Study Group 史記:《魏其武安侯列傳》

[Xuan]

Guan Fu, while observing the mourning rituals, went to visit the chief minister, Tian Fen, Lord of Wu An. He said to Guan Fu with a straight face “I wanted to go with you and call on Lord Weiji, but unfortunately, you are just now in mourning.” 

 

Guan Fu said in reply, “If you are willing to come and grace Weiji with your presence, how could I use mourning as an excuse to refuse you. Allow me to tell Weiji to prepare the feasting tent, and please come and visit us on the morrow. ” Wu An accepted.

 

Guan Fu went and relayed all that WuAn had said to Weiji. Weiji and his wife bought great portions of beef and wine, they (had the area) cleaned and mopped, and had the feasting tent set up by dawn. After the sun had already risen, he sent a servant to look out for Tian Fen, but noon cam and he had still not come. 

“How could he have forgotten this?!” Weiji said.

 

Guan Fu was displeased, saying “I asked him to come even though I was in mourning. I should go to him.”  And he drove his horse and went to Minister Tian Fen. In truth, he had only acceded to Guan Fu for sport; he had no intention of going.” Guan Fu arrived at his door, but the minister was still abed. He entered and met with him, and said “Yesterday, you agreed to visit Weiji. Lord and Lady Weiji have prepared a banquet and have not dared to eat of it since daybreak.”

 

Wu An feigned surprise and apologized, saying “Yesterday I was drunk, and unexpectedly forgot what I had said to you.”

 

They drove to the Weiji’s feast, but Wu An proceeded slowly. And Guan Fu became increasingly angry. When all were intoxicated, Guan Fu rose and danced, and then invited Wu An to do so as well, but he would not, so Guan Fu insulted him from his seat. Weiji then lifted him by the arm and helped him to leave and apologized to Wu an. Wu An drank all the way until evening and left extremely happy.

[somethingfunny]

I added the extra bit I hadn't finished to my last post so that it is all still in order.  There's also a couple of extra comments.

[somethingfunny]

Here is the next bit.  One more week after this one and this section will be done.

 

丞相嘗使籍福請魏其城南田。魏其大望曰：「老僕雖棄，將軍雖貴，寧可以勢奪乎！」不許。灌夫聞，怒，罵籍福。籍福惡兩人有郤，乃謾自好謝丞相曰：「魏其老且死，易忍，且待之。」已而武安聞魏其、灌夫實怒不予田，亦怒曰：「魏其子嘗殺人，蚡活之。蚡事魏其無所不可，何愛數頃田？且灌夫何與也？吾不敢複求田。」武安由此大怨灌夫、魏其。

 

元光四年春，丞相言灌夫家在潁川，橫甚，民苦之。請案。上曰：「此丞相事，何請。」灌夫亦持丞相陰事，為奸利，受淮南王金與語言。賓客居間，遂止，俱解。夏，丞相取燕王女為夫人，有太后詔，召列侯宗室皆往賀。魏其侯過灌夫，欲與俱。夫謝曰：「夫數以酒失得過丞相，丞相今者又與夫有郤。」魏其曰：「事已解。」彊與俱。飲酒酣，武安起為壽，坐皆避席伏。已魏其侯為壽，獨故人避席耳，餘半膝席。灌夫不悅。起行酒，至武安，武安膝席曰：「不能滿觴。」夫怒，因嘻笑曰：「將軍貴人也，屬之！」時武安不肯。行酒次至臨汝侯，臨汝侯方與程不識耳語，又不避席。夫無所發怒，乃罵臨汝侯曰：「生平毀程不識不直一錢，今日長者為壽，乃效女兒呫囁耳語！」武安謂灌夫曰：「程李俱東西宮衛尉，今眾辱程將軍，仲孺獨不為李將軍地乎？」灌夫曰：「今日斬頭陷匈，何知程李乎！」坐乃起更衣，稍稍去。魏其侯去，麾灌夫出。武安遂怒曰：「此吾驕灌夫罪。」乃令騎留灌夫。灌夫欲出不得。籍福起為謝，案灌夫項令謝。夫愈怒，不肯謝。武安乃麾騎縛夫置傳舍，召長史曰：「今日召宗室，有詔。」劾灌夫罵坐不敬，系居室。遂按其前事，遣吏分曹逐捕諸灌氏支屬，皆得棄市罪。魏其侯大媿，為資使賓客請，莫能解。武安吏皆為耳目，諸灌氏皆亡匿，夫系，遂不得告言武安陰事。

