1
起重光赤奮若，盡強圉協洽，凡七年。
From Chongguang-chi Fenruo through Qiangyu Xietie—seven years in all.
2
1冬，十月，詔舉賢良方正直言極諫之士，上親策問以古今治道，對者百餘人。
1. In winter, the tenth month, an edict summoned worthy and upright men who spoke frankly and remonstrated without reserve. The emperor questioned them in person on how to govern, past and present. More than a hundred answered.
3
廣川董仲舒對曰：
Dong Zhongshu of Guangchuan replied:
4
:「道者，所繇適於治之路也，仁、義、禮、樂，皆其具也。 故聖王已沒，而子孫長久，安寧數百歲，此皆禮樂教化之功也。 夫人君莫不欲安存，而政亂國危者甚眾； 所任者非其人而所繇者非其道，是以政日以仆滅也。 夫周道衰於幽、厲，非道亡也，幽、厲不繇也。 至於宣王，思昔先王之德，興滯補敝，明文、武之功業，周道粲然復興，此夙夜不懈行善之所致也。
: "The Way is the path that leads to good governance. Benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and music are its instruments. When sage kings are gone, their descendants still endure—centuries of peace and security. That is the work of ritual, music, and civilizing instruction. No ruler fails to wish for safety and survival, yet countless rulers preside over disorder and a state in peril; they appoint the wrong men and follow the wrong path, and so their government daily rots away. The Zhou Way declined under You and Li—not because the Way perished, but because You and Li would not walk it. King Xuan looked back to the virtue of the former kings, revived what had stagnated and patched what was worn, and made plain the achievements of Wen and Wu. The Zhou Way blazed forth again—because he never slackened, night or day, in doing good.
5
:「孔子曰：『人能弘道，非道弘人。』 故治亂廢興在於己，非天降命，不可得反； 其所操持悖謬，失其統也。 為人君者，正心以正朝廷，正朝廷以正百官，正百官以正萬民，正萬民以正四方。 四方正，遠近莫敢不壹於正，而亡有邪氣奸其間者，是以陰陽調而風雨時，群生和而萬民殖，諸福之物，可致之祥，莫不畢至，而王道終矣！
: "Confucius said: 'Man can enlarge the Way; the Way does not enlarge man.' Whether a realm falls into order or chaos, rises or falls, depends on the ruler—not on a fate sent down from heaven that cannot be reversed; when what he holds to is perverse and wrong, he loses the root of the whole. A ruler must rectify his heart to rectify the court, rectify the court to rectify his officers, rectify his officers to rectify the people, rectify the people to rectify the four quarters. When the four quarters are set right, none far or near dares stray from the right path, and no corrupt force can slip between. Yin and yang fall into harmony, wind and rain come in season, all living things flourish, the people multiply, every blessing and auspice that can be summoned arrives—and the kingly way is fulfilled!
6
:「孔子曰：『鳳鳥不至，河不出圖，吾已矣夫！』 自悲可致此物，而身卑賤不得致也。 今陛下貴為天子，富有四海，居得致之位，操可致之勢，又有能致之資； 行高而恩厚，知明而意美，愛民而好士，可謂誼主矣。 然而天地未應而美祥莫至者，何也？ 凡以教化不立而萬民不正也。 夫萬民之從利也，如水之走下，不以教化堤防之，不能止也。 古之王者明於此，故南面而治天下，莫不以教化為大務。 立太學以教於國，設庠序以化於邑，漸民以仁，摩民以誼，節民以禮，故其刑罰甚輕而禁不犯者，教化行而習俗美也。 聖王之繼亂世也，掃除其跡而悉去之，復修教化而崇起之； 教化已明，習俗已成，子孫循之，行五六百歲尚未敗也。 秦滅先聖之道，為苟且之治，故立十四年而亡，其遺毒餘烈至今未滅，使習俗薄惡，人民嚚頑，抵冒殊扞，熟爛如此之甚者也。 竊譬之：琴瑟不調，甚者必解而更張之，乃可鼓也； 為政而不行，甚者必變而更化之，乃可理也。 故漢得天下以來，常欲治而至今不可善治者，失之於當更化而不更化也。
: "Confucius said: 'The phoenix does not come, the River does not yield the chart—I am finished!' He grieved that such things could be brought forth, yet his station was too low and humble to bring them forth. Your Majesty is exalted as Son of Heaven, master of the four seas. You hold the station from which such things may be summoned, the power by which they may be summoned, and the endowment to summon them; your conduct is lofty, your grace deep, your understanding bright, your intent fine, you love the people and honor scholars—you may truly be called a righteous sovereign. Yet heaven and earth have not answered, and no fine auspice has come—why? Because civilizing instruction has not been established, and the people have not been set right. The people chase profit as water runs downhill. Without the dikes of civilizing instruction, nothing can stop them. Kings of old understood this. Facing south to govern the realm, every one of them made civilizing instruction his foremost task. They founded the Imperial Academy to teach the capital, village schools to transform the districts—steeping the people in benevolence, polishing them in righteousness, restraining them with ritual. Punishments could stay light because no one broke the law: instruction had taken hold and custom had grown fine. When sage kings succeeded a chaotic age, they swept away its traces and cast them out, then rebuilt civilizing instruction and raised it up again; once instruction was clear and custom set, their descendants followed the same path—and five or six hundred years passed without ruin. Qin destroyed the Way of the former sages and ruled by expedient cruelty, and so within fourteen years it fell. Its poison and lingering fierceness have not died out even now—custom has grown thin and vicious, the people stupid and obstinate, striking against the law with wild defiance, rotted through to the core. I would compare it to this: when lute and zither are out of tune, at the worst one must unstring and restring them before they can be played; when government fails, at the worst one must change course and transform it anew before the realm can be governed. Since Han won the realm, it has always wanted good government yet still cannot achieve it—the fault is that when transformation was needed, no transformation came.
7
:「臣聞聖王之治天下也，少則習之學，長則材諸位，爵祿以養其德，刑罰以威其惡，故民曉於禮誼而恥犯其上。 武王行大誼，平殘賊，周公作禮樂以文之； 至於成、康之隆，囹圄空虛四十餘年。 此亦教化之漸而仁誼之流，非獨傷肌膚之效也。 至秦則不然，師申、商之法，行韓非之說，憎帝王之道，以貪狼為俗，誅名而不察實，為善者不必免而犯惡者未必刑也。 是以百官皆飾虛辭而不顧實，外有事君之禮，內有背上之心，造偽飾詐，趨利無恥，是以刑者甚眾，死者相望，而奸不息，俗化使然也。 今陛下并有天下，莫不率服，而功不加於百姓者，殆王心未加焉。 《曾子》曰：『尊其所聞，則高明矣； 行其所知，則光大矣。 高明光大，不在於他，在乎加之意而已。』 願陛下因用所聞，設誠於內而致行之，則三王何異哉！
: "I have heard that sage kings governed the realm by teaching the young, placing the grown according to talent, nourishing virtue with rank and stipend, and awing wickedness with punishment—so the people understood ritual and righteousness and were ashamed to offend their superiors. King Wu practiced great righteousness and pacified cruel rebels; the Duke of Zhou composed ritual and music to adorn the achievement; by the flourishing age of Cheng and Kang, the prisons stood empty for more than forty years. That was the gradual work of civilizing instruction and the flowing forth of benevolence and righteousness—not the fruit of flaying skin alone. Qin was otherwise. It took Shen Buhai and Shang Yang for teachers, put Han Fei's doctrines into practice, hated the way of emperors and kings, and made greed and wolfishness its custom. It punished names without examining facts—good men were not necessarily spared, evil men not necessarily punished. Officers adorned empty words and ignored reality; outwardly they observed the rites of service, inwardly they nursed rebellion. They forged lies and chased profit without shame. Punishments multiplied, the dead lined the roads, yet wickedness never ceased—custom had made it so. Your Majesty holds the whole realm; none fails to submit. Yet your achievements do not reach the people—I fear the kingly heart has not yet been fully applied. Master Zeng said: 'Honor what you have heard, and you will grow lofty and bright; act on what you know, and you will grow broad and radiant. Loftiness, brightness, breadth, and radiance depend on nothing else—only on applying your intent.' I pray Your Majesty take what you have heard and put it to use, set sincerity within and carry it out in deed—then how would you differ from the Three Kings!
8
:「夫不素養士而欲求賢，譬猶不琢玉而求文采也。 故養士之大者，莫大虖太學； 太學者，賢士之所關也，教化之本原也。 今以一郡、一國之眾對，亡應書者，是王道往往而絕也。 臣願陛下興太學，置明師，以養天下之士，數考問以盡其材，則英俊宜可得矣。 今之郡守、縣令，民之師帥，所使承流而宣化也； 故師帥不賢，則主德不宣，恩澤不流。 今吏既亡教訓於下，或不承用主上之法，暴虐百姓，與奸為市，貧窮孤弱，冤苦失職，甚不稱陛下之意； 是以陰陽錯繆，氛氣充塞，群生寡遂，黎民未濟，皆長吏不明使至於此也！
: "To seek worthy men without steadily nurturing scholars is like expecting pattern on jade without carving it. Among all ways of nurturing scholars, none is greater than the Imperial Academy; it is where worthy men are gathered and the root source of civilizing instruction. Yet set the population of a single commandery or kingdom to the examination, and none can answer the classics—the kingly way is dying out piece by piece. I pray Your Majesty raise the Imperial Academy, appoint enlightened teachers, nurture scholars across the realm, and examine them repeatedly to bring out their full talent—then outstanding men should be within reach. Today's governors and magistrates are the people's teachers and leaders, sent to carry your current of grace and proclaim your transforming intent; if those teachers and leaders are not worthy, your virtue cannot be proclaimed and your grace cannot flow. Officers below offer no instruction. Some refuse your laws, brutalize the people, trade favors with the wicked, and leave the poor, orphaned, and weak wronged and bereft of office—far from your intent; yin and yang fall out of step, foul vapors choke the air, living things rarely flourish, the people go unaided—all because chief officers are not clear and enlightened!
