trust—that is how to pacify new subjects and suppress banditry." His points were sharp and practical, and all were adopted.
11
朝議汰冗官，權近私以按察司不便，欲併省之。 磐奏疏曰：「各路州郡，去京師遙遠，貪官污吏，侵害小民，無所控告，惟賴按察司為之申理。 若指為冗官，一例罷去，則小民冤死而無所訴矣。 若曰京師有御史臺糾察四方之事，是大不然。 夫御史臺，糾察朝廷百官、京畿州縣，尚有弗及，況能周遍外路千百城之事乎﹖若欲併入運司，運司專以營利增課為職，與管民官常分彼此，豈暇顧細民之冤抑哉﹖」由是按察司得不罷。
The court debated cutting redundant offices. Powerful favorites privately complained that surveillance commissioners were inconvenient and wanted them abolished. Pan wrote, "Prefectures lie far from the capital. Greedy officials prey on common people who have nowhere to appeal except through the surveillance commissioners. If you call them redundant and abolish them, ordinary people will die with grievances and no recourse. To say the capital Censorate can oversee the whole realm is simply wrong. The Censorate inspects court officials and the capital region and still misses cases—how could it cover thousands of towns in distant circuits? If you fold surveillance into the transport offices, whose job is profit and higher taxes and who already ignore the people, who will hear common grievances?" The surveillance commissioners were spared."
12
朝廷錄平宋功，遷至宰相執政者二十餘人，因議更定官制，磐奏疏曰：「歷代制度，有官品，有爵號，有職位，官爵所以示榮寵，職位所以委事權。 臣下有功有勞，隨其大小，酬以官爵，有才有能，稱其所堪，處以職位，此人君御下之術也。 臣以為有功者，宜加遷散官，或賜五等爵號，如漢、唐封侯之制可也，不宜任以職位。」
After recording merit for conquering the Song, the court promoted more than twenty men to chancellor-level posts and debated reorganizing offices. Pan wrote, "Past dynasties distinguished rank, noble title, and actual post—rank and title honor a man; the post carries real authority. Reward merit with rank and titles; place able men in posts they can handle—that is how a ruler governs. I believe men with merit should receive honorary promotions or five-rank noble titles, as in Han and Tang enfeoffment—not be given governing posts."
13
日本之役，師行有期，磐入諫曰：「日本小夷，海道險遠，勝之則不武，不勝則損威，臣以為勿伐便。」 帝震怒，謂非所宜言，且曰：「此在吾國法，言者不赦，汝豈有他心而然耶﹖」磐對曰：「臣赤心為國，故敢以言，苟有他心，何為從叛亂之地，冒萬死而來歸乎﹖今臣年已八十，況無子嗣，他心欲何為耶﹖」明日，帝遣侍臣以溫言慰撫，使無憂懼。 後閱內府珍玩，有碧玉寶枕，因出賜之。
As the Japan expedition was scheduled to sail, Pan remonstrated: "Japan is a petty island realm, the sea route long and dangerous. Victory brings little glory; defeat harms our prestige. Better not go." The emperor was furious and said such words were forbidden on pain of death: "Do you harbor ulterior motives?" Pan answered, "I speak from loyalty. If I had hidden aims, why would I have fled a rebel, risked death, and come to you? I am eighty and childless—what could I possibly plot?" The next day the emperor sent attendants with kind words to reassure him. Later, while reviewing treasures in the inner storehouse, the emperor found a jade pillow and gave it to him.
14
磐以年老，累乞骸骨。 丞相和禮霍孫為言，詔允其請，進資德大夫，致仕，仍給半俸終身。 皇太子聞其去，召入宮，賜食，慰問良久。 行之日，公卿百官，皆設宴以餞。 明日，皇太子賜宴聖安寺，公卿百官出送麗澤門外，縉紳以為榮。 磐無子，命其壻著作郎李稚賓為東平判官，以便養。 每大臣燕見，帝數問磐起居狀，始終眷顧不衰。
Growing old, Pan repeatedly asked to retire. Chief Minister Heli Huosun interceded; the emperor approved, promoted him to Grand Master of Virtuous Integrity, granted retirement, and paid half salary for life. The crown prince, hearing he was leaving, summoned him, gave a meal, and talked with him at length. On his departure day, ministers and officials held farewell banquets. The next day the crown prince hosted a banquet at Sheng'an Temple; officials escorted him beyond Lizhe Gate—a signal honor for the gentry. Pan had no sons; he arranged for his son-in-law Li Zhibin, an editing gentleman, to serve as Dongping adjudicator so the family could care for him nearby. Whenever ministers attended court, the emperor asked after Pan's health. His favor never waned.
15
磐資性剛方，閑居不妄言笑，每奏對，必以正，不肯阿意承順，帝嘗以古直稱之，雖權倖側目，弗顧也。 阿合馬方得權，致重幣求文于碑，磐拒弗與，所薦宋、雷膺、魏初、徐琰、胡祗遹、孟祺、李謙，後皆為名臣。 年至九十二，卒之夕，有大星隕正寢之東。 贈端貞雅亮佐治功臣、太傅、開府儀同三司，追封洺國公，諡文忠。
Pan was stern and upright. At home he seldom joked; in audience he spoke plainly and never flattered. The emperor called him "straight as the ancients." Powerful favorites glared, but he paid no heed. When Ahmad first rose to power, he offered rich gifts for a commemorative inscription; Pan refused. Those he recommended—Song Qing, Lei Ying, Wei Chu, Xu Yan, Hu Zhiyuan, Meng Qi, and Li Qian—all later became celebrated ministers. He lived to ninety-two. On the night he died, a great star fell east of his bedchamber. He was posthumously honored as Upright and Bright Assistant in Governance, Grand Tutor, and Grand Master of equal ceremony to the Three Excellencies; enfeoffed as Duke of Mo; given the posthumous name Wenzhong (Loyal and Cultured).
16
王鶚字百一，曹州東明人。 曾祖成，祖立，父琛。 鶚始生，有大鳥止於庭，鄉先生張奫曰：「鶚也。 是兒其有大名乎！」 因名之。 幼聰悟，日誦千餘言，長工詞賦。
Wang E, courtesy name Baiyi, was from Dongming in Caozhou. His great-grandfather was Cheng, his grandfather Li, and his father Chen. At his birth a large bird alighted in the courtyard. The local teacher Zhang Yu said, "An eagle. This child will win a great name!" So they named him E (Eagle). As a boy he was quick-witted and memorized more than a thousand characters a day; as an adult he excelled at poetry and fu.
17
甲辰冬，世祖在藩邸，訪求遺逸之士，遣使聘鶚。 及至，使者數輩迎勞，召對。 進講孝經、書、易，及齊家治國之道，古今事物之變，每夜分，乃罷。 世祖曰：「我雖未能即行汝言，安知異日不能行之耶！」 歲餘，乞還，賜以馬，仍命近侍闊闊、柴禎等五人從之學。 繼命徙居大都，賜宅一所。 嘗因見，請曰：「天兵克蔡，金主自縊，其奉御絳山焚葬汝水之傍，禮為舊君有服，願往葬祭。」 世祖義而許之，至則為河水所沒，設具牲酒，為位而哭。
In the winter of 1244, while still a prince, Kublai sought hidden talent and sent envoys to invite Wang E. On his arrival several envoys welcomed him, and he was summoned to audience. He lectured on the Classic of Filial Piety, the Documents, and the Changes, on household order and statecraft, and on historical change—sessions often ran until midnight. Kublai said, "I may not act on your advice at once—but who knows whether I cannot do so someday?" After a year he asked to go home. The prince gave him a horse and ordered five close attendants, including Kuoku and Chai Zhen, to study under him. He was later told to move to Dadu and given a house. On one audience he asked, "When our army took Cai, the Jin emperor hanged himself. His attendant Jiangshan burned and buried him by the Ru River. By ritual I owe mourning to a former sovereign—I wish to go and perform the rites." Kublai approved the request as righteous. When Wang E arrived, the grave had been washed away by the river; he set out offerings and wept at a memorial place.
18
有言事者，謂宰執非其人，詔儒臣廷議可任宰相者。 時阿合馬巧佞，欲乘隙取相位，大臣復助之，衆知其非，莫敢言。 鶚奮然擲筆曰：「吾以衰老之年，無以報國，即欲舉任此人為相，吾不能插驢尾矣。」 振袖而起，奸計為之中止。 五年，乞致仕，詔有司歲給廩祿終其身，有大事則遣使就問之。 十年，卒，年八十四，諡文康。
Some officials memorialized that the chief ministers were unfit for their posts, and the emperor ordered Confucian court scholars to debate who might serve as grand councilor. Ahmad was cunning and obsequious and sought to exploit the moment to win the chancellorship, with senior ministers backing him; everyone knew it was wrong, but no one dared object. Wang E flung down his brush and declared, "In my old age I have little left with which to serve the state—but if you mean to make this man chancellor, I refuse to tuck myself into a donkey's tail." He swept his sleeves and walked out, and the scheme was stopped cold. In the fifth year (1268) he asked to retire. The court ordered that his salary be paid for life and that envoys consult him whenever major affairs arose. He died in the tenth year (1273), aged eighty-four, and was given the posthumous name Wenkang (Cultured and Vigorous).
