1
前世宦者之禍嘗烈矣，元之初興，非能有鑑乎古者，然歷十有餘世，考其亂亡之所由，而初不自閹人出，何哉？ 蓋自太祖選貴臣子弟給事內廷，凡飲食、冠服、書記，上所常御者，各以其職典之，而命四大功臣世為之長，號四怯薛。 故天子前後左右，皆世家大臣及其子孫之生而貴者，而宦官之擅權竊政者不得有為於其間。 雖或有之，然不旋踵而遂敗。 此其詒謀，可謂度越前代者矣。 如李邦寧者，以亡國閹豎，遭遇世祖，進齒薦紳，遂躋極品，然其言亦有可稱者焉。 至於樸不花，乃東夷之人，始以西宮同里，因緣柄用，遂與權奸同惡相濟，訖底於誅戮，則固有以致之也。 用特著之於篇。
In earlier dynasties, eunuchs had repeatedly brought ruin on the state. When the Yuan dynasty first rose, its founders surely knew that history — yet across more than ten reigns, if one traces the causes of chaos and collapse, at first those troubles did not spring from palace eunuchs. How was this so? The reason lay in Taizu’s policy: he chose sons of eminent ministers to serve in the inner court. Everything the emperor routinely used — food and drink, caps and robes, written records — was kept by men assigned to those duties, while four great founding ministers and their descendants were made permanent chiefs of the establishment, known as the Four Kheshig. Thus the men at the emperor’s side, before and behind, left and right, were scions of great ministerial houses born to rank — and eunuchs who might seize power and meddle in government had no room to act. When such men did appear, they were crushed almost at once. In foresight for later ages, this arrangement truly went beyond anything earlier dynasties had done. Li Bangning, for example, was a eunuch of a fallen kingdom who won favor under Shizu, rose among the scholar-officials, and climbed to the highest ranks — yet some of what he said still deserves respect. Po Buhua, by contrast, came from the eastern borderlands. He had grown up in the same hometown as the empress of the Western Palace; through that connection he gained power, then joined forces with corrupt ministers until he was put to death — a fate he had largely brought on himself. For these reasons they are given special treatment in this chapter.
2
帝嘗奉皇太后燕大安閣，閣中有故篋，問邦寧曰：「此何篋也？」 對曰：「此世祖貯裘帶者。 臣聞有聖訓曰：'藏此以遺子孫，使見吾樸儉，可為華侈之戒。 '」帝命發篋視之，歎曰：「非卿言，朕安知之。」 時有宗王在側，遽曰：「世祖雖神聖，然嗇於財。」 邦寧曰：「不然。 世祖一言，無不為後世法； 一予奪，無不當功罪。 且天下所入雖富，苟用不節，必致匱乏。 自先朝以來，歲賦已不足用，又數會宗籓，資費無算，旦暮不給，必將橫斂掊怨，豈美事耶。」 太后及帝深然其言。 俄加大司徒、尚服院使，遙授丞相，行大司農，領太醫院事，階金紫光祿大夫。
Once, while hosting the empress dowager at a feast in the Great Peace Pavilion, the emperor noticed an old chest in the hall and asked Bangning, "What is this chest?" Bangning answered, "That is the chest in which Shizu kept his fur robes and belts. I have heard that he left a sacred instruction: 'Keep these for our descendants, so they may see how plain and frugal I was — let it warn them against luxury and excess.' The emperor had the chest opened and sighed. "If you had not told me, how would I ever have known?" A prince standing nearby blurted out, "Shizu may have been a sage, but he was miserly with money." Bangning replied, "That is not so. Every word Shizu spoke became a model for later generations; every reward or punishment matched true merit and fault. Besides, however rich the empire’s income, spending without restraint would soon drain the treasury. Since the previous reign, annual revenue has already fallen short, and repeated gatherings of the imperial clan have cost sums beyond counting. If income cannot meet daily needs, harsh levies will breed popular resentment — is that anything to admire?" The empress dowager and the emperor were both deeply impressed. Soon afterward he was promoted to Grand Minister of Agriculture and made head of the Imperial Wardrobe Office, given the nominal title of chancellor while acting as Grand Minister of Revenue and supervising the Imperial Medical Office, with the rank of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness bearing the golden seal and purple ribbon.
