Admonishing the Crown Prince規諫太子第十二
貞觀五年，李百藥爲太子右庶子，時太子承乾頗留意典墳，然閑宴之後，嬉戲過度。百藥作《讚道賦》以諷焉，其詞曰：
In the fifth year of Zhenguan, Li Baiyao became right mentor to the Heir Apparent. At that time the Heir Apparent Chengqian gave no little thought to the old books, but after his idle feasts he played and jested to excess. Baiyao composed the Zandao fu to admonish him by indirection. Its words ran:
下臣側聞先聖之格言，嘗覽載籍之遺則，伊天地之玄造，洎皇王之建國，曰人紀與人綱，資立言與立德。履之則率性成道，違之則罔念作忒。望興廢如從鈞，視吉凶如糾餧。至乃受圖膺籙，握鏡君臨。因萬物之思化，以百姓而爲心。體大儀之潛運，閱往古於來今。盡爲善於乙夜，惜勤勞於寸陰。故能釋層冰於瀚海，變寒穀於蹛林。總人靈以胥悦，極穹壤而懷音。
Your lowly servant has heard at second hand the upright sayings of the former sages, and has looked into the rules left behind in the old records. From the dark making of heaven and earth down to the founding of states by the august kings, what is called the cord and the net of mankind rests upon the setting up of words and the setting up of virtue. Tread them, and one follows his nature and completes the Way. Turn from them, and one is without thought and works error. Rise and ruin are watched as one watches the turning of a potter's wheel; good fortune and ill are seen as a tangled rope.
When it comes to receiving the chart and taking up the register, to grasping the mirror and reigning as lord, he follows the longing of the ten thousand things to be transformed, and makes the people his heart. He embodies the hidden movement of the great order, and looks at the ancient past in the present day. He spends himself in doing good until the second watch of the night, and grudges his labor even an inch of shadow. So he could melt the layered ice of Hanhai and change the cold valley into Dailin. He gathers men and spirits to rejoice together, and to the ends of sky and earth they carry song in their hearts.
赫矣聖唐，大哉靈命；時維大始，運鍾上聖。天縱皇儲，固本居正；機悟宏遠，神姿凝映。顧三善而必弘。祗四德而爲行。每趨庭而聞禮，常問寢而資敬。奉聖訓以周鏇，誕天文之明命。邁觀喬而望梓，即元龜與明鏡。自大道雲革，禮教斯起，以正君臣，以篤父子。君臣之禮，父子之親，盡情義以兼極，諒弘道之在人。豈夏啟與周誦，亦丹朱與商均。既雕且琢，溫故知新。惟忠與敬，曰孝與仁。則可以下光四海，上燭三辰。昔三王之教子，兼四時以齒學；將交發於中外，乃先之以禮樂。樂以移風易俗，禮以安上化人。非有悦於鍾鼓，將宣志以和神。寧有懷於玉帛，將克己而庇身。生於深宮之中，處於群後之上，未深思於王業，不自珍於匕鬯。謂富貴之自然，恃崇高以矜尚，必恣驕狠，動愆禮讓，輕師傅而慢禮儀，狎奸諂而縱淫放。前星之耀遽隱，少陽之道斯諒。雖天下之爲家，蹈夷儉之非一。或以才而見升，或見讒而受黜。足可以省厥休咎，觀其得失。請粗略而陳之，覬披文而相質。
Resplendent is the sagely Tang, and great is the numinous mandate. The time is the great beginning, and the destiny is gathered upon the highest sage. Heaven has granted the imperial heir, who makes the root firm and dwells in what is correct; his grasp of the springs of things is wide and far, and his divine bearing is gathered and bright. He looks to the three goods and is sure to broaden them; he reveres the four virtues and makes them his conduct. Each time he crosses the courtyard he hears of the rites, and ever he asks after his father's rest and draws reverence from it. He upholds the sage's teaching and turns it about, and makes great the bright mandate of heaven's pattern. He goes forward as one who looks at the tall tree and gazes at the catalpa; he is the great tortoise shell and the bright mirror.
Since the great Way was altered, the teaching of the rites arose from this, setting lord and subject straight and making father and son generous to each other. In the rites of lord and subject and the closeness of father and son, feeling and right are both carried to the utmost; truly the broadening of the Way lies in man. How should there be only Qi of Xia and Song of Zhou? There were also Danzhu and Shangjun. Carved and then polished, one warms over the old and knows the new. Only loyalty and reverence, filial piety and humaneness; with these one may light the four seas below and illumine the three luminaries above.
Of old, when the three kings taught their sons, they joined the four seasons and had them study by order of age; and since they meant to bring forth what is within and what is without together, they put the rites and music first. By music customs are shifted and changed; by rites those above are set at ease and men are transformed. It was not that they took delight in bell and drum. They meant to spread the will and bring the spirit into harmony. How should their hearts have been on jade and silk? They meant to master themselves and shelter their own persons.
Born within the deep palace, placed above the ranks of the princes, he does not think deeply on the royal work, nor does he himself hold precious the ladle and the millet wine. He calls wealth and honor a thing that comes of itself, and trusting in his high place he boasts. He is sure to give free rein to pride and harshness, and whenever he stirs he offends against rite and yielding. He makes light of his tutors and slights the rites and ceremonies; he grows familiar with the crooked and the flattering, and lets license and wantonness run loose. The shining of the foremost star is at once hidden, and the way of the lesser yang grows thin.