19
鶚性樂易，為文章不事雕飾，嘗曰：「學者當以窮理為先，分章析句，乃經生舉子之業，非為己之學也。」 著論語集義一卷，汝南遺事二卷，詩文四十卷，曰應物集。 無子，以壻周鐸子之綱承其祀。 之綱，官至翰林侍講學士。
Wang E was good-natured and wrote without ornamental fuss. He once said, "A scholar should seek to grasp underlying principles first; parsing chapters and clauses is work for exam candidates, not true self-cultivation." He wrote Collected Meanings of the Analects (1 juan), Remnant Affairs of Runan (2 juan), and forty juan of poetry and prose entitled Collection in Response to Things. Having no son, he adopted Zhigang, son of his son-in-law Zhou Duo, to carry on the family line. Zhigang later served as Hanlin Attendant Lecturer.
20
高鳴字雄飛，真定人，少以文學知名。 河東元裕上書薦之，不報。 諸王旭烈兀將征西域，聞其賢，遣使者三輩召之，鳴乃起，為王陳西征二十餘策，王數稱善，即薦為彰德路緫管。
Gao Ming, courtesy name Xiongfei, was from Zhending and won early fame for his literary talent. Yuan Yu of Hedong recommended him in a memorial, but the court took no action. When Prince Hulagu prepared to march west, he heard of Gao Ming's reputation and sent three envoys to fetch him. Gao Ming responded, laid out more than twenty plans for the campaign, and earned repeated praise; the prince then recommended him as commissioner of Zhangde Circuit.
21
世祖即位，賜誥命金符，已而召為翰林學士，兼太常少卿。 至元五年，立御史臺，以鳴為侍御史，風紀條章，多其裁定。 尋立四道按察司，選任名士，鳴所薦居多，時論咸稱其知人。 天下初定，中書、樞密事多壅滯，言者請置督事官各二人，鳴曰：「官得人，自無滯政，臣職在奉憲，願舉察之，毋為員外置人也。」
After Kublai took the throne, Gao Ming received an appointment patent and gold tally, then was summoned as Hanlin Academician and concurrent Vice Minister of the Grand Impartial. In 1268 the Censorate was established and Gao Ming appointed Attendant Censor; he drafted much of its disciplinary code. When four regional surveillance commissions were soon established, Gao Ming's recommendations supplied most of the appointees, and contemporaries praised his eye for talent. With the realm newly pacified, Secretariat and Military Affairs business often stalled. Some proposed adding two overseers for each. Gao Ming replied, "Pick the right officials and work will not pile up. My job is to enforce the law through investigation—do not create positions outside the regular establishment."
22
七年，議立三省，鳴上封事曰：「臣聞三省，設自近古，其法由中書出政，移門下，議不合，則有駁正，或封還詔書； 議合，則還移中書； 中書移尚書，尚書乃下六部、郡國。 方今天下大於古，而事益繁，取決一省，猶曰有壅，況三省乎！ 且多置官者，求免失政也，但使賢俊萃于一堂，連署參決，自免失政，豈必別官異坐，而後無失政乎！ 故曰：政貴得人，不貴多官。 不如一省便。」 世祖深然之，議遂罷。 川、陝盜起，省臣患之，請專戮其尤者以止盜，朝議將從之，鳴諫曰：「制令天下上死囚，必待論報，所以重用刑、惜民生也。 今從其請，是開天下擅殺之路，害仁政甚大。」 世祖曰「善」，令速止之。
In 1270, when the Three Departments system was proposed, Gao Ming submitted a sealed memorial: "The Three Departments date from antiquity. Policy issued from the Secretariat went to the Chancellery; if they disagreed, the Chancellery could refute it or seal and return the edict; if they agreed, it went back to the Secretariat; the Secretariat forwarded it to the Department of State Affairs, which then sent it to the Six Ministries and the provinces. Today's empire is larger than antiquity and business grows ever heavier. Even a single department is accused of causing bottlenecks—how much worse would three be! Extra posts are meant to prevent bad government—but if capable men sit together and decide jointly, they can avoid failure without separate offices and separate seats! As the saying goes, good government depends on the right people, not on multiplying offices. A single department would be simpler." Kublai strongly agreed, and the plan was abandoned. Banditry broke out in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Provincial officials, alarmed, asked to execute ringleaders summarily. The court was inclined to agree until Gao Ming objected: "The law requires that all capital cases be reported and reviewed before execution—that is how the state restrains harsh punishment and protects the people. Granting this request would open the door to unauthorized killings everywhere and do grave harm to humane rule." Kublai said "Well said" and ordered the proposal halted at once.
23
鳴每以敢言被上知，嘗入內，值大風雪，帝謂御史大夫塔察兒曰：「高學士年老，後有大政，就問可也。」 賜太官酒肉慰勞之，其見敬禮如此。 九年，遷吏禮部尚書。 十一年，病卒，年六十六，有文集五十卷。
Gao Ming won the emperor's trust through blunt counsel. Once, entering the palace in a blizzard, the emperor told Censor-in-Chief Tacar, "Academician Gao is old; on major questions you may go and ask him." He was given palace wine and meat as a reward—such was the esteem in which he was held. In 1272 he was appointed Minister of the Personnel and Rites Ministries. He died of illness in 1274, aged sixty-six, leaving a fifty-juan collected works.
24
李冶字仁卿，真定欒城人。 登金進士第，調高陵簿，未上，辟知鈞州事。 歲壬辰，城潰，冶微服北渡，流落忻、崞間，聚書環堵，人所不堪，冶處之裕如也。
Li Ye, courtesy name Renqing, was from Luancheng in Zhending. He passed the Jin jinshi examination and was assigned clerk of Gaoling, but before reporting he was invited to govern Jun prefecture. In 1232, when the city walls gave way, Li Ye slipped north in plain clothes and wandered between Xin and Guo. He piled books wall to wall in quarters others found unbearable, yet lived there at ease.
25
世祖在潛邸，聞其賢，遣使召之，且曰：「素聞仁卿學優才贍，潛德不耀，久欲一見，其勿他辭。」 既至，問河南居官者孰賢，對曰：「險夷一節，惟完顏仲德。」 又問完顏合荅及蒲瓦何如，對曰：「二人將略短少，任之不疑，此金所以亡也。」 又問魏徵、曹彬何如，對曰：「徵忠言讜論，知無不言，以唐諍臣觀之，徵為第一。 彬伐江南，未嘗妄殺一人，儗之方叔、召虎可也。 漢之韓、彭、衛、霍，在所不論。」 又問今之臣有如魏徵者乎，對曰：「今以側媚成風，欲求魏征之賢，實難其人。」 又問今之人材賢否，對曰：「天下未嘗乏材，求則得之，舍則失之，理勢然耳。 今儒生有如魏璠、王鶚、李獻卿、蘭光庭、趙復、郝經、王博文輩，皆有用之材，又皆賢王所嘗聘問者，舉而用之，何所不可，但恐用之不盡耳。 然四海之廣，豈止此數子哉。 王誠能旁求於外，將見集於明廷矣。」
While still a prince, Kublai heard of Li Ye's reputation and sent envoys to summon him, saying, "I have long heard that Renqing's learning is deep and his talent broad, his virtue modest and unsung. I have wanted to meet you for some time—please do not refuse." Once he arrived, Kublai asked which Henan officials were worthy. Li Ye answered, "For constancy in adversity and comfort, only Wanyan Zhongde." Asked about Wanyan Heda and Puwa, he said, "Both were limited commanders, yet entrusted without question—that is one reason the Jin fell." Asked about Wei Zheng and Cao Bin, he replied, "Wei Zheng spoke loyalty and plain truth and withheld nothing; among Tang's remonstrating ministers he ranks first. In the conquest of the south Cao Bin never killed wantonly; he may be likened to Fang Shu and Zhao Hu of old. As for Han Xin, Peng Yue, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing of Han—not worth mentioning here." Asked whether any minister today matched Wei Zheng, he said, "Flattery is now the fashion; to find another Wei Zheng would be very hard." Asked whether talent was abundant today, he said, "The realm has never lacked capable men; seek them and they appear, neglect them and they vanish—that is simply how things work. Among Confucian scholars today, men like Wei Fan, Wang E, Li Xianqing, Lan Guangting, Zhao Fu, Hao Jing, and Wang Bowen are all useful talent—the very men Your Highness has already consulted. Employ them and nothing is impossible; the only risk is not using them fully. Yet across the four seas, are there only these few? If Your Highness truly seeks widely abroad, they will gather at your enlightened court."