 

魏其銳身為救灌夫。夫人諫魏其曰：「灌將軍得罪丞相，與太后家忤，寧可救邪？」魏其侯曰：「侯自我得之，自我捐之，無所恨。且終不令灌仲孺獨死，嬰獨生。」乃匿其家，竊出上書。立召入，具言灌夫醉飽事，不足誅。上然之，賜魏其食，曰：「東朝廷辯之。」魏其之東朝，盛推灌夫之善，言其醉飽得過，乃丞相以他事誣罪之。武安又盛毀灌夫所為橫恣，罪逆不道。魏其度不可奈何，因言丞相短。武安曰：「天下幸而安樂無事，蚡得為肺腑，所好音樂狗馬田宅。蚡所愛倡優巧匠之屬，不如魏其、灌夫日夜招聚天下豪桀壯士與論議，腹誹而心謗，不仰視天而俯畫地，辟倪兩宮間，幸天下有變，而欲有大功。臣乃不知魏其等所為。」於是上問朝臣：「兩人孰是？」御史大夫韓安國曰：「魏其言灌夫父死事，身荷戟馳入不測之吳軍，身被數十創，名冠三軍，此天下壯士，非有大惡，爭杯酒，不足引他過以誅也。魏其言是也。丞相亦言灌夫通奸猾，侵細民，家累巨萬，橫恣潁川，淩轢宗室，侵犯骨肉，此所謂『枝大於本，脛大於股，不折必披』，丞相言亦是。唯明主裁之。」主爵都尉汲黯是魏其。內史鄭當時是魏其，後不敢堅對。餘皆莫敢對。上怒內史曰：「公平生數言魏其、武安長短，今日廷論，局趣效轅下駒，吾並斬若屬矣。」即罷起入，上食太后。太后亦已使人候伺，具以告太后。太后怒，不食，曰：「今我在也，而人皆藉吾弟，令我百歲後，皆魚肉之矣。且帝甯能為石人邪！此特帝在，即錄錄，設百歲後，是屬寧有可信者乎？」上謝曰：「俱宗室外家，故廷辯之。不然，此一獄吏所決耳。」是時郎中令石建為上別言兩人事。

 

I'll take the first two paragraphs.

[Xuan]

It's hard to do all the translating in one sitting, so I will post the first half of my paragraph now, and do the rest tomorrow.

----

魏其銳身為救灌夫⋯⋯臣乃不知魏其等所為。

Weiji steeled himself to save Guan Fu. His wife admonished him, saying “General Guan has offended the chief minister, and has opposed the family of the dowager. How can you possibly rescue him?”

Weiji said, “I gained my lordship through my own actions, and if I lose it by my own actions, I will not regret it. And I will not allow Guan Zhongru to die alone while I live on.”

There upon he hid from him household and secretly presented a letter to the emperor. He was immediately summoned by the emperor, and he thoroughly explained the incident when Guan Fu was drinking, and said it did not merit an execution. The emperor was convinced, gave him a meal to eat, and said “The East Court would try (Guanfu).”

Weiji went to the east court, touted Guan Fu’s virtues, said that his drinking had brought about the problem, but that the chief minister had falsely accused him for other things. Wu An then fulsomely disparaged Guan Fu’s wild(?) behavior, and said his crime was treasonous and immoral. Weiji reckoned that he had no other choice, and so spoke of Wu An’s faults.

Wu An countered, “The realm has been blessed and is at peace. I received a position close to the emperor through my blood ties, and I enjoy music, my dogs and horses, my fields and mansion. What I love is merely those people who dance/entertain well and craft things artfully.  That is nothing compared to Weiji and Guan Fu, who day and night assemble the great men of the realm and conspire; with slander and malice in their minds, they look up at the heavens (for portents) and look down to draw up schemes on the ground, look askance at their majesties the emperor and empress, wish for the realm to have encounter troubles, so they may have some great success.  I wot not what nefarious thing they do.