3
太廟舊嘗遣官行事，至是復欲如之，邦寧諫曰：「先朝非不欲親致饗祀，誠以疾廢禮耳。 今陛下繼成之初，正宜開彰孝道，以率先天下，躬祀太室，以成一代之典。 循習故弊，非臣所知也。」 帝稱善。 即日備法駕，宿齋宮，且命邦寧為大禮使。 禮成，加恩三代：曾祖頤，贈銀青光祿大夫、司徒，諡敬懿； 祖德懋，贈儀同三司、大司徒，諡忠獻； 父捴，贈太保、開府儀同三司，諡文穆。
It had been customary to send officials to perform sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the court now wished to resume that practice. Bangning remonstrated: "The previous emperor did not refuse to sacrifice in person — he was prevented by illness. Your Majesty has only just succeeded to the throne — this is the moment to display filial devotion and set an example for the realm by sacrificing in person in the Grand Chamber, establishing the ritual standard of your reign. To cling to an old bad habit is not, in my view, the right course." The emperor approved. That same day he prepared the imperial procession, spent the night in the fasting palace, and appointed Bangning grand ritual commissioner. When the ceremony was finished, honors were extended three generations back: his great-grandfather Yi was posthumously made Silver Splendid Happiness Grand Master and Minister of Education, with the posthumous title Reverent and Excellent; his grandfather Demao was given equal protocol with the Three Excellencies and the title Grand Minister of Education, posthumously styled Loyal and Offering; and his father Cong was made Grand Guardian with the privilege of an office equal in protocol to the Three Excellencies, posthumously titled Cultured and Solemn.
4
仁宗即位，以邦寧舊臣，賜鈔千錠，辭弗受。 國學將釋奠，敕遣邦寧致祭於文宣王。 點視畢，至位立，殿戶方辟，忽大風起，殿上及兩廡燭盡滅，燭台底鐵鐏入地尺，無不拔者，邦寧悚息伏地，諸執事者皆伏。 良久風定，乃成禮，邦寧因慚悔累日。
When Renzong came to the throne, he granted Bangning a thousand ingots of paper money as a former servant of the house, but Bangning refused the gift. When the National Academy was to hold its libation ceremony for Confucius, the emperor ordered Bangning to perform the sacrifice to King Wenxuan. After the inspection was complete he took his place; the hall doors had just opened when a violent wind sprang up. Every candle in the main hall and side corridors went out, and the iron sockets of the stands were driven a foot into the floor — not one remained upright. Bangning lay trembling on the ground, and all the officiants did the same. Only after the wind died down could the rite be completed. Bangning was ashamed and troubled for days afterward.
5
初，仁宗為皇太子，丞相三寶奴等用事，畏仁宗英明，邦寧揣知其意，言於武宗曰：「陛下富於春秋，皇子漸長，父作子述，古之道也。 未聞有子而立弟者。」 武宗不悅曰：「朕志已定，汝自往東宮言之。」 邦寧慚懼而退。 仁宗即位，左右咸請誅之，仁宗曰：「帝王歷數，自有天命，其言何足介懷。」 加邦寧開府儀同三司，為集賢院大學士。 以疾卒。
Earlier, when Renzong was crown prince, Chancellor Sanbaonu and his faction held power and feared the prince’s ability. Bangning guessed their intent and said to Wuzong: "Your Majesty is still in the prime of life, and the prince is growing up. For the father to rule and the son to follow is the ancient way. One never hears of passing the throne to a younger brother while the son still lives." Wuzong was displeased. "My mind is made up. Go tell the Eastern Palace yourself." Bangning withdrew in shame and fear. When Renzong succeeded, his attendants all urged that Bangning be put to death. Renzong said, "The imperial succession rests on Heaven’s mandate — why should I trouble myself over what he said?" Instead he promoted Bangning to the privilege of an office equal in protocol to the Three Excellencies and made him grand academician of the Hall of Gathered Talents. He later died of illness.