26
又問天下當何以治之，對曰：「夫治天下，難則難於登天，易則易於反掌。 蓋有法度則治，控名責實則治，進君子退小人則治，如是而治天下，豈不易於反掌乎。 無法度則亂，有名無實則亂，進小人退君子則亂，如是而治天下，豈不難於登天乎。 且為治之道，不過立法度、正紀綱而已。 紀綱者，上下相維持； 法度者，賞罰示懲勸。 今則大官小吏，下至編氓，皆自縱恣，以私害公，是無法度也。 有功者未必得賞，有罪者未必被罰，甚則有功者或反受辱，有罪者或反獲寵，是無法度也。 法度廢，紀綱壞，天下不變亂，已為幸矣。」
Asked how to govern the realm, he replied, "Governing the empire can be harder than climbing to Heaven—or easier than turning one's hand. With laws and standards there is order; with names matched to reality there is order; with gentlemen promoted and petty men dismissed there is order. Govern that way and is it not as easy as turning one's hand? Without laws there is chaos; with empty titles and no substance there is chaos; with petty men promoted and gentlemen pushed aside there is chaos. Govern that way and is it not harder than climbing to Heaven? The art of governance comes down to establishing laws and restoring proper discipline. Discipline is what binds ruler and subjects together; laws are reward and punishment made visible as warning and incentive. Today great officials and petty clerks, down to the common people, indulge themselves and sacrifice the public good to private interest—that is lawlessness. Merit may go unrewarded and guilt unpunished; sometimes the meritorious are shamed while the guilty are favored—that too is lawlessness. With laws abandoned and discipline broken, it would be fortunate if the realm did not fall into chaos."
27
又問昨地震何如，對曰：「天裂為陽不足，地震為陰有餘。 夫地道，陰也，陰太盛，則變常，今之地震，或姦邪在側，或女謁盛行，或讒慝交至，或刑罰失中，或征伐驟舉，五者必有一于此矣。 夫天之愛君，如愛其子，故示此以警之耳。 苟能辨姦邪，去女謁，屏讒慝，省刑罰，慎征討，上當天心，下協人意，則可轉咎為休矣。」 世祖嘉納之。
Asked about the recent earthquake, he replied, "Heaven splitting means yang is insufficient; an earthquake means yin is excessive. Earth is yin; when yin overwhelms, the natural order shifts. This earthquake may signal treacherous advisers at your side, undue influence of women at court, slander running rampant, punishments out of balance, or sudden military campaigns—one of these five must be at work. Heaven loves the sovereign as a father loves a son, and shows this sign to warn him. If you can root out treachery, curb undue female influence, silence slander, lighten punishments, and wage war with caution—aligning with Heaven above and the people below—you may turn misfortune into blessing." Kublai praised the advice and took it to heart.
28
冶晚家元氏，買田封龍山下，學徒益衆。 及世祖即位，復聘之，欲處以清要，冶以老病，懇求還山。 至元二年，再以學士召，就職期月，復以老病辭去，卒于家，年八十八。 所著有敬齋文集四十卷，壁書藂削十二卷，泛說四十卷，古今黈四十卷，測圓海鏡十二卷，益古衍段三十卷。
In old age Li Ye settled at Yuanshi, bought land below Mount Fenglong, and his students grew ever more numerous. After Kublai took the throne he invited Li Ye again and wished to give him a prestigious post, but Li Ye pleaded old age and illness and asked to return to his mountain retreat. In 1265 he was summoned again as Hanlin Academician, served one month, resigned again citing old age and illness, and died at home aged eighty-eight. He wrote Jingzhai Collected Writings (40 juan), Brush Writings from the Wall (12 juan), General Discourses (40 juan), Ancient and Modern Yellow (40 juan), Sea Mirror of Circular Surveying (12 juan), and Ancient Supplementary Segments (30 juan).
29
李昶字士都，東平須城人。 父世弼，從外家受孫明復春秋，得其宗旨。 金貞祐初，三赴廷試，不第，推恩授彭城簿，志壹鬱不樂，遂復求試。 一夕，夢在李彥牓下及第，閱計偕之士，無之，時昶年十六，已能為程文，乃更其名曰彥。 興定二年，父子廷試，昶果以春秋中第二甲第二人，世弼第三甲第三人，父子褒貶各異，時人以比向、歆，而世弼遂不復仕，晚乃授東平教授以卒。
Li Chang, courtesy name Shidu, was from Xucheng in Dongping. His father Shibi learned the Spring and Autumn Annals from Sun Mingfu through his mother's family and mastered its core principles. In the early Jinyou era he took the palace examination three times without success and was granted the post of clerk of Pengcheng by grace, but he remained unhappy and sought to try again. One night he dreamed he had passed the exam under Li Yan's name on the roster; he checked the candidates and found no such person. Chang was sixteen and already skilled at exam essays, so he changed his name to Yan. In 1222 father and son sat the palace exam together: Chang placed second in the second rank on the Spring and Autumn Annals, Shibi third in the third rank. Their fortunes diverged, and people compared them to Xiang Kuang and his son Xin. Shibi never served again and late in life became professor at Dongping, where he died.
30
昶穎悟過人，讀書如夙習，無故不出戶外，鄰里罕識其面。 初從父入科場，儕輩少之，譏議紛紜，監試者遠其次舍，伺察甚嚴。 昶肆筆數千言，比午，已脫稿。 釋褐，授徵事郎、孟州溫縣丞。 正大改元，超授儒林郎、賜緋魚袋、鄭州河陰簿。 三年，召試尚書省掾，再調漕運提舉。
Li Chang was exceptionally quick-witted and read as if he had always known the texts. He rarely left home without reason, and neighbors scarcely knew him by sight. When he first entered the exam hall with his father, fellow candidates looked down on him and gossip spread; supervisors kept their distance but watched them closely. Li Chang wrote several thousand characters at a stroke and had finished his draft by noon. Upon passing the exam he was appointed Gentleman of Promoting Affairs and assistant magistrate of Wen county in Meng prefecture. At the start of the Zhengda era he was promoted to Gentleman of the Forest of Scholars, given the crimson fish tally, and appointed clerk of Heyin in Zheng prefecture. In the third year he was tested for a Secretariat clerkship and later transferred to commissioner of grain transport.
31
國兵下河南，奉親還鄉里。 行臺嚴實，辟授都事，改行軍萬戶府知事。 實卒，子忠濟嗣，陞昶為經歷。 居數歲，忠濟怠於政事，貪佞抵隙而進。 昶言於忠濟曰：「比年內外裘馬相尚，飲宴無度，庫藏空虛，百姓匱乏，若猶循習故常，恐或生變。 惟閤下接納正士，黜遠小人，去浮華，敦樸素，損騎從，省宴游，雖不能救已然之失，尚可以弭未然之禍。」 時朝廷裁抑諸侯，法制寢密，忠濟縱侈自若，昶以親老求解，不許。 俄以父憂去官，杜門教授，一時名士，若李謙、馬紹、吳衍輩，皆出其門。
When the Mongol army entered Henan, he took his parents home. Yan Shi of the Branch Secretariat recruited him as director and later made him administrator of the field army ten-thousand-households office. After Yan Shi died his son Zhongji succeeded him and promoted Li Chang to administrator. After several years Zhongji grew negligent in affairs, and greedy flatterers seized their chance to advance. Li Chang told Zhongji, "In recent years officials inside and out have competed in fine furs and horses and feasted without limit. The treasury is empty and the people are destitute. If you go on as before, trouble may follow. If you welcome upright men, keep petty men at a distance, reject ostentation for plain living, cut your retinue, and curtail feasting and pleasure outings, you may not undo past mistakes but you can still avert future disaster." The court was then curbing the princes and tightening the law, yet Zhongji lived as lavishly as ever. Li Chang asked to resign to care for his aged parents but was refused. Soon after he left office to mourn his father, he shut his doors and taught; leading scholars of the day, including Li Qian, Ma Shao, and Wu Yan, were among his pupils.
32
時徵需煩重，行中書省科徵稅賦，雖逋戶不貸，昶移書時相，其略曰：「百姓困於弊政久矣，聖上龍飛，首頒明詔，天下之人，如獲更生，拭目傾耳，以徯太平，半年之間，人漸失望，良以渴仰之心太切，興除之政未孚故也。 側聞欲據丁巳戶籍，科徵租稅，比之見戶，或加多十六七，止驗見戶，應輸猶恐不逮，復令包補逃故，必致艱難。 苟不以撫字安集為心，惟事供億，則諸人皆能之，豈聖上擢賢更化之意哉﹖」於是省府為蠲逋戶之賦。
Tax levies were then heavy, and the Branch Secretariat collected dues even from delinquent households without relief. Li Chang wrote to the chief minister, in essence: "The people have long suffered under bad government. When the emperor took the throne he issued enlightened edicts, and the realm felt reborn—everyone watched and listened for peace. Within half a year hope faded, because expectations ran too high and reform had not yet taken hold. I hear you plan to levy taxes from the dingsi household register, which may increase the burden by as much as sixteen or seventeen parts in ten over current households. Even taxing only registered households may exceed what they can pay; forcing them to cover fugitives and the dead will only make matters worse. If the aim is not to settle and care for the people but merely to meet quotas, anyone can do that—is that what the emperor meant by elevating the worthy and reforming government?" The provincial offices then remitted taxes for delinquent households."
