Records of Wei 21: Biographies of Wang Can, Wei Ji, Liu Yi, Liu Shao and Fu Gu

Records of Wei 21: Biographies of Wang Can, Wei Ji, Liu Yi, Liu Shao and Fu Gu

Wang Can

王粲

Wang Can, courtesy name Zhongxuan, was a man of Gaoping in Shanyang. His great-grandfather Wang Gong and his grandfather Wang Chang had both been among the Three Excellencies of the Han. His father Wang Qian was Chief Clerk to the General-in-Chief He Jin. Because Wang Qian was the descendant of famous excellencies, He Jin wished to form a marriage alliance with him; he presented his two sons to him and had him choose between them. Wang Qian refused. He was dismissed on account of illness and died at home.

王粲字仲宣，山陽高平人也。曾祖父龔，祖父暢，皆爲漢三公。¹父謙，爲大將軍何進長史。進以謙名公之胄，欲與爲婚，見其二子，使擇焉。謙弗許。以疾免，卒于家。

When Emperor Xian moved west, Wang Can moved to Chang'an, and the General of the Household of the Left Cai Yong saw him and thought him remarkable. At that time Cai Yong was renowned for his talent and learning and was held in high esteem at court; carriages and horsemen always filled his lane and guests packed his hall. When he heard that Wang Can was at the gate, he put his shoes on backward in his haste to welcome him. When Wang Can came in, he was so young and so small of stature that the whole company was astonished. Cai Yong said, “This is the grandson of Lord Wang. He has extraordinary talent, and I am not his equal. The books and writings of my house should all go to him.”

獻帝西遷，粲徙長安，左中郎將蔡邕見而奇之。時邕才學顯著，貴重朝廷，常車騎填巷，賔客盈坐。聞粲在門，倒屣迎之。粲至，年旣幼弱，容狀短小，一坐盡驚。邕曰：「此王公孫也，有異才，吾不如也。吾家書籍文章，盡當與之。」

At seventeen he was summoned by the Minister over the Masses, and by imperial edict he was appointed Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, but because the Western Capital was in turmoil he took up neither post. He then went to Jing Province and relied on Liu Biao. Because Wang Can was homely in appearance, frail in body and casual in manner, Liu Biao did not think much of him. Liu Biao died. Wang Can urged Liu Biao's son Liu Cong to submit to Taizu. Taizu summoned him to be a Clerk to the Chancellor and granted him the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When Taizu held a banquet on the bank of the Han River, Wang Can raised his cup in congratulation and said, “Just now Yuan Shao rose in Hebei and, relying on his great host, aimed to take the whole realm; but though he loved worthy men he could not use them, and so the outstanding men left him.

年十七，司徒辟，詔除黃門侍郎，以西京擾亂，皆不就。乃之荊州依劉表。表以粲貌寢而體弱通侻，不甚重也。¹表卒。粲勸表子琮，令歸太祖。²太祖辟爲丞相掾，賜爵關內侯。太祖置酒漢濵，粲奉觴賀曰：「方今袁紹起河北，杖大衆，志兼天下，然好賢而不能用，故奇士去之。

Liu Biao sat at ease in Jing and Chu, calmly watching the changes of the times, and thought he could model himself on the Earl of the West. The men who fled the turmoil to Jing Province were all the finest talents in the land, yet Liu Biao did not know whom to entrust, so when his state was in danger it had no one to support it. On the day Your Excellency pacified Ji Province, you set about putting its troops in order the moment you stepped down from your carriage, gathered its heroes and employed them, and so swept across the realm unchecked. When you pacified the Yangzi and the Han, you brought in their worthy and outstanding men and set them in office, so that everyone in the land has had a change of heart, longing to be governed at the mere report of you. Civil and military men are employed together, and heroes give their utmost. These are the deeds of the Three Kings.”

劉表雍容荊楚，坐觀時變，自以爲西伯可規。士之避亂荊州者，皆海內之儁傑也；表不知所任，故國危而無輔。明公定兾州之日，下車即繕其甲卒，收其豪傑而用之，以橫行天下；及平江、漢，引其賢儁而置之列位，使海內回心，望風而願治，文武並用，英雄畢力，此三王之舉也。」

Later he was promoted to Libationer of Military Strategy. When the state of Wei was established, he was appointed Palace Attendant. He was widely informed and knew a great deal, and there was no question he could not answer. At that time the old ceremonial had fallen into disuse, and when institutions were being created anew, Wang Can always took charge of them.

後遷軍謀祭酒。魏國旣建，拜侍中。博物多識，問無不對。時舊儀廢弛，興造制度，粲恒典之。¹

Once, when Wang Can was walking with someone, he read a stele by the roadside. The man asked him, “Can you recite it from memory?” He said, “I can.” The man had him turn his back and recite it, and he did not miss a single character. Watching others play weiqi, when the board was upset, Wang Can set it out again for them. The players did not believe him; they covered the board with a cloth and had him lay out the game again on another board. When the two were compared, not a single point was wrong. Such was his powerful memory and silent retention. He was naturally good at calculation and wrote an Arithmetic that covered its principles almost completely.

初，粲與人共行，讀道邊碑，人問曰：「卿能闇誦乎？」曰：「能。」因使背而誦之，不失一字。觀人圍棊，局壞，粲爲覆之。棊者不信，以帊蓋局，使更以他局爲之。用相比校，不誤一道。其疆記默識如此。性善筭，作筭術，略盡其理。

He was skilled at composition. As soon as he took up his brush the piece was done, with nothing revised, so people of the time often thought he had composed it in advance; yet even if one concentrated one's mind and pondered deeply, one could not improve on it. He wrote nearly sixty pieces of poems, rhapsodies, essays and discussions. In the twenty-first year of Jian'an he followed the campaign against Wu. In the spring of the twenty-second year he fell ill and died on the road, at the age of forty-one. Wang Can's two sons were drawn in by Wei Feng and executed. After that his line came to an end.

善屬文，舉筆便成，無所改定，時人常以爲宿構；然正復精意覃思，亦不能加也。¹著詩、賦、論、議垂六十篇。建安二十一年，從征呉。二十二年春，道病卒，時年四十一。粲二子，爲魏諷所引，誅。後絶。²

Earlier, when Emperor Wen was General of the Household for the Five Offices, he and Cao Zhi, the Marquis of Pingyuan, both loved literature. Wang Can, together with Xu Gan of Beihai (courtesy name Weichang), Chen Lin of Guangling (courtesy name Kongzhang), Ruan Yu of Chenliu (courtesy name Yuanyu), Ying Chang of Runan (courtesy name Delian) and Liu Zhen of Dongping (courtesy name Gonggan), were all treated as their friends.

始文帝爲五官將，及平原侯植皆好文學。粲與北海徐幹字偉長、廣陵陳琳字孔璋、陳留阮瑀字元瑜、汝南應瑒字德璉、¹東平劉楨字公幹並見友善。

Xu Gan

附　徐幹

Xu Gan served as a clerk under the Libationer of Military Strategy to the Minister of Works and as Literary Scholar to the General of the Household for the Five Offices.

幹爲司空軍謀祭酒掾屬，五官將文學。¹

Chen Lin

附　陳琳

Chen Lin had earlier been Registrar to He Jin. He Jin wished to put the eunuchs to death, but the Empress Dowager would not listen, so He Jin summoned fierce generals from every quarter and had them all lead their troops toward the capital, intending to frighten the Empress Dowager into compliance. Chen Lin remonstrated with He Jin, saying, “The Changes speaks of ‘chasing deer without a forester,’ and there is a proverb about ‘covering your eyes to catch sparrows.’ If even trifling creatures cannot be deceived to get what one wants, how much less can a great affair of state be established by trickery? Now you, General, command all of the imperial majesty and hold the key to the armies; you prance like a dragon and stride like a tiger, raising and lowering whom you please. To act with such means is no different from working a great furnace bellows to singe a few hairs.

