1
資治通鑑第031卷
Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 31.
2
【漢紀二十三】起屠維大淵獻，盡強圉協洽，凡九年。
[Han Annals 23] From Tuyu Dayuanxian through Qiangyu Xiehe—nine years in all.
3
春，三月，壬戌，隕石東郡八。
In spring, the third month, on renxu, eight meteorites fell in Dong commandery.
4
夏，六月，穎川鐵官徙申屠聖等百八十人殺長吏，盜庫兵，自稱將軍，經歷九郡。 遣丞相長史、御史中丞逐捕，以軍興從事，皆伏辜。
In summer, the sixth month, one hundred eighty Yingchuan iron-office convicts led by Shentu Sheng killed their senior officials, looted the arsenal, proclaimed themselves generals, and rampaged through nine commanderies. The Chancellor's chief clerk and the Vice Censor-in-Chief were sent in pursuit; prosecuted under emergency military law, all were executed.
5
秋，王鳳疾，天子數自臨問，親執其手涕泣曰：「將軍病，如有不可言，平阿侯譚次將軍矣！」 鳳頓首泣曰：「譚等雖與臣至親，行皆奢僭，無以率導百姓，不如御史大夫音謹敕，臣敢以死保之！」 及鳳且死，上疏謝上，復固薦音自代，言譚等五人必不可用； 天子然之。 初，譚倨，不肯事鳳，而音敬鳳，卑恭如子，故鳳薦之。 八月，丁巳，鳳薨。 九月，甲子，以王音為大司馬、車騎將軍，而王譚位特進，領城門兵。 安定太守谷永以譚失職，勸譚辭讓，不受城門職； 由是譚、音相與不平。
In autumn, Wang Feng fell ill; the emperor visited him again and again, took his hand in tears, and said: "General, you are ill—if there is something you cannot bring yourself to say, Marquis of Ping'a Tan stands next in line after you!" Feng prostrated himself, weeping: "Though Tan and the others are my closest kin, they are all extravagant and overreaching and cannot lead the people. Censor-in-Chief Yin is cautious and disciplined—I dare stake my life on him!" As Feng neared death, he submitted a memorial of thanks and again pressed Yin as his successor, declaring that Tan and the other five were utterly unfit; the emperor agreed. Earlier, Tan had been proud and refused to defer to Feng, while Yin honored him with a son's humility—hence Feng recommended him. In the eighth month, on dingsi, Feng died. In the ninth month, on jiazi, Wang Yin was appointed Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry; Wang Tan was given Extraordinary Advancement and command of the city-gate troops. Anding Administrator Gu Yong, seeing Tan displaced, urged him to decline and refuse the city-gate command; thereafter Tan and Yin were at odds.
6
冬，十一月，丁卯，光祿勳於永為御史大夫。 永，定國之子也。
In winter, the eleventh month, on dingmao, Household Grandee Yu Yong was made Censor-in-Chief. Yong was the son of Dingguo.
7
春，二月，赦天下。
In spring, the second month, the empire was pardoned.
8
夏，四月，雨雪。
In summer, the fourth month, rain and snow fell.
9
秋，九月，壬申，東平思王宇薨。
In autumn, the ninth month, on renshen, King Si of Dongping, Yu, died.
10
少府王駿為京兆尹。 駿，吉之子也。 先是，京兆有趙廣漢、張敞、王尊、王章、王駿，皆有能名，故京師稱曰：「前有趙、張，後有三王。」
Privy Treasurer Wang Jun was appointed Metropolitan of Jingzhao. Jun was the son of Ji. Before this, Jingzhao had Zhao Guanghan, Zhang Chang, Wang Zun, Wang Zhang, and Wang Jun—all famed for ability—so the capital said: "Before there were Zhao and Zhang; after, there are the three Wangs."
11
閏月，壬戌，於永卒。
In the intercalary month, on renxu, Yu Yong died.
12
烏孫小昆彌烏就屠死，子拊離代立； 為弟日貳所殺。 漢遣使者立拊離子安日為小昆彌。 日貳亡阻康居； 安日使貴人姑莫匿等三人詐亡從日貳，刺殺之。 於是西域諸國上書，願復得前都護段會宗； 上從之。 城郭諸國聞之，皆翕然親附。
The Wusun junior Kunmi Wujiutu died; his son Fuli succeeded; and was killed by his younger brother Rier. Han sent an envoy to install Fuli's son Anri as junior Kunmi. Rier fled and held out in Kangju; Anri sent three nobles, including Gu Mo'ni, who pretended to defect to Rier and assassinated him. Thereupon the Western Regions submitted memorials asking that former Protector Duan Huizong be restored; the emperor agreed. The walled states, hearing this, all drew close and rallied to Han.
13
谷永奏言：「聖王不以名譽加於實效； 御史大夫任重職大，少府宣達於從政，唯陛下留神考察！」 上然之。
Gu Yong memorialized: "Sage kings do not heap reputation upon what has not been achieved; the Censor-in-Chief bears a weighty office; Privy Treasurer Xuan is adept in government—may Your Majesty examine them with care!" The emperor agreed.
14
春，正月，癸巳，以薛宣為御史大夫。
In spring, the first month, on guisi, Xue Xuan was appointed Censor-in-Chief.
15
二月，壬午，上行幸初陵，赦作徒； 以新豐戲鄉為昌陵縣，奉初陵。
In the second month, on renwu, the emperor visited the first imperial tomb and pardoned convict laborers; Xinfeng's Xi township was made Changling county to supply the first tomb.
16
上始為微行，從期門郎或私奴十餘人，或乘小車，或皆騎，出入市裡郊野，遠至旁縣甘泉、長楊、五柞，鬥雞、走馬，常自稱富平侯家人。 富平侯者，張安世四世孫放也。 放父臨，尚敬武公主，生放，放為侍中、中郎將，娶許皇后女弟，當時寵幸無比，故假稱之。
The emperor began traveling in disguise, accompanied by a dozen palace guards or private slaves, sometimes in a small cart, sometimes all mounted, roaming markets, suburbs, and neighboring counties as far as Sweet Springs, Changyang, and Wuzuo—cockfighting and racing horses—and often passing himself off as kin of the Marquis of Fuping. The Marquis of Fuping was Fang, fourth-generation descendant of Zhang Anshi. Fang's father Lin had married Princess Jingwu and fathered him; Fang served as Attendant-in-Ordinary and Palace Gentleman and married the Empress Xu's sister-in-law—then the most favored man at court—hence the borrowed name.
17
三月，庚戌，張禹以老病罷，以列侯朝朔、望，位特進，見禮如丞相，賞賜前後數千萬。
In the third month, on gengxu, Zhang Yu retired for age and illness; as a ranked marquis he attended court on the first and fifteenth, held Extraordinary Advancement, was treated like a Chancellor, and received rewards totaling tens of millions.
18
夏，四月，庚辰，薛宣為丞相，封高陽侯； 京兆尹王駿為御史大夫。
In summer, the fourth month, on gengchen, Xue Xuan was made Chancellor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoyang; Metropolitan of Jingzhao Wang Jun was appointed Censor-in-Chief.
19
王音既以從舅越親用事，小心親職。 上以音自御史大夫入為將軍，不獲宰相之封，六月，乙巳，封音為安陽侯。
Wang Yin, wielding power as a maternal uncle closer than custom allowed, carefully minded his office. Because Yin had risen from Censor-in-Chief to general without receiving a chancellor's marquisate, in the sixth month, on yisi, the emperor enfeoffed him as Marquis of Anyang.
20
冬，黃龍見真定。
In winter, a yellow dragon was seen in Zhending.
21
是歲，匈奴復株累單于死，弟且糜胥立，為搜諧若鞮單于； 遣子左祝都韓王呴留斯侯入侍，以且莫車為左賢王。
This year, the Xiongnu Chanyu Fuzhulei died; his younger brother Qiemixi succeeded as Chanyu Souxie Ruodi; he sent his son, Left Zhudu Han King Xuliusihou, to attend at court and made Chemoche Left Wise King.
22
春，上行幸雲陽、甘泉。
In spring, the emperor traveled to Yunyang and Sweet Springs.
23
三月，博士行大射禮。 有飛雉集於庭，歷階登堂而雊； 後雉又集太常、宗正、丞相、御史大夫、車騎將軍之府，又集未央宮承明殿屋上。 車騎將軍音、待詔寵等上言：「天地之氣，以類相應； 譴告人君，甚微而著。 雉者聽察，先聞雷聲，故《月令》以紀氣。 《經》載高宗雊雉之異，以明轉禍為福之驗。 今雉以博士行禮之日大眾聚會，飛集於庭，歷階登堂，萬眾睢睢，驚怪連日，逕歷三公之府，太常、宗正典宗廟骨肉之官，然後入宮，其宿留告曉人，具備深切； 雖人道相戒，何以過是！」 後帝使中常侍晁閎詔音曰：「聞捕得雉，毛羽頗摧折，類拘執者，得無人為之？」 音復對曰：「陛下安得亡國之語！ 不知誰主為佞諂之計，誣亂聖德如此者！ 左右阿諛甚眾，不待臣音復諂而足。 公卿以下，保位自守，莫有正言。 如令陛下覺寤，懼大禍且至身，深責臣下，繩以聖法，臣音當先誅，豈有以自解哉！ 今即位十五年，繼嗣不立，日日駕車而出，失行流聞； 海內傳之，甚於京師。 外有微行之害，內有疾病之憂，皇天數見災異，欲人變更，終已不改。 天尚不能感動陛下，臣子何望！ 獨有極言待死，命在朝暮而已。 如有不然，老母安得處所，尚何皇太后之有！ 高祖天下當以誰屬乎！ 宜謀於賢智，克己復禮，以求天意，繼嗣可立，災變尚可銷也。」
In the third month, the erudites performed the great archery rite. A pheasant flew into the courtyard, climbed the steps, entered the hall, and crowed; later it appeared at the offices of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, Director of the Imperial Clan, Chancellor, Censor-in-Chief, and General of Chariots and Cavalry, and finally on the roof of Chenming Hall in Weiyang Palace. General of Chariots and Cavalry Yin, Attendant-at-Court Chong, and others submitted: "Heaven and earth answer to one another by kind; reproving and warning the ruler—subtle, yet unmistakable. The pheasant hears and watches; it senses thunder before it comes—hence the Monthly Ordinances uses it to mark the seasons. The Classic records the omen of Gaozong's crowing pheasant to show how calamity may turn to blessing. Now, on the day the erudites performed the rite, before a vast assembly, the bird flew into the courtyard, climbed the steps, and entered the hall—ten thousand eyes upon it, wonder and alarm for days—then passed through the three highest offices, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and Director of the Imperial Clan who guard the ancestral temples and royal kin, and only then entered the palace; its stay and its message were thorough and grave; what human warning could surpass this!" Later the emperor sent Palace Attendant Chao Hong to Yin with an edict: "We hear the captured pheasant's feathers were broken and bent, as if it had been confined—was this not someone's doing?" Yin replied again: "Your Majesty, how can you speak as if the state were doomed! Who devised this slanderous flattery to corrupt Your Majesty's virtue so! Flatterers crowd your side; they need no help from me. From the highest ministers down, all cling to their posts; none speaks plainly. If Your Majesty should awaken, fear great calamity drawing near, and bind your ministers with the full force of law—I should be executed first; how could I excuse myself! You have reigned fifteen years without establishing an heir; day after day you drive abroad, and scandal spreads; throughout the realm it travels, louder than within the capital. Without, disguise roams abroad; within, illness gnaws; Heaven shows omens again and again, urging change—yet you do not change. If Heaven itself cannot move you, what hope have your ministers! I have only blunt words and await death; my life hangs on the morrow. If it were otherwise, where would my mother find shelter—what Empress Dowager would remain! To whom should the High Ancestor's realm pass! Take counsel with the wise, restrain yourself and restore ritual, seek Heaven's will—then an heir may be named and the omens dispelled."