[somethingfunny]

The Chief Minister (Wu An/Tian Fen) had already dispatched Ji Fu to explore the fields to the south of the city.  Wei Ji was not impressed and said, “Although I have been cast aside, although the general is highly regarded, how can you seize by force (my fields)?” And he did not allow it.  Upon hearing this news, Guan Fu was angry and admonished Ji Fu.  Ji Fu did not wish to see trouble between the two (Wei Ji and Wu An/Tian Fen) and sought an excuse to refuse the request of the Chief Minister, saying “Wei Ji is already old, soon he will pass away, why not be patient and wait for him (to die)?”  After a while, Wu An learnt that Wei Ji and Guan Fu were in fact upset and did not plan to hand over the land, and he angrily said, “Wei Ji’s son has already killed, but I gave him life (reprieve).  When I serve Wei Ji, there is nothing that I would not do, how is that he can covet a few hundred Mu of fields (30-60 acres or so I guess)?  Furthermore, how is it that Guan Fu is also involved in this issue?  I do not wish to seek this land again!”  As a result of this, Wu An was enraged by Guan Fu and Wei Ji.

 

In the Spring of fourth year of Yuan Guang, the Chief Minister said: “Guan Fu’s home is Ying Chuan, which is in a terrible state, and the people there are suffering.  Please can you look into this situation?”  The emperor said: “This is a matter for the Chief Minister, what is there that I can do?” Guan Fu was aware of the Chief Minister’s private issues, and used this to benefit himself, accepting money from the King of Huai Nan for speaking (things that he should not).  The retainers mediated between the two sides, and then the fighting stopped and peace was established.

 

In the Summer, the Chief Minister took the King of Yan’s daughter as his wife.  The Empress Dowager issued an instruction for Dukes and the imperial family to all attend.  Lord Wei Ji consulted with Guan Fu and wished to attend together with him.  Guan Fu thanked him, but said, “I, on a number of occasions, have become intoxicated and offended the Chief Minister.  The Chief Minister still has issues with me.”  Wei Ji said, “This issue has been resolved.”  And emphasised his desire to attend together.  Once the wine was flowing, Wu An rose to make a toast, at which the seated rose to their feet as an expression of their honour.

 

After a while, Lord Wei Ji made a toast, and he was the only one to stand, while more than half of the attendees knelt on their mats.  Guan Fu was not pleased.  He rose to continue toasting (in order), and when arriving at Wu An, Wu An remained seated, saying: “I will not drink a full glass.”  Guan Fu was angry, and laughing said “You (The General) are a noble person!” to try to encourage him (to drink a full glass).  At which, Wu An still refused.  The toasting now arrived at Lord Lin Ru, who at the time was having a private word with Cheng Bu Shi, and as such, didn’t stand from his seat.  Guan Fu couldn’t help but become enraged, and admonished Cheng Bu Shi, saying: “Cheng Bu Shi, a life time of slandering, you are not worth a penny.  Today, your elders are toasting, but you continue to chatter in someone’s ear like a girl.”  Wu An said to Guan Fu: “Cheng and Li are the Eastern and Western Palace commanders of the guards, now you insult General Cheng, 仲孺獨不為李將軍地乎?” 

 

1. 元光四年  From the notes in Wang Li, I understand this to be the fourth year of the second reign of Emperor Wu Di?
2. 受淮南王金与语言 Wang Li seems to get a lot more from this than I do.  Firstly, I don’t see any object – who is it that Guan Fu is speaking to after accepting the money?  Secondly, supposedly he is saying something that he shouldn’t.  I’m assuming this comes from additional historical knowledge rather than from anything explicit in the text.
3. 膝 is being used as a verb, so I assume everyone at the banquet is kneeling rather than sitting.  However, there is still use of 坐 and I can only imagine kneeling through an entire meal to be incredibly uncomfortable.  So, are they kneeling or sitting?
4. 生平毁程不识 I’ve understood this to mean “Cheng Bu Shi, you’ve had a lifetime of slandering other people” or something similar.
5. 程，李俱东西宫卫尉   East and West palaces?  I’m guessing this is a thing.
6. 仲孺獨不為李將軍地乎?  I don’t really have much idea what is happening here.