9
:「夫長吏多出於郎中、中郎、吏二千石子弟，選郎吏又以富訾，未必賢也。 且古所謂功者，以任官稱職為差，非謂積日累久也； 故小材雖累日，不離於小官，賢材雖未久，不害為輔佐，是以有司竭力盡知，務治其業而以赴功。 今則不然，累日以取貴，積久以致官，是以廉恥貿亂，賢不肖渾殽，未得其真。 臣愚以為使諸列侯、郡守、二千石各擇其吏民之賢者，歲貢各二人以給宿衛，且以觀大臣之能； 所貢賢者，有賞； 所貢不肖者，有罰。 夫如是，諸吏二千石皆盡心於求賢，天下之士可得而官使也。 遍得天下之賢人，則三王之盛易為，而堯、舜之名可及也。 毋以日月為功，實試賢能為上，量材而授官，錄德而定位，則廉恥殊路，賢不肖異處矣！
: "Chief officers mostly come from palace gentlemen, central attendants, and sons of two-thousand-bushel officials. Palace attendants are chosen for wealth as well—not necessarily for worth. In antiquity merit meant fulfilling one's office according to capacity—not merely piling up days in rank. Small talent might serve long years yet never leave a petty post; worthy talent might serve briefly yet still become a chief minister. Officers exhausted their effort, mastered their tasks, and strove for real achievement. Today it is otherwise: men heap up days to gain honor and years to win office. Integrity and shame are traded away, worthy and unworthy are mixed together, and the truth of a man's worth is lost. I humbly propose that every marquis, governor, and two-thousand-bushel officer select the worthy among his officers and people and present two each year for palace service—thereby testing the capacity of his superiors as well; reward those who present the worthy; punish those who present the unworthy. Then every two-thousand-bushel officer will seek the worthy with his whole heart, and scholars across the realm may be obtained and set to office. Gather the worthy of the whole realm, and the splendor of the Three Kings is easily within reach—the names of Yao and Shun are not beyond you. Do not measure merit by days and months. Test worth and ability in truth, measure talent before granting office, record virtue before fixing rank—then integrity and shame will walk separate roads, and worthy and unworthy will stand apart!
10
:「臣聞眾少成多，積小致巨，故聖人莫不以晻致明，以微致顯； 是以堯發於諸侯，舜興虖深山，非一日而顯也，蓋有漸以致之矣。 言出於己，不可塞也； 行發於身，不可掩也； 言行，治之大者，君子之所以動天地也。 故盡小者大，慎微者著； 積善在身，猶長日加益而人不知也； 積惡在身，猶火銷膏而人不見也； 此唐、虞之所以得令名而桀、紂之可為悼懼者也。
: "I have heard that the few gather into the many, the small accumulates into the great. Sages all reach brightness through what is dim, prominence through what is slight; Yao rose from among the feudal lords, Shun from deep in the mountains. Neither became glorious in a single day—they advanced by degrees. Words that leave your mouth cannot be stuffed back; conduct that issues from your person cannot be hidden; words and conduct are the great matters of governance—the means by which the noble person moves heaven and earth. exhaust the small and you become great; be careful in the minute and you become prominent; good accumulated in the person is like the long day slowly adding light while no one notices; evil accumulated in the person is like fire melting tallow while no one sees the flame; that is why Tang and Yu won fine names, and why Jie and Zhou stand as warnings to dread.
11
:「夫樂而不亂，復而不厭者，謂之道。 道者，萬世亡敝； 敝者，道之失也。 先王之道，必有偏而不起之處，故政有眊而不行，舉其偏者以補其敝而已矣。 三王之道，所祖不同，非其相反，將以救溢扶衰，所遭之變然也。 故孔子曰：『無為而治者其舜乎！』 改正朔，易服色，以順天命而已； 其餘盡循堯道，何更為哉！ 故王者有改制之名，亡變道之實。 然夏尚忠，殷尚敬，周尚文者，所繼之救當用此也。 孔子曰：『殷因於夏禮，所損益可知也； 周因於殷禮，所損益可知也； 其或繼周者，雖百世可知也。』 此言百王之用，以此三者矣。 夏因於虞，而獨不言所損益者，其道一而所上同也。 道之大原出於天，天不變，道亦不變，是以禹繼舜，舜繼堯，三聖相受而守一道，亡救敝之政也，故不言其所損益也。 繇是觀之，繼治世者其道同，繼亂世者其道變。
: "What delights without falling into disorder, repeats without growing wearisome—that is called the Way. The Way, for ten thousand generations, does not decay; decay is the loss of the Way. The Way of the former kings necessarily leaned in places and failed to rise everywhere; hence some policies grew blind and would not work. One takes what leaned and uses it to mend what decayed—that is all. The Three Kings took different ancestors for their Ways—not because those Ways opposed one another, but because each met different excesses and declines and had to answer the changes of his age. Hence Confucius said: 'He who governs without acting—is it not Shun!' He corrected the calendar and changed robe colors only to accord with heaven's mandate; everything else he followed from Yao's Way—what more needed changing! Kings may reform institutions in name, but they do not change the Way in substance. Yet Xia honored loyalty, Yin honored reverence, Zhou honored culture—each age used what its succession required to rescue excess. Confucius said: 'Yin followed Xia's ritual, and what was reduced or increased can be known; Zhou followed Yin's ritual, and what was reduced or increased can be known; whoever succeeds Zhou—even through a hundred generations, it can be known.' This means that a hundred kings may govern by these three alone. Xia followed Yu, yet alone does not speak of what was reduced or increased—their Way was one and what they elevated was the same. The great source of the Way is Heaven. Heaven does not change, and the Way does not change. Yu succeeded Shun, Shun succeeded Yao—three sages received the Way from one another and guarded a single path, with no policy of rescuing decay, and so they do not speak of reduction or increase. From this we see: he who succeeds an age of order keeps the same Way; he who succeeds an age of chaos must change it.
12
:「今漢繼大亂之後，若宜少損周之文致，用夏之忠者。 夫古之天下，亦今之天下，共是天下，以古准今，壹何不相逮之遠也！ 安所繆盭而陵夷若是？ 意者有所失於古之道與，有所詭於天之理與？
: "Han now succeeds a great age of chaos. It seems fitting to reduce somewhat Zhou's ornamental refinement and employ Xia's loyalty. The realm of antiquity is the same realm as today—we share one realm under heaven. Yet measured against antiquity, how vast the distance! Where did confusion turn and decline grow so steep? I suspect something was lost from the ancient Way, something turned perverse against heaven's principle?
13
:「夫天亦有所分予：予之齒者去其角，傅其翼者兩其足，是所受大者不得取小也。 古之所予祿者，不食於力，不動於末，是亦受大者不得取小，與天同意者也。 夫已受大，又取小，天不能足，而況人虖！ 此民之所以囂囂苦不足也。 身寵而載高位，家溫而食厚祿，因乘富貴之資力以與民爭利於下，民安能如之哉！ 民日削月朘，浸以大窮。 富者奢侈羨溢，貧者窮急愁苦； 民不樂生，安能避罪！ 此刑罰之所以蕃而奸邪不可勝者也。 天子大夫者，下民之所視效，遠方之所四面而內望也。 近者視而放之，遠者望而效之，豈可以居賢人之位而為庶人行哉！ 夫皇皇求財利，常恐乏匱者，庶人之意也； 皇皇求仁義，常恐不能化民者，大夫之意也。 《易》曰：『負且乘，致寇至。』 乘車者，君子之位也； 負擔者，小人之事也。 此言居君子之位而為庶人之行者，患禍必至也。 若居君子之位，當君子之行，則捨公儀休之相魯，無可為者矣。
: "Heaven also apportions its gifts: to those it gives teeth it removes the horns; to those it gives wings it pairs the feet—the one who receives the great may not also take the small. Those whom antiquity granted stipends did not live by manual labor or bustle in petty trades—they too might not take the small while holding the great, in accord with heaven's intent. One who already holds the great and still takes the small—heaven itself cannot make that sufficient, how much less any man! That is why the people clamor in bitterness and never have enough. They are favored in person and bear high rank, their households warm and fed on thick stipends—then, riding the capital of wealth and honor, they compete with the people for profit below. How can the people keep up! The people are pared away day by day and month by month, sinking ever deeper into destitution. the rich grow extravagant and swollen with excess; the poor grow desperate and bitter; the people no longer delight in living—how can they avoid crime! that is why punishments multiply and wickedness cannot be overcome. Sons of Heaven and grandees are what the people below watch and imitate, what distant lands face on every side and gaze upon from within. Those near see and let themselves go; those far look and copy them. How can one sit in a worthy man's seat yet live like a common man! Those who earnestly chase wealth and profit, always fearing want—that is how commoners think; Those who earnestly pursue benevolence and righteousness, always fearing they cannot transform the people—that is how great officers think. The Book of Changes says: "Bearing a burden yet riding in a carriage brings robbers upon you." Riding in a carriage is the station of a gentleman; carrying a burden is the work of petty men. This means one who holds a gentleman's rank yet acts like a commoner will surely bring disaster upon himself. If one holds a gentleman's rank and lives as a gentleman should, then apart from Gong Yixiu governing Lu there is nothing worth doing.
