1
元明善
Yuan Mingshan
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元明善，字復初，大名清河人。 其先蓋拓跋魏之裔，居清河者，至明善四世矣。 明善資穎悟絕，出讀書，過目輒記，諸經皆有師法，而尤深於《春秋》。 弱冠遊吳中，已名能文章。 浙東使者薦為安豐、建康兩學正。 辟掾，行樞密院。 時董士選僉院事，待之若賓友，不敢以曹屬御之。 及士選升江西左丞，又辟為省掾。 會贛州賊劉貴反，明善從士選將兵討之，擒賊三百人。 明善議緩詿誤，得全活者百三十人。 一日，將佐白：「宜多戮俘獲，及屍一切死者，以張軍聲。」 明善固爭，以為王者之師，恭行天罰，小丑跳梁，戮其渠魁可爾，民何辜焉。 既又得賊所書贛、吉民丁十萬於籍者，有司喜，欲滋蔓為利，明善請火其籍以滅跡，二郡遂安。 升掾南行台。 未幾，授樞密院照磨。 轉中書左曹掾，掾曹無留事。 始，明善在江西時，張瑄為其省參政，明善有馬，駿而瘠，瑄假為從騎，久益壯，瑄愛之，致米三十斛酬其直。 後瑄敗，江浙行省籍其家，得金谷之簿，書「米三十斛送元復初」，不言以酬馬直，明善坐免。 久之，有為辨白其事者，乃復掾省曹。
Yuan Mingshan, whose style was Fuchu, came from Qinghe in Daming Prefecture. His family were said to be descendants of the Tuoba Northern Wei; by Mingshan's time they had lived in Qinghe for four generations. Mingshan was extraordinarily quick-witted: whatever he read, he remembered at a glance. He had proper instruction in all the Classics, but was especially accomplished in the Spring and Autumn Annals. In his early twenties he traveled through the Wu region and was already known as a capable writer. The Zhedong circuit envoy recommended him as director of the Anfeng and Jian'ang schools. He was recruited as a clerk and served at the Bureau of Military Affairs. At that time Dong Shixuan was vice-director of the bureau; he treated Mingshan as a guest and friend and would not deal with him as a routine clerk. When Shixuan was promoted to Left Vice Governor of Jiangxi, he recruited Mingshan again as a provincial clerk. When the bandit Liu Gui rebelled in Ganzhou, Mingshan accompanied Shixuan in leading troops against him and captured three hundred rebels. Mingshan urged leniency for those charged with obstruction or delay, and one hundred thirty people were spared. One day his officers urged that many captives be put to death, along with all the corpses on the field, to magnify the army's prestige. Mingshan objected firmly, arguing that the army of a true king, reverently carrying out Heaven's punishment, need only cut down the ringleaders of a petty uprising; the common people were innocent. They also found rebel registers listing one hundred thousand men from Gan and Ji; officials were pleased and wanted to extend the inquiry for profit. Mingshan asked that the registers be burned to erase the evidence, and the two circuits were thereafter pacified. He was promoted to clerk of the Southern Branch Censorate. Before long he was appointed registrar of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He was transferred to clerk in the Left Department of the Secretariat, where no business was left pending. Earlier, when Mingshan was in Jiangxi, Zhang Xuan was the provincial administrator. Mingshan owned a spirited but lean horse, which Xuan borrowed for his escort; over time it grew stronger, and Xuan grew fond of it and sent thirty hu of rice as payment. Later, when Xuan fell from power, the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat inventoried his estate and found an account book recording 'thirty hu of rice sent to Yuan Fuchu' without noting it was payment for the horse. Mingshan was dismissed on that account. After some time someone cleared him of the charge, and he was restored to his clerkship in the provincial office.
3
仁宗居東宮，首擢為太子文學。 及即位，改翰林待制。 與修成宗、順宗《實錄》，升翰林直學士。 詔節《尚書》經文，譯其關政要者以進。 明善舉宋忠臣子集賢直學士文升同譯潤，許之。 書成，每奏一篇，帝必稱善，曰：「二帝三王之道，非卿莫聞也。」 興聖太后既受尊號，廷臣請因肆赦，明善曰：「數赦，非善人之福，宥過可也。」 奉旨出賑山東、河南飢，時彭城、下邳諸州連數十驛，民餓馬斃，而官無文書賑貸，明善以鈔萬二千錠分給之，曰：「擅命獲罪，所不辭也。」 還，修《武宗實錄》，又升翰林侍講學士，預議科舉、服色等事。 延祐二年，始會試天下進士，明善首充考試官，及廷試，又為讀卷官，所取士後多為名臣。 改禮部尚書，正孔氏宗法，以宣聖五十四世孫思晦襲封衍聖公，事上，制可之。 擢參議中書省事，旋復入翰林為侍讀，歲中拜湖廣行省參知政事。 又召入集賢為侍讀，議廣廟制。 升翰林學士，修《仁宗實錄》。 英宗親課太室，禮官進祝冊，請署御名，命明善代署者三，眷遇之隆，當時莫並焉。 至治二年，卒於位。 泰定間，贈資善大夫、河南行省左丞，追封清河郡公，諡曰文敏。
While Renzong was still heir apparent, he first appointed Mingshan Literary Instructor of the Crown Prince. When Renzong took the throne, Mingshan was made Attendant Draftsman at the Hanlin Academy. He helped compile the Veritable Records of Emperors Chengzong and Shunzong and was promoted to Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy. An edict ordered the Book of Documents abridged and passages relevant to governance translated and submitted. Mingshan recommended Wen Sheng, son of a Song loyalist and Direct Academician of the Academy of Assembled Worthies, to assist in translation and polishing; the request was granted. When the work was finished, each section the emperor heard drew his praise: 'The way of the Two Emperors and Three Kings—only you could teach it to us.' After Empress Dowager Xingsheng received her honorific title, court officials asked for a general amnesty on the occasion. Mingshan said, 'Frequent amnesties do not benefit the virtuous; pardoning offenses is enough.' He was ordered to relieve famine in Shandong and Henan. Along dozens of relay stations in Pengcheng, Xiapi, and other prefectures, people starved and horses died, yet officials had no authorization to distribute relief. Mingshan divided twelve thousand bars of paper money among them, saying, 'If exceeding my orders brings punishment, I accept it willingly.' On his return he compiled the Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong and was promoted to Hanlin Academician-Expounder, taking part in deliberations on the civil service examinations, court dress, and related matters. In the second year of Yanyou the empire held its first metropolitan examination; Mingshan served as chief examiner and, at the palace examination, as reader of papers. Many of the scholars he selected later became famous ministers. He was made Minister of Rites, rectified the Kong clan's rules of descent, and recommended that Simiao, fifty-fourth-generation descendant of the Sage, inherit the title Duke who Spreads Holiness; the memorial was approved. He was promoted to Administrative Councilor of the Secretariat, but soon returned to the Hanlin Academy as Reader; within the year he was appointed Vice Governor of the Huguang Branch Secretariat. He was summoned again to the Academy of Assembled Worthies as Reader to deliberate on expanding temple regulations. He was promoted to Hanlin Academician and compiled the Veritable Records of Emperor Renzong. When Emperor Yingzong personally performed rites in the Grand Temple, ritual officials presented the prayer text and asked for the imperial signature; three times the emperor ordered Mingshan to sign in his place—a degree of favor unmatched at the time. In the second year of Zhizhi he died in office. During the Taiding reign he was posthumously granted Grand Master for the Promotion of Goodness and Left Vice Governor of the Henan Branch Secretariat, enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Qinghe Commandery, with the temple name Wenmin.
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明善早以文章自豪，出入秦、漢間，晚益精詣，有文集行世。
Mingshan early took pride in his writing, moving between Qin and Han models; in later years he attained even greater refinement, and his collected works circulated widely.
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初在江西、金陵，每與虞集劇論，以相切劘。 明善言：「集治諸經，惟硃子所定者耳，自漢以來先儒所嘗盡心者，考之殊未博。」 集亦言：「凡為文辭，得所欲言而止，必如明善雲'若雷霆之震驚，鬼神之靈變'然後可，非性情之正也。」 二人初相得甚歡，至京師，乃復不能相下。 董士選之自中台行省江浙也，二人者俱送出都門外，士選曰：「伯生以教導為職，當早還，復初宜更送我。」 集還，明善送至二十里外，士選下馬入邸舍中，為席，出橐中餚，酌酒同飲，乃舉酒屬明善曰：「士選以功臣子，出入台省，無補國家，惟求得佳士數人，為朝廷用之，如復初與伯生，他日必皆光顯，然恐不免為人構間。 復初中原人也，仕必當道； 伯生南人，將為復初摧折。 今為我飲此酒，慎勿如是。」 明善受卮酒，跪而酹之。 起立，言曰：「誠如公言，無論他日，今隙已開矣。 請公再賜一卮，明善終身不敢忘公言！」 乃再飲而別。 真人吳全節，與明善交尤密，嘗求明善作文。 既成，明善謂全節曰：「伯生見吾文，必有譏彈，吾所欲知。 成季為我治具，招伯生來觀之，若已入石，則無及矣。」 明日，集至，明善出其文，問何如，集曰：「公能從集言，去百有餘字，則可傳矣。」 明善即泚筆屬集，凡刪百二十字，而文益精當。 明善大喜，乃歡好如初。 集每見明經之士，亦以明善之言告之。
When he was first in Jiangxi and Jinling, he often debated sharply with Yu Ji, each sharpening the other. Mingshan said, 'Ji studies the Classics only as Zhu Xi defined them; the devoted work of earlier scholars since Han times has not, in his scholarship, been explored nearly enough.' Ji also said, 'In writing prose one should say what one means and stop; it need not be like Mingshan's "like thunder's shock or spirits' transformations"—that is not the true expression of one's nature.' At first the two were very fond of each other; once they reached the capital they could no longer get along. When Dong Shixuan left the Central Secretariat for Jiang-Zhe, both men saw him off beyond the city gate. Shixuan said, 'Bosheng's duty is teaching—he should return early; Fuchu should escort me farther.' Ji returned; Mingshan escorted Shixuan twenty li farther. Shixuan dismounted at his lodge, spread a mat, took food from his bag, poured wine, and drank with Mingshan. Raising his cup he said, 'As son of a meritorious minister I have moved through the censorate and secretariat without serving the state, only hoping to find a few excellent men for the court—such as you and Bosheng, who will surely rise to eminence, yet I fear others will set you against each other. Fuchu is a man of the Central Plains and in office will surely hold power; Bosheng is a Southerner and will try to bring Fuchu down. Drink this wine for me now, and take care never to let that happen.' Mingshan took the cup, knelt, and poured a libation. He stood and said, 'What you say is true—but never mind the future; the rift is already open today. Please give me another cup—I will never forget your words as long as I live!' They drank again and parted. The Daoist adept Wu Quanjie was especially close to Mingshan and once asked him for an essay. When it was finished Mingshan told Quanjie, 'When Bosheng sees my essay he is sure to criticize it—that is what I want to know. Cheng Ji, prepare a feast and invite Bosheng to read it; if it is already carved in stone, nothing can be done.' The next day Ji came. Mingshan showed him the essay and asked his opinion. Ji said, 'If you follow my advice and cut more than a hundred characters, it will be fit to pass down.' Mingshan at once handed Ji the brush; one hundred twenty characters were cut in all, and the essay became sharper and more apt. Mingshan was delighted, and their friendship was as warm as before. Whenever Ji met scholars versed in the Classics he also repeated Mingshan's words to them.