[somethingfunny]

I was having trouble pasting this in so forgot to mention that I was also finding this was taking a long time so this is only part of my bit as well.  I'll post the rest later today.

[Xuan]

Your parsing of the passage is similar to my own, but there are a few places that are different.  In these cases, I'm not sure which is right, but highlighting the discrepancies might be illuminating for us both.

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

The Chief Minister (Wu An/Tian Fen) had already dispatched Ji Fu

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Wei Ji’s son has already killed

Reading 嘗 as "already" might not be right.  In the first instance it is questionable, but it is quite conspicuous in the second.  I think it is closer to "once", "in the past", "at one time"
 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Guan Fu was aware of the Chief Minister’s private issues, and used this to benefit himself, accepting money from the King of Huai Nan for speaking (things that he should not)

My point here also relates to your second question. 
灌夫亦持丞相陰事，為奸利，受淮南王金與語言。"Private issues" makes it sound like personal matter, but I think it's more about a dark secret, underhanded dealing, or treacherous affair.  How to translate 陰事 to reflect that, I'm not really sure. 

Also, I think you might have misunderstood the text. I think it means to say "Guan Fu knew of Wu An's treachery, (to wit) Wu An corruptly sought to benefit himself, by accepting gold from the (enemy?) King of Huai Nan, and giving him tell (of secret matters) in return."  or maybe "...accepted the King of Huainan's gold and his words(instructions to do something)."  I would argue it's unlikely that Guan Fu would do 為奸利, because earlier in the text on p.741 he is described as being 剛直, which I interpret as morally upright and honest (though unwise and uncontrollable when drunk.) 

What information Wu An gives or instructions he receives is not clear.  I think I read an explanation of it, either later in the main text or in some explanatory note in my reference book, but now I can't find it again.

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Guan Fu thanked him

謝 here I don't think is "thanked" but rather "refused him" or "declined the request", given the context.  Since the are close friends, I think it unlikely that they would thank each other.

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Once the wine was flowing

No objection here.  I quite like this translation.  I have been tossing and turning about for a good way to say 酒酣, and I think your translation here is a lot better than all the other ones I've come up with before. 
 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Lord Wei Ji made a toast, and he was the only one to stand,

獨故人避席耳 probably means that only old acquaintances of his stood for his toast, but all the others remained on their seats.
 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Guan Fu couldn’t help but become enraged

無所發怒 I think means that he had nowhere to vent his anger (against Wu An) so he turned it on Lord Lin Ru

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

Cheng Bu Shi, a life time of slandering, you are not worth a penny.

生平毀程不識不直一錢 I think this line is saying "You, Lord Lin Ru, have always slandered Cheng BuShi, saying that he wasn't worth a penny. And now when I your elder am making a toast, you (ignore me and) are whispering nonsense in his ear like a little girl!"
 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

仲孺獨不為李將軍地乎?

This one was tough for me too.  First of all, 仲孺 is the 字 of 灌夫.  I think it's saying  "Guan Fu, aren't you just taking away Commander Li's room to maneuver?", which means, you've insulted his counterpart in public, and thus are forcing his hand; he will have to retaliate against you for this. But I'm really not sure.

 

 

[Xuan]

Let me try some of your questions.

 

13 hours ago, somethingfunny said:

• 元光四年  From the notes in Wang Li, I understand this to be the fourth year of the second reign of Emperor Wu Di?
• 受淮南王金与语言 Wang Li seems to get a lot more from this than I do.  Firstly, I don’t see any object – who is it that Guan Fu is speaking to after accepting the money?  Secondly, supposedly he is saying something that he shouldn’t.  I’m assuming this comes from additional historical knowledge rather than from anything explicit in the text.
• 膝 is being used as a verb, so I assume everyone at the banquet is kneeling rather than sitting.  However, there is still use of 坐 and I can only imagine kneeling through an entire meal to be incredibly uncomfortable.  So, are they kneeling or sitting?
• 生平毁程不识 I’ve understood this to mean “Cheng Bu Shi, you’ve had a lifetime of slandering other people” or something similar.
• 程，李俱东西宫卫尉   East and West palaces?  I’m guessing this is a thing.
• 仲孺獨不為李將軍地乎?  I don’t really have much idea what is happening here. 

