1
資治通鑑第148卷
Volume 148 of the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance
2
【梁紀四】起旃蒙協洽，盡著雍閹茂，凡四年。
[Liang Records 4] Covering four years, from 515 through 518 CE.
3
高祖武皇帝四天監十四年（ 乙未，公元五一五年）
In the fourteenth year of Tianjian of Emperor Wu of Liang ( yimao, or 515 CE)
4
春，正月，乙巳朔，上冠太子於太極殿，大赦。
In spring, on the new moon of the first month, the Emperor crowned the Crown Prince in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate and granted a general amnesty.
5
辛亥，上祀南郊。
On xinhai, the Emperor performed the suburban sacrifice to Heaven.
6
甲寅，魏主有疾； 丁巳，殂於式乾殿。 侍中、中書監、太子少傅催光，侍中、領軍將軍於忠，詹事王顯，中庶子代人侯剛，迎太子詡於東宮，至顯陽殿。 王顯欲須明行即位禮，崔光曰：「天位不可暫曠，何待至明！」 顯曰：「須奏中宮。」 光曰：「帝崩，太子立，國之常典，何須中宮令也！」 於是光等請太子止哭，立於東序； 於忠與黃門郎元昭扶太子西面哭十餘聲：「止。 光攝太尉，奉策進璽綬，太子跪受，服袞冕之服，御太極殿，即皇帝位。 光等與夜直群官立庭中，北面稽首稱萬歲。 昭，遵之曾孫也。
On jiayin, the Northern Wei emperor fell ill; On dingsi, he died in the Shigan Hall. Cui Guang, who served as palace attendant, director of the Secretariat, and junior tutor to the Crown Prince; Yu Zhong, palace attendant and general of the palace guards; Wang Xian, household steward; and Hou Gang of Dai, attendant of the heir apparent, went to the Eastern Palace to escort Crown Prince Xu to the Xianyang Hall. Wang Xian wanted to wait for daylight before holding the enthronement ceremony. Cui Guang said, "The throne cannot stand empty even for a moment—why wait until morning!" Wang Xian said, "We must first inform the empress dowager in the inner palace." Cui Guang replied, "When an emperor dies, the crown prince ascends the throne—that is the established law of the realm. What need is there for an order from the inner palace!" Thereupon Cui Guang and his colleagues asked the crown prince to stop wailing and took their places on the east side of the hall; Yu Zhong and Yuan Zhao, a Yellow Gate attendant, supported the crown prince as he faced west and wept a dozen times before they called out, "Enough. Acting as regent grand commandant, Cui Guang presented the edict of succession and offered the imperial seal and cord. The crown prince knelt to receive them, put on the robes and crown of state, entered the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, and took the throne. Cui Guang and the other officials on night duty in the palace stood in the courtyard, faced north, kowtowed, and shouted their acclamation. Yuan Zhao was a great-grandson of Yuan Zun.
7
高後欲殺胡貴嬪，中給事譙郡劉騰以告侯剛，剛以告於忠。 忠問計於崔光，光使置貴嬪於別所，嚴加守衛，由是貴嬪深德四人。 戊午，魏大赦。 己未，悉召西伐、東防兵。 驃騎大將軍廣平王懷扶疾入臨，逕至太極西廡，哀慟，呼侍中、黃門、領軍、二衛，云：「身欲上殿哭大行，又須入見主上。」 眾皆愕然相視，無敢對者。 崔光攘衰振杖，引漢光武崩趙熹扶諸王下殿故事，聲色甚厲，聞者莫不稱善。 懷聲淚俱止，曰：「侍中以古義裁我，我敢不服？」 遂還，仍頻遣左右致謝。
Empress Gao wanted to kill Honored Consort Hu. Liu Teng of Qiao, a central palace attendant, told Hou Gang, who in turn told Yu Zhong. Yu Zhong asked Cui Guang what to do. Guang had the honored consort moved to a separate residence and placed under strict guard. The honored consort thereafter felt deep gratitude toward the four men. On wuwu, the Northern Wei court proclaimed a general amnesty. On jiwei, the court recalled all troops engaged in the western campaign and eastern defense. Yuan Huai, Prince of Guangping and grand general of agile cavalry, came to mourn despite his illness and went straight to the western corridor of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate. Deep in grief, he summoned the palace attendants, Yellow Gate officials, commander of the palace guards, and the two guard corps and said, "I mean to go up to the hall to mourn the late emperor, and I must also enter to see the new sovereign." Everyone stared at one another in dismay, and no one dared answer. Cui Guang threw back his mourning robe and struck his staff, citing the precedent of Zhao Xi escorting the princes down from the hall at the death of Emperor Guangwu of Han. His voice and manner were fiercely stern, and all who heard him approved. Huai fell silent and stopped weeping. He said, "The palace attendant has rebuked me with ancient precedent—how could I refuse to obey?" He withdrew, and repeatedly sent attendants to thank Cui Guang.
8
先是，高肇擅權，尤忌宗室有時望者。 太子太保任城王澄數為肇所譖，懼不自全，乃終日酣飲，所為如狂，朝廷機要無所關豫。 及世宗殂，肇擁兵於外，朝野不安。 於忠與門下議，以肅宗幼，未能親政，宜使太保高陽王雍入居西柏堂省決庶政，以任城王澄為尚書令，總攝百揆，奏皇后請即敕授。 王顯素有寵於世宗，恃勢使威，為世所疾，恐不為澄等所容，與中常侍孫伏連等密謀寢門下之奏，矯皇后令，以高肇錄尚書事，以顯與勃海公高猛同為侍中。 於忠等聞之，托以侍療無效，執顯於禁中，下詔削爵任。 顯臨執呼冤，直閣以刀鐶撞其掖下，送右衛府，一宿而死。 庚申，下詔如門下所奏，百官總己聽於二王，中外悅服。
Earlier, Gao Zhao had monopolized power and was especially wary of imperial clansmen who enjoyed public esteem. Yuan Cheng, Prince of Rencheng and grand guardian to the heir apparent, had been slandered by Gao Zhao on several occasions. Fearing for his life, he drank heavily all day and acted like a madman, taking no part in the court's vital affairs. When Emperor Xuanwu died, Gao Zhao held troops outside the capital, and unease spread through court and countryside alike. Yu Zhong conferred with the Secretariat. Because the new emperor Xiaoming was still a child and could not rule in person, they proposed that Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang and grand guardian, should take up residence in the Western Cypress Hall to decide routine administration, and that Yuan Cheng, Prince of Rencheng, should be made director of the Imperial Secretariat to oversee all ministries. They memorialized the empress to issue immediate edicts of appointment. Wang Xian had long enjoyed Emperor Xuanwu's favor and abused his power until he was widely hated. Fearing he would not be tolerated by Yuan Cheng and his allies, he secretly plotted with Sun Fulian, a central regular attendant, and others to suppress the Secretariat's memorial, forged an order from the empress, appointed Gao Zhao to oversee the Imperial Secretariat, and made both himself and Gao Meng, Duke of Bohai, palace attendants. When Yu Zhong and his allies learned of this, they seized Wang Xian inside the palace on the pretext that his nursing of the late emperor had been ineffective, and issued an edict stripping him of his fief and office. As he was seized, Wang Xian protested his innocence. A duty officer in the inner apartments struck him under the arm with a sword guard and sent him to the Right Guard Office, where he died within a night. On gengshen, an edict was issued along the lines the Secretariat had proposed. All officials placed themselves under the two princes' authority, and court and countryside alike were reassured.
9
二月，庚辰，尊皇后為皇太后。
In the second month, on gengchen, the empress was elevated to empress dowager.
10
魏主稱名為書告哀於高肇，且召之還。 肇承變憂懼，朝夕哭泣，至於羸悴。 歸至瀍澗，家人迎之，不與相見。 辛巳，至闕下，衰服號哭，升太極殿盡哀。 高陽王雍與於忠密謀，伏直寢邢豹等十餘人於舍人省下，肇哭畢，引入西廡，清河諸王皆竊言目之。 肇入省，豹等扼殺之，下詔暴其罪惡，稱肇自盡，自餘親黨悉無所問，削除職爵，葬以士禮； 逮昏，於廁門出屍歸其家。
The new Wei emperor wrote a letter of condolence to Gao Zhao using his personal name and summoned him back to the capital. When Gao Zhao learned of the emperor's death, he was stricken with fear and wept morning and night until he was gaunt and haggard. When he reached Chanjian, his family came out to meet him, but he refused to see them. On xinsi, he arrived at the palace gates in mourning dress, wailing loudly, then ascended the Hall of Supreme Ultimate to perform his full mourning rites. Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang, and Yu Zhong secretly stationed more than ten men on night duty in the inner apartments, including Xing Bao, in ambush below the Attendants' Office. When Gao Zhao had finished mourning, they led him into the western corridor while the princes of Qinghe watched and whispered among themselves. When Gao Zhao entered the office, Bao and the others strangled him. An edict exposed his crimes and claimed he had taken his own life. The rest of his kin and associates were not prosecuted. His offices and titles were stripped away, and he was buried with the rites due a common gentleman; at dusk his corpse was taken out through the privy gate and sent back to his family.
11
魏之伐蜀也，軍至晉壽，蜀人震恐。 傅豎眼將步兵三萬擊巴北，上遣寧州刺史任太洪自陰平間道入其州，招誘氐、蜀，絕魏運路。 會魏大軍北還，太洪襲破魏東洛、除口二戍，聲言梁兵繼至，氐、蜀翕然從之。 太洪進圍關城，豎眼遣統軍姜喜等擊太洪，大破之，太洪棄關城走還。
During the Northern Wei campaign against Shu, the Wei army reached Jinshou and threw the Shu forces into panic. Fu Shuyan led thirty thousand foot soldiers against northern Ba. The Liang emperor sent Ren Taihong, inspector of Ningzhou, through the hidden route of Yinping into the region to win over the Di and Shu peoples and sever the Wei supply lines. When the main Wei army marched north, Taihong raided and captured the garrisons at Dongluo and Chukou, proclaiming that Liang reinforcements were close behind. The Di and Shu peoples rallied to him in great numbers. Taihong advanced to besiege Guancheng. Shuyan sent Jiang Xi and other commanders against him and won a crushing victory. Taihong abandoned Guancheng and fled.
12
癸未，魏以高陽王雍為太傅、領太尉，清河王懌為司徒，廣平王懷為司空。
On guiwei, the Northern Wei court appointed Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang, grand tutor and concurrent grand commandant; Yuan Yi, Prince of Qinghe, minister of works; and Yuan Huai, Prince of Guangping, minister in charge of public works.
13
甲午，魏葬宣武皇帝於景陵，廟號世宗。 己亥，尊胡貴嬪為皇太妃。 三月，甲辰朔，以高太后為尼，徙居金墉瑤光寺，非大節慶，不得入宮。
On jiawu, the Northern Wei court buried Emperor Xuanwu at Jingling, giving him the temple name Shizong. On jihai, Honored Consort Hu was elevated to imperial honored consort. In the third month, on the new moon, Empress Dowager Gao was forced to take the tonsure and was moved to the Yaoguang Temple at Jinyong. She was forbidden to enter the palace except on major festivals.
14
魏左僕射郭祚表稱：「蕭衍狂悖，謀斷川瀆，役苦民勞，危亡已兆； 宜命將出師，長驅撲討。」 魏詔平南將軍楊大眼督諸軍鎮荊山。
Guo Zuo, left vice director of the Wei Secretariat, memorialized, "Xiao Yan is arrogant and reckless. He schemes to dam the rivers and canals, and his projects grind the people down with forced labor. The signs of ruin are already plain; we should send generals to take the field and drive deep into his territory to crush him." The Wei court ordered Yang Dayan, pacifier of the south, to supervise all armies and garrison Jingshan.
