田叔列传 — Shiji

Tian Shu was a native of Zhao's Xingcheng. His ancestors were descendants of the Tian clan of Qi. Shu delighted in the sword and studied the teachings of Huang-Lao under Master Le Juju. He was a man of rigorous integrity who took pleasure in wandering among the nobles, who recommended him to Zhao Wu, the prime minister of Zhao. Wu spoke of him to the Zhao king, Zhang Ao, who appointed him to the post of Attendant at Court. After several years, his thoroughgoing honesty and fairness had earned him the king's respect, but before he could be promoted, events took a different turn.

When Chen Xi rebelled in Dai, in the seventh year of Han, the Emperor Gaozu journeyed to execute him. Passing through Zhao, King Zhang Ao personally carried the tray to serve him food, showing the utmost deference in his manners. But Gaozu sat with legs outstretched and reviled him. At this, Prime Minister Zhao Wu and several dozen others were incensed. "The king has offered Your Majesty every proper courtesy," they said, "yet he is treated in this fashion. We beg permission to rise in rebellion." The king bit his finger until blood flowed. "My ancestors lost their kingdom," he said. "Without Your Majesty, we would all have been buried alive. How can you speak so? Never speak thus again!" Thereupon Guan Gao and the others said, "The king is a man of honor—he would not repay kindness with betrayal." In the end they privately plotted together to assassinate the Emperor.

When the matter was discovered, an imperial edict was issued to arrest the King of Zhao and any officials who had participated in the rebellion. Zhao Wu and the others all took their own lives; only Guan Gao was taken into custody. The imperial edict stated: "Anyone of Zhao who dares accompany the King shall suffer punishment extending to three generations." Yet Tian Shu and more than a dozen others dressed themselves in crimson garments, shaved their heads, and wore the cangue and shackles of criminal servitude, claiming to be the king's household slaves, and accompanied their lord Zhang Ao to the capital. When Guan Gao's case was clarified and the king was released, reduced to the title of Marquis of Xuanping, he came forward to speak on behalf of these dozen-odd men. The Emperor summoned them all for audience and, upon conversing with them, found that none among the ministers of the court could surpass them. Delighted, the Emperor appointed them all as governors or as officials serving the princes. Tian Shu served as Governor of Hanzhong for over ten years until, after the death of Empress Dowager Lü and the tumult caused by the Lü clan, the ministers eliminated them and enthroned Emperor Wen.

Having taken the throne, Emperor Wen summoned Tian Shu and asked him, "Do you know any man of true nobility beneath heaven?" He replied, "How could I presume to know such things?" The Emperor said, "You are yourself a man of nobility—you should know them." Shu bowed his head to the ground and said, "The former Governor of Yunzhong, Meng Shu, is a man of nobility." At that time Meng Shu had been dismissed for allowing raiding Xiongnu to breach the frontier passes and devastate the region, with Yunzhong suffering particularly severely. The Emperor said, "The late Emperor installed Meng Shu as Governor of Yunzhong more than ten years ago. When the enemy came even a single man strong, Meng Shu could not hold the defense, and through his negligence, several hundred soldiers died in battle. Can a noble man truly be a man-killer? Why do you call Meng Shu noble?" Shu knocked his head against the ground and replied, "This is precisely what makes Meng Shu noble. When Guan Gao and his fellows plotted their rebellion, an imperial edict was issued in explicit terms: that any man of Zhao who dared follow Lord Zhang would be punished through three generations. Yet Meng Shu voluntarily submitted to shaving, the cangue, and shackles, and followed wherever Lord Zhang Ao went, prepared to die for him—how could he have known he would ever be made Governor of Yunzhong? When Han was locked in conflict with Chu, the soldiers were exhausted and worn. Modu of the Xiongnu had newly subjugated the northern barbarians and came to threaten our borders. Meng Shu knew the soldiers were exhausted, yet could not bear to give orders that would cost their lives. The men fought desperately at the city walls, as a son would for his father, as a younger brother for his elder—because of this, several hundred men died. Was it truly Meng Shu who drove them into battle? This is what makes Meng Shu noble." Thereupon the Emperor declared, "How worthy is Meng Shu!" And he reinstated him as Governor of Yunzhong.