33
中統二年春，內難平，昶上表賀，因進諷諫曰：「患難所以存儆戒，禍亂將以開聖明，伏願日新其德，雖休勿休，戰勝不矜，功成不有，和輯宗親，撫綏將士，增修庶政，選用百官，儉以足用，寬以養民，安不忘危，治不忘亂，恒以北征宵旰之勤，永為南面逸豫之戒。」 世祖稱善久之。 世祖嘗燕處，望見昶，輒斂容曰：「李秀才至矣。」 其見敬禮如此。 會嚴忠濟罷，以其弟忠範代之，忠範表請昶師事之，特授翰林侍講學士，行東平路緫管軍民同議官。 昶條十二事，除宿弊。
In the spring of 1261, after internal strife was settled, Li Chang submitted a congratulatory memorial with admonition: "Hardship preserves warning; turmoil can awaken wisdom. I pray Your Majesty renew your virtue daily—rest, but do not slacken; win battles, but do not boast; achieve success, but do not claim it for yourself. Reconcile your kin, comfort your officers and soldiers, improve governance, and choose worthy officials. Be frugal yet sufficient, lenient yet nourishing. In peace remember danger; in order remember chaos. Let the sleepless toil of the northern campaigns forever warn against the ease of ruling from the south in comfort." Kublai praised it at length. Once while at leisure Kublai saw Li Chang approaching and straightened up, saying, "Scholar Li is here." Such was the respect in which he was held. When Yan Zhongji was removed, his brother Zhongfan succeeded him. Zhongfan memorialized asking that Li Chang serve as his teacher, and Li Chang was specially appointed Hanlin Attendant Lecturer and acting commissioner for joint deliberation on military and civil affairs of Dongping Circuit. Li Chang submitted twelve reform proposals and remitted longstanding abuses.
34
至元元年，遷轉之制行，減併路、府、州、縣官員，於是謝事家居。 五年，起為吏禮部尚書，品格條式、選舉禮文之事，多所裁定。 凡議大政，宰相延置上座，傾聽其說。 六年，姦臣阿合馬議陞制國用使司為尚書省，昶請老以歸。 七年，詔授南京路緫管兼府尹，不赴。 八年，授山東東西道提刑按察使，務持大體，不事苛細，未幾致仕。 二十二年，昶年已八十二，復遣使征之，以老疾辭，賜田千畝。 二十六年卒，年八十有七。
In 1264 the rotation system took effect and circuit, prefecture, department, and county posts were cut and merged; Li Chang then resigned and lived at home. In 1268 he was recalled as Minister of the Personnel and Rites Ministries and drafted much of the code on ranks and examination ritual. Whenever major policy was debated, the chief minister seated him in the place of honor and listened closely. In 1269, when the corrupt Ahmad proposed elevating the Bureau of State Revenue to a full Department of State Affairs, Li Chang asked to retire. In 1270 he was appointed commissioner of Nanjing Circuit and concurrent prefect but declined to take up the post. In 1271 he was appointed surveillance commissioner for eastern and western Shandong, kept to broad principles rather than petty detail, and soon retired. In 1285, when Li Chang was eighty-two, the court sent envoys to summon him again; he declined citing old age and illness and was granted a thousand mu of land. He died in 1289, aged eighty-seven.
35
昶嘗集春秋諸家之說折中之，曰春秋左氏遺意二十卷； 早年讀語、孟，見先儒之失，考訂成編，及得朱氏、張氏解，往往吻合，其書遂不復出。 獨取孟子舊說新說矛盾者，參考歸一，附以己見，為孟子權衡遺說五卷。
Li Chang once collected the various schools' readings of the Spring and Autumn Annals and weighed them to a middle path, producing The Remaining Intent of the Zuo Tradition on the Spring and Autumn in twenty juan; In youth, while reading the Analects and Mencius, he found faults in earlier Confucian interpretations and compiled his own revisions; once he obtained the commentaries of the Zhu and Zhang schools, they often matched his work, and he never issued his book. He took only those points where old and new Mencius commentaries conflicted, reconciled them by reference, added his own judgment, and wrote Weighing the Remaining Interpretations of Mencius in five juan.
36
劉肅字才卿，威州洺水人。 金興定二年詞賦進士。 嘗為尚書省令史。 時有盜內藏官羅及珠，盜不時得，逮繫貨珠牙儈及藏吏，誣服者十一人。 刑部議皆置極刑，肅執之曰：「盜無正贓，殺之冤。」 金主怒，有近侍夜見肅，具道其旨，肅曰：「辨析冤獄，我職也，惜一己而戕十一人之命，可乎！」 明日，詣省辨愈力。 右司郎中張天綱曰：「吾為汝具奏辨析之。」 奏入，金主悟，囚得不死。
Liu Su, courtesy name Caiqing, came from Ming River in Wei Prefecture. In 1234 he passed the Jin metropolitan examination in the rhymed-prose category. He once served as a clerk in the Secretariat. At the time someone stole official silk and pearls from the inner treasury; the thief was not caught in time, and pearl brokers and treasury clerks were seized—eleven of them confessed under torture. The Ministry of Justice recommended the death penalty for all of them, but Su insisted: "There is no recovered stolen property; to execute them would be a wrongful killing. The Jin emperor was furious; a close attendant came to Su at night and laid out the sovereign's will. Su replied: "Sorting out wrongful cases is my duty. How could I save myself and take eleven lives! The next day he went to the Secretariat and argued his case all the more forcefully. Zhang Tiangang, Director in the Right Department, said: "I will prepare a memorial for you laying out the analysis. When the memorial was submitted, the Jin emperor saw the point, and the prisoners were not put to death.
37
調新蔡令。 先時，縣賦民以牛多寡為差，民匿不耕，肅至，命樹畜繁者不加賦，民遂殷富。 瀕淮民有竄入宋境，籍為兵而優其糧，間有歸者，頗艱於衣食，時出怨言曰：「不如渡淮。」 告者以謀叛論，肅曰：「淮限宋境，一水耳，果欲叛，不難往也，口雖言而心無實，準律當杖八十。」 奏可。 繼擢戶部主事。
He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Xincai. Previously the county assessed taxes according to how many oxen each household owned, so people hid their stock and left fields untilled. When Su took office, he ruled that households with large herds would not be taxed more heavily, and the people soon prospered. People living along the Huai who slipped into Song territory were enrolled as soldiers and given generous grain rations; some who came back struggled for food and clothing and now and then grumbled, "Better to cross the Huai again. Informants accused them of plotting rebellion. Su said: "The Huai is all that separates us from Song—one river. If they truly meant to rebel, crossing would be easy enough. Their mouths spoke rashly, but their hearts had no real design; under the law they should receive eighty strokes of the cane. His memorial was approved. He was then promoted to secretary in the Ministry of Revenue.
38
金亡，依東平嚴實，辟行尚書省左司員外郎，又改行軍萬戶府經歷。 東平歲賦絲銀，復輸綿十萬兩、色絹萬匹，民不能堪，肅贊實奏罷之。 壬子，世祖居潛邸，以肅為邢州安撫使，肅興鐵冶，及行楮幣，公私賴焉。
After the Jin dynasty fell, he joined Yan Shi of Dongping, was appointed Assistant Director in the Left Department of the Provisional Secretariat, and later became administrator of the Military Ten-Thousand-Household Office. Dongping's annual silk and silver levy also demanded one hundred thousand taels of cotton floss and ten thousand bolts of colored silk, which the people could not endure; Su helped Yan Shi memorialize to have these abolished. In 1252, while Kublai still held his princely residence, Su was made pacification commissioner of Xingzhou; he revived iron smelting and introduced paper currency, and both public and private affairs came to depend on these measures.
39
肅性舒緩，有執守。 嘗集諸家易說，曰讀易備忘。 後累贈推忠贊治功臣、榮祿大夫、上柱國、大司徒、邢國公，諡文獻。
Su was easy in manner yet steadfast in what he upheld. He once collected commentaries on the Classic of Changes from various schools and called the work Notes for Reading the Changes. Later he was posthumously granted the titles Meritorious Minister for Loyalty and Good Governance, Grand Master of Glorious Emolument, Upper Pillar of the State, Grand Minister of Education, and Duke of Xing, with the posthumous name Wenxian.
40
子憲，禮部侍郎； 愻，大名路緫管。 孫賡，翰林學士承旨。
His son Xian served as Vice Minister of Rites; Xun became administrator of Daming Circuit. His grandson Geng rose to Hanlin academician-expositor-in-chief.