14
:「《春秋》大一統者，天地之常經，古今之通誼也。 今師異道，人異論，百家殊方，指意不同，是以上無以持一統，法制數變，下不知所守。 臣愚以為諸不在六藝之科、孔子之術者，皆絕其道，勿使並進，邪辟之說滅息，然後統紀可一而法度可明，民知所從矣！」
: "Great unity in the Spring and Autumn Annals is the constant norm of Heaven and Earth and the universal principle from antiquity to the present. Now teachers follow different Ways, men hold different doctrines, the hundred schools teach separate methods, and their meanings diverge—so those above cannot hold unity, laws and institutions shift without end, and those below do not know what to uphold. Your servant ventures to think that all teachings outside the Six Arts and Confucius's school should have their paths cut off and not be allowed to advance together. When heterodox doctrines are extinguished, standards can be unified, laws made clear, and the people will know whom to follow!"
15
天子善其對，以仲舒為江都相。 會稽莊助亦以賢良對策，天子擢為中大夫。 丞相衛綰奏：「所舉賢良，或治申、韓、蘇、張之言亂國政者，請皆罷。」 奏可。 董仲舒少治《春秋》，孝景時為博士，進退容止，非禮不行，學者皆師尊之。 及為江都相，事易王。 易王，帝兄，素驕，好勇。 仲舒以禮匡正，王敬重焉。 ----2春，二月，赦。 ----3行三銖錢。 ----4夏，六月，丞相衛綰免。 丙寅，以魏其侯竇嬰為丞相，武安侯田蚡為太尉。 上雅向儒術，嬰、蚡俱好儒，推轂代趙綰為御史大夫，蘭陵王臧為郎中令。 綰請立明堂以朝諸侯，且薦其師申公。 秋，天子使使束帛加璧、安車駟馬以迎申公。 既至，見天子。 天子問治亂之事，申公年八十餘。 對曰：「為治者不至多言，顧力行何如耳。」 是時，天子方好文詞，見申公對，默然，然已招致，則以為太中大夫，舍魯邸，議明堂、巡狩、改歷、服色事。 ----5是歲，內史寧成抵罪髡鉗。----
The emperor approved his answer and appointed Zhongshu Chancellor of Jiangdu. Zhuang Zhu of Kuaiji also answered in the worthy-and-good examination, and the emperor promoted him to Palace Grandee. Chancellor Wei Wan memorialized: "Among those recommended as worthy and good, some study the words of Shen, Han, Su, and Zhang and disrupt state affairs—I request that all be dismissed." The memorial was approved. Dong Zhongshu studied the Spring and Autumn Annals from youth. Under Emperor Jing he was an Erudite; in bearing, movement, and demeanor he did nothing outside ritual, and scholars all honored him as their teacher. When he became Chancellor of Jiangdu, he served King Yi. King Yi was the emperor's elder brother, naturally arrogant and fond of valor. Zhongshu corrected him with ritual, and the king came to respect him. ----2 In spring, the second month, an amnesty was proclaimed. ----3 The three-zhu coinage was put into circulation. ----4 In summer, the sixth month, Chancellor Wei Wan was dismissed. On bingyin, Marquis of Weiqi Dou Ying was made Chancellor and Marquis of Wu'an Tian Fen Grand Commandant. The emperor by nature inclined toward Confucian learning; Ying and Fen both favored Confucians and advanced Zhao Chuo to Grand Secretary and Wang Zang of Lanling to Director of the Secretariat. Chuo asked to establish the Bright Hall to receive the feudal lords in audience and also recommended his teacher Duke Shen. In autumn, the emperor sent envoys with silken bolts and jade disks, a comfortable carriage, and four horses to welcome Duke Shen. When he arrived, he had audience with the emperor. The emperor asked about governance and disorder; Duke Shen was more than eighty years old. He replied: "In governing, one need not speak much—just look at how effort is applied in practice." At that time the emperor was fond of literary polish; seeing Duke Shen's reply, he was silent, yet having already summoned him, he appointed him Grand Master of the Palace, lodged him in the Lu residence, and discussed the Bright Hall, imperial tours, calendar reform, and ritual colors. ----5 That year, Interior Minister Ning Cheng was convicted, shaved, and clamped in fetters.
16
1冬，十月，淮南王安來朝。 上以安屬為諸父而材高，甚尊重之，每宴見談語，昏暮然後罷。
1 In winter, the tenth month, King An of Huainan came to court. Because An was his uncle among the feudal lords and highly talented, the emperor greatly respected him; at each banquet and audience they talked until dusk before ending.
17
安雅善武安侯田蚡，其入朝，武安侯迎之霸上，與語曰：「上無太子，王親高皇帝孫，行仁義，天下莫不聞。 宮車一日晏駕，非王尚誰立者！」 安大喜，厚遺蚡金錢財物。 ----2太皇竇太后好黃、老言，不悅儒術。 趙綰請毋奏事東宮。 竇太后大怒曰：「此欲復為新垣平邪！」 陰求得趙綰、王臧奸利事，以讓上。 上因廢明堂事，諸所興為皆廢。 下綰、臧吏，皆自殺。 丞相嬰、太尉蚡免，申公亦以疾免歸。
An was on good terms with Marquis of Wu'an Tian Fen; when he came to court, Marquis of Wu'an met him at Bashang and said: "The emperor has no crown prince. Your Majesty is a close descendant of Emperor Gao, practices benevolence and righteousness, and all under Heaven have heard of it. When the imperial carriage one day halts at dusk, if not Your Majesty, who should be enthroned!" An was greatly pleased and lavishly presented Fen with gold, money, and goods. ----2 Grand Empress Dowager Dou favored Huang-Lao teachings and did not approve of Confucian learning. Zhao Chuo requested that memorials not be submitted to the Eastern Palace. Empress Dowager Dou said in great anger: "Does this mean to become another Xinyuan Ping!" She secretly obtained evidence of Chuo and Wang Zang's wicked profiteering and used it to reproach the emperor. The emperor thereupon abandoned the Bright Hall project and abolished everything that had been undertaken. Chuo and Wang Zang were handed to the officials; both committed suicide. Chancellor Ying and Grand Commandant Fen were dismissed; Duke Shen also pleaded illness and returned home.
18
初，景帝以太子太傅石奮及四子皆二千石，乃集其門，號奮為「萬石君」。 萬石君無文學，而恭謹無與比。 子孫為小吏，來歸謁，萬石君必朝服見之，不名。 子孫有過失，不責讓，為便坐，對案不食； 然後諸子相責，因長老肉袒謝罪，改之，乃許。 子孫勝冠者在側，雖燕居必冠。 其執喪，哀戚甚悼。 子孫遵教，皆以孝謹聞乎郡國。 及趙綰、王臧以文學獲罪，竇太后以為儒者文多質少，今萬石君家不言而躬行，乃以其長子建為郎中令，少子慶為內史。 建在上側，事有可言，屏人恣言極切，至廷見，如不能言者； 上以是親之。 慶嘗為太僕，御出，上問車中幾馬，慶以策數馬畢，舉手曰：「六馬。」 慶於諸子中最為簡易矣。
At the outset, because Crown Prince Tutor Shi Fen and his four sons all held two-thousand-bu salaries, Emperor Jing gathered at his gate and styled Fen "Lord of Ten Thousand Piculs." Lord of Ten Thousand Piculs had no literary learning, yet in respectful caution none could compare with him. When sons and grandsons served as petty officials and came home to pay respects, Lord of Ten Thousand Piculs always received them in court dress and did not call them by name. When sons and grandsons had faults, he did not reproach them; he sat informally facing the table and would not eat; then the sons reproached one another; through the elders they bared the shoulder to apologize; when they had corrected themselves, only then did he grant permission. Sons and grandsons who had passed the capping age standing by—even in casual repose they had to wear caps. In observing mourning, their grief and sorrow were very deep. Sons and grandsons obeyed the teaching and were all known in the commanderies and kingdoms for filial piety and caution. When Chuo and Wang Zang were punished for literary learning, Empress Dowager Dou thought Confucians had much ornament and little substance; now Lord of Ten Thousand Piculs's family did not speak but acted in person—she appointed his eldest son Jian Director of the Secretariat and his youngest son Qing Interior Minister. Jian at the emperor's side—when there was something to say, he dismissed others and spoke freely and very bluntly; but at court audiences he seemed as one who could not speak; the emperor for this reason was close to him. Qing once served as Grand Master of the Stables; when driving out, the emperor asked how many horses were in the carriage; Qing counted the horses with his whip-cane and when finished raised his hand, saying: "Six horses." Among the sons Qing was the most straightforward.
19
竇嬰、田蚡既免，以侯家居。 蚡雖不任職，以王太后故親幸，數言事多效。 士吏趨勢利者，皆去嬰而歸蚡，蚡日益橫。 ----3春，二月，丙戌朔，日有食之。 ----4三月，乙未，以太常柏至侯許昌為丞相。 ----5初，堂邑侯陳午尚帝姑館陶公主嫖，帝之為太子，公主有力焉，以其女為太子妃，及即位，妃為皇后。 竇太主恃功，求請無厭，上患之。 皇后驕妒，擅寵而無子，與醫錢凡九千萬，欲以求子，然卒無之。 後寵浸衰。 皇太后謂上曰：「汝新即位，大臣未服，先為明堂，太皇太后已怒。 今又忤長主，必重得罪。 婦人性易悅耳，宜深慎之！」 上乃於長主、皇后復稍加恩禮。
Dou Ying and Tian Fen, having been dismissed, lived at home as marquises. Though Fen held no office, because of Empress Dowager Wang he was close and favored; he spoke on affairs many times with effect. Officials and clerks who chased power and profit all left Ying and attached to Fen; Fen daily grew more overbearing. ----3 In spring, the second month, on the first day bingxu there was a solar eclipse. ----4 In the third month, on yiwei, Bo-to Marquis Xu Chang of Grand Master of Ceremonies was made Chancellor. ----5 At the outset, Marquis of Tangyi Chen Wu married the emperor's aunt Princess Guantao Piao; when the emperor was crown prince the princess had influence and gave her daughter as crown prince's consort; when he took the throne the consort became empress. Princess Dowager Dou relied on her merit; her requests were insatiable—the emperor was troubled. The empress was haughty and jealous, monopolized favor yet had no son; she gave physicians money totaling ninety million in hopes of bearing a son, yet in the end had none. Later her favor gradually waned. The empress dowager said to the emperor: "You have newly taken the throne; the great ministers are not yet compliant; you first undertook the Bright Hall—Grand Empress Dowager was already angry. Now you again oppose the senior princess—you will surely suffer heavy punishment. A woman's nature is easily pleased by what reaches her ears—you should be deeply cautious!" The emperor thereupon again slightly increased favor and ritual toward the senior princess and empress.