Though the world was made a household, the treading of smooth ground and of rough has not been one thing only. Some were raised up for their talent; some met with slander and were cast down. It is enough to look over what was fair in them and what was at fault, and to see where they gained and where they lost. I beg to set this out in rough outline, hoping that you will open the writing and weigh it with me.
在宗周之積德，乃執契而膺期；賴昌、發而作貳，啟七百之鴻基。逮扶蘇之副秦，非有虧於聞望，以長嫡之隆重，監偏師於亭障。始禍則金以寒離，厥妖則火不炎上；既樹置之違道，見宗祀之遄喪。伊漢氏之長世，固明兩之遞作。高惑戚而寵趙，以天下而爲謔。惠結皓而因良，致羽翼於寥廓。景有慚於鄧子，成從理之淫虐；終生患於強吳，由發怒於爭博。徹居儲兩，時猶幼沖，防衰年之絕議，識亞夫之矜功，故能恢弘祖業，紹三代之遺風。據開博望，其名未融。哀時命之奇舛，遇讒贼於江充，雖備兵以誅亂，竟背義而凶終。宣嗣好儒，大猷行闡，嗟被尤於德教，美發言於忠謇。始聞道於匡、韋，終穫戾於恭、顯。太孫雜藝，雖異定陶，馳道不絕，抑惟小善。猶見重於通人，當傳芳於前典。中興上嗣，明、章濟濟，俱達時政，咸通經禮，極至情於敬愛，惇友於於兄弟，是以固東海之遺堂，因西周之繼體。五官在魏，無聞德音。或受譏於妲己，且自悦於從禽。雖才高而學富，竟取累於荒淫。暨貽厥於明皇，構崇基於三世。得秦帝之奢侈，亞漢武之才藝。遂驅役於群臣，亦無救於凋弊。中撫寬愛，相表多奇。重桃符而致惑，納巨鹿之明規。竟能掃江表之氛穢，擧要荒而見羈。惠處東朝，察其遺蹟。在聖德其如初，實御床之可惜。悼愍懷之雲廢，遇烈風之吹沙。盡性靈之狎藝，亦自敗於凶邪。安能奉其粢盛，承此邦家！
In the piling up of virtue in Zongzhou, they held the tally and met their appointed time; leaning on Chang and Fa as their seconds, they opened the great foundation of seven hundred years.
When it comes to Fusu as second to Qin, there was no flaw in the repute he had; yet with all the weight and height of the eldest son by the principal wife, he was set to watch a detached army at the frontier forts. When the disaster began, metal departed through cold; when the portent showed, fire would not blaze upward. Since the setting up of the heir had gone against the Way, the sacrifices of the ancestral temple were seen to perish quickly.
That the house of Han lasted long was truly because two bright ones arose in turn. Gaozu was beguiled by Lady Qi and doted on the Prince of Zhao, making a jest of the empire. Hui bound to himself the four white-haired men and, through Zhang Liang, gained wings in the empty sky. Jing had cause for shame before Master Deng, and while claiming to follow reason he brought about license and cruelty; and that trouble at last arose from the strong Wu came of the anger he showed in a quarrel over a board game.
When Che dwelt in the place of the heir he was still young, yet he blocked the broken counsel of his father's late years and saw that Yafu boasted of his merit. So he was able to enlarge his grandfather's work and carry on the customs left by the three dynasties.
Ju opened Bowang, but his name was not yet made bright. One grieves that his time and his fate were strangely crossed, and that he met a slandering brigand in Jiang Chong. Though he made ready troops to cut down the disorder, in the end he turned his back on right and came to an evil end.
The heir of Xuan loved the learning of the scholars, and the great plan was carried out and made clear; yet one grieves that he was faulted in the matter of virtue and teaching, and finds it fair that he spoke out in loyalty and straightness. At first he heard the Way from Kuang Heng and Wei Xuancheng; in the end he took harm from Hong Gong and Shi Xian.
That the imperial grandson dabbled in the lesser arts was indeed unlike the Prince of Dingtao, and that he did not cut across the imperial road was but a small good. Even so he was counted weighty by men of wide learning, and he deserves to pass his fragrance down in the earlier records.
The heirs after the restoration, Ming and Zhang, were splendid: both were versed in the government of their time and both were conversant with the classics and the rites; they carried reverence and love to the height of feeling and were generous in brotherly affection. So they made firm the hall left by the Prince of Donghai and followed the Western Zhou in carrying on the body of the line.
The General of the Five Offices in Wei: of him no virtuous word is heard. Some mocked him by likening him to Daji, and he took his own pleasure in chasing birds. Though his talent was high and his learning full, in the end he was brought low by wild license.
Coming down to what was handed on to Emperor Ming of Wei, he framed a lofty foundation over three reigns. He got the extravagance of the emperor of Qin and stood next to Emperor Wu of Han in the arts. In the end he drove and used his many officials, and yet could not save them from withering and ruin.