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明善一子，晦，廕受峽州路同知，早卒。
Mingshan had one son, Hui, who inherited the post of Vice Magistrate of the Xia Prefecture circuit and died young.
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○虞集弟槃範梈
○ Yu Ji; his younger brothers Pan and Fan Zhi
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虞集，字伯生，宋丞相允文五世孫也。 曾祖剛簡，為利州路提刑，有治績。 嘗與臨邛魏了翁，成都范仲黼、李心傳輩，講學蜀東門外，得程、硃氏微旨，著《易詩書論語說》，以發明其義，蜀人師尊之。 祖珏，知連州，亦以文學知名。 父汲，黃岡尉。 宋亡，僑居臨川崇仁，與吳澄為友，澄稱其文清而醇。 嘗再至京師，贖族人被俘者十餘口以歸，由是家益貧。 晚稍起家，教授於諸生中，得孛術魯翀、歐陽玄而稱許之，以翰林院編修官致仕。 娶楊氏，國子祭酒文仲女。 咸淳間，文仲守衡，以汲從，未有子，為禱於南嶽。 集之將生，文仲晨起，衣冠坐而假寐，夢一道士至前，牙兵啟曰：「南嶽真人來見。」 既覺，聞甥館得男，心頗異之。
Yu Ji, whose style was Bosheng, was a fifth-generation descendant of the Song Chief Councilor Yu Yunwen. His great-grandfather Gangjian served as intendant of criminal justice for Lizhou Circuit and achieved a record of good administration. He once studied with Wei Liaoweng of Linqiong, Fan Zhongfu and Li Xinchuan of Chengdu, and others outside the east gate of Shu, grasping the essentials of the Cheng and Zhu schools; he wrote Expositions on the Changes, Poetry, Documents, and Analects to clarify their meaning, and the people of Shu revered him as a teacher. His grandfather Jue served as prefect of Lianzhou and was also known for literary learning. His father Ji was assistant magistrate of Huanggang. After the fall of the Song he settled in Chongren, Linchuan, befriended Wu Cheng, who praised his writing as clear and refined. He twice went to the capital and ransomed more than ten captured kinsmen, bringing them home; his family grew still poorer as a result. In later years he modestly restored the family's fortunes, teaching students; he discovered Bosul Lu Chong and Ouyang Xuan and praised them, and retired as compiler of the Hanlin Academy. He married a woman of the Yang clan, daughter of Wenzhong, Director of the Imperial University. During the Xianchun era Wenzhong governed Hengzhou and took Ji with him; they had no son yet and prayed at Mount Heng. When Ji was about to be born, Wenzhong rose early, dressed formally, and dozed sitting up; he dreamed a Daoist approached, and a guard announced, 'The Perfected Man of Mount Heng has come to call.' When he awoke he heard that his nephew's household had a son, and he felt something extraordinary had happened.
9
集三歲即知讀書，歲乙亥，汲挈家趨嶺外，干戈中無書冊可攜，楊氏口授《論語》、《孟子》、《左氏傳》、歐蘇文，聞輒成誦。 比還長沙，就外傅，始得刻本，則已盡讀諸經，通其大義矣。 文仲世以《春秋》名家，而族弟參知政事棟，明於性理之學，楊氏在室，即盡通其說，故集與弟槃，皆受業家庭，出則以契家子從吳澄遊，授受具有源委。
Ji could read at three. In the year yihai his father led the family south beyond the ranges; amid warfare they could carry no books, and Lady Yang orally taught the Analects, Mencius, Zuo's Commentary, and the writings of Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi—he memorized them as he heard them. When they returned to Changsha he studied under an outside tutor and first obtained printed editions; he had already read all the Classics and grasped their main meaning. Wenzhong's family was renowned for the Spring and Autumn Annals for generations, and his clansman the Administrative Councilor Dong was accomplished in Neo-Confucian learning; Lady Yang had mastered these doctrines even before marriage. Thus Ji and his younger brother Pan were both educated at home, and when they went out studied with Wu Cheng as allied-family sons—their learning had a clear lineage.
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左丞董士選自江西除南行台中丞，延集家塾。 大德初，始至京師。 以大臣薦，授大都路儒學教授，雖以訓迪為職，而益自充廣，不少暇佚。 除國子助教，即以師道自任，諸生時其退，每挾策趨門下卒業，他館生多相率詣集請益。 丁內艱，服除，再為助教，除博士。 監祭殿上，有劉生者，被酒失禮俎豆間，集言諸監，請削其籍。 大臣有為劉生謝者，集持不可，曰：「國學，禮義之所出也，此而不治，何以為教！」 仁宗在東宮，傳旨諭集，勿竟其事，集以劉生失禮狀上之，移詹事院，竟黜劉生，仁宗更以集為賢。
When Left Vice Governor Dong Shixuan was transferred from Jiangxi to Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Southern Branch Censorate, he invited Ji to his family school. At the beginning of the Dade era he first reached the capital. Recommended by a senior minister, he was appointed Professor of Confucian Studies for the Dadu Circuit; though his duty was teaching, he continued to broaden his learning without sparing himself leisure. He was made Assistant Instructor of the Imperial University and at once took the teacher's role seriously; students timed his departures and hurried to his door with their texts to finish their studies, and students from other lodges often came in groups to seek his instruction. After mourning his mother he again served as Assistant Instructor and was appointed Erudite. While supervising sacrifice in the hall, a student named Liu, drunk, breached ritual propriety among the sacrificial vessels; Ji reported to the supervisors and asked that Liu be struck from the register. A senior minister interceded for Liu, but Ji refused, saying, 'The Imperial University is where ritual and righteousness originate—if this is not corrected, how can we teach?' Renzong, then heir apparent, sent word telling Ji not to pursue the matter; Ji submitted the record of Liu's breach of ritual, transferred the case to the Household of the Heir Apparent, and Liu was dismissed in the end. The heir apparent came to regard Ji as even more worthy.
11
大成殿新賜登歌樂，其師世居江南，樂生皆河北田里之人，情性不相能，集親教之，然後成曲。 復請設司樂一人掌之，以俟考正。 仁宗即位，責成監學，拜台臣為祭酒，除吳澄司業，皆欲有所更張，以副帝意，集力贊其說。 有為異論以沮之者，澄投檄去，集亦以病免。 未幾，除太常博士，丞相拜住方為其院使，間從集問禮器祭義甚悉，集為言先王制作，以及古今因革治亂之由，拜住嘆息，益信儒者有用。
The Hall of Great Completion had newly been granted ascending-song music; its master came from families long settled south of the Yangtze, while the musicians were village men from Hebei—their temperaments clashed. Ji taught them personally, and only then was the melody completed. He also requested that a Director of Music be appointed to oversee it pending further review. When Renzong took the throne he charged the university supervisors, appointed a censorial minister as Chancellor, and made Wu Cheng Vice Chancellor—all intending reforms to fulfill the emperor's wishes; Ji strongly supported them. Opponents raised objections; Cheng submitted his resignation and left, and Ji also resigned on grounds of illness. Before long he was appointed Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; Chief Councilor Bayiju was then its director and often asked Ji detailed questions about ritual vessels and sacrificial meaning. Ji explained the institutions of the ancient kings and the causes of change and stability through history; Bayiju sighed and came to believe Confucian scholars were truly useful.