琳前爲何進主簿。進欲誅諸宦官，太后不聽，進乃召四方猛將，並使引兵向京城，欲以劫恐太后。琳諫進曰：「易稱『即鹿無虞』。諺有『掩目捕雀』。夫微物尚不可欺以得志，況國之大事，其可以詐立乎？今將軍總皇威，握兵要，龍驤虎步，高下在心；以此行事，無異於鼓洪爐以燎毛髮。

You should only strike swiftly like thunder, use expedients and decide at once; though that departs from the norm, it accords with the Way, and Heaven and men will follow you. Instead you are laying down your sharp weapon and calling on others. When great armies gather, the strongest becomes master; this is what is called holding your spear upside down and handing others the haft. It is sure to fail and will only become a stairway to disorder.” He Jin did not accept his advice, and in the end he brought disaster on himself. Chen Lin took refuge in Ji Province, and Yuan Shao put him in charge of documents. When the Yuan were defeated, Chen Lin submitted to Taizu.

但當速發雷霆，行權立斷，違經合道，天人順之；而反釋其利器，更徵於他。大兵合聚，彊者爲雄，所謂倒持干戈，授人以柄；必不成功，祇爲亂階。」進不納其言，竟以取禍。琳避難兾州，袁紹使典文章。袁氏敗，琳歸太祖。

Taizu said to him, “When you once wrote a proclamation for Benchu, you could have simply listed my crimes. Hatred of evil should stop at the person himself; why did you reach up to my father and grandfather?” Chen Lin apologized for his offense, and Taizu, prizing his talent, did not hold it against him.

太祖謂曰：「卿昔爲本初移書，但可罪狀孤而已，惡惡止其身，何乃上及父祖邪？」琳謝罪，太祖愛其才而不咎。

Ruan Yu

附　阮瑀

In his youth Ruan Yu studied under Cai Yong. During the Jian'an era the Protector-General Cao Hong wanted him to take charge of his correspondence and records, but Ruan Yu would never bend. Taizu made both Chen Lin and Ruan Yu Libationers of Military Strategy to the Minister of Works and put them in charge of the secretariat; most of the documents and proclamations on military and state affairs were written by Chen Lin and Ruan Yu. Chen Lin was transferred to be Supervisor of the Gate Office, and Ruan Yu became a clerk of the Granary Bureau.

瑀少受學於蔡邕。建安中都護曹洪欲使掌書記，瑀終不爲屈。太祖並以琳、瑀爲司空軍謀祭酒，管記室，¹軍國書檄，多琳、瑀所作也。²琳徙門下督，瑀爲倉曹掾屬。

Ying Chang and Liu Zhen

附　應瑒、劉楨

Ying Chang and Liu Zhen were each summoned by Taizu to be clerks to the Chancellor. Ying Chang was transferred to be a Cadet of the Marquis of Pingyuan and later became Literary Scholar to the General of the Household for the Five Offices. Liu Zhen was punished for disrespect, and after completing his sentence he was appointed a clerk. Both wrote several dozen pieces of prose and rhapsodies.

瑒、楨各被太祖辟，爲丞相掾屬。瑒轉爲平原侯庶子，後爲五官將文學。¹楨以不敬被刑，刑竟署吏。²咸著文賦數十篇。

Ruan Yu died in the seventeenth year; Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ying Chang and Liu Zhen died in the twenty-second year. In a letter to Wu Zhi, the Magistrate of Yuancheng, Emperor Wen wrote, “In the plague of last year, many of my kin and old friends fell victim to the calamity; Xu, Chen, Ying and Liu all passed away at one time. Looking at men of letters past and present, they generally do not take care over small matters of conduct, and few are able to establish themselves by reputation and integrity. Weichang alone cherished both refinement and substance; he was placid and had few desires, holding to the aspiration of Mount Ji. He may be called a gentleman in whom refinement and substance were well balanced.

瑀以十七年卒。幹、琳、瑒、楨二十二年卒。文帝書與元城令呉質曰：「昔年疾疫，親故多離其災，徐、陳、應、劉，一時俱逝。觀古今文人，類不護細行，鮮能以名節自立。而偉長獨懷文抱質，恬淡寡欲，有箕山之志，可謂彬彬君子矣。

He wrote the Balanced Discourses in more than twenty chapters, whose language and meaning are classical and elegant, worthy of being handed down to later ages. Delian always had a brilliant urge to write, and his talent and learning were sufficient to produce books, but his fine ambition was never fulfilled—truly lamentable and regrettable! Kongzhang's memorials are exceptionally vigorous, though somewhat verbose. Gonggan has an unrestrained spirit, but it is not yet forceful. Yuanyu's letters and records are light and graceful, and a real pleasure. Zhongxuan alone excelled at rhapsodies, but it is a pity that his vigor was weak and could not lift up his writing; as for what he did well, the ancients could not far surpass him.

著中論二十餘篇，辭義典雅，足傳于後。德璉常斐然有述作意，其才學足以著書，美志不遂，良可痛惜！孔璋章表殊健，微爲繁富。公幹有逸氣，但未遒耳。元瑜書記翩翩，致足樂也。仲宣獨自善於辭賦，惜其體弱，不起其文；至於所善，古人無以遠過也。

Of old, Boya broke his strings because of Zhong Qi, and Zhongni overturned the pickled meat because of Zilu; they grieved at how hard it is to meet one who truly understands one's music, and mourned that none of their followers could equal the one they had lost. These gentlemen merely fell short of the ancients; they were still the outstanding talents of their time.”

昔伯牙絶絃於鍾期，仲尼覆醢于子路，痛知音之難遇，傷門人之莫逮也。諸子但爲未及古人，自一時之儁也。」¹

Handan Chun, Fan Qin, Lu Cui, Ding Yi, Ding Yi, Yang Xiu and Xun Wei

附　邯鄲淳、繁欽、路粹、丁儀、丁廙、楊脩、荀緯

Besides these, Handan Chun and Fan Qin of Yingchuan, Lu Cui of Chenliu, Ding Yi and Ding Yi of Pei, Yang Xiu of Hongnong, Xun Wei of Henei and others also had literary talent, but they were not counted among these seven.

自潁川邯鄲淳、¹繁欽、²陳留路粹、³沛國丁儀、丁廙、弘農楊脩、河內荀緯等，亦有文采，而不在此七人之例。⁴

Ying Qu

附　應璩

Ying Chang's younger brother Ying Qu and Ying Qu's son Ying Zhen both became known for their writing. Ying Qu rose to be Palace Attendant. During the Xianxi era Ying Zhen served as Army Adviser to the Chancellor of State.

瑒弟璩，璩子貞，咸以文章顯。璩官至侍中。貞咸熈中參相國軍事。¹

Ruan Ji

附　阮籍

Ruan Yu's son Ruan Ji had a brilliant and extraordinary literary gift, but he was unconventional and unrestrained; in his own conduct he had few desires and took Zhuang Zhou as his model. He rose to be Colonel of Infantry.

瑀子籍，才藻艷逸，而倜儻放蕩，行己寡欲，以莊周爲模則。官至步兵校尉。¹

Ji Kang

附　嵇康

At that time there was also Ji Kang of Qiao Commandery, whose writing was powerful and beautiful. He liked to talk of Laozi and Zhuangzi, admired the unusual and acted the knight-errant. In the Jingyuan era he was implicated in an affair and executed.

時又有譙郡嵇康，文辭壯麗，好言老、莊，而尚奇任俠。至景元中，坐事誅。¹

In the Jingchu era, Huan Wei of Xiapi, who came from an orphaned and humble background, wrote the Classic of the Cosmos at the age of eighteen, expressing his ideas by relying on the Dao. He served as a clerk in the gate office of the Kingdom of Qi and as a clerk under the Minister over the Masses, and later became Magistrate of Ancheng.