24
初，元帝儉約，渭陵不復徙民起邑； 帝起初陵，數年後，樂霸陵曲亭南，更營之。 將作大匠解萬年使陳湯為奏，請為初陵徙民起邑，欲自以為功，求重賞。 湯因自請先徙，冀得美田宅。 上從其言，果起昌陵邑。
Initially, Emperor Yuan was frugal; at Weiling he did not relocate people to build a city; this emperor began the first tomb; years later, taken with the land south of Baling's Qu pavilion, he moved the site. Commissioner of Works Jie Wannian had Chen Tang petition to relocate people and build a city for the first tomb, seeking merit and a rich reward. Tang asked to relocate first himself, hoping for fine lands and houses. The emperor agreed, and Changling city was built.
25
夏，徙郡國豪桀貲五百萬以上五千戶於昌陵。
In summer, five thousand wealthy households from across the empire—each worth five million or more—were moved to Changling.
26
五月，癸未，隕石於杜郵三。
In the fifth month, on guiwei, three meteorites fell at Duyou.
27
六月，立中山憲王孫雲客為廣德王。
In the sixth month, Yunke, grandson of King Xian of Zhongshan, was made King of Guangde.
28
是歲，城陽哀王雲薨； 無子，國除。
This year, King Ai of Chengyang, Yun, died; without heirs; the kingdom was abolished.
29
夏，四月，赦天下。
In summer, the fourth month, the empire was pardoned.
30
大旱。
A great drought struck.
31
王氏五侯爭以奢侈相尚。 成都侯商嘗病，欲避暑，從上借明光宮。 後又穿長安城，引內灃水，注第中大陂以行船，立羽蓋，張周帷，楫棹越歌。 上幸商第，見穿城引水，意恨，內銜之，未言； 後微行出，過曲陽侯第，又見園中土山、漸台，像白虎殿。 於是上怒，以讓車騎將軍音。 商、根兄弟欲自黥、劓以謝太后。 上聞之，大怒，乃使尚書責問司隸校尉、京兆尹，知成都侯商等奢僭不軌，藏匿奸猾，皆阿縱，不舉奏正法； 二人頓首省戶下。 又賜車騎將軍音策書曰：「外家何甘樂禍敗！ 而欲自黥、劓，相戮辱於太后前，傷慈母之心，以危亂國家！ 外家宗族強，上一身浸弱日久，今將一施之，君其召諸侯，令待府捨！」 是日，詔尚書奏文帝時誅將軍薄昭故事。 車騎將軍音藉稿請罪，商、立、根皆負斧質謝，良久乃已。 上特欲恐之，實無意誅也。
The five Wang marquises vied in extravagance. Marquis of Chengdu Shang, when ill, asked to borrow Bright Light Palace to escape the heat. Later he bored through Chang'an's wall, diverted Feng water into a great pond at his mansion for boating, raised feathered canopies and circling curtains, and rowed to Yue songs. The emperor visited Shang's mansion, saw the breach and the waterworks, seethed inwardly, and said nothing; later, abroad in disguise, he passed Marquis of Quyang's mansion and saw an earthen hill and terraced pavilion in the garden mimicking White Tiger Hall. The emperor flew into a rage and rebuked General of Chariots and Cavalry Yin. Brothers Shang and Gen offered to tattoo and mutilate themselves before the Empress Dowager. Hearing this, the emperor was furious and sent the Palace Clerk to rebuke the Metropolitan Commandant and Metropolitan of Jingzhao—for knowing that Marquis of Chengdu Shang and others lived in extravagance beyond law, sheltered villains, and fawned on them without prosecuting; both men prostrated themselves at the office gate. He also sent General Yin an edict: "Why do the consort kin court disaster! Yet you would mutilate yourselves and shame one another before the Empress Dowager, wounding your mother's heart and endangering the realm! Your clan grows strong while I grow weak—now I shall act; summon the marquises and keep them at their mansions!" That day he ordered the Palace Clerk to cite Emperor Wen's execution of General Bo Zhao. General Yin lay on straw and begged punishment; Shang, Li, and Gen came bearing the axe-block to plead—all for a long while before the storm passed. The emperor meant only to terrify them; he had no real intent to kill.
32
秋，八月，乙卯，孝景廟北闕災。
In autumn, the eighth month, on yimao, the northern gate-tower of Emperor Jing's temple burned.
33
初，許皇后與班婕妤皆有寵於上。 上嘗游後庭，欲與婕妤同輦載，婕妤辭曰：「觀古圖畫，賢聖之君皆有名臣在側，三代末主乃有嬖妾。 今欲同輦，得無近似之乎！」 上善其言而止。 太后聞之，喜曰：「古有樊姬，今有班婕妤！」 班婕妤進侍者李平得幸，亦為婕妤，賜姓曰衛。 其後，上微行過陽阿主家，悅歌舞者趙飛燕，召入宮，大幸； 有女弟，復召入，姿性尤醲粹，左右見之，皆嘖嘖嗟賞。 有宣帝時披香博士淖方成在帝后，唾曰：「此禍水也，滅火必矣！」 姊、弟俱為婕妤，貴傾後宮。 許皇后、班婕妤皆失寵。 於是趙飛燕譖告許皇后、班婕妤挾媚道，祝詛後宮，詈及主上。 冬，十一月，甲寅，許後廢處昭台宮，後姊謁等皆誅死，親屬歸故郡。 考問班婕妤，婕妤對曰：「妾聞『死生有命，富貴在天。』 修正尚未蒙福，為邪欲以何望！ 使鬼神有知，不受不臣之訴； 如其無知，訴之何益！ 故不為也。」 上善其對，赦之，賜黃金百斤。 趙氏姊、弟驕妒，婕妤恐久見危，乃求共養太后於長信宮。 上許焉。
Earlier, Empress Xu and Lady Ban the Fair Attendant both enjoyed the emperor's favor. The emperor once toured the rear garden and wished to ride in the same carriage with the Fair Attendant; she declined, saying, "Looking at ancient pictures, sage and worthy rulers all had famous ministers at their side; only the last rulers of the Three Dynasties had favorite concubines. Now if we wish to ride together, might this not be close to that!" The emperor approved her words and stopped. The Empress Dowager heard it and said with joy, "Ancient times had Lady Fan; today there is Lady Ban the Fair Attendant!" Lady Ban the Fair Attendant advanced her attendant Li Ping, who obtained favor, was also made Fair Attendant, and was granted the surname Wei. Afterward, the emperor went out incognito and passed the house of Princess Yang'a; he delighted in the song-and-dance performer Zhao Feiyan, summoned her into the palace, and greatly favored her; she had a younger sister, who was again summoned in; her bearing and nature were especially rich and pure, and those beside her, seeing her, all clicked their tongues in admiration. There was the Poxiang erudite Zhuo Fangcheng from Emperor Xuan's time behind the emperor; he spat and said, "This is calamity-water; it will surely extinguish the fire!" The elder and younger sisters were both made Fair Attendants, and their nobility overwhelmed the inner palace. Empress Xu and Lady Ban the Fair Attendant both lost favor. Thereupon Zhao Feiyan slandered, reporting that Empress Xu and Lady Ban the Fair Attendant employed seductive arts, prayed and cursed against the inner palace, and reviled even the ruler. In winter, the eleventh month, on jiayin, Empress Xu was deposed and lodged at Zhaotai Palace; the empress's elder sister Ye and others were all executed, and relatives returned to their former commanderies. Lady Ban the Fair Attendant was examined and questioned; she replied, "Your concubine has heard, 'Life and death have fate; wealth and honor are in Heaven. Upright correction has not yet received blessing—doing evil, what could one hope for! If ghosts and spirits have knowledge, they will not accept the appeal of the disloyal; if they have no knowledge, what use is appealing! therefore I do not do it." The emperor approved her reply, pardoned her, and bestowed a hundred jin of gold. The Zhao sisters were arrogant and jealous; the Fair Attendant feared that if seen long she would be endangered, and therefore requested to join in supporting the Empress Dowager at Changle Palace. The emperor assented.
34
廣漢男子鄭躬等六十餘人攻官寺，篡囚徒，盜庫兵； 自稱山君。
More than sixty men of Guanghan, including Zheng Gong, attacked government offices, seized prisoners, and stole arsenal weapons; they styled themselves Lord of the Mountains.
35
秋，勃海、清河、信都河水湓溢，灌縣、邑三十一，敗官亭、民捨四萬餘所。 平陵李尋等奏言：「議者常欲求索九河故跡而穿之。 今因其自決，可且勿塞，以觀水勢； 河欲居之，當稍自成川，跳出沙土。 然後順天心而圖之，必有成功，而用財力寡。」 於是遂止不塞。 朝臣數言百姓可哀，上遣使者處業振贍之。
In autumn, the rivers of Bohai, Qinghe, and Xindu brimmed and overflowed, inundating thirty-one counties and districts and destroying more than forty thousand government lodges and commoners' dwellings. Li Xun of Pingling and others memorialized, saying, "Deliberators have often wished to seek and trace the old courses of the Nine Rivers and cut through them. Now, taking advantage of its bursting forth on its own, we may for the time not block it, to observe the water's force; if the river wishes to dwell there, it should gradually itself become a channel and leap out sand and soil. Only afterward, following Heaven's heart and planning it, there will certainly be success, and the use of wealth and strength will be little." Thereupon they stopped and did not block. Court ministers repeatedly said the common people were pitiable; the emperor sent envoys to settle affairs and relieve and sustain them.