41
王思廉
Wang Silian
42
王思廉字仲常，真定獲鹿人。 幼師太原元好問，既冠，張德耀宣撫河東，辟掌書記，復謝歸。 至元十年，董文忠薦之，世祖問文忠曰：「汝何由知王思廉賢﹖」對曰：「鄉人之善者稱之也。」 遂召見，授符寶局掌書。 十三年，姚樞舉為昭文館待制，遷奉訓大夫、符寶局直長。
Wang Silian, courtesy name Zhongchang, came from Huolu in Zhending. As a boy he studied with Yuan Haowen of Taiyuan; after coming of age, when Zhang Deyao pacified Hedong and recruited him as chief secretary, he declined and went home. In 1273, Dong Wenzhong recommended him. Kublai asked Wenzhong, "How do you know Wang Silian is worthy?" He answered, "The good people of the countryside praise him. Silian was then summoned to audience and appointed chief secretary of the Bureau of Seals and Talismans. In 1276, Yao Shu recommended him as a compiler of the Hall for the Propagation of Literature; he was promoted to Grand Master for Fostering Instruction and made director of the Bureau of Seals and Talismans.
43
十四年，改翰林待制，嘗進讀通鑑，至唐太宗有殺魏徵語，及長孫皇后進諫事，帝命內官引至皇后閤，講衍其說，后曰：「是誠有益於宸衷。 爾宜擇善言進講，慎勿以瀆辭煩上聽也。」 每侍讀，帝命御史大夫玉速帖木兒、太師月赤察兒、御史中丞撒里蠻、翰林學士承旨掇立察等，咸聽受焉。 帝嘗御延春閣，大賚群臣，俾十人為列以進，思廉偶在衛士之列，帝責董文忠曰：「思廉儒臣，豈宜列衛士！」
In 1277 he was transferred to Hanlin compiler. Once, while lecturing from the Comprehensive Mirror, he came to the passage where Tang Taizong spoke of killing Wei Zheng and where Empress Zhangsun remonstrated with him. The Emperor had palace attendants escort Silian to the empress's chamber to develop the point. The empress said, "This truly benefits the imperial heart. Choose good words when you lecture, and take care not to weary the Emperor's ears with impertinent language. Whenever he lectured, the Emperor ordered the Grand Censor Yisutemur, Grand Preceptor Yechichar, Censor-in-Chief Salam, Hanlin expositor Dielicha, and others all to listen. Once, when the Emperor held court in the Ever-Spring Pavilion and showered gifts on the ministers, ordering them to advance in columns of ten, Silian happened to stand in a guard's column. The Emperor rebuked Dong Wenzhong: "Silian is a Confucian minister—how can he be placed among the guards!"
44
十八年，進中順大夫、典瑞少監。 十九年，帝幸白海，時千戶王著，矯殺奸臣阿合馬於大都，辭連樞副密使張易。 帝召思廉至行殿，屏左右，問曰：「張易反，若知之乎﹖」對曰：「未詳也。」 帝曰：「反已反已，何未詳也﹖」思廉徐奏曰：「僭號改元謂之反，亡入他國謂之叛，群聚山林賊害民物謂之亂，張易之事，臣實不能詳也。」 帝曰：「朕自即位以來，如李璮之不臣，豈以我若漢高帝、趙太祖，遽陟帝位者乎﹖」思廉曰：「陛下神聖天縱，前代之君不足比也。」 帝歎曰：「朕往者，有問於竇默，其應如響，蓋心口不相違，故不思而得，朕今有問汝，能然乎﹖且張易所為，張仲謙知之否﹖」思廉即對曰：「仲謙不知。」 帝曰：「何以明之﹖」對曰：「二人不相安，臣故知其不知也。」
In 1281 he was promoted to Grand Master of Proper Submission and vice director of the Office of Ceremonial Regalia. In 1282, while the Emperor was at the White Sea, the chiliarch Wang Zhuo, acting under false authority, killed the corrupt minister Ahmad in Dadu; the case implicated Zhang Yi, vice director of the Privy Council. The Emperor summoned Silian to the traveling hall, sent away attendants, and asked, "Zhang Yi has rebelled—did you know?" He replied, "I do not yet know the particulars. The Emperor said, "He has rebelled, rebelled—what is there not to know?" Silian answered slowly, "Usurping a title and changing the reign name is called rebellion; fleeing to another state is called treason; banding together in the hills and preying on the people is called disorder. As for Zhang Yi's case, your servant truly cannot say what it is. The Emperor said, "Since I took the throne, cases like Li Tan's disloyalty—do you think they arise because, like Han Gaozu or Song Taizu, I seized the throne too hastily?" Silian said, "Your Majesty is divinely sage and heaven-taught; no ruler of earlier ages can compare. The Emperor sighed, "When I once questioned Dou Mo, his answers came like echoes—heart and mouth never parted, so he answered without thinking. I question you now: can you do the same? And did Zhang Zhongqian know what Zhang Yi was doing?" Silian answered at once, "Zhongqian did not know. The Emperor asked, "How do you know?" He replied, "The two could not abide each other, so I know he did not know."
45
二十年，陞太監。 思廉以儒素進，帝眷注優渥。 嘗疾，賜御藥，顧問安否； 扈蹕，失所乘馬，給內廄馬五匹； 盜竊所賜玉帶，更以玉帶賜之。 裕宗居東宮，思廉進曰：「殿下府中，宜建學官，俾左右近侍，嘗親正學，必能裨輔明德。」 裕宗然之。 裕宗嘗欲買甲第賜思廉，思廉固辭。 二十三年，改嘉議大夫、同知大都留守，兼少府監事。 藩王乃顏叛，帝親征，思廉間謂留守段貞曰：「藩王反側，地大故也，漢鼂錯削地之策，實為良圖，盍為上言之。」 貞見帝，遂以聞，帝曰：「汝何能出是言也﹖」貞以思廉對，帝嘉之。 二十九年，遷正議大夫、樞密院判官。
In 1283 he was promoted to director. Silian had risen as a plain Confucian scholar, and the Emperor's regard for him was unusually warm. When he fell ill, the Emperor sent imperial medicine and asked after his health; while attending the imperial procession he lost his horse and was given five mounts from the imperial stables; when the jade belt he had been granted was stolen, the Emperor gave him another jade belt. While Crown Prince Zhenjin lived in the Eastern Palace, Silian submitted, "Your Highness's household should establish a school so that those close at hand may regularly pursue proper learning; that will surely help cultivate bright virtue. The Crown Prince agreed. The Crown Prince once wanted to buy a fine mansion for Silian, but Silian firmly refused. In 1286 he was made Grand Master for Glorious Counsel, associate chief steward of Dadu, and concurrently vice director of the Palace Workshop. When the frontier prince Nayan rebelled and the Emperor marched in person, Silian privately told Chief Steward Duan Zhen, "A frontier prince turns restless because his domain is too large. Chao Cuo's Han policy of reducing fiefs was a sound plan—why not put it before the throne? Zhen saw the Emperor and reported this. The Emperor said, "How did you come to speak such words?" Zhen named Silian, and the Emperor praised him. In 1292 he was transferred to Grand Master for Direct Counsel and judge of the Privy Council.
46
大德元年，成宗即位，遷中奉大夫、翰林學士，仍樞密院判官，以病歸。 三年，起為工部尚書，拜征東行省參知政事。 七年，緫管大名路。 八年，召為集賢學士。 十一年，授正奉大夫、太子賓客。
In 1297, when Emperor Chengzong took the throne, he was made Grand Master for Proper Service and Hanlin academician while retaining his Privy Council judgeship, then returned home on account of illness. In 1299 he was recalled as Minister of Works and appointed vice administrator of the Eastern Campaign Branch Secretariat. In 1303 he became administrator of Daming Circuit. In 1304 he was summoned to serve as academician of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies. In 1307 he was granted the title Grand Master for Upholding the State and appointed Mentor of the Heir Apparent.
47
仁宗即位，以翰林學士承旨、資善大夫致仕。 延祐七年卒，年八十三。 贈翰林學士承旨、資德大夫、河南江北等處行中書省右丞、上護軍，追封恒山郡公，諡文恭。
When Emperor Renzong took the throne, he retired with the titles Hanlin academician-expositor-in-chief and Grand Master for Nurturing Goodness. He died in 1320, aged eighty-three. Posthumously he was granted Hanlin academician-expositor-in-chief, Grand Master of Virtuous Merit, and right vice administrator of the Henan and Jiangbei Branch Secretariat, with the rank Upper Guardian General; he was posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Hengshan and given the posthumous name Wengong.
48
李謙字受益，鄆之東阿人。 祖元，以醫著名。 父唐佐，性恬退，不喜仕進。
Li Qian, courtesy name Shouyi, came from Dong'e in Yan Prefecture. His grandfather Yuan was renowned as a physician. His father Tangzuo was quiet and withdrawn by nature and took no pleasure in pursuing office.