12
朝廷方以科舉取士，說者謂治平可力致，集獨以謂當治其源。 遷集賢修撰。 因會議學校，乃上議曰：「師道立則善人多，學校者，士之所受教，以至於成德達材者也。 今天下學官，猥以資格授，強加之諸生之上，而名之曰師爾，有司弗信之，生徒弗信之，於學校無益也。 如此而望師道之立，可乎？ 下州小邑之士，無所見聞，父兄所以導其子弟，初無必為學問之實意，師友之游從，亦莫辨其邪正，然則所謂賢材者，非自天降地出，安有可望之理哉！ 為今之計，莫若使守令求經明行修成德者，身師尊之，至誠懇惻以求之，其德化之及，庶乎有所觀感也。 其次則求夫操履近正，而不為詭異駭俗者，確守先儒經義師說，而不敢妄為奇論者，眾所敬服，而非鄉愿之徒者，延致之日，諷誦其書，使學者習之，入耳著心，以正其本，則他日亦當有所發也。 其次則取鄉貢至京師罷歸者，其議論文藝，猶足以聳動其人，非若泛泛莫知根柢者矣。」 六年，除翰林待制，兼國史院編修官。 仁宗嘗對左右歎曰：「儒者皆用矣，惟虞伯生未顯擢爾。」 會晏駕，不及用。
The court was selecting officials through the civil service examinations; advocates said good governance could be achieved quickly; Ji alone held that the source must be addressed first. He was transferred to Compiler of the Academy of Assembled Worthies. During deliberations on schools he submitted a memorial: 'When the teacher's way is established, good men multiply. Schools are where scholars are taught until they complete their virtue and realize their talent. Today school officials empire-wide are appointed merely by qualification, forced upon students and called teachers—yet officials do not trust them and students do not trust them; this does the schools no good. Can one hope to establish the teacher's way under such conditions? Scholars in remote prefectures and small towns have little to see or hear; fathers and elder brothers guide their sons without genuine intent to pursue learning; among teachers and friends they cannot distinguish orthodoxy from heterodoxy—then how can worthy talent descend from heaven or spring from earth? What reason is there to expect it? For the present, prefects and magistrates should seek men accomplished in the Classics and upright in conduct who have completed their virtue, honor them personally as teachers, and seek them with utmost sincerity—when their moral influence spreads, others may be moved and inspired. Next, seek those of nearly correct conduct who do not shock custom with the bizarre, who firmly uphold the classical meanings and teachers' doctrines of earlier Confucians and dare not advance reckless theories, whom people respect and who are not mere village flatterers—when invited, have their books recited for students to study until the words enter the ear and fix in the heart, rectifying the foundation; then one day they too may bear fruit. Next, take those who came to the capital on district presentation and returned after failing—their discourse and literary skill can still stir people, unlike those with no solid foundation.' In the sixth year he was appointed Attendant Draftsman of the Hanlin Academy and concurrently Compiler of the National History Office. Renzong once sighed to those around him, 'Confucian scholars have all been employed—only Yu Bosheng has not yet been prominently promoted.' But the emperor died suddenly before he could be promoted.
13
英宗即位，拜住為相，頗超用賢俊，時集以憂還江南，拜住不知也。 乃言於上，遣使求之於蜀，不見； 求之江西，又不見； 集方省墓吳中，使至，受命趨朝，則拜住不及見矣。 泰定初，考試禮部，言於同列曰：「國家科目之法，諸經傳注各有所主者，將以一道德、同風俗，非欲使學者專門擅業，如近代五經學究之固陋也。 聖經深遠，非一人之見可盡，試藝之文，推其高者取之，不必先有主意。 若先定主意，則求賢之心狹，而差自此始矣。」 後再為考官，率持是說，故所取每稱得人。
When Emperor Yingzong took the throne, Bayiju became chief councilor and promoted many worthy men; Ji had returned to Jiangnan to mourn, and Bayiju did not know where he was. He told the emperor and sent envoys to seek Ji in Shu, but did not find him; they sought him in Jiangxi and again did not find him; Ji was visiting family graves in Wu; when the envoy arrived he obeyed the summons and hurried to court, but Bayiju died before they could meet. At the beginning of Taiding he served as examiner for the Ministry of Rites and told his colleagues, 'The examination system, with each classic and commentary having its appointed interpretation, aims to unify moral teaching and harmonize custom—not to make scholars specialize narrowly, like the pedantic Five Classics tutors of recent times. The sacred classics are profound; no single view can exhaust them. In examination essays, select the best—there is no need to decide in advance. If examiners fix their opinions beforehand, the search for talent narrows, and error begins there.' Later, when he again served as examiner, he generally held to this view, and those he selected were praised as the right men.
14
泰定初，除國子司業，遷秘書少監。 天子幸上都，以講臣多高年，命集與集賢侍讀學士王結執經以從，自是歲嘗在行。 經筵之制，取經史中切於心德治道者，用國語、漢文兩進讀，潤譯之際，患夫陳聖學者未易於盡其要，指時務者尤難於極其情，每選一時精於其學者為之，猶數日乃成一篇，集為反覆古今名物之辨以通之，然後得以無忤，其辭之所達，萬不及一，則未嘗不退而竊嘆焉。 拜翰林直學士，俄兼國子祭酒。 嘗因講罷，論京師恃東南運糧為實，竭民力以航不測，非所以寬遠人而因地利也。 與同列進曰：「京師之東，瀕海數千里，北極遼海，南濱青、齊，萑葦之場也，海潮日至，淤為沃壤，用浙人之法，築堤捍水為田，聽富民欲得官者，合其眾分授以地，官定其畔以為限，能以萬夫耕者，授以萬夫之田，為萬夫之長，千夫、百夫亦如之，察其惰者而易之。 一年，勿徵也； 二年，勿徵也； 三年，視其成，以地之高下，定額於朝廷，以次漸征之； 五年，有積蓄，命以官，就所儲給以祿； 十年，佩之符印，得以傳子孫，如軍官之法。 則東面民兵數万，可以近衛京師，外禦島夷； 遠寬東南海運，以紓疲民； 遂富民得官之志，而獲其用； 江海遊食盜賊之類，皆有所歸。」 議定於中，說者以為一有此制，則執事者必以賄成，而不可為矣。 事遂寢。 其后海口萬戶之設，大略宗之。
At the beginning of Taiding he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Imperial University and then Vice Director of the Secretariat. When the emperor visited the Upper Capital, many lecturing ministers being elderly, he ordered Ji and Wang Jie, Reader of the Academy of Assembled Worthies, to hold the classics and accompany him; thereafter they traveled with the court each year. The classic lecture system drew from the classics and histories passages relevant to moral cultivation and governance, read in both Mongolian and Chinese. In polishing the translations, those expounding sage learning could not easily convey the essentials, and those addressing current affairs found it especially hard to capture the full truth. Each time they chose one expert scholar, yet several days were still needed for one piece. Ji would clarify distinctions of names and things past and present until the text cohered—but of what the words truly conveyed, scarcely a fraction came through, and he would withdraw and sigh in private. He was appointed Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy and soon also Chancellor of the Imperial University. Once after a lecture he argued that the capital's reliance on grain transport from the southeast exhausted the people's strength on uncertain seas—not the way to ease distant regions and use local resources. He submitted with his colleagues: 'East of the capital, along thousands of li of coast from Liaodong to Qing and Qi, lie reed marshes where daily tides deposit fertile silt. Using Zhe methods, build dikes to reclaim fields. Let wealthy men who seek office gather followers and divide land among them, with officials fixing boundaries. Whoever farms with ten thousand men receives that much land and becomes chief of ten thousand; chiefs of a thousand and a hundred are appointed likewise, and the idle are replaced. For the first year, levy no taxes; for the second year, levy none; in the third year, assess the yield, fix quotas for the court by land quality, and levy taxes gradually; in the fifth year, when stores accumulate, grant office and pay salaries from the harvest; in the tenth year, grant tally and seal, heritable by sons and grandsons, as with military officers. Then tens of thousands of eastern militia could guard the capital nearby and defend against island raiders; greatly ease southeast sea transport and relieve the exhausted populace; thereby fulfill wealthy men's desire for office and gain their service; and wandering laborers, thieves, and such of rivers and seas would all have a place to settle.' The plan was settled at court, but critics said that once this system existed, officials would surely complete it through bribes, and it could not be done. The matter was shelved. Later the establishment of the Haikou myriarchate followed this plan in broad outline.
15
文宗在潛邸，已知集名，既即位，命集仍兼經筵。 嘗以先世墳墓在吳、越者，歲久湮沒，乞一郡自便，帝曰； 「爾材何不堪，顧今未可去爾。」 除奎章閣侍書學士。 時關中大饑，民枕籍而死，有方數百里無孑遺者，帝問集何以救關中，對曰：「承平日久，人情宴安，有誌之士，急於近效，則怨讟興焉。 不幸大災之餘，正君子為治作新之機也，若遣一二有仁術、知民事者，稍寬其禁令，使得有所為，隨郡縣擇可用之人，因舊民所在，定城郭，修閭里，治溝洫，限畎畝，薄徵斂，招其傷殘老弱，漸以其力治之，則遠去而來歸者漸至，春耕秋斂，皆有所助，一二歲間，勿徵勿徭，封域既正，友望相濟，四面而至者，均齊方一，截然有法，則三代之民，將見出於空虛之野矣。」 帝稱善。 因進曰：「幸假臣一郡，試以此法行之，三五年間，必有以報朝廷者。」 左右有曰：「虞伯生欲以此去爾。」 遂罷其議。 有敕諸兼職不過三，免國子祭酒。
When Wenzong was still heir apparent he already knew Ji's reputation; once enthroned he ordered Ji to continue in the classic lectures. Once, because ancestral graves in Wu and Yue had long been lost, he asked for a prefecture for his convenience. The emperor said: 'What office is beyond your talent? Only that I cannot let you go now.' He was appointed Academician-Scribe of the Kuizhang Pavilion. At that time Guanzhong suffered severe famine; people died piled upon one another, and in places hundreds of li square not a soul survived. The emperor asked how to save Guanzhong. Ji replied, 'After long peace people grow complacent; men of purpose, eager for quick results, provoke resentment and slander. After such disaster, this is precisely when gentlemen may renew governance. Send one or two men skilled in humane administration who understand the people's needs, ease prohibitions slightly so they may act, select capable men in each prefecture and county, resettle people where they once lived, rebuild towns and neighborhoods, repair irrigation, limit fields, lighten taxes, and gather the wounded, elderly, and weak—gradually restoring order with their own labor—then refugees will gradually return. Spring planting and autumn harvest will receive support. For a year or two levy no taxes and impose no corvée. Once boundaries are set and mutual aid established, arrivals from all sides will be organized under clear law—then the people of the Three Dynasties may emerge again from empty wilderness.' The emperor praised the plan. He added, 'Please grant me one prefecture to try this method; within three to five years I will have results to report to the court.' Those around the emperor said, 'Yu Bosheng wants to use this to leave court.' The proposal was dropped. An edict limited concurrent posts to three; he was relieved of the Chancellorship of the Imperial University.