20
上祓霸上，還，過上姊平陽公主，悅謳者衛子夫。 子夫母衛媼，平陽公主家僮也。 主因奉送子夫入宮，恩寵日隆。 陳皇后聞之，恚，幾死者數矣。 上愈怒。
The emperor performed the river purification at Bashang; on his return he stopped at his elder sister Princess Pingyang's and was pleased with the singer Wei Zifu. Zifu's mother Wei Ao was a retainer in Princess Pingyang's household. The princess thereupon presented Zifu to the palace; her favor daily grew. Empress Chen heard of it; in rage she nearly killed her several times. The emperor grew angrier.
21
子夫同母弟衛青，其父鄭季，本平陽縣吏，給事侯家，與衛媼私通而生青，冒姓衛氏。 青長，為侯家騎奴。 大長公主執囚青，欲殺之。 其友騎郎公孫敖與壯士篡取之。 上聞，乃召青為建章監、侍中，賞賜數日間累千金。 既而以子夫為夫人，青為太中大夫。 ----6夏，四月，有星如日，夜出。 ----7初置茂陵邑。 ----8時大臣議者多冤晁錯之策，務摧抑諸侯王，數奏暴其過惡，吹毛求疵，笞服其臣，使證其君。 諸侯王莫不悲怨。----
Zifu's younger brother by the same mother Wei Qing—his father Zheng Ji was originally a Pingyang county clerk serving in the marquis's household; he had illicit relations with Wei Ao and begot Qing, who took the surname Wei. When Qing grew up, he was a mounted slave in the marquis's household. The senior princess seized and imprisoned Qing, wishing to kill him. His friend Cavalry Gentleman Gongsun Ao with stout fellows snatched and rescued him. The emperor heard and summoned Qing as Supervisor of Jianzhang and Attendant-in-Ordinary; within several days rewards accumulated to a thousand jin of gold. Thereupon Zifu was made Lady and Qing Grand Master of the Palace. ----6 In summer, the fourth month, there was a star like the sun appearing at night. ----7 Maoling county was first established. ----8 At that time many debating ministers argued that Chao Cuo had been wronged; they strove to crush the feudal kings, repeatedly memorialized exposing their faults, sought flaws in the finest hair, flogged their ministers into submission, and made them testify against their lords. The feudal kings were all grief-stricken and resentful.
22
1冬，十月，代王登、長沙王發、中山王勝、濟川王明來朝。 上置酒，勝聞樂聲而泣。 上問其故，對曰：「悲者不可為累欷，思者不可為歎息。 今臣心結日久，每聞幼眇之聲，不知涕泣之橫集也。 臣得蒙肺附為東籓，屬又稱兄。 今群臣非有葭莩之親、鴻毛之重，群居黨議，朋友相為，使夫宗室擯卻，骨肉冰釋，臣竊傷之！」 具以吏所侵聞。 於是上乃厚諸侯之禮，省有司所奏諸侯事，加親親之恩焉。 ----2河水溢於平原。 ----3大饑，人相食。 ----4秋，七月，有星孛於西北。 ----5濟川王明坐殺中傅，廢遷房陵。 ----6七國之敗也，吳王子駒亡走閩越，怨東甌殺其父，常勸閩越擊東甌。 閩粵從之，發兵圍東甌，東甌使人告急天子。 天子問田蚡，蚡對曰：「越人相攻擊，固其常； 又數反覆，自秦時棄不屬，不足以煩中國往救也。」 莊助曰：「特患力不能救，德不能覆。 誠能，何故棄之！ 且秦舉咸陽而棄之，何但越也！ 今小國以窮困來告急，天子不救，尚安所愬，又何以子萬國乎！」 上曰：「太尉不足與計。 吾新即位，不欲出虎符發兵郡國。」 乃遣助以節發兵會稽。 會稽守欲距法不為發，助乃斬一司馬，諭意指，遂發兵浮海救東甌。 未至，閩越引兵罷。 東甌請舉國內徙，乃悉舉其眾來，處於江、淮之間。 ----7九月，丙子晦，日有食之。 ----8上自初即位，招選天下文學材智之士，待以不次之位。 四方士多上書言得失，自眩鬻者以千數。 上簡拔其俊異者寵用之。 莊助最先進，後又得吳人朱買臣、趙人吾丘壽王、蜀人司馬相如、平原東方朔、吳人枚皋、濟南終軍等，並在左右，每令與大臣辨論，中外相應以義理之文，大臣數屈焉。 然相如特以辭賦得幸； 朔、皋不根持論，好詼諧，上以俳優畜之，雖數賞賜，終不任以事也。 朔亦觀上顏色，時時直諫，有所補益。
1 In winter, the tenth month, King Deng of Dai, King Fa of Changsha, King Sheng of Zhongshan, and King Ming of Jichuan came to court. The emperor set out wine; Sheng heard the music and wept. The emperor asked the reason; he replied: "The sorrowful cannot be made to sob repeatedly; the thoughtful cannot be made to sigh repeatedly. Now your servant's heart has been knotted long; whenever I hear sounds of tender infancy, I do not know how tears crowd upon me. Your servant has been favored with close attachment as an eastern fence; moreover I am called elder brother. Now the ministers lack the slightest reed-seed kinship or the weight of a swan's down; they cluster in factions and debate, friends act for one another, pushing the imperial clan aside until flesh-and-bone ties melt like ice—your servant privately grieves!" He fully reported what officials had encroached upon, as he had heard. Thereupon the emperor enriched ritual toward the feudal lords, reduced matters on the feudal lords reported by responsible officials, and increased the grace of treating kin as kin. ----2 The Yellow River overflowed in Pingyuan. ----3 Great famine—people ate one another. ----4 In autumn, the seventh month, a broom star appeared in the northwest. ----5 King Ming of Jichuan, charged with killing his Master of the Household, was deposed and moved to Fangling. ----6 When the Seven States were defeated, the Wu king's son Ju fled to Minyue, resented Dong'ou for killing his father, and constantly urged Minyue to attack Dong'ou. Min-Yue followed this, raised troops and besieged Dong'ou; Dong'ou sent men to report urgency to the emperor. The emperor asked Tian Fen; Fen replied: "Yue people attacking one another is indeed their constant way; moreover they are repeatedly faithless; since Qin times they have been abandoned and not made subjects—not enough to trouble the central states to go rescue." Zhuang Zhu said: "The sole worry is that strength cannot rescue, virtue cannot cover. If you truly can, why abandon them! Moreover Qin seized Xianyang and then abandoned it—how much more so for Yue alone! Now a small state comes in distress to beg for aid; if the Son of Heaven does not rescue them, to whom can they still appeal? How then can you be father to the myriad states!" The emperor said, "The Grand Commandant is not fit to take counsel with. I have newly ascended and do not wish to issue the tiger tally to raise troops from the commanderies and kingdoms." Thereupon he dispatched Zhu with credentials to raise troops at Kuaiji. The Kuaiji governor wished to resist on legal grounds and not dispatch troops; Zhu then beheaded one marshal, explained the intent, and thereupon raised troops and crossed the sea by boat to rescue Dong'ou. Before he arrived, Minyue withdrew its troops. Dong'ou asked to move the entire state inward; they then brought all their people and were settled between the Yangzi and Huai. ----7 In the ninth month, on bingzi, the last day of the month, there was a solar eclipse. ----8 From his first accession the emperor recruited literary and talented men from all under Heaven and treated them to extraordinary appointments. Scholars from the four quarters submitted memorials on gains and losses in great numbers; those who dazzled and sold themselves numbered in the thousands. The emperor selected the outstanding among them and favored and employed them. Zhuang Zhu was the first to advance; later he also obtained Zhu Maichen of Wu, Wuqiu Shouwang of Zhao, Sima Xiangru of Shu, Dongfang Shuo of Pingyuan, Mei Gao of Wu, Zhong Jun of Jinan, and others—all at his side; he often had them debate with the great ministers, inner and outer circles answering one another with essays of principle and reason, and the great ministers were repeatedly defeated. Yet Xiangru alone gained favor especially through rhapsodies; Shuo and Gao did not ground their arguments firmly and loved wit and humor; the emperor kept them like jesters; though repeatedly rewarded, in the end he never entrusted them with affairs. Shuo also watched the emperor's expression and from time to time spoke blunt remonstrance, with some benefit.