36
廣漢鄭躬等黨與浸廣，犯歷四縣，眾且萬人； 州郡不能制。 冬，以河東都尉趙護為廣漢太守，發郡中及蜀郡合三萬人擊之，或相捕斬除罪； 旬月平。 遷護為執金吾，賜黃金百斤。
The partisans of Zheng Gong of Guanghan gradually spread wider, offending and passing through four counties, their multitude nearly ten thousand; the provinces and commanderies could not control them. In winter, Commandant of Hedong Zhao Hu was made Administrator of Guanghan; he mobilized from within the commandery and from Shu Commandery together thirty thousand men to strike them, some capturing one another and beheading to expiate guilt; within a month it was pacified. Hu was transferred to be Bearer of the Mace and was bestowed a hundred jin of gold.
37
是歲，平阿安侯王譚薨。 上悔廢譚使不輔政而薨也，乃復成都侯商以特進領城門兵，置幕府，得舉吏如將軍。 魏郡杜鄴時為郎，素善車騎將軍音，見音前與平阿侯有隙，即說音曰：「夫戚而不見殊，孰能無怨！ 昔秦伯有千乘之國而不能容其母弟，《春秋》譏焉。 周、召則不然，忠以相輔，義以相匡，同己之親，等己之尊，不以聖德獨兼國寵，又不為長專受榮任，分職於陝，並為弼疑，故內無感恨之隙，外無侵侮之羞，俱享天祐，兩荷高名者，蓋以此也。 竊見成都侯以特進領城門兵，復有詔得舉吏如五府，此明詔所欲寵也。 將軍宜承順聖意，加異往時，每事凡議，必與及之。 發於至誠，則孰不說諭！」 音甚嘉其言，由是與成都侯商親密。 二人皆重鄴。
This year, Marquis of Ping'a and An Wang Tan died. The emperor regretted that Tan had been dismissed from assisting in government and then died; he therefore restored Marquis of Chengdu Shang as Special Advancement to lead the gate-tower troops, established a staff headquarters, and allowed him to recommend clerks like a general. Du Ye of Wei Commandery was then a Gentleman, and was always on good terms with General of Chariots and Cavalry Yin; seeing that Yin earlier had a rift with the Marquis of Ping'a, he immediately advised Yin, saying, "When kin are not shown distinction, who can be without resentment! Formerly Duke Mu of Qin had a state of a thousand chariots yet could not accommodate his younger brother by the same mother—the Spring and Autumn Annals reproved this. The Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao were not so—they were loyal in assisting one another and righteous in correcting one another, made kin like themselves and honor like themselves, did not because of sage virtue alone monopolize the state's favor, nor because of seniority alone specially receive glory and office; they divided duties at Shan and together were assistants and counselors—therefore within there was no gap of resentful feeling, without no shame of invasion and insult; both enjoyed Heaven's blessing and bore high names—this was roughly the reason. Your servant has observed that the Marquis of Chengdu, as Special Advancement, leads the gate-tower troops, and again has an edict allowing him to recommend clerks like the Five Offices—this shows clearly that the edict wishes to favor him. The general ought to comply with and follow the sage intent, adding distinction beyond former times; in every matter, whenever there is deliberation, you must involve and reach him. Issuing from utmost sincerity, then who would not be pleased and instructed!" Yin greatly approved his words; from this he became intimate with the Marquis of Chengdu Shang. Both men highly valued Ye.
38
春，正月，癸丑，太官凌室火。 戊午，戾後園南闕火。
In spring, the first month, on guichou, the ice storehouse of the Grand Provisioner caught fire. On wuwu, the southern gate-tower of the rear garden of the Deposed Empress caught fire.
39
上欲立趙婕妤為皇后，皇太后嫌其所出微甚，難之。 太后姊子淳于長為侍中，數往來通語東宮； 歲餘，乃得太后指，許之。 夏，四月，乙亥，上先封婕妤父臨為成陽侯。 諫大夫河間劉輔上書，言：「昔武王、周公，承順天地以饗魚、鳥之瑞，然猶君臣示氐懼，動色相戒。 況於季世，不蒙繼嗣之福，屢受威怒之異者虖！ 雖夙夜自責，改過易行，畏天命，念祖業，妙選有德之世，考卜窈窕之女，以承宗廟，順神祇心，塞天下望，子孫之祥猶恐晚暮！ 今乃觸情縱欲，傾於卑賤之女，欲以母天下，不畏於天，不愧於人，惑莫大焉！ 裡語曰：『腐木不可以為柱； 人婢不可以為主。』 天人之所不予，必有禍而無福，市道皆共知之，朝廷莫肯壹言。 臣竊傷心，不敢不盡死！」 書奏，上使侍御史收縛輔，繫掖庭秘獄，群臣莫知其故。 於是左將軍辛慶忌、右將軍廉褒、光祿勳琅邪師丹、太中大夫谷永俱上書曰：「竊見劉輔前以縣令求見，擢為諫大夫，此其言必有卓詭切至當聖心者，故得拔至於此； 旬月之間，收下秘獄。 臣等愚以為輔幸得托公族之親，在諫臣之列，新從下土來，未知朝廷體，獨觸忌諱，不足深過。 小罪宜隱忍而已，如有大惡，宜暴治理官，與眾共之。 今天心未豫，災異屢降，水旱迭臻，方當隆寬廣問，褒直盡下之時也，而行慘急之誅於諫爭之臣，震驚群下，失忠直心。 假令輔不坐直言，所坐不著，天下不可戶曉。 同姓近臣，本以言顯，其於治親養忠之義，誠不宜幽囚於掖庭獄。 公卿以下，見陛下進用輔亟而折傷之暴，人有懼心，精銳銷耎，莫敢盡節正言，非所以昭有虞之聽，廣德美之風！ 臣等竊深傷之，惟陛下留神省察！」 上乃徙繫輔共工獄，減死罪一等，論為鬼薪。
The emperor wished to establish Fair Attendant Zhao as empress; the Empress Dowager disliked that her origin was very slight and made it difficult. The Empress Dowager's sister's son Chunyu Chang was Attendant Within; he repeatedly went back and forth conveying words to the Eastern Palace; after more than a year he finally obtained the Empress Dowager's intent and she assented. In summer, the fourth month, on yihai, the emperor first enfeoffed the Fair Attendant's father Lin as Marquis of Chengyang. Remonstrance Grandee Liu Fu of Hejian submitted a memorial, saying, "Formerly King Wu and the Duke of Zhou, complying with Heaven and Earth, received the auspices of fish and birds—yet still ruler and ministers showed low fear, their expressions moving as they warned one another. How much more in a declining age, not receiving the blessing of a successor, repeatedly receiving awesome-angry portents! Though from dawn to night one blames oneself, changes faults and alters conduct, fears Heaven's mandate, and thinks on the ancestral enterprise—finely to select a worthy generation, examine and divine a modest and fair woman to continue the ancestral temple, follow the hearts of the spirits, and stop up the empire's hopes—even so, the auspice of sons and grandsons one still fears is late and twilight! Now you touch feeling and indulge desire, leaning toward a slight and base woman, wishing to make her mother of the empire—not fearing Heaven, not ashamed before men—confusion could not be greater! A village saying goes, 'Rotten wood cannot serve as a pillar; a person's bondmaid cannot serve as mistress.' What Heaven and man do not grant must have calamity and not blessing; market and road all know it together, yet at court none will speak with one voice. Your servant secretly is wounded at heart and dares not fail to speak to the death!" When the memorial was submitted, the emperor had the Attendant Censor arrest and bind Fu and imprison him in the secret prison of the Palace Domestic Service; the ministers all did not know the reason. Thereupon Left General Xin Qingji, Right General Lian Bao, Director of the Secretariat Shi Dan of Langye, and Grand Palace Counselor Gu Yong all submitted memorials, saying, "Your servant has observed that Liu Fu earlier, as a magistrate, sought audience and was promoted to Remonstrance Grandee—his words must have had something outstanding, strange, and cutting that reached the sage heart, and therefore he was pulled up to this; within a month he was taken down into the secret prison. Your servants foolishly consider that Fu, fortunately obtaining to rely on kin of the ducal house, is in the ranks of remonstrating ministers, newly come from lower lands, and does not yet know the court's forms—alone touching taboo, not enough for a deep fault. A small crime ought to be borne with in concealment only; if there is a great evil, it is fitting to expose and govern it through officials, sharing it with the multitude. Now Heaven's heart is not at ease, portents and anomalies repeatedly descend, flood and drought come in turn—it is just the time to exalt leniency, broaden inquiry, praise the upright, and bring all below—yet you carry out cruel and urgent punishment on a remonstrating minister, startling the multitude below and losing the heart of loyalty and uprightness. Supposing Fu is not punished for blunt speech, yet the crime for which he is punished is not clear—the empire cannot be made to know door by door. A kinsman of the same surname and a near minister, by origin made manifest through words—for the meaning of governing kin and nurturing loyalty, it truly is not fitting to be darkly imprisoned in the Palace Domestic Service prison. From the Three Dukes down, seeing Your Majesty advance and employ Fu quickly yet break and wound him violently, men have a heart of fear; keen edge is worn away soft—none dare exhaust loyalty in upright speech; this is not the means to make manifest the listening of Youyu, or broaden the wind of virtue and beauty! Your servants secretly are deeply wounded—only may Your Majesty keep your spirit and examine and reflect!" The emperor then transferred Fu's imprisonment to the Works prison, reduced the death crime by one grade, and sentenced him to ghost firewood.
