Chapter 96 of 130

張丞相列傳

Biographies of the Chancellors: Zhang Cang and Others

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張蒼主計與為丞相

Zhang Cang as Chief Accountant and Chancellor

張丞相蒼者，陽武人也。好書律歷。秦時為御史，主柱下方書。有罪，亡歸。及沛公略地過陽武，蒼以客從攻南陽。蒼坐法當斬，解衣伏質，身長大，肥白如瓠，時王陵見而怪其美士，乃言沛公，赦勿斬。蒼為計相，明習天下圖書計籍，又善用算律歷。絳侯等尊立代王為孝文皇帝。四年，丞相灌嬰卒，張蒼為丞相。蒼為丞相十五歲而免。蒼年百有餘歲而卒。

Zhang Cang, the Chancellor, was a man of Yangwu. He loved books, legal codes, and calendar science. Under Qin he served as a censor, responsible for the archives. After committing an offense, he fled home. When the Duke of Pei passed through Yangwu, Zhang Cang joined as a retainer and fought at Nanyang. Sentenced to death, he stripped and knelt on the block. He was tall and large, fat and white as a gourd. Wang Ling saw him and, struck by his impressive appearance, asked the Duke of Pei to pardon him. Zhang Cang became chief accountant, expert in the empire's maps, registers, and records, and skilled in mathematics and calendar science. When the Marquis of Jiang and others enthroned the King of Dai as Emperor Wen, Zhang Cang rose to chancellor after Guan Ying's death in the fourth year. He served as chancellor for fifteen years before retiring. He lived to over one hundred.

Notes

1person張蒼Zhāng Cāng

Zhang Cang (張蒼, c. 256-152 BC) was the longest-serving chancellor of the early Han. A former Qin archivist, he was the foremost expert on calendrics, mathematics, and administrative records. He is credited with standardizing Han dynasty weights, measures, and the calendar.

2context

Zhang Cang's near-execution and rescue by Wang Ling became the basis of a lifelong debt: even as chancellor, Zhang Cang treated Wang Ling's widow as his own mother, visiting her before each court session.

周昌期期不奉詔

Zhou Chang's Stammering Refusal

周昌者，沛人也。昌為人彊力，敢直言。帝欲廢太子，而立戚姬子如意為太子，大臣固爭之。周昌廷爭之彊，上問其說，昌為人吃，又盛怒，曰：“臣口不能言，然臣期期知其不可。陛下雖欲廢太子，臣期期不奉詔。”上欣然而笑。呂后側耳於東箱聽，見周昌，為跪謝曰：“微君，太子幾廢。”

高祖崩，呂太后使使召趙王，其相周昌令王稱疾不行。使者三反，周昌固為不遣趙王。於是高后使使召周昌。周昌至，高后怒罵之。昌既徵，高后使使召趙王，趙王果來。至長安月餘，飲藥而死。

Zhou Chang was a man of Pei, strong-willed and fearlessly outspoken. When the Emperor wanted to depose the Crown Prince and install Lady Qi's son Ruyi as heir, the ministers fought hard against it. Zhou Chang argued most fiercely at court. When the Emperor asked him to explain, Zhou Chang — a man with a stammer — was shaking with fury and said: "I c-c-cannot speak well, but I c-c-certainly know this is wrong. Even if Your Majesty wishes to depose the Crown Prince, I c-c-certainly will not obey the decree." The Emperor laughed in delight. Empress Lu, who had been listening behind the eastern partition, came out and knelt before Zhou Chang in thanks: "Without you, the Crown Prince would have been deposed."

After Emperor Gaozu died, Empress Dowager Lu sent envoys to summon the young King of Zhao. Zhou Chang, as his chancellor, ordered the King to claim illness and stay. After three rounds of envoys were refused, the Empress Dowager summoned Zhou Chang himself. Once he was removed, she summoned the King of Zhao, who came to Chang'an. Within a month, he was poisoned to death.

Notes

1person周昌Zhōu Chāng

Zhou Chang (周昌, d. 192 BC) was a man of Pei who served as Censor-in-Chief and later Chancellor of Zhao. His stammering defiance of the Emperor became one of the most famous scenes of court remonstrance in Chinese history.

2context

Zhou Chang's 'qi-qi' (期期) stammer became proverbial in Chinese. Together with Deng Ai's stutter (艾艾) from the Three Kingdoms era, the phrase 期期艾艾 entered the language to mean stammering speech.

申屠嘉剛毅守節

Shentu Jia's Rigid Integrity

申屠丞相嘉者，梁人。張蒼免相，孝文帝欲用皇后弟竇廣國為丞相，曰：“恐天下以吾私廣國。”乃以嘉為丞相。嘉為人廉直，門不受私謁。丞相嘉為檄召鄧通詣丞相府，不來，且斬通。文帝使使者持節召通而謝丞相。鄧通為文帝泣曰：“丞相幾殺臣。”

二年，晁錯為內史，穿一門南出，鑿廟壖垣。嘉欲因此誅錯。錯夜入宮自歸景帝。景帝曰：“錯所穿非真廟垣，乃外壖垣，錯無罪。”嘉謂長史曰：“吾悔不先斬錯，乃先請之，為錯所賣。”至舍，因歐血而死。

Shentu Jia, the Chancellor, was a man of Liang. When Zhang Cang was dismissed, Emperor Wen wanted to appoint Empress Dou's brother Dou Guangguo, but said: "I fear the realm will think I am showing favoritism." So Shentu Jia was made chancellor instead. He was incorruptible and refused private audiences. When the imperial favorite Deng Tong showed disrespect at court, Shentu Jia issued a summons to the chancellery. Deng Tong refused to come, and Shentu Jia prepared to behead him. Emperor Wen had to send a messenger with the imperial staff to retrieve Deng Tong and apologize to the chancellor. Deng Tong wept to the Emperor: "The chancellor nearly killed me."

In the second year of Emperor Jing, Chao Cuo as Interior Minister cut a new gate through the outer wall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Shentu Jia tried to use this as grounds to have Chao Cuo executed, but Chao Cuo went to the Emperor first and received protection. Emperor Jing ruled there was no offense. Shentu Jia told his chief clerk: "I regret not beheading Chao Cuo first and asking permission afterward — I asked first and was outmaneuvered." He went home, vomited blood, and died.

Notes

1person申屠嘉Shēntú Jiā

Shentu Jia (申屠嘉, d. 155 BC) was chancellor under Emperors Wen and Jing. A military man who rose from crossbow infantry, he represented the old guard of straightforward integrity against the new generation of policy intellectuals like Chao Cuo.

2context

The confrontation between Shentu Jia and Chao Cuo foreshadowed Chao Cuo's own fate — he would later be executed (though on different grounds). Shentu Jia's deathbed regret about 'asking first' became a cautionary tale about bureaucratic procedure versus decisive action.

Edition & Source

Text: 《史記》 Shiji
Edition: 中華古詩文古書籍網 transcription
Commentary: 裴駰《史記集解》、司馬貞《史記索隱》、張守節《史記正義》(Three Commentaries)