23
是歲，上始為微行，北至池陽，西至黃山，南獵長楊，東遊宜春，與左右能騎射者期諸殿門。 常以夜出，自稱平陽侯； 旦明，入南山下，射鹿、豕、狐、兔，馳騖禾稼之地，民皆號呼罵詈。 鄂、杜令欲執之，示以乘輿物，乃得免。 又嘗夜至伯谷，投逆旅宿，就逆旅主人求漿，主人翁曰：「無漿，正有溺耳！」 且疑上為奸盜，聚少年欲攻之。 主人嫗睹上狀貌而異之，止其翁曰：「客非常人也，且又有備，不可圖也。」 翁不聽，嫗飲翁以酒，醉而縛之。 少年皆散走，嫗乃殺雞為食以謝客。 明日，上歸，召嫗，賜金千斤，拜其夫為羽林郎。 後乃私置更衣，從宣曲以南十二所，夜投宿長楊、五柞等諸宮。
That year the emperor first made incognito excursions—north to Chiyang, west to Huangshan, south to hunt at Changyang, east to tour Yichun—setting rendezvous with his attendants skilled at riding and archery at the palace gates. He often went out at night and called himself Marquis of Pingyang; at dawn he entered below the Southern Mountains, shot deer, pigs, foxes, and hares, and galloped through fields of grain; the people all shouted and cursed. The magistrates of E and Du wished to seize him; when shown imperial carriage goods, they were then spared. He also once came by night to Bogu, lodged at a roadside inn, and asked the innkeeper for broth; the old host said, "No broth—only urine!" Moreover he suspected the emperor was a wicked robber, gathered young men, and wished to attack him. The host's old woman, seeing the emperor's appearance, found him strange, and stopped her husband: "The guest is no ordinary man, and moreover he is prepared—he cannot be plotted against." The old man would not listen; the old woman made him drink wine, got him drunk, and bound him. The young men all scattered and fled; the old woman then killed a chicken for food to apologize to the guest. The next day the emperor returned, summoned the old woman, bestowed a thousand jin of gold, and made her husband an officer of the Forest of Feathers. Afterward he privately set up changing rooms from Xuqu southward in twelve places and lodged by night at Changyang, Wuzha, and the various palaces.
24
上以道遠勞苦，又為百姓所患，乃使太中大夫吾丘壽王舉籍阿城以南，盩厔以東，宜春以西，提封頃畝，及其賈直，欲除以為上林苑，屬之南山。 又詔中尉、左右內史表屬縣草田，欲以償鄠、杜之民。 壽王奏事，上大說稱善。 時東方朔在傍，進諫曰：「夫南山，天下之阻也。 漢興，去三河之地，止霸、滻以西，都涇、渭之南，此所謂天下陸海之地，秦之所以虜西戎、兼山東者也。 其山出玉石、金、銀、銅、鐵、良材，百工所取給，萬民所卬足也。 又有粳、稻、梨、栗、桑、麻、竹箭之饒，土宜姜、芋，水多蛙、魚，貧者得以人給家足，無饑寒之憂； 故酆、鎬之間，號為土膏，其賈畝一金。 今規以為苑，絕陂池水澤之利而取民膏腴之地，上乏國家之用，下奪農桑之業，是其不可一也。 盛荊、棘之林，廣狐、菟之苑，大虎、狼之虛，壞人冢墓，發人室廬，令幼弱懷土而思，耆老泣涕而悲，是其不可二也。 斥而營之，垣而囿之，騎馳東西，車騖南北，有深溝大渠。 夫一日之樂，不足以危無堤之輿，是其不可三也。 夫殷作九市之宮而諸侯畔，靈王起章華之台而楚民散，秦興阿房之殿而天下亂。 糞土愚臣，逆盛意，罪當萬死！」 上乃拜朔為太中大夫、給事中，賜黃金百斤。 然遂起上林苑，如壽王所奏。
The emperor, because the roads were far and laborious and he was also a nuisance to the people, then sent Grand Palace Grandee Wuqiu Shouwang to register lands from Acheng south, Zhouzhi east, and Yichun west—measuring fields in mou and their market value—intending to take them to make the Shanglin Park and attach it to the Southern Mountains. He also ordered the Central Commandant and the Left and Right Metropolitan Governors to list subordinate counties' wasteland fields, intending to compensate the people of E and Du. Shouwang reported on the matter; the emperor was greatly pleased and praised it as good. At the time Dongfang Shuo was at his side and advanced remonstrance: "The Southern Mountains are the barrier of all under Heaven. When Han arose it left the lands of the Three Rivers, stopped west of Ba and Chan, and made its capital south of Jing and Wei—this is what is called the land-sea of all under Heaven, where Qin captured the Western Rong and annexed Shandong. Its mountains produce jade and stone, gold, silver, copper, iron, and fine timber—the supplies taken by the hundred crafts and on which the myriad people rely to make ends meet. Moreover there is abundance of japonica rice, millet, pears, chestnuts, mulberry, hemp, and bamboo arrows; the soil suits ginger and taro; the waters have many frogs and fish; the poor can thereby support their households and be sufficient, without worry of hunger and cold; therefore between Feng and Hao it is called fat soil, and its price is one gold per mou. Now to plan it as a park cuts off the benefit of ponds, pools, waters, and marshes and takes the people's rich soil; above it exhausts the state's revenue, below it seizes farming and sericulture—this is the first reason it cannot be done. To make thick forests of brambles and thorns, broaden parks for foxes and hares, enlarge wastes for tigers and wolves, ruin people's tombs, expose people's houses, make the young cling to their native soil and yearn, and the aged weep tears in grief—this is the second reason it cannot be done. To drive out and build it, wall and enclose it, gallop east and west, race chariots north and south, with deep ditches and great canals. One day's pleasure is not enough to endanger a carriage without embankments—this is the third reason it cannot be done. Yin built the palace of the Nine Markets and the feudal lords turned away; King Ling of Chu raised the Terrace of Splendid Brilliance and the people of Chu scattered; Qin raised the hall of Epang and all under Heaven fell into disorder. This foolish minister is dung and soil, opposing your flourishing intent—the crime deserves ten thousand deaths!" The emperor thereupon made Shuo Grand Palace Grandee and Attendant Within the Gates and bestowed a hundred jin of gold. Yet he still raised the Shanglin Park, as Shouwang had reported.
25
上又好自擊熊、豕，馳逐野獸。 司馬相如上疏諫曰：「臣聞物有同類而殊能者，故力稱烏獲，捷言慶忌，勇期賁、育，臣之愚，竊以為人誠有之，獸亦宜然。 今陛下好陵阻險，射猛獸，卒然遇逸材之獸，駭不存之地，犯屬車之清塵，輿不及還轅，人不暇施巧，雖有烏獲、逄蒙之技，不得用，枯木朽株，盡為難矣。 是胡、越起於轂下而羌、夷接軫也，豈不殆哉！ 雖萬全而無患，然本非天子之所宜近也。 宜夫清道而後行，中路而馳，猶時有銜橛之變，況乎涉豐草，騁丘墟，前有利獸之樂，而內無存變之意，其為害也不難矣。 夫輕萬乘之重不以為安，樂出萬有一危之塗以為娛，臣竊為陛下不取。 蓋明者遠見於未萌，而知者避危於無形，禍固多藏於隱微而發於人之所忽者也。 故鄙諺曰：『家累千金，坐不垂堂。』 此言雖小，可以諭大。」 上善之。----
The emperor also loved to strike bears and pigs himself and gallop in pursuit of wild beasts. Sima Xiangru submitted a memorial remonstrating: "Your servant has heard that among things of the same kind there are those of special ability; therefore for strength one names Wuzuo, for swiftness one names Qingji, for courage one expects Ben and Yu—your servant in his foolishness privately considers that if men truly have these, beasts should also be so. Now Your Majesty loves to climb rugged peril, shoot fierce beasts, and suddenly meet a beast of exceptional talent in a place where terror has no foothold, offending the clear dust of the accompanying carriage—before the carriage can turn the yoke, before men can apply skill; though there were the arts of Wuzuo and Peng Meng, they could not be used; withered trees and rotten stumps would all become obstacles. This is Hu and Yue rising beneath the carriage hub while Qiang and Yi press close at the carriage end—how is it not perilous! Though in ten thousand ways secure and without trouble, yet in origin it is not what the Son of Heaven should draw near to. One ought to clear the road and then go; to gallop mid-road still sometimes brings the mishap of bit and crossbar; how much more when wading through thick grass and racing over mounds and ruins, with the pleasure of profitable beasts ahead and within no thought of guarding against change—the harm is not hard to come. To treat the weight of ten thousand chariots lightly and not take it as security, to delight in going out on a path of one in ten thousand peril as entertainment—your servant privately considers that Your Majesty should not take this. The enlightened see far in what has not yet sprouted; the knowing avoid peril in what has no form; calamity indeed is often hidden in the subtle and bursts forth in what men neglect. Therefore a rustic saying says: 'A household amasses a thousand in gold—do not sit with the hall eaves overhead.' Though this saying is small, it can illustrate what is great." The emperor approved it.