40
初，太后兄弟八人，獨弟曼早死，不侯； 太后憐之。 曼寡婦渠供養東宮，子莽幼孤，不及等比，其群兄弟皆將軍、五侯子，乘時侈靡，以輿馬聲色佚游相高。 莽因折節為恭儉，勤身博學，被服如儒生； 事母及寡嫂，養孤兄子，行甚敕備； 又外交英俊，內事諸父，曲有禮意。 大將軍鳳病，莽侍疾，親嘗藥，亂首垢面，不解衣帶連月。 鳳且死，以托太后及帝，拜為黃門郎，遷射聲校尉。 久之，叔父成都侯商上書，願分戶邑以封莽。 長樂少府戴崇、侍中金涉、中郎陳湯等皆當世名士，咸為莽言，上由是賢莽，太后又數以為言。 五月，乙未，封莽為新都侯，遷騎都尉、光祿大夫、侍中。 宿衛謹敕，爵位益尊，節操愈謙，散輿馬、衣裘振施賓客，家無所餘； 收贍名士，交結將、相、卿、大夫甚眾。 故在位更推薦之，游者為之談說，虛譽隆洽，傾其諸父矣。 敢為激發之行，處之不漸恧。 嘗私買侍婢，昆弟或頗聞知，莽因曰：「後將軍朱子元無子，莽聞此兒種宜子，為買之」。 即日以婢奉朱博。 其匿情求名如此！
Earlier, the Empress Dowager's brothers were eight; only the younger brother Man died early and was not enfeoffed; the Empress Dowager pitied him. Man's widow Qu supported the Eastern Palace; the son Mang was young and orphaned, not reaching equal comparison—the band of brothers were all sons of generals and the Five Marquises, riding the times in extravagant excess, competing high in carriages, horses, sound, color, and idle roaming. Mang therefore bent his conduct to be respectful and frugal, toiled in body and broadly studied, his dress like a Confucian scholar; served his mother and widowed sister-in-law, reared his orphaned elder brother's son—his conduct very careful and complete; outwardly he befriended outstanding men; inwardly he served his various uncles, bending with ritual intent. Chief Minister Feng fell ill; Mang attended the illness, personally tasted medicine, hair disordered and face filthy, not undoing belt or clothes for consecutive months. When Feng was about to die, he entrusted him to the Empress Dowager and the emperor; Mang was appointed Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and transferred to Commandant of the Archers. After a long time, his uncle the Marquis of Chengdu Shang submitted a memorial wishing to divide household fiefs to enfeoff Mang. Director of Changle Dai Chong, Attendant Within Jin She, Palace Gentleman Chen Tang, and others were all famous scholars of the age and all spoke for Mang; the emperor thereby esteemed Mang, and the Empress Dowager also repeatedly spoke on his behalf. In the fifth month, on yiwei, Mang was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xindu, transferred to Commandant of Cavalry, Palace Counselor, and Attendant Within. On night guard he was careful and restrained; as rank grew more honored, his conduct became more humble; he scattered carriages, horses, and fur coats to relieve and bestow on guests—at home nothing remained; he gathered and sustained famous scholars and formed ties with many generals, chancellors, ministers, and grandees. Therefore those in office further recommended him; wanderers spoke for him; empty praise rose and spread, overwhelming his various uncles. He dared perform stirring and arousing acts and, placed in them, was not gradually ashamed. Once he privately bought a palace maid; brothers perhaps somewhat heard and knew; Mang therefore said, "Later General Zhu Ziyuan has no son; Mang heard this child's seed is fit for sons and bought her for him." That very day he presented the maid to Zhu Bo. His concealing feeling and seeking fame was like this!
41
六月，丙寅，立皇后趙氏，大赦天下。 皇后既立，寵少衰。 而其女弟絕幸，為昭儀，居昭陽捨，其中庭彤朱而殿上髹漆； 切皆銅沓，黃金塗； 白玉階； 壁帶往往為黃金釭，函藍田璧、明珠、翠羽飾之。 自後宮未嘗有焉。 趙後居別館，多通侍郎、宮奴多子者。 昭儀嘗謂帝曰：「妾姊性剛，有如為人構陷，則趙氏無種矣！」 因泣下心妻惻。 帝信之，有白後奸狀者，帝輒殺之。 由是後公為淫恣，無敢言者，然卒無子。
In the sixth month, on bingyin, Empress Zhao was established and a great amnesty was proclaimed for the empire. After the empress was established, favor somewhat declined. Yet her younger sister had absolute favor, was made Brilliant Companion, and dwelt in Zhaoyang Lodge; within, the central court was cinnabar red and the hall above lacquered; the cuttings all were copper plates, gilded with gold; white jade steps; wall bands here and there were golden sockets, caskets holding Lantian jade disks, bright pearls, and kingfisher feathers to adorn them. Since the inner palace there had never been such. Empress Zhao dwelt in a separate lodge and frequently connected with Gentlemen of Attendance and palace slaves who had many sons. The Brilliant Companion once said to the emperor, "Your concubine's elder sister's nature is hard; if someone frames her, then the Zhao clan will have no seed!" Thereupon she wept, her heart and wife's sorrow moving. The emperor believed her; whoever reported the empress's licentious conduct, the emperor immediately killed. From this the empress openly was licentious and unrestrained; none dared speak—yet in the end she had no son.
42
光祿大夫劉向以為王教由內及外，自近者始，於是採取《詩》、《書》所載賢妃、貞婦興國顯家及孽、嬖亂亡者，序次為《列女傳》，凡八篇，及采傳記行事，著《新序》、《說苑》，凡五十篇，奏之，數上疏言得失，陳法戒。 書數十上，以助觀覽，補遺闕。 上雖不能盡用，然內嘉其言，常嗟歎之。
Grand Master of Splendor Liu Xiang held that royal instruction proceeds from within outward, beginning with those nearest; he thereupon gathered from the Odes and Documents worthy consorts and chaste wives who raised states and glorified families, and wicked and favored women who brought disorder and ruin, arranged them as the Biographies of Exemplary Women in eight fascicles; he also collected traditions and recorded conduct in the New Arrangements and the Garden of Sayings, fifty fascicles in all, and presented them, repeatedly memorializing on gain and loss and setting forth laws and warnings. He submitted his writings dozens of times to assist the emperor's reading and to fill omissions and gaps. Although the emperor could not fully adopt his advice, he inwardly praised his words and often sighed in admiration.
43
昌陵制度奢泰，久而不成。 劉向上疏曰：「臣聞王者必通三統，明天命所授者博，非獨一姓也。 自古及今，未有不亡之國。 孝文皇帝嘗美石槨之固，張釋之曰：『使其中有可欲，雖錮南山猶有隙。』 夫死者無終極，而國家有廢興，故釋之之言為無窮計也。 孝文寤焉，遂薄葬。 棺槨之作，自黃帝始。 黃帝、堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武、周公，丘□皆小，葬具甚微； 其賢臣孝子亦承命順意而薄葬之。 此誠奉安君父忠孝之至也。 孔子葬母於防，墳四尺。 延陵季子葬其子，封墳掩坎，其高可隱。 故仲尼孝子而延陵慈父，舜、禹忠臣，周公弟弟，其葬君、親、骨肉皆微薄矣。 非苟為儉，誠便於體也。 秦始皇帝葬於驪山之阿，下錮三泉，上崇山墳，水銀為江、海，黃金為鳧、雁，珍寶之臧，機械之變，棺槨之麗，宮館之盛，不可勝原。 天下苦其役而反之，驪山之作未成，而周章百萬之師至其下矣。 項籍燔其宮室、營宇，牧兒持火照求亡羊，失火燒其臧槨。 自古至今，葬未有盛如始皇者也。 數年之間，外被項籍之災，內離牧豎之禍，豈不哀哉！ 是故德彌厚者葬彌薄，知愈深者葬愈微。 無德寡知，其葬愈厚。 丘隴彌高，宮廟甚麗，發掘必速。 由是觀之，明暗之效，葬之吉凶，昭然可見矣。 陛下即位，躬親節儉，始營初陵，其制約小，天下莫不稱賢明； 及徙昌陵，增卑為高，積土為山，發民墳墓，積以萬數，營起邑居，期日迫卒，功費大萬百餘，死者恨於下，生者愁於上，臣甚愍焉！ 以死者為有知，發人之墓，其害多矣； 若其無知，又安用大！ 謀之賢知則不說，以示眾庶則苦之，若苟以說愚夫淫侈之人，又何為哉！ 唯陛下上覽明聖之制以為則，下觀亡秦之禍以為戒，初陵之模，宜從公卿大臣之議，以息眾庶！」 上感其言。
The Changling tomb project was extravagantly designed and long remained unfinished. Liu Xiang submitted a memorial, saying, "Your subject has heard that a true king must comprehend the three transmissions of the Mandate, making clear that what Heaven confers is broad—not a single surname alone. From antiquity to the present, there has never been a state that did not perish. Emperor Wen once praised the solidity of a stone outer coffin; Zhang Shizhi said, 'If within it there is something desirable, even if caged with the South Mountain there would still be a gap.' For the dead have no end, yet states rise and fall; therefore Shizhi's words were planning for the endless future. Wen awoke to it and thereupon ordered a frugal burial. Inner and outer coffins began with the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and the Duke of Zhou—their mounds □ were all small and burial goods extremely slight; their worthy ministers and filial sons likewise followed command and intent and buried them frugally. This truly is the utmost of loyalty and filial piety in securing peace for lord and father. Confucius buried his mother at Fang with a mound four feet high. Lord Ji of Yanling buried his son, sealed the mound and covered the pit—its height could be concealed. Thus Confucius was a filial son and Lord Ji of Yanling a loving father; Shun and Yu were loyal ministers; the Duke of Zhou was a younger brother—they all buried lords, parents, and kin most frugally. It was not done merely for thrift; it truly suited the bodily remains. The First Emperor of Qin was buried on the slope of Mount Li; below, three springs were sealed in; above, a mountain mound was heaped; mercury formed rivers and seas, gold formed ducks and geese; treasures, mechanisms, splendid coffins, and magnificent palaces—the list cannot be exhausted. All under Heaven suffered from the corvée and rebelled; the Mount Li project was not yet finished when armies of a million reached its foot. Xiang Yu burned his palaces and halls; a shepherd boy held a torch seeking a lost sheep and accidentally set fire that burned the treasure coffins. From antiquity to the present, no burial has been as grand as the First Emperor's. Within several years he suffered Xiang Yu's disaster from without and the shepherd boy's calamity from within—is it not pitiable! Therefore the greater the virtue, the thinner the burial; the deeper the wisdom, the slighter the burial. Those without virtue and with little knowledge bury ever more lavishly. Mounds grow ever higher and palaces ever more splendid—exhumation is sure to come quickly. From this one sees that the effect of wisdom and folly and the good and ill of burial are plainly visible. When Your Majesty took the throne, you personally practiced thrift; when you first planned the initial tomb, its design was modest, and all under Heaven praised your wisdom; but when you moved to Changling, you raised what was low into heights, heaped earth into mountains, opened commoners' graves by the tens of thousands, built towns and dwellings, pressed deadlines, spent more than a hundred million in labor—the dead resent below, the living grieve above; your subject is deeply pained! If the dead have knowledge, opening people's tombs does great harm; if they have no knowledge, why use such great effort! The worthy and wise will not approve; the masses will suffer by it—if you merely wish to please foolish and extravagant men, what is the point! May Your Majesty above take enlightened institutions as your standard and below take perished Qin's calamity as your warning—the initial tomb's design ought to follow the grandees' counsel and give rest to the people!" The emperor was moved by his words.