景初中，下邳桓威出自孤微，年十八而著渾輿經，依道以見意。從齊國門下書佐、司徒署吏，後爲安成令。

Wu Zhi

附　呉質

Wu Zhi was a man of Jiyin. Because of his literary talent he was on good terms with Emperor Wen. He rose to be General Who Spreads Awe, bearing the Tally of Authority and serving as Commander of All Military Affairs North of the Yellow River, and he was enfeoffed as a full marquis.

呉質，濟陰人，以文才爲文帝所善，官至振威將軍，假節都督河北諸軍事，封列侯。¹

Wei Ji

衞覬

Wei Ji, courtesy name Boru, was a man of Anyi in Hedong. He matured early as a youth and was praised for his talent and learning. Taizu summoned him to be a clerk to the Minister of Works, and he was appointed Magistrate of Maoling and Gentleman of the Masters of Writing. When Taizu campaigned against Yuan Shao, Liu Biao was aiding Yuan Shao, and the generals of Guanzhong were keeping neutral. Since Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province, was at odds with Liu Biao, Wei Ji was sent to Yi Province as Attending Secretary Who Handles Documents, to have Liu Zhang send his troops down to tie up Liu Biao's army. When he reached Chang'an, the roads were cut and he could not go on, so he stayed to keep order in Guanzhong.

衞覬字伯儒，河東安邑人也。少夙成，以才學稱。太祖辟爲司空掾屬，除茂陵令、尚書郎。太祖征袁紹，而劉表爲紹援，關中諸將又中立。益州牧劉璋與表有隙，覬以治書侍御史使益州，令璋下兵以綴表軍。至長安，道路不通，覬不得進，遂留鎮關中。

At that time a great many people were returning from every quarter, and the generals of Guanzhong were taking many of them in as their private retainers. Wei Ji wrote to Xun Yu, “Guanzhong is a fertile land, but it recently suffered famine and turmoil, and more than a hundred thousand households fled into Jing Province. Hearing that their homeland is now at peace, they are all on tiptoe with longing to return. But those who return have no means of making a living, and the generals compete to draw them in and make them their retainers. The commanderies and counties are too poor and weak to contend with them, and so the military houses have grown strong.

時四方大有還民，關中諸將多引爲部曲，覬書與荀彧曰：「關中膏腴之地，頃遭荒亂，人民流入荊州者十萬餘家，聞本土安寧，皆企望思歸。而歸者無以自業，諸將各競招懷，以爲部曲。郡縣貧弱，不能與爭，兵家遂彊。

If trouble breaks out one day, it will surely become a later worry. Salt is the great treasure of the state, yet since the disorders it has been left scattered and uncontrolled. We should appoint commissioners as before to supervise its sale, and use the proceeds to buy plough oxen. When people return, these can be supplied to them so that they farm diligently and store up grain, enriching Guanzhong. When people far away hear of it, they will surely race back day and night. Further, if the Colonel-Director of Retainers is stationed in Guanzhong to govern it and act as its master, the generals will dwindle day by day while the officials and people grow stronger day by day. This is the advantage of strengthening the root and weakening the enemy.”

一旦變動，必有後憂。夫鹽，國之大寶也，自亂來散放，宜如舊置使者監賣，以其直益巿犂牛。若有歸民，以供給之。勤耕積粟，以豐殖關中。遠民聞之，必日夜競還。又使司隷校尉留治關中以爲之主，則諸將日削，官民日盛，此彊本弱敵之利也。」

Xun Yu reported this to Taizu. Taizu followed it and for the first time sent the Supervisor of Internuncios to oversee the salt offices, and had the Colonel-Director of Retainers govern from Hongnong. When Guanzhong submitted, it was proposed that Wei Ji be recalled, and he was gradually promoted to Master of Writing.

彧以白太祖。太祖從之，始遣謁者僕射監鹽官，司隷校尉治弘農。關中服從，乃白召覬還，稍遷尚書。

When the state of Wei was established he was appointed Palace Attendant and, together with Wang Can, took charge of institutions. When Emperor Wen succeeded to the throne, he was transferred to be Master of Writing. Soon afterward he returned to the Han court as Gentleman-in-Attendance, urged and supported the principle of the abdication, and drafted the edicts proclaiming it. When Emperor Wen ascended the imperial throne, he became Master of Writing again and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yangji Village.

¹魏國旣建，拜侍中，與王粲並典制度。文帝即位，徙爲尚書。頃之，還漢朝爲侍郎，勸贊禪代之義，爲文誥之詔。文帝踐阼，復爲尚書，封陽吉亭侯。

When Emperor Ming took the throne, Wei Ji's fief was raised to Marquis of Wen District, with three hundred households. Wei Ji memorialized, “The code in Nine Chapters has been handed down from antiquity, and its principles for determining punishments and crimes are subtle. The senior officials governing a hundred li should all know the law. Criminal law is something the state values highly, yet private opinion makes light of it; the prison officials hold the lives of the common people in their hands, yet those who select officials look down on the post. The ills of royal government may well stem from this.

明帝即位，進封閺鄕侯，三百戸。¹覬奏曰：「九章之律，自古所傳，斷定刑罪，其意微妙。百里長吏，皆宜知律。刑法者，國家之所貴重，而私議之所輕賤；獄吏者，百姓之所縣命，而選用者之所卑下。王政之弊，未必不由此也。

I request that Erudites of Law be established to teach it in turn.” This was put into effect. At that time the common people were exhausted and impoverished while labor service was at its height, and Wei Ji submitted a memorial: To change one's feelings and discipline one's nature is something that cannot be forced. It is not easy for a subject to say such things, and it is also hard for a ruler to accept them. Moreover, what people enjoy is wealth, rank, eminence and glory, and what they hate is poverty, lowliness, death and ruin; these four are in the ruler's control. When the ruler loves someone, he has wealth, rank, eminence and glory; when the ruler hates someone, he meets poverty, lowliness, death and ruin. Complying with the ruler's wishes is the source of his love; opposing his will is what brings his hatred.

請置律博士，轉相教授。」事遂施行。時百姓凋匱而役務方殷，覬上疏曰：夫變情厲性，彊所不能，人臣言之旣不易，人主受之又艱難。且人之所樂者富貴顯榮也，所惡者貧賤死亡也，然此四者，君上之所制也，君愛之則富貴顯榮，君惡之則貧賤死亡；順指者愛所由來，逆意者惡所從至也。

Therefore all subjects compete to comply with his wishes and avoid opposing his will. Unless a man is willing to ruin his family for the state and give his life for his lord, who would brave the ruler's displeasure and touch on what he dislikes, to offer a single word or open a single argument? If Your Majesty pays attention and examines this, the true feelings of your subjects can be seen. Now those who offer counsel mostly like what pleases the ear: when they speak of government they compare Your Majesty to Yao and Shun, and when they speak of campaigns they compare the two caitiffs to wildcats and rats. I do not think so.

故人臣皆爭順指而避逆意，非破家爲國，殺身成君者，誰能犯顏色，觸忌諱，建一言，開一説哉？陛下留意察之，則臣下之情可見矣。今議者多好悅耳，其言政治則比陛下於堯舜，其言征伐則比二虜於貍鼠。臣以爲不然。

In the time of Emperor Wen of the Han, the feudal lords were powerful, and Jia Yi sighed again and again, thinking the situation extremely dangerous. How much more so now, when the realm is divided into three and men of every sort exert themselves, each for his own master! Those who come over to us in surrender are unwilling to say they have abandoned wrong for right; they all say they were driven by hardship and desperation. This is no different from the time when the Six States ruled separately. Now there is no cooking smoke for a thousand li, and the surviving people are in misery. If Your Majesty does not pay good heed, they will fall into ruin from which it will be hard to recover.