26
1夏，有風赤如血。 ----2六月，旱。 ----3秋，九月，有星孛於東北。 ----4是歲，南越王佗死，其孫文王胡立。 ----1春，罷三銖錢，行半兩錢。 ----2置五經博士。 ----3夏，五月，大蝗。 ----4秋，八月，廣川惠王越、清河哀王乘皆薨，無後，國除。 ----1春，二月，乙未，遼東高廟災。 ----2夏，四月，壬子，高園便殿火。 上素服五日。 ----3五月，丁亥，太皇太后崩。 ----4六月，癸巳，丞相昌免； 武安侯田蚡為丞相。 蚡驕侈，治宅甲諸第，田園極膏腴； 市買郡縣物，相屬於道； 多受四方賂遺； 其家金玉、婦女，狗馬、聲樂、玩好，不可勝數。 每入奏事，坐語移日，所言皆聽。 薦人或起家至二千石，權移主上。 上乃曰：「君除吏已盡未？ 吾亦欲除吏。」 嘗請考工地益宅，上怒曰：「君何不遂取武庫！」 是後乃稍退。 ----5秋，八月，有星孛於東方，長竟天。 ----6閩越王郢興兵擊南越邊邑，南越王守天子約，不敢擅興兵，使人上書告天子。 於是天子多南越義，大為發兵，遣大行王恢出豫章，大農令韓安國出會稽，擊閩越。
1 In summer there was wind red as blood. ----2 In the sixth month there was drought. ----3 In autumn, the ninth month, a broom star appeared in the northeast. ----4 That year the King of Nanyue, Tuo, died; his grandson King Wen Hu succeeded. ----1 In spring the three-zhu coins were abolished and half-liang coins were put in circulation. ----2 Erudites for the Five Classics were established. ----3 In summer, the fifth month, there was a great locust plague. ----4 In autumn, the eighth month, King Hui of Guangchuan Yue and King Ai of Qinghe Cheng both died; without heirs, their states were abolished. ----1 In spring, the second month, on yiwei, the high temple of Liaodong burned. ----2 In summer, the fourth month, on renzi, the side hall of the High Garden burned. The emperor wore plain garments for five days. ----3 In the fifth month, on dinghai, the Grand Empress Dowager died. ----4 In the sixth month, on guisi, Chancellor Chang was removed; Marquis of Wu'an Tian Fen became chancellor. Fen was arrogant and extravagant; his residences surpassed all mansions, his fields and gardens extremely rich; purchases of goods from commanderies and counties followed one another on the roads; he received many bribes and gifts from the four quarters; his household's gold and jade, women, dogs and horses, music, and curiosities were countless. Whenever he entered to report affairs, he sat and spoke until the day shifted; what he said was all heeded. Those he recommended sometimes rose from nothing to two-thousand-bushel rank; power shifted from the sovereign. The emperor then said, "Have you finished appointing officials? I too wish to appoint officials." Once he requested to survey the Directorate of Works' land to enlarge his residence; the emperor angrily said, "Why do you not simply take the armory!" After this he gradually withdrew. ----5 In autumn, the eighth month, a broom star appeared in the east, stretching across the sky. ----6 The King of Minyue Ying raised troops to attack the border towns of Nanyue; the King of Nanyue kept the Son of Heaven's covenant and did not dare presumptuously raise troops, sending men to submit a memorial reporting to the Son of Heaven. Thereupon the Son of Heaven greatly approved Nanyue's righteousness and on a large scale dispatched troops, sending Grand Messenger Wang Hui out from Yuzhang and Grand Minister of Agriculture Han Anguo out from Kuaiji to strike Minyue.
27
淮南王安上書諫曰：:「陛下臨天下，布德施惠，天下攝然，人安其生，自以沒身不見兵革。 今聞有司舉兵將以誅越，臣安竊為陛下重之。
King An of Huainan submitted a memorial remonstrating: :"Your Majesty presides over all under Heaven, spreads virtue and bestows grace; all under Heaven is subdued and still, men are secure in their lives, and each considers that in his whole person he will not see arms and armor. Now hearing that the officials are raising troops intending to punish Yue, your servant An privately considers this weighty for Your Majesty.
28
:「越，方外之地，剪髮文身之民也，不可以冠帶之國法度理也。 自三代之盛，胡、越不與受正朔，非強勿強服，威弗能制也，以為不居之地，不牧之民，不足以煩中國也。 自漢初定已來七十二年，越人相攻擊者不可勝數，然天子未嘗舉兵而入其地也。 臣聞越非有城郭邑里也，處谿谷之間，篁竹之中，習於水鬥，便於用舟，地深昧而多水險，中國之人不知其勢阻而入其地，雖百不當其一。 得其地，不可郡縣也； 攻之，不可暴取也。 以地圖察其山川要塞，相去不過寸數，而間獨數百千里，險阻、林叢弗能盡著； 視之若易，行之甚難。 天下賴宗廟之靈，方內大寧，戴白之老不見兵革，民得夫婦相守，父子相保，陛下之德也。 越人名為籓臣，貢酎之奉不輸大內，一卒之用不給上事； 自相攻擊，而陛下發兵救之，是反以中國而勞蠻夷也。 且越人愚戇輕薄，負約反覆，其不用天子之法度，非一日之積也。 壹不奉詔，舉兵誅之，臣恐後兵革無時得息也。
:"Yue is a land outside the square, a people who cut hair and tattoo bodies; it cannot be governed by the laws and measures of cap-and-girdle states. From the flourishing of the Three Dynasties, Hu and Yue did not receive the calendar and investiture; what is not strong should not be forced to submit, and might cannot control them—they were considered lands not fit to dwell in, peoples not fit to pasture, not enough to trouble China. From the time Han was first settled until now, seventy-two years—Yue people attacking one another countless, yet the Son of Heaven has never raised troops and entered their lands. Your servant has heard that Yue has no walled cities and market districts; they dwell between streams and valleys, amid bamboo groves, practiced in water fighting and skilled at using boats; the terrain is deep, obscure, and full of water perils—men of China, not knowing its obstructive terrain and entering its lands, though a hundred cannot match one. If you obtain their land, it cannot be made into commanderies and counties; if you attack it, it cannot be seized by violence. Examining mountains, rivers, and passes on a map, the distance apart is no more than inches, yet in between alone are several hundred or a thousand li; rugged terrain and forest thickets cannot all be shown; to view it seems easy; to go is very hard. All under Heaven relies on the ancestral temple's spirit; within the four quarters there is great peace; the old with white hair do not see arms and armor; the people obtain husbands and wives guarding one another, fathers and sons protecting one another—this is Your Majesty's virtue. Yue people are named vassal ministers, yet their tribute of sacrificial wine is not delivered to the inner palace, and the use of one soldier is not supplied for the sovereign's affairs; they attack one another, yet Your Majesty dispatches troops to rescue them—this is inverting China to toil for the barbarians of the south. Moreover Yue people are foolish, obstinate, and frivolous, break covenants and reverse repeatedly; their not using the Son of Heaven's laws and measures is not one day's accumulation. If for one failure to obey an edict troops are raised to execute them, your servant fears that afterward arms and armor will have no time to rest.
29
:「間者，數年歲比不登，民待賣爵、贅子以接衣食。 賴陛下德澤振救之，得毋轉死溝壑。 四年不登，五年復蝗，民生未復。 今發兵行數千里，資衣糧，入越地，輿轎而隃領，拖舟而入水，行數百千里，夾以深林叢竹，水道上下擊石，林中多蝮蛇、猛獸，夏月暑時，歐洩霍亂之病相隨屬也； 曾未施兵接刃，死傷者必眾矣。 前時南海王反，陛下先臣使將軍間忌將兵擊之，以其軍降，處之上淦。 後復反，會天暑多雨，樓船卒水居擊棹，未戰而疾死者過半； 親老涕泣，孤子啼號，破家散業，迎屍千里之外，裹骸骨而歸。 悲哀之氣，數年不息，長老至今以為記，曾未入其地而禍已至此矣。 陛下德配天地，明象日月，恩至禽獸，澤及草木，一人有饑寒，不終其天年而死者，為之悽愴於心。 今方內無狗吠之警，而使陛下甲卒死亡，暴露中原，霑漬山谷，邊境之民為之早閉晏開，朝不及夕，臣安竊為陛下重之。
:"Recently, for several years harvests in succession have failed; the people depend on selling ranks and taking sons-in-law to sustain food and clothing. Relying on Your Majesty's virtue and grace to revive and rescue them, they could avoid dying in ditches and gullies. Four years without harvest, the fifth year locusts again—the people's lives are not yet restored. To march troops thousands of li, laden with clothing and grain, into Yue country—carried in litters over the passes, boats hauled into the water, then hundreds of thousands of li through deep forest and bamboo thickets, waterways strewn with rocks above and below, forests full of pit vipers and wild beasts, and in the summer heat vomiting, flux, and cholera-like sickness one after another; before blades are even crossed, the dead and wounded will surely be legion. When the King of Nanhai rebelled earlier, your late servant sent General Jian Ji with troops against him; the king surrendered with his army and was resettled at Shanggan. He rebelled again later. The season was hot and rainy; the tower-ship troops lived on the water at their oars, and before battle more than half had died of sickness; aged parents wept, orphaned children wailed, families were ruined and estates scattered, corpses were fetched from a thousand li away, and bones were wrapped for the journey home. Grief lingered for years without end; elders still speak of it today—calamity had reached this pitch before our troops ever entered their land. Your Majesty's virtue matches Heaven and Earth, your brightness mirrors sun and moon, your grace reaches birds and beasts and your favor extends to grass and trees—when a single man dies of hunger or cold before his allotted years, your heart is stricken for him. Now, when within the realm there is no alarm even of dogs barking, to send Your Majesty's armored men to die, lie exposed in the central plains, and soak the valleys—so that border folk bolt their doors at dawn and dare not open till dusk, living from morning without knowing the evening—your servant An must grieve for Your Majesty.