 

1. I'm not sure.  I think that's right.

 

2. Refer to my post above

 

3. I think it's both.  I'm guessing about ancient Chinese customs here, but I think when a toast is made, one shows the highest level of respect by getting up from your seat and making obeisance.  Those who were not old acquaintances of Weiji moved from a seated position to just kneeling on their seats as he was toasting, which would make it a demonstration of a lower level of respect.  Recall that Weiji was greatly admired before, but now few people pay him much heed, which would make sense of the lower than expected show of respect, and why Guan Fu would be offended by it-- to wit, its inadequacy for someone he regards as great.

4.  Refer to my post above

5. I guess they are guards at two paired buildings in the imperial palace compound.... though the expression 兩宮 is used elsewhere to indicate the emperor and empress; I'm not sure if they are referring to the same thing here.

6. Refer to my post above

[somethingfunny]

8 minutes ago, Xuan said:

Reading 嘗 as "already" might not be right.  In the first instance it is questionable, but it is quite conspicuous in the second.  I think it is closer to "once", "in the past", "at one time"

Looking back, I think you're right - definitely for the second one.  I did feel a little uncomfortable about that translation at the time.

 

8 minutes ago, Xuan said:

"Private issues" makes it sound like personal matter, but I think it's more about a dark secret, underhanded dealing, or treacherous affair. 

This is what I meant, but I guess I should have been more explicit.  I assumed it would be something that, if made public, would bring shame upon him.

 

10 minutes ago, Xuan said:

"Guan Fu knew of Wu An's treachery, (to wit) Wu An corruptly sought to benefit himself, by accepting gold from the (enemy?) King of Huai Nan, and giving him tell (of secret matters) in return." 

Yes, I had this as Guan Fu accepting the money - and ending up with an awkward translation.  Your way makes much more sense now.

 

12 minutes ago, Xuan said:

獨故人避席耳 probably means that only old acquaintances of his stood for his toast, but all the others remained on their seats.

Ah, I missed "故人" as a compound word.

 

14 minutes ago, Xuan said:

無所發怒 I think means that he had nowhere to vent his anger (against Wu An) so he turned it on Lord Lin Ru

I agree.

 

15 minutes ago, Xuan said:

生平毀程不識不直一錢 I think this line is saying "You, Lord Lin Ru, have always slandered Cheng BuShi, saying that he wasn't worth a penny. And now when I your elder and making a toast, you (ignore me and) are whispering nonsense in his ear like a little girl!"
 

I may have rushed this part and missed that it was Lin Ru who was the object of the 骂'ing rather than Cheng Bu Shi,

 

17 minutes ago, Xuan said:

First of all, 仲孺 is the 字 of 灌夫.

Well that certainly makes things at least a little clearer.

[Xuan]

Then, the emperor asked the officials of the court, "Who is correct?"

Imperial Censor (御史大夫) Han Anguo said, "Weiji spoke of the incident of Guan Fu’s father’s death. He shouldered his halberd and charged into the Wu camp, which had not yet been reconnoitered. His body took many injuries, and his fame was the greatest among the three armies. This the a great man of the realm. It’s not that he has done any great wrong; it was just a quarrel over a cup of wine. It’s too small a matter to bother dredge up other wrongs and having him executed over it. What Weiji said I correct. 

“Chief Minister Wu An spoke of his associating with the knavish and the cunning, insulting the commoners, amassing exorbitant wealth, running amuck around the Ying River region, bullying the imperial clan, and infringing on his own flesh and blood. This is what is meant by ‘The branch bigger than trunk, the shin bigger than the thigh; If not fixed, then it will shatter.’ The chief minister also speaks true. Only you, enlightened ruler, can pass judgment on this.”