He who soothed the realm in the middle years was generous and loving, and there was much that was uncommon in his looks. He gave weight to peachwood charms and so fell into delusion, yet he took in the clear rule of Julu. In the end he could sweep away the foul air of the lands south of the river and bridle even the far marches.
When Hui was in the Eastern Court, look at the traces he left: had his sagely virtue been at the end as it was at first, the matter of the imperial couch would truly be a thing to regret. One mourns that Minhuai was cast out, as though a fierce wind had blown the sand away. He spent nature and spirit in growing familiar with the lesser arts, and he too was undone by the evil and the crooked. How could such a man uphold the grain vessels of the sacrifice and carry on this realm and house!
惟聖上之慈愛，訓義方於至道。同論政於漢幄，修致戒於京鄗。鄙《韓子》之所賜，重經術以爲寶。咨政理之美惡，亦文身之黼藻。庶有擇於愚夫，慚乞言於遺老。致庶績於咸寧，先得人而爲盛。帝堯以則哲垂謨，文王以多士興詠。取之於正人，鑒之於靈鏡。量其器能，審其檢行。必宜度機而分職，不可違方以從政。若其惑於聽受，暗於知人，則有道者咸屈，無用者必伸。讒諛競進以求媚，玩好不召而自臻。直言正諫，以忠信而穫罪；賣官鬻獄，以貨賄而見親。於是虧我王度，斁我彝倫。九鼎遇奸回而遠逝，萬姓望撫我而歸仁。蓋造化之至育，惟人靈之爲貴。獄訟不理，有生死之異塗，冤結不伸，乖陰陽之和氣。士之通塞，屬之以深文；命之修短，懸之於酷吏。是故帝堯畫像，陳恤隱之言；夏禹泣辜，盡哀矜之志。因取象於《大壯》，乃峻宇而雕牆。將瑤台以瓊室，豈畫棟以虹梁。或凌雲以遐觀，或通天而納涼。極醉飽而刑人力，命痿蹶而受身殃。是以言惜十家之產，漢帝以昭儉而垂裕；雖成百里之囿，周文以子來而克昌。彼嘉會而禮通，重旨酒之爲德。至忘歸而受祉，在齊聖而溫克。若其酗以致昏，酖湎而成忒，痛殷受與灌夫，亦亡身而喪國。是以伊尹以酣歌而作戒，周公以亂邦而貽則。咨幽閑之令淑，實好逑於君子。辭玉輦而割愛，固班姬之所恥；脱簪餌而思愆，亦宣薑之爲美。乃有禍晉之驪姬，喪周之褒姒。盡妖妍於圖畫，極凶悖於人理。傾城傾國，思昭示於後王；麗質冶容，宜永鑒於前史。復有蒐狩之禮，弛射之場，不節之以正義，必自致於禽荒。匪外形之疲極，亦中心而發狂。夫高深不懼，胥靡之徒；韝緤爲娛，小豎之事。以宗社之崇重，持先王之名器，與鷹犬而並驅，凌艱險而逸轡。馬有銜橛之理，獸駭不存之地，猶有靦於穫多，獨無情而内愧？
It is the loving kindness of the Sage Above that teaches you the right way by the utmost Way. He does as they did who discussed government in the tents of Han, and he cultivates the warnings that were made in the capital at Hao. He thinks little of the gift of the Hanzi, and holds the learning of the classics weighty as a treasure. He asks what is fair and what is foul in government and rule, and this too is the embroidery that patterns the body. He hopes that even a foolish fellow may have something worth choosing, and is ashamed that he cannot beg words of the old men left from former days.
To bring the many works to full peace, getting the right men first is what makes it flourish. Emperor Yao left his plan by his wisdom in knowing men; King Wen raised up song by his many officers. Take them from upright men; mirror them in the numinous mirror. Measure their capacity and ability, and examine the conduct they have shown. You must weigh the springs of things and divide the offices by them, and you may not go against the right method in conducting government.
If you are beguiled in what you hear and receive, and are in the dark about knowing men, then all who have the Way will bend, and the useless will surely stretch themselves out. Slanderers and flatterers will press forward in rivalry to win favor, and playthings will come of themselves unsummoned. Straight words and upright remonstrance will earn punishment for their loyalty and good faith, while those who sell offices and traffic in lawsuits will be made intimate through goods and bribes. Then the royal measure is marred and the constant bonds of men are broken. The nine cauldrons, meeting with the crooked and false, depart far off, and the myriad people, hoping that someone will soothe them, turn to the humane.
Of all that creation nourishes to the utmost, only the spirit in man is precious. When suits at law are not put in order, there is a parting of the roads between life and death; when wrong is knotted up and not unbound, the harmonious breath of shade and sun goes awry. Whether a gentleman goes through or is blocked hangs on a harsh reading of the statutes, and whether his life is long or short hangs on cruel clerks. Therefore Emperor Yao had the punishments painted and set out words of pity for the hidden, and Yu of Xia wept over a criminal and spent his whole will in grief and compassion.
Taking the image from the hexagram Dazhuang, they made their houses lofty and carved their walls. They would raise terraces of jasper and chambers of jade; how should it end with painted ridgepoles and rainbow beams? Some rise above the clouds to gaze afar; some reach to the sky to take in the cool. They spend themselves in drink and food and lay punishment on the strength of men; they call down palsy and stumbling and take the disaster into their own bodies. Therefore, by his word about grudging the property of ten households, the Han emperor made frugality clear and handed down abundance; and though he made a park of a hundred li, King Wen of Zhou could flourish because the people came to him as sons.