30
:「不習南方地形者，多以越為人眾兵強，能難邊城。 淮南全國之時，多為邊吏，臣竊聞之，與中國異。 限以高山，人跡絕，車道不通，天地所以隔外內也。 其入中國，必下領水，領水之山峭峻，漂石破舟，不可以大船載食糧下也。 越人欲為變，必先田餘干界中，積食糧，乃入，伐材治船。 邊城守候誠謹，越人有入伐材者，輒收捕，焚其積聚，雖百越，奈邊城何！ 且越人綿力薄材，不能陸戰，又無車騎、弓弩之用，然而不可入者，以保地險，而中國之人不耐其水土也。 臣聞越甲卒不下數十萬，所以入之，五倍乃足，輓車奉餉者不在其中。 南方暑濕，近夏癉熱，暴露水居，蝮蛇蠚生，疾疢多作，兵未血刃而病死者什二三，雖舉越國而虜之，不足以償所亡。
: "Those who do not know southern terrain mostly suppose Yue is populous, its armies strong, and able to harass our border cities. When Huainan was still a whole kingdom, many men served as its border officials; I have heard privately that the south differs utterly from the central lands. High mountains bound it, human tracks end, chariot roads do not run through—Heaven and Earth themselves divide inner and outer here. To enter the central lands they must descend the Ling watershed; the Ling mountains are sheer, drifting stones smash boats—large ships cannot carry food and grain down. If the Yue wish to rebel, they must first farm within Yugan territory, stockpile grain, then come in to fell timber and build boats. If border cities watch in earnest, whenever Yue come in to cut timber they are seized at once and their stores burned—though there were a hundred Yue kingdoms, what could they do against such border cities! Moreover the Yue are weak in strength and poor in resources; they cannot fight on land and lack chariots, cavalry, and crossbows—yet the reason they cannot be invaded is that they hold perilous ground and central-lands men cannot endure their climate. I hear Yue armored troops number no fewer than several hundred thousand; to invade them five times that force is barely enough—and the supply carts are not counted in that figure. The south is hot and damp, malarial fever nears in summer; men lie exposed on the water where vipers and scorpions breed and sickness flourishes—before steel is bloodied, two or three in ten die of disease; even if you seized all Yue as captives, you would not recover what was lost.
31
:「臣聞道路言：閩越王弟甲弒而殺之，甲以誅死，其民未有所屬。 陛下若欲來，內處之中國，使重臣臨存，施德垂賞以招致之，此必攜幼扶老以歸聖德。 若陛下無所用之，則繼其絕世，存其亡國，建其王侯，以為畜越，此必委質為籓臣，世共貢職。 陛下以方寸之印，丈二之組，填撫方外，不勞一卒，不頓一戟，而威德並行。 今以兵入其地，此必震恐，以有司為欲屠滅之也，必雉兔逃，入山林險阻。 背而去之，則復相群聚； 留而守之，歷歲經年，則士卒罷倦，食糧乏絕，民苦兵事，盜賊必起。 臣聞長老言：秦之時，嘗使尉屠睢擊越，又使監祿鑿渠通道，越人逃入深山林叢，不可得攻； 留軍屯守空地，曠日引久，士卒勞倦； 越出擊之，秦兵大敗，乃發适戍以備之。 當此之時，外內騷動，皆不聊生，亡逃相從，群為盜賊，於是山東之難始興。 兵者凶事，一方有急，四面皆聳。 臣恐變故之生，奸邪之作，由此始也。
: "I hear on the roads that the King of Minyue's younger brother Jia murdered him; Jia was executed, and the people have no lord to whom they belong. If Your Majesty wishes them to come, settle them within the central lands, send a weighty minister to comfort them, extend virtue and hang out rewards to summon them—they will surely bring their young in arms and their aged on canes to submit to your sagely virtue. If Your Majesty has no use for them, continue their severed line, preserve their fallen state, establish their king and marquis, and keep Yue as a tributary flock—they will surely present pledge as vassals and pay tribute generation after generation. With a square-inch seal and a cord a zhang and two long, Your Majesty can fill and pacify the outer regions—without tiring one soldier or halting one halberd, yet majesty and virtue proceed together. Send troops into their land now and they will be shaken with terror, believing the officials intend slaughter and extinction; they will flee like pheasants and hares into mountain forests and defiles. turn your back and leave, and they will gather again; remain to garrison them year after year and the troops will weary, provisions run out, the people will suffer under arms, and bandits will surely rise. I hear elders say that in Qin's time Commandant Tu Sui was sent against Yue and Overseer Lu cut channels to open roads; the Yue fled into deep forests and could not be attacked; troops were left to garrison empty land for long stretches until the soldiers were worn out; the Yue sallied forth and struck; Qin troops were routed, and convict garrisons were then sent to hold the line. At that time turmoil shook within and without; none could live; fugitives fled in bands and became robbers—and thus the troubles east of the mountains first arose. War is an inauspicious affair: when one quarter is in peril, all four sides stand alert. I fear unforeseen change and treacherous plots may begin from this.
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:「臣聞天子之兵有征而無戰，言莫敢校也。 如使越人蒙徼幸以逆執事之顏行，廝輿之卒有一不備而歸者，雖得越王之首，臣猶竊為大漢羞之。 陛下以四海為境，生民之屬，皆為臣妾。 垂德惠以覆露之，使安生樂業，則澤被萬世，傳之子孫，施之無窮。 天下之安，猶泰山而四維之也，夷狄之地，何足以為一日之閒，而煩汗馬之勞乎！ 《詩》云：『王猶允塞，徐方既來。』 言王道甚大而遠方懷之也。 臣安竊恐將吏之以十萬之師為一使之任也。」
: "I hear the Son of Heaven's troops campaign without fighting—meaning none dare dispute him. If the Yue by slight chance oppose your attendants' advance, and even one cart-and-foot soldier returns ill-equipped—though you obtained the King of Yue's head, I would still find shame for Great Han. Your Majesty takes the four seas as your border; all living folk are your subjects. Let down virtue and favor to shelter them, that they may live in peace and work in joy—then your grace will spread through ten thousand generations, pass to sons and grandsons, and never end. The peace of all under Heaven is like Mount Tai bound by four ropes—what are barbarian lands worth, that you should spare a day's ease and trouble horses to sweat! The Odes say: 'The king is indeed full and true; the region of Xu has already come.' —speaking of the kingly Way so great that distant lands come of themselves. Your servant An privately fears that generals and officials may treat an army of a hundred thousand as the charge of a single envoy."
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是時，漢兵遂出，未逾領，閩越王郢發兵距險。 其弟餘善乃與相、宗族謀曰：「王以擅發兵擊南越不請，故天子兵來誅。 漢兵眾強，即幸勝之，兵來益多，終滅國而止。 今殺王以謝天子，天子聽，罷兵，固國完； 不聽，乃力戰； 不勝，即亡入海。」 皆曰：「善！」 即鏦殺王，使使奉其頭致大行。 大行曰：「所為來者，誅王。 今王頭至，謝罪； 不戰而殞，利莫大焉。」 乃以便宜案兵，告大農軍，而使使奉王頭馳報天子。 詔罷兩將兵，曰：「郢等首惡，獨無諸孫繇君丑不與謀焉。」 乃使中郎將立丑為越繇王，奉閩越先祭祀。 餘善已殺郢，威行於國，國民多屬，竊自立為王，繇王不能制。 上聞之，為餘善不足復興師，曰：「餘善數與郢謀亂，而後首誅郢，師得不勞。」 因立餘善為東越王，與繇王並處。
At this time Han troops set out; before they had crossed the Ling range, King Ying of Minyue sent troops to hold the defiles. His younger brother Yu Shan then deliberated with the chancellor and clan, saying: "The king sent troops against Nanyue on his own authority without reporting it—therefore the Son of Heaven's army comes to punish him. Han's troops are numerous and strong; even if we should by chance defeat them, more will come until the state is destroyed—that is where it ends. Kill the king now and apologize to the Son of Heaven; if he assents, the army will withdraw and the state remain whole; if he does not assent, then fight with all our strength; if we do not prevail, then flee onto the sea." All said, "Good!" They at once speared the king to death and sent envoys bearing his head to the Grand Master of Ceremonies. The Grand Master of Ceremonies said, "What we came for was to execute the king. Now the king's head has arrived and guilt is apologized; he perished without a battle—the gain could not be greater." He thereupon halted the army on expedient authority, informed the Grand Minister of Agriculture's army, and sent envoys galloping with the king's head to report to the Son of Heaven. An edict dismissed both armies, saying, "Ying and the rest were the chief evildoers; only Wuzhu's grandson Lord Chou of Yao did not join the plot." He then sent a palace gentleman to install Chou as King Yao of Yue, to maintain Minyue's ancestral sacrifices. Yu Shan had killed Ying; his authority ran through the state, the people mostly followed him, and he privately made himself king—the King of Yao could not control him. The emperor heard and judged Yu Shan not worth another campaign, saying, "Yu Shan repeatedly plotted disorder with Ying, yet afterward was first to execute him—the army obtained its end without labor." He therefore installed Yu Shan as King of Eastern Yue, dwelling alongside the King of Yao.