15
魏於忠既居門下，又總宿衛，遂專朝政，權傾一時。 初，太和中，軍國多事，高祖以用度不足，百官之祿四分減一，忠悉命歸所減之祿。 舊制民稅絹一匹別輸綿八兩，布一區別輸麻十五斤，忠悉罷之。 乙丑，詔文武群官各進位一級。 夏，四月，浮山堰成而復潰。 或言蛟龍能乘風雨破堰，其性惡鐵； 乃運東、西冶鐵器數千萬斤沉之，亦不能合。 乃伐樹為井干，填以巨石； 加土其上，緣淮百里內木石無鉅細皆盡，負簷者肩上皆穿，夏日疾疫，死者相枕，蠅蟲晝夜聲合。
Yu Zhong of the Northern Wei court, having taken charge of the Secretariat and also commanding the palace guards, came to dominate the government, and his power eclipsed all others. Earlier, during the Taihe era, military and state demands were heavy and Emperor Xiaowen, finding revenue insufficient, had cut all officials' salaries by one quarter. Yu Zhong ordered the withheld portions restored in full. Under the old system, for each bolt of silk in the people's tax an additional eight taels of floss had to be paid, and for each piece of hemp cloth an additional fifteen catties of hemp. Yu Zhong abolished all these surcharges. On yichou, an edict advanced every civil and military official one rank. In summer, in the fourth month, the Fushan dam was completed only to burst again. Some said flood dragons ride wind and rain to break dams and cannot abide iron; so they sank tens of millions of catties of iron from the eastern and western foundries into the breach, yet still could not close it. They then felled trees to build cribwork and packed it with huge stones; and heaped earth on top. Within a hundred li along the Huai, every scrap of timber and stone was used up. Porters' shoulders were worn raw through their carrying poles. In the summer heat plague swept the works; the dead lay stacked upon one another, and the drone of flies and insects never ceased day or night.
16
魏梁州刺史薛懷吉破叛氐於沮水。 懷吉，真度之子也。 五月，甲寅，南秦州刺史崔暹又破叛氐，解武興之圍。
Xue Huaiji, the Northern Wei inspector of Liangzhou, defeated rebellious Di forces at the Ju River. Huaiji was a son of Zhendu. In the fifth month, on jiayin, Cui Xian, inspector of Southern Qinzhou, again defeated rebellious Di forces and lifted the siege of Wuxing.
17
六月，魏冀州沙門法慶以妖幻惑眾，與勃海人李歸伯等作亂，推法慶為主。 法慶以尼惠暉為妻，以歸伯為十住菩薩、平魔軍司、定漢王，自號大乘。 又合狂藥，令人服之，父子兄弟不復相識，唯以殺害為事。 刺史蕭寶寅遣兼長史崔伯驎擊之，伯驎敗死。 賊眾益盛，所在毀寺捨，斬僧尼，燒經像，云「新佛出世，除去眾魔。」 秋，七月，丁未，詔假右光祿大夫元遙征北大將軍以討之。
In the sixth month, the monk Fading of Jizhou in the Northern Wei realm deluded the people with sorcery and, together with Li Guibo of Bohai and others, rose in rebellion and made Fading their leader. Fading took the nun Huihui as his wife, appointed Guibo bodhisattva of the ten abodes, pacifier of demons and army marshal, and king who settles Han, and styled himself Mahayana. He also brewed a madness-inducing drug and forced people to take it, so that fathers, sons, and brothers no longer recognized one another and cared only for slaughter. Inspector Xiao Baoyin sent his acting chief clerk Cui Boluo against them. Boluo was defeated and killed. The rebels grew ever stronger. Wherever they went they destroyed temples, beheaded monks and nuns, and burned sutras and images, proclaiming, "A new Buddha has come into the world to destroy all demons." In autumn, in the seventh month, on dingwei, an edict provisionally appointed Yuan Yao, right honorary grand master of the palace, grand general who conquers the north, to suppress them.
18
魏尚書裴植，自謂人門不後王肅，以朝廷處之不高，意常怏怏，表請解官隱嵩山，世宗不許，深怪之。 及為尚書，志氣驕滿，每謂人曰：「非我須尚書，尚書亦須我。」 每入參議論，好面譏毀群官，又表徵南將軍田益宗，言：「華、夷異類，不應在百世衣冠之上。」 於忠、元昭見之切齒。
Pei Zhi, a director of the Wei Secretariat, believed his family standing was no less than Wang Su's. Because the court did not rank him highly enough, he was often discontented and asked to resign and retire to Mount Song. Emperor Xuanwu refused and came to resent him deeply. Once he became a director of the Secretariat, his pride swelled. He often told people, "It is not that I need the Secretariat—the Secretariat needs me." Whenever he attended court to discuss policy, he delighted in mocking other officials to their faces. He also memorialized against Tian Yizong, general who conquers the south, saying, "Chinese and barbarians are different kinds and should not rank above families of long civilized standing." Yu Zhong and Yuan Zhao hated him for it with gnashing teeth.
19
尚書左僕射郭祚，冒進不已，自以東宮師傅，列辭尚書，望封侯、儀同，詔以祚為都督雍、岐、華三州諸軍事、征西將軍、雍州刺史。
Guo Zuo, left vice director of the Secretariat, ceaselessly pressed for advancement. As a former tutor of the Eastern Palace, he repeatedly tried to resign from the Secretariat in hopes of receiving a marquisate and protocol equal to the three excellencies. An edict appointed him commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Yong, Qi, and Hua provinces, general who conquers the west, and inspector of Yongzhou.
20
祚與植皆惡於忠專橫，密勸高陽王雍使出之； 忠聞之，大怒，令有司誣奏其罪。 尚書奏：「羊祉告植姑子皇甫仲達云：『受植旨，詐稱被詔，帥合部曲欲圖於忠。』 臣等窮治，辭不伏引； 然眾證明昺，准律當死。 眾證雖不見植，皆言『仲達為植所使，植召仲達責問而不告列』。 推論情狀，不同之理不可分明，不得同之常獄，有所降減，計同仲達處植死刑。 植親帥城眾，附從王化，依律上議，乞賜裁處。」 忠矯詔曰：「凶謀既爾，罪不當恕； 雖有歸化之誠，無容上議，亦不須待秋分。」 八月，己亥，植與郭祚及都水使者杜陵韋俊皆賜死。 俊，祚之婚家也。 忠又欲殺高陽王雍，崔光固執不從，乃免雍官，以王還第。 朝野冤憤，莫不切齒。
Guo Zuo and Pei Zhi both hated Yu Zhong's monopoly of power and secretly urged Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang, to have him sent out of the capital; When Yu Zhong learned of this, he was furious and ordered the authorities to fabricate charges against them. The Secretariat memorialized, "Yang Zhi reported that Pei Zhi's nephew by marriage Huangfu Zhongda said, 'On Pei Zhi's orders I falsely claimed to have received an edict and would lead my followers in a plot against Yu Zhong. We investigated thoroughly, but he would not confess under interrogation; yet the collective testimony is clear, and by law he should die. Although the collective testimony does not directly implicate Pei Zhi, all witnesses say, 'Zhongda acted on Pei Zhi's orders; Pei Zhi summoned Zhongda to question him but did not report him.' Inferring from the circumstances, the grounds for treating the cases differently cannot be made clear, and this cannot be handled like an ordinary case with a reduced sentence. We calculate that Pei Zhi should be sentenced to death like Zhongda. Pei Zhi personally led the people of his city in submitting to the dynasty. According to law we submit this for higher deliberation and beg the throne to decide." Yu Zhong forged an edict saying, "Since the wicked plot is established, the crime cannot be pardoned; although he showed sincerity in submitting to the dynasty, there is no room for higher deliberation, nor any need to wait for the autumn equinox." In the eighth month, on jihai, Pei Zhi, Guo Zuo, and Wei Jun of Duling, commissioner of waterways, were all ordered to take their own lives. Wei Jun was related to Guo Zuo by marriage. Yu Zhong also wanted to kill Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang. Cui Guang firmly refused to agree, so Yong was stripped of office and sent back to his princely residence. Court and countryside seethed with outrage, and all gnashed their teeth in anger.
21
丙子，魏尊胡太妃為皇太后，居崇訓宮。 於忠領崇訓衛尉，劉騰為崇訓太僕，加侍中，侯剛為侍中撫軍將軍。 又以太后父國珍為光祿大夫。
On bingzi, the Northern Wei court elevated Imperial Honored Consort Hu to empress dowager, with residence in the Palace of Honored Instruction. Yu Zhong took charge as guard commandant of the Palace of Honored Instruction, Liu Teng became grand steward of the Palace of Honored Instruction with the added title of palace attendant, and Hou Gang was made palace attendant and general who pacifies the army. The empress dowager's father Guo Zhen was also appointed honorary grand master of the palace.
22
庚辰，定州刺史田超秀帥眾三千降魏。
On gengchen, Tian Chaoxiu, inspector of Dingzhou, led three thousand men in surrender to the Northern Wei.
23
戊子，魏大赦。
On wuzi, the Northern Wei court proclaimed a general amnesty.
24
己丑，魏清河王懌進位太傅，領太尉，廣平王情為太保，領司徒，任城王澄為司空。 庚寅，魏以車騎大將軍於忠為尚書令，特進崔光為車騎大將軍，並加儀同三司。 魏江陽王繼，熙之曾孫也，先為青州刺史，坐以良人為婢奪爵。 繼子叉娶胡太后妹，壬辰，詔復繼本封，以叉為通直散騎侍郎，叉妻為新平郡君，仍拜女侍中。
On jichou, Yuan Yi, Prince of Qinghe, was promoted to grand tutor and concurrent grand commandant; Yuan Huai, Prince of Guangping, was made grand guardian and concurrent minister of works; and Yuan Cheng, Prince of Rencheng, was made minister in charge of public works. On gengyin, the Northern Wei court appointed Yu Zhong, grand general of chariots and cavalry, director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Cui Guang, special advanced, grand general of chariots and cavalry, both with protocol equal to the three excellencies. Yuan Ji, Prince of Jiangyang of the Northern Wei, was a great-grandson of Yuan Xi. He had earlier served as inspector of Qingzhou and was stripped of his title for taking a free commoner woman as a bondwoman. Ji's son Cha married a younger sister of Empress Dowager Hu. On renchen, an edict restored Ji to his original fief, appointed Cha attendant gentleman for regular service with the imperial equerry, made Cha's wife Lady of Xinping commandery, and also appointed her female palace attendant.
25
群臣奏請皇太后臨朝稱制，九月，乙未，靈太后始臨朝聽政，猶稱令以行事，群臣上書稱殿下。 太后聰悟，頗好讀書屬文，射能中針孔，政事皆手筆自決。 加胡國珍侍中，封安定公。
The officials memorialized asking that the empress dowager preside over court and hold the regency. In the ninth month, on yiwei, Empress Dowager Ling began to preside and hear government. She still governed by edict, and officials in their memorials addressed her as "Your Highness." The empress dowager was quick-witted and perceptive, fond of reading and literary composition, and so skilled in archery that she could pierce a needle's eye; on all matters of government she decided by her own hand. Hu Guozhen was appointed palace attendant and enfeoffed as Duke of Anding.
26
自郭祚等死，詔令生殺皆出於忠，王公畏之，重足脅息。 太后既親政，乃解忠侍中、領軍、崇訓衛尉，止為儀同三司、尚書令。 後旬餘，太后引門下侍官於崇訓宮，問曰：「忠在端揆，聲望何如？」 鹹曰：「不稱闕任。」 乃出忠為都督冀、定、瀛三州諸軍事、征北大將軍、冀州刺史； 以司空澄領尚書令。 澄奏：「安定公宜出入禁中，參咨大務。」 詔從之。
After Guo Zuo and the others were put to death, every order of life or death issued from Yu Zhong; princes and high officials feared him and scarcely dared breathe. Once the empress dowager assumed personal rule, she stripped Yu Zhong of his posts as palace attendant, commander of the palace guards, and guard commandant of the Palace of Honored Instruction, leaving him only protocol equal to the three excellencies and director of the Imperial Secretariat. A little over ten days later, the empress dowager summoned the attendants of the Gate Department at the Palace of Honored Instruction and asked, "Yu Zhong sits at the head of government—what is said of his reputation?" All replied, "He is not equal to the office." She then transferred Yu Zhong to serve as commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Ji, Ding, and Ying, general who campaigns north, and inspector of Jizhou; and she had Yuan Cheng, minister in charge of public works, take charge as director of the Imperial Secretariat. Cheng memorialized, "The Duke of Anding should be allowed to enter and leave the inner palace and take part in deliberation on major affairs." An edict approved the proposal.
27
甲寅，魏元遙破大乘賊，擒法慶並渠帥百餘人，傳首洛陽。
On jiayin, Yuan Yao of the Northern Wei defeated the Mahayana rebels, captured Fa Qing along with more than a hundred bandit chiefs, and sent their heads to Luoyang.