昔漢文之時，諸侯彊大，賈誼累息以爲至危。況今四海之內，分而爲三，羣士陳力，各爲其主。其來降者，未肯言舍邪就正，咸稱迫於困急，是與六國分治，無以爲異也。當今千里無煙，遺民困苦，陛下不善留意，將遂凋弊難可復振。

According to the rites, the vessels of the Son of Heaven must have ornaments of gold and jade and his food must include the eight delicacies, but in times of calamity and famine he reduces his meals and lowers his dress. Thus the measure of extravagance or frugality must depend on the abundance or scarcity of the age. In the time of Emperor Wu, the meals of the harem did not exceed one meat dish, their clothes did not use brocade or embroidery, mats and cushions had no edging, and utensils had no red lacquer. That is how he was able to pacify the realm and leave blessings to his descendants.

禮，天子之器必有金玉之飾，飲食之肴必有八珎之味，至於凶荒，則徹膳降服。然則奢儉之節，必視世之豐約也。武皇帝之時，後宮食不過一肉，衣不用錦繡，茵蓐不緣飾，器物無丹漆，用能平定天下，遺福子孫。

All this Your Majesty witnessed in person. The pressing task now is for ruler and subjects, high and low, to plan together, take stock of the treasuries and storehouses, and measure expenditure by income. Even if we pondered deeply the methods by which Goujian increased his people, we should still fear falling short; yet the gold and silver articles made by the Imperial Workshops grow ever more numerous, the labor never ceases, extravagance mounts day by day, and the treasury is drained day by day. Of old, Emperor Wu of the Han believed in seeking the way of the immortals, and said that he ought to obtain dew from above the clouds to take with powdered jade, so he set up an immortal's palm to catch the dew on high.

此皆陛下之所親覽也。當今之務，宜君臣上下，並用籌策，計校府庫，量入爲出。深思句踐滋民之術，由恐不及，而尚方所造金銀之物，漸更增廣，工役不輟，侈靡日崇，帑藏日竭。昔漢武信求神仙之道，謂當得雲表之露以餐玉屑，故立僊掌以承高露。

Your Majesty, being perceptive and enlightened, has always ridiculed this. Emperor Wu of the Han had a purpose in seeking dew and was still condemned for it, while Your Majesty, who seeks no dew, has set one up for nothing. It adds nothing to your pleasures and wastes labor; truly all of this is something Your Sagacity should consider and restrain.

陛下通明，每所非笑。漢武有求於露，而由尚見非，陛下無求於露而空設之；不益於好而糜費功夫，誠皆聖慮所宜裁制也。

Throughout his service under the Han and the Wei, Wei Ji from time to time offered loyal advice, generally of this kind.

覬歷漢、魏，時獻忠言，率如此。

By imperial order he took charge of historical compilation and also wrote the Official Protocols of Wei; in all, his writings came to several dozen pieces. He loved the ancient script, bird-seal script, clerical script and cursive script, and there was none he did not write well. At the end of the Jian'an era, Pan Xu of Henan, Right Assistant of the Masters of Writing, and in the Huangchu era, Wang Xiang of Henei, Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, were also known for their writing along with Wei Ji. When Wei Ji died, he was given the posthumous name Marquis Jing. His son Wei Guan succeeded him. In the Xianxi era Wei Guan became General Who Guards the West.

受詔典著作，又爲魏官儀，凡所撰述數十篇。好古文、鳥篆、隷草，無所不善。建安末，尚書右丞河南潘勗，¹黃初時，散騎常侍河內王象，亦與覬並以文章顯。²覬薨，謚曰敬侯。子瓘嗣。瓘咸熈中爲鎮西將軍。³

Liu Yi

劉廙

Liu Yi, courtesy name Gongsi, was a man of Anzhong in Nanyang. When he was ten, he was playing in a lecture hall when Sima Decao of Yingchuan patted his head and said, “Child, child, ‘yellow within and penetrating reason’—don't you know that about yourself?” Liu Yi's elder brother Liu Wangzhi had a name in the world, and Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, summoned him to be an Attendant Officer. But two of his friends were slandered and defamed, and were both put to death by Liu Biao. Liu Wangzhi, too, disagreed with Liu Biao when he remonstrated with him frankly, so he threw down his credentials, announced his departure and went home.

劉廙字恭嗣，南陽安衆人也。年十歳，戲於講堂上，潁川司馬德操拊其頭曰：「孺子，孺子，『黃中通理』，寧自不知不？」廙兄望之，有名於世，荊州牧劉表辟爲從事。而其友二人，皆以讒毀，爲表所誅。望之又以正諫不合，投傳告歸。

Liu Yi said to Liu Wangzhi, “When Zhao killed Dou Mingdu, Zhongni turned his carriage around. Since you, elder brother, cannot follow Liuxia Hui and dim your light to blend with the dust while staying inside, you should imitate Fan Li and depart abroad. To sit here and cut yourself off from the times will never do!” Liu Wangzhi did not follow his advice, and before long he too was killed. Liu Yi, afraid, fled to Yang Province and eventually submitted to Taizu. Taizu summoned him to be a clerk to the Chancellor, and he was transferred to be Literary Scholar to the General of the Household for the Five Offices. Emperor Wen thought him a man of capacity and told Liu Yi to correspond with him in cursive script.

廙謂望之曰：「趙殺鳴犢，仲尼回輪。¹今兄旣不能法栁下惠和光同塵於內，則宜模范蠡遷化於外。坐而自絶於時，殆不可也！」望之不從，尋復見害。廙懼，奔揚州，²遂歸太祖。太祖辟爲丞相掾屬，轉五官將文學。文帝器之，命廙通草書。

Liu Yi wrote back, “At first I thought that not overstepping the distinction between high and low was the constant rule of propriety. That is why I clung to my petty scruple and did not dare write in cursive. If I must follow your strict command, I truly recognize your habitual humility, willing to toil and stoop: you do not prize lofty distinction as they did, but show such warm regard for men from thatched huts. If Guo Wei is not slighted in Yan, and the man of the multiplication table is not ignored in Qi, then a Yue Yi will come of his own accord and the hegemon's work will flourish. To give up the scruple of a common man and help bring about such towering excellence—foolish and dull though I am, how would I dare decline?” When the state of Wei was first established, he became Gentleman of the Yellow Gate.

廙荅書曰：「初以尊卑有踰，禮之常分也。是以貪守區區之節，不敢脩草。必如嚴命，誠知勞謙之素，不貴殊異若彼之高，而惇白屋如斯之好，苟使郭隗不輕於燕，九九不忽於齊，樂毅自至，霸業以隆。¹虧匹夫之節，成巍巍之美，雖愚不敏，何敢以辭？」魏國初建，爲黃門侍郎。

When Taizu was at Chang'an and intended to lead a campaign against Shu in person, Liu Yi submitted a memorial: A sage does not despise common folk because of his own wisdom, and a true king does not dismiss words because of who speaks them. Therefore one who achieves merit that lasts a thousand years must examine what is far by means of what is near; one whose wisdom suffices for solitary decisions is not ashamed to ask those below him, and still seeks to gather ideas widely from the multitude without leaving anything out. Soft leather and bowstrings are not things that can speak, yet sages and worthies used them to correct themselves. My talent and wisdom are dim and shallow, but I wish to compare myself to that leather and bowstring.

太祖在長安，欲親征蜀，廙上疏曰：聖人不以智輕俗，王者不以人廢言。故能成功於千載者，必以近察遠，智周於獨斷者，不恥於下問，亦欲博采必盡於衆也。且韋弦非能言之物，而聖賢引以自匡。臣才智闇淺，願自比於韋弦。

Of old, Yue Yi was able to use weak Yan to crush mighty Qi, yet he could not subdue Jimo with light troops; for those who plan to defend themselves are sure to be firm even when weak, while those bent on falling apart are sure to be defeated even when strong. In the more than thirty years since Your Highness raised troops, there has been no enemy you did not crush and no strong foe you did not subdue. Yet now, with the troops of the whole land and the prestige of a hundred victories, Sun Quan still relies on the natural defenses of Wu and Liu Bei still refuses to submit in Shu.