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上使莊助諭意南粵。 南粵王胡頓首曰：「天子乃為臣興兵討閩越，死無以報德！」 遣太子嬰齊入宿衛，謂助曰：「國新被寇，使者行矣，胡方日夜裝，入見天子。」 助還，過淮南，上又使助諭淮南王安以討越事，嘉答其意，安謝不及。 助既去南越，南越大臣皆諫其王曰：「漢興兵誅郢，亦行以驚動南越。 且先王昔言：『事天子期無失禮。』 要之，不可以說好語入見，則不得復歸，亡國之勢也。」 於是胡稱病，竟不入見。 ----7是歲，韓安國為御史大夫。 ----8東海太守濮陽汲黯為主爵都尉。 始，黯為謁者，以嚴見憚。 東越相攻，上使黯往視之； 不至，至吳而還，報曰：「越人相攻，固其俗然，不足以辱天子之使。」 河內失火，延燒千餘家，上使黯往視之； 還，報曰：「家人失火，屋比延燒，不足憂也。 臣過河南，河南貧人傷水旱萬餘家，或父子相食，臣謹以便宜，持節發河南倉粟以振貧民。 臣請歸節，伏矯制之罪。」 上賢而釋之。 其在東海，治官理民，好清靜，擇丞、史任之，責大指而已，不苛小。 黯多病，臥閨閣內不出。 歲餘，東海大治，稱之。 上聞，召為主爵都尉，列於九卿。 其治務在無為，引大體，不拘文法。
The emperor sent Zhuang Zhu to convey his intent to Nanyue. King Hu of Nanyue kowtowed and said, "The Son of Heaven has raised troops for my sake to punish Minyue—in death I could not repay such grace!" He sent the heir Yingqi to enter palace guard service and told Zhu, "The state has just been raided; when the envoy departs, Hu will pack day and night to go in audience with the Son of Heaven." Zhu returned by way of Huainan; the emperor again had Zhu inform King An of Huainan about the campaign against Yue—Jia answered to his intent, and An apologized that he had fallen short. After Zhu left Nanyue, Nanyue's ministers all remonstrated their king: "Han raised troops to execute Ying—this also serves to alarm Nanyue. Moreover the former king once said, 'In serving the Son of Heaven expect no lapse in ritual.' In sum, one must not be lured by fair words into audience at court—then one cannot return; that is the momentum of a lost state." Thereupon Hu claimed illness and in the end did not go to audience. ----7 In this year Han Anguo became Grand Censor. ----8 Ji An of Puyang, Administrator of Donghai, became Chief Commandant for Nobles. Earlier, when Ji An was a petition presenter, men feared him for his severity. When Eastern Yue fought among themselves, the emperor sent Ji An to observe; he did not go all the way—reaching Wu he returned and reported, "Yue fight among themselves by custom; that is not enough to trouble the Son of Heaven's envoy." When Henei caught fire and more than a thousand households burned, the emperor sent Ji An to observe; returning he reported, "A household lost fire and neighboring roofs caught—nothing to worry over. Your servant passed Henan; there more than ten thousand poor households suffered flood and drought, and some fathers and sons ate one another—your servant respectfully, on expedient authority and bearing credentials, opened Henan's granary grain to relieve the poor. Your servant asks to return the credentials and submit to the crime of falsifying orders." The emperor deemed him worthy and released him. In Donghai he governed offices and ordered the people, loving quiet purity; he chose assistants and clerks and entrusted them, demanding only the main aim and not nitpicking small matters. Ji An was often ill and lay within his inner chambers without coming out. Within a year Donghai was greatly ordered, and men praised him. The emperor heard and summoned him as Chief Commandant for Nobles, ranked among the Nine Ministers. His governing aimed at non-action, drawing on the larger pattern, not binding himself to written law.
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黯為人，性倨少禮，面折，不能容人之過。 時天子方招文學儒者，上曰：「吾欲云云。」 黯對曰：「陛下內多欲而外施仁義，奈何欲效唐、虞之治乎！」 上默然，怒，變色而罷朝，公卿皆為黯懼。 上退，謂左右曰：「甚矣汲黯之戇也！」 群臣或數黯，黯曰：「天子置公卿輔弼之臣，寧令從諛承意，陷主於不義乎？ 且已在其位，縱愛身，奈辱朝廷何！」 黯多病，病且滿三月； 上常賜告者數，終不愈。 最後病，莊助為請告。 上曰：「汲黯何如人哉？」 助曰：「使黯任職居官，無以逾人； 然至其輔少主，守城深堅，招之不來，麾之不去，雖自謂賁、育，亦不能奪之矣。」 上曰：「然，古有社稷之臣，至如黯，近之矣。」 ----9匈奴來請和親，天子下其議。 大行王恢，燕人也，習胡事，議曰：「漢與匈奴和親，率不過數歲，即復倍約； 不如勿許，興兵擊之。」 韓安國曰：「匈奴遷徙鳥舉，難得而制，自上古不屬為人。 今漢行數千里與之爭利，則人馬罷乏； 虜以全制其敝，此危道也。 不如和親。」 群臣議者多附安國。 於是上許和親。----
Ji An was by nature arrogant and sparing of ceremony; he refuted men to their faces and could not tolerate others' faults. The Son of Heaven was then recruiting literary Confucians; the emperor said, "I wish to do thus and so." Ji An replied, "Your Majesty is full of desires within yet applies benevolence and righteousness without—how can you hope to emulate the rule of Tang and Yu!" The emperor fell silent, grew angry, changed color, and dismissed court; the high ministers all feared for Ji An. The emperor withdrew and told those at hand, "How blunt Ji An is!" Some ministers reproached Ji An; Ji An said, "The Son of Heaven sets up high ministers to assist him—would he have them follow flattery and carry out his intent, trapping the ruler in unrighteousness? Moreover, already in that post, even if one cherishes one's person, how can one bear to shame the court!" Ji An was often ill; his illness nearly reached three months; the emperor often granted him leave, yet he never recovered. When he was last ill, Zhuang Zhu requested leave for him. The emperor said, "What sort of man is Ji An?" Zhu said, "Set Ji An in office and he has nothing by which to surpass others; yet when it comes to assisting a young lord and holding a city deep and firm—summon him and he will not come, wave him and he will not go; though one called oneself Ben Bo and Xia Yu, one could not wrest him away." The emperor said, "So. In antiquity there were ministers of the altars of soil and grain; as for one like Ji An, he is near to them." ----9 The Xiongnu came requesting marriage alliance; the Son of Heaven submitted it for deliberation. Grand Master of Ceremonies Wang Hui, a man of Yan versed in barbarian affairs, argued: "When Han and the Xiongnu make marriage alliances, within a few years they generally break the covenant again; better not to assent and to raise troops to strike them." Han Anguo said, "The Xiongnu migrate like birds on the wing—hard to seize and control; from high antiquity they have not been subjects. If Han now marches thousands of li to contend with them for profit, men and horses will be worn out; the barbarians, intact, will exploit our exhaustion—this is a perilous course. Better to make marriage alliance." Among the deliberating ministers, many sided with Anguo. Thereupon the emperor assented to marriage alliance.
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1冬，十一月，初令郡國舉孝廉各一人，從董仲舒之言也。 ----2衛尉李廣為驍騎將軍，屯雲中； 中尉程不識為車騎將軍，屯雁門。 六月，罷。 廣與不識俱以邊太守將兵，有名當時。 廣行無部伍、行陳，就善水草舍止，人人自便，不擊刁斗以自衛，莫府省約文書； 然亦遠斥候，未嘗遇害。 程不識正部曲、行伍、營陳，擊刁斗，士吏治軍簿至明，軍不得休息； 然亦未嘗遇害。 不識曰：「李廣軍極簡易，然虜卒犯之，無以禁也。 而其士卒亦佚樂，咸樂為之死。 我軍雖煩擾，然虜亦不得犯我。」 然匈奴畏李廣之略，士卒亦多樂從李廣而苦程不識。
In the first year, winter, eleventh month, the court first ordered each commandery and kingdom to recommend one filial and incorrupt man—following Dong Zhongshu's counsel. ----2 Captain of the Guard Li Guang became General of Valiant Cavalry and garrisoned Yunzhong; Central Commandant Cheng Bushi became General of Chariots and Cavalry and garrisoned Yanmen. In the sixth month they were dismissed. Li Guang and Cheng Bushi both led troops as border governors and were famous in their day. Li Guang marched without companies, ranks, or battle lines, camping wherever grass and water were good, each man left to his own convenience, not sounding the watchman's clapper for self-defense, his headquarters sparing in documents; yet he also posted scouts far out and never suffered attack. Cheng Bushi kept companies, squads, and camp formations in order, sounded the watchman's clapper, officers and clerks kept military records with extreme precision, and the army had no rest; yet he also never suffered attack. Cheng Bushi said, "Li Guang's army is extremely lax, yet when barbarians suddenly strike, there is no means to hold them off. Yet his soldiers are at ease and pleased, and all gladly die for him. Our army, though troublesome and strict, yet barbarians also cannot break through us." Yet the Xiongnu feared Li Guang's stratagems; the troops also mostly delighted to follow Li Guang and chafed under Cheng Bushi.
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::臣光曰：《易》曰：「師出以律，否臧凶。」 言治眾而不用法，無不凶也。 李廣之將，使人人自便。 以廣之材，如此焉可也； 然不可以為法。 何則？ 其繼者難也，況與之並時而為將乎！ 夫小人之情，樂於安肆而昧於近禍，彼既以程不識為煩擾而樂於從廣，且將仇其上而不服。 然則簡易之害，非徒廣軍無以禁虜之倉卒而已也。 故曰「兵事以嚴終」，為將者，亦嚴而已矣。 然則效程不識，雖無功，猶不敗； 效李廣，鮮不覆亡哉！ ----3夏，四月，赦天下。 ----4五月，詔舉賢良、文學，上親策之。 ----5秋，七月，癸未，日有食之。」」」」」」」」」」」」」」」
:: Your servant Guang says: The Changes says, "An army sets out by discipline; without it, ill fortune." —meaning that to govern the multitude without law is never without ill fortune. As a general, Li Guang let each man suit himself. Given Li Guang's talent, that could suffice; yet it cannot be made a standard. Why? His successor would find it hard—how much more one serving as general beside him at the same time! Petty men delight in ease and indulgence and are blind to near calamity; having found Cheng Bushi troublesome and Li Guang pleasing, they will come to hate their superiors and refuse obedience. Thus the harm of lax discipline is not merely that Li Guang's army could not hold off a sudden barbarian strike. Hence it is said, "military affairs end in severity"; for a general, severity alone suffices. Thus to imitate Cheng Bushi, though without merit, one still does not fail; to imitate Li Guang, rarely does one escape utter ruin! ----3 Summer, fourth month, amnesty for all under Heaven. ----4 Fifth month, an edict called for recommendations of worthy and able literary scholars; the emperor personally examined them. ----5 Autumn, seventh month, on guiwei, there was a solar eclipse.”””””””””””””””