28
左游擊將軍趙祖悅襲魏西硤石，據之以逼壽陽； 更築外城，徙緣淮之民以實城內。 將軍田道龍等散攻諸戍，魏揚州刺史李崇分遣諸將拒之。 癸亥，魏遣假鎮南將軍崔亮攻西硤石，又遣鎮東將軍蕭寶寅決淮堰。
Zhao Zuyue, left guerrilla general, raided Western Xishi in Wei territory, seized it, and used it to threaten Shouyang; he then built an outer wall and relocated people from along the Huai to populate the inner city. Generals Tian Daolong and others fanned out to attack the garrison posts; Li Chong, Northern Wei inspector of Yangzhou, dispatched his generals in separate columns to resist them. On guihai, the Northern Wei court sent acting general who pacifies the south Cui Liang to attack Western Xishi, and also sent general who pacifies the east Xiao Baoyin to breach the Huai dam.
29
冬，十月，乙酉，魏以胡國珍為中書監、儀同三司，侍中如故。
In winter, in the tenth month, on yiyou, the Northern Wei court appointed Hu Guozhen director of the Secretariat with protocol equal to the three excellencies, while retaining his post as palace attendant.
30
甲午，弘化太守杜桂舉郡降魏。
On jiawu, Du Gui, administrator of Honghua, surrendered his commandery to the Northern Wei.
31
初，魏於忠用事，自言世宗許其優轉； 太傅雍等皆不敢違，加忠車騎大將軍。 忠又自謂新故之際有定社稷之功，諷百僚令加己賞； 雍等議封忠常山郡公。 忠又難於獨受，乃諷朝廷，同在門下者皆加封邑。 雍等不得已復封崔光為博平縣公，而尚書元昭等上訴不已。 太后敕公卿再議，太傅懌等上言：「先帝升遐，奉迎乘輿，侍衛省闥，乃臣子常職，不容以此為功。 臣等前議授忠茅土，正以畏其威權，苟免暴戾故也。 若以功過相除，悉不應賞，請皆追奪。」 崔光亦奉送章綬茅土。 表十餘上，太后從之。
Earlier, while Yu Zhong held power in the Northern Wei court, he claimed that Emperor Shizong had promised him preferential advancement; Grand Tutor Yuan Yong and the others all dared not refuse, and Yu Zhong was given the added title of grand general of chariots and cavalry. Yu Zhong also claimed that at the transition between emperors he had merit in securing the dynasty, and he prompted the officials to petition for his reward; Yong and the others agreed to enfeoff Yu Zhong as Duke of Changshan commandery. Yu Zhong, unwilling to accept the honor alone, then prompted the court that all who had served with him in the Gate Department should receive added fiefs as well. Yong and the others, unable to refuse, also enfeoffed Cui Guang as Duke of Boxing county, but Yuan Zhao of the Secretariat and others kept submitting protests without cease. The empress dowager ordered the chief ministers to reconsider. Grand Tutor Yuan Yi and the others submitted, "When the late emperor passed away, welcoming the imperial carriage and guarding the inner gates were the ordinary duties of a subject—they countless as merit. Our earlier deliberation to grant Yu Zhong a fief was made only out of fear of his power, to escape his violence. If merit and fault are weighed together, none of us deserves reward; we ask that all honors be revoked." Cui Guang also returned his seals, ribbons, and fief. After more than ten such memorials, the empress dowager approved.
32
高陽王雍上表自劾，稱「臣初入柏堂，見詔旨之行一由門下，臣出君行，深知不可而不能禁； 於忠專權，生殺自恣，而臣不能違。 忠規欲殺臣，賴在事執拒； 臣欲出忠於外，在心未行，返為忠廢。 忝官尸祿，孤負恩私，請返私門，伏聽司敗。」 太后以忠有保護之功，不問其罪。 十二月，辛丑，以雍為太師，領司州牧，尋復錄尚書事，與太傅懌、太保懷、侍中胡國珍入居門下，同厘庶政。
Yuan Yong, Prince of Gaoyang, submitted a self-accusation, saying, "When I first entered the council chamber, I saw that every edict was issued through the Gate Department alone; though I knew this usurped the sovereign's authority, I could not stop it; Yu Zhong wielded sole power and decided life and death as he pleased, yet I could not defy him. Yu Zhong plotted to kill me, and I survived only because those on duty resisted on my behalf; I intended to transfer Yu Zhong to an outside post, but never acted on it, and was instead removed from office by him. I hold office unworthily, living on salary while betraying the emperor's grace; I ask to retire to my home and submit to whatever punishment the law requires." The empress dowager, crediting Yu Zhong with having protected her, did not pursue the matter against him. In the twelfth month, on xinchou, Yong was appointed grand preceptor and concurrent governor of Sizhou; soon he was restored as recorder of the Imperial Secretariat, and together with Grand Tutor Yuan Yi, Grand Guardian Yuan Huai, and Palace Attendant Hu Guozhen he took up residence in the Gate Department to jointly manage affairs of state.
33
己酉，魏崔亮至硤石，趙祖悅逆戰而敗，閉城自守； 亮進圍之。
On jiyou, Cui Liang of the Northern Wei reached Xishi; Zhao Zuyue met him in battle, was defeated, shut the gates, and held out within the city; Liang pressed forward and laid siege to the city.
34
乙卯，魏主及太后謁景陵。
On yimao, the Northern Wei emperor and the empress dowager visited Jingling.
35
是冬，寒甚，淮、泗盡凍，浮山堰士卒死者什七八。 魏益州刺史傅豎眼，性清素，民、獠懷之。 龍驤將軍元法僧代豎眼為益州刺史，素無治干，加以貪殘，王、賈諸姓，本州士族，法僧皆召為兵。 葭萌民任令宗因眾心之患魏也，殺魏晉壽太守，以城來降，民、獠多應之； 益州刺史鄱陽王恢遣巴西、梓潼二郡太守張齊將兵三萬迎之。 法僧，熙之曾孫也。
That winter was bitterly cold; the Huai and Si rivers froze solid, and seven or eight tenths of the soldiers at the Fushan dam perished. Fu Shuyan, Northern Wei inspector of Yizhou, was honest and plain by nature, and the common people and indigenous tribes held him in esteem. Longxiang General Yuan Faseng replaced Fu Shuyan as inspector of Yizhou; he had no talent for governance and was moreover greedy and cruel. The Wang, Jia, and other leading clans of the province were all conscripted as soldiers. Ren Lingzong of Jiameng, exploiting popular resentment of Wei rule, killed the Jinshou prefect and surrendered the city; many commoners and indigenous tribes joined him; Prince of Poyang Hui, inspector of Yizhou, sent Zhang Qi, administrator of Baxi and Zitong, with thirty thousand troops to meet him. Yuan Faseng was a great-grandson of Yuan Xi.
36
魏岐州剌史趙王謐，干之子也，為政暴虐。 一旦，閉城門大索，執人而掠之，楚毒備至，又無故斬六人，闔城兇懼； 眾遂大呼，屯門，謐登樓毀梯以自固。 胡太后遣游擊將軍王靖馳馹諭城人，城人開門謝罪，奉送管籥，乃罷謐剌史。 謐妃，太后從女也。 至洛，除大司農卿。
Zhao Mi, Prince of Zhao and Northern Wei inspector of Qizhou, was a son of Yuan Gan; his rule was violent and cruel. One day he shut the city gates and conducted a sweeping search, seizing people and plundering them with every torture imaginable; he also executed six men without cause, and terror seized the whole city; the people raised a great outcry and massed at the gates; Mi climbed a tower, destroyed the stairs, and barricaded himself inside. Empress Dowager Hu sent guerrilla general Wang Jing posthaste to instruct the townspeople; they opened the gates, apologized, and surrendered the keys of the city, and Mi was removed from his post as inspector. Mi's consort was the empress dowager's niece. When he reached Luoyang, he was appointed grand steward of agriculture.
37
太后以魏主尚幼，未能親祭，欲代行祭事； 禮官博議，以為不可。 太后以問侍中崔光，光引漢和熹鄧太后祭宗廟故事，太后大悅，遂攝行祭事。
Because the Northern Wei emperor was still young and could not perform the sacrifices in person, the empress dowager wished to perform them on his behalf; the ritual officials debated at length and ruled that this was not permitted. The empress dowager asked Palace Attendant Cui Guang; Guang cited the precedent of Empress Dowager Deng during the reigns of Emperors He and Xi sacrificing at the ancestral temple; the empress dowager was greatly pleased and took charge of the rites herself.
38
高祖武皇帝四天監十五年（ 丙申，公元五一六年）
In the fifteenth year of Tianjian of Emperor Wu of Liang ( bingshen, or 516 CE)
39
春，正月，戊辰朔，魏大赦，改元熙平。
In spring, on the new moon of the first month, the Northern Wei court proclaimed a general amnesty and changed the era name to Xiping.
40
魏崔亮攻硤石未下，與李崇屢約水陸並進，崇違期不至。 胡太后以諸將不壹，乃以吏部尚書李平為使持節、鎮軍大將軍兼尚書右僕射，將步騎二千赴壽陽，別為行台，節度諸軍，如有乖異，以軍法從事。 蕭寶寅遣輕車將軍劉智文等渡淮，攻破三壘； 二月，乙巳，又敗將軍垣孟孫等於淮北。 李平至硤石，督李崇、崔亮等刻日水陸進攻，無敢乖互，戰屢有功。
Cui Liang of the Northern Wei besieged Xishi without success; he and Li Chong repeatedly agreed to advance together by land and water, but Li Chong failed to arrive on schedule. Because the generals were not united, Empress Dowager Hu appointed Li Ping, minister of personnel, commissioner with full powers, general who pacifies the army and concurrent right vice director of the Imperial Secretariat, and sent him with two thousand infantry and cavalry to Shouyang as a separate field headquarters to command all armies; any disobedience was to be punished by military law. Xiao Baoyin sent Light Chariot General Liu Zhiwen and others across the Huai and captured three fortresses; in the second month, on yisi, he again defeated Generals Huan Mencun and others north of the Huai. Li Ping reached Xishi, set a fixed date for Li Chong, Cui Liang, and the others to attack together by land and water, and none dared disobey; they won repeated victories in battle.
41
上使左衛將軍昌義之將兵救浮山，未至，康絢已擊魏兵，卻之。 上使義之與直閣王神念溯淮救硤石。 崔亮遣將軍博陵崔延伯守下蔡，延伯與別將伊甕生夾淮為營。 延伯取車輪去輞，削銳共輻，兩兩接對，揉竹為絲亙，貫連相屬，並十餘道，橫水為橋，兩頭施大鹿盧，出沒隨意，不可燒斫。 既斷趙祖悅走路，又令戰艦不通，義之、神念屯梁城不得進。 李平部分水陸攻硤石，克其外城； 乙丑，祖悅出降，斬之，盡俘其眾。 胡太后賜崔亮書，使乘勝深入。 平部分諸將，水陸並進，攻浮山堰； 亮違平節度，以疾請還，隨表輒發。 平奏處亮死刑，太后令曰：「亮去留自擅，違我經略，雖有小捷，豈免大咎！ 但吾攝御萬機，庶幾惡殺，可特聽以功補過。」 魏師遂還。
The Liang emperor sent Left Guard General Chang Yizhi with troops to relieve Fushan; before he arrived, Kang Xuan had already attacked the Northern Wei army and driven it back. The emperor ordered Chang Yizhi and Direct Attendant Wang Shennian to ascend the Huai and relieve Xishi. Cui Liang sent General Cui Yanbo of Boye to hold Xiaocai; Yanbo and another general, Yi Wengsheng, established camps on both banks of the Huai. Yanbo took cart wheels, removed the rims, sharpened the hubs into points, paired them tip to tip, and bound them with twisted bamboo into more than ten floating lanes laid across the water as a bridge; large capstans at both ends let the structure be moved at will, and it could neither be burned nor cut apart. Having cut off Zhao Zuyue's escape route and blocked the passage of warships, Chang Yizhi and Wang Shennian encamped at Liangcheng and could not advance. Li Ping organized a combined land and water assault on Xishi and captured the outer wall; on yichou, Zhao Zuyue came out and surrendered; he was executed, and his entire force was taken prisoner. Empress Dowager Hu sent Cui Liang a letter ordering him to press his advantage and advance in depth. Li Ping organized the generals for a combined land and water advance against the Fushan dam; Cui Liang disobeyed Li Ping's orders, requested leave on grounds of illness, and departed as soon as his memorial was dispatched. Li Ping memorialized requesting the death penalty for Cui Liang; the empress dowager ordered, "Cui Liang came and went as he pleased, defying my strategy; though he won minor victories, how can he escape grave punishment! But I govern ten thousand affairs and would rather not be excessive in killing; he may be specially permitted to offset his fault with his merit." The Northern Wei army then withdrew.