44
初，解萬年自詭昌陵三年可成，卒不能就； 群臣多言其不便者。 下有司議，皆曰：「昌陵因卑為高，度便房猶在平地上； 客土之中，不保幽冥之靈，淺外不固。 卒徒工庸以巨萬數，至然脂火夜作，取土東山，且與谷同賈，作治數年，天下遍被其勞。 故陵因天性，據真土，處勢高敞，旁近祖考，前又已有十年功緒，宜還復故陵，勿徙民，便！」 秋，七月，詔曰：「朕執德不固，謀不盡下，過聽將作大匠萬年言『昌陵三年可成』，作治五年，中陵、司馬殿門內尚未加功。 天下虛耗，百姓罷勞，客土疏惡，終不可成，朕惟其難，怛然傷心。 夫『過而不改，是謂過矣』。 其罷昌陵，及故陵勿徙吏民，令天下毋有動搖之心。」
Earlier, Jie Wannian himself claimed Changling could be finished in three years, yet in the end it could not be completed; many ministers spoke of its drawbacks. It was sent to the responsible offices for deliberation; all said, "Changling raises what is low into heights; measured, the side chambers are still on level ground; within borrowed earth the spirit in the netherworld is not secured; shallow and outward, it is not firm. Corvée laborers number in the tens of thousands; they even burn lamps and work at night, taking earth from the eastern hills until it costs as much as grain; after years of construction the whole realm bears its toil. Therefore the tomb should follow natural terrain, rest on native earth, occupy a high and open site near the ancestors, and ten years of work had already begun on the former site—it is fitting to return to the original tomb and not move the people—best!" In autumn, the seventh month, an edict said, "We have held to virtue without firmness, our plans have not fully reached below, and wrongly listened to Master of Works Jie Wannian's claim that 'Changling can be finished in three years'—after five years of construction, work within the central tomb and the Sima Hall gate has not yet been added. All under Heaven is drained, the people exhausted; the borrowed earth is loose and poor and ultimately cannot succeed—we ponder the difficulty and are suddenly grieved at heart. For 'to err and not correct it is still to err.' Let Changling be abandoned, and do not move officials and people for the former tomb, so that all under Heaven has no heart of unrest."
45
初，酇侯蕭何之子孫嗣為侯者，無子及有罪，凡五絕祀。 高後、文帝、景帝、武帝、宣帝思何之功，輒以其支庶紹封。 是歲，何七世孫酇侯獲坐使奴殺人，減死，完為城旦。 先是，上詔有司訪求漢初功臣之後，久未省錄。 杜業說上曰：「唐、虞、三代皆封建諸侯，以成太平之美，是以燕、齊之祀與周並傳，子繼弟及，歷載不墮。 豈無刑辟、繇祖之竭力，故支庶賴焉。 跡漢功臣，亦皆割符世爵，受山河之誓； 百餘年間，而襲封者盡，朽骨孤於墓，苗裔流於道，生為愍隸，死為轉屍。 以往況今，甚可悲傷。 聖朝憐閔，詔求其後，四方忻忻，靡不歸心。 出入數年而不省察，恐議者不思大義，徒設虛言，則厚德掩息，吝簡布章，非所以示化勸後也。 雖難盡繼，宜從尤功。」 上納其言。 癸卯，封蕭何六世孫南□長喜為酇侯。
Earlier, among Marquis Xiao He of Zan's descendants who succeeded as marquises, lines without heirs and lines ended for crimes—in all the sacrifices were cut off five times. Empress Gao, Emperors Wen, Jing, Wu, and Xuan, mindful of He's merit, each time enfeoffed a collateral branch to continue the line. That year, He's seventh-generation descendant Marquis Huo of Zan was convicted of having a slave kill a man; his death sentence was reduced and he was sentenced to corvée labor. Before this, the emperor had ordered the responsible offices to seek descendants of Han's founding meritocrats, but long they had not been registered. Du Ye urged the emperor, saying, "Tang, Yu, and the Three Dynasties all enfeoffed feudal lords to achieve great peace; therefore the sacrifices of Yan and Qi were transmitted with Zhou—sons succeeding and younger brothers following—and through the ages did not fall. This was not without punishments and the ancestors' full effort, so collateral lines could rely on it. Tracing Han's meritocrats, they too all received split tallies, hereditary enfeoffments, and oaths over mountains and rivers; within a hundred-odd years those who inherited enfeoffment were gone; bones lay lonely in tombs and descendants drifted on the roads—alive they were wretched bondsmen, dead they were corpses cast aside. Measuring the present by the past is deeply pitiable. The sagely court took pity and issued an edict to seek their descendants; the four quarters rejoiced and all turned their hearts. Several years have passed without examination—I fear deliberators do not consider great righteousness but merely set up empty words; then thick virtue is stifled and stinginess spreads its chapters—not the way to display transformation and encourage posterity. Although it is hard to continue them all, one ought to begin with those of greatest merit." The emperor accepted his words. On guimao, he enfeoffed Xiao He's sixth-generation descendant Chief Xi of Nan □ as Marquis of Zan.
46
立城陽哀王弟俚為王。
He installed Li, younger brother of King Ai of Chengyang, as king.
47
八月，丁丑，太皇太后王氏崩。
In the eighth month, on dingchou, Grand Empress Dowager Wang died.
48
九月，黑龍見東萊。
In the ninth month, a black dragon appeared in Donglai.
49
丁巳晦，日有食之。
On dingsi, the last day of the month, there was a solar eclipse.
50
是歲，以南陽太守陳咸為少府，侍中淳于長為水衡都尉。
That year, Chen Xian, Administrator of Nanyang, was made Minister Steward, and Attendant-in-Ordinary Chunyu Chang was made Commandant of the Palace Parks.
51
春，正月，己丑，安陽敬侯王音薨。 王氏唯音為修整，數諫正，有忠直節。
In spring, the first month, on jichou, Marquis Jing of Anyang Wang Yin died. Of the Wang clan only Yin was well ordered; he repeatedly remonstrated and had loyal, upright integrity.
52
二月，癸未夜，星隕如雨，繹繹，未至地滅。
In the second month, on the night of guiwei, stars fell like rain in streams and were extinguished before reaching the ground.
53
乙酉晦，日有食之。
On yiyou, the last day of the month, there was a solar eclipse.
54
三月，丁酉，以成都侯王商為大司馬、衛將軍； 紅陽侯王立位特進，領城門兵。
In the third month, on dingyou, Marquis of Chengdu Wang Shang was made Grand Marshal and Defender-General; Marquis of Hongyang Wang Li was given special advancement rank and commanded the gate-guard troops.
55
京兆尹翟方進為御史大夫。
Metropolitan Magistrate Zhai Fangjin was made Censor-in-Chief.
56
谷永為涼州刺史，奏事京師，訖，當之部，上使尚書問永，受所欲言。 永對曰：「臣聞王天下、有國家者，患在上有危亡之事而危亡之言不得上聞。 如使危亡之言輒上聞，則商、周不易姓而迭興，三正不變改而更用。 夏、商之將亡也，行道之人皆知之。 晏然自以若天有日，莫能危，是故惡日廣而不自知，大命傾而不自寤。 《易》曰：『危者有其安者也，亡者保其存者也。』 陛下誠垂寬明之聽，無忌諱之誅，使芻蕘之臣得盡所聞於前，群臣之上願，社稷之長福也！ 元年，九月，黑龍見； 其晦，日有食之。 今年二月己未夜，星隕； 乙酉，日有食之。 六月之間，大異四發，二二而同月。 三代之末，春秋之亂，未嘗有也。 臣聞三代所以隕社稷、喪宗廟者，皆由婦人與群惡沉湎於酒； 秦所以二世十六年而亡者，養生泰奢，奉終泰厚也。 二者，陛下兼而有之，臣請略陳其效。
Gu Yong was Regional Inspector of Liangzhou; after memorializing at the capital, as he was about to depart for his post, the emperor sent the Master of Documents to ask Yong to say whatever he wished. Yong replied, saying, "Your subject has heard that one who rules all under Heaven and holds a state fears that above there are matters of peril and ruin yet words of peril and ruin cannot reach the throne. If words of peril and ruin reached the throne at once, Shang and Zhou would not have changed surnames yet risen in succession, and the three orthodoxies would not have changed and been renewed. When Xia and Shang were about to perish, travelers on the road all knew it. They were tranquil, thinking that as Heaven has a sun none could endanger them; therefore evil grew daily without their knowing it and the great mandate tilted without their awakening. The Changes says, 'Where there is peril, there is that which secures safety; where there is ruin, there is that which preserves existence.' If Your Majesty truly extends a broad and clear hearing, without punishing taboo subjects, so that humble subjects may fully state what they have heard before you—that is your ministers' highest wish and the altars' lasting blessing! In the first year, the ninth month, a black dragon appeared; on its last day, there was a solar eclipse. This year, on the night of jiwei in the second month, stars fell; on yiyou, there was a solar eclipse. Within the sixth month, four great anomalies occurred—two pairs in the same month. At the ends of the Three Dynasties and in the chaos of the Spring and Autumn, there never were such. Your subject has heard that the Three Dynasties lost their altars and ancestral temples all through women and villains steeped in wine; what made Qin perish in the Second Emperor's sixteenth year was extravagant living and lavish burial. Both of these Your Majesty combines; your subject requests briefly to set forth their effects.
57
「建始、河平之際，許、班之貴，傾動前朝，熏灼四方，女寵至極，不可上矣； 今之後起，什倍於前。 廢先帝法度，聽用其言，官秩不當，縱釋王誅，驕其親屬，假之威權，從橫亂政，刺舉之吏莫敢奉憲。 又以掖庭獄大為亂阱，榜棰憯於砲烙，絕滅人命，主為趙、李報德復怨。 反除白罪，建治正吏，多繫無辜，掠立迫恐，至為人起責，分利受謝，生入死出者，不可勝數。 是以日食再既，以昭其辜。
" At the time of Jianshi and Heping, the Xu and Ban clans' nobility shook the former court and scorched the four quarters; favor to women reached its peak—it could go no higher; what has risen since is tenfold the former. They abolish the former emperor's laws, heed their words, grant improper offices and ranks, release those the king should execute, indulge their kin, lend them authority, and with unchecked license disorder government—investigating officers dare not uphold the statutes. They also make the Lateral Court prison a great trap—flogging more cruel than the cannonade—destroying lives mainly to repay kindness and settle grudges for Zhao and Li. They reverse proven guilt, prosecute upright officials, imprison many innocents, extort and terrorize, even incur debts for others and share profits and bribes—those who enter alive and leave dead countless. Therefore solar eclipses twice reached totality, to display their guilt.