16
時宗籓暌隔，功臣汰侈，政教未立，帝將策士於廷，集被命為讀卷官，乃擬制策以進，首以「勸親親，體群臣，同一風俗，協和萬邦」為問，帝不用。 集以入侍燕閒，無益時政，且媢嫉者多，乃與大學士忽都魯都兒迷失等進曰：「陛下出獨見，建奎章閣，覽書籍，置學士員，以備顧問。 臣等備員，殊無補報，竊恐有累聖德，乞容臣等辭職。」 帝曰：「昔我祖宗，睿智聰明，其於致理之道，生而知之，朕早歲跋涉難阻，視我祖宗，既乏生知之明，於國家治體，豈能周知？ 故立奎章閣，置學士員，以祖宗明訓、古昔治亂得失，日陳於前，卿等其悉所學，以輔朕志。 若軍國機務，自有省院台任之，非卿等責也。 其勿復辭。」
At the time imperial clans were estranged, meritorious ministers extravagant, and governance unsettled. The emperor was to examine scholars at court; Ji was appointed reader of papers and drafted policy questions, leading with 'Encourage kinship affection, embody all ministers, unify customs, and harmonize the myriad states'—the emperor did not adopt them. Ji felt that attending leisurely banquets did not help current policy, and many were jealous of him. He advanced with Grand Academician Qutlugh Durmish and others, 'Your Majesty, acting on your own insight, established the Kuizhang Pavilion, perused books, and placed academicians as advisers. We fill these posts but have nothing to offer in return; we fear we burden Your sagely virtue and beg permission to resign.' The emperor said, 'My ancestors were wise and intelligent and knew governance from birth. I struggled through hardship in my youth; compared with them I lack innate wisdom—how could I thoroughly understand the state's governing structure? Therefore I established the Kuizhang Pavilion and placed academicians, so that the ancestors' clear instructions and the lessons of order and disorder in antiquity are set before me daily. Apply all you have learned to assist my purpose. Military and state affairs are the responsibility of the Secretariat, Censorate, and Bureau—not yours. Do not resign again.'
17
有旨採輯本朝典故，仿唐、宋《會要》，修《經世大典》，命集與中書平章政事趙世延同任總裁。 集言：「禮部尚書馬祖常，多聞舊章，國子司業楊宗瑞，素有歷像地理記問度數之學，可共領典； 翰林修撰謝端、應奉蘇天爵、太常李好文、國子助教陳旅、前詹事院照磨宋纟茲、通事舍人王士點，俱有見聞，可助撰錄。 庶幾是書早成。」 帝以嘗命修遼、金、宋三史，未見成績，《大典》令閣學士專率其屬為之。 既而以累朝故事有未備者，請以翰林國史院修祖宗實錄時百司所具事蹟參訂。 翰林院臣言於帝曰：「實錄，法不得傳於外，則事蹟亦不當示人。」 又請以國書《脫卜赤顏》增修太祖以來事蹟，承旨塔失海牙曰：「《脫卜赤顏》非可令外人傳者。」 遂皆已。 俄世延歸，集專領其事，再閱歲，書乃成，凡八百帙。 既上進，以目疾丐解職，不允，乃舉治書侍御史馬祖常自代，不報。
An order was issued to gather dynastic precedents, following the Tang and Song Institutes, to compile the Great Compendium for Governing the Age; Ji and Administrative Councilor Zhao Shiyan were appointed joint chief editors. Ji said, 'Minister of Rites Ma Zuchang is widely versed in old regulations; Vice Chancellor Yang Zongrui has long mastered calendrical astronomy, geography, and measures—they may jointly direct the compilation; Hanlin Compiler Xie Duan, Attendant Su Tianjue, Court of Imperial Sacrifices Li Haowen, University Assistant Instructor Chen Lü, former Registrar Song Zi of the Household of the Heir Apparent, and Imperial Translator Wang Shidian—all have relevant knowledge and may assist in compilation. Perhaps the work may be completed sooner.' The emperor, having once ordered the histories of Liao, Jin, and Song without results, ordered pavilion academicians alone to lead their staffs on the Great Compendium. Later, because precedents of successive reigns were incomplete, he asked to use records furnished by the hundred offices when the Hanlin National History Office compiled the ancestors' veritable records. Hanlin officials told the emperor, 'Veritable records may not by law be transmitted outside; therefore those records should not be shown to others either.' He also asked to use the national book Secret History of the Mongols to augment records from Taizu onward. Academician-in-Chief Tashihaya said, 'The Secret History may not be transmitted to outsiders.' Both requests were denied. Before long Shiyan returned home; Ji directed the work alone, and after two more years the book was completed—eight hundred fascicles in all. After submission he asked to resign because of eye disease; the request was denied. He recommended Investigating Censor Ma Zuchang to replace him; no reply came.
18
御史中丞趙世安乘間為集請曰：「虞伯生久居京師，甚貧，又病目，幸假一外任，便醫。」 帝怒曰：「一虞伯生，汝輩不容耶！」 帝方向用文學，以集弘才博識，無施不宜，一時大典冊咸出其手，故重聽其去。 集每承詔有所述作，必以帝王之道、治忽之故，從容諷切，冀有感悟，承顧問及古今政治得失，尤委曲盡言，或隨事規諫，出不語人。 諫或不入，歸家悒悒不樂。 家人見其然，不敢問其故也。 時世家子孫以才名進用者眾，患其知遇日隆，每思有以間之。 既不效，則相與摘集文辭，指為譏訕，賴天子察知有自，故不能中傷，然集遇其人，未嘗少變。 一日，命集草制封乳母夫為營都王，使貴近阿榮、颭颭傳旨。 二人者素忌集，繆言制封營國公，集具稿，俄丞相自榻前來索制甚急，集以稿進，丞相愕然問故，集知為所紿，即請易稿以進，終不自言，二人者愧之。 其雅量類如此。
Censor-in-Chief Zhao Shi'an seized an opportunity to request for Ji, 'Yu Bosheng has long lived in the capital, is very poor, and suffers from eye disease; please grant him an outside post for medical treatment.' The emperor angrily said, 'One Yu Bosheng—you people cannot tolerate him!' The emperor was then inclined to employ literary talent; Ji's great learning fit every need, and all major compendia of the time came from his hand—therefore he would not let him go. Whenever Ji received orders to compose, he invariably addressed the way of emperors and kings and the causes of rise and fall, gently admonishing in hope of awakening understanding. When consulted on political gains and losses past and present, he spoke with particular thoroughness, or admonished as occasions arose—yet never spoke of it to others afterward. When his admonitions were not heeded he returned home displeased and unhappy. His family, seeing him thus, did not dare ask why. At the time many descendants of great families advanced through literary reputation; they resented his rising favor and constantly sought ways to set him at odds. When that failed they picked phrases from Ji's writings and called them satirical; the emperor perceived their motive, so they could not harm him—but when Ji met such people he never changed his manner. One day he ordered Ji to draft an edict enfeoffing the wet-nurse's husband as Prince of Yingdu, sending the intimate favorites Arong and Zhazha to convey the order. The two had long resented Ji and falsely said the edict made him Duke of Ying State. Ji prepared the draft; soon the chief councilor came urgently from the imperial couch seeking the edict. Ji submitted it; the councilor was startled and asked why. Ji knew he had been deceived and at once asked to revise and resubmit the draft, but never spoke of it himself. The two were ashamed. His generous forbearance was generally of this sort.
19
論薦人材，必先器識，心所未善，不為牢籠以沽譽； 評議文章，不折之於至當不止，其詭於經者，文雖善，不與也。 雖以此二者忤物速謗，終不為動。 光人龔伯璲，以才俊為馬祖常所喜，祖常為御史中丞，伯遂遊其門，祖常亟稱之，欲集為薦引，集不可，曰：「是子雖小有才，然非遠器，亦恐不得令終。」 祖常猶未以為然。 一日，邀集過其家，設宴，酒半，出薦牘求集署，集固拒之，祖常不樂而罷。 文宗崩，集在告，欲謀南還，弗果。 幼君崩，大臣將立妥歡帖穆爾太子，用至大故事，召諸老臣赴上都議政，集在召列。 祖常使人告之曰：「御史有言。」 乃謝病歸臨川。
In recommending talent he always put capacity and insight first; those not to his liking he would not cultivate for reputation; in critiquing essays he did not stop until they reached utmost propriety; those heterodox toward the classics, however good the writing, he would not approve. Though these two practices offended many and brought quick slander, he was never moved. The Guang native Gong Bojun, talented and handsome, was favored by Ma Zuchang. When Zuchang was Censor-in-Chief, Bojun frequented his house; Zuchang often praised him and wanted Ji to recommend him. Ji refused, saying, 'This man has some talent, but lacks long-term capacity; I fear he may not end well.' Zuchang still did not agree. One day he invited Ji to his home and held a banquet; halfway through the wine he produced a recommendation document asking Ji to sign. Ji firmly refused; Zuchang ended the feast displeased. When Wenzong died Ji was on leave and wished to return south; he did not succeed. When the young emperor died the great ministers were about to establish Toghon Temür as heir apparent; following the Zhida precedent they summoned senior ministers to the Upper Capital to deliberate—Ji was among those summoned. Zuchang sent someone to tell him, 'The censorate has something to say.' He then pleaded illness and returned to Linchuan.
20
初，文宗在上都，將立其子阿剌忒納答剌為皇太子，乃以妥歡帖穆爾太子乳母夫言，明宗在日，素謂太子非其子，黜之江南，驛召翰林學士承旨阿鄰帖木兒、奎章閣大學士忽都魯篤彌實書其事於《脫卜赤顏》，又召集使書詔，播告中外。 時省台諸臣，皆文宗素所信用、同功一體之人，御史亦不敢斥言其事，意在諷集速去而已。 伯璲後以用事敗，殺其身，世乃服集知人。
Earlier, when Wenzong was at the Upper Capital about to establish his son Aratnadara as crown prince, he relied on Toghon Temür's wet-nurse's husband, who said that Mingzong had always held the heir was not his son and demoted him to Jiangnan. By relay post he summoned Hanlin Academician-in-Chief Arintemür and Grand Academician Qutlugh Dormish to record the matter in the Secret History, and summoned an envoy to write the edict and proclaim it throughout the realm. At the time Secretariat and Censorate ministers were all men Wenzong had long trusted; the censorate also did not dare speak bluntly of the matter—the intent was only to hint that Ji should leave quickly. Later Bojun fell from power and was executed; the world then acknowledged Ji's judgment of character.