42
魏中尉元匡奏彈於忠：「幸國大災，專擅朝命，裴、郭受冤，宰輔黜辱。 又自矯旨為儀同三司、尚書令，領崇訓衛尉，原其此意，欲以無上自處。 既事在恩後，宜加顯戮，請遣御史一人就州行決。 自去歲世宗晏駕以後，皇太后未親覽以前，諸不由階級，或發門下詔書，或由中書宣敕，擅相拜授者，已經恩宥，正可免罪，並宜追奪。」 太后令曰：「忠已蒙特原，無宜追罪； 餘如奏。」 匡又彈侍中侯剛掠殺羽林。 剛本以善烹調為嘗食典御，凡三十年，以有德於太后，頗專恣用事，王公皆畏附之。 廷尉處剛大辟。 太后曰：「剛因公事掠人，邂逅致死，於律不坐。」 少卿陳郡袁翻曰：「『邂逅』，謂情狀已露，隱避不引，考訊以理者也。 今此羽林，問則具首，剛口唱打殺，撾築非理，安得謂之『邂逅』！」 太后乃削剛戶三百，解嘗食典御。
Censor-in-Chief Yuan Kuang of the Northern Wei memorialized impeaching Yu Zhong: "Exploiting the state's great calamity, he monopolized court commands; Pei Zhi and Guo Zuo suffered false charges, and the chief ministers were humiliated and removed from office. He also forged edicts appointing himself to protocol equal to the three excellencies, director of the Imperial Secretariat, and head of the Honored Instruction guard—clearly intending to set himself above all authority. Since these acts came after he had already received pardon, he deserves conspicuous punishment; I request that one censor be sent to his province to carry out the sentence. Since Emperor Shizong's death last year, before the empress dowager assumed personal rule, all who bypassed proper channels—whether issuing Gate Department edicts, proclaiming Secretariat orders, or conferring appointments on their own—have already been pardoned and may be absolved of criminal liability, but all such appointments should likewise be revoked." The empress dowager ordered, "Yu Zhong has already received special pardon; there is no further ground to pursue punishment; the remainder as submitted." Yuan Kuang also impeached Palace Attendant Hou Gang for seizing and killing guardsmen. Hou Gang had originally been appointed imperial food-taster for his skill in cooking; he served in that post for thirty years, and because he had done favors for the empress dowager he wielded considerable power; princes and high officials all feared him and sought his favor. The court of justice sentenced Hou Gang to death. The empress dowager said, "Hou Gang seized a man in the course of official business and killed him in the heat of the moment; by law he is not liable." Vice Director Yuan Fan of Chen commandery said, "'Encounter' applies when the facts are already exposed, the offender evades and will not confess, and questioning proceeds accordingly. But this guardsman confessed fully when questioned; Hou Gang shouted for him to be beaten to death and struck him without cause—how can this be called 'encounter'!" The empress dowager then reduced Hou Gang's household by three hundred and removed him from his post as food-taster.
43
三月，戊戌朔，日有食之。
In the third month, on the new moon, there was a solar eclipse.
44
魏論西硤石之功。 辛未，以李崇為驃騎將軍，加儀同三司，李平為尚書右僕射，崔亮進號鎮北將軍。 亮與平爭功於禁中，太后以亮為殿中尚書。
The Northern Wei court evaluated merit for the Western Xishi campaign. On xinwei, Li Chong was appointed flying cavalry general with protocol equal to the three excellencies; Li Ping was made right vice director of the Imperial Secretariat; and Cui Liang was promoted to general who pacifies the north. Cui Liang and Li Ping contended for credit at court; the empress dowager appointed Liang director of the palace secretariat.
45
魏蕭寶寅在淮堰，上為手書誘之，使襲彭城，許送其國廟及室家諸比還北； 寶寅表上其書於魏朝。
Xiao Baoyin of the Northern Wei was at the Huai dam; the Liang emperor wrote him a personal letter urging him to attack Pengcheng and promising to return his ancestral temple tablets, his family, and his household when he went back north; Xiao Baoyin submitted the letter to the Northern Wei court.
46
夏，四月，淮堰成，長九里，下廣一百四十丈，上廣四十五丈，高二十丈，樹以杞柳，軍壘列居其上。
In summer, in the fourth month, the Huai dam was completed—nine li long, one hundred forty zhang wide at the base, forty-five zhang at the top, and twenty zhang high; qi and willow were planted on it, and military camps were built along its length.
47
或謂康絢曰：「四瀆，天所以節宣其氣，不可久塞，若鑿湫東注，則游波寬緩，堰得不壞。」 絢乃開湫東注。 又縱反間於魏曰：「梁人所懼開湫，不畏野戰。」 蕭寶寅信之，鑿山深五丈，開湫北注，水日夜分流猶不減，魏軍竟罷歸。 水之所及，夾淮方數百里。 李崇作浮橋於硤石戍間，又築魏昌城於八公山東南，以備壽陽城壞。 居民散就岡壟，其水清澈，俯視廬舍塚墓，了然在下。
Someone advised Kang Xuan, "The Four Rivers are Heaven's way of regulating and dispersing its forces—they cannot be dammed forever; if the eastern outlet is opened, the water will spread gently and the dam will hold." Kang Xuan then opened the eastern outlet. He also spread disinformation to the Northern Wei, saying, "The Liang forces fear the opening of the outlet; they do not fear field battle." Xiao Baoyin believed it, dug five zhang into the mountain, and opened the northern outlet; water flowed out day and night yet the level did not fall, and the Northern Wei army finally gave up and withdrew. The flood spread for several hundred li along both banks of the Huai. Li Chong built a floating bridge near the Xishi garrison and also fortified Weichang city southeast of Bagong Mountain, as a precaution against Shouyang's walls being undermined. The people fled to the hillocks and ridges; the floodwaters ran clear, and from above one could look straight down at houses and graves laid bare beneath the surface.
48
初，堰起於徐州境內，刺史張豹子宣言，謂己必掌其事； 既而康絢以他官來監作，豹子甚慚。 俄而敕豹子受絢節度，豹子遂譖絢與魏交通，上雖不納，猶以事畢征絢還。
When work on the dam began within Xuzhou, Inspector Zhang Baozi declared openly that he would surely be put in charge of it. Before long, however, Kang Xuan arrived in another official capacity to supervise the project, and Baozi was deeply mortified. An edict soon followed ordering Baozi to serve under Kang Xuan's command. Baozi then accused Xuan of colluding with Wei. The emperor did not believe him, but once the work was done he nevertheless recalled Xuan.
49
魏胡太后追思於忠之功，曰：「豈宜以一謬棄其餘勳！」 復封忠為靈壽縣公，亦封崔光為平恩縣侯。
Empress Dowager Hu of Wei, thinking back on Yu Zhong's service, said, "How can a single fault wipe away all his other merits!" She restored Zhong as Duke of Lingshou County and also enfeoffed Cui Guang as Marquis of Ping'en County.
50
魏元法僧遣其子景隆將兵拒張齊，齊與戰於葭萌，大破之，屠十餘者，遂圍武興。 法僧嬰城自守，境內皆叛，法僧遣使間道告急於魏。 魏驛召鎮南軍司傅豎眼於淮南，以為益州刺史、西征都督，將步騎三千以赴之。 豎眼入境，轉戰三日，行二百餘里，九遇皆捷。 五月，豎眼擊殺梁州刺史任太洪。 民、獠聞豎眼至，皆喜，迎拜於路者相繼。 張齊退保白水，豎眼入州，白水以東民皆安業。
Yuan Faseng of Wei sent his son Jinglong with an army to oppose Zhang Qi. Qi met him at Jiameng, crushed his forces, slaughtered more than ten strongholds, and then laid siege to Wuxing. Faseng shut himself within the city to hold out, while the whole region rose against him. He sent messengers by secret paths to Wei to plead for help. Wei sent a fast courier to summon Fu Shuyan, the southern garrison army commander, from Huainan, made him inspector of Yizhou and commander-in-chief of the western expedition, and sent three thousand foot and horse to relieve the city. Shuyan crossed the border and fought without pause for three days, advancing more than two hundred li and winning every one of nine engagements. In the fifth month, Shuyan killed Liang Inspector Ren Taihong in battle. When the common people and the Liao tribes learned that Shuyan had come, they rejoiced, and people lined the roads to welcome and salute him. Zhang Qi fell back to Baishui. Shuyan entered the province, and east of Baishui the people settled back into their lives.
51
魏梓潼太守苟金龍領關城戍主，梁兵至，金龍疾病，不堪部分，其妻劉氏帥厲城民，乘城拒戰，百有餘日，士卒死傷過半。 戍副高景謀叛，劉氏斬景及其黨與數千人，自餘將士，分衣減食，勞逸必同，莫不畏而懷之。 井在城外，為梁兵所據。 會天大雨，劉氏命出公私布絹及衣服懸之，絞而取水，城中所有雜物悉儲之。 豎眼至，梁兵乃退，魏人封其子為平昌縣子。
Gou Jinlong, Wei prefect of Zitong and commander of the Guancheng garrison, fell gravely ill when Liang forces arrived and could no longer direct the defense. His wife, Lady Liu, rallied the townspeople, manned the walls, and held out for more than a hundred days, until casualties exceeded half the garrison. Deputy commander Gao Jing plotted treason. Lady Liu executed him and several thousand of his followers. She then divided clothing and cut rations among the remaining troops, sharing every hardship and comfort with them, until all feared her and yet all revered her. The wells lay outside the walls and were held by the Liang army. Then came a great rain. Lady Liu had public and private cloth, silk, and clothing hung out, wrung them for water, and stored every scrap of material in the city that might hold moisture. When Fu Shuyan arrived, the Liang army withdrew. Wei enfeoffed her son as Viscount of Pingchang County.
52
六月，庚子，以尚書令王瑩為左光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，尚書右僕射袁昂為左僕射，吏部尚書王暕為右樸射。 暕，儉之子也。
In the sixth month, on gengzi, Wang Ying, director of the Secretariat, was appointed Left Grand Master of the Palace with the rank of Opening the Office with Equal Ceremony to the Three Excellencies; Yuan Ang, right vice director of the Secretariat, became Left Vice Director; and Wang Yan, director of the Ministry of Personnel, became Right Vice Director. Yan was the son of Jian.
53
張齊數出白水侵魏葭萌，傅豎眼遣虎威將軍強虯攻信義將軍楊興起，殺之，復取白水。 寧朔將軍王光昭又敗於陽平，張齊親帥驍勇二萬餘人與傅豎眼戰。 秋，七月，齊軍大敗，走還，小劍、大劍諸戍皆棄城走，東益州復入於魏。
Zhang Qi repeatedly raided Wei's Jiameng from Baishui. Fu Shuyan sent Tiger Might General Qiang Qiu against Faithful Integrity General Yang Xingqi, killed him, and retook Baishui. Pacifying the North General Wang Guangzhao was defeated again at Yangping. Zhang Qi then personally led more than twenty thousand elite troops against Fu Shuyan. In the seventh month of autumn, Qi's army was routed and driven back. The garrisons at Xiaojian, Dajian, and elsewhere were abandoned, and Eastern Yizhou returned to Wei.
54
八月，乙巳，魏以胡國珍為驃騎大將軍、開府儀同三司、雍州刺史。 國珍年老，太后實不欲令出，止欲示以方面之榮； 竟不行。
In the eighth month, on yisi, Wei made Hu Guozhen Grand General of Agile Cavalry with the rank of Opening the Office with Equal Ceremony to the Three Excellencies and appointed him inspector of Yongzhou. Guozhen was advanced in years. The empress dowager had no real intention of sending him out; she meant only to bestow on him the honor of a regional command. In the end he never took up the post.