49
謙幼有成人風，始就學，日記數千言，為賦有聲，與徐世隆、孟祺、閻復齊名，而謙為首。 為東平府教授，生徒四集，累官萬戶府經歷，復教授東平。 先時，教授無俸，郡斂儒戶銀百兩備束脩，謙辭曰：「家幸非甚貧者，豈可聚貨以自殖乎！」
As a boy Qian already had the bearing of a grown man; when he first took up study he could memorize several thousand words a day, and his fu verse won fame. He was ranked with Xu Shilong, Meng Qi, and Yan Fu, and Qian stood first among them. He served as professor of Dongping Prefecture, where students gathered from all quarters; he rose to administrator of the Ten-Thousand-Household Office, then returned to teach in Dongping. Previously professors received no salary, and the prefecture collected one hundred taels of silver from Confucian households for their stipends. Qian refused, saying, "My family is fortunately not very poor—how could I amass goods to enrich myself!"
50
翰林學士王磐以謙名聞，召為應奉翰林文字，一時制誥，多出其手。 至元十五年，陞待制，扈駕至上都，賜以銀壺、藤枕。 十八年，陞直學士，為太子左諭德，侍裕宗於東宮。 陳十事：曰正心，曰睦親，曰崇儉，曰幾諫，曰戢兵，曰親賢，曰尚文，曰定律，曰正名，曰革弊。 裕宗崩，世祖又命傅成宗於潛邸，所至以謙自隨。 轉侍讀學士。 世祖深加器重，嘗賜坐便殿，飲群臣酒，世祖曰：「聞卿不飲，然能為朕強飲乎？」 因賜蒲萄酒一鍾，曰：「此極醉人，恐汝不勝。」 即令三近侍扶掖使出。 二十六年，以足疾辭歸。
Hanlin academician Wang Pan, hearing of Qian's reputation, summoned him as a Hanlin draftsman on call; for a time most imperial edicts and proclamations came from his hand. In 1278 he was promoted to compiler, accompanied the imperial procession to Shangdu, and was granted a silver flagon and a rattan pillow. In 1281 he was promoted to associate academician and appointed Left Mentor of the Heir Apparent, attending Crown Prince Zhenjin in the Eastern Palace. He set forth ten counsels: rectifying the heart, harmonizing with kin, honoring frugality, offering timely remonstrance, restraining the military, esteeming the worthy, honoring culture, fixing the laws, rectifying names, and reforming abuses. After Crown Prince Zhenjin died, Kublai again ordered Qian to instruct Chengzong at his princely residence and took Qian with him wherever he went. He was transferred to Lecturer-in-Waiting. The Emperor held him in the highest regard. Once, seated with him in the informal hall while the ministers drank wine, Kublai said, "I hear you do not drink—yet will you drink a cup for my sake? He then gave him a bowl of grape wine and said, "This is very strong—I fear you cannot stand it. He immediately ordered three close attendants to support him and escort him out. In 1289 he asked to retire and returned home because of a foot ailment.
51
三十一年，成宗即位，驛召至上都。 既見，勞曰：「朕知卿有疾，然京師去家不遠，且多良醫，能愈疾。 卿當與謀國政，餘不以勞卿也。」 陞學士。 元貞初，引疾還家。 大德六年，召為翰林承旨，以年七十一，乞致仕。 九年，又召。 至大元年，給半俸。 仁宗為皇太子，徵為太子少傅，謙皆力辭。
In 1294, when Chengzong took the throne, he was summoned by relay post to Shangdu. After the audience the Emperor comforted him, saying, "I know you are ill, but the capital is not far from your home, and there are many skilled physicians who can cure you. You should join in deliberating on state affairs; I will not burden you with other labors. Qian was promoted to academician. At the beginning of the Yuanzhen era he pleaded illness and returned home. In 1302 he was summoned as Hanlin expositor-in-chief, but at seventy-one he asked to retire. In 1305 he was summoned again. In 1308 he was granted half salary. When Renzong was crown prince, Qian was invited to serve as Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent, but he firmly declined each time.
52
仁宗即位，召十六人，謙居其首。 乃力疾見帝于行在，疏言九事，其略曰：「正心術以正百官，崇孝治以先天下，選賢能以居輔相之位，廣視聽以通上下之情，恤貧乏以重邦家之本，課農桑以豐衣食之源，興學校以廣人材之路，頒律令使民不犯，練士卒居安慮危。 至於振肅紀綱、糾察內外，臺憲之官尤當選素著清望、深明治體、不事苛細者為之。」 帝嘉納焉。 遷集賢大學士、榮祿大夫，致仕，加賜銀一百五十兩，金織幣及帛各三匹。 歸，卒于家，年七十九。
When Renzong took the throne, sixteen men were summoned, and Qian stood first among them. Despite his illness he forced himself to see the Emperor at the traveling palace and submitted a memorial on nine matters. Its gist ran: "Rectify the ruler's heart and methods to rectify the hundred officials; honor filial governance to put the empire first; choose the worthy and able for chief-ministerial posts; broaden sight and hearing to connect sentiment above and below; relieve poverty to strengthen the state's foundation; assess farming and sericulture to enrich the source of food and clothing; establish schools to widen the path for talent; promulgate laws so the people will not transgress; drill soldiers—in peace, think of danger. As for restoring discipline and investigating affairs within and without, censorate and surveillance posts should especially be filled by men of long-standing pure reputation who deeply understand governance and do not traffic in petty detail. The Emperor praised and accepted the memorial. He was made Grand Academician of Scholarly Worthies and Grand Master of Glorious Emolument, retired from office, and was additionally granted one hundred fifty taels of silver plus three bolts each of gold brocade tribute cloth and silk. After returning home he died there, aged seventy-nine.
53
謙文章醇厚有古風，不尚浮巧，學者宗之，號野齋先生。 子偘，官至大名路緫管。
Qian's writing was rich and mellow, with an antique cast; he did not prize flashy cleverness. Scholars looked to him as their model and called him Master Yezai. His son Kan rose to administrator of Daming Circuit.
54
徐世隆
Xu Shilong
55
徐世隆字威卿，陳州西華人。 弱冠，登金正大四年進士第，辟為縣令。 其父戒世隆曰：「汝年少，學未至，毋急仕進，更當讀書，多識往事，以益智識，俟三十入官，未晚也。」 世隆遂辭官，益篤于學。
Xu Shilong, courtesy name Weiqing, came from Xihua in Chen Prefecture. In his early twenties he passed the Jin metropolitan examination in 1227 and was recruited to serve as county magistrate. His father admonished him: "You are young and your learning is not yet complete. Do not rush into official life. Keep reading, learn more of past events to sharpen your mind, and wait until you are thirty to take office—that will be soon enough." Shilong resigned his post and devoted himself even more deeply to study.
56
中統元年，擢燕京等路宣撫使，世隆以新民善俗為務。 中書省檄諸路養禁衛之羸馬，數以萬計，芻秣與其什器，前期戒備。 世隆曰：「國馬牧於北方，往年無飼於南者。 上新臨天下，京畿根本地，煩擾之事，必不為之。 馬將不來。」 吏白：「此軍需也，其責勿輕。」 世隆曰：「責當我坐。」 遂弗為備，馬果不至。 清滄鹽課，前政虧不及額，世隆綜覈之，得增羨若干，賜銀三十鋌。 二年，移治順天，歲饑，世隆發廩貸之，全活甚衆。 三年，宣撫司罷，世隆還東平，請增宮縣大樂、文武二舞，令舊工教習，以備大祀，制可。 除世隆太常卿以掌之，兼提舉本路學校事。 四年，世祖問堯、舜、禹、湯為君之道，世隆取書所載帝王事以對，帝喜曰：「汝為朕直解進讀，我將聽之。」 書成，帝命翰林承旨安藏譯寫以進。
In 1260 he was promoted to Pacification Commissioner of the Yanjing and other circuits. Shilong made it his business to settle the people and improve local customs. The Secretariat ordered every circuit to provision the imperial guard's emaciated horses—numbering in the tens of thousands—requiring fodder and equipment to be readied well in advance. Shilong said, "The empire's horses are kept in the north; in past years none were provisioned in the south. The Emperor has only just begun to rule; the capital region is the empire's heartland, and he will surely not burden it with such a vexing task. The horses will not come." A clerk protested, "This is a military requisition—the responsibility is not to be taken lightly." Shilong said, "Let the responsibility rest on me." He made no preparations, and as he had predicted, the horses never came. The Qing-Cang salt levy had fallen short under the previous administration. Shilong conducted a full audit and recovered a substantial surplus, for which he was rewarded with thirty ingots of silver. In 1261 he was transferred to administer Shuntian. That year famine struck, and Shilong opened the granaries to lend grain, saving a great many lives. In 1262 the Pacification Commission was abolished and Shilong returned to Dongping. He petitioned to add the grand music and civil and military dances of the palace counties, had veteran musicians train performers for the great state sacrifices, and the request was approved. Shilong was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonial to oversee these matters and concurrently put in charge of schools in his circuit. In 1263 Kublai asked about the principles by which Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang had ruled. Shilong answered by citing what the classics record of emperors and kings. The Emperor was pleased and said, "Prepare a plain commentary for me to read—I will listen." When the work was finished, the Emperor ordered Hanlin expositor-in-chief Ancang to translate it and have it copied for presentation.