昔樂毅能用弱燕破大齊，而不能以輕兵定即墨者，夫自爲計者雖弱必固，欲自潰者雖彊必敗也。自殿下起軍以來，三十餘年，敵無不破，彊無不服。今以海內之兵，百勝之威，而孫權負險於呉，劉備不賔於蜀。

The subjects of barbarian lands were no match for the soldiers of Ji Province, and the territories of Quan and Bei cannot compare with the domain of Yuan Shao. Yet Benchu perished, while the two brigands have not yet been overcome. This is not because we are now blind and weak where once we were wise and martial; it is simply that the situation of those who plan to defend themselves differs from that of those bent on falling apart. Thus when King Wen attacked Chong, three campaigns failed to take it, so he went back and cultivated virtue, and only then did it submit. When Qin was a feudal state, whoever it attacked was sure to submit; but once it had united the realm and faced east to proclaim itself emperor, a common man gave a great shout and its altars of state collapsed.

夫夷狄之臣，不當兾州之卒，權、備之籍，不比袁紹之業，然本初以亡，而二寇未捷，非闇弱於今而智武於昔也。斯自爲計者，與欲自潰者異勢耳。故文王伐崇，三駕不下，歸而脩德，然後服之。秦爲諸侯，所征必服，及兼天下，東向稱帝，匹夫大呼而社稷用隳。

This was because it exhausted its strength abroad and did not care for the people at home. I fear that the border invaders are no Six States, and that the age does not lack men of talent; the danger of a collapse like crumbling earth is something that must be examined. In the realm there are great gains and great losses. When the situation allows something to be won and we exert ourselves for it, that is a great gain; when the situation does not allow it to be won and we exert ourselves for it, that is a great loss. For the present, nothing is better than to survey the strongholds on every side, choose the vital points and hold them, and select armored soldiers from all the realm to garrison each front, relieving them every year.

是力斃於外，而不卹民於內也。臣恐邊寇非六國之敵，而世不乏才，土崩之勢，此不可不察也。天下有重得，有重失：勢可得而我勤之，此重得也；勢不可得而我勤之，此重失也。於今之計，莫若料四方之險，擇要害之處而守之，選天下之甲卒，隨方面而歳更焉。

Your Highness may rest easy on a high pillow in your broad halls and think deeply on governing the state. Expand farming and sericulture and let all affairs follow frugality. Cultivate this for ten years, and the state will be rich and the people at peace.

殿下可高枕於廣夏，潛思於治國；廣農桑，事從節約，脩之旬年，則國富民安矣。

Taizu nevertheless advanced, and replied to Liu Yi, “It is not only that a lord must know his subject; the subject must also know his lord. Now you would have me practice the virtue of the Lord of the West while sitting still, but I fear I am not the man for it.”

太祖遂進前而報廙曰：「非但君當知臣，臣亦當知君。今欲使吾坐行西伯之德，恐非其人也。」

When Wei Feng rebelled, Liu Yi’s younger brother Liu Wei had been drawn in by Wei Feng, and Liu Yi was liable to be executed along with him. Taizu issued an order: “Shuxiang was not held guilty for his younger brother Hu; that is the ancient rule.” He specially pardoned him and asked no questions, and transferred him to the post of Assistant in the Granary Bureau of the Chancellor. Liu Yi sent up a memorial of thanks: “My crime deserved the ruin of my house, and my misfortune the overthrow of my clan. But I have met with the spirit of Heaven and Earth and chanced on a turn of fortune: you ladled up the boiling water to stop its boiling, so that I was not scorched to ruin; you raised smoke from cold ashes and made flowers bloom on a tree already withered.

魏諷反，廙弟偉爲諷所引，當相坐誅。太祖令曰：「叔向不坐弟虎，古之制也。」特原不問，¹徙署丞相倉曹屬。廙上疏謝曰：「臣罪應傾宗，禍應覆族。遭乾坤之靈，值時來之運，揚湯止沸，使不燋爛；起煙於寒灰之上，生華於已枯之木。

Things do not repay Heaven and Earth for what they bestow, and a son does not thank his parents for giving him life; I can repay you with my death, but it is hard to set it out with a brush.” Liu Yi wrote several dozen essays, and these, together with his discussions of punishment and ritual with Ding Yi, have all been handed down in the world.

物不荅施於天地，子不謝生於父母，可以死效，難用筆陳。」¹廙著書數十篇，及與丁儀共論刑禮，皆傳於世。

When Emperor Wen took the royal throne, Liu Yi became Palace Attendant and was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. He died in the second year of Huangchu. He had no son, and the Emperor made his brother’s son Liu Fu his heir.

文帝即王位，爲侍中，賜爵關內侯。黃初二年卒。¹無子。帝以弟子阜嗣。²

Liu Shao

劉劭

Liu Shao, courtesy name Kongcai, was a man of Handan in Guangping. During Jian’an he became an accounts officer and went to Xu. The Grand Astrologer reported, “On New Year’s Day there will be an eclipse of the sun.” Liu Shao was at that time at the residence of the Director of the Secretariat Xun Yu, where several dozen people were seated. Some said the court assembly should be canceled; others said it should be postponed. Liu Shao said, “Zi Shen and Pi Zao were fine astrologers of antiquity, yet even they, divining flood and fire, misread the timing of Heaven. The Book of Rites says that when the feudal lords together come to see the Son of Heaven, there are four occasions on which, having reached the gate, they cannot complete the rite, and an eclipse of the sun is one of them.

劉劭字孔才，廣平邯鄲人也。建安中，爲計吏，詣許。太史上言：「正旦當日蝕。」劭時在尚書令荀彧所，坐者數十人，或云當廢朝，或云宜却會。劭曰：「梓慎、裨竈，古之良史，猶占水火，錯失天時。禮記曰諸侯旅見天子，及門不得終禮者四，日蝕在一。

So when the sages laid down their institutions, they did not cancel the court rite in advance because of portents, since a calamity may vanish and a portent subside, or the calculations may be mistaken.” Xun Yu approved of his words. It was ordered that the court assembly be held as usual, and the sun was not eclipsed after all.

然則聖人垂制，不爲變異豫廢朝禮者，或災消異伏，或推術謬誤也。」彧善其言。勑朝會如舊，日亦不蝕。¹

The Grandee Secretary Xi Lü summoned Liu Shao to his staff, but Xi Lü happened to be dismissed, and Liu Shao was appointed Retainer to the Crown Prince and then promoted to Gentleman of the Palace Library. During Huangchu he became Gentleman of the Secretariat and Cavalier Gentleman-Attendant. By imperial order he collected the Five Classics and other books, arranged them by category, and compiled the Imperial Survey. When Emperor Ming took the throne, Liu Shao went out to be Prefect of Chenliu, where he devoted himself to education and moral improvement, and the people praised him. He was summoned and appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and with the Consultant Gentlemen Yu Yi, Xun Shen and others he fixed the statutes and ordinances, composing the New Code in eighteen sections, and wrote a Summary Discussion of the Code.

御史大夫郗慮辟劭，會慮免，拜太子舍人，遷祕書郎。黃初中，爲尚書郎、散騎侍郎。受詔集五經羣書，以類相從，作《皇覽》。明帝即位，出爲陳留太守，敦崇教化，百姓稱之。徵拜騎都尉，與議郎庾嶷、荀詵等定科令，作《新律》十八篇，著律略論。

He was promoted to Regular Mounted Attendant. At that time word came that Gongsun Yuan had accepted from Sun Quan the title of King of Yan, and those in council wanted to detain Gongsun Yuan’s accounts officer and send troops to punish him. Liu Shao held that “Formerly, when the brothers Yuan Shang fled to Gongsun Yuan’s father Gongsun Kang, Gongsun Kang cut off their heads and sent them to us; this was the loyalty of Gongsun Yuan’s forebears. Besides, whether what we have heard is true or false cannot yet be known for certain. In ancient times, when the distant Yao and Huang zones did not submit, the kings cultivated their virtue and did not march against them, for they weighed heavily the burden on the people. We should show him leniency and give him the means to reform himself.”