55
康絢既還，張豹子不復修淮堰。 九月，丁丑，淮水暴漲，堰壞，其聲如雷，聞三百里，緣淮城戍村落十餘萬口皆漂入海。 初，魏人患淮堰，以任城王澄為大將軍、大都督南討諸軍事，勒眾十萬，將出徐州來攻堰； 尚書右僕射李平以為：「不假兵力，終當自壞。」 及聞破，太后大喜，賞平甚厚，澄遂不行。
Once Kang Xuan had been recalled, Zhang Baozi ceased repairing the Huai dam. In the ninth month, on dingchou, the Huai surged and the dam collapsed with a thunderous roar heard three hundred li away. More than a hundred thousand people in towns, garrisons, and villages along the river were swept out to sea. Earlier, troubled by the Huai dam, Wei had appointed Prince Cheng of Rencheng grand general and commander-in-chief of the southern campaign, mustered a hundred thousand men, and prepared to march from Xuzhou to destroy it. Right Vice Director Li Ping argued, "There is no need for troops. In time it will destroy itself. When news came that the dam had broken, the empress dowager was overjoyed, rewarded Ping lavishly, and Cheng's expedition was canceled.
56
壬辰，大赦。
On renchen, a general amnesty was proclaimed.
57
魏胡太后數幸宗戚勳貴之家，侍中崔光表諫曰：「《禮》，諸侯非問疾弔喪而入諸臣之家，謂之君臣為謔。 不言王后夫人，明無適臣家之義。 夫人，父母在有歸寧，沒則使卿寧。 漢上官皇后將廢昌邑，霍光，外祖也，親為宰輔，後猶御武帳以接群臣，示男女之別也。 今帝族方衍，勳貴增遷，祗請遂多，將成彝式。 願陛下簡息游幸，則率土屬賴，含生仰悅矣。」
Empress Dowager Hu of Wei often visited the homes of imperial clansmen and meritorious nobles. Palace Attendant Cui Guang remonstrated in a memorial: "The Rites say that when a feudal lord enters a minister's house for any reason other than to inquire after illness or offer condolences, it is called ruler and subject treating one another as playthings. The text does not mention queens and consorts, making plain that there is no proper occasion for them to visit ministers' houses. A lady may return to her parents' home while they live; after their death she sends an envoy to inquire after her family. Under the Han, when Empress Shangguan was about to depose the King of Changyi, Huo Guang—her maternal grandfather and chief minister—still received the ministers from behind a military screen, preserving the distinction between the sexes. Now the imperial clan grows ever larger, meritorious nobles rise in rank without cease, and invitations multiply until they threaten to become fixed custom. I beg Your Majesty to curtail these pleasure visits. Then the whole realm will look to you in trust, and all living things will rejoice."
58
任城王澄以北邊鎮將選舉彌輕，恐賊虜窺邊，山陵危迫，奏求重鎮將之選，修警備之嚴，詔公卿議之。 廷尉少卿袁翻議，以為：「比緣邊州郡官不擇人，唯論資級。 或值貪污之人，廣開戍邏，多置帥領； 或用其左右姻親； 或受人貨財請屬。 皆無防寇之心，唯有聚斂之意。 其勇力之兵，驅令抄掠，若值強敵，即為奴虜，如有執獲，奪為己富。 其羸弱老小之輩，微解金鐵之工，少閒草木之作，無不搜營窮壘，苦役百端。 自餘或伐木深山，或芸草平陸，販貿往還，相望道路。 此等祿既不多，貲亦有限，皆收其實絹，給其虛粟，窮其力，薄其衣，用其功，節其食，綿冬歷夏，加方疾苦，死於溝瀆者什常七八。 是以鄰敵伺間，擾我疆場，皆由邊任不得其人故也。 愚謂自今已後，南北邊諸籓及所統郡縣府佐、統軍至於戍主，皆令朝臣王公已下各舉所知，必選其才，不拘階級； 若稱職及敗官，並所舉之人隨事賞罰。」 太后不能用。 及正光之末，北邊盜賊群起，遂逼舊都，犯山陵，如澄所慮。
Prince Cheng of Rencheng, alarmed that appointments to the northern frontier garrisons were growing ever more careless and fearing that enemies might probe the border and threaten the imperial tombs, asked that frontier commanders be chosen with greater rigor and defenses tightened. The court ordered the high ministers to debate the matter. Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review Yuan Fan argued: "Of late, frontier prefectures and districts have not chosen men for ability but have looked only to rank and seniority. Sometimes corrupt officials are appointed, who multiply garrison posts and stack on commanders; sometimes they install their own retainers and in-laws; sometimes they take bribes and grant posts through favor. None of them think of defending the frontier; all they want is to enrich themselves. The strong soldiers are sent out to raid. When they meet a powerful enemy they are taken captive; when they capture anything they keep it for themselves. The weak, the old, and the young—anyone who knows even a little metalwork or a bit of farming—is dragged from every camp and fortress and put to every sort of cruel labor. Others cut timber in deep mountains, weed fields on the plains, or travel the roads in endless trade. Their pay is meager and their goods few, yet commanders take their real silk and pay them in worthless grain. They are worked to exhaustion, clothed in rags, fed on scraps, and driven without rest from winter through summer, until added hardship and disease kill seven or eight out of ten in ditches and drains. That is why neighboring enemies watch for openings and raid our borders: the wrong men hold the frontier posts. I propose that henceforth, for every frontier domain north and south and for all their prefectural, district, and staff appointments, from army commanders down to garrison chiefs, every court minister and prince should recommend men known to him, choosing talent without regard to rank. If an appointee succeeds or fails, the man who recommended him should be rewarded or punished accordingly. The empress dowager did not accept it. By the end of the Zhengguang era, bandits rose all along the northern frontier, threatened the old capital, and violated the imperial tombs—just as Cheng had warned.
59
冬，十一月，交州刺史李畟斬交州反者阮宗孝，傳首建康。 初，魏世宗作瑤光寺，未就，是歲，胡太后又作永寧寺，皆在宮側； 又作石窟寺於伊闕口，皆極土木之美。 而永寧尤盛，有金像高丈八尺者一，如中人者十，玉像二。 為九層浮圖，掘地築基，下及黃泉； 浮圖高九十丈，上剎得高十丈，每夜靜，鈴鐸聲聞十里。 佛殿如太極殿，南門如端門。 僧房千間，珠玉錦繡，駭人心目。 自佛法入中國，塔廟之盛，未之有也。 揚州刺史李崇上表，以為：「高祖遷都垂三十年，明堂未修，太學荒廢，城闕府寺頗亦頹壞，非所以追隆堂構，儀刑萬國者也。 今國子雖有學官之名，而無教授之實，何異兔絲、燕麥，南箕、北斗！ 事不兩興，須有進退； 宜罷尚方雕靡之作，省永寧土木之功，減瑤光材瓦之力，分石窟鐫琢之勞，及諸事役非急者，於三時農隙修此數條，使國容嚴顯，禮化興行，不亦休哉！」 太后優令答之，而不用其言。
In the eleventh month of winter, Li Bi, inspector of Jiaozhou, executed the rebel Ruan Zongxiao and sent his head to Jiankang. Earlier, Emperor Shizong of Wei had begun Yaoguang Temple but left it unfinished. That year Empress Dowager Hu also built Yongning Temple. Both stood beside the palace. She also built Shiku Temple at the Yique Pass. All were monuments to the most lavish architecture. Yongning surpassed them all. It held one gold image eighteen feet high, ten the size of a man, and two of jade. Its nine-story pagoda was dug deep into the earth, its foundations reaching to the Yellow Springs. The pagoda rose ninety zhang, its spire another ten. On quiet nights the bells and chimes could be heard ten li away. The Buddha hall rivaled the Hall of Supreme Ultimate; the south gate rivaled the Gate of Duan. A thousand monks' quarters blazed with pearls, jade, brocade, and embroidery that dazzled the eye. Since the Buddha's teaching came to China, no temple or pagoda had ever been so grand. Li Chong, inspector of Yangzhou, memorialized: "Nearly thirty years have passed since Emperor Gaozu moved the capital, yet the Bright Hall remains unrepaired, the Imperial Academy lies in ruins, and the city gates and government halls are crumbling. This is no way to honor the founding of the dynasty or set an example for the realm. The Directorate of Education bears the name of a school but does no teaching—no more real than dodder pretending to be grain, or the Winnowing Basket mistaken for the Northern Dipper. Great works cannot all be pursued at once. One must choose. Stop the Palace Workshops' ornamental projects. Cut back construction at Yongning, reduce materials for Yaoguang, divert labor from the stone carvings at Shiku, and suspend every non-urgent public work. Use the farming seasons' intervals to repair the Bright Hall, the Academy, and the capital's halls and gates. Then the state's dignity would stand forth and ritual civilization would flourish. Would that not be glorious? The empress dowager answered with a gracious edict, but ignored his advice.
60
太后好事佛，民多絕戶為沙門，高陽王友李瑒上言：「三千之罪莫大於不孝，不孝之大無過於絕祀。 豈得輕縱背禮之情，肆其向法之意，一身親老，棄家絕養，缺當世之禮而求將來之益！ 孔子云：『未知生，焉知死？』 安有棄堂堂之政而從鬼教乎！ 又，今南服未靜，眾役仍煩，百生之情，實多避役，若復聽之，恐捐棄孝慈，比屋皆為沙門矣。」 都統僧暹等忿瑒謂之「鬼教」，以為謗佛，泣訴於太后。 太后責之。 瑒曰：「天曰神，地曰示氏，人曰鬼。 《傳》曰：『明則有禮樂，幽則有鬼神。』 然則明者為堂堂，幽者為鬼教。 佛本出於人，名之為鬼，愚謂非謗。」 太后雖知瑒言為允，難違暹等之意，罰瑒金一兩。
The empress dowager was devoted to Buddhism, and many people abandoned their households to become monks. Li Yang, a friend to the Prince of Gaoyang, memorialized: "Of the three thousand offenses, none is greater than unfilial conduct, and of unfilial acts none is worse than ending the ancestral line. How can we lightly indulge those who turn against ritual and rush toward the Law—who leave aging parents, abandon home and cut off support, neglect the duties of this life, and chase after rewards in the next! Confucius said, 'If you do not yet understand life, how can you understand death? How can anyone abandon the bright governance of the living world to follow the doctrine of ghosts! Moreover, the south is not yet pacified and corvée remains heavy. Many people seek to evade labor. If this is permitted again, I fear filial piety and compassion will be cast aside and every household will turn monastic. Chief Superintendent Monk Seng Xian and others, furious that Yang had called Buddhism the "ghost teaching," accused him of slandering the Buddha and wept before the empress dowager. The empress dowager rebuked Yang. Yang replied, "Heaven is called spirit, earth is called Shi, and humans are called ghosts. The Commentary says, 'In the bright realm are rites and music; in the dark realm are ghosts and spirits. Therefore the bright realm is the august world of the living, and the dark realm is the world of ghosts. The Buddha was born a man. To call him a ghost is, I believe, not slander. The empress dowager knew Yang was right, but unwilling to defy Seng Xian and the others, she fined him one liang of gold.
61
魏徵南大將軍田益宗求為東豫州刺史，以招二子，太后不許，竟卒於洛陽。
Tian Yizong, Wei's Grand General Who Conquers the South, asked to be made inspector of Eastern Yuzhou so he could summon his two sons. The empress dowager refused, and he died in Luoyang.
62
柔然伏跋可汗，壯健善用兵，是歲，西擊高車，大破之，執其王彌俄突，系其足於駑馬，頓曳殺之，漆其頭為飲器。 鄰國先羈屬柔然後叛去者，伏跋皆擊滅之，其國復強。
Fuba Khan of Rouran, vigorous and skilled in war, marched west that year against the Gaoche, crushed them, seized their king Mie'etuo, tied his feet to a draft horse and dragged him to death, then lacquered his skull into a drinking cup. Every neighboring state that had once submitted to Rouran and then rebelled, Fuba conquered and destroyed, and his realm grew strong again.
63
高祖武皇帝四天監十六年（ 丁酉，公元五一七年）
The sixteenth year of Tianjian of Emperor Wu the High Ancestor ( dingyou, 517 CE)
64
春，正月，辛未，上祀南郊。
In spring, the first month, on xinwei, the Emperor sacrificed to Heaven at the southern suburb.