At a fine gathering where the rites are in flow, weight is given to the virtue of fragrant wine. To forget to go home and yet receive blessing lies in being composed and sagely, and warm in self-mastery. But if drunkenness brings on darkness, and one sinks in wine and works error, then one grieves for Shou of Yin and for Guan Fu, who lost their persons and lost their states. Therefore Yi Yin made a warning out of singing in one's cups, and the Duke of Zhou left a rule concerning the throwing of a state into disorder.
A gentle and quiet lady of good virtue is truly a fitting mate for a gentleman. To decline the jade carriage and cut love away was what Lady Ban held herself bound by; to take off hairpin and earring and think upon one's fault was also the fineness of Xuan Jiang. Then there were Li Ji, who brought disaster on Jin, and Bao Si, who lost Zhou. In the painted image they carried bewitching beauty to its utmost, and in human conduct they carried what is evil and perverse to its utmost. The toppling of cities and the toppling of states is a thing to be shown plainly to the kings who come after; fair substance and alluring looks should be a mirror forever in the earlier histories.
There are also the rites of the hunt and the grounds for loosing the bow. If these are not kept within measure by right conduct, one is sure to come of oneself to the wildness of chasing birds. Not only is the body worn out to the last without, but the heart within goes mad. To have no fear of height and depth is the way of convicts; to make sport of armguard and leash is the business of small servants. Yet with the height and weight of the ancestral altars, and holding the named vessels of the former kings, he runs abreast of hawk and hound and crosses hard and dangerous ground with a loose rein. A horse has its bit and its bar for a reason, and beasts start away to ground where there is no standing. And still he is brazen about how much he has taken. Is he alone without feeling, and not ashamed within?
以小臣之愚鄙，忝不赀之恩榮。擢無庸於草澤，齒陋質於簪纓。遇大道行而兩儀泰，喜元良會而萬國貞。以監撫之多暇，每講論而肅成。仰惟神之敏速，歎將聖之聰明。自禮賢於秋實，足歸道於春卿。芳年淑景，時和氣清。華殿邃兮簾幃靜，灌木森兮風雲輕，花飄香兮動笑日，嬌鶯囀兮相哀鳴。以物華之繁靡，尚絕思於將迎。猶允蹈而不倦，極耽玩以研精。命庸才以載筆，謝摛藻於天庭。異洞簫之娛侍，殊飛蓋之緣情。闕雅言以讚德，思報恩以輕生。敢下拜而稽首，願永樹於風聲。奉皇靈之遐壽，冠振古之鴻名。
With the folly and meanness of a small servant, I have shamefully received grace and honor beyond all reckoning. I was drawn, useless as I am, out of the grassy marsh, and my low substance now stands in years among the capped and tasseled. I have met a time when the great Way is practiced and the two forms are at peace, and I rejoice that in the meeting with the heir the myriad states are made upright.
Since there is much leisure in your watching and soothing of the realm, each time there is lecture and discussion it is carried out with solemnity. Looking up, I think on the quickness of your spirit, and marvel at the clear hearing and clear sight of one near to a sage. Since you received the worthy with rites at the season of autumn fruit, there is enough to turn the Way back to the officers of spring.
It is a fragrant year and a clear light; the season is mild and the air is pure. The splendid hall is deep, the blind and the curtain still; the thick trees stand dense, the wind and cloud are light. The blossoms send their scent abroad and stir the smiling sun; the tender oriole warbles, and they call plaintively to one another. Yet though the brightness of things is lush and lovely, you still cut off all thought of seeing them off and welcoming them in. And for all that, you tread the way in earnest without growing weary, and give yourself wholly to study, grinding it fine.
You have bidden a poor talent take up the brush, and I decline to spread out fine phrases in the court of heaven. This is unlike attending for pleasure with the panpipe, and other than following feeling beneath a flying canopy. I fall short of the proper words to praise your virtue, but in thinking how to repay your kindness I make light of my life. I dare to bow below and knock my head on the ground, wishing that a wind-borne fame may be raised up forever. May you uphold the long life granted by the august spirits, and wear a great name that shakes the ages past.
太宗見而遣使謂百藥曰：「朕於皇太子處見卿所作賦，述古來儲貳事以誡太子，甚是典要。朕選卿以輔弼太子，正爲此事，大稱所委，但須善始令終耳。」因賜廄馬一疋，彩物三百段。
Taizong saw it and sent a messenger to say to Baiyao:
"In the Heir Apparent's quarters I have seen the rhapsody you composed. You set down the affairs of heirs from ancient times to warn the Heir Apparent, and it is greatly to the point. My choosing you to support and assist the Heir Apparent was for just this, and it answers well to what I charged you with. Only you must make a good beginning and a fair end."
He then bestowed on him a horse from the stables and three hundred lengths of colored stuff.