6
樸不花，高麗人，亦曰王不花。 皇后奇氏微時，與不花同鄉里，相為依倚。 及選為宮人，有寵，遂為第二皇后，居興聖宮，生皇太子愛猷識理達臘。 於是不花以閹人入事皇后者有年，皇后愛幸之，情意甚膠固，累遷官至榮祿大夫、資正院使。 資正院者，皇后之財賦悉隸焉。
Po Buhua — also known as Wang Buhua — was from Goryeo. In her early days Empress Qi came from the same hometown as Buhua, and the two relied on each other. After she entered the palace and won favor, she became second empress, lived in the Palace of Sagely Origin, and bore the crown prince Ayurshiridara. Buhua had then served the empress for years as a eunuch. She favored him deeply, and their bond was very close. Through repeated promotions he rose to Grand Master for Glorious Happiness and commissioner of the Rectification of Resources Office. That office controlled all of the empress’s revenues and property.
7
至正十八年，京師大饑疫，時河南北、山東郡縣皆被兵，民之老幼男女，避居聚京師，以故死者相枕藉。 不花欲要譽一時，請於帝，市地收瘞之，帝賜鈔七千錠，中宮及興聖、隆福兩宮，皇太子、皇太子妃，賜金銀及他物有差，省院施者無算； 不花出玉帶一、金帶一、銀二錠、米三十四斛、麥六斛、青貂銀鼠裘各一襲以為費。 擇地自南北兩城抵盧溝橋，掘深及泉，男女異壙，人以一屍至者，隨給以鈔，舁負相踵。 既覆土，就萬安壽慶寺建無遮大會。 至二十年四月，前後瘞者二十萬，用鈔二萬七千九十餘錠、米五百六十餘石。 又於大悲寺修水陸大會三晝夜，凡居民病者予之藥，不能喪者給之棺。 翰林學士承旨張翥為文頌其事，曰《善惠之碑》。
In the eighteenth year of Zhizheng, famine and plague struck the capital. Fighting had ravaged counties across Henan, north of the Yellow River, and Shandong, and refugees of every age and sex crowded into Dadu until the dead lay stacked upon one another. Seeking a moment’s fame, Buhua asked the emperor to buy land for mass burial. The emperor gave seven thousand ingots of paper money; the central palace, the palaces of Sagely Origin and Longevity and Blessings, the crown prince and his consort each contributed gold, silver, and other goods in varying amounts; and the central and provincial offices gave without limit. Buhua himself supplied one jade belt, one gold belt, two ingots of silver, thirty-four hu of rice, six hu of wheat, and one blue-sable and one silver-rat fur robe as his share of the cost. Land was chosen from the southern and northern quarters of the city to the Lugou Bridge. Graves were dug down to the water table, with separate plots for men and women. Anyone who brought a corpse was paid in paper money on the spot, and bearers came in an unbroken stream. After the burials, a universal Buddhist assembly was held at the Ten Thousand Peace Longevity Celebration Temple. By the fourth month of the twentieth year, two hundred thousand bodies had been interred, at a cost of more than twenty-seven thousand ingots of paper money and more than five hundred and sixty shi of rice. He also held a three-day water-and-land Buddhist ceremony at the Great Compassion Temple, distributed medicine to the sick, and gave coffins to those who could not afford burial. Hanlin Academician-in-Chief Zhang Zhu wrote a commemorative text titled "The Stele of Good Grace" (Shanhui zhi bei).