遷散騎常侍。時聞公孫淵受孫權燕王之號，議者欲留淵計吏，遣兵討之，劭以爲「昔袁尚兄弟歸淵父康，康斬送其首，是淵先世之効忠也。又所聞虛實，未可審知。古者要荒未服，脩德而不征，重勞民也。宜加寬貸，使有以自新。」

Later Gongsun Yuan did indeed cut off the heads of Sun Quan’s envoys Zhang Mi and the others and send them to the court. Liu Shao had once written a Rhapsody on the Zhao Capital, which Emperor Ming admired, and the Emperor ordered him to write rhapsodies on the Xu Capital and the Luo Capital. At that time armies were being raised abroad and palaces built at home, and the two rhapsodies Liu Shao wrote were both veiled remonstrances.

後淵果斬送權使張彌等首。劭嘗作趙都賦，明帝美之，詔劭作許都、洛都賦。時外興軍旅，內營宮室，劭作二賦，皆諷諫焉。

During Qinglong, Wu besieged Hefei. At that time the officers and soldiers of the east had all been dispersed on leave, and the General Who Conquers the East, Man Chong, sent up a memorial asking for troops of the central army and for the soldiers on leave to be recalled, so that he could wait for them to gather and then attack. Liu Shao gave his opinion: “The enemy host has just arrived; their hearts are united and their spirit is keen. Man Chong, with few men, is fighting on his own ground; even if he advanced to attack at once, he would not necessarily prevail. In asking to wait for troops, Man Chong has made no mistake. I think we could first send five thousand foot soldiers and three thousand picked horsemen to set out ahead of the army, proclaiming their approach loudly as they advance to overawe the enemy with a show of strength.

青龍中，呉圍合肥，時東方吏士皆分休，征東將軍滿寵表請中軍兵，并召休將士，須集擊之。劭議以爲「賊衆新至，心專氣銳。寵以少人自戰其地，若便進擊，不必能制。寵求待兵，未有所失也。以爲可先遣步兵五千，精騎三千，軍前發，揚聲進道，震曜形勢。

When the cavalry reach Hefei, let them open out their ranks and multiply their banners and drums, parade their strength below the city, and draw round behind the enemy, threatening their line of retreat and cutting across their supply route. When the enemy hear that a great army is coming and horsemen have cut off their rear, they will surely flee in terror, and the enemy will be defeated without a battle.” The Emperor followed this. Just as the troops were reaching Hefei, the enemy did indeed withdraw.

騎到合肥，疏其行隊，多其旌鼔，曜兵城下，引出賊後，擬其歸路，要其糧道。賊聞大軍來，騎斷其後，必震怖遁走，不戰自破賊矣。」帝從之。兵比至合肥，賊果退還。

At that time an edict sought far and wide for men of worth. The Cavalier Gentleman-Attendant Xiahou Hui recommended Liu Shao, saying: “I humbly observe that the Regular Attendant Liu Shao is deeply loyal and earnest in thought, and embodies every discipline, so that all he weaves together is broad and far-reaching in its sources and currents. Thus men of talent great and small all take from him what they share with him and weigh it. So those of genuine nature admire his peaceable goodness and uprightness; those who love purity and stillness esteem his profound detachment and modest yielding; men of letters praise the detail and precision of his calendrical calculations; those versed in law recognize the exactness and order of his distinctions and reckonings; thoughtful men know his depth, earnestness and firmness; writers love his treatises and his prose; those concerned with institutions value his grasp of the essentials of moral transformation; and strategists praise the clarity of his thought and its reach into the subtlest matters. All these judgments take what suits their own strengths and point to one branch of the stream.

時詔書博求衆賢。散騎侍郎夏侯惠薦劭曰：「伏見常侍劉劭，深忠篤思，體周於數，凡所錯綜，源流弘遠，是以羣才大小，咸取所同而斟酌焉。故性實之士服其平和良正，清靜之人慕其玄虛退讓，文學之士嘉其推步詳密，法理之士明其分數精比，意思之士知其沈深篤固，文章之士愛其著論屬辭，制度之士貴其化略較要，策謀之士贊其明思通微，凡此諸論，皆取適己所長而舉其支流者也。

I have often listened to his pure conversation and read his earnest discourses; I have been steeped in them for years and have long held them to heart, and truly, for the court’s sake, I marvel at his capacity. I believe that such a man ought to assist in affairs of state and offer counsel within the curtained tent, and that he would flourish together with the Way of the state; he is not the kind of man the world commonly produces. If only Your Majesty would lend him a leisurely ear and grant Liu Shao the pleasure of attending you at quiet moments, so that he could give his utmost in your presence, then words of virtue would reach the throne and their brilliance would be renewed day by day.”

臣數聽其清談，覽其篤論，漸漬歷年，服膺彌久，實爲朝廷奇其器量。以爲若此人者，宜輔翼機事，納謀幃幄，當與國道俱隆，非世俗所常有也。惟陛下垂優游之聽，使劭承清閑之歡，得自盡於前，則德音上通，煇燿日新矣。」¹

During Jingchu, he received an edict to draw up a system for evaluating metropolitan officials. Liu Shao sent up a memorial: “The evaluation of the hundred officials is the great framework of royal government, yet successive dynasties have neglected it, so that the statutes of government have gaps that were never filled, and the able and the incapable are mingled and cover for one another. Your Majesty, with the vast strategy of a supreme sage, grieved that the royal bonds had slackened and decayed; your divine mind reflected inwardly, and your enlightened edict went forth. Receiving your grace, I was opened up and my ignorance dispelled, and I at once composed the Evaluation of Metropolitan Officials in seventy-two articles, together with an Explanatory Summary in one section.

景初中，受詔作都官考課。劭上疏曰：「百官考課，王政之大較，然而歷代弗務，是以治典闕而未補，能否混而相蒙。陛下以上聖之宏略，愍王綱之弛頹，神慮內鑒，明詔外發。臣奉恩曠然，得以啟矇，輒作《都官考課》七十二條，又作《説略》一篇。

My learning is scant and my knowledge shallow; I am truly unfit to proclaim Your Majesty’s intent and to set down fixed statutes.” He also held that rites should be instituted and music composed to transform customs, and wrote a Discourse on Music in fourteen sections; the work was finished but not yet presented when Emperor Ming happened to pass away, so it was never put into effect. During Zhengshi he lectured on the classics and was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. His writings, such as the Discourse on Law and the Treatise on Personalities, came to more than a hundred sections. When he died he was posthumously made Minister of the Household. His son Liu Lin succeeded him.

臣學寡識淺，誠不足以宣暢聖旨，著定典制。」又以爲宜制禮作樂，以移風俗，著《樂論》十四篇，事成未上。會明帝崩，不施行。正始中，執經講學，賜爵關內侯。凡所選述，《法論》、《人物志》之類百餘篇。卒，追贈光祿勳。子琳嗣。

Appended: Miao Xi

附　繆襲

A contemporary of Liu Shao, Miao Xi of Donghai, also had talent and learning and wrote a great deal; he rose to be Master of Writing and Minister of the Household.

劭同時東海繆襲亦有才學，多所述叙，官至尚書、光祿勳。¹

Appended: Zhongchang Tong

附　仲長統

Miao Xi’s friend Zhongchang Tong of Shanyang became Gentleman of the Secretariat at the end of the Han but died young. He wrote the Changyan, whose language is fine and well worth reading.

襲友人山陽仲長統，漢末爲尚書郎，早卒。著昌言，詞佳可觀省。¹

Appended: Su Lin, Xiahou Hui, Sun Gai, Du Zhi

附　蘇林、夏侯惠、孫該、杜摯

The Regular Mounted Attendant Su Lin of Chenliu, the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Wei Dan of Jingzhao, the Prefect of Le'an Xiahou Hui of Qiao, the Prefect of Chen Commandery Sun Gai of Rencheng, the Prefect of the Gentlemen of the Palace Du Zhi of Hedong, and others also wrote prose and rhapsodies, which are fairly widely handed down in the world.