貞觀中，太子承乾數虧禮度，侈縱日甚，太子左庶子於志寧撰《諫苑》二十卷諷之。是時太子右庶子孔穎達每犯顏進諫。承乾乳母遂安夫人謂穎達曰：「太子長成，何宜屢得面摺？」對曰：「蒙國厚恩，死無所恨。」諫諍愈切。承乾令撰《孝經義疏》，穎達又因文見意，愈廣規諫之道。太宗並嘉納之，二人各賜帛五百疋，黄金一斤，以勵承乾之意。
During the Zhenguan years the Heir Apparent Chengqian marred the measure of the rites again and again, and his extravagance and license grew worse by the day. The left mentor of the Heir Apparent, Yu Zhining, composed the Jianyuan in twenty scrolls to admonish him by indirection. At that time the right mentor of the Heir Apparent, Kong Yingda, would ever brave his face and offer remonstrance. Chengqian's wet nurse, Lady Sui'an, said to Yingda:
"The Heir Apparent is fully grown. How is it fitting that he be rebuffed to his face so often?"
He answered:
"I have received the deep kindness of the state. To die for it would leave me nothing to regret."
His remonstrance grew the more urgent. When Chengqian had him compose the Xiaojing yishu, Yingda again showed his meaning through the writing and widened still further the way of admonishing by rule. Taizong commended and accepted both, and bestowed on each of the two men five hundred bolts of silk and a catty of gold, to strengthen Chengqian's resolve.
貞觀十三年，太子右庶子張玄素以承乾頗以游畋廢學，上書諫曰：
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, the right mentor of the Heir Apparent, Zhang Xuansu, seeing that Chengqian had much given up study for roaming and hunting, submitted a memorial of remonstrance:
臣聞皇天無親，惟德是輔，苟違天道，人神同棄。然古三驅之禮，非欲教殺，將爲百姓除害，故湯羅一面，天下歸仁。今苑内娛獵，雖名異游畋，若行之無恒，終虧雅度。且傅說曰：「學不師古，匪說攸聞。」然則弘道在於學古，學古必資師訓。既奉恩詔，令孔穎達侍講，望數存顧問，以補萬一。仍博選有名行學士，兼朝夕侍奉。覽聖人之遺教，察既往之行事，日知其所不足，月無忘其所能。此則盡善盡美，夏啟、周誦焉足言哉！夫爲人上者，未有不求其善，但以性不勝情，耽惑成亂。耽惑既甚，忠言盡塞，所以臣下苟顺，君道漸虧。古人有言：「勿以小惡而不去，小善而不爲。」故知禍福之來，皆起於漸。殿下地居儲貳，當須廣樹嘉猷。既有好畋之淫，何以主斯匕鬯？慎終如始，猶恐漸衰，始尚不慎，終將安保！
I have heard that august Heaven has no kin and aids only virtue, so that if a man truly goes against the Way of Heaven, men and spirits alike cast him off. Yet the old rite of driving the game on three sides was not meant to teach killing, but to rid the people of harm; and so when Tang opened one side of the net, the world turned to his humaneness. Now you take your pleasure in hunting within the park, and though the name differs from roaming and hunting abroad, if you do it without constancy it will mar your seemly measure in the end.
Moreover Fu Yue said, "To study without taking the ancients for masters is not what I have heard of." If that is so, the broadening of the Way lies in studying the ancients, and studying the ancients must draw upon the teaching of masters. You have already received a gracious decree bidding Kong Yingda attend and lecture; I hope you will keep him often at hand for your questions, and so make up one part in ten thousand. Choose widely, too, among learned men of name and conduct, and have them attend morning and evening as well. Look into the teaching left by the sages and examine the deeds already past; know each day what you still lack, and forget in no month what you can do. Then good will be complete and beauty complete, and what would Qi of Xia or Song of Zhou be worth speaking of!
Now among those who stand above men there is none who does not seek his own good; but because nature does not overcome feeling, they sink into delusion and make disorder. Once the delusion is deep, loyal words are wholly blocked, and so those below comply for the sake of ease and the way of the ruler is marred little by little. A man of old said, "Do not fail to be rid of an evil because it is small, nor fail to do a good because it is small." From this we know that disaster and blessing, when they come, all rise out of what is gradual.
Your Highness's place is that of the heir, and you should plant fair counsels broadly. Since there is already this excess of loving the hunt, with what will you preside over the ladle and the millet wine? To be careful at the end as at the beginning still leaves one afraid of a slow decline; if you are not careful even at the beginning, how will you keep the end?
承乾不納。玄素又上書諫曰：
Chengqian did not accept it. Xuansu again submitted a memorial of remonstrance:
臣聞稱皇子入學而齒胄者，欲令太子知君臣、父子、尊卑、長幼之道。然君臣之義，父子之親，尊卑之序，長幼之節，用之方寸之内，弘之四海之外者，皆因行以遠聞，假言以光被。伏惟殿下，睿質已隆，尚須學文以飾其表。竊見孔穎達、趙弘智等，非惟宿德鴻儒，亦兼達政要。望令數得侍講，開釋物理，覽古論今，增輝睿德。至如騎射畋游，酣歌妓玩，苟悦耳目，終穢心神。漸染既久，必移情性。古人有言：「心爲萬事主，動而無節即亂。」恐殿下敗德之源，在於此矣。
I have heard that the saying about an imperial son entering school and taking his place by age is meant to have the Heir Apparent know the way of lord and subject, of father and son, of high and low, of elder and younger. Yet the right between lord and subject, the closeness of father and son, the order of high and low, and the measure of elder and younger are used within a square inch of the heart and broadened beyond the four seas, and all of them are heard afar through conduct and spread wide through borrowed words.