58
「王者必先自絕，然後天絕之。 今陛下棄萬乘之至貴，樂家人之賤事，厭高美之尊號，好匹夫之卑字，崇聚僄輕無義小人以為私客，數離深宮之固，挺身晨夜，與群小相隨，烏集雜會，飲醉吏民之家，亂服共坐，流湎媟嫚，溷淆無別，黽勉遁樂，晝夜在路，典門戶、奉宿衛之臣執干戈而守空宮，公卿百僚不知陛下所在，積數年矣。
" A true king must first cut himself off, and only then does Heaven cut him off. Now Your Majesty abandons the nobility of ten thousand chariots, delights in household trifles, wearies of lofty titles, loves common men's nicknames, honors and gathers flighty, unrighteous petty men as private guests, repeatedly leaves the secure deep palace, goes forth morning and night with petty followers, gathers like crows in mixed assemblies, drinks drunk in officials' and commoners' houses, sits in disorderly dress, flows deep in lewd familiarity without distinction, strives in flight to pleasure day and night on the roads—officers who manage gates and night guard hold weapons and guard an empty palace; grandees and officials do not know where Your Majesty is—this has gone on for years.
59
「王者以民為基，民以財為本，財竭則下畔，下畔則上亡。 是以明王愛養基本，不敢窮極，使民如承大祭。 今陛下輕奪民財，不愛民力，聽邪臣之計，去高敞初陵，改作昌陵，役百乾溪，費擬驪山，靡敝天下，五年不成而後反故。 百姓愁恨感天，饑饉仍臻，流散冗食，餧死於道，以百萬數。 公家無一年之畜，百姓無旬日之儲，上下俱匱，無以相救。 《詩》云：『殷鑒不遠，在夏后之世。』 願陛下追觀夏、商、周、秦所以失之，以鏡考己行，有不合者，臣當伏妄言之誅！
" A true king takes the people as his foundation; the people take wealth as their root—when wealth is exhausted the people rebel, and when the people rebel the ruler perishes. Therefore enlightened kings cherish and nourish the foundation and dare not exhaust it, treating the people as if undertaking a great sacrifice. Now Your Majesty lightly seizes the people's wealth, does not cherish their strength, listens to wicked ministers' plans, leaves the high and open initial tomb for Changling—corvée like a hundred Qianxi, expense rivaling Mount Li, wasting all under Heaven; after five years it was unfinished and only then you returned to the former site. The people grieve and resent and move Heaven; famine follows; they drift scattered as refugees and starve on the roads by the millions. The public treasury has not a year's store; the people have not ten days' reserve; above and below are together depleted with no means to rescue one another. The Odes says, 'Yin's mirror is not far—it is in the age of the lord of Xia.' May Your Majesty trace how Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Qin lost their way, take a mirror to examine your own conduct—where it does not accord, your subject will submit to punishment for reckless speech!
60
「漢興九世，百九十餘載，繼體之主七，皆承天順道，遵先祖法度，或以中興，或以治安； 至於陛下，獨違道縱欲，輕身妄行，當盛壯之隆，無繼嗣之福，有危亡之憂，積失君道，不合天意，亦以多矣。 為人後嗣，守人功業如此，豈不負哉！ 方今社稷、宗廟禍福、安危之機在於陛下，陛下誠肯昭然遠寤，專心反道，舊愆畢改，新德既章，則赫赫大異庶幾可銷，天命去就庶幾可復，社稷、宗廟庶幾可保！ 唯陛下留神反覆，熟省臣言！」
"Since Han arose there have been nine generations and more than one hundred ninety years; seven succession emperors all received Heaven's mandate and followed the Way, observed ancestral law, and achieved either restoration or peace and order; yet Your Majesty alone violates the Way and indulges desire, treats your person lightly and acts recklessly; in the prime of vigorous youth you lack the blessing of an heir and bear the worry of peril and ruin. Failures of kingship that do not accord with Heaven's intent are already many. As successor to another's line, to guard their achievement in this way—how is that not a betrayal! Now whether the altars of state and ancestral temple meet blessing or calamity, safety or peril, turns on Your Majesty. If Your Majesty will truly awaken clearly, single-mindedly return to the Way, wholly amend old faults, and make new virtue manifest, then glaring portents may perhaps be dispelled, Heaven's mandate may perhaps be restored, and state and ancestral temple may perhaps be preserved! May Your Majesty reflect repeatedly and carefully consider my words!"
61
帝性寬，好文辭，而溺於燕樂，皆皇太后與諸舅夙夜所常憂； 至親難數言，故推永等使因天變而切諫，勸上納用之。 永自知有內應，展意無所依違，每言事輒見答禮。 至上此對，上大怒。 衛將軍商密擿永令發去。 上使侍御史收永，敕過交道廄者勿追； 御史不及永，還。 上意亦解，自悔。
The emperor was lenient by nature and loved literary composition, yet was sunk in feasting and music—matters the Empress Dowager and his maternal uncles worried over day and night; close kin find it hard to speak frankly and often, so they urged Yong and others to seize heaven's warnings for stern remonstrance and persuade the emperor to heed them. Yong knew he had backers within the palace; he could speak his mind without holding back, and whenever he addressed affairs the emperor answered him courteously. When he submitted this memorial, the emperor was furious. Grand General Wang Shang secretly denounced Yong and had him dismissed. The emperor sent the attendant censor to seize Yong and ordered that pursuers should not go past the Jiaodao stable; the censor did not overtake Yong and returned. The emperor's anger eased and he regretted his action.
62
上嘗與張放及趙、李諸侍中共宴飲禁中，皆引滿舉白，談笑大噱。 時乘輿幄坐張畫屏風，畫紂醉踞妲己，作長夜之樂。 侍中、光祿大夫班伯久疾新起，上顧指畫而問伯曰：「紂為無道，至於是虖？」 對曰：「《書》云：『乃用婦人之言』，何有踞肆於朝！ 所謂眾惡歸之，不如是之甚者也！」 上曰：「苟不若此，此圖何戒？」 對曰：「『沉湎於酒』，微子所以告去也。 『式號式呼』，《大雅》所以流連也。 《詩》、《書》淫亂之戒，其原皆在於酒！」 上乃喟然歎曰：「吾久不見班生，今日復聞讜言！」 放等不懌，稍自引起更衣，因罷出。 時長信庭林表適使來，聞見之。 後上朝東宮，太后泣曰：「帝間顏色瘦黑。 班侍中本大將軍所舉，宜寵異之； 益求其比，以輔聖德！ 宜遣富平侯且就國！」 上曰：「諾。」 上諸舅聞之，以風丞相、御史，求放過失。 於是丞相宣、御史大夫方進奏「放驕蹇縱恣，奢淫不制，拒閉使者，賊傷無辜，從者支屬並乘權勢，為暴虐，請免放就國。」 上不得已，左遷放為北地都尉。 其後比年數有災變，故放久不得還。 璽書勞問不絕。 敬武公主有疾，詔徽放歸第視母疾。 數月，主有瘳，後復出放為河東都尉。 上雖愛放，然上迫太后，下用大臣，故常涕泣而遣之。
The emperor once feasted in the inner palace with Zhang Fang and attendants Zhao, Li, and others; all filled their cups and drained them together, talking and laughing loudly. The imperial carriage's curtained seat had a painted screen spread out, showing King Zhou drunk and sprawling on Daji amid the revelry of the long night. Palace Attendant and Household Grandee Ban Bo, long ill and newly recovered, was present. The emperor turned, pointed at the painting, and asked Bo, "King Zhou was utterly wicked—did it really come to this?" Bo replied, "The Documents says, 'Then he used the woman's words'—how could there be such sprawling insolence at court! What people mean when they say all evils converged on him was not as extreme as this!" The emperor said, "If it were not like that, what warning would this picture hold?" Bo replied, "'Sunk deep in wine'—that is why Weizi announced his departure. 'Shouting and calling'—that is what the Greater Odes laments as lingering debauchery. The Odes and Documents warn against licentious disorder, and the root of it all is wine!" The emperor sighed and said, "I have long not seen Master Ban; today I again hear honest counsel!" Fang and the others were displeased, rose on the pretext of changing clothes, and withdrew. Lin Biao, an envoy from Changxin Hall, happened to be present and witnessed it. Later, when the emperor attended at the Eastern Palace, the Empress Dowager wept and said, "Between audiences your complexion is thin and dark. Attendant Ban was originally recommended by the Grand General; you should favor him exceptionally; seek more like him to assist your sagely virtue! You should send the Marquis of Fuping back to his fief for now!" The emperor said, "Very well." The emperor's maternal uncles heard of it and hinted to the chancellor and censor to seek Zhang Fang's faults. Thereupon Chancellor Xuan and Censor-in-Chief Fangjin memorialized that Zhang Fang was arrogant, unrestrained, extravagant and licentious beyond measure, had repelled imperial envoys, robbed and harmed innocents, and his followers and kin had abused power with violence and cruelty. They requested that Fang be dismissed and sent to his fief." The emperor had no choice and demoted Fang to commandant of Beidi. Afterward disasters and portents occurred several years in succession, so Fang long could not return. Imperial letters of consolation and inquiry never ceased. Princess Jingwu fell ill; an edict recalled Fang to his residence to tend his mother's illness. After several months the princess recovered, and later Fang was again sent out as commandant of Hedong. Although the emperor loved Fang, he was pressed by the Empress Dowager above and the great ministers below, and therefore often sent him away in tears.
63
邛成太后之崩也，喪事倉卒，吏賦斂以趨辦，上聞之，以過丞相、御史。 冬，十一月，己丑，冊免丞相宣為庶人，御史大夫方進左遷執金吾。 二十餘日，丞相官缺，群臣多舉方進者； 上亦器其能，十一月，壬子，擢方進為丞相，封高陵侯。 以諸吏、散騎、光祿勳孔光為御史大夫。 方進以經術進，其為吏，用法刻深，好任勢立威； 有所忌惡，峻文深詆，中傷甚多。 有言其挾私詆欺不專平者，上以方進所舉應科，不以為非也。 光，褒成君霸之少子也，領尚書，典樞機十餘年，守法度，修故事，上有所問，據經法，以心所安而對，不希指苟合； 如或不從，不敢強諫爭，以是久而安。 時有所言，輒削草蒿，以為章主之過以奸忠直，人臣大罪也。 有所薦舉，唯恐其人之聞知。 沐日歸休，兄弟妻子燕語，終不及朝省政事。 或問光：「溫室省中樹，皆何木也？」 光嘿不應，更答以它語，其不洩如是。
When Empress Dowager Qiongcheng died, the funeral was rushed and officials levied exactions to finish it in haste. When the emperor heard of this, he blamed the chancellor and censor. In winter, the eleventh month, on jichou, Xuan was dismissed by patent from the chancellorship and reduced to commoner status; Censor-in-Chief Fangjin was demoted to Commandant of the Metropolitan Convoy. After more than twenty days the chancellorship was vacant; many officials recommended Fangjin; the emperor also valued his ability. In the eleventh month, on renzi, Fangjin was promoted to chancellor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoling. Kong Guang, Gentleman-of-the-Palace, Rapid Cavalryman, and Household Grandee, was made Censor-in-Chief. Fangjin had risen through classical learning; as an official he applied the law harshly and loved to rely on power to establish authority; toward those he resented he used severe statutes and deep slander, harming many. When some said he bore private grudges, slandered unjustly, and was not impartial, the emperor held that Fangjin's reports matched the statutes and did not regard them as wrong. Guang was the youngest son of Lord Bao of Baocheng. He headed the Masters of Writing and managed the inner pivot for more than ten years, observed law and precedent, and when the emperor questioned him answered according to canonical law as his conscience dictated, not currying favor; if the emperor did not follow, he did not dare remonstrate forcefully, and by this remained secure for years. Whenever he had spoken on something he would destroy his draft, holding that to display the ruler's faults in order to expose loyal straightness was a great crime for a minister. When he recommended someone he feared above all that the person would learn of it. On his rest days he talked pleasantly with brothers, wife, and children and never mentioned court affairs. Someone asked Guang, "The trees in the Greenhouse Office—what kinds are they?" Guang was silent and did not answer, but replied with other words; such was his refusal to disclose palace matters.
