Du Shu 杜恕

Du Shu's courtesy name was Wubo. He succeeded his father Du Ji after Du Ji drowned while testing a boat. In the Taihe era he became Cavalier Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. Because he acted with sincerity and simplicity and did not dress himself up, he had no reputation in his youth. Even after entering court he formed no factions to seek backing and devoted himself entirely to public duty, and whenever the government had successes or failures he drew on the great principles to speak frankly, so that the Palace Attendant Xin Pi and others thought highly of him. Records, Wei 16 §34 · 36

When the high ministers and those below them gathered for a great debate on what to add to and remove from the institutions, Du Shu held that Inspectors of old had promulgated the Six Articles and won renown through purity and quietude, so Inspectors should now be relieved of command of troops and allowed to concentrate on the affairs of the people. Soon afterwards, when Lü Zhao, General Who Guards the North, was also given charge of Ji Province, he submitted a memorial. The way of an emperor and king, he said, was to give the people peace, and the means lay in enriching their wealth by attending to the root and economizing in expenditure; but now even officials ranked Sun Wu and Wu Qi first, and the farming people vied with one another to take up the business of spear and shield. Records, Wei 16 §37–38

Du Shu went on to say that Wei held the territory of ten provinces, but its households numbered fewer than the people of a single province of old, so it was like whipping a lean horse to travel a long road. Ji Province, which had the most households and fields, should not again be given military duties, and if the north needed a garrison, a separate senior general could be appointed. He also said that the number of people sentenced in criminal cases, a hundred and some tens when the emperor took the throne, had grown year by year to more than five hundred, which was proof that the governors and administrators were not equal to their posts, and that if the realm were likened to a human body, Yan, Yu, Si and Ji provinces were its belly and heart. Records, Wei 16 §39–44

At this time there was also a great debate on a system of merit evaluation for officials at court and in the provinces. Du Shu submitted a memorial saying that the laws of merit evaluation could be followed in outline but were hard to complete in every detail, and citing the saying, 'There are men who bring disorder into the world, but no laws that bring disorder.' When provinces and commanderies assessed scholars, the most urgent task was to recommend them through the four categories and their actual results and to appoint them as administrators in order of merit, and the high ministers and great officials too should be evaluated on their duties. He also said that the greatest corruption of customs was that scholars of the day took Shang Yang and Han Fei as their teachers, exalted laws and techniques, and called the Confucians impractical. The system of merit evaluation was in the end never implemented. Records, Wei 16 §45–53

Lian Zhao of Le'an had been promoted for his ability and was fond of reporting on affairs. When Lian Zhao, a Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat, denounced the Assistant of the Left Cao Fan and said he would report separately on those implicated, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Chen Jiao reported on himself that he would not decline punishment. Du Shu submitted a memorial earnestly remonstrating. It was not only that ministers failed to be wholly loyal, he said, but also that the sovereign could not make use of them; the lawless conduct of the Chief Commandant of Cavalry Wang Cai and the musician Meng Si had been exposed by minor clerks, while the high ministers and great officials had not said a single word. Records, Wei 16 §54–59

Du Shu also said that when the Colonel-Director of Retainers Kong Xian had appointed the mad and unruly younger brother of the General-in-Chief, the responsible officials had held their tongues, so posting harsh officials as gatekeepers did not get at the root of stopping solicitations. Exposing wickedness was a loyal act, but if the sovereign took going against the multitude for serving the public and secretly informing on others for devotion, the whole realm would turn its back on the Way and chase after profit, and he asked why the sovereign nurtured the likes of Lian Zhao. Records, Wei 16 §65–69

Chen Shou wrote that in Du Shu's eight years at court his arguments were all as lofty and upright as this. Du Shu left court to become Administrator of Hongnong, and a few years later was transferred to Chancellor of the State of Zhao, then left office on account of illness. He became Administrator of Hedong again, and after a little over a year was promoted to Protector of the Army under the Area Commander of Huaibei, but again left on account of illness. Wherever he went he concentrated only on preserving the main principles, and in showing kindness and affection to win the people's goodwill he did not match Du Ji. Soon afterwards he became Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk. Records, Wei 16 §70–71

Because Du Shu could not get along with the men of his time at court, he was repeatedly sent out to provincial posts. He became Inspector of You Province once more, with the additional title General Who Establishes Might, and as Commissioner Bearing Credentials he served as Colonel Protector of the Wuhuan. At that time Cheng Xi, General Who Conquers the North, was stationed at Ji County, and Yuan Kan, a Master of Writing, and others warned Du Shu that Cheng Xi was the man who had brought down Tian Yu in Qing Province in the former emperor's time, so Du Shu, who was to be stationed in the same city, should be well on his guard. Du Shu paid no heed. Records, Wei 16 §72–73Records, Wei 26 §25

Less than a year after he took up his post, the son of a Xianbei chieftain came straight to the province with several dozen horsemen without passing through the frontier passes and forts, and the province beheaded one of the young men who had come with him without submitting a memorial to report it. Cheng Xi impeached Du Shu over this, and Du Shu was handed over to the Minister of Justice and sentenced to death. Because his father Du Ji had drowned while diligently doing his duty, he was spared death, made a commoner and banished to Zhangwu Commandery; it was the 1st year of Jiaping (249). Chen Shou wrote that Du Shu was unconstrained and did as he pleased but gave no thought to guarding against trouble, and so in the end came to this failure. Records, Wei 16 §73

Earlier, when he returned from the State of Zhao, Du Shu had gone with Ruan Wu of Chenliu to the Minister of Justice to submit themselves to interrogation, and Ruan Wu told him that he had talent but no use for it and urged him, now that he had leisure, to think deeply and form a school of his own. At Zhangwu Du Shu at last wrote the Essays on the Substance of Government (Tilun) in eight chapters, and wrote the Discourse on Cultivating One's Nature in one chapter for his own self-cultivation. He died at his place of banishment in the 4th year of Jiaping (252). Records, Wei 16 §74–75

In the 2nd year of Ganlu (257), when Yue Xiang of Hedong, over ninety years old, submitted a letter appealing on behalf of the merit Du Ji had left, the court enfeoffed Du Shu's son Du Yu as Marquis of Fengle Village with a fief of a hundred households. Records, Wei 16 §77

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Du Shu repeatedly offered counsel on the government of the day and discussed the essentials of governing, and there was much in it worth reading. Records, Wei 16 §98