I humbly consider that Your Highness's wise substance is already high, but that you must still study letters to adorn its outward show. I privately observe that Kong Yingda, Zhao Hongzhi and the rest are not only men of long-standing virtue and great learning but are also versed in the essentials of government. I hope you will have them attend and lecture often, opening and explaining the principles of things, looking at the ancient and discussing the present, and adding luster to your wise virtue.
As for riding and shooting, hunting and roaming, singing in your cups and taking pleasure in entertainers, these truly delight the ear and the eye, but in the end they foul the heart and the spirit. Once the stain has soaked in long, it is sure to shift nature and feeling. A man of old said, "The heart is the master of the ten thousand affairs; if it stirs without measure, then there is disorder." I fear that the source of the ruin of Your Highness's virtue lies here.
承乾覽書愈怒，謂玄素曰：「庶子患風狂耶？」
Chengqian read the memorial and grew the angrier, and said to Xuansu:
"Has the mentor gone mad?"
十四年，太宗知玄素在東宮頻有進諫，擢授銀青光祿大夫，行太子左庶子。時承乾嘗於宮中擊鼓，聲聞於外，玄素叩合請見，極言切諫。乃出宮内鼓對玄素毁之，遣戶奴伺玄素早朝，陰以馬檛擊之，殆至於死。是時承乾好營造亭觀，窮極奢侈，費用日廣。玄素上書諫曰：
In the fourteenth year, Taizong learned that Xuansu had offered remonstrance again and again in the Eastern Palace, and raised him to be Grand Master of the Palace with Silver Seal and Blue Ribbon, acting as left mentor of the Heir Apparent. At that time Chengqian had once beaten a drum within the palace, and the sound was heard outside. Xuansu knocked at the side gate and asked to be received, and spoke to the utmost in urgent remonstrance. Chengqian then had the drum brought out from the palace and broke it in front of Xuansu. After that he sent a household slave to watch for Xuansu on his way to the early court, and struck him in secret with a horsewhip, so that he almost died.
At this time Chengqian was fond of building pavilions and belvederes and carried extravagance to the utmost, so that the cost grew wider by the day. Xuansu submitted a memorial of remonstrance:
臣以愚蔽，竊位兩宮，在臣有江海之潤，於國無秋毫之益，是用必竭愚誠，思盡臣節者也。伏惟儲君之寄，荷戴殊重，如其積德不弘，何以嗣守成業？聖上以殿下親則父子，事兼家國，所應用物不爲節限。恩旨未逾六旬，用物已過七萬，驕奢之極，孰云過此？龍樓之下，惟聚工匠；望苑之内，不睹賢良。今言孝敬，則闕侍膳問豎之禮；語恭顺，則違君父慈訓之方；求風聲，則無學古好道之實；觀擧措，則有因緣誅戮之罪。宮臣正士，未嘗在側，群邪淫巧，昵近深宮。愛好者皆游伎雜色，施與者並圖畫雕鏤。在外瞻仰，已有此失；居中隱密，寧可勝計哉！宣猷禁門，不異闤闠，朝入暮出，惡聲漸遠。右庶子趙弘智經明行修，當今善士，臣每請望數召進，與之談論，庶廣徽猷。令旨反有猜嫌，謂臣妄相推引。從善如流，尚恐不逮；飾非拒諫，必是招損。古人云：「苦藥利病，苦口利行。」伏願居安思危，日慎一日。
I, dull and blinkered, have stolen a place in the two palaces. To me there has come the moistening of rivers and seas, but to the state not the benefit of an autumn hair. That is why I must spend my foolish sincerity and think to fulfill a subject's duty.
I humbly consider that what is entrusted to the heir is a load of uncommon weight. If the virtue he heaps up is not broad, with what will he carry on and keep the work already achieved? Because the Sage Above is your father in closeness, and because your affairs join house and state, he set no measure or limit on the goods you might use. Yet his gracious order is not yet sixty days old, and the goods used already pass seventy thousand. For the height of pride and extravagance, what could be said to go beyond this?
Below the Dragon Tower only artisans gather; within the Wangyuan no worthy or good man is seen. Speak now of filial piety and reverence, and the rite of attending at meals and asking after him through the attendant is wanting. Speak of respect and compliance, and you have gone against the loving instruction of your lord and father. Seek a wind-borne fame, and there is no substance of studying the ancients and loving the Way. Look at your conduct, and there is the guilt of seizing on pretexts to cut men down and kill them.
The officers of the palace and upright gentlemen have never been at your side, while a crowd of crooked, licentious and artful men press close to the inner palace. What you love and favor are all players and mixed sorts; what you bestow is all painting and carving. Seen from outside, there are already these faults; hidden and secret within, how could they ever be counted? Inside the Xuanyou Gate it is no different from a market street; they come in at dawn and go out at dusk, and an evil name spreads further by degrees.