散騎常侍陳留蘇林、¹光祿大夫京兆韋誕、²樂安太守譙國夏侯惠、³陳郡太守任城孫該、⁴郎中令河東杜摯等亦著文賦，頗傳於世。⁵

Fu Gu

傅嘏

Fu Gu, courtesy name Lanshi, was a man of Niyang in Beidi and a descendant of Fu Jiezi. His uncle Fu Xun was Palace Attendant and Master of Writing during Huangchu. Fu Gu was already well known at twenty, and the Minister of Works Chen Qun summoned him to be his clerk.

傅嘏字蘭石，北地泥陽人，傅介子之後也。伯父巽，黃初中爲侍中尚書。¹嘏弱冠知名，²司空陳羣辟爲掾。

At that time the Regular Mounted Attendant Liu Shao drew up a law for evaluating officials, and the matter was referred to the Three Offices. Fu Gu challenged Liu Shao’s proposal: “I have heard that the institutions of the emperors are vast and deep and the Way of the sages profound and far-reaching; if one lacks the talent, the Way does not operate in vain, and to understand it divinely depends on the man. When royal strategy fell into decay and for long years was not carried on, and the subtle words were lost, the Six Classics were effaced and marred. Why was this? Because the Way was broad and reached far, and the many men of talent could not look up to it. Looking into Liu Shao’s discourse on evaluation, although he seeks the texts on dismissal and promotion from former ages, their institutions have for the most part been lost.

時散騎常侍劉劭作考課法，事下三府。嘏難劭論曰：「蓋聞帝制宏深，聖道奧遠，苟非其才，則道不虛行，神而明之，存乎其人。曁乎王略虧頹而曠載罔綴，微言旣沒，六籍泯玷。何則？道弘致遠而衆才莫晞也。案劭考課論，雖欲尋前代黜陟之文，然其制度略以闕亡。

Of the rites that survive there are only the statutes of Zhou: abroad, they set up marquises and earls as a protective screen for the Nine Zones; at home, they established the various offices to manage and order the six functions. The land had its fixed tribute and the offices their set rules; all the ministries were in place and the four classes of the people had their separate occupations, so that the evaluation of merit could be managed and dismissal and promotion carried out with ease. The Great Wei has succeeded at the end of the hundred kings and inherited the achievements of the Qin and Han, but it has not refined or adopted any line of institutions. From Jian’an until Qinglong, divine martial power has quelled disorder and laid the foundations of the imperial line, swept away the vicious rebels and mown down the remaining bandits; the banners have been furled and unfurled, and there has been no leisure day after day.

禮之存者，惟有周典，外建侯伯，藩屏九服，內立列司，筦齊六職，土有恒貢，官有定則，百揆均在，四民殊業，故考績可理而黜陟易通也。大魏繼百王之末，承秦、漢之烈，制度之流，靡所脩采。自建安以來，至于青龍，神武撥亂，肇基皇祚，掃除凶逆，芟夷遺寇，旌旗卷舒，日不暇給。

In managing the state and ordering the army, expedients and laws have been used together; the hundred officials and the various offices have shared military and civil duties, adapting to the needs of the moment to meet the demands of government. When the ancient is applied to the present, the matters are mixed and the principles differ, and it is hard to make them fit. The reason is that institutions are meant to govern over the long term and may not suit immediate needs, while laws answer to present business and are not fit to hand down to later ages. Now, establishing offices, balancing their duties and bringing clear order to the people and their affairs is how the root is set; checking reality against name, correcting and encouraging according to set rules, is how the branches are tended.

及經邦治戎，權法並用，百官羣司，軍國通任，隨時之宜，以應政機。以古施今，事雜義殊，難得而通也。所以然者，制宜經遠，或不切近，法應時務，不足垂後。夫建官均職，清理民物，所以立本也；循名考實，糾勵成規，所以治末也。

The main cord of the root has not yet been raised and the making of institutions has not yet been set forth; if, without exalting the grand strategy of the state, evaluation is put first, I fear it will not suffice to measure the difference between the worthy and the foolish or to discern precisely between the hidden and the manifest. In former times, when the early kings chose men of talent, they always based it on their conduct in their villages and had the Way taught in the schools; one whose conduct was complete was called worthy, and one who had cultivated the Way was called able. The village elders presented the worthy and able to the king, who received them with a bow; he raised up the worthy and sent them out to lead the people, and selected the able and brought them in to administer affairs. This was how the early kings gathered talent.

本綱未舉而造制未呈，國略不崇而考課是先，懼不足以料賢愚之分，精幽明之理也。昔先王之擇才，必本行於州閭，講道於庠序，行具而謂之賢，道脩則謂之能。鄕老獻賢能于王，王拜受之，舉其賢者，出使長之，科其能者，入使治之，此先王收才之義也。

At present, from the people of the Nine Provinces to the capital itself, there are no nominations like those of the Six Districts, and the task of selecting talent is left entirely to the Ministry of Personnel. If we go by ratings and character reports, true talent is not necessarily matched; if we rely on records of merit, virtuous conduct is not ranked. In that case evaluation into best and worst will not bring out all the talent there is. To set out and bring together the royal norms and to spread and support the state’s standards is a matter deep in substance and broad in meaning, hard to settle in detail.”

方今九州之民，爰及京城，未有六鄕之舉，其選才之職，專任吏部。案品狀則實才未必當，任薄伐則德行未爲叙，如此則殿最之課，未盡人才。述綜王度，敷贊國式，體深義廣，難得而詳也。」

At the beginning of Zhengshi he was appointed Gentleman of the Secretariat and promoted to Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. At that time Cao Shuang held power and He Yan was Master of Writing for Personnel. Fu Gu said to Cao Shuang’s younger brother Cao Xi, “He Pingshu is calm outside but sharp and cunning within; he loves profit and gives no thought to attending to fundamentals. I fear he will surely begin by leading you brothers astray, so that good men will keep their distance and the government of the court will fall into ruin.” He Yan and the others then fell out with Fu Gu and had him dismissed from office on a trifling pretext. He was called from home and appointed Prefect of Xingyang, but did not go.

正始初，除尚書郎，遷黃門侍郎。時曹爽秉政，何晏爲吏部尚書，嘏謂爽弟羲曰：「何平叔外靜而內銛巧，好利，不念務本。吾恐必先惑子兄弟，仁人將遠，而朝政廢矣。」晏等遂與嘏不平，因微事以免嘏官。起家拜滎陽太守，不行。

The Grand Tutor Sima Yi (King Xuan) requested him as his Attendant Gentleman. After Cao Shuang was executed, Fu Gu became Intendant of Henan and was then promoted to Master of Writing. Fu Gu always held that “When the Qin first abolished the fiefs and set up governors, the offices it created and the duties it divided were not the same as in antiquity. The Han and Wei carried these on down to the present. Yet the Confucian scholars all wish to interweave them with the rites of the Three Dynasties; but those rites are broad and far-reaching and do not answer to present needs, so that practice conflicts with institutions and names do not match realities. That is probably why generation after generation has failed to attain good government.

太傅司馬宣王請爲從事中郎。曹爽誅，爲河南尹，¹遷尚書。嘏常以爲「秦始罷侯置守，設官分職，不與古同。漢、魏因循，以至于今。然儒生學士，咸欲錯綜以三代之禮，禮弘致遠，不應時務，事與制違，名實未附，故歷代而不至於治者，蓋由是也。

I would like to reform the official system thoroughly and set the root right according to antiquity, but at present the imperial house is beset with troubles, and it cannot yet be changed.”

