Records of Wei 25: Biographies of Xin Pi, Yang Fu and Gaotang Long

Records of Wei 25: Biographies of Xin Pi, Yang Fu and Gaotang Long

Xin Pi

辛毗

Xin Pi, courtesy name Zuozhi, was a man of Yangdi in Yingchuan. His ancestors had moved east from Longxi during the Jianwu era. Xin Pi followed his elder brother Xin Ping in serving Yuan Shao. When Taizu became Minister of Works he summoned Xin Pi, but Xin Pi was unable to answer the call. When Yuan Shang attacked his elder brother Yuan Tan at Pingyuan, Yuan Tan sent Xin Pi to Taizu to ask for peace. Taizu was about to campaign against Jing Province and was encamped at Xiping. Xin Pi met Taizu and conveyed Yuan Tan’s wishes, and Taizu was greatly pleased. A few days later, however, Taizu wished instead to pacify Jing Province first and let Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang wear each other down.

辛毗字佐治，潁川陽翟人也。其先建武中，自隴西東遷。毗隨兄評從袁紹。太祖爲司空，辟毗，毗不得應命。及袁尚攻兄譚於平原，譚使毗詣太祖求和。¹太祖將征荊州，次于西平。毗見太祖致譚意，太祖大悅。後數日，更欲先平荊州，使譚、尚自相弊。

One day, at a banquet, Xin Pi watched Taizu’s expression, realized that he had changed his mind, and told Guo Jia. Guo Jia reported this to Taizu, and Taizu said to Xin Pi, “Can Yuan Tan be trusted? Can Yuan Shang surely be defeated?” Xin Pi replied, “Your Excellency need not ask whether he is sincere or deceitful; you need only consider the situation. The Yuan brothers have been attacking each other from the start, not because they think others could come between them, but because each thinks the realm can be settled by himself. Now all at once one of them seeks rescue from Your Excellency; from this you can tell how things stand.

他日置酒，毗望太祖色，知有變，以語郭嘉。嘉白太祖，太祖謂毗曰：「譚可信？尚必可克不？」毗對曰：「明公無問信與詐也，直當論其勢耳。袁氏本兄弟相伐，非謂他人能閒其間，乃謂天下可定於己也。今一旦求救於明公，此可知也。

Xianfu (Yuan Shang) sees Xiansi (Yuan Tan) in distress yet cannot take him; this means his strength is exhausted. His armies are defeated abroad, his advisers are executed at home, and the brothers slander and quarrel so that the state is split in two. Year after year of warfare has bred nits and lice in their armor and helmets; on top of that come drought and locusts, and famine has arrived all at once. The state has no granaries, and marching troops carry no provisions. Heaven’s calamities answer from above, and human affairs are in straits below, so that among the people, foolish and wise alike, all know that it is crumbling like earth and shattering like tiles. This is the moment when Heaven is destroying Yuan Shang.

顯甫見顯思困而不能取，此力竭也。兵革敗於外，謀臣誅於內，兄弟讒鬩，國分爲二；連年戰伐，而介冑生蟣蝨，加以旱蝗，饑饉並臻，國無囷倉，行無裹糧，天災應於上，人事困於下，民無愚智，皆知土崩瓦解，此乃天亡尚之時也。

The art of war says that even with walls of stone, moats of boiling water, and a million armored men, one cannot hold out without grain. If you now go and attack Ye, and Yuan Shang does not return to rescue it, he will be unable to defend himself; if he does return to rescue it, Yuan Tan will follow on his heels. For one with Your Excellency’s might to meet an enemy in desperate straits and strike exhausted bandits is no different from a swift wind shaking down autumn leaves. Heaven is giving Yuan Shang to Your Excellency, yet you would not take him and would attack Jing Province instead. Jing Province is prosperous and contented, and that state as yet has no rift.

兵法稱有石城湯池帶甲百萬而無粟者，不能守也。今往攻鄴，尚不還救，即不能自守。還救，即譚踵其後。以明公之威，應困窮之敵，擊疲弊之寇，無異迅風之振秋葉矣。天以袁尚與明公，明公不取而伐荊州。荊州豐樂，國未有釁。

Zhonghui said, ‘Seize the disordered and humble the perishing.’ Now the two Yuans do not pursue far-reaching plans but scheme against each other at home; this may be called disorder. Those who stay have no food and those who march have no provisions; this may be called perishing. They cannot plan in the morning for the evening, and the people’s lives cannot be sustained, yet you would not settle them and would wait for another year. In another year the harvest may be good, and they, realizing they are perishing, may reform and cultivate their virtue; then you will have lost the key to using troops. If you now take advantage of their plea for rescue to bring them under your care, there could be no greater gain.

仲虺有言：『取亂侮亡。』方今二袁不務遠略而內相圖，可謂亂矣；居者無食，行者無糧，可謂亡矣。朝不謀夕，民命靡繼，而不綏之，欲待他年；他年或登，又自知亡而改脩厥德，失所以用兵之要矣。今因其請救而撫之，利莫大焉。

Moreover, of all the bandits in the four quarters, none is greater than those north of the Yellow River. Once the north is pacified, the Six Armies will be mighty and the realm will tremble.” Taizu said, “Good.” He then agreed to make peace with Yuan Tan and encamped at Liyang. The next year he attacked Ye and took it, and he memorialized to make Xin Pi a Court Consultant.

且四方之寇，莫大於河北；河北平，則六軍盛而天下震。」太祖曰：「善。」乃許譚平，次于黎陽。明年攻鄴，克之，表毗爲議郎。

A long time afterward, Taizu sent the Protector-General Cao Hong to pacify Xiabian and had Xin Pi and Cao Xiu take part in the campaign, with the order: “In the past Gaozu was greedy for wealth and fond of women, but Zhang Liang and Chen Ping corrected his faults. Now the concerns of Zuozhi and Wenlie are no light matter.” When the army returned, Xin Pi became Chief Clerk to the Chancellor.

久之，太祖遣都護曹洪平下辯，使毗與曹休參之，令曰：「昔高祖貪財好色，而良、平匡其過失。今佐治、文烈憂不輕矣。」軍還，爲丞相長史。

When Emperor Wen ascended the throne, Xin Pi was promoted to Palace Attendant and granted the rank of Marquis Within the Pass. At that time there was discussion of changing the calendar. Xin Pi held that the house of Wei, continuing the line of Shun and Yu, had responded to Heaven and followed the people, whereas Tang and King Wu, who had settled the realm by warfare, had therefore changed the calendar. Confucius said, “Follow the seasons of Xia,” and the Zuo Commentary says, “The reckoning of Xia obtained the true order of Heaven”; why then must one insist on doing the opposite? The Emperor approved and followed his advice.

文帝踐阼，遷侍中，賜爵關內侯。時議改正朔。毗以魏氏遵舜、禹之統，應天順民；至於湯、武，以戰伐定天下，乃改正朔。孔子曰「行夏之時」，左氏傳曰「夏數爲得天正」，何必期於相反。帝善而從之。

The Emperor wished to move a hundred thousand soldier households of Ji Province to fill Henan. At the time there had been locusts year after year and the people were starving, so the officials all considered it impossible, but the Emperor was very set on it. Xin Pi sought an audience together with the court ministers; the Emperor, knowing they meant to remonstrate, received them with a stern face, and none dared speak. Xin Pi said, “Your Majesty wishes to move the soldier households; where does this plan come from?” The Emperor said, “Do you consider my moving them wrong?” Xin Pi said, “I truly consider it wrong.” The Emperor said, “I will not discuss it with you.”

帝欲徙冀州士家十萬戶實河南。時連蝗民饑，群司以爲不可，而帝意甚盛。毗與朝臣俱求見，帝知其欲諫，作色以見之，皆莫敢言。毗曰：「陛下欲徙士家，其計安出？」帝曰：「卿謂我徙之非邪？」毗曰：「誠以爲非也。」帝曰：「吾不與卿共議也。」

Xin Pi said, “Your Majesty, not considering me unworthy, placed me at your side and set me among the officials who deliberate on policy; how then can you not discuss it with me? What I say is not for private interest but out of concern for the altars of the state; how can you be angry with me?” The Emperor made no reply and rose to go into the inner palace. Xin Pi followed and caught hold of his robe; the Emperor shook his robe free and did not come back, and only after a long while came out and said, “Zuozhi, why do you press me so hard?” Xin Pi said, “If they are moved now, you will lose the hearts of the people, and there will be nothing to feed them with besides.”

毗曰：「陛下不以臣不肖，置之左右，廁之謀議之官，安得不與臣議邪！臣所言非私，乃社稷之慮也，安得怒臣！」帝不荅，起入內；毗隨而引其裾，帝遂奮衣不還，良久乃出，曰：「佐治，卿持我何太急邪？」毗曰：「今徙，旣失民心，又無以食也。」

The Emperor in the end moved half of them. Once Xin Pi accompanied the Emperor shooting pheasants, and the Emperor said, “How delightful pheasant shooting is!” Xin Pi said, “For Your Majesty it is very delightful, but for your subordinates it is very hard.” The Emperor fell silent, and afterward he went out less often on that account.

帝遂徙其半。嘗從帝射雉，帝曰：「射雉樂哉！」毗曰：「於陛下甚樂，而於羣下甚苦。」帝默然，後遂爲之稀出。

When the Grand General of the Upper Army Cao Zhen campaigned against Zhu Ran at Jiangling, Xin Pi served as acting Military Adviser. On his return he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangping Village. When the Emperor wished to raise a great army to campaign against Wu, Xin Pi remonstrated, “The people of Wu and Chu are unruly and hard to control. When the Way flourishes they are the last to submit, and when the Way declines they are the first to rebel; this has been a concern since ancient times, not just today. Now Your Majesty’s reign embraces all within the seas; how long can those who refuse to submit last? In the past Commandant Tuo (Zhao Tuo) called himself emperor and Ziyang (Gongsun Shu) usurped the imperial title, but within a few years one became a subject and the other was put to death.

上軍大將軍曹真征朱然于江陵，毗行軍師。還，封廣平亭侯。帝欲大興軍征吳，毗諫曰：「吳、楚之民，險而難禦，道隆後服，道洿先叛，自古患之，非徒今也。今陛下祚有海內，夫不賔者，其能久乎？昔尉佗稱帝，子陽僭號，歷年未幾，或臣或誅。

Why is this? Because the way of defiance cannot long endure intact, and there is none who will not submit to great virtue. Now the realm has only just been settled; the land is vast and the people few. Even when troops are sent out after the plans have been laid in the ancestral temple, one should still approach the task with caution; how much more so now, when the temple plans are lacking and yet you wish to use the army. I truly cannot see the benefit. The late Emperor repeatedly raised elite forces, but on reaching the Yangzi he turned back. Now the Six Armies are no larger than before, yet you would follow the same course again; this will not be easy.

何則，違逆之道不久全，而大德無所不服也。方今天下新定，土廣民稀。夫廟筭而後出軍，猶臨事而懼，況今廟筭有闕而欲用之，臣誠未見其利也。先帝屢起銳師，臨江而旋。今六軍不增於故，而復循之，此未易也。

For today’s plan, nothing is better than to practice Fan Li’s nurturing of the people, imitate Guan Zhong’s lodging of military orders within civil administration, follow Zhao Chongguo’s military farming colonies, and make clear Confucius’s way of winning over distant peoples. Within ten years the able-bodied will not yet be old, young children will have grown fit for battle, the multitudes will know righteousness, and the soldiers will long to exert themselves. If you use them then, there will be no need for a second campaign.” The Emperor said, “By your reckoning, should I rather leave these barbarians to my sons and grandsons?” Xin Pi replied, “In the past King Wen of Zhou left the tyrant Zhou to King Wu, simply because he understood timing. If the time is not right, what else can one do?” The Emperor went ahead and attacked Wu, but reached the Yangzi and turned back.