65
魏大乘餘賊復相聚，突入瀛州，刺史宇文福之子員外散騎侍郎延帥奴客拒之。 賊燒齋閣，延突火抱福出外，肌發皆焦，勒眾苦戰，賊遂散走，追討，平之。
Surviving Great Vehicle rebels in Wei gathered again and broke into Yingzhou. Yan, son of Inspector Yuwen Fu and an external attendant gentleman of the Fast Cavalry, led household retainers to meet them. The rebels set the fasting hall ablaze. Yan charged through the fire, carried his father out in his arms with flesh and hair scorched black, rallied the men to fight on, and drove the rebels off. Pursuit followed and the rebellion was suppressed.
66
甲戌，魏大赦。
On jiaxu, Wei proclaimed a general amnesty.
67
魏初，民間皆不用錢，高祖太和十九年，始鑄太和五銖錢，遣錢工在所鼓鑄。 民有欲鑄錢者，聽就官爐，銅必精練，無得淆雜，世宗永平三年，又鑄五銖錢，禁天下用錢不依準式者。 既而洛陽及諸州鎮所用錢各不同，商貨不通。 尚書令任城王澄上言以為：「不行之錢，律有明式，指謂雞眼、鐶鑿，更無餘禁。 計河西諸州今所行者悉非制限，昔來繩禁，愚竊惑焉。 又河北既無新錢，復禁舊者，專以單絲之縑、疏縷之布，狹幅促度，不中常式，裂匹為尺，以濟有無，徒成杼軸之勞，不免饑寒之苦，殆非所以救恤凍餒，子育黎元之意也。 錢之為用，貫繈相屬，不假度量，平均簡易，濟世之宜，謂為深允。 乞並下諸方州鎮，其太和與新鑄五銖及古諸錢方俗所便用者，但內外全好，雖有大小之異，並得通行，貴賤之差，自依鄉價。 庶貨環海內，公私無壅。 其雞眼、鐶鑿及盜鑄、毀大為小、生新巧偽不如法者，據律罪之。」 詔從之。 然河北少錢，民猶用物交易，錢不入市。
In early Wei the people did not use coin at all. In the nineteenth year of Taihe, Emperor Gaozu first cast the Taihe five-zhu coins and sent mint workers to strike them locally. Those who wished to cast coin were allowed to use the official furnaces, provided the copper was refined and unadulterated. In the third year of Yongping, Emperor Shizong cast five-zhu coins again and forbade the use of coin that did not meet the standard. Before long the coin in use at Luoyang and in the various prefectures and garrisons differed, and commerce stalled. Prince Cheng of Rencheng, director of the Secretariat, argued: "The law clearly defines forbidden coin as chicken-eye and ring-chisel pieces, and forbids nothing else. Yet the coin now circulating in the Hexi prefectures falls entirely outside those limits. I am puzzled by this long-standing strict ban. In Hebei there is no new coin, yet old coin is forbidden. People must trade in narrow, substandard silk and coarse cloth, tearing bolts into feet to get by. This adds loom-work without easing hunger and cold. It is hardly the way to succor the destitute and nurture the people. Coin links value string to string without need of measure. It is even, simple, and well suited to the needs of the age. I ask that this be sent to every prefecture and garrison: Taihe and newly cast five-zhu coins, and any ancient coin local custom favors, provided they are whole and sound, may all circulate regardless of size, with value set by local price. Then goods may circulate throughout the realm and neither public nor private trade will be obstructed. Chicken-eye and ring-chisel coins, illicit casting, clipping large coins into small ones, and newly made counterfeits should be punished by law. An edict approved the proposal. Yet in Hebei coin was scarce; the people still bartered in kind, and cash scarcely circulated in the markets.
68
魏人多竊冒軍功，尚書左丞盧同閱吏部勳書，因加檢核，得竊階者三百餘人，乃奏：「乞總集吏部、中兵二局勳簿，對句奏案，更造兩通，一關吏部，一留兵局。 又，在軍斬首成一階以上者，即令行台軍司給券，當中豎裂，一支付勳人，一支送門下，以防偽巧。」 太后從之。 同，玄之族孫也。
Many in Wei had fraudulently claimed military honors. Lu Tong, Left Assistant Director of the Secretariat, reviewed the Ministry of Personnel's merit rolls and tightened scrutiny, uncovering more than three hundred who had stolen rank. He memorialized: "I ask that the merit registers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Central Army Bureau be assembled, checked against submitted memorials, and two new copies made—one for the Ministry of Personnel, one retained at the Army Bureau. Moreover, for anyone in the field who earned one full rank grade or more through decapitations, the field army office should issue certificates, split vertically down the middle—one half to the merit holder, one half to the Gate Department—to prevent forgery." The empress dowager assented. Lu Tong was a descendant of Lu Xuanzhi.
69
中尉無匡奏請取景明元年已來，內外考簿、吏部除書、中兵勳案、並諸殿最，欲以案校竊階盜官之人，太后許之。 尚書令任城王澄表以為：「法忌煩苛，治貴清約。 御史之體，風聞是司，若聞有冒勳妄階，止應攝其一簿，研檢虛實，繩以典刑。 豈有移一省之案，尋兩紀之事，如此求過，誰諶其罪！ 斯實聖朝所宜重慎也。」 太后乃止。 又以匡所言數不從，慮其辭解，欲獎安之，乃加鎮東將軍。 二月，丁未，立匡為東平王。
Palace Attendant Wu Kuang memorialized asking that from the first year of the Jingming era onward all internal and external examination registers, Ministry of Personnel appointment documents, Central Army merit files, and performance evaluations be gathered to verify those who had stolen rank and office. The empress dowager approved. Director of the Secretariat Prince Cheng of Ren Cheng submitted a memorial arguing: "Law abhors fussiness and severity; good governance prizes clarity and restraint. Censors exist to hear what the wind carries; if word comes of false merit and reckless rank-seeking, they should seize only one register, sift truth from falsehood, and punish according to statute. How can one move an entire province's archives to hunt for matters spanning two reign-periods? Fault-seeking on such a scale—who could bear the guilt! This is precisely what our sage dynasty ought to treat with the greatest caution." The empress dowager then halted the inquiry. Because Wu Kuang's counsel had repeatedly been rejected, the empress dowager feared he might resign and wished to reward and reassure him; she therefore promoted him to General Who Guards the East. In the second month, on dingwei, Wu Kuang was enfeoffed as Prince of Dongping.
70
三月，丙子，敕織官，文錦不得為仙人鳥善之形，為其裁剪，有乖仁恕。
In the third month, on bingzi, an edict ordered the weaving offices that figured brocade must not depict immortals, birds, or beasts, for such cutting of cloth violated benevolence and forbearance.
71
丁亥，魏廣平文穆王懷卒。
On dinghai, Huai, Prince Wenmu of Guangping of Wei, died.
72
夏，四月，戊申，魏以中書監胡國珍為司徒。
In summer, the fourth month, on wushen, Wei appointed Hu Guozhen, supervisor of the Secretariat, Minister of Education.
73
詔以宗廟用牲，有累冥道，宜皆以面為之。 於是朝野喧嘩，以為宗廟去牲，乃是不復血食，帝竟不從。 八坐乃議以大脯代一元大武。
An edict declared that using sacrificial animals in the ancestral temple burdened the realm of the dead; all offerings should instead be made of dough. At this the court and countryside erupted in uproar, taking the removal of sacrificial animals from the ancestral temple to mean an end to blood offerings; the emperor in the end did not accept it. The Eight Ministers then debated substituting large dried meat for the primary sacrificial ox.
74
秋，八月，丁未，詔魏太師高陽王雍入居門下，參決尚書奏事。
In autumn, the eighth month, on dingwei, an edict ordered Grand Preceptor Prince Yong of Gaoyang of Wei to take up residence at the Gate Department and join in deciding Secretariat memorials.
75
冬，十月，詔以宗廟猶用脯脩，更議代之，於是以大餅代大脯，其餘盡用蔬果。 又起至敬殿、景陽台，置七廟座，每月中再設淨饌。
In winter, the tenth month, an edict noted that the ancestral temple still used dried and salted meats; after further debate on substitutes, large cakes replaced the large dried meat, and everything else was fruits and vegetables. They also built the Hall of Utmost Reverence and the Jingyang Terrace, established seven temple seats, and twice each month at mid-month set out pure vegetarian offerings.
76
乙卯，魏詔：北京士民未遷者，悉聽留居為永業。
On yimao, Wei issued an edict: northerners at Beijing who had not yet moved were all permitted to remain and hold their lands in perpetuity.
77
十一月，甲子，巴州刺史牟漢寵叛，降魏。
In the eleventh month, on jiazi, Mou Hanchong, inspector of Bazhou, rebelled and surrendered to Wei.
78
十二月，柔然伏跋可汗遣俟近尉比建等請和於魏，用敵國之禮。
In the twelfth month, Fuba Khan of Rouran sent Akin Yubi Jian and others to sue for peace with Wei, using the etiquette owed between equal states.
79
是歲，以右衛將軍馮道根為豫州刺史。 道根謹厚木訥，行軍能檢敕士卒； 諸將爭功，道根獨默然。 為政清簡，吏民懷之。 上嘗歎曰：「道根所在，令朝廷不復憶有一州。」 魏尚書崔亮奏請於王屋等山採銅鑄錢，從之。 是後民多私鑄，錢稍薄小，用之益輕。
That year, Right Guard General Feng Daogen was appointed inspector of Yuzhou. Daogen was careful, honest, and sparing of speech, and on campaign could discipline his soldiers; when the other generals vied for credit, Daogen alone kept silent. In office he was plain and restrained, and officials and commoners alike cherished him. The emperor once sighed and said, "Wherever Daogen serves, he makes the court forget it even has a province there." Secretary Cui Liang of Wei memorialized asking that copper be mined on Mount Wangwu and elsewhere to cast coin; the court approved. After this the people widely cast coin in secret; the currency grew thinner and smaller, and in circulation weighed even less.
80
高祖武皇帝四天監十七年（ 戊戌，公元五一八年）
Emperor Wu the Great Ancestor, seventeenth year of Tianjian ( wuxu, AD 518)
81
春，正月，甲子，魏以氐酋楊定為陰平王。
In spring, the first month, on jiazi, Wei enfeoffed the Di chieftain Yang Ding as Prince of Yinping.
82
魏秦州羌反。
The Qiang of Qinzhou in Wei rose in rebellion.
83
二月，癸巳，安成康王秀卒。 秀雖與上布衣昆弟，及為君臣，小心畏敬過於疏賤，上益以此賢之。 秀與弟始興王憺尤相友愛，憺久為荊州刺史，常中分其祿以給秀，秀稱心受之，亦不辭多也。
In the second month, on gisi, Xiu, Prince Kang of Ancheng, died. Though Xiu had been the emperor's brother in plain cloth, once they became sovereign and subject his cautious reverence exceeded that shown by distant inferiors, and the emperor all the more admired him for it. Xiu and his younger brother Prince Shi of Shixing were especially devoted to each other. Shi long served as inspector of Jingzhou and habitually divided his salary in half for Xiu; Xiu accepted gladly and never refused even when the share was large.
84
甲辰，大赦。
On jiachen, a general amnesty.
85
己酉，魏大赦，改元神龜。
On jiyou, Wei granted a general amnesty and changed the era name to Shengui.
86
魏東益州氐反。
The Di of Eastern Yizhou in Wei rebelled.
87
魏主引見柔然使者，讓之以籓禮不備，議依漢待匈奴故事，遣使報之。 司農少卿張倫上表，以為：「太祖經啟帝圖，日有不暇，遂令豎子遊魂一方。 亦由中國多虞，急諸華而緩夷狄也。 高祖方事南轅，未遑北伐。 世宗述遵遺志，虜使之來，受而弗答。 以為大明臨御，國富兵強，抗敵之禮，何憚而為之，何求而行之！ 今虜雖慕德而來，亦欲觀我強弱； 若使王人銜命虜庭，與為昆弟，恐非祖宗之意也。 苟事不獲已，應為制詔，示以上下之儀，命宰臣致書，諭以歸順之道，觀其從違，徐以恩威進退之，則王者之體正矣。 豈可以戎狄兼併，而遽虧典禮乎！」 不從。 倫，白澤之子也。
The Wei ruler received the Rouran envoys in audience, reproached them for incomplete vassal etiquette, and debated following the Han precedent for treating the Xiongnu, dispatching envoys in reply. Vice Director of the Chamber of Agriculture Zhang Lun submitted a memorial arguing: "The Founding Emperor was opening the imperial design and had not a day to spare, so a mere upstart was left to wander one corner of the realm like a stray soul. This also came of China's many alarms—we pressed the Huaxia peoples and relaxed toward the barbarians. The Great Ancestor was then engaged on the southern frontier and had no leisure for northern campaigns. Emperor Shizong followed and carried out his legacy; when barbarian envoys came, he received them yet made no reply. He held that with brilliant majesty presiding, the state rich and armies strong, the etiquette owed between equal rivals—why shrink from it, why scheme to use it! Now though the barbarians come admiring our virtue, they also wish to gauge our strength and weakness; if we sent royal envoys bearing credentials to the barbarian court and treated them as brothers, that would likely not accord with the intent of our ancestors. If the matter cannot be avoided, an imperial edict should show the etiquette between superior and inferior; leading ministers should be ordered to send letters expounding the way of submission; their compliance or defiance should be watched, and slowly reward and punishment applied to advance or retreat—then the proper bearing of a king would be restored. How can one, because barbarians happen to gather and submit, abruptly damage canonical ritual!" The emperor did not follow this advice. Zhang Lun was the son of Bai Ze.