The right mentor Zhao Hongzhi is clear in the classics and cultivated in conduct, a good gentleman of our day. I have asked again and again that you summon him often to come forward, and talk with him, so that fair counsels might be broadened. Yet your order was suspicious and resentful instead, and said that I was recklessly pushing and pulling men forward. To follow the good as water flows still leaves one afraid of falling short; to dress up what is wrong and shut out remonstrance is sure to bring loss. A man of old said, "Bitter medicine is good for the illness; bitter words are good for conduct." I humbly wish that, dwelling in safety, you would think of danger, and grow more careful with each day that passes.
書入，承乾大怒，遣刺客將加屠害，俄屬宮廢。
When the memorial went in, Chengqian was greatly angered and sent an assassin to butcher him; but before long it came about that the Palace was abolished.
貞觀十四年，太子詹事於志寧，以太子承乾廣造宮室，奢侈過度，耽好聲樂，上書諫曰：
In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, the Household Administrator of the Heir Apparent, Yu Zhining, seeing that the Heir Apparent Chengqian was building palace halls on a wide scale, that his extravagance went past all measure, and that he was given to the pleasures of song and music, submitted a memorial of remonstrance:
臣聞克儉節用，實弘道之源；崇侈恣情，乃敗德之本。是以凌雲概日，戎人於是致譏；峻宇雕牆，《夏書》以之作誡。昔趙盾匡晉，呂望師周，或勸之以節財，或諫之以厚斂。莫不盡忠以佐國，竭誠以奉君，欲使茂實播於無窮，英聲被乎物聽。咸着簡策，用爲美談。且今所居東宮，隋日營建，睹之者尚譏其侈，見之者猶歎甚華。何容於此中更有修造，財帛日費，土木不停，窮斤斧之工，極磨礱之妙？且丁匠官奴入内，比者曾無復監。此等或兄犯國章，或弟罹王法，往來御苑，出入禁闈，鉗鑿緣其身，槌杵在其手。監門本防非慮，宿衛以備不虞，直長既自不知，千牛又復不見。爪牙在外，廝役在内，所司何以自安，臣下豈容無懼？
I have heard that to master frugality and use things with measure is truly the source of broadening the Way, and that to exalt extravagance and give rein to feeling is the root of ruining virtue. So it was that when a hall rose above the clouds and brushed the sun, a man of the Rong let fall his mockery; and lofty houses with carved walls were what the Book of Xia made into a warning.
Of old, when Zhao Dun set Jin straight and Lü Wang was master to Zhou, the one urged sparing of wealth and the other remonstrated against heavy levies. There was none who did not spend his loyalty to aid the state and exhaust his sincerity to serve his lord, wishing that rich substance might spread without end and that a fair name might cover the hearing of men. All of it is set down on tablets and in books, and is taken for fine talk.
Moreover, the Eastern Palace where you now dwell was built in the days of Sui; those who see it still mock its extravagance, and those who look at it still sigh at how splendid it is. How can there be further building and repair within it, with goods and silk spent day after day, earth and timber never stopping, the craft of axe and adze carried to its end and the fineness of grinding and polishing carried to its utmost?
Moreover, laborers, artisans and government slaves come inside, and of late there has been no one at all set to watch them again. Among these men, some have an elder brother who broke the law of the state, some a younger brother who fell under the royal statutes; and they pass back and forth through the imperial park and come in and out of the palace gates, with pincers and chisels bound to their bodies and mallets and pestles in their hands. The gate guards are there to ward off wrong designs, and the night watch to be ready for what is not looked for; yet the aides themselves do not know of it, and the Thousand Bulls guards again do not see it. Claws and fangs are outside, menials are within. How are the offices in charge to be at ease in themselves, and how could a subject be allowed to feel no fear?
又鄭、衛之樂，古謂淫聲。昔朝歌之鄉，回車者墨翟；夾穀之會，揮劍者孔丘。先聖既以爲非，通賢將以爲失。頃聞宮内，屢有鼓聲，大樂伎兒，入便不出。聞之者股栗，言之者心戰。往年口敕，伏請重尋，聖旨殷勤，明誡懇切。在於殿下，不可不思；至於微臣，不得無懼。
Again, the music of Zheng and Wey was called licentious sound by the ancients. Of old it was Mo Di who turned his carriage back at the village of Zhaoge, and Kong Qiu who brandished the sword at the meeting of Jiagu. The former sages already held it wrong, and men of penetrating worth will hold it a fault.
Of late I hear that within the palace there has been the sound of drums again and again, and that the girl entertainers of the Grand Music Office go in and do not come out. Those who hear it shake in the thigh; those who speak of it tremble in the heart. I humbly ask that you seek out once more the spoken command of last year. The sage intent was earnest and the clear warning urgent. For Your Highness it cannot but be thought upon, and as for your humble servant, he cannot but feel fear.
臣自驅馳宮闕，已積歲時，犬馬尚解識恩，木石猶能知感，臣所有管見，敢不盡言。如鑒以丹誠，則臣有生路；若責其忤旨，則臣是罪人。但悦意取容，臧孫方以疾疢；犯顏逆耳，《春秋》比之藥石。伏願停工巧之作，罷久役之人，絕鄭、衛之音，斥群小之輩。則三善允備，萬國作貞矣。
Since I began hurrying to and fro about the palace, years and seasons have piled up. Dog and horse still know how to recognize kindness, and wood and stone can still feel; how then should I not dare to speak out all the narrow views I hold? If you look on them with your red sincerity, then I have a road to live by; if you reproach me for going against your will, then I am a guilty man.