21
元統二年，遣使賜上尊酒、金織文錦二，召還禁林，疾作不能行，屢有敕，即家撰文，褒錫勳舊、侍臣。 有以舊詔為言者，帝不懌曰：「此我家事，豈由彼書生耶！」 至正八年五月己未，以病卒，年七十有七。 官自將仕郎十二轉為通奉大夫。 贈江西行中書省參知政事、護軍，封仁壽郡公。
In the second year of Yuantong envoys were sent with finest wine and two bolts of gold-woven brocade, summoning him back to the Forbidden Grove; illness prevented travel. Repeated edicts ordered him to compose at home, praising meritorious elders and attending ministers. When someone cited an old edict the emperor displeasedly said, 'This is my family's affair—how could it be for that bookish fellow!' In the eighth year of Zhizheng, on the jiwei day of the fifth month, he died of illness at the age of seventy-seven. In office he rose through twelve ranks from Gentleman for Merit to Grand Master for Court Audience. Posthumously granted Vice Governor of the Jiangxi Branch Secretariat and Defender of the Army, enfeoffed as Duke of Renshou Commandery.
22
集孝友，方二親以故家令德，中遭亂亡，僑寓下邑，左右承順無違。 弟槃，早卒，教育其孤，無異己子。 兄採，以筦庫輸賦京師，虧數千緡，盡力營貸代償之，無難色。 撫庶弟，嫁孤妹，具有恩意。 山林之士知古學者，必折節下之，接後進，雖少且賤，如敵己。 當權門赫奕，未嘗有所附麗。 集議中書，正言讜論，多見容受，屢以片言解疑誤，出人於濱死，亦不以為德。 張珪、趙世延尤敬禮之，有所疑必諮焉。
Ji was filial and friendly. When both parents, a family of old virtue, met mid-course chaos and exile, they settled in a small town; he attended them in compliance without offense. His younger brother Pan died early; he educated Pan's orphan no differently from his own sons. His elder brother Cai, through granary duties paying taxes to the capital, was short several thousand strings of cash; Ji exhausted himself raising loans to repay it without showing reluctance. He nurtured a younger half-brother and married off an orphaned sister with full kindness. Scholars in reclusion who knew ancient learning—he invariably honored them; receiving juniors, though young and humble, he treated them as equals. When powerful houses blazed in splendor he never attached himself to any. When Ji deliberated at the Secretariat his upright counsel was often accepted; he repeatedly resolved doubts with a single phrase and saved people from the brink of death, yet did not regard this as merit. Zhang Gui and Zhao Shiyan especially honored him; whenever they had doubts they consulted him.
23
家素貧，歸老後食指益眾，登門之士相望於道，好事爭起邸舍以待之。 然碑板之文，未嘗苟作。 南昌富民有伍真父者，貲產甲一方，娶諸王女為妻，充本位下郡總管。 既卒，其子屬豐城士甘愨求集文銘父墓，奉中統鈔五百錠準禮物，集不許，愨愧嘆而去。 其束脩羔雁之入，還以為賓客費，雖空乏弗卹也。
His family was always poor; after retiring mouths to feed grew ever more numerous; scholars calling at his door stretched along the road, and enthusiasts vied to erect lodges to receive him. Yet he never carelessly composed stele inscriptions. Among Nanchang's wealthy was Wu Zhenfu, whose assets ranked first in the region; he married a princess's daughter and served as circuit prefect under his princely house. After he died his son asked the Fengcheng scholar Gan Que to seek Ji's writing for his father's tomb inscription, presenting five hundred bars of Zhongtong paper money as customary gift. Ji refused; Que left in shame and sighing. Teacher's gifts he received he spent on entertaining guests; though impoverished he did not stint.
24
集學雖博洽，而究極本原，研精探微，心解神契，其經緯彌綸之妙，一寓諸文，藹然慶曆乾淳風烈。 嘗以江左先賢甚眾，其人皆未易知，其學皆未易言，後生晚進知者鮮矣，欲取太原元好問《中州集》遺意，別為《南州集》以表章之，以病目而止。 平生為文萬篇，稿存者十二三。 早歲與弟槃同辟書舍為二室，左室書陶淵明詩於壁，題曰陶庵，右室書邵堯夫詩，題曰邵庵，故世稱邵庵先生。
Ji's learning, though broad, pursued ultimate origins and probed the subtle with mind and spirit in accord; the subtlety of his comprehensive vision lodged entirely in his writings, gently redolent of the Qingli and Chunxi style. He once held that worthy men of the Jiangzuo region were numerous—their persons hard to know, their learning hard to describe—and that later generations knew few of them. He wished to follow Yuan Haowen's Central Plains Collection and compile a Southern Regions Collection to honor them, but stopped because of eye disease. In life he wrote ten thousand pieces; only one or two in ten of his drafts survive. In his youth he and his younger brother Pan built a study with two rooms; the left bore Tao Yuanming's poetry on the wall and was called Tao Hermitage, the right bore Shao Yong's poetry and was called Shao Hermitage—hence the world called him Master of Shao Hermitage.
25
子四人，安民，以廕歷官知吉州路安福州。 遊其門見稱許者，莆田陳旅，旅亦有文行世。 國學諸生若蘇天爵、王守誠輩，終身不名他師，皆當世稱名卿者。 其交遊尤厚者，曰範梈。
He had four sons; Anmin, through hereditary privilege, rose to prefect of Anfu Prefecture in Jizhou Circuit. Among his students who won praise was Chen Lü of Putian, whose writings also circulated widely. University students such as Su Tianjue and Wang Shoucheng never acknowledged another teacher all their lives—all became famed ministers of the age. His closest friend was Fan Zhi.
26
槃字仲常，延祐五年第進士，授吉安永豐丞。 丁父憂。 除湘鄉州判官，頗稱癖古。 有富民殺人，使隸己者坐之，上下皆阿從，槃獨不署，殺人者卒不免死，而坐者得以不冤。 有巫至其州，稱神降，告其人曰：「某方火。」 即火。 又曰：「明日某方火。」 民以火告者，槃皆赴救，至達晝夜，告者數十，寢食盡廢，縣長吏以下皆迎巫至家，厚禮之。 又曰：「將有大水，且兵至。」 州大家皆盡室逃。 槃得劫火卒一人，訊之，盡得巫黨所為，坐捕盜司。 召巫至，鞫之，無敢施鞭棰者，槃謂卒曰：「此將為大亂，安有神乎！」 急治之，盡得黨與數十人，羅絡內外，果將為變者。 同僚皆不敢出視，曰：「君自為之。」 槃用斷巫併其黨如法，一時吏民始服儒者為政若此。 秩滿，除嘉魚縣尹，槃已卒。
Pan, styled Zhongchang, passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Yanyou and was appointed assistant magistrate of Yongfeng in Ji'an. He mourned his father. He was appointed vice-prefect of Xiangxiang Prefecture and was known as a lover of antiquity. A wealthy man committed murder and made his servant take the blame; officials above and below all went along, but Pan alone refused to sign. The murderer was executed in the end, and the scapegoat was spared injustice. A shaman came to his prefecture claiming a spirit had descended and told a man, 'Such-and-such place will burn.' It immediately burned. He said again, 'Tomorrow such-and-such place will burn.' Whenever people reported fires Pan rushed to rescue them, continuing day and night; dozens reported and he abandoned sleep and food. County magistrates and below all welcomed the shaman home and honored him lavishly. He said again, 'There will be great floods, and troops will arrive.' Great families of the prefecture fled with their entire households. Pan captured a soldier who had set fires by robbery; upon interrogation he learned the shaman's faction was responsible, and the case was sent to the Office for Capturing Bandits. He summoned the shaman for examination; none dared apply the whip. Pan told the soldiers, 'This will become great disorder—how could there be spirits!' He tried the case urgently and uncovered dozens of accomplices networked inside and out who truly intended rebellion. Colleagues all refused to get involved, saying, 'Handle it yourself.' Pan sentenced the shaman and his faction according to law; officials and people then first acknowledged that a Confucian could govern thus. When his term ended he was appointed magistrate of Jiayu County, but Pan had already died.
27
槃幼時，嘗讀柳子厚《非國語》，以為《國語》誠可非，而柳子之說亦非也，著《非非國語》，時人已歎其有識。 《詩》、《書》、《春秋》皆有論著，而《春秋》乃其家學，故尤善。 讀吳澄所解諸經義，輒得其旨趣所在，澄亟稱之。 兄集接方外士，必扣擊其說，嘗以為聖人之教不明，為學者無所底止，苟於吾道異端疑似之間不能深知，而欲竊究夫性命原、死生之故，其不折而歸之者寡矣。 槃不然，聞諸僧在坐，輒不入竟去，其為人方正有如此，雖集亦嚴憚之。 然不幸年不及艾而卒。
As a youth Pan read Liu Zongyuan's Against the Discourses of the States, holding that the Discourses could indeed be criticized, yet Liu's argument was also wrong; he wrote Against Against the Discourses of the States, and contemporaries already admired his discernment. He wrote treatises on the Poetry, Documents, and Spring and Autumn Annals; the Spring and Autumn was his family's specialty, and he was especially accomplished in it. Reading Wu Cheng's explications of the classics, he at once grasped their purport; Cheng frequently praised him. His elder brother Ji received men outside the orthodox fold and invariably probed their doctrines, holding that the sages' teaching was unclear and scholars had nowhere to anchor themselves; if one cannot deeply distinguish our Way from similar heterodoxies yet wishes secretly to investigate the origins of nature and fate and the causes of life and death, few will not be led astray. Pan was not so; hearing monks were present he would not enter and left at once. He was thus upright; even Ji held him in strict regard. Yet unhappily he died before reaching fifty.