88
三月，辛未，魏靈壽武敬公於忠卒。
In the third month, on xinwei, Yu Zhong, Duke Wu-Jing of Lingshou of Wei, died.
89
魏南秦州氐反。 遣龍驤將軍崔襲持節諭之。
The Di of Southern Qinzhou in Wei rebelled. The court sent Dragon Prancing General Cui Xi with staff of authority to instruct them.
90
夏，四月，丁酉，魏秦文宣公胡國珍卒，贈假黃鉞、相國、都督中外諸軍事、太師，號曰太上秦公，加九錫，葬以殊禮，贈襚儀衛，事極優厚。 又迎太后母皇甫氏之柩與國珍合葬，謂之太上秦孝穆君。 諫議大夫常山張普惠以為前世後父無稱「太上」者，「太上」之名不可施於人臣，詣闕上疏陳之，左右莫敢為通。 會胡氏穿壙，下有磐石，乃密表，以為：「天無二日，土無二王，『太上』者因『上』而生名也，皇太后稱『令』以系『敕』下，蓋取三從之道，遠同文母列於十亂，今司徒為『太上』，恐乖系敕之意。 孔子稱：『必也正名乎！』 比克吉定兆，而以淺改卜，亦或天地神靈所以垂至戒、啟聖情也。 伏願停逼上之號，以邀廉光之福。」 太后乃親至國珍宅，召集五品以上博議。 王公皆希太后意，爭詰難普惠； 普惠應機辨析，無能屈者。 太后使元叉宣令於普惠曰：「朕之所行，孝子之志。 卿之所陳，忠臣之道。 群公已有成議，卿不得苦奪朕懷。 後有所見，勿難言也。」
In summer, the fourth month, on dingyou, Hu Guozhen, Duke Wen-Xuan of Qin of Wei, died. He was posthumously granted the ceremonial axe, the title of chief minister, command over all armies internal and external, and Grand Preceptor; styled Grand Preceptor Duke of Qin; given the Nine Bestowments; buried with extraordinary rites; and granted funeral robes, honors, and guard—every favor was pushed to the utmost. They also brought the coffin of the empress dowager's mother, Lady Huangfu, to be buried with Guozhen, styling the pair the Grand Preceptor Duke and Duchess of Qin, Xiao-Mu. Remonstrance Advisor Zhang Puhui of Changshan held that in former ages stepfathers of emperors were never styled "Grand Preceptor"; that title must not be applied to a subject. He went to the palace and submitted a memorial stating this, but those around him dared not pass it through. When the Hu clan was digging the tomb chamber and struck bedrock below, he submitted a secret memorial stating: "Heaven has not two suns; earth has not two kings. 'Grand Preceptor' is a title derived from 'superior'; the empress dowager uses 'Order' linked to 'Edict' in issuance—roughly the way of threefold submission, remotely akin to King Wen's mother among the Ten Disorders. Now the Minister of Education is styled 'Grand Preceptor'—I fear this conflicts with the intent of binding orders to edicts. Confucius said: 'One must rectify names!' Now that an auspicious date and site have been fixed, yet the divination is changed for a shallow reason—perhaps this is heaven, earth, and the spirits delivering a supreme warning and opening the sage heart. I humbly wish to stop the forced use of the 'superior' title, to seek the blessing of modest integrity." The empress dowager then personally came to Guozhen's residence and summoned officials of fifth rank and above for broad deliberation. Princes and ministers all courted the empress dowager's intent and vied to cross-examine Puhui; Puhui answered each challenge as it came, and none could refute him. The empress dowager had Yuan Cha proclaim to Puhui: "What I do is the mind of a filial child. What you state is the way of a loyal minister. The assembled ministers already have a settled decision; you must not bitterly wrest my mind. If hereafter you have views, do not hesitate to speak plainly."
91
太后為太上君造寺，壯麗埒於永寧。
The empress dowager built a temple for the Grand Preceptor Duke and Duchess; its grandeur rivaled Yongning.
92
尚書奏復征民綿麻之稅，張普惠上疏，以為：「高祖廢大鬥，去長尺，改重稱，以愛民薄賦。 知軍國須綿麻之用，故於絹增稅綿八兩，於布增稅麻十五斤，民以稱尺所減，不啻綿麻，故鼓舞供調。 自茲以降，所稅絹布，浸復長闊，百姓嗟怨，聞於朝野。 宰輔不尋其本在於幅廣度長，遽罷綿麻。 既而尚書以國用不足，復欲征斂。 去天下之大信，棄己行之成詔，追前之非，遂後三史。 不思庫中有大麻，而群臣共竊之也，何則所輸之物，或斤羨百銖，未聞有司依律以罪州郡； 或小有濫惡，則坐戶主，連及三長。 是以在庫絹布，逾制者多，郡臣受俸，人求長闊厚重，無復準極，未聞以端幅有餘還求輸官者也。 今欲復調綿麻，當先正稱、尺，明立嚴禁，無得放溢，使天下知二聖之心愛民惜法如此，則太和之政復見於神龜矣。」
The Secretariat memorialized to renew the tax on hemp and silk from the people. Zhang Puhui submitted a memorial arguing: "The Great Ancestor abolished the large peck-measure, removed the extended foot-rule, and changed the heavy weight-standard, to love the people and lighten taxes. Knowing that army and state required hemp and silk, he therefore added to silk cloth a tax of eight ounces of silk, and to hemp cloth a tax of fifteen pounds of hemp; the people found what the scales and measures had cut more than matched the hemp and silk levy, so they went gladly to supply tribute. From then until now, the silk and cloth taxed have gradually grown longer and wider again; the people sigh in resentment, and word of it fills court and countryside. The chief ministers, not tracing the root cause to excessive width and length, abruptly abolished the hemp and silk tax. Before long the Secretariat, citing insufficient state revenue, again wished to levy collections. To cast off the great faith of the realm, abandon an edict already in force, pursue past errors, and then fall behind the Three Histories— and not to reflect that though the storehouses held ample hemp, ministers together skimmed it—how so? Goods submitted were sometimes a hundred zhu overweight per jin, yet never did officials hear of punishing prefectures and commanderies according to law; yet if there was even slight inferior quality, the household head was held liable, and the three heads of the mutual-responsibility system were implicated. Thus stored silk and cloth exceeding standards grew numerous; commandery officials on salary, people sought length, width, and weight without standard or limit—never was it heard that surplus from proper bolt-width was returned and demanded back for the state. Now if you wish again to levy hemp and silk, you should first rectify weights and measures, clearly establish strict prohibitions, and allow no excess—so all under heaven will know both sage rulers' hearts love the people and prize law thus; then the governance of Tahe would reappear in Shengui."
93
普惠又以魏主好游騁苑囿，不親視朝，過崇佛法，郊廟之事多委有司，上疏切諫，以為：「殖不思之冥業，損巨費於生民，減祿削力，近供無事之僧，崇飾雲殿，遠邀未然之報，昧爽之臣稽首於外，玄寂之眾遨遊於內，衍禮忤時，人靈未穆。 愚謂修朝夕之因，求示氏劫之果，未若收萬國之歡心以事其親，使天下和平，災害不生也。 伏願淑慎威儀，為萬邦作式，躬致郊廟之虔，親紆朔望之禮，釋奠成均，竭心千畝。 量撤僧寺不急之華，還復百官久折之秩。 已造者務令簡約速成，未造者一切不復更為。 則孝弟可以通神明，德教可以光四海，節用愛人，法俗俱賴矣。」 尋敕外議釋奠之禮，又自是每月一陛見群臣，皆用普惠之言也。
Puhui also, because the Wei ruler loved roaming parks and preserves, did not personally attend court, excessively honored Buddhism, and largely delegated suburban and temple affairs to subordinate officials, submitted a sharp memorial remonstrating: "You cultivate heedless dark karma, drain vast expense from the living people, cut salaries and labor, supply idle monks nearby, build and adorn cloud-halls afar to invite unearned reward; at dawn ministers kowtow outside while the silent multitude roams within; ritual spreads against the season—humans and spirits are not at peace. This fool holds that tending morning-and-evening merit to seek fruits shown across kalpas is not equal to gathering the hearts of all lands to serve one's parents, so that all under heaven is at peace and calamities do not arise. I humbly wish Your Majesty would cultivate dignified, cautious bearing as model for myriad states, personally perform suburban and temple devotions, personally observe new- and full-moon rites, offer sacrifices at the imperial academy, and pour heart into the thousand-acre field. Measure out and cut the needless splendor of monasteries, and restore the long-reduced ranks of the hundred officials. What is already built should be made plain and finished quickly; what is not yet built should not be undertaken anew at all. Then filial piety and brotherliness may reach gods and spirits, virtue and teaching may shine over the four seas, and thrift and love of people would be relied on by law and custom alike." Soon an edict ordered discussion outside the court of the academy sacrifice rite; from then on he also once each month received ministers in audience—all following Puhui's words.
94
普惠復表論時政得失，太后與帝引普惠於宣光殿，隨事詰難。
Puhui again submitted a memorial discussing gains and losses of current policy; the empress dowager and emperor summoned Puhui to the Xuanguang Hall and questioned and challenged him on each point.
95
臨川王宏妾弟吳法壽殺人而匿於宏府中，上敕宏出之，即日伏辜。 南司奏免宏官，上注曰：「愛宏者兄弟私親，免宏者王者正法。 所奏可。」 五月，戊寅，司徒、驃騎大將軍、揚州刺史臨川王宏免。
Prince Hong of Linchuan's younger brother by a concubine, Wu Fashou, killed a man and hid in Hong's residence; the emperor ordered Hong to surrender him, and the same day he was executed. The southern bureau memorialized to dismiss Hong from office; the emperor annotated: "To love Hong is the private kinship of brothers; to dismiss Hong is the king's proper law. Your memorial is approved." In the fifth month, on wuyin, Hong, Prince of Linchuan—Minister of Education, Grand General of Agile Cavalry, and inspector of Yangzhou—was dismissed.
96
宏自洛口之敗，常懷愧憤，都下每有竊發，輒以宏為名，屢為有司所奏，上每赦之。 上幸光宅寺，有盜伏於驃騎航，待上夜出； 上將行，心動，乃於朱雀航過。 事發，稱為宏所使，上泣謂宏曰：「我人才勝汝百倍，當此猶恐不堪，汝何為者？ 我非不能為漢文帝，念汝愚耳！」 宏頓首稱無之； 故因匿法壽免宏官。
Since his defeat at Luokou, Hong had constantly nursed shame and rage; whenever theft or violence broke out in the capital, the culprits named Hong; he was repeatedly memorialized against by officials, and each time the emperor pardoned him. The emperor visited Guangzai Temple; a thief lay in wait at the Piaoqi Bridge, waiting for the emperor to go out at night; as the emperor was about to go, his heart stirred, and he crossed instead by the Zhuque Bridge. When the affair came to light, the thief claimed he was sent by Hong; the emperor wept and said to Hong, "My talent surpasses yours a hundredfold, and even I still fear I could not bear this—what are you trying to do? It is not that I cannot act like Emperor Wen of Han—I only think you a fool!" Hong kowtowed and denied it; Therefore, because he had concealed Fashou, Hong was dismissed from office.