今日之計，莫若脩范蠡之養民，法管仲之寄政，則充國之屯田，明仲尼之懷遠；十年之中，彊壯未老，童齓勝戰，兆民知義，將士思奮，然後用之，則役不再舉矣。」帝曰：「如卿意，更當以虜遺子孫邪？」毗對曰：「昔周文王以紂遺武王，惟知時也。苟時未可，容得已乎！」帝竟伐吳，至江而還。

When Emperor Ming came to the throne, Xin Pi was advanced in fief to Marquis of Ying District, with a fief of three hundred households. At that time the Supervisor of the Palace Secretariat Liu Fang and the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat Sun Zi enjoyed the ruler’s trust and made the decisions on the government of the day; there was no high minister who did not cultivate their friendship, but Xin Pi had no dealings with them. His son Xin Chang remonstrated, “Now Liu Fang and Sun Zi hold power and everyone clings to them like shadows. You ought to bend your will a little, soften your light and mingle with the dust; otherwise there are sure to be slanderous words.” Xin Pi said sternly, “Though our sovereign is not called brilliant, neither is he benighted or inferior.

明帝即位，進封潁鄉侯，邑三百戶。時中書監劉放、令孫資見信於主，制斷時政，大臣莫不交好，而毗不與往來。毗子敞諫曰：「今劉、孫用事，衆皆影附，大人宜小降意，和光同塵；不然必有謗言。」毗正色曰：「主上雖未稱聦明，不爲闇劣。

In conducting myself I have my own principles, from root to branch. If I am on bad terms with Liu Fang and Sun Zi, the worst that can happen is that I will not become one of the Three Excellencies; what harm is there in that? How could a true man destroy his lofty integrity out of a wish to become an Excellency?” The Supervisor of the Attendants-in-Waiting Bi Gui memorialized, “The Supervisor of the Masters of Writing Wang Si is a diligent veteran official, but in loyalty, clear-sightedness and strategy he does not match Xin Pi. Xin Pi should replace Wang Si.” The Emperor consulted Liu Fang and Sun Zi about this, and they replied, “Your Majesty employs Wang Si truly to make use of his real efforts, not because you value empty reputation.

吾之立身，自有本末。就與劉、孫不平，不過令吾不作三公而已，何危害之有？焉有大丈夫欲爲公而毀其高節者邪？」宂從僕射畢軌表言：「尚書僕射王思精勤舊吏，忠亮計略不如辛毗，毗宜代思。」帝以訪放、資，放、資對曰：「陛下用思者，誠欲取其効力，不貴虛名也。

Xin Pi is truly clear-sighted and upright, but he is unbending and headstrong by nature; this is something Your Majesty’s sage consideration should examine closely.” In the end he was not appointed. Xin Pi left the palace to become Commandant of the Guards.

毗實亮直，然性剛而專，聖慮所當深察也。」遂不用。出爲衞尉。

The Emperor was just then building palaces and halls, and the common people were worn out by corvée labor. Xin Pi submitted a memorial: “I have heard that Zhuge Liang is drilling his troops and training his army, and that Sun Quan is buying horses in Liaodong. Judging their intentions, they seem to mean to act in concert. To prepare against the unexpected was the good government of the ancients, yet now palaces are being built on a grand scale, and moreover the grain and wheat harvests have failed for years in a row. The Book of Songs says: ‘The people are indeed toiling;
Perhaps they may have a little ease.
Be kind to this central state,
And so bring peace to the four quarters.’ I beg Your Majesty to plan for the sake of the altars of the state.”

帝方脩殿舍，百姓勞役，毗上疏曰：「竊聞諸葛亮講武治兵，而孫權巿馬遼東，量其意指，似欲相左右。備豫不虞，古之善政，而今者宮室大興，加連年穀麥不收。詩云：『民亦勞止，迄可小康，惠此中國，以綏四方。』唯陛下爲社稷計。」

The Emperor replied, “The two barbarian foes have not been destroyed, yet palaces are being built; this is a fine time for outspoken remonstrators to make a name for themselves. The capital of a king should be completed while the people are already laboring, so that later generations need add nothing more; this was the grand design that Xiao He laid out for the Han. You are a senior minister of Wei, and you too should understand the broad purpose of this.” The Emperor also wished to level Mount Beimang and have terraces and towers built on it from which Mengjin could be seen. Xin Pi remonstrated, “It is the nature of Heaven and Earth that the high are high and the low are low. To reverse this now is contrary to principle, and on top of that it wastes human labor, and the people cannot bear the corvée.

帝報曰：「二虜未滅而治宮室，直諫者立名之時也。夫王者之都，當及民勞兼辦，使後世無所復增，是蕭何爲漢規摹之略也。今卿爲魏重臣，亦宜解其大歸。」帝又欲平北芒，令於其上作臺觀，則見孟津。毗諫曰：「天地之性，高高下下，今而反之，旣非其理；加以損費人功，民不堪役。

Moreover, if the Nine Rivers should overflow and floodwaters wreak havoc, with the hills all leveled, how would you hold them back?” The Emperor then abandoned the plan.

且若九河盈溢，洪水爲害，而丘陵皆夷，將何以禦之？」帝乃止。¹

In the second year of Qinglong, Zhuge Liang led his host out to the south of the Wei River. Before this, the Grand General Sima Yi (King Xuan) had repeatedly asked to do battle with Zhuge Liang, but Emperor Ming would never allow it. That year, fearing he could no longer hold Sima Yi back, the Emperor made Xin Pi Military Adviser to the Grand General and granted him the Staff of Authority. The Six Armies all became orderly, followed Xin Pi’s direction, and none dared transgress. When Zhuge Liang died, Xin Pi returned to be Commandant of the Guards again. When he passed away, he was given the posthumous title Marquis Su. His son Xin Chang succeeded him and in the Xianxi era became Prefect of Henei.

青龍二年，諸葛亮率衆出渭南。先是，大將軍司馬宣王數請與亮戰，明帝終不聽。是歲恐不能禁，乃以毗爲大將軍軍師，使持節；六軍皆肅，準毗節度，莫敢犯違。¹亮卒，復還爲衞尉。薨，謚曰肅侯。子敞嗣，咸熈中爲河內太守。²

Yang Fu

楊阜

Yang Fu, courtesy name Yishan, was a man of Ji in Tianshui. As an Attendant Officer of the province he was sent by the Imperial Protector Wei Duan as envoy to Xu, and was appointed Chief Clerk of Anding. When Yang Fu returned, the generals west of the passes asked him which of Yuan and Cao would win and which would lose. Yang Fu said, “Lord Yuan is lenient but indecisive, fond of scheming but slow to decide. Being indecisive, he lacks authority; being slow to decide, he mishandles what follows. Though he is strong now, in the end he cannot accomplish a great enterprise. Lord Cao has heroic talent and far-reaching strategy; he seizes opportunities without hesitation, his laws are uniform and his troops elite, and he is able to employ men from outside the usual bounds, each of whom gives his utmost in the post entrusted to him. He is certain to accomplish great things.”

楊阜字義山，天水冀人也。¹以州從事爲牧韋端使詣許，拜安定長史。阜還，關右諸將問袁、曹勝敗孰在，阜曰：「袁公寬而不斷，好謀而少決；不斷則無威，少決則失後事，今雖彊，終不能成大業。曹公有雄才遠略，決機無疑，法一而兵精，能用度外之人，所任各盡其力，必能濟大事者也。」

The post of Chief Clerk was not to his liking, so he left office. When Wei Duan was summoned to be Minister Coachman and his son Wei Kang replaced him as Inspector, Wei Kang called Yang Fu to be his Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage. He was nominated Filial and Incorrupt and summoned to the Chancellor’s office, but the province memorialized to keep him as Adjutant for military affairs.

長史非其好，遂去官。而端徵爲太僕，其子康代爲刺史，辟阜爲別駕。察孝廉，辟丞相府，州表留參軍事。

When Ma Chao was defeated in battle south of the Wei River, he fled to take refuge among the Rong tribes. Taizu pursued him as far as Anding, but when Su Bo rebelled in Hejian, Taizu was about to lead his army back east. Yang Fu, who was then on a mission, said to Taizu, “Ma Chao has the valor of Han Xin and Ying Bu and has greatly won the hearts of the Qiang and Hu; the western provinces fear him. If the great army returns without making strict preparations against him, the commanderies of Longshang will no longer belong to the state.” Taizu approved of this, but the army returned in haste and the preparations were not thorough.

馬超之戰敗渭南也，走保諸戎。太祖追至安定，而蘇伯反河閒，將引軍東還。阜時奉使，言於太祖曰：「超有信、布之勇，甚得羌、胡心，西州畏之。若大軍還，不嚴爲之備，隴上諸郡非國家之有也。」太祖善之，而軍還倉卒，爲備不周。

Ma Chao led the chieftains of the Rong tribes in attacking the commanderies and counties of Longshang, and they all rose in response to him; only the city of Ji upheld the provincial and commandery authorities and held firm. Ma Chao absorbed all the forces of Longyou, and Zhang Lu also sent his senior general Yang Ang to help him; in all more than ten thousand men attacked the city. Yang Fu led over a thousand men fit for battle from among the gentry of the city and the young men of his clan, and had his cousin Yang Yue build a crescent-shaped camp on the city wall to fight Ma Chao. From the first month to the eighth month they held out, but no relief came.

超率諸戎渠帥以擊隴上郡縣，隴上郡縣皆應之，惟冀城奉州郡以固守。超盡兼隴右之衆，而張魯又遣大將楊昂以助之，凡萬餘人，攻城。阜率國士大夫及宗族子弟勝兵者千餘人，使從弟岳於城上作偃月營，與超接戰，自正月至八月拒守而救兵不至。

The province sent the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Yan Wen to slip out secretly along the river to seek help, but he was killed by Ma Chao. At this the Inspector and the Prefect lost their nerve and began to plan to surrender to Ma Chao. Yang Fu remonstrated in tears, “We have led our fathers, elder brothers, sons and younger brothers, encouraging one another with righteousness, resolved to die rather than waver. Even Tian Dan’s defense was no firmer than this. You would throw away an achievement on the verge of completion and fall into a name for unrighteousness; I will hold out to the death.” Then he wailed aloud. The Inspector and the Prefect in the end sent men to ask for peace and opened the city gates to welcome Ma Chao. When Ma Chao entered, he detained Yang Yue in Ji and had Yang Ang kill the Inspector and the Prefect.

州遣別駕閻溫循水潛出求救，爲超所殺，於是刺史、太守失色，始有降超之計。阜流涕諫曰：「阜等率父兄子弟以義相勵，有死無二；田單之守，不固於此也。棄垂成之功，陷不義之名，阜以死守之。」遂號哭。刺史、太守卒遣人請和，開城門迎超。超入，拘岳於冀，使楊昂殺刺史、太守。

Yang Fu inwardly resolved to take revenge on Ma Chao but had not yet found the opportunity. Some time later, Yang Fu asked for leave to bury his wife, who had died. His cousin Jiang Xu was stationed at Licheng. Yang Fu had grown up in Jiang Xu’s household as a youth; when he saw Jiang Xu’s mother and Jiang Xu, he told them what had happened earlier at Ji, sobbing in great grief. Jiang Xu said, “Why are you like this?” Yang Fu said, “I defended the city but could not keep it whole; my lord perished and I could not die with him. With what face can I go on breathing in this world? Ma Chao turned his back on his father and rebelled against his sovereign, and cruelly murdered the provincial commander. This is not only my grief and my responsibility; all the gentry of the whole province share in the disgrace.

阜內有報超之志，而未得其便。頃之，阜以喪妻求葬假。阜外兄姜叙屯歷城。阜少長叙家，見叙母及叙，說前在冀中時事，歔欷悲甚。叙曰：「何爲乃爾？」阜曰：「守城不能完，君亡不能死，亦何面目以視息於天下！馬超背父叛君，虐殺州將，豈獨阜之憂責，一州士大夫皆蒙其恥。

You command troops and hold independent authority, yet you have no thought of punishing the rebel; this is why Zhao Dun was recorded as having killed his lord. Ma Chao is strong but without righteousness; he has many weaknesses and is easy to overcome.” Jiang Xu’s mother was stirred and ordered Jiang Xu to follow Yang Fu’s plan. Once the plan was settled, they formed a conspiracy outside with their fellow townsmen Jiang Yin, Zhao Ang, Yin Feng, Yao Qiong and Kong Xin, and with Li Jun and Wang Ling of Wudu, fixing a pact to attack Ma Chao. Yang Fu sent his cousin Yang Mo to Ji to inform Yang Yue, and they also joined with Liang Kuan of Anding and Zhao Qu, Pang Gong and others of Nanan.