64
上行幸雍，祠五畤。
The emperor traveled to Yong and sacrificed at the Five Altars.
65
衛將軍王商惡陳湯，奏「湯妄言昌陵且復發徙； 又言黑龍冬出，微行數出之應。」 廷尉奏「湯非所宣言，大不敬。」 詔以湯有功，免為庶人，徙邊。
Grand General Wang Shang hated Chen Tang and memorialized that Tang had falsely said Changling would again be opened for relocation; and had also said a black dragon appeared in winter—the omen matching the emperor's many secret outings." The Minister of Justice memorialized that what Tang had said was not what he should have declared—great irreverence." An edict held that because Tang had merit, he was reduced to commoner status and banished to the frontier.
66
上以趙後之立也，淳于長有力焉，故德之，乃追顯其前白罷昌陵之功，下公卿，議封長。 光祿勳平當以為：「長雖有善言，不應封爵之科。」 當坐左遷巨鹿太守。 上遂下詔，以常侍閎，侍中、衛尉長首建至策，賜長、閎爵關內侯。 將作大匠萬年佞邪不忠，毒流眾庶，與陳湯俱徒敦煌。
Because Empress Zhao's elevation had owed much to Chunyu Chang, the emperor favored him and posthumously recognized his earlier merit in urging the abandonment of Changling, referred the matter to the excellencies and ministers, and discussed enfeoffing Chang. Household Grandee Ping Dang held that although Chang had spoken well, it did not meet the category for enfeoffment." Dang was demoted to Administrator of Julu. The emperor thereupon issued an edict granting Marquis within the Passes to Chunyu Chang and Regular Attendant Hong for having first proposed the supreme plan. Chief Artisan for Palace Construction Wannian was fawning, wicked, and disloyal, and his harm spread among the people. He and Chen Tang were both banished to Dunhuang.
67
初，少府陳咸，衛尉逢信，官簿皆在翟方進之右； 方進晚進，為京兆尹，與咸厚善。 及御史大夫缺，三人皆名卿，俱在選中，而方進得之。 會丞相薛宣得罪，與方進相連，上使五二千石雜問丞相、御史，咸詰責方進，冀得其處，方進心恨。 陳湯素以材能得幸於王鳳及王音，咸、信皆與湯善，湯數稱之於鳳、音所，以此得為九卿。 及王商黜逐湯，方進因奏「咸、信附會湯以求薦舉，苟得無恥。」 皆免官。
Earlier Minister Steward Chen Xian and Commandant of Guards Feng Xin had both ranked above Zhai Fangjin on the official registers; Fangjin had entered service later; as Metropolitan Governor of Jingzhao he was on close terms with Xian. When the censor-in-chiefship fell vacant, all three were renowned ministers and all were candidates, yet Fangjin obtained the post. When Chancellor Xue Xuan offended and was implicated with Fangjin, the emperor sent various two-thousand-bushel officials jointly to question chancellor and censor. Xian pressed and blamed Fangjin, hoping to catch him out; Fangjin resented it. Chen Tang had long won favor through talent with Wang Feng and Wang Yin. Xian and Xin were both friendly with Tang, and Tang repeatedly praised them to Feng and Yin, by which they rose to the Nine Ministers. When Wang Shang dismissed Tang, Fangjin memorialized that Xian and Xin had attached themselves to Tang to seek recommendation—shameless opportunists." Both were dismissed from office.
68
是歲，琅邪太守朱博為左馮翊。 博治郡，常令屬縣各用其豪桀以為大吏，文、武從宜。 縣有劇賊及它非常，博輒移書以詭責之，其盡力有效，必加厚賞； 懷詐不稱，誅罰輒行。 以是豪強懾服，事無不集。
That year Administrator of Langye Zhu Bo became Left Governor of the Metropolitan Area. Bo governed his commandery by often ordering each subordinate county to employ its powerful local leaders as chief officials, assigning civil or military duties as fit. When a county had fierce bandits or other emergencies, Bo would send a subtly worded letter of rebuke; if they exerted themselves with success he always rewarded them heavily; if they were deceitful and failed to measure up, punishment followed at once. By this the powerful were awed into submission and nothing failed to get done.
69
春，正月，己卯晦，日有食之。
In spring, the first month, on the last day of jimao, there was a solar eclipse.
70
初，帝用匡衡議，罷甘泉泰畤，其日，大風壞甘泉竹宮，折拔畤中樹木十圍以上百餘。 帝異之，以問劉向，對曰：「家人尚不欲絕種祠，況於國之神寶舊畤！ 且甘泉、汾陰及雍五畤始立，皆有神示氐感應，然後營之，非苟而已也。 武、宣之世奉此三神，禮敬敕備，神光尤著。 祖宗所立神祇舊位，誠未易動。 前始納貢禹之議，後人相因，多所動搖。 《易大傳》曰：『誣神者殃及三世。』 恐其咎不獨止禹等！」 上意恨之，又以久無繼嗣，冬，十月，庚辰，上白太后，令詔有司復甘泉泰畤、汾陰后土如故，及雍五畤、陳寶祠、長安及郡國祠著明者，皆復之。
Earlier the emperor had followed Kuang Heng's proposal and abolished the Grand Unity altar at Ganquan. That day a great wind destroyed Ganquan's bamboo palace and broke more than a hundred trees of ten arm-spans or more within the altars. The emperor thought it strange and asked Liu Xiang, who replied, "Even a household does not wish to cut off ancestral sacrifices—how much more the state's divine treasures and old altars! Moreover Ganquan, Fenyin, and Yong's Five Altars were first established only after divine manifestations and popular responses, and were not built casually. In the eras of Emperor Wu and Emperor Xuan these three spirits were served with complete ritual reverence, and divine radiance was especially manifest. The old positions of the spirits established by the ancestors are truly not easy to move. Earlier you first accepted Gong Yu's proposal; later men followed suit and moved many things. The Great Commentary on the Changes says, 'Those who slander the spirits bring calamity on three generations.' I fear the blame will not stop with Yu and his followers alone!" The emperor resented this; also because he had long lacked an heir—in winter, the tenth month, on gengchen—he informed the Empress Dowager and ordered the relevant offices to restore the Grand Unity altar at Ganquan, the Queen of Earth at Fenyin, Yong's Five Altars, the Chen Treasure shrine, and notable shrines in Chang'an and throughout the commanderies and kingdoms.
71
是時，上以無繼嗣，頗好鬼神、方術之屬，上書言祭祀方術得待詔者甚眾，祠祭費用頗多。 谷永說上曰：「臣聞明於天地之性，不可惑以神怪； 知萬物之情，不可罔以非類。 諸背仁義之正道，不遵《五經》之法言，而盛稱奇怪鬼神，廣崇祭祀之方，求報無福之祠，及言世有仙人，服食不終之藥，遙興輕舉、黃治變化之術者，皆奸人惑眾，挾左道，懷詐偽，以欺罔世主。 聽其言，洋洋滿耳，若將可遇，求之，蕩蕩如繫風捕景，終不可得。 是以明王距而不聽，聖人絕而不語。 昔秦始皇使徐福發男女入海求神采藥，因逃不還，天下怨恨。 漢興，新垣平、齊人少翁、公孫卿、欒大等皆以術窮詐得，誅夷伏辜。 唯陛下距絕此類，毋令奸人有以窺朝者！」 上善其言。
At this time, because the emperor had no heir, he favored ghosts, spirits, and occult arts; many who submitted memorials on sacrifices and occult techniques obtained audience at court, and sacrificial expenses grew heavy. Gu Yong admonished the emperor, saying, "Your servant has heard that one who understands the nature of Heaven and Earth cannot be deluded by spirits and marvels; one who knows the conditions of the myriad things cannot be misled by improper kinds. All who abandon the righteous path, ignore the teachings of the Five Classics, yet loudly praise strange ghosts and spirits, broadly promote sacrificial arts, seek blessings from shrines that confer none, or speak of worldly immortals, deathless drugs, levitation, and yellow-elixir transformation—all are wicked men deluding the people, clutching heterodox ways and fraud to deceive their ruler. Hear their words and they fill the ear grandly, as if immortals were near at hand; seek them and it is like tying the wind or catching shadows—nothing can be obtained in the end. Therefore enlightened kings reject them and do not listen; sages cut them off and do not speak of them. Formerly Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu with men and women to sea to seek elixir; they fled and never returned, and the realm resented it. When Han arose, Xinyuan Ping, Shaoweng of Qi, Gongsun Qing, Luan Da, and others all exhausted their arts in fraud, were exposed, and were executed. May Your Majesty alone reject this whole class, and not let wicked men find a way to peer into the court!" The emperor approved his words.
72
十一月，尉氏男子樊並等十三人謀反，殺陳留太守，劫略吏民，自稱將軍； 徒李潭、稱忠、鍾祖、訾順共殺並，以聞，皆封為侯。
In the eleventh month, Fan Bing of Weishi and thirteen others plotted rebellion, killed the Administrator of Chenliu, robbed officials and commoners, and styled themselves generals; convict laborers Li Tan, Cheng Zhong, Zhong Zu, and Zi Shun together killed Bing and reported it; all were enfeoffed as marquises.