Yet to please your fancy and win acceptance is what Zangsun likened to a disease, while to brave your face and grate on your ear is what the Spring and Autumn Annals likened to medicine and the stone needle. I humbly wish that you would halt the works of cunning craft, release the men long held in service, cut off the sounds of Zheng and Wey, and drive off the crowd of small men. Then the three goods will be truly complete, and the myriad states will be made upright.
承乾覽書不悦。
Chengqian read the memorial and was not pleased.
十五年，承乾以務農之時，召駕士等役，不許分番，人懷怨苦。又私引突厥群豎入宮。志寧上書諫曰：
In the fifteenth year, at the season when men should have been at work in the fields, Chengqian summoned the carriage drivers and the rest to labor for him and would not let them take their turns, so that they harbored resentment and hardship. He also brought a crowd of Tujue underlings into the palace in private. Zhining submitted a memorial of remonstrance:
臣聞上天蓋高，日月光其德；明君至聖，輔佐讚其功。是以周誦升儲，見匡毛、畢；漢盈居震，取資黄、綺。姬旦抗法於伯禽，賈生陳事於文帝，咸殷勤於端士，皆懇切於正人。曆代賢君，莫不丁寧於太子者，良以地膺上嗣，位處儲君。善則率土沾其恩，惡則海内罹其禍。近聞僕寺、司馭、駕士、獸醫，始自春初，迄茲夏晚，常居内役，不放分番。或家有尊親，闕於溫凊；或室有幼弱，絕於撫養。春既廢其耕墾，夏又妨其播殖。事乖存育，恐致怨嗟。倘聞天聽，後悔何及？又突厥達哥支等，咸是人面獸心，豈得以禮義期，不可以仁信待。心則未識於忠孝，言則莫辯其是非，近之有損於英聲，昵之無益於盛德。引之入合，人皆驚駭，豈臣庸識，獨用不安？殿下必須上副至尊聖情，下允黎元本望，不可輕微惡而不避，無容略小善而不爲。理敦杜漸之方，須有防萌之術。屏退不肖，狎近賢良。如此則善道日隆，德音自遠。
I have heard that when high Heaven is lofty, sun and moon make its virtue shine, and that when a bright ruler is most sagely, his helpers set forth his merit in praise. So when Song of Zhou rose to be heir, he was set straight by the Dukes of Mao and Bi; and when Ying of Han sat in the place of the Thunder trigram, he drew his support from Huang and Qi. Ji Dan held up the law against Boqin, and Master Jia set out affairs before Emperor Wen; all were earnest about upright gentlemen, and all were urgent about men who are correct.
That the worthy rulers of every age have without exception been insistent with the Heir Apparent is truly because his place answers to the succession above and his position is that of the heir. If he is good, all within the borders are moistened with his kindness; if he is evil, all within the seas fall into his disaster.
Of late I hear that the grooms of the Servitors' Court, the drivers of the stable, the carriage men and the veterinarians have been kept at labor within from the beginning of spring down to this late summer, and are not released to take their turns. Some have honored parents at home and fail in warming and cooling for them; some have the young and weak in the house and have had to break off caring for them. In spring they have already given up their plowing and breaking of the ground; in summer they are hindered again in their sowing and planting. The matter runs counter to keeping men alive and nourishing them, and I fear it will draw on resentment and lament. Should it come to Heaven's hearing, what use would regret be afterward?
Again, Dagezhi of the Tujue and the rest all have men's faces and beasts' hearts. How can they be held to rite and right? They cannot be treated with humaneness and good faith. Their hearts do not know loyalty and filial piety, and their words cannot tell right from wrong. To draw near them takes away from a fair name; to grow familiar with them adds nothing to full virtue. You have brought them in through the side gate, and men are all startled and afraid at it. How should it be my poor understanding alone that is uneasy?
Your Highness must above answer to the sage feeling of the Most Honored, and below meet the root hope of the common people. You may not fail to avoid an evil because it is slight, nor may it be allowed that you fail to do a good because it is small. In principle, make thorough the method of stopping what creeps in by degrees, and you must have the art of guarding against the first sprout. Put away the unworthy and draw near the worthy and good. If you do so, the good Way will grow higher by the day, and the sound of your virtue will of itself reach afar.
承乾大怒，遣刺客張師政、紇干承基就舍殺之。是時丁母憂，起復爲詹事。二人潛入其第，見志寧寢處苫廬，竟不忍而止。及承乾敗，太宗知其事，深勉勞之。
Chengqian was greatly angered and sent the assassins Zhang Shizheng and Hegan Chengji to his house to kill him. At this time Zhining, having gone into mourning for his mother, had been called back to serve as Household Administrator. The two men stole into his house and saw Zhining sleeping in a mourning hut on a straw mat, and in the end they could not bring themselves to it and stopped. When Chengqian came to ruin, Taizong learned of the matter and deeply encouraged and consoled him.