主爵都尉Ji An sided with Weiji.  內史Zheng at that time sided with Weiji, but then later did not remain resolute. Among the others, none of them dared reply (to the Emperor’s queston). The emperor grew angry內史Zheng, saying “You, sir, are often talking about Weiji and Wu An’s good and bad points. And today in this court proceedings, you are hesitant like a horse lashed to a carriage. I should behead the lot of you!”

Then, he dismissed the court, rose, and went into his rooms. He tried to have a meal his empress. She had sent someone spy on the proceedings, and had already been told everything. She was angry and would not eat, saying “I am still alive in this world, and they bully my nephew! When I’m dead and gone, they will make fish meat of him! And you, emperor, how can you stand there like a stone man?! Because you are here, these officials of the court are just docile and spineless. But what about when you are gone?! Who will they follow then?”

The emperor apologized and said, “They are both relatives of the throne, so I had to hold court to adjudicate this. Had they not been, It would have been something one jailer could have settled. At that moment, 郎中令 Shi Jian came and explained Weiji and Wu An’s situations separately.

 

[somethingfunny]

Here's the bit left over:

 

Guan Fu said: “You could cut off my head and put it on a spike, 何知程李乎.” Those seated went to the toilet, one by one.  Lord Wei Ji left, and signalled for Guan Fu to also leave.  Wu An became angry and said: “此吾骄留灌夫罪.” Then he ordered the mounted soldiers to detain Guan Fu.  Guan Fu wished to depart but could not.  Ji Fu rose in order to apologise on behalf of Guan Fu, and pressed on Guan Fu’s neck to indicate an apology.  Guan Fu became even angrier and refused to apologise.  Wu An then indicated to the mounted soldiers to bind Guan Fu and hold him in the guest building.  He summoned the senior scribe and said: “This assembly of the imperial family was mandated by an imperial edict (from the Dowager Empress).”  Guan Fu is accused of misconduct (in a formal capacity) as he has insulted the seated guests and behaved without respect, and will be detained in an official institution.  His history was investigated and officials dispatched in teams to pursue his family, all of whom were to be executed.  Lord Wei Ji felt a sense of guilt and paid retainers to request that the sentences be commuted, but none was successful.  Wu An’s officials are his eyes and ears, although all of his family members fled, Guan Fu was detained and therefore had no opportunity to divulge Wu An’s secrets.

 

I had a bit of difficulty with two of the speech parts:

1. 何知程李乎
2. 此吾骄留灌夫罪

[somethingfunny]

Here's the final part from this section:

 

武安已罷朝，出止車門，召韓御史大夫載，怒曰：「與長孺共一老禿翁，何為首鼠兩端？」韓禦史良久謂丞相曰：「君何不自喜？夫魏其毀君，君當免冠解印綬歸，曰『臣以肺腑幸得待罪，固非其任，魏其言皆是』。如此，上必多君有讓，不廢君。魏其必內愧，杜門齰舌自殺。今人毀君，君亦毀人，譬如賈豎女子爭言，何其無大體也！」武安謝罪曰：「爭時急，不知出此。」

 

於是上使禦史簿責魏其所言灌夫，頗不讎，欺謾。劾系都司空。孝景時，魏其常受遺詔，曰「事有不便，以便宜論上」。及系，灌夫罪至族，事日急，諸公莫敢複明言於上。魏其乃使昆弟子上書言之，幸得複召見。書奏上，而案尚書大行無遺詔。詔書獨藏魏其家，家丞封。乃劾魏其矯先帝詔，罪當棄市。五年十月，悉論灌夫及家屬。魏其良久乃聞，聞即恚，病痱，不食欲死。或聞上無意殺魏其，魏其複食，治病，議定不死矣。乃有蜚語為惡言聞上，故以十二月晦論棄市渭城。

 

其春，武安侯病，專呼服謝罪。使巫視鬼者視之，見魏其、灌夫共守，欲殺之。竟死。子恬嗣。元朔三年，武安侯坐衣襜褕入宮，不敬。

 