君擁兵專制而無討賊心，此趙盾所以書殺君也。超彊而無義，多釁易圖耳。」叙母慨然，勑叙從阜計。計定，外與鄉人姜隱、趙昂、尹奉、姚瓊、孔信、武都人李俊、王靈結謀，定討超約，使從弟謨至冀語岳，并結安定梁寬、南安趙衢、龐恭等。

Once the oath was clear, in the ninth month of the seventeenth year, Yang Fu and Jiang Xu raised troops at Lucheng. When Ma Chao heard that Yang Fu and the others had risen, he led his troops out in person. Then Zhao Qu, Liang Kuan and the others released Yang Yue, shut the gates of Ji, and attacked Ma Chao’s wife and children. Ma Chao made a surprise attack on Licheng and captured Jiang Xu’s mother. Jiang Xu’s mother cursed him, “You are a rebellious son who betrayed his father and a savage bandit who murdered his lord! How can Heaven and Earth tolerate you for long? Instead of dying early, you dare to show your face to people!” Ma Chao in his fury killed her.

約誓旣明，十七年九月，與叙起兵於鹵城。超聞阜等兵起，自將出。而衢、寬等解岳，閉冀城門，討超妻子。超襲歷城，得叙母。叙母罵之曰：「汝背父之逆子，殺君之桀賊，天地豈久容汝，而不早死，敢以面目視人乎！」超怒，殺之。

Yang Fu fought Ma Chao and received five wounds, and seven of his kinsmen and brothers were killed. Ma Chao then fled south to Zhang Lu.

阜與超戰，身被五創，宗族昆弟死者七人。超遂南奔張魯。

When Longyou was pacified, Taizu enfeoffed those who had achieved merit in the campaign against Ma Chao; eleven of them were made marquises, and Yang Fu was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Pass. Yang Fu declined, saying, “While my lord lived I had no merit in warding off disaster, and when my lord perished I had no deed of dying for my principles. By righteousness I ought to be dismissed, and by law I ought to be executed. Moreover, Ma Chao is not dead, so it is not right for me to accept rank and emolument undeservedly.” Taizu replied, “You and the other worthy men together achieved a great deed, and the people of the western lands speak of it with admiration. When Zigong declined a reward, Confucius said this would put a stop to goodness.

隴右平定，太祖封討超之功，侯者十一人，賜阜爵關內侯。阜讓曰：「阜君存無扞難之功，君亡無死節之効，於義當絀，於法當誅；超又不死，無宜苟荷爵祿。」太祖報曰：「君與羣賢共建大功，西土之人以爲美談。子貢辭賞，仲尼謂之止善。

I ask you to open your heart and comply with the state’s command. Jiang Xu’s mother urged Jiang Xu to rise early; such is her wisdom and discernment that even the wife of Yang Chang could hardly surpass her. Worthy indeed, worthy indeed! When a good historian records it, it will surely never fall into oblivion.”

君其剖心以順國命。姜叙之母，勸叙早發，明智乃爾，雖楊敞之妻蓋不過此。賢哉，賢哉！良史記錄，必不墜於地矣。」¹

When Taizu campaigned against Hanzhong, he made Yang Fu Inspector of Yi Province. On his return Yang Fu was appointed Prefect of Jincheng, but before he set out he was transferred to be Prefect of Wudu. Since the commandery bordered on Shu and Han, Yang Fu asked to follow the precedent of Gong Sui and simply keep the people at peace. Just then Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei, Ma Chao and others along the Ju road toward Xiabian, and the Di leader Lei Ding and others, seven tribes with more than ten thousand encampments, rebelled in response. Taizu sent the Protector-General Cao Hong to resist Ma Chao and the others, and they withdrew.

太祖征漢中，以阜爲益州刺史。還，拜金城太守，未發，轉武都太守。郡濵蜀漢，阜請依龔遂故事，安之而已。會劉備遣張飛、馬超等從沮道趣下辯，而氐雷定等七部萬餘落反應之。太祖遣都護曹洪禦超等，超等退還。

Cao Hong held a great banquet and had female entertainers dressed in gauze silk stamp on drums as they danced, and the whole company laughed. Yang Fu rebuked Cao Hong in a harsh voice, “The distinction between men and women is a great principle of the state. How can women’s bodies be bared in the middle of a crowded gathering? Even the depravity of Jie and Zhou was no worse than this.” Then he shook out his robe, took his leave, and walked out. Cao Hong at once stopped the female musicians and asked Yang Fu to return to his seat, and thereafter treated him with solemn awe.

洪置酒大會，令女倡著羅縠之衣，蹋鼓，一坐皆笑。阜厲聲責洪曰：「男女之別，國之大節，何有於廣坐之中裸女人形體！雖桀、紂之亂，不甚於此。」遂奮衣辭出。洪立罷女樂，請阜還坐，肅然憚焉。

When Liu Bei took Hanzhong and pressed on Xiabian, Taizu, considering Wudu isolated and remote, wished to move it, but feared the officials and people would be attached to their land. Yang Fu’s authority and trustworthiness had long been well known, so he moved the people and the Di in several stages, settling more than ten thousand households within the borders of Jingzhao, Fufeng and Tianshui, and moved the commandery seat to Xiao Huaili; the common people followed him carrying their children on their backs. In governing he attended only to the main principles, yet his subordinates could not bring themselves to deceive him. Emperor Wen asked the Palace Attendant Liu Ye and others, “What kind of man is the Prefect of Wudu?”

及劉備取漢中以逼下辯，太祖以武都孤遠，欲移之，恐吏民戀土。阜威信素著，前後徙民、氐，使居京兆、扶風、天水界者萬餘戶，徙郡小槐里，百姓襁負而隨之。爲政舉大綱而已，下不忍欺也。文帝問侍中劉曄等：「武都太守何如人也？」

All praised Yang Fu as having the integrity of a chief minister. Before he could be employed, the Emperor passed away. After more than ten years in the commandery, Yang Fu was summoned and appointed Colonel of the City Gates.

皆稱阜有公輔之節。未及用，會帝崩。在郡十餘年，徵拜城門校尉。

Yang Fu once saw Emperor Ming wearing a cap and draped in a half-sleeved garment of pale blue damask, and asked the Emperor, “What ceremonial garment is this according to the rites?” The Emperor was silent and did not answer, and from then on he would not see Yang Fu unless he was in proper ceremonial dress.

阜常見明帝著𧛕，被縹綾半裦袖，阜問帝曰：「此於禮何法服也？」帝默然不荅，自是不法服不以見阜。

Yang Fu was transferred to Court Architect. At that time palaces were first being built, beautiful women were being selected to fill the rear palace, and the Emperor frequently went out hunting. In the autumn there were heavy rains with thunder and lightning, and many birds were killed. Yang Fu submitted a memorial: “I have heard that when an enlightened ruler is on high, his subordinates speak their minds fully. Yao and Shun, for all their sage virtue, sought out criticism and asked for remonstrance; the Great Yu, diligent in his labors, made a point of keeping his palaces humble; Tang the Completer, meeting with drought, took the blame upon himself; King Wen of Zhou set an example for his wife and so governed his household and state; Emperor Wen of the Han personally practiced frugality and wore coarse black silk. All of these were able to make their good names shine and hand down wise counsel to their descendants.

遷將作大匠。時初治宮室，發美女以充後庭，數出入弋獵。秋，大雨震電，多殺鳥雀。阜上疏曰：「臣聞明主在上，羣下盡辭。堯、舜聖德，求非索諫；大禹勤功，務卑宮室；成湯遭旱，歸咎責己；周文刑於寡妻，以御家邦；漢文躬行節儉，身衣弋綈：此皆能昭令問，貽厥孫謀者也。

I humbly consider that Your Majesty carries on the great enterprise that Emperor Wu opened up and preserves the prime succession that Emperor Wen brought to completion. Truly you should think of matching the good government of the sages and worthies of old, and survey the wicked government of dissolute declining ages. What is called good government is to devote oneself to frugality and to value the people’s strength; what is called wicked government is to follow one’s heart and indulge one’s desires, acting on every passing whim. I pray that Your Majesty will examine why past dynasties shone brightly at their beginnings and why in their final ages they weakened until they perished, and look at the upheavals at the end of the Han close at hand; this should be enough to stir your heart to caution and fear.

伏惟陛下奉武皇帝開拓之大業，守文皇帝克終之元緒，誠宜思齊往古聖賢之善治，總觀季世放盪之惡政。所謂善治者，務儉約、重民力也；所謂惡政者，從心恣欲，觸情而發也。惟陛下稽古世代之初所以明赫，及季世所以衰弱至于泯滅，近覽漢末之變，足以動心誡懼矣。

If in the past Emperors Huan and Ling had not abandoned the laws of Gaozu and the reverence and frugality of Emperors Wen and Jing, then however divinely martial Taizu was, where could he have exercised his abilities? And how would Your Majesty have come to occupy this exalted position? Now Wu and Shu are not yet settled and our armies are in the field. I hope that Your Majesty will think three times before acting, deliberate before proceeding, be careful in your comings and goings, and use the past as a mirror for the future. These words may seem light, but for success or failure they weigh very heavily. Recently rain has fallen from the heavens, and there have also been many sudden and extraordinary thunderclaps and lightning bolts, even killing birds.

曩使桓、靈不廢高祖之法，文、景之恭儉，太祖雖有神武，於何所施其能邪？而陛下何由處斯尊哉？今吳、蜀未定，軍旅在外，願陛下動則三思，慮而後行，重慎出入，以往鑒來，言之若輕，成敗甚重。頃者天雨，又多卒暴雷電非常，至殺鳥雀。

The divine powers of Heaven and Earth regard the king as their son; when there is something improper in his government, they send down calamities as reproof. Overcoming oneself and inwardly accusing oneself is what the sages recorded. I pray that Your Majesty will guard against troubles before they take visible form and take care at the very first sprouting of the smallest things, and imitate Emperor Xiaowen of the Han, who sent out Emperor Hui’s beauties and allowed them to marry as they wished. The young girls who have recently been levied and sent in have given rise to ill reports far and wide; this should be reconsidered. In all construction and repairs, strive for economy. The Book of Documents says: ‘When the nine branches of kin were in harmony, he united the myriad states in concord.’

天地神明，以王者爲子也，政有不當，則見災譴。克己內訟，聖人所記。惟陛下慮患無形之外，慎萌纖微之初，法漢孝文出惠帝美人，令得自嫁；頃所調送小女，遠聞不令，宜爲後圖。諸所繕治，務從約節。書曰：『九族旣睦，恊和萬國。』

In affairs, consider what is fitting and keep to the middle way; plan with care and reduce and halt expenditure. When Wu and Shu have been settled, then those above will be at peace and those below content, and all nine degrees of kin will live in harmony. If you proceed in this way, your ancestors will rejoice in their hearts; even Yao and Shun found this hard to achieve. Now you should extend great trust to the realm, so as to reassure the multitude and show it to distant peoples.” At that time Cao Zhi, the King of Yongqiu, resented being left out of affairs; the feudal princes were the closest kin, yet the laws and prohibitions on them were strict and minute, and so Yang Fu also set forth the principle of the nine branches of kin.

事思厥宜，以從中道，精心計謀，省息費用。吳、蜀以定，爾乃上安下樂，九親熈熈。如此以往，祖考心歡，堯舜其猶病諸。今宜開大信於天下，以安衆庶，以示遠人。」時雍丘王植怨於不齒，藩國至親，法禁峻密，故阜又陳九族之義焉。

An edict replied: “I recently received your sealed memorial, which first set forth the enlightened kings and sage rulers of antiquity to admonish a benighted government. Its words were earnest and to the point, sincere and genuine. Your concern to reflect on and make up for faults, to follow what is good and correct what is wrong, is complete in every respect. Having read and pondered your bitter words, I commend them greatly.”

詔報曰：「閒得密表，先陳往古明王聖主，以諷闇政，切至之辭，款誠篤實。退思補過，將順匡救，備至悉矣。覽思苦言，吾甚嘉之。」

Later he was transferred to Privy Treasurer. At this time the Grand Marshal Cao Zhen attacked Shu, but met with rain and could not advance. Yang Fu submitted a memorial: “In the past King Wen had the auspicious sign of the red crow, yet he still had no time to eat until the sun declined; when a white fish leapt into King Wu’s boat, the lord and his ministers changed countenance. If even on obtaining auspicious omens when they acted they were still anxious and fearful, how much more should one tremble when there are calamities and portents! Now Wu and Shu are not yet pacified, and Heaven has repeatedly sent down anomalies. Your Majesty should respond with deep and single-minded sincerity, sit on the edge of your mat in humility, and think of showing virtue to those afar and bringing peace to those near through frugality.