8
於是帝在位久，而皇太子春秋日盛，軍國之事，皆其所臨決。 皇后乃謀內禪皇太子，而使不花喻意於丞相太平，太平不答。 二十年，太平乃罷去，而獨搠思監為丞相。 時帝益厭政，不花乘間用事，與搠思監相為表裡，四方警報、將臣功狀，皆抑而不聞，內外解體。 然根株盤固，氣焰薰灼，內外百官趨附之者十九。 又宣政院使脫歡，與之同惡相濟，為國大蠹。
By then the emperor had reigned many years, while the crown prince was coming of age and already decided most military and civil affairs. The empress then plotted to abdicate in favor of the crown prince and sent Buhua to sound out Chancellor Taiping, who gave no answer. In the twentieth year Taiping was finally removed, leaving Bodashirin as sole chancellor. The emperor grew ever more weary of governing. Buhua seized the chance to rule through him, working hand in glove with Bodashirin. Reports of danger from every quarter and accounts of generals’ achievements were suppressed, and the government fell apart inside and out. Yet their power was deeply rooted and their arrogance blazed; nine officials in ten, inside and outside the court, flocked to their side. Tohuan, commissioner of the Bureau for the Propagation of Governance, joined their conspiracy and became a great plague on the realm.
9
二十三年，監察御史也先帖木兒、孟也先不花、傅公讓等乃劾奏樸不花、脫歡奸邪，當屏黜。 御史大夫老的沙以其事聞，皇太子執不下，而皇后庇之尤固，御史乃皆坐左遷。 治書侍御史陳祖仁，連上皇太子書切諫之，而台臣大小皆辭職，皇太子乃為言於帝，令二人皆辭退。 而祖仁言猶不已，又上皇帝書言：「二人亂階禍本，今不芟除，後必不利。 漢、唐季世，其禍皆起此輩，而權臣、籓鎮乘之。 故千尋之木，吞舟之魚，其腐敗必由於內，陛下誠思之，可為寒心。 臣願俯從臺諫之言，將二人特加擯斥，不令以辭退為名，成其奸計。 海內皆知陛下信賞必罰，自此二人始，將士孰不效力，寇賊亦皆喪膽，天下可全，而有以還祖宗之舊。 若優柔不斷，彼惡日盈，將不可製。 臣寧餓死於家，誓不與同朝，牽聯及禍。」 語具《陳祖仁傳》。 會侍御史李國鳳亦上書皇太子，言：「不花驕恣無上，招權納賂，奔競之徒，皆出其門，駸駸有趙高、張讓、田令孜之風，漸不可長，眾人所共知之，獨主上與殿下未之知耳。 自古宦者，近君親上，使少得志，未有不為國家禍者。 望殿下思履霜堅冰之戒，早賜奏聞，投之西夷，以快眾心，則紀綱可振。 紀綱振，則天下之公論為可畏，法度為不可犯，政治修而百廢舉矣。」 由是帝大怒，國鳳、祖仁等亦皆左遷。
In the twenty-third year, investigating censors Yesian Timur, Meng Yesian Buhua, Fu Gongrang, and others memorialized the throne, charging Po Buhua and Tohuan with corruption and demanding their removal. Censor-in-chief Laodasha reported the matter, but the crown prince withheld the memorial. The empress shielded the accused all the more stubbornly, and every censor involved was demoted. Supervising secretary censor Chen Zuren sent the crown prince letter after letter of sharp remonstrance. Censors great and small resigned en masse, and the crown prince finally persuaded the emperor to have both men step down. Chen Zuren would not be silenced. He wrote again to the emperor: "These two are the root of disorder. If they are not cut down now, disaster will follow. At the end of the Han and Tang dynasties, ruin began with men like these, and powerful ministers and regional warlords took advantage. A tree a thousand fathoms tall and a fish that can swallow a boat rot from within — Your Majesty should ponder this; it is enough to chill the heart. I beg Your Majesty to heed the censors and explicitly expel these two men — not let them resign on their own terms and thus complete their scheme. If the realm sees that Your Majesty rewards the loyal and punishes the wicked, beginning with these two, which soldier will not fight his hardest? Rebels will lose heart, the empire can be saved, and the house can be restored to its former glory. If Your Majesty hesitates, their evil will grow daily until it can no longer be checked. I would rather starve at home than serve in the same court with them and be swept into their ruin." The full text appears in the biography of Chen Zuren (Chen Zuren zhuan). At the same time, attending censor Li Guofeng wrote to the crown prince: "Buhua is insolent beyond measure, sells offices and takes bribes, and every schemer in the capital passes through his door. He increasingly resembles Zhao Gao, Zhang Rang, and Tian Lingzi. Everyone knows this — only Your Majesty and Your Highness seem not to. Throughout history, eunuchs who win the ruler’s ear while still young have never failed to bring disaster on the state. I urge Your Highness to remember the proverb about frost underfoot and ice ahead — report to the emperor at once, banish him to the western marches to satisfy public outrage, and the laws can be restored. When discipline is restored, public opinion will again command respect, the law will again be inviolable, government will function, and every neglected task can be taken up again." The emperor was furious, and Li Guofeng, Chen Zuren, and the others were all demoted.