28
範梈，字亨父，一字德機，清江人。 家貧，早孤，母熊氏守志不他適，長而教之。 梈天資穎異，所誦讀，輒記憶，雖癯然清寒若不勝衣，於流俗中克自樹立，無苟賤意。 居則固窮守節，竭力以養親，出則假陰陽之技，以給旅食，耽詩工文，用力精深，人罕知者。 年三十六，始客京師，即有聲諸公間，中丞董士選延之家塾。 以朝臣薦，為翰林院編修官。 秩滿，御史臺擢海南海北道廉訪司照磨，巡歷遐僻，不憚風波瘴癘，所至興學教民，雪理冤滯甚眾。 遷江西湖東，長吏素稱嚴明，於僚屬中獨敬異之。 選充翰林應奉。 御史臺又改擢福建閩海道知事。 閩俗素污，文繡局取良家子為繡工，無別尤甚，梈作歌詩一篇述其弊，廉訪使取以上聞，皆罷遣之，其弊遂革。 未幾，移疾歸故里。 天歷二年，授湖南嶺北道廉訪司經歷，以養親辭。 是歲，母喪。 明年十月，亦以疾卒，年五十九。 所著詩文多傳於世。
Fan Zhi, styled Xingfu, also known as Deji, came from Qingjiang. His family was poor and he was orphaned early. His mother, of the Xiong clan, kept her widowhood and did not remarry; when he grew she taught him. Zhi was extraordinarily quick-witted; whatever he read he remembered at once. Though lean and plainly poor as if his clothes might slip from him, amid vulgar society he held himself upright without base or servile intent. At home he held fast in poverty and kept his integrity, exhausting himself to support his parents; abroad he used yin-yang arts to earn travel and food, devoted to poetry and skilled in prose with deep refinement—few knew him. At thirty-six he first went to the capital and at once won reputation among senior officials; Vice Censor-in-Chief Dong Shixuan invited him to his family school. Recommended by a court minister, he became compiler of the Hanlin Academy. When his term ended the Censorate promoted him to registrar of the Hainan and Haibei Circuit Integrity Office; touring remote regions he did not fear wind, waves, or miasma. Wherever he went he established schools and taught the people, clearing many stuck wrongs. He was transferred to Hugan in Jiangxi; the chief official, known for severity, among subordinates alone honored him as extraordinary. He was selected to serve as Hanlin Attendant. The Censorate again promoted him to Intendant of the Minhai Circuit in Fujian. Fujian custom was corrupt; the Brocade Office took sons of good families as embroiderers without distinction—a severe abuse. Zhi composed a poem describing it; the integrity commissioner reported upward, and all were dismissed; the abuse was reformed. Before long he pleaded illness and returned home. In the second year of Tianli he was appointed administrator of the Hunan and Lingbei Circuit Integrity Office but declined to care for his parents. That year his mother died. In the tenth month of the following year he also died of illness at the age of fifty-nine. His poetry and prose circulated widely.
29
梈持身廉正，居官不可干以私，疏食飲水，泊如也。 吳澄以道學自任，少許可，嘗曰：「若亨父，可謂特立獨行之士矣。」 為文志其墓，以東漢諸君子擬之。
Zhi maintained himself with integrity; in office he could not be approached for private ends; coarse food and water sufficed, and he was placid. Wu Cheng took Neo-Confucian learning upon himself and rarely approved anyone; he once said, 'Xingfu may be called a man who stands alone and acts independently.' He wrote his tomb inscription, comparing him to the gentlemen of the Eastern Han.
30
○揭傒斯
○ Jie Xisi
31
揭傒斯，字曼碩，龍興富州人。 父來成，宋鄉貢進士。 傒斯幼貧，讀書尤刻苦，晝夜不少懈，父子自為師友，由是貫通百氏，早有文名。 大德間，稍出遊湘、漢，湖南帥趙淇，雅號知人，見之驚曰：「他日翰苑名流也。」 程鉅夫、盧摯，先後為湖南憲長，咸器重之，鉅夫因妻以從妹。 延祐初，鉅夫、摯列薦於朝，特授翰林國史院編修官。 時平章李孟監修國史，讀其所撰《功臣列傳》，歎曰：「是方可名史筆，若他人，直謄吏牘爾。」 升應奉翰林文字，仍兼編修，遷國子助教，复留為應奉。 南歸省母，旋復召還。 傒斯凡三入翰林，朝廷之事，臺閣之儀，靡不閒習，集賢學士王約謂：「與傒斯談治道，大起人意，授之以政，當無施不可。」
Jie Xisi, whose style was Manshuo, came from Fuzhou in Longxing. His father Laicheng was a Song presenter of tribute from the districts. Xisi was poor in youth and read with especial diligence, day and night without slackening; father and son were teacher and friend to each other, thereby mastering the hundred schools and gaining literary fame early. During the Dade era he traveled to Xiang and Han; Hunan commander Zhao Qi, famed for knowing men, seeing him exclaimed, 'One day a luminary of the Hanlin Grove!' Cheng Jufu and Lu Zhi successively served as Hunan censorial chiefs and all deeply valued him; Jufu gave him his younger cousin in marriage. At the beginning of Yanyou Jufu and Zhi jointly recommended him to court; he was specially appointed compiler of the Hanlin National History Office. At the time Administrative Councilor Li Meng supervised compilation of the national history; reading Xisi's Biographies of Meritorious Ministers he sighed, 'Only this may be called historian's brushwork; others merely copy clerks' documents.' He was promoted to Hanlin Attendant for Documents, still concurrently compiler; transferred to University Assistant Instructor, then again retained as Attendant. He returned south to visit his mother and was soon summoned back. Xisi entered the Hanlin three times and was well practiced in court affairs and censorate ritual. Academician Wang Yue said, 'Talking governance with Xisi greatly stirs the mind; grant him office and there should be nothing he cannot do.'
32
天歷初，開奎章閣，首擢為授經郎，以教勳戚大臣子孫。 文宗時幸閣中，有所諮訪，奏對稱旨，恆以字呼之而不名。 每中書奏用儒臣，必問曰：「其材何如揭曼碩？」 間出所上《太平政要策》以示台臣，曰：「此朕授經郎揭曼碩所進也。」 其見親重如此。
At the beginning of Tianli the Kuizhang Pavilion was opened; he was first elevated to Lecturer of the Classics to teach the sons of meritorious kin and great ministers. Wenzong often visited the pavilion for consultation; his replies accorded with the emperor's intent, and the emperor constantly called him by style without using his name. Whenever the Secretariat memorialized to employ Confucian ministers he invariably asked, 'How does his talent compare with Jie Manshuo?' From time to time he produced the Essential Policies for Great Peace that Xisi had submitted and showed censorial ministers, saying, 'This was submitted by my Lecturer of the Classics Jie Manshuo.' Such was the favor he received.
33
富州地不產金，官府惑於奸民之言，為募淘金戶三百，而以其人總之，散往他郡，採金以獻，歲課自四兩累增至四十九兩。 其人既死，而三百戶所存無甚一，又貧不聊生，有司遂責民之受役於官者代輸，民多以是破產。 中書因傒斯言，遂蠲其徵，民賴以蘇，富州人至今德之。
Fuzhou's land did not produce gold, but officials were deluded by treacherous people's words and recruited three hundred gold-panning households under one overseer, dispersed to other prefectures to gather gold for tribute, the annual levy rising from four taels to forty-nine. When that overseer died scarcely one of the three hundred households remained, and they were too poor to live; officials then charged corvée laborers to pay in their stead, and many families were ruined. The Secretariat, because of Xisi's words, remitted the levy; the people revived, and the people of Fuzhou honor him to this day.
34
與修《經世大典》，文宗取其所撰《憲典》讀之，顧謂近臣曰：「此豈非《唐律》乎！」 特授藝文監丞，參檢校書籍事，且屢稱其純實，欲進用之，會文宗崩而止。 元統初，詔對便殿，慰諭良久，命賜以諸王所服表裡各一，躬自辯識以授之。 適翰林待制，升集賢學士，階中順大夫。 先是，儒學官赴吏部銓者，必移集賢，考較其所業，集賢下國子監，監下博士，吏文淹稽，動逾累月。 傒斯請更其法，以事付本院屬官，人甚便之。
He participated in compiling the Great Compendium for Governing the Age; Wenzong read his Constitutional Canon and, turning to nearby ministers, said, 'Is this not the Tang Code!' He was specially appointed Deputy Director of the Bureau of Arts and Letters, participating in inspection of books; he was repeatedly praised as pure and solid, and the emperor wished to advance him—but Wenzong died before this could happen. At the beginning of Yuantong he was summoned to the informal hall; the emperor consoled him at length and granted one outer and inner garment each as princes wore, personally selecting and bestowing them. He was made Attendant Draftsman of the Hanlin Academy, promoted to Academician of the Academy of Assembled Worthies, rank Grand Master for Court Order. Earlier, Confucian officials who went to the Ministry of Personnel for selection had to be transferred to the Academy of Assembled Worthies for evaluation; the Academy sent them to the Imperial University, the University to erudites—clerical delays often exceeded many months. Xisi requested to change this method, entrusting matters to subordinate officials of his bureau; people found it very convenient.