後遷少府。是時大司馬曹真伐蜀，遇雨不進。阜上疏曰：「昔文王有赤烏之符，而猶日仄不暇食；武王白魚入舟，君臣變色。而動得吉瑞，猶尚憂懼，況有災異而不戰竦者哉？今吳、蜀未平，而天屢降變，陛下宜深有以專精應荅，側席而坐，思示遠以德，綏邇以儉。

Recently, just as the armies began to advance, they met the calamity of rain and have been held up among the mountain passes for many days. The toil of transport and the hardship of carrying loads have already cost a great deal; if supplies cannot keep up, the original plan will surely fail. The Commentary says: ‘To advance when one sees it is possible and to withdraw when one knows it is difficult is good military conduct.’ Merely to leave the Six Armies trapped among the mountain valleys, with nothing to seize if they advance and no way to withdraw, is not the way to command troops. King Wu turned his army back, and Yin was in the end destroyed, because he understood Heaven’s timing.

閒者諸軍始進，便有天雨之患，稽閡山險，以積日矣。轉運之勞，擔負之苦，所費以多，若有不繼，必違本圖。傳曰：『見可而進，知難而退，軍之善政也。』徒使六軍困於山谷之間，進無所略，退又不得，非主兵之道也。武王還師，殷卒以亡，知天期也。

This year the harvest has failed and the people are starving. You should issue an enlightened edict reducing your meals and cutting down your clothing, and all objects of craftsmanship and precious curios can be done away with. In the past Shao Xinchen, serving as Privy Treasurer in an age without troubles, memorialized to abolish those who ate without working; now that military funds are insufficient, economy is all the more needed.” The Emperor at once recalled the armies.

今年凶民饑，宜發明詔損膳減服，技巧珍玩之物，皆可罷之。昔邵信臣爲少府於無事之世，而奏罷浮食；今者軍用不足，益宜節度。」帝即召諸軍還。

Later an edict called for a broad discussion of which aspects of government were burdensome to the people. Yang Fu gave his opinion: “Achieving good government lies in employing the worthy; making the state prosper lies in devoting oneself to agriculture. To pass over the worthy and employ one’s favorites is the worst neglect of government. To open palaces and lodges far and wide and build lofty terraces and pavilions, obstructing the people’s work, is the worst harm to agriculture. When the hundred artisans do not make their wares solid but vie in producing curiosities to suit the desires of those above, it is the worst injury to the fundamentals.

後詔大議政治之不便於民者，阜議以爲：「致治在於任賢，興國在於務農。若舍賢而任所私，此忘治之甚者也。廣開宮館，高爲臺榭，以妨民務，此害農之甚者也。百工不敦其器，而競作奇巧，以合上欲，此傷本之甚者也。

Confucius said, ‘Oppressive government is fiercer than a tiger.’ Now officials who cling to their merits and follow the conventions of documents do not understand the essentials of government and are fond of petty harshness; this is the worst disturbance of the people. The urgent need today is to remove these four worst evils, and also to order the high ministers, commanderies and kingdoms to recommend men who are worthy and good, upright and correct, sincere and simple, and to select and employ them. This too is one means of seeking the worthy.”

孔子曰：『苛政甚於猛虎。』今守功文俗之吏，爲政不通治體，苟好煩苛，此亂民之甚者也。當今之急，宜去四甚，並詔公卿郡國，舉賢良方正敦樸之士而選用之，此亦求賢之一端也。」

Yang Fu also submitted a memorial wishing to reduce the palace women who were not favored, and summoned an official of the Imperial Wardrobe to ask the number of women in the rear palace. The official, keeping to the old regulations, replied, “It is a palace secret and may not be disclosed.” Yang Fu was angry, had the official beaten a hundred strokes, and reproached him, “The state does not keep secrets from the Nine Ministers; does it then keep them with a petty clerk?” When the Emperor heard of this, he respected and feared Yang Fu all the more.

阜又上疏欲省宮人諸不見幸者，乃召御府吏問後宮人數。吏守舊令，對曰：「禁密，不得宣露。」阜怒，杖吏一百，數之曰：「國家不與九卿爲密，反與小吏爲密乎？」帝聞而愈敬憚阜。

The Emperor’s beloved daughter Shu died before she was a year old. The Emperor grieved for her deeply, posthumously enfeoffed her as Princess of Pingyuan, set up a temple for her in Luoyang, and buried her at Nanling. He intended to accompany the funeral in person, but Yang Fu submitted a memorial: “When Emperor Wen and Empress Wuxuan passed away, Your Majesty did not accompany either funeral, in order to give weight to the altars of the state and guard against the unforeseen. Why then should you accompany the funeral of an infant in arms?” The Emperor did not heed him.

帝愛女淑，未期而夭，帝痛之甚，追封平原公主，立廟洛陽，葬於南陵。將自臨送，阜上疏曰：「文皇帝、武宣皇后崩，陛下皆不送葬，所以重社稷、備不虞也。何至孩抱之赤子而可送葬也哉？」帝不從。

The Emperor, having newly built the palace at Xu, also undertook palaces, halls, towers and pavilions at Luoyang. Yang Fu submitted a memorial: “Yao esteemed thatched roofs, yet the myriad states were at peace in their dwellings; Yu kept his palaces humble, yet the realm delighted in its work. Even by the time of Yin and Zhou, halls were at most three feet high and measured nine mats across. Among the sage emperors and enlightened kings of old, there were none who carried the height and splendor of their palaces to the extreme and so exhausted the wealth and strength of the common people. Jie built a jade chamber and ivory galleries, and Zhou built the Tilting Palace and the Deer Terrace, and thereby they lost their altars of state; King Ling of Chu built the Zhanghua Terrace and himself suffered disaster; the First Emperor of Qin built the Epang Palace and the calamity reached his son, for the realm rebelled and his dynasty perished in the second generation.

帝旣新作許宮，又營洛陽宮殿觀閣。阜上疏曰：「堯尚茅茨而萬國安其居，禹卑宮室而天下樂其業；及至殷、周，或堂崇三尺，度以九筵耳。古之聖帝明王，未有極宮室之高麗以彫弊百姓之財力者也。桀作琁室、象廊，紂爲傾宮、鹿臺，以喪其社稷，楚靈以築章華而身受其禍；秦始皇作阿房而殃及其子，天下叛之，二世而滅。

Never has there been anyone who disregarded the strength of the myriad people to follow the desires of his ears and eyes and did not perish. Your Majesty should take Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen and Wu as your models, and Jie of Xia, Zhou of Yin, King Ling of Chu and the First Emperor of Qin as your grave warnings. High, high above, Heaven truly watches over the ruler’s virtue. Even if you carefully guard the heavenly throne to carry on for your forebears, you should still fear losing so lofty and great an enterprise. Yet if you are not reverent and careful morning and night, sincerely respectful and caring for the people, but instead take your ease and indulge yourself, lavishing adornment on nothing but palaces and terraces, there will surely be the disaster of overthrow and ruin.

夫不度萬民之力，以從耳目之欲，未有不亡者也。陛下當以堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武爲法則，夏桀、殷紂、楚靈、秦皇爲深誡。高高在上，實監后德。慎守天位，以承祖考，巍巍大業，猶恐失之。不夙夜敬止，允恭卹民，而乃自暇自逸，惟宮臺是侈是飾，必有顛覆危亡之禍。

The Book of Changes says: ‘He makes his house great and screens off his family; he peers through his door, and all is silent—there is no one there.’ A king takes the whole realm as his household; this means that the calamity of a great house goes so far as to leave the household without people. Now the two barbarian foes have formed an alliance and plot to endanger the ancestral temples; an army of a hundred thousand rushes east and west, and there is not a single day of ease on the frontiers. Farmers have abandoned their work, and the people wear the look of hunger. Yet Your Majesty does not regard this as a cause for concern, and the building of palaces goes on without end.

易曰：『豐其屋，蔀其家，闚其戶，閴其無人。』王者以天下爲家，言豐屋之禍，至於家無人也。方今二虜合從，謀危宗廟，十萬之軍，東西奔赴，邊境無一日之娛；農夫廢業，民有饑色。陛下不以是爲憂，而營作宮室，無有已時。

If the state could perish and I alone survive, I would say nothing. But the ruler is the head and the ministers are the limbs; in survival and ruin they are one body, and they share gain and loss alike. The Classic of Filial Piety says: ‘If the Son of Heaven has seven ministers who remonstrate with him, even if he lacks the Way he will not lose his realm.’ Though I am dull and timid, how could I dare forget the duty of a remonstrating minister? If my words were not earnest and to the point, they would not be enough to awaken Your Majesty. If Your Majesty does not heed my words, I fear the fortune of your imperial grandfather and illustrious father will fall to the ground.

使國亡而臣可以獨存，臣又不言也；¹君作元首，臣爲股肱，存亡一體，得失同之。孝經曰：『天子有爭臣七人，雖無道不失其天下。』臣雖駑怯，敢忘爭臣之義？言不切至，不足以感寤陛下。陛下不察臣言，恐皇祖烈考之祚，將墜于地。

If my death could be of the slightest help, the day of my death would be as good as a year of life. I respectfully knock upon my coffin, bathe myself, and prostrate myself to await severe punishment.” When the memorial was presented, the Son of Heaven was moved by his loyal words and replied with an edict in his own hand. At every court deliberation, Yang Fu always forthrightly took the realm as his own responsibility. He remonstrated many times without being heeded, and repeatedly asked to resign his post, but this was not granted. He then died, and his family had no wealth left. His grandson Yang Bao succeeded him.

使臣身死有補萬一，則死之日，猶生之年也。謹叩棺沐浴，伏俟重誅。」奏御，天子感其忠言，手筆詔荅。每朝廷會議，阜常侃然以天下爲己任。數諫爭，不聽，乃屢乞遜位，未許。會卒，家無餘財。孫豹嗣。

Gaotang Long

高堂隆

Gaotang Long, courtesy name Shengping, was a man of Pingyang in Taishan and a descendant of Gaotang Sheng of Lu. As a young man he was a student, and the Prefect of Taishan, Xue Ti, appointed him Investigator. The commandery’s Army Supervisor quarreled with Xue Ti and berated him, calling him by his personal name. Gaotang Long put his hand on his sword and rebuked the Army Supervisor: “In the past, when Duke Ding of Lu was insulted, Confucius rushed up the steps; when the King of Zhao was made to play the Qin zither, Lin Xiangru presented the earthen drum. To call a lord by his name in front of his subject is something righteousness demands be punished.” The Army Supervisor turned pale, and Xue Ti rose in alarm and stopped him. Later Gaotang Long left office and took refuge in Jinan.

高堂隆字升平，泰山平陽人，魯高堂生後也。少爲諸生，泰山太守薛悌命爲督郵。郡督軍與悌爭論，名悌而呵之。隆按劒叱督軍曰：「昔魯定見侮，仲尼歷階；趙彈秦箏，相如進缶。臨臣名君，義之所討也。」督軍失色，悌驚起止之。後去吏，避地濟南。

In the eighteenth year of Jian’an, Taizu summoned him to be Consultant to the Army under the Chancellor; later he became Literary Scholar to Cao Hui, Marquis of Licheng, and was transferred to be his Chancellor. When Cao Hui was in mourning for Taizu, he showed no grief but went hunting and galloping about instead; Gaotang Long remonstrated with him on principle, and fully upheld the proper conduct of a guide and tutor. During the Huangchu era he became Chief of Tangyang, and was selected as Tutor to the King of Pingyuan. When the King ascended the throne—he was Emperor Ming—he made Gaotang Long Supervisor of Affairs in the Palace, Erudite, and Commandant of Escort Cavalry.

建安十八年，太祖召爲丞相軍議掾，後爲歷城侯徽文學，轉爲相。徽遭太祖喪，不哀，反游獵馳騁；隆以義正諫，甚得輔導之節。黃初中，爲堂陽長，以選爲平原王傅。王即尊位，是爲明帝。以隆爲給事中、博士、駙馬都尉。

When the Emperor first ascended the throne, some of the ministers thought a banquet should be held. Gaotang Long said, “In the time of Tang and Yu there was mourning in which all music ceased, and Gaozong had his period of silent reflection; thus their perfect virtue was harmonious and bright and shone throughout the four seas.” He held that no banquet should be held, and the Emperor respectfully accepted this. He was transferred to be Prefect of Chenliu. A commoner, You Mu, over seventy years old, was a man of exemplary conduct, and Gaotang Long recommended him as Clerk of the Accounts Section; the Emperor commended this and specially appointed You Mu a Gentleman of the Palace to honor him. Gaotang Long was summoned to be Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and granted the rank of Marquis Within the Pass.