97
宏奢僭過度，殖貨無厭。 庫屋垂百間，在內堂之後，關籥甚嚴，有疑是鎧仗者，密以聞。 上於友愛甚厚，殊不悅。 佗日，送盛饌與宏愛妾江氏曰：「當來就汝歡宴。」 獨攜故人射聲校尉丘佗卿往，與宏及江大飲，半醉後，謂曰：』我今欲履行汝後房。」 即呼輿徑往堂後。 宏恐上見其貨賄，顏色怖懼。 上意益疑之，於是屋屋檢視，每錢百萬為一聚，黃榜標之，千萬為一庫，懸一紫標，如此三十餘間。 上與佗卿屈指計，見錢三億餘萬，餘屋貯布絹絲綿漆蜜絲寧蠟等雜貨，但見滿庫，不知多少。 上始知非仗，大悅，謂曰：「阿六，汝生計大可！」 乃更劇飲至夜，舉燭而還。 兄弟方更敦睦。
Hong lived in extravagant excess beyond his station and amassed wealth without end. Nearly a hundred storehouse rooms stood behind the inner hall, locked with the strictest care. Some suspected they held armor and weapons and secretly reported it. The emperor's brotherly affection ran very deep, yet he was deeply displeased. Another day he sent a lavish feast to Hong's beloved concubine, Lady Jiang, saying, "I shall come and feast with you." He went alone, taking his old friend Qiu Tuoqing, Commandant of Bowmen Archers. He drank heavily with Hong and Jiang, and half drunk said, 'Today I mean to walk through your rear chambers." He at once called for a carriage and went straight to the rear of the hall. Hong feared the emperor would see his hoarded treasure; terror showed on his face. The emperor's suspicion only deepened. He inspected room after room: every million coins piled together bore a yellow placard; every ten million filled a storehouse marked with a purple label—more than thirty rooms in all. The emperor and Tuoqing counted on their fingers and found more than three hundred million in coin. The remaining rooms held cloth, silk, floss, lacquer, honey, wax, and other goods—storehouse after storehouse packed full, with no knowing how much. The emperor then knew it was not arms. Greatly pleased, he said, "Ah Liu, your livelihood is mighty fine!" Then they drank even harder until night, raised torches, and returned. The brothers then grew all the closer.
98
宏都下有數十邸，出懸錢立券，每以田宅邸店懸上文契，期訖，便驅券主，奪其宅。 都下、東土百姓，失業非一。 上後知之，制懸券不得復驅奪，自此始。
Hong kept dozens of lodges in the capital. He issued suspended-money coupons, posting house and shop title deeds as collateral on each contract; when the term expired, he drove off the holder and seized the property. Common people in the capital and the eastern regions lost their livelihoods—more than a few. When the emperor later learned of it, he decreed that suspended coupons could no longer be used to drive people out and seize their property. That prohibition began then.
99
侍中、領軍將軍吳平侯昺，雅有風力，為上所重，軍國大事皆與議決，以為安右將軍，監揚州。 昺自以越親居揚州，涕泣懇讓，上不許。 在州尤稱明斷，符教嚴整。
Palace Attendant and General Who Leads the Army, Marquis of Wuping Bing, had natural force of character and was held in high regard by the emperor. All great military and state affairs were deliberated and decided with him. He was made General Who Pacifies the Right and overseer of Yangzhou. Bing himself, feeling it improper that a younger kinsman should hold Yangzhou, wept and earnestly declined; the emperor would not permit it. In the province he was especially praised for clear judgment; his orders were strict and well kept.
100
辛巳，以宏為中軍將軍、中書監，六月，乙酉，又以本號行司徒。
On xinsi, Hong was made General of the Central Army and supervisor of the Secretariat. In the sixth month, on yiyou, he also served as Minister of Education while retaining his existing rank.
101
臣光曰：宏為將則覆三軍，為臣則涉大逆，高祖貸其死罪可矣。 數旬之間，還為三公，于兄弟之恩誠厚矣，王者之法果安在哉！
Your subject Guang says: As a general Hong ruined three armies; as a minister he touched upon great treason. Emperor Gaozu sparing his life would have been enough. Within a few tens of days he was again one of the Three Excellencies. Brotherly favor indeed runs deep—but where, then, is the king's law!
102
初，洛陽有漢所立《三字石經》，雖屢經喪亂而初無損失。 及魏馮熙、常伯夫相繼為洛州刺史，毀取以建浮圖精舍，遂大致頹落，所存者委於榛莽，道俗隨意取之。 侍中領國子祭酒崔光請遣官守視，命國子博士李郁等補其殘缺，胡太后許之。 會元叉、劉騰作亂，事遂寢。
At first Luoyang held the Han-era Three-Character Stone Classics. Though they passed through many devastations, they at first suffered no loss. When Feng Xi and Chang Bofu of Wei successively served as inspector of Luozhou, they broke up the stones to build pagodas and monasteries. The classics largely fell into ruin; what remained was abandoned to brambles, and monks and layfolk took pieces as they pleased. Palace Attendant and Superintendent of the Imperial Academy Cui Guang asked that officials be sent to guard and oversee the stones, and ordered Academician Li Yu and others to repair the missing and broken portions. Empress Dowager Hu approved. But Yuan Cha and Liu Teng then raised a rebellion, and the matter came to nothing.
103
秋，七月，魏河州羌卻鐵忽反，自稱水池王； 詔以主客郎源子恭為行台以討之。 子恭至河州，嚴勒州郡及諸軍毋得犯民一物，亦不得輕與賊戰，然後示以威恩，使知悔懼。 八月，鐵忽等相帥詣子恭降，首尾不及二旬。 子恭，懷之子也。
In autumn, the seventh month, the Qiang of Hezhou in Wei, Que Tiehu, rebelled and styled himself King of the Water Pool; An edict appointed Principal Clerk of Receiving Guests Yuan Zigong mobile headquarters commander to suppress him. When Zigong reached Hezhou, he strictly forbade the prefectures, commanderies, and all armies from harming even one thing belonging to the people, and also from rashly engaging the rebels. Only then did he show both authority and kindness, so they would feel remorse and fear. In the eighth month, Tiehu and the rest led one another to Zigong to surrender—from first to last, less than twenty days. Zigong was the son of Huai.
104
魏宦者劉騰，手不解書，而多奸謀，善揣人意。 胡太后以其保護之功，累遷至侍中、右光祿大夫，遂干預政事，納賂為人求官，無不效者。 河間王琛，簡之子也，為定州刺史，以貪縱著名，及罷州還，太后詔曰：「琛在定州，唯不將中山宮來，自餘無所不致，何可更復敘用！」 遂廢於家。 琛乃求為騰養息，賂騰金寶巨萬計。 騰為之言於太后，得兼都官尚書，出為秦州刺史，會騰疾篤，太后欲及其生而貴之。 九月，癸未朔，以騰為衛將軍，加儀同三司。
The Wei eunuch Liu Teng could not read, yet he was full of wicked schemes and skilled at reading men's minds. Empress Dowager Hu, for his merit in protecting her, repeatedly promoted him until he reached Palace Attendant and Right Grand Master of Splendor. He then intervened in government, accepting bribes to secure office for others—and none ever failed. Prince Chen of Hejian, son of Jian, served as inspector of Dingzhou and was famed for greed and license. When he left his post and returned, the empress dowager issued an edict, "At Dingzhou Chen brought away everything except the Zhongshan Palace itself—there was nothing he did not steal. How can he be employed again!" He was then dismissed and kept at home. Chen then sought to become Liu Teng's adopted heir and bribed him with gold and treasure amounting to tens of thousands. Teng spoke for him to the empress dowager. Chen obtained the concurrent post of Director of Punishments and went out as inspector of Qinzhou. Teng's illness then grew severe, and the empress dowager wished to honor him while he still lived. In the ninth month, on the first day of guiwei, Teng was made Guard General and granted Equal Ceremony to the Three Excellencies.
105
魏胡太后以天文有變，欲以崇憲高太后當之。 戊申夜，高太后暴卒； 冬，十月，丁卯，以尼禮葬於北邙，謚曰順皇后。 百官單衣邪巾送至墓所，事訖而除。
Empress Dowager Hu of Wei, because the heavens showed an omen, wished to have Empress Dowager Gao of Chongxian stand in its place. On the night of wushen, Empress Dowager Gao died suddenly; In winter, the tenth month, on dingmao, she was buried at North Mang by nun's rites and posthumously titled Empress Shun. All officials, in single garments and slanting headcloths, escorted her to the tomb; when the rites ended they were dismissed.
106
乙亥，以臨川王宏為司徒。
On yihai, Prince Hong of Linchuan was made Minister of Education.
107
魏胡太后遣使者宋雲與比丘惠生如西域求佛經。 司空任城王澄奏：「昔高祖遷都，制城內唯聽置僧尼寺各一，餘皆置於城外； 蓋以道俗殊歸，欲其淨居塵外故也。 正始三年，沙門統惠深，始違前禁，自是卷詔不行，私謁彌眾，都城之中，寺逾五百，佔奪民居，三分且一，屠沽塵穢，連比雜居。 往者代北有法秀之謀，冀州有大乘之變。 太和、景明之制，非徒使錙素殊途，蓋亦以防微杜漸。 昔如來闡教，多依山林，今此僧徒，戀著城邑，正以誘於利慾，不能自已，此乃釋氏之糟糠，法王之社鼠，內戒所不容，國曲所共棄也。 臣謂都城內寺未成可徙者，宜悉徙於郭外，僧不滿五十者，並小從大； 外州亦准此。」 詔從之，然卒不能行。
Empress Dowager Hu of Wei sent the envoy Song Yun and the monk Huisheng to the Western Regions to seek Buddhist scriptures. Minister of Works Prince Cheng of Ren Cheng submitted: "Formerly the Great Ancestor moved the capital and decreed that within the city only one monk temple and one nun temple were permitted—all the rest placed outside the walls; This was because clergy and laity follow different paths—he wished them to dwell purely beyond the dust of the world. In the third year of Zhengshi, Superintendent of Monks Huishen first violated the prior prohibition. From then on edicts went unenforced and private visits multiplied. Within the capital temples exceeded five hundred, seizing commoners' dwellings—a third of the city or so. Butchers and taverns, filthy and coarse, stood wall to wall with monasteries in mixed habitation. In the past northern Dai saw Fa Xiu's conspiracy; Jizhou saw the Mahayana uprising. The regulations of Tahe and Jingming were not merely to keep clergy and laity apart—they also served to guard against small beginnings and stop trouble before it spread. Formerly the Tathāgata spread the teaching chiefly from mountains and forests; today's monks cling to cities and towns because profit and desire entice them and they cannot restrain themselves. These are the dregs of the Buddhist lineage, the temple mice of the Dharma King—what inner precepts cannot tolerate and state law must cast out. Your subject holds that temples within the capital not yet finished and capable of relocation should all be moved outside the outer wall; where monks number fewer than fifty, smaller temples should merge into larger ones; outer provinces should follow the same rule." An edict approved, yet in the end it could not be carried out.
108
是歲，魏太師雍等奏：「鹽池天藏，資育群生，先朝為之禁限，亦非苟與細民爭利。 但利起天池，取用無法，或豪貴封護，或近民吝守，貧弱遠來，邈然絕望。 因置主司，令其裁察，強弱相兼，務令得所。 什一之稅，自古有之，所務者遠近齊平，公私兩宜耳。 及甄琛啟求罷禁，乃為繞池之民尉保光等擅自固護； 語其障禁，倍於官司，取與自由，貴賤任口。 請依先朝禁之為便。」 詔從之。
That year, Grand Preceptor Yong and others of Wei submitted: "The salt ponds are heaven's storehouse, nourishing all living beings. The former dynasty set prohibitions and limits on them—not to grasp at profit with common folk in haste. Yet profit arose at the celestial pond, and taking and using lacked proper law. Sometimes noble magnates sealed and guarded the ponds; sometimes nearby folk hoarded them stingily. The poor and weak coming from afar looked across in vain despair. Therefore a chief office was established to examine and judge, balancing strong and weak, striving that all obtain their due. The one-tenth tax has existed since antiquity. What matters is equal fairness near and far, benefit to public and private alike. When Zhen Chen memorialized asking to abolish the prohibition, it was for the people around the pond—Wei Baoguang and others—who on their own sealed and guarded it; Their barriers and bans doubled those of official offices; they took and gave as they pleased, fixing prices as high or low as they liked. We ask that the former dynasty's prohibition be restored—for that would be best." An edict approved.