35
奉旨祠北岳、濟瀆、南鎮，便道西還，時秦王伯顏當國，屢促其還，傒斯引疾固辭。 既而天子親擢為奎章閣供奉學士，乃即日就道，未至，改翰林直學士，及開經筵，再升侍講學士、同知經筵事，以對品進階中奉大夫。 時新格超升不越二等，獨傒斯進四等，轉九階，蓋異數也。 經筵無專官，曰領曰知，多宰執大臣，故微辭奧義，必屬傒斯訂定而後進，其言往往寓獻替之誠，務以裨益治道。 天子嘉其忠懇，數出金織文段以賜。
By imperial order he sacrificed at Mount Heng, the Ji and Du rivers, and the Southern Marchmount, returning west by convenient route. At the time Prince of Qin Bayan held power and repeatedly urged his return; Xisi pleaded illness and firmly declined. Before long the emperor personally elevated him to Offering Academician of the Kuizhang Pavilion; he set out the same day. Before arriving he was made Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy; when classic lectures opened he was promoted to Academician-Expounder and Associate Director of Classic Lectures, advancing to Grand Master for Court Service. At the time new regulations limited extraordinary promotion to two grades; Xisi alone advanced four grades, nine steps—an exceptional favor. Classic lectures had no dedicated office—titles were 'director' and 'associate'—mostly held by chief councilors; therefore subtle words and profound meanings had to be revised by Xisi before submission. His words often lodged sincere counsel, striving to benefit governance. The emperor praised his loyal earnestness and repeatedly granted gold-woven brocade.
36
至正三年，年七十，致其事而去，詔遣使追及於漷南。 尋复奉上尊諭旨，還撰《明宗神御殿碑》，文成，賜楮幣萬緡、白金五十兩，中宮賜白金亦如之。 求去，不許，命丞相脫脫及執政大臣面諭毋行，傒斯曰：「使揭傒斯有一得之獻，諸公用其言而天下蒙其利，雖死於此，何恨！ 不然，何益之有！」 丞相因問：「方今政治何先？」 傒斯曰：「儲材為先，養之於位望未隆之時，而用之於周密庶務之後，則無失材廢事之患矣。」 一日，集議朝堂，傒斯抗言：「當兼行新舊銅錢，以救鈔法之弊。」 執政言不可，傒斯持之益力，丞相雖稱其不阿，而竟莫行其言也。
In the third year of Zhizheng, at seventy, he resigned and left; an edict sent envoys to overtake him south of the capital. Soon he received imperial instruction to return and compose the Stele for Emperor Mingzong's Spirit Hall; when finished he was granted ten thousand strings of paper money and fifty taels of silver; the empress granted silver likewise. He sought to leave but was not permitted; Chief Councilor Toghto and senior ministers were ordered to tell him face to face not to go. Xisi said, 'If I had one useful counsel and you all used it so the realm benefited—even if I died here, what regret! Otherwise, what benefit would there be!' The chief councilor then asked, 'In present governance, what comes first?' Xisi said, 'Storing talent comes first—nurturing them before rank and reputation are lofty, and employing them after they have mastered comprehensive affairs—then there will be no worry of losing talent or abandoning business.' One day at court deliberation Xisi spoke forthrightly, 'We ought to employ new and old copper cash concurrently to rescue the abuses of paper money.' The administrators said it could not be done; Xisi argued ever more forcefully. Though the chief councilor praised him for not flattering, in the end his proposal was not adopted.
37
詔修遼、金、宋三史，傒斯與為總裁官，丞相問：「修史以何為本？」 曰：「用人為本，有學問文章而不知史事者，不可與； 有學問文章知史事而心術不正者，不可與。 用人之道，又當以心術為本也。」 且與僚屬言：「欲求作史之法，須求作史之意。 古人作史，雖小善必錄，小惡必記。 不然，何以示懲勸！」 由是顏然以筆削自任，凡政事得失，人材賢否，一律以是非之公。 至於物論之不齊，必反覆辨論，以求歸於至當而後止。 四年，《遼史》成，有旨獎諭，仍督早成金、宋二史。 傒斯留宿史館，朝夕不敢休，因得寒疾，七日卒。 時方有使者至自上京，錫宴史局，以傒斯故，改宴日。 使者以聞，帝為嗟悼，賜楮幣萬緡，仍給驛舟，護送其喪歸江南。 六年，制贈護軍，追封豫章郡公，諡曰文安。 有勳爵而無官階者，有司失之也。
An edict ordered compilation of the histories of Liao, Jin, and Song; Xisi served as chief editor. The chief councilor asked, 'In compiling history, what is fundamental?' He said, 'Employing people is fundamental. Those with learning and literary skill who do not know historical affairs may not be given the task; those with learning, literary skill, and knowledge of historical affairs but whose character is not upright may not be given it. In employing people, character must again be fundamental.' Moreover he told subordinates, 'To seek the method of writing history, you must seek the intent of writing history. The ancients writing history recorded even small good deeds and noted even small evils. Otherwise, how could one display punishment and encouragement!' Thereby he visibly took editorial responsibility upon himself; in all gains and losses of government and worthiness of personnel, he uniformly applied the public standard of right and wrong. When popular opinion was divided, he invariably debated back and forth until utmost propriety was reached. In the fourth year the History of Liao was completed; an order commended the work and still urged early completion of the Jin and Song histories. Xisi lodged overnight in the History Office, morning and evening not daring to rest; he contracted a cold illness and died in seven days. At the time an envoy had just arrived from the Upper Capital to grant a feast to the History Bureau; because of Xisi the feast day was changed. The envoy reported upward; the emperor mourned, granted ten thousand strings of paper money, and provided relay boats to escort his coffin home to Jiangnan. In the sixth year an order posthumously granted Defender of the Army, enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Yuzhang Commandery, with the temple name Wen'an. To have meritorious rank without official grade was an error of the responsible offices.
38
傒斯少處窮約，事親菽水粗具而必得其歡心，既有祿入，衣食稍逾於前，輒愀然曰：「吾親未嘗享是也。」 故平生清儉，至老不渝。 友於兄弟，終始無間言。 立朝雖居散地，而急於薦士，揚人之善惟恐不及，而聞吏之貪墨病民者，則尤不曲為之掩覆也。 為文章，敘事嚴整，語簡而當； 詩尤清婉麗密； 善楷書、行、草。 朝廷大典冊及元勳茂德當得銘辭者，必以命焉。 殊方絕域，咸慕其名，得其文者，莫不以為榮云。
Xisi in youth lived in poverty; serving his parents, plain food and water sufficed yet he invariably won their affection. Once he had salary, when food and clothing slightly exceeded what they had known he would look sorrowful and say, 'My parents never enjoyed this.' Therefore he lived pure and frugal to the end of his days. He was friendly with his brothers; from beginning to end there was no estrangement. Though at court he held a loose post, he was eager to recommend scholars and promote others' virtues as much as he could; yet when he heard of corrupt clerks harming the people, he especially would not cover for them. In prose his narrative was strict and orderly, his language concise and apt; his poetry especially clear, gentle, and refined; he was skilled in regular, running, and cursive script. For great court compendia and meritorious elders deserving inscription texts, he was invariably entrusted with the task. Remote regions all admired his name; those who obtained his writings regarded it as an honor.
39
○黃鳷
○ Huang Jin
40
黃溍，字晉卿，婺州義烏人。 母童氏，夢大星墜於懷，乃有娠，歷二十四月始生溍。 溍生而俊異，比成童，授以書詩，不一月成誦。 迨長，以文名於四方。 中延祐二年進士第，授台州寧海丞。 縣地瀕鹽場，亭戶恃其不統於有司，肆毒害民； 編戶隸漕司及財賦府者，亦謂各有所憑，橫暴尤甚。 溍皆痛繩以法，吏以利害白，弗顧也。 民有後母與僧通而ＣＧ殺其父者，反誣民所為，獄將成，溍變衣冠陰察之，具知其奸偽，卒直其冤。 惡少年名在盜籍者，而謀為劫奪，未行，邑大姓執之，圖中賞格。 初無獲財左驗，事久不決，溍為之疏剔，以其獄上，論之如本條，免死者十餘人。
Huang Jin, whose style was Jinqing, came from Yiwu in Wuzhou. His mother, of the Tong clan, dreamed a great star fell into her bosom and conceived; after twenty-four months Jin was born. Jin was born handsome and unusual; when he reached boyhood they taught him books and poetry, and in less than a month he could recite them. When he grew he was famed for literature throughout the realm. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Yanyou and was appointed assistant magistrate of Ninghai in Taizhou. The county bordered salt works; saltern households, not under regular officials, wantonly harmed the people; registered households under the transport commission and revenue bureau also claimed backing, and their violence was especially severe. Jin sternly punished them all by law; clerks warned of consequences, but he paid no heed. A man's stepmother, having relations with a monk, together killed his father, then falsely accused the son. The case was about to close when Jin investigated in disguise, fully uncovered the fraud, and righted the son's wrong. Wicked youths on the bandit register plotted robbery but had not acted; a great clan of the district seized them, aiming at the reward. At first there was no proof of seized property; the matter long went unresolved. Jin clarified the case, submitted it upward, and judged according to the statute, sparing more than ten from death.
41
遷兩浙都轉運鹽使司石堰西場監運，改諸既州判官。 巡海官舸，例以三載一新，費出於官，而責足於民。 有餘，則總其事者私焉。 溍撙節浮蠹，以餘錢還民，歡呼而去。 奸民以偽鈔鉤結黨與，脅攘人財，官若吏聽其謀，挾往新昌、天台、寧海、東陽諸縣，株連所及數百家，民受禍至慘。 郡府下溍鞫治，溍一問，皆引伏，官吏除名，同謀者各杖遣之。 有盜係於錢唐縣獄，遊民賂獄吏私縱之，假署文牒，發其來為嚮導，逮捕二十餘家。 溍訪得其情，以正盜宜傅重議，持偽文書來者又非州民，俱械還錢唐，誣者自明。
He was transferred to transport supervisor of the Shiyan West Field of the Liang-Zhe Salt Transport Commission, then made vice-prefect of Zhuji Prefecture. Coast-guard vessels by precedent were renewed every three years; costs came from the government but full payment was charged to the people. Surplus funds were kept privately by those in charge. Jin cut wasteful corruption and returned surplus money to the people, who cheered as they departed. Criminals used counterfeit notes to form gangs and extort wealth; officials followed their schemes, carrying cases to Xinchang, Tiantai, Ninghai, Dongyang, and other counties; hundreds of families were implicated and the people's suffering was extreme. The prefectural government sent Jin to try the case; with one question all confessed; officials were dismissed and accomplices beaten and sent away. A bandit was held in Qiantang County jail; a vagrant bribed jail clerks to release him, forged documents, used him as a guide, and seized more than twenty households. Jin investigated and learned the truth: the true bandit deserved heavy sentence, while those with forged documents were not natives of the prefecture—all were returned to Qiantang in custody, and the falsely accused were cleared.