淮南王安謀反覺，治。王前朝，武安侯為太尉，時迎王至霸上，謂王曰：「上未有太子，大王最賢，高祖孫，即宮車晏駕，非大王立當誰哉！」淮南王大喜，厚遺金財物。上自魏其時不直武安，特為太后故耳。及聞淮南王金事，上曰：「使武安侯在者，族矣。」

 

太史公曰：魏其、武安皆以外戚重，灌夫用一時決筴而名顯。魏其之舉以吳楚，武安之貴在日月之際。然魏其誠不知時變，灌夫無術而不遜，兩人相翼，乃成禍亂。武安負貴而好權，杯酒責望，陷彼兩賢。嗚呼哀哉！遷怒及人，命亦不延。眾庶不載，竟被惡言。嗚呼哀哉！禍所從來矣！

[Xuan]

Let me take a shot at the two parts you had trouble with.

 

On 5/21/2018 at 5:06 PM, somethingfunny said:

I had a bit of difficulty with two of the speech parts:

1. 何知程李乎

 

My reference book translates that section thus, 「我今天就準備著頭落地，刀穿胸，還管他什麼程呀，李呀的！」

 

On 5/21/2018 at 5:06 PM, somethingfunny said:

“此吾骄留灌夫罪.”

 

My text translates this as "這都是我的錯誤，我吧灌夫慣得太驕橫了。"  Wu An says that the behavior is his own fault because he has been too permissive Guan Fu (in the past).

[Xuan]

Somethingfunny and I have decided to forgo the translations, as they are arduous and time consuming.  Instead, we will just provide a brief summary of the text, and discuss questions and observations.

 

My summary here is more akin to a loose translation, and turned out to be longer than I had intended, but perhaps that is not a bad thing.

----

Wu An left the court and met with Imperial Censor Han. Wu An expressed his anger about Han's irresolution in the court against Guan Fu, but Han countered that he (Wu An) is behaving like a child in a petty squabble. He said he should be humble, say before the court that he is at fault and offer to surrender his position. That way, people would recognize and honor his modesty, and that would put Weiji to shame.

 

Later, the emperor allowed an official to investigate the charges against Guan Fu as written down, and found that what Weiji said about Guanfu did not match his true actions. The official accused Weiji of deception and had him imprisoned.

 

Weiji was given written permission by the late emperor to come and have an audience with him at any time, should he encounter any trouble. Weiji tried to use this trump card, and sent a sibling to the current emperor to present his letter. The records in the palace were checked to verify that such permission was granted by the late ruler, but nothing was found; only Weiji had preserved his copy. Weiji was then condemned to be beheaded in public for falsifying imperial writ.

 

In the fifth year of the emperor's reign, Guan Fu was doomed with all of his family, (and the executions were carried out). Weiji thought he would be next, but heard that the emperor had no intention of killing him. Later, there was a malign rumour about Weiji, which reached the emperor, and so he was executed.

 

The following spring, Wu An took ill, and adamantly began to scream that he had done wrong.  He had a person who could see sprits look upon him, and he saw Weiji and Guan fu standing over him, wanting to kill him. Thereupon, he (Wu An) suddenly died. His son succeeded him as lord, but was disrespectful at court.

 

King An of Huainan's usurpation plot was exposed and put down. Under the previous emperor, the late Wu An had conspired with King An, saying, "The emperor has no heir, but you are very wise and are a decendant of Gaozu. When the he dies, who should take the throne if not you?" King An of Huainan gave him money for this.  

 

For the time Weiji served him, The current emperor never thought well of the late Wu An; he had only tolerated him because of his (Wu An's) relationship with the empress. Therefore, when he heard of Huannan's giving Wu An money, he said, "If the former Wu An were still alive, I would kill him, kith and kin!"

 

The grand historian, reviewing the entirety of Weiji and Wu An's saga said, "Weiji could not recognize the change in the times, and Guan fu was tactless; they helped each other, but it caused their common downfall. Wu An was greedy for power, and petty grudge to undo Weiji and Guanfu.  Oh, if you vent your anger on others, your life will not be long. If the masses do not respect you, you will fall victim to rumor and slander. How sad! From these come tragedy."