57
至元元年，遷翰林侍講學士，兼太常卿，朝廷大政諮訪而後行，詔命典冊多出其手。 世隆奏：「陛下帝中國，當行中國事。 事之大者，首惟祭祀，祭必有廟。」 因以圖上，乞敕有司以時興建，從之，踰年而廟成。 遂迎祖宗神御，奉安太室，而大饗禮成。 帝悅，賞賜優渥。
In 1264 he was promoted to Hanlin Lecturing Academician while retaining the post of Grand Master of Ceremonial. Major state affairs were referred to him before action was taken, and many edicts and ceremonial documents issued from his hand. Shilong submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty reigns over China; you should govern according to Chinese ways. Of great affairs, sacrifice comes first—and sacrifice requires a temple." He submitted a design and asked that the responsible offices be ordered to build it promptly. The request was granted, and within a year the temple was completed. The imperial ancestral tablets were then enshrined in the Grand Chamber, and the great state offering was performed. The Emperor was pleased and rewarded him generously.
58
俄兼戶部侍郎，承詔議立三省，遂定內外官制上之。 時朝儀未立，世隆奏曰； 「今四海一家，萬國會同，朝廷之禮，不可不肅，宜定百官朝會儀。」 從之。 七年，遷吏部尚書，世隆以銓選無可守之法，為撰選曹八議。
Before long he was also appointed Vice Minister of Revenue. Ordered to deliberate on establishing the Three Secretariats, he drew up the inner and outer bureaucracy and submitted his plan. Court ritual had not yet been established. Shilong memorialized: "Now all under Heaven is one family and the myriad states united. Court ceremony must be dignified—official assembly ritual should be fixed." The proposal was accepted. In 1270 he was promoted to Minister of Personnel. Finding that appointments lacked fixed standards, he drafted the Eight Deliberations for the Selection Bureau.
59
九年，乞補外，佩虎符，為東昌路緫管。 至郡，專務以德率下，不事鞭箠，吏不忍欺，民亦化服，期年而政成，郡人頌之。 十四年，起為山東提刑按察使。 時有妖言獄，所司逮捕凡數百人，世隆剖析詿誤者十八九，悉縱遣之。 十五年，移淮東。 宋將許瓊家童，告瓊匿官庫財，有司繫其妻孥征之。 世隆曰：「瓊所匿者，故宋之物，豈得與今盜官財者同論耶﹖」同僚不從，世隆獨抗章辯明，行臺是之，釋不問。 會征日本，世隆上疏諫止，語頗剴切，當路者不即以聞，已而帝意悟，其事亦寢。 十七年，召為翰林學士，又召為集賢學士，皆以疾辭。
In 1272 he asked for a provincial appointment, was granted the tiger tally, and became administrator of Dongchang Circuit. On reaching his post he led by moral example and never relied on the lash. Clerks shrank from deceiving him, and the people came around as well. Within a year his administration was complete, and the people praised him. In 1277 he was recalled to serve as Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shandong. There was then a case involving seditious talk, and the authorities had arrested several hundred people. Shilong found that eight or nine in ten had been misled and released them all. In 1278 he was transferred to eastern Huai. A household slave of the Song general Xu Qiong accused him of hiding government-storehouse property. The authorities imprisoned Qiong's wife and children to recover the goods. Shilong said, "What Qiong hid were possessions of the former Song—how can that be treated like stealing government property now?" His colleagues disagreed, but Shilong alone submitted a memorial arguing the point. The regional headquarters agreed and released him without further prosecution. When an expedition against Japan was proposed, Shilong submitted a forceful memorial urging against it. Those in power did not report it at once, but the Emperor later changed his mind and the plan was dropped. In 1280 he was summoned as Hanlin Academician and again as Academician of Scholarly Worthies, but declined both appointments citing illness.
60
世隆儀觀魁梧，襟度宏博，慈祥樂易。 人忤之，無慍色。 喜賓客，樂施與，明習前代典故，尤精律令，善決疑獄。 二十二年，安童再入相，奏世隆雖老，尚可用。 遣使召之，仍以老病辭，附奏便宜九事。 賜田十頃。 時年八十，卒。 所著有瀛洲集百卷、文集若干卷。
Shilong was tall and imposing, broad-minded, kindly, and easygoing. When people crossed him he showed no anger. He loved hosting guests and giving freely. He was well versed in earlier dynastic precedent, especially skilled in law, and adept at resolving difficult cases. In 1285 Antong returned to the chancellorship and recommended Shilong, saying that though old he was still fit for service. An envoy was sent to summon him, but he again declined on account of age and illness, appending a memorial on nine practical measures. He was granted ten qing of land. He was eighty when he died. His works included the hundred-juan Yingzhou Collection and several juan of collected essays.
61
孟祺字德卿，宿州符離人。 世以財雄鄉里。 父仁，業儒，有節行。 壬辰，北渡，寓濟州魚臺，州帥石天祿禮之，辟兼詳議府事。
Meng Qi, courtesy name Deqing, came from Fuli in Suzhou. For generations his family was the wealthiest in the district. His father Ren was a scholar of Confucian learning and a man of moral integrity. In 1232 he crossed north and settled at Yutai in Jizhou. The prefectural commander Shi Tianlu received him with honor and appointed him to the Detailed Deliberation Office.
62
祺幼敏悟，善騎射，早知問學，侍父徙居東平。 時嚴實修學校，招生徒，立考試法，祺就試，登上選，辟掌書記。 廉希憲、宋子貞皆器遇之，以聞于朝，擢國史院編修官。 遷從仕郎、應奉翰林文字，兼太常博士。 一時典冊，多出其手。 至元七年，持節使高麗，還，稱旨，授承事郎、山東東西道勸農副使。
From boyhood Qi was bright and quick, skilled at horsemanship and archery, and showed an early taste for learning. He accompanied his father to Dongping. Yan Shi was then rebuilding the school, enrolling students, and instituting examinations. Qi took the exam, ranked at the top, and was appointed chief secretary. Lian Xixian and Song Zizhen both recognized his talent, reported him to court, and he was promoted to compiler at the National History Institute. He was promoted to Attendant Gentleman and Hanlin Drafting Secretary, and also served as Erudite of the Grand Ceremonial. Many of the period's state documents came from his hand. In 1270 he was sent as envoy to Goryeo. On his return the Emperor was pleased and appointed him Gentleman for Administrative Service and Vice Commissioner for Encouraging Agriculture of eastern and western Shandong.
63
十二年，丞相伯顏將兵伐宋。 詔選宿望博學、可贊畫大計者與俱行，遂授祺承直郎、行省諮議。 久之，遷郎中，伯顏雅信任之。 時軍書填塞，祺酬應剖決，略無凝滯。 師駐建康，伯顏以兵事詣闕，政無大小，祺與執政並裁決之。 及戰焦山，宋軍下流。 祺曰：「不若乘勢速進，以奪彼氣。」 如其言，遂大破之。 伯顏聞之，喜曰：「不意書生乃能知兵若是！」 諸將利虜掠，爭趨臨安，伯顏問計，祺對曰：「宋人之計，惟有竄閩爾。 若以兵迫之，彼必速逃，一旦盜起臨安，三百年之積，焚蕩無遺矣。 莫若以計安之，令彼不懼，正如取果，稍待時日耳。」 伯顏曰：「汝言正合吾意。」 乃草書，遣人至臨安，以安慰之，宋乃不復議遷閩。
In 1275 Chancellor Bayan led an army against Song. An edict called for men of stature and learning who could help plan the grand campaign. Qi was appointed Gentleman for Direct Service and Counselor of the Branch Secretariat. In time he was promoted to Director, and Bayan trusted him deeply. Military dispatches piled up, but Qi handled and decided them without apparent delay. When the army encamped at Jiankang, Bayan went to court on military business. Qi and the chief ministers decided all affairs, large and small. At the battle of Jiaoshan the Song forces were driven downstream. Qi said, "Better to press the advantage and advance at once—to break their spirit." They did as he advised and won a great victory. When Bayan heard of it he exclaimed, "Who would have thought a scholar could know warfare so well!" The generals, eager for plunder, pressed toward Lin'an. Bayan asked his advice, and Qi replied, "The Song can only intend to flee into Min. If we press them with troops they will flee at once, and if raiders then rise in Lin'an, three hundred years of accumulated wealth will be burned to nothing. Better to reassure them by strategy, so that they do not panic—it is like picking fruit: one need only wait a little longer." Bayan said, "That is exactly what I mean." He drafted a letter and sent a messenger to Lin'an to reassure them, and Song abandoned talk of fleeing into Min.