帝初踐阼，羣臣或以爲宜饗會，隆曰：「唐、虞有遏密之哀，高宗有不言之思，是以至德雍熈，光于四海。」以爲不宜爲會，帝敬納之。遷陳留太守。犢民酉牧，年七十餘，有至行，舉爲計曹掾；帝嘉之，特除郎中以顯焉。徵隆爲散騎常侍，賜爵關內侯。¹

In the Qinglong era, halls and residences were being built on a grand scale, and the great bell of Chang’an in the west was to be brought over. Gaotang Long submitted a memorial: “In the past, King Jing of Zhou did not model himself on the bright virtue of Kings Wen and Wu and neglected the sage institutions of Dan, the Duke of Zhou. He cast large coins and also made a great bell. Duke Mu of Shan remonstrated but was not heeded, and Ling Zhoujiu answered him but was not followed. He persisted in his delusion without turning back, and the virtue of Zhou declined as a result. Good historians recorded it as an eternal mirror. Yet the petty men of today delight in talking of the extravagance of Qin and Han to unsettle Your Majesty’s sage heart, and seek out the immoderate vessels of fallen states, wasting labor and squandering resources to the detriment of virtuous government. This is not the way to bring about the harmony of rites and music or to preserve the blessings of the spirits.”

青龍中，大治殿舍，西取長安大鍾。隆上疏曰：「昔周景王不儀刑文、武之明德，忽公旦之聖制，旣鑄大錢，又作大鍾，單穆公諫而弗聽，泠州鳩對而弗從，遂迷不反，周德以衰，良史記焉，以爲永鑒。然今之小人，好說秦、漢之奢靡以盪聖心，求取亡國不度之器，勞役費損，以傷德政，非所以興禮樂之和，保神明之休也。」

That day the Emperor went to the Imperial Workshops, and Gaotang Long and Bian Lan attended him. The Emperor handed Gaotang Long's memorial to Bian Lan and had him dispute it with Gaotang Long. Bian Lan said, “Rise and decline depend on government; what has music to do with it? If moral transformation is not clear, how is that the fault of a bell?” Gaotang Long said, “Rites and music are the great foundation of good order. Thus when the Shao music was played through nine times, the phoenixes came and danced; when the thunder drums sounded their six changes, the heavenly spirits descended. By this government was made fair and punishments were laid aside; this was harmony at its utmost. When new tunes began to sound, Xin of Shang fell; when the great bell was cast, King Jing of Zhou declined. The turning point of survival and ruin has always arisen from this. How can you say that rise and fall do not proceed from it?

是日，帝幸上方，隆與卞蘭從。帝以隆表授蘭，使難隆曰：「興衰在政，樂何爲也？化之不明，豈鍾之罪？」隆曰：「夫禮樂者，爲治之大本也。故簫韶九成，鳳皇來儀，雷鼓六變，天神以降，政是以平，刑是以錯，和之至也。新聲發響，商辛以隕，大鍾旣鑄，周景以弊，存亡之機，恒由斯作，安在廢興之不階也？

That every act of the ruler must be recorded is the way of antiquity. If he acts without following proper standards, what will he show to later ages? The sage kings delighted to hear of their faults, and so there was the way of admonition and correction; loyal ministers wish to give their utmost integrity, and so there is the principle of disregarding oneself.” The Emperor praised this.

君舉必書，古之道也，作而不法，何以示後？聖王樂聞其闕，故有箴規之道；忠臣願竭其節，故有匪躬之義也。」帝稱善。

He was promoted to Palace Attendant and continued to hold the post of Grand Astrologer. When the Chonghua Hall caught fire, an edict asked Gaotang Long, “What fault is this? According to the rites, is there a rite of prayer to avert calamity?” Gaotang Long replied, “Calamities and anomalies all arise to make instruction and warning clear, and only by following the rites and cultivating virtue can they be overcome. The Commentary on the Changes says, ‘When those above are not frugal and those below are not restrained, baleful fire burns their house.’ It also says, ‘When the ruler raises his terraces high, fire from Heaven brings calamity.’ This means that when a ruler heedlessly adorns his palaces and does not realize that the common people are drained and exhausted, Heaven responds with drought, and fire breaks out from the lofty halls.

遷侍中，猶領太史令。崇華殿災，詔問隆：「此何咎？於禮，寧有祈禳之義乎？」隆對曰：夫災變之發，皆所以明教誡也，惟率禮脩德，可以勝之。易傳曰：『上不儉，下不節，孽火燒其室。』又曰：『君高其臺，天火爲災。』此人君苟飾宮室，不知百姓空竭，故天應之以旱，火從高殿起也。

High Heaven looks down and inspects, and so it has reproved and warned Your Majesty. Your Majesty ought to exalt the way of man all the more to answer the will of Heaven. In the past, in the time of Tai Wu mulberry and paper-mulberry trees grew in the court, and in the time of Wu Ding a crowing pheasant perched on a tripod. Both, on learning of the portent, were struck with fear, conducted themselves with care, and cultivated virtue; three years later distant barbarians came to court bearing tribute, and so they were styled Zhongzong and Gaozong. This is a clear mirror from former ages. Now, examining the old divinations, whenever fire breaks out it is always a warning about terraces, pavilions, and palaces.

上天降鑒，故譴告陛下；陛下宜增崇人道，以荅天意。昔太戊有桑穀生於朝，武丁有雊雉登於鼎，皆聞災恐懼，側身脩德，三年之後，遠夷朝貢，故號曰中宗、高宗。此則前代之明鑒也。今案舊占，災火之發，皆以臺榭宮室爲誡。

Yet the reason the palaces are now being filled out and enlarged is truly that the palace women are far too many. You should select and keep those who are chaste and fine, as in the Zhou system, and dismiss the rest. This is what Zu Ji taught Gaozong, and why Gaozong enjoyed a title that has lasted through the ages.”

然今宮室之所以充廣者，實由宮人猥多之故。宜簡擇留其淑懿，如周之制，罷省其餘。此則祖己之所以訓高宗，高宗之所以享遠號也。

An edict asked Gaotang Long, “I have heard that in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, when the Boliang Terrace burned, great palaces were raised to ward off the fire. What was the meaning of this?” Gaotang Long replied, “Your servant has heard that after the Boliang Terrace in the Western Capital burned, a shaman from Yue set forth his arts, and the Jianzhang Palace was laid out to ward off the fire omen. This was the doing of a barbarian shaman of Yue, not the clear teaching of sages and worthies. The Treatise on the Five Phases says, ‘After the Boliang Terrace burned, there was Jiang Chong's affair of witchcraft, the matter of Crown Prince Wei.’

詔問隆：「吾聞漢武帝時，栢梁災，而大起宮殿以厭之，其義云何？」隆對曰：臣聞西京栢梁旣災，越巫陳方，建章是經，以厭火祥；乃夷越之巫所爲，非聖賢之明訓也。五行志曰：『栢梁災，其後有江充巫蠱也，衞太子事。』

If it is as the Treatise says, then the Yue shaman and the Jianzhang Palace warded off nothing at all. Confucius said, ‘Calamities answer conduct by like kind; essence and ill vapors respond to one another to warn the ruler.’ Therefore when a sage ruler sees a calamity he blames himself, withdraws, and cultivates virtue, and so dispels it and restores what was lost. Now you ought to halt the people's corvée and disband it. Let the scale of the palaces keep to economy and restraint, sufficient within to shelter from wind and rain and sufficient without for the practice of ritual. If the burned site is swept clean and nothing dares be built on it, then the shapu plant and auspicious grain will surely grow on this ground to repay Your Majesty's reverent and respectful virtue.

如志之言，越巫建章無所厭也。孔子曰：『災者脩類應行，精祲相感，以戒人君。』是以聖主覩災責躬，退而脩德，以消復之。今宜罷散民役。宮室之制，務從約節，內足以待風雨，外足以講禮儀。清埽所災之處，不敢於此有所立作，萐莆、嘉禾必生此地，以報陛下虔恭之德。

How could you exhaust the people's strength and use up the people's wealth! That is truly not the way to bring auspicious omens or win over distant peoples.”

豈可疲民之力，竭民之財！實非所以致符瑞而懷遠人也。

The Emperor nevertheless rebuilt the Chonghua Hall. At that time nine dragons appeared in the commanderies and kingdoms, so its name was changed to the Nine Dragons Hall.

帝遂復崇華殿，時郡國有九龍見，故改曰九龍殿。

When construction of the Lingxiao Gate-tower first began, magpies nested on top of it. The Emperor asked Gaotang Long about it, and he replied, “The Odes say, ‘The magpie has a nest; the dove comes to dwell in it.’ Now palaces are being raised and the Lingxiao Gate-tower built, and magpies have nested there. This is a sign that before the palaces are finished, you yourself will not be able to live in them. It is as though Heaven were saying, ‘Before the palaces are finished, someone of another surname will rule over them.’ This is a warning from High Heaven. The way of Heaven has no favorites; it sides only with the good. You cannot but guard against this deeply, and cannot but consider it deeply.

陵霄闕始構，有鵲巢其上，帝以問隆，對曰：「詩云『惟鵲有巢，惟鳩居之』。今興宮室，起陵霄闕，而鵲巢之，此宮室未成身不得居之象也。天意若曰，宮室未成，將有他姓制御之，斯乃上天之戒也。夫天道無親，惟與善人，不可不深防，不可不深慮。

At the end of both Xia and Shang, the rulers had inherited the throne, yet they did not reverently receive the clear mandate of High Heaven; they followed only slanderers and flatterers, abandoned virtue, and pursued their desires, and so their fall was sudden. Tai Wu and Wu Ding, seeing calamities, trembled with fear and respectfully received Heaven's warnings, and so their rise was swift. If now you halt the many labors, practice frugality so that there is enough for needs, exalt virtuous government still more, follow the standards of the emperors in every act, remove what the whole realm suffers from, and promote what benefits the myriad people, then the Three Kings will become four and the Five Emperors six. Why stop at the Yin rulers who turned misfortune into blessing!

夏、商之季，皆繼體也，不欽承上天之明命，惟讒諂是從，廢德適欲，故其亡也忽焉。太戊、武丁，覩災竦懼，祗承天戒，故其興也勃焉。今若休罷百役，儉以足用，增崇德政，動遵帝則，除普天之所患，興兆民之所利，三王可四，五帝可六，豈惟殷宗轉禍爲福而已哉！

Your servant serves as one of your intimates. If I can add blessings to Your Majesty's sacred person and keep the altars of state secure, then even if my body is reduced to ashes and my clan destroyed, it will be to me as a year of life. How could I fear the disaster of giving offense and so keep Your Majesty from hearing the plainest truth?” At this the Emperor's expression changed and he was moved.

臣備腹心，苟可以繁祉聖躬，安存社稷，臣雖灰身破族，猶生之年也。豈憚忤逆之災，而令陛下不聞至言乎？」於是帝改容動色。

That year a comet appeared in Dachen. Gaotang Long submitted a memorial: “Whenever emperors and kings move their capitals and found cities, they first fix the places of Heaven and Earth and of the altars of soil and grain, and reverently serve them. When palaces are to be built, the ancestral temple comes first, stables and storehouses next, and living quarters last. Now the positions of the spirits at the Round Mound, the Square Marsh, the southern and northern suburban altars, the Hall of Light, and the altars of soil and grain are not yet fixed, and the system of the ancestral temple does not yet accord with the rites; yet living quarters are being raised and adorned, and gentlemen and commoners are losing their livelihoods.