73
十二月，山陽鐵官徙蘇令等二百二十八人攻殺長吏，盜庫兵，自稱將軍； 經郡國十九，殺東郡太守及汝南都尉。 汝南太守嚴訢捕斬令等。 遷訢為大司農。 故南昌尉九江梅福上書曰：「昔高祖納善若不及，從諫如轉圜，聽言不求其能，舉功不考其素，陳平起於亡命而為謀主，韓信拔於行陳而建上將； 故天下之士雲合歸漢，爭進奇異，知者竭其策，愚者盡其慮，勇士極其節，怯夫勉其死。 合天下之知，並天下之威，是以舉秦如鴻毛，取楚若拾遺，此高祖所以無敵於天下也。 孝武皇帝好忠諫，說至言，出爵不待廉、茂，慶賜不須顯功，是以天下布衣各厲志竭精以赴闕廷，自衒鬻者不可勝數，漢家得賢，於此為盛。 使孝武皇帝聽用其計，昇平可致，於是積屍暴骨，快心胡、越，故淮南王安緣間而起； 所以計慮不成而謀議洩者，以眾賢聚於本朝，故其大臣勢陵，不敢和從也。 方今布衣乃窺國家之隙，見間而起者，蜀郡是也。 及山陽亡徒蘇令之群，蹈藉名都、大郡，求黨與，索隨和，而亡逃匿之意，此皆輕量大臣，無所畏忌，國家之權輕，故匹夫欲與上爭衡也。 士者，國之重器。 得士則重，失士則輕。 《詩》云：『濟濟多士，文王以寧。』 廟堂之議，非草茅所言也。 臣誠恐身塗野草，屍並卒伍，故數上書求見，輒報罷。 臣聞齊桓之時，有以九九見者，桓公不逆，欲以致大也。 今臣所言，非特九九也，陛下距臣者三矣，此天下士所以不至也。 昔秦武王好力，任鄙叩關自鬻； 繆公行伯，由余歸德。 今欲致天下之士，民有上書求見者，輒使詣尚書問其所言，言可採取者，秩以升斗之祿，賜以一束之帛，若此，則天下之士，發憤懣，吐忠言，嘉謀日聞於上，天下條貫，國家表裡，爛然可睹矣。 夫以四海之廣，士民之數，能言之類至眾多也； 然其俊桀指世陳政，言成文章，質之先聖而不繆，施之當世合時務，若此者亦無幾人。 故爵祿束帛者，天下之砥石，高祖所以厲世摩鈍也。 孔子曰：『工欲善其事，必先利其器。』 至秦則不然，張誹謗之罔以為漢驅除，倒持泰阿，授楚其柄。 故誠能勿失其柄，天下雖有不順，莫敢觸其鋒，此孝武皇帝所以闢地建功，為漢世宗也。
In the twelfth month, iron-office convicts of Shanyang—Su Ling and two hundred twenty-eight others—attacked and killed chief officials, stole arsenal weapons, and styled themselves generals; they passed through nineteen commanderies and kingdoms and killed the Administrator of Dongjun and the Commandant of Runan. Administrator of Runan Yan Xin captured and beheaded Su Ling and his followers. Yan Xin was transferred to Grand Minister of Agriculture. The former Nanchang commandant Mei Fu of Jiujiang submitted a memorial, saying, "Formerly Gaozu received good counsel as if he could never catch up and followed remonstrance as if turning a wheel; he listened without demanding talent and promoted achievement without examining past conduct. Chen Ping rose from outlaw status to become chief strategist; Han Xin was pulled from the ranks to become chief general; Therefore the realm's worthies gathered like clouds to serve Han, each vying to offer something extraordinary; the wise exhausted their stratagems, the foolish gave all their counsel, the brave gave their utmost loyalty, and even cowards strove unto death. Combining the wisdom and might of the realm, he overthrew Qin as lightly as lifting a goose feather and took Chu as if picking up what was lost—this is why Gaozu was without peer under Heaven. Emperor Wu loved loyal remonstrance and delighted in forthright speech; he granted ranks without waiting for provincial nominations, bestowed rewards without requiring conspicuous merit, and so commoners across the realm each sharpened their will and exhausted their spirit to come to court. Those who touted themselves were beyond counting; Han obtained talent at its peak. Had Emperor Wu fully heeded their counsel, lasting peace could have been achieved; instead corpses piled and bones lay exposed as he gratified himself with campaigns against the Hu and Yue, and therefore King An of Huainan seized the opening and rose in rebellion; the reason his plots failed and his counsels leaked was that so many worthies were gathered at the central court that his great ministers were overawed and dared not join him. Today commoners spy the state's weaknesses; those who rise when they see an opening include Shu Commandery. And the band of Shanyang convicts led by Su Ling—trampling famous capitals and great commanderies, seeking allies, demanding precious jade, with no thought of fleeing and hiding—all show that they lightly regard great ministers, fear nothing, and find the state's authority slight; therefore common men wish to contend with the throne. Men of talent are the state's weightiest vessels. Gain them and the state is weighty; lose them and it is light. The Odes says, 'Abundant are the many officers; King Wen thereby had peace.' Deliberations in the ancestral temple are not for thatched-hut commoners to speak of. Your servant truly fears my body will be left on the wild grass and my corpse lie among common soldiers; therefore I have repeatedly submitted memorials seeking audience, but each time am dismissed. Your servant has heard that in Duke Huan of Qi's time, a man came forward to teach the multiplication table; Duke Huan did not turn him away, wishing thereby to attain great things. What your servant speaks is far more than the multiplication table, yet Your Majesty has kept your distance three times—this is why men of talent do not come. Formerly King Wu of Qin loved strength; Ren Bi knocked at the passes to offer his services; Duke Mu achieved hegemony when You Yu came and submitted his virtue. If you now wish to bring worthies of the realm, whenever someone submits a memorial seeking audience, have him go at once to the Masters of Writing to state his case; for words that may be adopted, grant a modest salary and a bundle of silk. If you do this, men of talent will release their indignation, speak loyal words, and good counsel will daily reach the throne; the realm's affairs and the state's inner and outer condition will shine clear. With the breadth of the four seas and the number of gentlemen and commoners, those who can speak are exceedingly many; yet those outstanding enough to address the age, set forth policy in finished prose, stand testing against the former sages without error, and fit the present age's needs—such men are very few. Therefore ranks, salaries, and bundles of silk are the realm's whetstone—what Gaozu used to sharpen the age and grind the dull. Confucius said, 'If a craftsman wishes to do his work well, he must first sharpen his tools.' But Qin did otherwise: it spread the net of slander, which ended by clearing the way for Han; it held the great sword Tai'e by the blade and handed Chu the handle. Therefore if one truly does not lose the handle, though the realm has the unruly, none dares touch his edge—this is why Emperor Wu opened territory, established achievement, and became Han's lineage temple name.
74
「今陛下既不納天下之言，又加戮焉。 夫鳶鵲遭害，則仁鳥增逝，愚者蒙戮，則智士深退。 間者愚民上疏，多觸不急之法，或下廷尉而死者眾。 自陽朔以來，天下以言為諱，朝廷尤甚，群臣皆承順上指，莫有執正。 何以明其然也？ 取民所上書，陛下之所善，試下之廷尉，廷尉必曰『非所宜言，大不敬，』以此卜之，一矣。 故京兆尹王章，資質忠直，敢面引廷爭，孝元皇帝擢之，以厲具臣而矯曲朝； 及至陛下，戮及妻子。 且惡惡止其身，王章非有反畔之辜而殃及室家，折直士之節，結諫臣之舌。 群臣皆知其非，然不敢爭，天下以言為戒，最國家之大患也！ 願陛下循高祖之軌，杜亡秦之路，除不急之法，下無諱之詔，博覽兼聽，謀及疏賤，令深者不隱，遠者不塞，所謂『闢四門，明四目』也。 往者不可及，來者猶可追。 方今君命犯而主威奪，外戚之權，日以益隆。 陛下不見其形，願察其景！ 建始以來，日食、地震，以率言之，三倍春秋，水災亡與比數，陰盛陽微，金鐵為飛，此何景也？ 漢興以來，社稷三危：呂，霍，上官； 皆母后之家也。 親親之道，全之為右，當與之賢師良傅，教以忠孝之道。 今乃尊寵其位，授以魁柄，使之驕逆，至於夷滅，此失親親之大者也。 自霍光之賢，不能為子孫慮，故權臣易世則危。 《書》曰：『毋若火，始庸庸。』 勢陵於君，權隆於主，然後防之，亦無及已！」 上不納。」」」」」
"Now Your Majesty will not accept the realm's words, and on top of that adds executions. When kites and magpies meet harm, benevolent birds flee all the more; when fools are executed, wise men withdraw deeply. Recently foolish commoners submitted memorials, many violating petty statutes; many were sent down to the Minister of Justice and died. Since the Yangshuo era the realm has tabooed speech, the court especially so; the ministers all follow the sovereign's intent, none holding firm to what is right. How may one prove that this is so? Take any memorial the people submit that Your Majesty favors and try sending it down to the Minister of Justice—the Minister of Justice will certainly say, 'Not what should be spoken—great irreverence.' Test it thus and you will find it always so. Metropolitan Governor Wang Zhang was by nature loyal and upright and dared remonstrate face to face at court; Emperor Yuan promoted him to encourage ordinary ministers and straighten a crooked court; but under Your Majesty execution extended to his wife and children. Moreover, when one hates evil one should stop at the person himself; Wang Zhang had no crime of rebellion, yet calamity reached his household. This breaks the integrity of upright men and ties the tongues of remonstrating ministers. The ministers all know it was wrong, yet none dared contend; the realm takes speech as a warning—this is the state's greatest calamity! May Your Majesty follow Gaozu's course, block Qin's road to ruin, abolish petty statutes, issue an edict free of taboo, broadly view and jointly listen, take counsel even from the remote and humble, so the deep do not hide and the distant are not blocked—what is called 'open the four gates and clarify the four eyes.' The past cannot be reached, but what is to come may still be pursued. Just now the ruler's command is violated and the sovereign's authority seized; the power of the maternal kin grows more exalted day by day. Your Majesty does not see its form—may you inspect its shadow! Since Jianshi began, solar eclipses and earthquakes have occurred, by rate, three times as often as in the Spring and Autumn Annals; floods without parallel; yin flourishing and yang declining; metal and iron flying through the air—what shadow is this? Since Han arose the altars of state have thrice been imperiled: by the Lü, the Huo, and the Shangguan clans; all were families of empresses dowager. In the Way of treating kin as kin, preserving them whole is supreme; they should be given worthy teachers and good tutors and instructed in loyalty and filial piety. Now you honor and favor their position, confer the chief handle on them, make them arrogant and defiant, until extermination—this is the great failure of the Way of kin. Even Huo Guang at his worthiest could not plan for his descendants; therefore when power-holding ministers pass to a new generation, peril follows. The Documents says, 'Do not be like fire, at first only smoldering.' When power overtops the lord and authority towers above the sovereign, only then to guard against it—already too late!" The emperor did not accept it.”””””