42
入為應奉翰林文字、同知制誥，兼國史院編修官，轉國子博士。 視弟子如朋交，未始以師道自尊，輕納人拜，而來學者滋益恭，業成而仕，皆有聞於世。 時欲增設禮殿配位四，配位合東坐而西向，學官或議分置於左右，同列不敢爭，氵晉獨面折之，事乃止。 出為江浙等處儒學提舉。 溍年始六十七，不俟引年，亟上納祿侍親之請，絕江徑歸。 俄以秘書少監致仕，未幾，落致仕，除翰林直學士、知制誥同修國史。 尋兼經筵官，執經進講者三十有二，帝嘉其忠，數出金織紋段賜之。 升侍講學士、知制誥同修國史、同知經筵事。 階自將仕郎七轉至中奉大夫。 几上章求歸，不俟報而行，帝聞之，遣使者追還京師，復為前官。 久之，始得謝南還，優游田里間，凡七年，卒於繡湖之私第，年八十一。 贈中奉大夫、江西等處行中書省參知政事、護軍，追封江夏郡公，諡曰文獻。
He entered court as Hanlin Attendant for Documents and Associate Director of Edicts, concurrently Compiler of the National History Office, then became University Erudite. He regarded disciples as friends, never elevating himself as a teacher or lightly accepting bows; yet students grew ever more respectful, and when they entered office all gained reputation in the world. At the time they wished to add four associated seats in the ritual hall, which should sit east facing west. Some school officials debated placing them left and right; colleagues did not dare dispute, but Jin alone confronted them and the matter stopped. He was made Confucian Education Intendant for Jiang-Zhe and other regions. Jin was only sixty-seven and did not wait for retirement age; he urgently requested to surrender his salary and care for his parents, crossed the river, and went straight home. Soon he retired as Vice Director of the Secretariat; before long retirement was revoked and he was appointed Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy, Director of Edicts, and concurrent Compiler of the National History. Soon he also served in the classic lectures, lecturing thirty-two times; the emperor praised his loyalty and repeatedly granted gold-woven brocade. He was promoted to Academician-Expounder, Director of Edicts, concurrent Compiler of the National History, and Associate Director of Classic Lectures. His rank rose through seven steps from Gentleman for Merit to Grand Master for Court Service. Several times he memorialized seeking to return and departed without awaiting reply; when the emperor heard he sent envoys to bring him back to the capital and restored his former offices. After long delay he obtained leave to return south and lived leisurely in the countryside for seven years; he died at his private residence by Embroidered Lake at the age of eighty-one. Posthumously granted Grand Master for Court Service, Vice Governor of the Jiangxi Branch Secretariat, and Defender of the Army; enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Jiangxia Commandery with the temple name Wenxian.
43
溍天資介特，在州縣唯以清白為治，月俸弗給，每鬻產以佐其費。 及升朝行，挺立無所附，足不登巨公勢人之門，君子稱其清風高節，如冰壺玉尺，纖塵弗污。 然剛中少容，觸物或弦急霆震，若未易涯涘，一旋踵間，煦如陽春。 溍之學，博極天下之書，而約之於至精，剖析經史疑難，及古今因革制度名物之屬，旁引曲證，多先儒所未發。 文辭佈置謹嚴，援據精切，俯仰雍容，不大聲色，譬之澄湖不波，一碧萬頃，魚鱉蛟龍，潛伏不動，而淵然之光，自不可犯。 所著書，有《日損齋稿》三十三卷、《義烏志》七卷、《筆記》一卷。
Jin was upright by nature; in prefectures and counties he governed solely with integrity, his salary insufficient, and he often sold property to cover his expenses. When he rose to court he stood erect without attaching to anyone and never entered the gates of great lords; gentlemen praised his pure integrity, like an ice jug or jade measure unstained by dust. Yet he was firm and impatient; encountering provocation he could be sudden as thunder, yet in the next moment warm as spring sun. Jin's learning ranged across books throughout the realm yet condensed them to utmost refinement; analyzing difficulties in classics and histories and matters of institutions and names past and present, with wide citation—much that earlier Confucians had not brought forth. His prose was arranged with strict care, citations precise, bearing composed and easy without loud display—like a clear lake without waves, ten thousand acres of blue-green, fish and dragons lurking unmoving, yet its deep light could not be violated. His works include Drafts from the Daily Loss Studio in thirty-three fascicles, Gazetteer of Yiwu in seven fascicles, and Notes in one fascicle.
44
同郡柳貫、吳萊，皆浦陽人。 貫字道傳，器局凝定，端嚴若神。 嘗受性理之學於蘭溪金履祥，必見諸躬行，自幼至老，好學不倦。 凡《六經》、百氏、兵刑、律曆、數術、方技、異教外書，靡所不通。 作文沉鬱舂容，涵肆演迤，人多傳誦之。 始用察舉為江山縣儒學教諭，仕至翰林待制。 與溍及臨川虞集、豫章揭傒斯齊名，人號為儒林四傑。 所著書，有文集四十卷、《字系》二卷、《近思錄廣輯》三卷、《金石竹帛遺文》十卷。 年七十三卒。
Liu Guan and Wu Lai of the same commandery were both from Puyang. Guan, styled Daochuan, had a settled bearing, dignified as if divine. He studied Neo-Confucian learning with Jin Lüxiang of Lanxi and invariably put it into practice; from youth to old age he loved learning without weariness. The Six Classics, the hundred schools, military law, calendars, numerology, arts, and foreign heterodox texts—none was beyond his knowledge. His essays were deep, somber, and harmonious, expansive and flowing; many transmitted and recited them. He first entered through recommendation as Confucian instructor of Jiangshan County and rose to Hanlin Attendant Draftsman. He was famed equally with Jin, Yu Ji of Linchuan, and Jie Xisi of Yuzhang; people called them the Four Heroes of the Confucian Grove. His works include collected writings in forty fascicles, Genealogy of Characters in two fascicles, Expanded Compilation of Reflections on Things Near in three fascicles, and Surviving Texts on Metal, Stone, Bamboo, and Silk in ten fascicles. He died at the age of seventy-three.
45
萊字立夫，集賢大學士直方之子也，輩行稍後於貫、溍。 天資絕人，七歲能屬文，凡書一經目，輒成誦，嘗往族父家，日易《漢書》一帙以去，族父迫扣之，萊瑯然而誦，不遺一字，三易他編，皆如之，眾驚以為神。 延祐七年，以《春秋》舉上禮部，不利，退居深裊山中，益窮諸書奧旨，著《尚書標說》六卷、《春秋世變圖》二卷、《春秋傳授譜》一卷、《古職方錄》八卷、《孟子弟子列傳》二卷、《楚漢正聲》二卷、《樂府類編》一百卷、《唐律刪要》三十卷、文集六十卷。 他如《詩傳科條》、《春秋經說》、《胡氏傳證誤》，皆未脫稿。
Lai, styled Lifu, was son of Academician-in-Chief Zhifang of the Academy of Assembled Worthies; his generation was slightly junior to Guan and Jin. His talent surpassed others; at seven he could compose essays. Whatever book he glanced at he memorized. Once visiting a clansman's home he borrowed one fascicle of the Book of Han daily; the clansman tested him and Lai recited it without missing a character. Three times he changed sections—all the same—and onlookers marveled as if he were divine. In the seventh year of Yanyou he was presented to the Ministry of Rites on the Spring and Autumn Annals but failed; he retired to deep mountains, further mastering the subtle purport of all books, and authored Expository Marks on the Documents, Charts of Changes through the Ages in the Spring and Autumn, Genealogy of Transmission of the Spring and Autumn, Record of Ancient Regional Offices, Biographies of Mencius's Disciples, Correct Sounds of Chu and Han, Classified Compilation of Music Bureau Poems in one hundred fascicles, Abridged Essentials of Tang Lyric Rules in thirty fascicles, and collected works in sixty fascicles. Others such as Sections of the Poetry Commentary, Expositions on the Spring and Autumn Classic, and Corrections of Errors in the Hu Clan Commentary—all remained unfinished.
46
萊尤喜論文，嘗云：「作文如用兵，兵法有正有奇，正是法度，要部伍分明，奇是不為法度所縛，舉眼之頃，千變萬化，坐作進退擊刺，一時俱起，及其欲止，什伍各還其隊，元不曾亂。」 聞者服之。 貫平生極慎許與，每稱萊為絕世之才。 溍晚年謂人曰：「萊之文，嶄絕雄深，類秦、漢間人所作，實非今世之士也。 吾縱操觚一世，又安敢及之哉！」 其為前輩所推許如此。 萊以御史薦，調長薌書院山長，未上，卒，年僅四十有四，君子惜之。 私諡曰淵穎先生。
Lai especially loved discussing essays and once said, 'Composing essays is like employing troops. Military method has orthodox and unorthodox forms—orthodox is regulation, requiring ranks clearly distinguished; unorthodox is not bound by regulation. In the blink of an eye come endless changes—sitting, rising, advancing, retreating, striking, thrusting—all rise at once; when one wishes to stop, each squad returns to its place, never disordered.' Those who heard were convinced. Guan in life was extremely cautious in granting approval, yet always called Lai talent of a vanished age. Jin in his later years said, 'Lai's writings are towering, heroic, and deep, resembling work of the Qin and Han era—truly not a scholar of this age. Though I have wielded the brush all my life, how would I dare compare with him!' Such was the esteem in which his elders held him. Lai was recommended by a censor and appointed mountain chief of Changxiang Academy, but before assuming office he died at only forty-four; gentlemen regretted his loss. His private posthumous title was Master Yuanying.