是歲，有星孛于大辰。隆上疏曰：「凡帝王徙都立邑，皆先定天地社稷之位，敬恭以奉之。將營宮室，則宗廟爲先，廄庫爲次，居室爲後。今圜丘、方澤、南北郊、明堂、社稷，神位未定，宗廟之制又未如禮，而崇飾居室，士民失業。

People outside all say that the expense of the palace women is roughly equal to the cost of war and military affairs. The people cannot bear their burdens and are all resentful and angry. The Book of Documents says, ‘Heaven hears and sees as our people hear and see; Heaven brightens and awes as our people brighten and awe.’ When the multitude sing praises, Heaven grants the Five Blessings; when the people groan in anger, it awes them with the Six Extremities. This means that Heaven's rewards and punishments follow the words of the people and accord with their hearts. Therefore in governing, the first task is to give the people peace; only after that does the transformation modeled on antiquity reach both above and below. From ancient times to the present it has never been otherwise.

外人咸云宮人之用，與興戎軍國之費，所盡略齊。民不堪命，皆有怨怒。書曰『天聦明自我民聦明，天明畏自我民明威』，輿人作頌，則嚮以五福，民怒吁嗟，則威以六極，言天之賞罰，隨民言，順民心也。是以臨政務在安民爲先，然後稽古之化，格于上下，自古及今，未嘗不然也。

Unhewn rafters and low palaces were how Tang, Yu, and the Great Yu handed down their imperial influence; jade terraces and gem-studded chambers were how Gui of Xia and Xin of Shang offended vast Heaven. The present palaces truly violate the standards of ritual, and yet the Nine Dragons Hall is being built besides, adorned more lavishly than before. The comet from Heaven blazes brightly: it first rose in the lodges of the Chamber and the Heart, violated the Emperor's Seat, and pressed upon the Purple Palace. This is august Heaven loving Your Majesty as a son and therefore displaying a sign of instruction and warning. From beginning to end it has occurred in the most honored positions, earnest and repeated, determined to awaken Your Majesty. This is the earnest teaching of a loving father; you should exalt the rites of a filial son's reverent awe, lead the realm by your example, and make it plain to your descendants. You must not be careless and so add to Heaven's anger.”

夫采椽卑宮，唐、虞、大禹之所以垂皇風也；玉臺瓊室，夏癸、商辛之所以犯昊天也。今之宮室，實違禮度，乃更建立九龍，華飾過前。天彗章灼，始起於房心，犯帝坐而干紫微，此乃皇天子愛陛下，是以發教戒之象，始卒皆於尊位，殷勤鄭重，欲必覺寤陛下；斯乃慈父懇切之訓，宜崇孝子祗聳之禮，以率先天下，以昭示後昆，不宜有忽，以重天怒。」

At this time military and state affairs were many, and the law was applied harshly and heavily. Gaotang Long submitted a memorial: “To open up great achievements and hand down a line of succession requires a sage and enlightened ruler, and to assist the age and set government right also requires good ministers; only then can the many works be completed and all things be at peace. To change customs and habits, spread and clarify the transforming influence of the Way, make the four frontiers share one custom and turn their faces inward, and let the teaching of virtue shine so that the nine zones admire righteousness, is certainly beyond the power of common clerks. Now the officials busy themselves with investigating according to the penal codes and do not base themselves on the Great Way; therefore punishments are used and never laid aside, and customs decay and do not grow honest.

時軍國多事，用法深重。隆上疏曰：「夫拓跡垂統，必俟聖明，輔世匡治，亦須良佐，用能庶績其凝而品物康乂也。夫移風易俗，宣明道化，使四表同風，回首面內，德教光熈，九服慕義，固非俗吏之所能也。今有司務糾刑書，不本大道，是以刑用而不措，俗弊而不敦。

You ought to exalt rites and music, set out the order of the Hall of Light, restore the Three Halls, the Great Archery rite, and the feasting of the aged, build the suburban altars and ancestral temple, honor Confucian scholars, raise up recluses, make the institutions manifest, change the first month of the calendar, alter the colors of court dress, spread a gentle and kindly rule, and esteem frugality and simplicity. After that, with the rites complete, perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices and credit your achievements to Heaven and Earth, so that the sound of the Elegantiae and Hymns fills the six directions and a continuously shining civilizing influence merges on into your descendants. This is the finest work of perfect government and an imperishable and precious achievement.

宜崇禮樂，班叙明堂，脩三雍、大射、養老，營建郊廟，尊儒士，舉逸民，表章制度，改正朔，易服色，布愷悌，尚儉素，然後備禮封禪，歸功天地，使雅頌之聲盈于六合，緝熈之化混于後嗣。斯蓋至治之美事，不朽之貴業也。

Then within the nine regions government will be achieved merely by bowing and yielding; what further worry could there be? To remedy the branches without correcting the root is like tangled silk; it is not the principle of government. You may command the lords, ministers, officers, and learned scholars to draw up these matters in full as a standard.” Gaotang Long further held that changing the first month of the calendar, altering the colors of dress, distinguishing insignia, and varying ritual implements were the means by which emperors and kings since antiquity had made their rule numinous and renewed the eyes and ears of the people; thus the three months of spring being marked with “King” made clear the Three Sequences.

然九域之內，可揖讓而治，尚何憂哉！不正其本而救其末，譬猶棼絲，非政理也。可命羣公卿士通儒，造具其事，以爲典式。」隆又以爲改正朔，易服色，殊徽號，異器械，自古帝王所以神明其政，變民耳目，故三春稱王，明三統也。

He then expounded the old statutes, memorialized, and had them changed. The Emperor followed his proposal and changed the third month of spring of the fifth year of Qinglong into the fourth month, the first month of summer, of the first year of Jingchu. For dress yellow was esteemed and for sacrificial victims white was used, following the Earth Sequence.

於是敷演舊章，奏而改焉。帝從其議，改青龍五年春三月爲景初元年孟夏四月，服色尚黃，犧牲用白，從地正也。

He was promoted to Minister of the Household. The Emperor raised his palaces ever higher and carved and adorned his towers and pavilions. He quarried quartz from the Taihang Mountains and gathered patterned stone from Gucheng, built Jingyang Hill in the Fanglin Park, erected the Zhaoyang Hall north of the Taiji Hall, cast yellow dragons, phoenixes, and other strange and imposing beasts, and adorned Jinyong, the Lingyun Terrace, and the Lingxiao Gate-tower. Labors of every kind were undertaken one after another, with workers numbering in the tens of thousands; from the lords and ministers down to the students, there was none who did not put forth his strength, and the Emperor himself took earth in his hands to lead them.

遷光祿勳。帝愈增崇宮殿，彫飾觀閣，鑿太行之石英，采穀城之文石，起景陽山於芳林之園，建昭陽殿於太極之北，鑄作黃龍鳳皇奇偉之獸，飾金墉、陵雲臺、陵霄闕。百役繁興，作者萬數，公卿以下至于學生，莫不展力，帝乃躬自握土以率之。

Moreover Liaodong did not come to court. Empress Dao passed away. Heaven sent torrential rains, and in Ji Province the waters rose and swept away and drowned people and goods. Gaotang Long submitted a memorial, admonishing earnestly: “It is said, ‘The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is to give life; the great treasure of the sage is his position. By what does he keep his position? By humaneness. By what does he gather people? By wealth.’ If so, then the gentlemen and commoners are the ballast of the state, and grain and silk are the lives of the gentlemen and commoners. Grain and silk do not grow without the work of creation, and are not produced without human labor.

而遼東不朝。悼皇后崩。天作淫雨，冀州水出，漂沒民物。隆上疏切諫曰：蓋「天地之大德曰生，聖人之大寶曰位；何以守位？曰仁；何以聚人？曰財」。然則士民者，乃國家之鎮也；穀帛者，乃士民之命也。穀帛非造化不育，非人力不成。

Thus the emperor plows in person to encourage farming and the empress tends silkworms to make clothing; by this they serve the Lord on High openly, declare their reverence, and repay his bounty. In the past, in the time of Yao, the age met the misfortune of the yang-nine calamity; the flood rose to the sky, and Gun was set to control it but achieved nothing. Then Wenming was raised up; following the mountains he cut through the forests, and the work lasted twenty-two years in all. No calamity was ever worse than that, and no labor was ever longer; yet Yao and Shun and their ministers simply sat facing south.

是以帝耕以勸農，后桑以成服，所以昭事上帝，告虔報施也。昔在伊唐，世值陽九厄運之會，洪水滔天，使鯀治之，績用不成，乃舉文命，隨山刊木，前後歷年二十二載。災眚之甚，莫過於彼，力役之興，莫久於此，堯、舜君臣，南面而已。

When Yu set the Nine Provinces in order, the officers were each ranked by their merit, and gentlemen and small men each had their proper insignia. Now there is no urgency such as that time had, yet the lords, ministers, and grandees are all made to perform labor alongside menials. When this is heard among the barbarians of the four quarters it will not be a fine reputation, and when it is recorded on bamboo and silk it will not be a good name. Therefore those who possess a state or a house take their measure near at hand from their own persons and far off from other things, and nurture and cherish the people warmly; hence it is said, ‘The gentle and kindly lord is father and mother of the people.’

禹敷九州，庶士庸勳，各有等差，君子小人，物有服章。今無若時之急，而使公卿大夫並與廝徒共供事役，聞之四夷，非嘉聲也，垂之竹帛，非令名也。是以有國有家者，近取諸身，遠取諸物，嫗煦養育，故稱「愷悌君子，民之父母」。

Now high and low alike are worn by labor; there is sickness and crop failure, few are left to plow and sow, and famine comes again and again, so that people have no way to last out the year. You ought to show pity and relief and rescue them from their distress.

今上下勞役，疾病凶荒，耕稼者寡，饑饉荐臻，無以卒歲；宜加愍卹，以救其困。

Your servant has examined what is recorded in the books of the past: between Heaven and man there has never been a failure to respond. Therefore the wise kings of old feared the clear mandate of High Heaven and followed the adverse and favorable courses of yin and yang, cautious and anxious, fearing only that they might go astray. Only then did the way of good government flourish and their virtue accord with the spirits; when calamities and anomalies appeared they took fright and reformed their government, and there was none who did not prolong his term and hand blessings down to his heirs. But in the last generations, benighted and dissolute rulers did not honor the good models of the former kings, did not accept the frank words of upright men, and indulged their feelings and wishes, calmly disregarding portents and warnings; there was none who did not soon tread into disaster and come to ruin.

臣觀在昔書籍所載，天人之際，未有不應也。是以古先哲王，畏上天之明命，循陰陽之逆順，矜矜業業，惟恐有違。然後治道用興，德與神符，災異旣發，懼而脩政，未有不延期流祚者也。爰及末葉，闇君荒主，不崇先王之令軌，不納正士之直言，以遂其情志，恬忽變戒，未有不尋踐禍難，至於顛覆者也。

The way of Heaven having been made plain, let me discuss it in terms of the way of man. The six feelings and five natures all reside in human beings, and appetite and desire, integrity and uprightness, each occupy a place. When they are stirred, they contend with one another in the heart. If desire is strong and one's substance weak, indulgence runs unchecked; if sincerity does not govern, excess knows no bounds. What the feelings fix upon is either what one likes or what is beautiful, and the gathering of beautiful and liked things cannot be accomplished without human labor, nor established without grain and silk. If the feelings have no limit, people cannot bear the toil and goods cannot satisfy the demands.

天道旣著，請以人道論之。夫六情五性，同在於人，嗜欲廉貞，各居其一。及其動也，交爭于心。欲彊質弱，則縱濫不禁；精誠不制，則放溢無極。夫情之所在，非好則美，而美好之集，非人力不成，非穀帛不立。情苟無極，則人不堪其勞，物不充其求。

When toil and demands arrive together, disorder will arise. Thus unless the feelings are curbed, there is no way to supply one another. Confucius said, ‘One who takes no thought for the distant future will surely have sorrow close at hand.’ Seen in this light, the institutions of ritual and righteousness are not meant merely to confine people to their stations, but to keep harm far away and bring about good order.

勞求並至，將起禍亂。故不割情，無以相供。仲尼云：「人無遠慮，必有近憂。」由此觀之，禮義之制，非苟拘分，將以遠害而興治也。

Now the two rebels of Wu and Shu are not mere petty barbarians on barren ground or bandits gathered in some village; they hold strategic terrain, command the rivers, possess officers and multitudes, have usurped the imperial title, and seek to contend with the Central State. If now someone were to come and report, ‘Sun Quan and Liu Bei are both cultivating virtuous government, once more practicing integrity and frugality, lightening taxes, not making playthings, consulting the elders and worthies in every undertaking, and following ritual standards in all affairs,’ would Your Majesty not be alarmed on hearing it and dislike that it was so, thinking them hard to destroy in the end and a worry for the state?