欲大改定官制，依古正本，今遇帝室多難，未能革易」。

At that time those in council proposed that Wei itself attack Wu, and the three Conquering Generals each offered a different plan. An edict asked Fu Gu’s opinion, and he replied: “Formerly Fuchai humbled Qi and defeated Jin, and his might held sway over the central states, yet in the end disaster struck him at Gusu. King Min of Qi annexed territory and extended his borders, opening up a thousand li of land, yet he himself was overthrown. A good beginning does not necessarily mean a good end; this is the clear lesson of antiquity. After Sun Quan defeated Guan Yu and annexed Jing Province, his ambition was sated and his desires fulfilled and his wickedness reached its height; therefore the Marquis Xuanwen devised deep plans for a grand design and a great campaign.

時論者議欲自伐呉，三征獻策各不同。詔以訪嘏，嘏對曰：「昔夫差陵齊勝晉，威行中國，終禍姑蘇；齊閔兼土拓境，闢地千里，身蹈顛覆。有始不必善終，古之明效也。孫權自破關羽并荊州之後，志盈欲滿，凶宄以極，是以宣文侯深建宏圖大舉之策。

Now Sun Quan is dead and has entrusted his orphaned son to Zhuge Ke. If he corrects Sun Quan’s harshness and cruelty and does away with his tyrannical rule, so that the people escape severity and settle into the new kindness, and those within and without share the same concerns, fearing as men in one boat, then even if they cannot preserve themselves to the end, they will still be able to prolong their days and hold on to life beyond the deep river. Yet among those in council, some wish to float boats straight across and sweep through the lands south of the river; some wish to advance by four routes at once and attack their walls and forts; and some wish to open large farms on the frontier and move when an opening appears. These are indeed all the usual plans for taking an enemy.

今權以死，託孤於諸葛恪。若矯權苛暴，蠲其虐政，民免酷烈，偷安新惠，外內齊慮，有同舟之懼，雖不能終自保完，猶足以延期挺命於深江之外矣。而議者或欲汎舟徑濟，橫行江表；或欲四道並進，攻其城壘；或欲大佃疆埸，觀釁而動：誠皆取賊之常計也。

But since we began preparing our forces, three years of coming and going have passed, so ours is no army that can take them by surprise. The enemy have been bandits for nearly sixty years; their ruler and ministers, set up in usurpation, have shared fortune and misfortune alike, and now that they have lost their commander, high and low are anxious and in peril. If they line up their ships at the vital crossings and strengthen their cities behind natural defenses, a plan to sweep through them is unlikely to succeed. Only advancing the army to farm on a large scale is the most complete and secure. With the troops posted beyond the people, raiders cannot harm them; living on stored grain, they need not burden men with transport; striking and raiding when an opening appears, they avoid the toil and cost of distant campaigns. This is the army’s most urgent business.

然自治兵以來，出入三載，非掩襲之軍也。賊之爲寇，幾六十年矣，君臣偽立，吉凶共患，又喪其元帥，上下憂危，設令列船津要，堅城據險，橫行之計，其殆難捷。惟進軍大佃，最差完牢。兵出民表，寇鈔不犯；坐食積穀，不煩運士；乘釁討襲，無遠勞費：此軍之急務也。

Formerly Fan Kuai asked to sweep through the Xiongnu with a hundred thousand men, and Ji Bu rebuked his folly to his face. The present wish to cross the Yangtze and invade the barbarians’ court is just like that old example. Nothing is better than to make the laws clear and train the soldiers, to lay our plans where total victory is assured, and to wield the long whip to hold off the enemy’s dying embers. This is certain to succeed.”

昔樊噲願以十萬之衆，橫行匈奴，季布面折其短。今欲越長江，涉虜庭，亦向時之喻也。未若明法練士，錯計於全勝之地，振長策以禦敵之餘燼，斯必然之數也。」

Later the great Wu general Zhuge Ke, having just won a victory at Dongguan, took advantage of it to announce loudly that he would march on Qing and Xu provinces, and the court was about to prepare against him. Fu Gu gave his opinion: “The Huai and the sea are not routes the enemy can travel lightly. Moreover, when Sun Quan once sent troops out to sea, they were tossed by the waves and drowned, with hardly a survivor. How would Zhuge Ke dare to stake his very root and foundation, entrust his life to the great waters, and gamble for gain? Zhuge Ke will do no more than send lesser generals and minor officers who are practiced with the navy, riding the sea and sailing up the Huai to make a show of threatening Qing and Xu, while he himself gathers his troops and comes against Huainan.” Afterwards Zhuge Ke did indeed attack the New City, but failed to take it and went home.

¹後呉大將諸葛恪新破東關，乘勝揚聲欲向青、徐，朝廷將爲之備。嘏議以爲「淮海非賊輕行之路，又昔孫權遣兵入海，漂浪沈溺，略無孑遺，恪豈敢傾根竭本，寄命洪流，以徼乾沒乎？²恪不過遣偏率小將素習水軍者，乘海泝淮，示動青、徐，恪自并兵來向淮南耳。」後恪果圖新城，不克而歸。

Fu Gu often discussed the similarities and differences between ability and nature, and Zhong Hui collected and discussed his views. At the end of Jiaping he was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When the Duke of Gaoguixiang took the throne, Fu Gu was advanced to Marquis of Wuxiang Village. In the spring of the second year of Zhengyuan, Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin rebelled. Some held that Sima Shi (King Jing) should not go in person and that the Grand Commandant Sima Fu could be sent instead; only Fu Gu and Wang Su urged him to go. King Jing therefore went, and made Fu Gu acting Supervisor of the Secretariat to go east with him.

嘏常論才性同異，鍾會集而論之。¹嘉平末，賜爵關內侯。高貴鄕公即尊位，進封武鄕亭侯。正元二年春，毌丘儉、文欽作亂。或以司馬景王不宜自行，可遣太尉孚往，惟嘏及王肅勸之。景王遂行。²以嘏守尚書僕射，俱東。

Fu Gu had a part in the plans that brought about the defeat of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin. When King Jing died, Fu Gu and Sima Zhao (King Wen) went straight back to Luoyang, and King Wen then took charge of the government. The account is in the Biography of Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui became somewhat conceited because of this, and Fu Gu warned him, “Your ambition is greater than your capacity, and great deeds are hard to achieve. You must be careful!” For his merit Fu Gu was advanced to Marquis of Yangxiang, with an additional six hundred households, making twelve hundred in all together with his earlier fief. He died that year at the age of forty-seven, was posthumously made Minister of Ceremonies, and was given the posthumous title Marquis Yuan.

儉、欽破敗，嘏有謀焉。及景王薨，嘏與司馬文王徑還洛陽，文王遂以輔政。語在〈鍾會傳〉。¹會由是有自矜色，嘏戒之曰：「子志大其量，而勳業難爲也，可不慎哉！」嘏以功進封陽鄕侯，增邑六百戸，并前千二百戸。是歳薨，時年四十七，追贈太常，謚曰元侯。²

His son Fu Zhi succeeded him. During Xianxi, when the five ranks of nobility were established, Fu Zhi was re-enfeoffed as Viscount of Jingyuan because of the distinguished service Fu Gu had rendered to the former court.

子祗嗣。咸熈中開建五等，以嘏著勳前朝，改封祗涇原子。¹

Appraisal

評

Appraisal: Formerly Emperor Wen and the Prince of Chen, with the dignity of princes, had a broad love of letters; like voices answering one another, men of talent came forth together, and of these Wang Can and five others won the greatest renown. Wang Can in particular held the office of Palace Attendant and established the institutions of an age, yet in humility, detachment and breadth of virtue he did not match the purity of Xu Gan. Wei Ji too, with his wide knowledge of precedents, helped shape the forms of the ruling king. Liu Shao read widely in learning and books, and his refinement and substance were in full harmony. Liu Yi was noted for his clear discernment, and Fu Gu rose to eminence through his talent.

評曰：昔文帝、陳王以公子之尊，博好文采，同聲相應，才士並出，惟粲等六人最見名目。而粲特處常伯之官，興一代之制，然其沖虛德宇，未若徐幹之粹也。衞覬亦以多識典故，相時王之式。劉劭該覽學籍，文質周洽。劉廙以清鑒著，傅嘏用才達顯云。¹