10
時老的沙執其事頗力，皇太子因惡之，而皇后又譖之於內，帝以老的沙母舅故，封為雍王，遣歸國。 已而復以不花為集賢大學士、崇正院使，皇后之力也。 老的沙至大同，遂留孛羅帖木兒軍中。 是時，搠思監、樸不花方倚擴廓帖木兒為外援，怨孛羅帖木兒匿老的沙不遣，遂誣孛羅帖木兒與老的沙謀不軌。 二十四年，詔削其官，使解兵柄歸四川。 孛羅帖木兒知不出帝意，皆搠思監、樸不花所為，怒不奉詔。 宗王不顏帖木兒等為表言其誣枉，而朝廷亦畏其強不可製，復下詔數搠思監、樸不花互相壅蔽簧惑主聽之罪，屏搠思監於嶺北，竄樸不花於甘肅，以快眾憤，而復孛羅帖木兒官爵。 然搠思監、樸不花皆留京城，實未嘗行。 未幾，孛羅帖木兒遣禿堅帖木兒以兵向闕，聲言清君側之惡。 四月十二日，駐於清河，帝遣達達國師問故，往復者數四，言必得搠思監、樸不花乃退兵。 帝度其勢不可解，不得已，執兩人畀之，其兵乃退。 樸不花遂為孛羅帖木兒所殺。 事具搠思監、孛羅帖木兒傳。
Laodasha had pressed the case vigorously, and the crown prince came to dislike him. The empress slandered him within the palace, but because he was the emperor’s uncle on the mother’s side, he was enfeoffed as Prince of Yong and sent home. Before long, however, Buhua was reappointed grand academician of the Hall of Gathered Talents and commissioner of the Office for the Veneration of Rectitude — thanks to the empress’s influence. Laodasha reached Datong and stayed with Boluo Timur’s army. Bodashirin and Po Buhua were then counting on Köke Temür as their outside ally. Angry that Boluo Timur was sheltering Laodasha, they accused Boluo Timur and Laodasha of plotting rebellion. In the twenty-fourth year an edict stripped Boluo Timur of his offices and ordered him to lay down command and return to Sichuan. Boluo Timur knew the order did not reflect the emperor’s true will but came from Bodashirin and Po Buhua, and he refused to obey. Prince Buyan Timur and others memorialized that Boluo Timur had been framed. The court also feared his power. A new edict listed Bodashirin’s and Po Buhua’s crimes of blocking the emperor’s ears and deceiving him, banished Bodashirin to the northern frontier, exiled Po Buhua to Gansu to appease public anger, and restored Boluo Timur’s rank. Yet Bodashirin and Po Buhua both stayed in the capital and never actually left. Soon afterward Boluo Timur sent Tujian Timur with an army toward the capital, claiming he would purge evil from the ruler’s side. On the twelfth day of the fourth month his force halted at Qinghe. The emperor sent the Dada National Preceptor to ask his purpose; after several exchanges Boluo Timur said he would withdraw only if Bodashirin and Po Buhua were handed over. Seeing no other way out, the emperor had the two men seized and delivered to him, and the army withdrew. Po Buhua was killed by Boluo Timur. The full account appears in the biographies of Bodashirin and Boluo Timur.