今吳、蜀二賊，非徒白地小虜、聚邑之寇，乃據險乘流，跨有士衆，僭號稱帝，欲與中國爭衡。今若有人來告，權、備並脩德政，復履清儉，輕省租賦，不治玩好，動咨耆賢，事遵禮度。陛下聞之，豈不惕然惡其如此，以爲難卒討滅，而爲國憂乎？

If instead the reporter said, ‘Those two rebels are both unprincipled, extravagant without limit, overworking their officers and people and taxing them heavily, so that those below cannot bear it and their groans grow worse by the day,’ would Your Majesty not, on hearing it, flare up in anger that they were oppressing our innocent people and wish to punish them swiftly, and next, would you not rejoice at their exhaustion and think them not hard to take? If that is so, then by putting yourself in their place and weighing the matter, the principle of it is not far to seek.

若使告者曰，彼二賊並爲無道，崇侈無度，役其士民，重其徵賦，下不堪命，吁嗟日甚。陛下聞之，豈不勃然忿其困我無辜之民，而欲速加之誅，其次，豈不幸彼疲弊而取之不難乎？苟如此，則可易心而度，事義之數亦不遠矣。

Moreover, the First Emperor of Qin did not build a foundation of virtue but built the Epang Palace; he did not worry about upheaval within his own walls but undertook the labor of the Great Wall. When he and his ministers made these plans, they too wished to found an enterprise for ten thousand generations and have their descendants hold the realm forever. How could they have imagined that one morning a commoner would give a great shout and the realm would be overturned? So your servant believes that if the rulers of former ages had known that their conduct would surely lead to ruin, they would not have acted so.

且秦始皇不築道德之基，而築阿房之宮，不憂蕭墻之變，而脩長城之役。當其君臣爲此計也，亦欲立萬世之業，使子孫長有天下，豈意一朝匹夫大呼，而天下傾覆哉？故臣以爲使先代之君知其所行必將至於敗，則弗爲之矣。

Thus the rulers of lost states told themselves they would not perish, and then they perished; the worthy and sage rulers told themselves they might perish, and then they did not. In the past Emperor Wen of Han was called a worthy ruler; he practiced frugality in person, was kind to those below, and nurtured the people. Yet Jia Yi compared the realm to one hanging upside down, saying there was one thing to weep bitterly over, two to shed tears over, and three to sigh long over. How much more now, when the realm is exhausted, the people have not even a picul or two in store, and the state has no reserves to last the year; abroad there are strong enemies, and the Six Armies are exposed on the frontiers, while at home building works are undertaken and the provinces and commanderies are in turmoil. If there were an alarm of invasion, your servant fears that the men pounding earthen walls would not be able to give their lives on the enemy's field.

是以亡國之主自謂不亡，然後至於亡；賢聖之君自謂將亡，然後至於不亡。昔漢文帝稱爲賢主，躬行約儉，惠下養民，而賈誼方之，以爲天下倒縣，可爲痛哭者一，可爲流涕者二，可爲長歎息者三。況今天下彫弊，民無儋石之儲，國無終年之畜，外有彊敵，六軍暴邊，內興土功，州郡騷動，若有寇警，則臣懼版築之士不能投命虜庭矣。

Furthermore, the salaries of officers and officials have been gradually cut until they are one fifth of what they once were; those on leave have also had their grain rations and gifts stopped; and those who were not required to contribute now all pay half. This means the government's income is double what it used to be, while what it pays out is a third of what it once was. Yet regular expenditure always falls short, and petty taxes on beef follow one after another. Reasoning backward from this, all these funds must be going somewhere. Moreover, the grain and silk given as salaries and grants are the means by which the ruler nurtures his officials and people and holds their lives in his charge; if they are now abolished, it is taking their lives from them.

又，將吏奉祿，稍見折減，方之於昔，五分居一；諸受休者又絕廩賜，不應輸者今皆出半：此爲官入兼多於舊，其所出與參少於昔。而度支經用，更每不足，牛肉小賦，前後相繼。反而推之，凡此諸費，必有所在。且夫祿賜穀帛，人主所以惠養吏民而爲之司命者也，若今有廢，是奪其命矣。

To give people something and then take it away again is the storehouse from which resentment springs. In the Rites of Zhou, the Heavenly Treasury managed the rules of the nine levies to supply the expenditures of the nine statutes; income had its allotted portion and outlays had their proper places, they did not encroach on one another, and every need was met. Only after every need was met were the surpluses of the statutory tribute used to supply the king's amusements. Moreover, when the sovereign spent money, it was always audited by the Controller. Those who now sit with Your Majesty in the court and govern the realm are either the Three Ministers and the Nine Chamberlains or close officials of the Secretariat, all intimates who sit knee to knee with you; they ought to hold nothing back.

旣得之而又失之，此生怨之府也。周禮，天府掌九賦之則以給九式之用，入有其分，出有其所，不相干乘而用各足。各足之後，乃以式貢之餘，供王玩好。又上用財，必考于司會。¹今陛下所與共坐廊廟治天下者，非三司九列，則臺閣近臣，皆腹心造膝，宜在無諱。

If they see abundance and scarcity and dare not report it, rushing about at your command and fearing only that they cannot keep up, then they are merely ministers filling places, not unbending supporters. In the past Li Si instructed the Second Emperor of Qin, ‘To be a ruler and not do as one pleases is called making the realm one's shackles.’ The Second Emperor acted on this, the state of Qin was overturned, and Li Si's clan too was destroyed. Therefore the historian Sima Qian criticized him for not remonstrating rightly and made him a warning to the age.”

若見豐省而不敢以告，從命奔走，惟恐不勝，是則具臣，非鯁輔也。昔李斯教秦二世曰：「爲人主而不恣睢，命之曰天下桎梏。」二世用之，秦國以覆，斯亦滅族。是以史遷議其不正諫，而爲世誡。

When the memorial was submitted, the Emperor read it and said to the Supervisor and the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, “Reading this memorial of Gaotang Long's makes Us afraid!”

書奏，帝覽焉，謂中書監、令曰：「觀隆此奏，使朕懼哉！」

When Gaotang Long's illness became grave, he dictated a memorial: “When Master Zeng was ill, Meng Jingzi visited him, and Master Zeng said, ‘When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good.’ Your servant lies ill; it grows worse and never better, and I constantly fear that I shall die suddenly with my loyal devotion never made known. Is your servant's red-hearted sincerity any less than Master Zeng's? I beg Your Majesty to deign to read this! If you freely correct the errors of past affairs and vigorously take up deep sincerity in affairs to come, so that spirits and men respond, distant lands admire righteousness, the Four Numinous Creatures offer their treasures, and the Jade Balance shines with its essence, then you may surpass the Three Kings and outstrip the Five Emperors, and not merely inherit the throne and preserve the civil order.

隆疾篤，口占上疏曰：曾子有疾，孟敬子問之。曾子曰：「鳥之將死，其鳴也哀；人之將死，其言也善。」臣寢疾病，有增無損，常懼奄忽，忠款不昭。臣之丹誠，豈惟曾子，願陛下少垂省覽！渙然改往事之過謬，勃然興來事之淵塞，使神人嚮應，殊方慕義，四靈效珍，玉衡曜精，則三王可邁，五帝可越，非徒繼體守文而已也。

Your servant has always lamented that the rulers of the age all think to continue the rule of Yao, Shun, Tang, and Wu, yet follow in the footsteps of Jie, Zhou, You, and Li; they all laugh at the deluded rulers of declining ages who lost their states, yet do not tread the tracks of Yu, Xia, Yin, and Zhou. Alas! To seek such results by such conduct is like climbing a tree to look for fish or boiling water to make ice; it plainly cannot be done. Looking into how the Three Dynasties held the realm, sages and worthies succeeded one another for several hundred years; there was not a foot of land that was not theirs nor a single person who was not their subject; the myriad states were all at peace and the nine regions were all in order. The gold of the Deer Terrace and the grain of Juqiao were of no use to them; they simply sat facing south as before. What else did they do?

臣常疾世主莫不思紹堯、舜、湯、武之治，而蹈踵桀、紂、幽、厲之跡，莫不蚩笑季世惑亂亡國之主，而不登踐虞、夏、殷、周之軌。悲夫！以若所爲，求若所致，猶緣木求魚，煎水作冰，其不可得，明矣。尋觀三代之有天下也，聖賢相承，歷載數百，尺土莫非其有，一民莫非其臣，萬國咸寧，九有有截；鹿臺之金，巨橋之粟，無所用之，仍舊南面，夫何爲哉！

But the likes of Gui and Xin relied on their strength; their wits were enough to reject remonstrance and their talents enough to gloss over their wrongs. They esteemed flattery, exalted terraces and towers, loved lewd music, delighted in actors and jesters, composed decadent tunes, and took their ease in the music of Pushang. High Heaven would not pardon them and turned its gaze elsewhere; their ancestral states became ruins and their descendants were reduced to slaves; Zhou's head was hung from a white banner and Jie was banished to Mingtiao. The honor of the Son of Heaven passed to Tang and Wu, and they were no strangers: both were descendants of enlightened kings.

然癸、辛之徒，恃其旅力，知足以拒諫，才足以飾非，諂諛是尚，臺觀是崇，淫樂是好，倡優是說，作靡靡之樂，安濮上之音。上天不蠲，眷然回顧，宗國爲墟，下夷于隷，紂縣白旗，桀放鳴條；天子之尊，湯、武有之，豈伊異人，皆明王之胄也。

Further, in the time of the Six States the realm was prosperous and thriving. After Qin annexed them, it did not cultivate the way of the sages but built the Epang Palace and raised the defenses of the Great Wall, vaunting itself over the Central States and overawing the hundred barbarian peoples; the realm trembled with fear, and people on the roads dared communicate only with their eyes. Qin believed its root and branches would last a hundred generations and its great radiance shine forever; how could it have foreseen that it would perish in the second generation and its altars collapse? More recently Emperor Wu of Han, inheriting the blessings of Emperors Wen and Jing, drove off the barbarians abroad and raised palaces at home, and for more than ten years the realm was in uproar.

且當六國之時，天下殷熾，秦旣兼之，不脩聖道，乃構阿房之宮，築長城之守，矜夸中國，威服百蠻，天下震竦，道路以目；自謂本枝百葉，永垂洪暉，豈寤二世而滅，社稷崩圮哉？近漢孝武乘文、景之福，外攘夷狄，內興宮殿，十餘年間，天下嚻然。

He then trusted the shaman of Yue, resented Heaven and vented his anger elsewhere, and raised the Jianzhang Palace with its thousand gates and ten thousand doors; in the end this brought on Jiang Chong's uncanny witchcraft affair, until the palace was torn apart and father and son destroyed each other, and the poison of that calamity flowed down as misfortune for several generations.

乃信越巫，懟天遷怒，起建章之宮，千門萬戶，卒致江充妖蠱之變，至於宮室乖離，父子相殘，殃咎之毒，禍流數世。

Your servant observes that in the Huangchu era Heaven gave an omen of warning: a bird of a different kind was raised in a swallow's nest, with red beak, claws, and breast. This is a great portent for the House of Wei; you ought to guard against ministers who rise like hawks within your own walls. You may select the princes, have them rule their states and command troops, placing them here and there like pieces on a board, to guard and pacify the imperial domain and support the imperial house. When Zhou moved east, it relied on Jin and Zheng; in the disorder of the Lü clan under Han, it truly depended on the Marquis of Zhuxu. These are clear mirrors from former ages.

臣觀黃初之際，天兆其戒，異類之鳥，育長燕巢，口爪胷赤，此魏室之大異也，宜防鷹揚之臣於蕭牆之內。可選諸王，使君國典兵，往往棊跱，鎮撫皇畿，翼亮帝室。昔周之東遷，晉、鄭是依，漢呂之亂，實賴朱虛，斯蓋前代之明鑒。

August Heaven has no favorites; it aids only the virtuous. When the people sing of virtuous government, it extends the term beyond the allotted span; when there is resentment and lamentation below, it takes back the register and gives it to the capable. Seen in this light, the realm belongs to the realm, not to Your Majesty alone. A hundred ailments have gathered in your servant and my strength is failing; I shall have myself carried out in a litter and return to my home village. If I then pass away, and my soul has awareness, I will knot the grass to repay you.”