64
先是，宋降表稱姪，稱皇帝，屢拒不納。 祺自請為使，徵降表。 至則會宋相于三省。 夜三鼓，議未決，祺正色曰：「國勢至此，夫復何待！」 遂定議。 書成，宋謝太后內批用寶，攜之以出，復起謝太后於內殿，取國璽十二枚出。 伯顏將親封之，祺止之曰：「管鑰自有主者，非所宜親，一有不謹，恐異時姦人妄相染污，終不可明。」 遂止。
Earlier the Song surrender memorial had styled the Yuan as "Nephew" and as "Emperor," terms that had been repeatedly rejected. Qi volunteered to go as envoy and demand a surrender memorial in acceptable form. On arrival he met the Song chief ministers at the Three Secretariats. At the third watch of the night the court still had not decided. Qi said sternly, "The state has come to this—what is there left to wait for?" The decision was then made. When the document was written, Empress Dowager Xie affixed her inner endorsement and the seal; Qi carried it out. He had the empress dowager rise again in the inner hall and brought out twelve imperial seals of state. Bayan was about to seal them himself. Qi stopped him: "Custody of the seals has its own officers—it is not proper for you to handle them. One careless act, and later a rogue could tamper with them and the truth would never be clear." Bayan desisted.
65
江南平，伯顏奏祺前後功多，且言祺可任重。 有旨褒陞，授少中大夫、嘉興路緫管，佩虎符。 祺至，首以興學為務，創立規制。 在官未久，竟以疾解官，歸東平。 至元十八年，擢太中大夫、浙東海右道提刑按察使，疾不赴。 卒，年五十一。 贈宣忠安遠功臣、中奉大夫、參知政事、護軍、魯郡公，諡文襄。 子二人：遵，遹。
After the south was pacified, Bayan memorialized on Qi's many services and said that Qi could shoulder great responsibility. An edict commended and promoted him. He was appointed Junior Central Grand Master and administrator of Jiaxing Circuit with the tiger tally. On taking up his post Qi made promoting schools his first priority and established new regulations. He had not long been in office when illness forced him to resign and return to Dongping. In 1281 he was promoted to Grand Master of the Palace and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of eastern Zhe and Haixi, but illness kept him from taking up the appointment. He died at fifty-one. He was posthumously honored as Meritorious Minister Loyal in Propagating Worth and Pacifying the Distant, Grand Master for Court Audience, Vice Director of the Secretariat, Defender of the Army, and Duke of Lu, with the posthumous name Wenxiang. He had two sons: Zun and Yu.
66
閻復字子靖，其先平陽和州人。 祖衍，仕金，歿王事。 父忠，避兵山東之高唐，遂家焉。
Yan Fu, courtesy name Zijing, came from a Hezhou family in Pingyang. His grandfather Yan served the Jin and died in its service. His father Zhong fled the warfare to Gaotang in Shandong and settled there.
67
復始生，有奇光照室。 性簡重，美丰儀。 七歲讀書，穎悟絕人，弱冠入東平學，師事名儒康曄。 時嚴實領東平行臺，招諸生肄進士業，迎元好問校試其文，預選者四人，復為首，徐琰、李謙、孟祺次之。
At his birth strange light filled the room. He was reserved and dignified, with a striking presence. He began reading at seven and was brilliantly quick beyond his peers. In his early twenties he entered the Dongping academy and studied under the renowned scholar Kang Ye. Yan Shi then headed the Dongping regional office, enrolled students for jinshi studies, and invited Yuan Haowen to judge their essays. Four men were chosen—Fu ranked first, followed by Xu Yan, Li Qian, and Meng Qi.
68
歲己未，始掌書記於行臺，擢御史掾。 至元八年，用王磐薦，為翰林應奉，以才選充會同館副使，兼接伴使。 扈駕上京，賦應制詩二篇，寓規諷意，世祖顧和禮霍孫曰：「有才如此，何可不用！」 十二年，陞翰林修撰。 十四年，出僉河北河南道提刑按察司事，階奉訓大夫。 十六年，入為翰林直學士，以州郡校官多不職，建議定銓選之法。 十九年，陞侍講學士，明年，改集賢侍講學士，同領會同館事。
In 1259 he first served as chief secretary at the regional office and was promoted to censorate aide. In 1271, on Wang Pan's recommendation, he became Hanlin Attendant and, by virtue of his talent, was made deputy commissioner of the Reception Hall and escort commissioner for visiting envoys. While escorting the court to Shangdu he composed two imperially commissioned poems with admonitory undertones. Kublai turned to Helihuo Sun and said, "Talent like this—how can we fail to use him!" In 1275 he was promoted to Hanlin Compiler. In 1277 he was sent out as administrator of the Hebei-Henan Provincial Surveillance Commission with the rank of Grand Master for Further Instruction. In 1279 he returned to court as Hanlin Direct Academician. Finding that many local school officers neglected their duties, he proposed fixed standards for appointment. In 1282 he was promoted to Lecturing Academician; the following year he became Lecturing Academician of Scholarly Worthies and jointly directed the Reception Hall.
69
二十三年，陞翰林學士，帝屢召至榻前，面諭詔旨，具草以進，帝稱善。 二十八年，尚書省罷，復立中書省，帝勵精圖治，急於擇相，一日，召入便殿，諭之曰：「朕欲命卿執政，何如﹖」復屢謝不足勝任，帝謂侍臣曰：「書生識義理，存謙讓，是也，勿強。」 御史臺改提刑按察司為肅政廉訪司，首命復為浙西道肅政廉訪使。 先是，姦臣桑哥當國，嘗有旨命翰林撰桑哥輔政碑，桑哥既敗，詔有司踣其碑，復等亦坐是免官。
In 1286 he was promoted to Hanlin Academician. The Emperor repeatedly summoned him to his couch to dictate edicts; Fu drafted them for submission, and the Emperor praised his work. In 1291 the Ministry Secretariat was abolished and the Secretariat restored. The Emperor was bent on diligent governance and eager to choose a chancellor. One day he summoned Fu to the private hall and said, "I wish to appoint you chancellor—what do you think?" Fu repeatedly demurred as unqualified. The Emperor told his attendants, "This scholar understands duty and keeps his humility—that is as it should be; do not press him." The Censorate renamed the surveillance offices the Commission for the Promotion of Integrity, and Yan Fu was first appointed integrity commissioner for Zhexi Circuit. Earlier, when the corrupt minister Sangge dominated the government, the Hanlin had been ordered to compose a stele praising his rule. After Sangge's fall the court had the stele overturned, and Yan Fu and others lost their posts for their part in it.
70
三十一年，成宗即位，以舊臣召入朝，賜重錦、玉環、白金，除集賢學士，階正議大夫。 元貞元年，上疏言：「京師宜首建宣聖廟學，定用釋奠雅樂。」 從之。 又言：「曲阜守塚戶，昨有司併入民籍，宜復之。」 其後詔賜孔林洒掃二十八戶、祀田五千畝，皆復之請也。 三年，因星變，又上疏言「定律令，頒封贈，增俸給，通調內外官」。 且曰：「古者，刑不上大夫，今郡守以徵租受杖，非所以厲廉隅。 江南公田租重，宜減，以貸貧民。」 後多采用。 大德元年，仍遷翰林學士。 二年，詔賜楮幣萬貫。 四年，帝召至榻前，密諭之曰：「中書庶務繁重，左相難其人，卿為朕舉所知。」 復以哈剌哈孫對。 帝大喜，即遣使召入，相之； 復亦拜翰林學士承旨，階正奉大夫。
In 1298, when Chengzong succeeded, Yan Fu was recalled as a veteran official and given rich brocade, a jade ring, and silver. He was made Academician of Scholarly Worthies with the rank of Grand Master for Discussion of Governance. In 1295 he memorialized: "The capital should lead the realm in building Confucius's temple-school and institute proper ceremonial music for the offering rites." The emperor agreed. He also urged that the grave-keeping households at Qufu, recently reclassified as ordinary taxpayers, be restored to their former status." Later the court granted twenty-eight households to maintain the Kong family grove and five thousand mu of sacrificial land—all at his request. In 1297, citing an ominous change in the heavens, he memorialized again to codify laws, regulate enfeoffments and posthumous honors, raise salaries, and standardize appointments at court and in the provinces. He added, "In antiquity punishment did not touch high officials, yet today prefects are beaten for tax collection—that does not encourage integrity. Public-field rents in the south are too heavy and should be cut to relieve the poor." Many of his proposals were later adopted. In 1297 he was again made Hanlin Academician. In 1298 the emperor granted him ten thousand strings of paper currency. In 1300 the emperor called him to the couch and said privately, "The Secretariat's business is overwhelming and I cannot find a left chancellor—recommend someone you trust." Yan Fu named Harghasun. The emperor was delighted, summoned Harghasun at once, and made him chancellor; and Yan Fu was promoted to Hanlin Expositor-in-Chief with the rank of Grand Master of Positive Service.