夫皇天無親，惟德是輔。民詠德政，則延期過歷，下有怨歎，掇錄授能。由此觀之，天下之天下，非獨陛下之天下也。臣百疾所鍾，氣力稍微，輒自輿出，歸還里舍，若遂沈淪，魂而有知，結草以報。

An edict said, “In integrity you equal Bo Yi and in uprightness you surpass Shi Yu; your mind is firm and pure, and you speak out boldly without regard for yourself. How is it that because a slight illness has not yet passed you would withdraw to your home village? In the past Bing Ji was cured and had his life lengthened because of his hidden virtue, and Gong Yu, for keeping to his principles, recovered though gravely ill. Make yourself eat well and concentrate your spirit to preserve yourself.” Gaotang Long died, leaving instructions for a simple burial and to be dressed in the clothes of the season.

詔曰：「生廉侔伯夷，直過史魚，執心堅白，謇謇匪躬，如何微疾未除，退身里舍？昔邴吉以陰德，疾除而延壽；貢禹以守節，疾篤而濟愈。生其彊飯專精以自持。」隆卒，遺令薄葬，歛以時服。¹

Earlier, in the Taihe era, the Central Protector of the Army Jiang Ji had submitted a memorial saying, “We should follow antiquity and perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices.” An edict said, “Hearing Jiang Ji's words makes Us sweat until it runs down to Our feet.” The matter lay dormant for years, but later it was at last decided to carry it out, and Gaotang Long was set to compose the ritual. When the Emperor heard that Gaotang Long had died, he sighed and said, “Heaven does not wish my work to be completed. Master Gaotang has left me and gone.” His son Gaotang Chen succeeded to his rank.

初，太和中，中護軍蔣濟上疏曰「宜遵古封禪」。詔曰：「聞濟斯言，使吾汗出流足。」事寢歷歲，後遂議脩之，使隆撰其禮儀。帝聞隆沒，歎息曰：「天不欲成吾事，高堂生舍我亡也。」子琛嗣爵。

Earlier, in the Jingchu era, the Emperor, since Su Lin, Qin Jing, and others were all old, feared that there would be no one able to transmit their learning. He therefore issued an edict: “After the former sage passed away, his surviving words and teachings were set down in the Six Arts. Among the texts of the Six Arts, the rites are the most urgent; one may not depart from them for a moment. That the customs of declining ages have turned their backs on the root is a thing of long standing. Thus Minzi reproached Yuan Bo for not studying, and Xun Qing condemned Qin's burying of scholars. Once Confucian learning is abandoned, from what can civilizing influence arise?

始，景初中，帝以蘇林、秦靜等並老，恐無能傳業者。乃詔曰：「昔先聖旣沒，而其遺言餘教，著於六藝。六藝之文，禮又爲急，弗可斯須離者也。末俗背本，所由來久。故閔子譏原伯之不學，荀卿醜秦世之坑儒，儒學旣廢，則風化曷由興哉？

Today the veteran masters and great scholars are all advanced in years; who will carry on the way of teaching? In the past, when Fu Sheng was growing old, Emperor Wen of Han had Chao Cuo succeed him; when few studied the Guliang, Emperor Xuan had ten gentlemen carry it on. Select thirty gentlemen and clerks of high talent who understand the meaning of the classics, and have them study the Four Classics and the Three Rites in separate groups under the Minister of the Household Gaotang Long, the Regular Mounted Attendant Su Lin, and the Erudite Qin Jing; those in charge are to set up a full system of courses and examinations.

方今宿生巨儒，並各年高，教訓之道，孰爲其繼？昔伏生將老，漢文帝嗣以鼂錯；穀梁寡疇，宣帝承以十郎。其科郎吏高才解經義者三十人，從光祿勳隆、散騎常侍林、博士靜，分受四經三禮，主者具爲設課試之法。

Xiahou Sheng once said, ‘A scholar should worry only about not understanding the classics; if he truly understands them, he will pick up the blue and purple seal ribbons as easily as stooping to pick straw from the ground.’ Now if any of the students can master the way of the classics, rank, salary, honor, and favor will come unsought. Can they fail to exert themselves?” Within a few years Gaotang Long and the others had all died, and the teaching was at last abandoned.

夏侯勝有言：『士病不明經術，經術苟明，其取青紫如俯拾地芥耳。』今學者有能究極經道，則爵祿榮寵，不期而至。可不勉哉！」數年，隆等皆卒，學者遂廢。

Zhan Qian

棧潛

Earlier, Zhan Qian of Rencheng had served as prefect of several counties in the time of Taizu, and had once supervised the defense of Ye. At that time Emperor Wen was Crown Prince; he was addicted to hunting, going out at dawn and returning at night. Zhan Qian remonstrated: “Kings and lords set up defenses to secure their states, and the guards of the capital exist to warn against the unforeseen. The Greater Odes say, ‘The heir of the clan is its wall; let not the wall be ruined,’ and also, ‘Because your plans do not reach far, I therefore strongly remonstrate.’ If you indulge in hunting, going out at dawn and returning at dusk, and for the pleasure of a day's pursuit of game forget the boundless perils that may open, then in my foolishness I am privately perplexed.”

初，任城棧潛，太祖世歷縣令，¹嘗督守鄴城。時文帝爲太子，耽樂田獵，晨出夜還。潛諫曰：「王公設險以固其國，都城禁衞，用戒不虞。大雅云：『宗子維城，無俾城壞。』又曰：『猶之未遠，是用大諫。』若逸于遊田，晨出昏歸，以一日從禽之娛，而忘無垠之釁，愚竊惑之。」

The Crown Prince was displeased, but thereafter his excursions grew somewhat fewer. In the Huangchu era, when Emperor Wen was about to make the Honored Lady Guo empress, Zhan Qian submitted a memorial remonstrating; his words are in the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts. In the time of Emperor Ming, when many labors were undertaken at once and the imperial kin were kept at a distance and set aside, Zhan Qian submitted a memorial: “Heaven gave birth to the multitudes and set up rulers over them in order to shelter all living things and nurture the myriad people in brightness. Thus the four seas were not portioned out for the sake of the Son of Heaven, nor was the land divided into domains for the sake of the feudal lords.

太子不悅，然自後游出差簡。黃初中，文帝將立郭貴嬪爲皇后，潛上疏諫，語在〈后妃傳〉。明帝時，衆役並興，戚屬疏斥，潛上疏曰：天生蒸民而樹之君，所以覆燾羣生，熈育兆庶，故方制四海匪爲天子，裂土分疆匪爲諸侯也。

From the Three Sovereigns down to Tang and Yu, all bestowed broad relief upon the realm; their pure virtue spread everywhere and the common people relied on them. After the Three Kings declined, down to the Han, days of good order grew ever fewer and disorders ever more numerous, and since then no one has been able to set things right. Taizu, with profound wisdom and divine martial prowess, cut down violence and disorder, restored the royal bonds, and opened the imperial enterprise. Emperor Wen received Heaven's bright mandate and enlarged the imperial foundation, but in the seven years he occupied the throne he had no leisure for everything.

始自三皇，爰曁唐、虞，咸以愽濟加于天下，醇德以洽，黎元賴之。三王旣微，降逮于漢，治日益少，喪亂弘多，自時厥後，亦罔克乂。太祖濬哲神武，芟除暴亂，克復王綱，以開帝業。文帝受天明命，廓恢皇基，踐阼七載，每事未遑。

Your Majesty, with sagely virtue, has inherited the great line; you ought to esteem gentleness and let the people rest with you. Yet the borders are not at peace, soldiers on campaign garrison far away, there are affairs beyond the sea with banners hung ten thousand li off, the Six Armies are in turmoil, supplies are hauled by water and land, the common people abandon their livelihoods, and each day costs a thousand pieces of gold. Palaces and halls are raised on a grand scale, the works numbering in the tens of thousands; for the pines of Mount Culai mountains are cut down and valleys searched to their ends, and strange rocks and fine stones are floated down the Yellow River and the Huai. The land within the capital district is all crown domain that ought to supply taxes of straw, grain ears, and millet, yet it has been made into parks for choice game, thickening the tangled woods and enriching the haunts of deer and hares. This harms farming; the land is overgrown with thorns and brambles, disasters and epidemics spread, people and goods are badly ruined, the harmonious vapors above are diminished, and auspicious grain does not grow.

陛下聖德，纂承洪緒，宜崇晏晏，與民休息。而方隅匪寧，征夫遠戍，有事海外，縣旌萬里，六軍騷動，水陸轉運，百姓舍業，日費千金。大興殿舍，功作萬計，徂來之松，刊山窮谷，怪石珷玞，浮于河、淮，都圻之內，盡爲甸服，當供稾秸銍粟之調，而爲苑囿擇禽之府，盛林莽之穢，豐鹿兎之藪；傷害農功，地繁茨棘，災疫流行，民物大潰，上減和氣，嘉禾不植。

Your servant has heard that when King Wen built Feng, he began it saying there was no hurry, yet the people came like sons and it was finished in a few days; the Numinous Pool and the Numinous Park he shared with the people. Now the palaces and towers are lofty and extravagant and the carving is of the utmost refinement; this is forgetting Shun's Zongqi hall and hankering after Xin of Yin's jade chamber. The forbidden land stretches a thousand li, so that one cannot lift a foot without touching a net; the splendor rivals the Epang Palace and the labor is a hundred times that of Qianxi. Your servant fears that the people's strength will be exhausted and those below will be unable to bear their burdens. In the past Qin relied on Xiao and Hangu to control all under Heaven and believed its virtue loftier than the Three Sovereigns and its merit combining that of the Five Emperors, wishing its titles to continue for ten thousand generations; yet in the second generation it was overthrown and its ruler begged to become a commoner. This was because its trunk and branches had already been lopped and its root had been pulled up first.

臣聞文王作豐，經始勿亟，百姓子來，不日而成。靈沼、靈囿，與民共之。今宮觀崇侈，彫鏤極妙，忘有虞之總期，思殷辛之瓊室，禁地千里，舉足投網，麗擬阿房，役百乾谿，臣恐民力彫盡，下不堪命也。昔秦據殽函以制六合，自以德高三皇，功兼五帝，欲號謚至萬葉，而二世顛覆，願爲黔首，由枝幹旣杌，本實先拔也。

When the sage kings governed the world, they made brilliant virtue manifest, employed the meritorious, and cherished their kin. When outstanding men hold office, great works can flourish; when kinsmen are prominently employed, they share concern for safety and danger. Deepening the roots and strengthening the base, they serve together as trunk and wings, so that through rise and decline there is support both within and without. In the past, when King Cheng was young and could not yet take charge of government, the Dukes of Zhou, Lü, Shao, and Bi were all at his side. Now there are no overseers like the Marquis of Wei and Kangshu, and those entrusted with the division at Shan are not Dan and Shi.

蓋聖王之御世也，克明俊德，庸勳親親；俊乂在官，則功業可隆，親親顯用，則安危同憂；深根固本，並爲幹翼，雖歷盛衰，內外有輔。昔成王幼沖，未能莅政，周、呂、召、畢，並在左右；今旣無衞侯、康叔之監，分陝所任，又非旦、奭。

The Eastern Palace has not yet been established, and the realm has no heir. I beg Your Majesty to give thought to the passes and frontiers and preserve the state forever without end; then all within the seas will be most fortunate.”

東宮未建，天下無副。願陛下留心關塞，永保無極，則海內幸甚。

Later he was made Commandant of Yan, but declined on grounds of illness and did not take up the post. He died.

後爲燕中尉，辭疾不就，卒。

Appraisal

評

Appraisal: Xin Pi and Yang Fu were firm, clear-sighted, fair, and upright; they remonstrated rightly without regard for themselves, second only to the lofty example of Ji An. Gaotang Long was accomplished and clear in learning and set his mind on correcting his sovereign; he seized on portents to present warnings that sprang from earnest sincerity. Loyal indeed! But when it came to insisting on changing the calendar and having Wei claim Shun of Yu as its ancestor, was this not what is called zeal exceeding understanding?

評曰：辛毗、楊阜，剛亮公直，正諫匪躬，亞乎汲黯之高風焉。高堂隆學業脩明，志在匡君，因變陳戒，發於懇誠，忠矣哉！及至必改正朔，俾魏祖虞，所謂意過其通者歟！