Several years later, Tian Shu was stripped of his post for violating the law. When the Prince of Liang, Xiao, sent assassins to murder Yuan Ang, the former Prime Minister of Wu, Emperor Jing summoned Tian Shu to investigate the case of Liang. He assembled all the evidence and submitted his report. The Emperor asked, "Did the Prince of Liang have a hand in this?" Tian Shu replied, "A capital offense—and yes, he did." "Where is the evidence?" asked the Emperor. Tian Shu answered, "Your Majesty should not pursue the matter of Liang." "Why not?" "Because if the Prince of Liang does not suffer execution, the law of Han has no force. But if he is executed, the Empress Dowager will find no food palatable and no bed restful—this sorrow would fall upon Your Majesty." The Emperor regarded him as truly wise and appointed him Prime Minister of Lu.

When the Prime Minister of Lu first arrived, the people spoke among themselves about the prime minister, and over a hundred persons came forward to petition, demanding the return of wealth the king had taken from them. Tian Shu seized the ringleaders—twenty men—and caned each of them fifty strokes, while the others received twenty strokes each. Then he flew into a rage and said, "Is not the king your lord? How dare you speak thus to your lord!" When the Prince of Lu heard of this, he was deeply ashamed. He opened the royal treasury and ordered the prime minister to repay the victims. But the prime minister said, "If Your Majesty takes the wealth and then has your prime minister repay it, that makes the king the wrongdoer while the prime minister appears virtuous. I will have no part in the repayment." Thereupon the king repaid the full amount himself.

Several years later, Tian Shu died in office. Lu offered a hundred gold pieces to purchase sacrifices for him, but his youngest son, Ren, would not accept them, saying, "A hundred pieces of gold should not be allowed to tarnish a father's good name."

Tian Ren, because of his robust strength, became a retainer for the General of the Guards. He several times led campaigns against the Xiongnu, and the General spoke well of him, securing him a position as a Palace Attendant. After several years, he rose to become a Chief Clerk to the Chancellor, a post at the two-thousand-bushel rank. He then lost his position.

Later, he was appointed to inspect and impeach the Three River regions. When the Emperor traveled east on an inspection tour, Tian Ren presented a memorial with such apt observations that the Emperor was pleased and appointed him Vice-Marshal of the Capital. Within a month, he was promoted to Director of Protests. Several years later, he became implicated in the Crown Prince's rebellion.

At that time the Chancellor himself commanded the army, leaving the Director of Protests to guard the city gates. Tian Ren, considering that the Crown Prince was the Emperor's own flesh and blood and that father and son should not be too hastily set against each other, withdrew and led his men to guard the mausoleums. When Emperor Wu, who was then at Ganquan, learned of this, he ordered the Imperial Censor-in-Chief Bao Jun to question the Chancellor: "Why did you let the Crown Prince go?" The Chancellor replied that he had ordered the Director of Protests to seal the gates and prevent the Crown Prince's entry. The Chancellor submitted a memorial explaining the situation and requesting that the Director of Protests be arrested. Tian Ren was handed over to the officials and executed.

Tian Ren had led out the garrison, and the magistrate of Changling, Che Qianqiu, submitted a report exposing his actions. Tian Ren was executed along with his entire clan.

The Grand Historian remarks: Confucius said that when one resides in a state, he inevitably becomes acquainted with its governance. This is certainly true of Tian Shu! He upheld righteousness and never forgot the worthy, illuminating the virtuous deeds of wise rulers to rescue them from error. I was close to Tian Ren, and so I have discussed both men together.

Master Chu observes: When I was a Palace Attendant, I heard it said that Tian Ren and Ren An were close friends. Ren An was a native of Yingyang. Orphaned young and impoverished, he drove a cart to Chang'an seeking employment. There he managed to register as a resident of the capital. Wugong was a small town on the western border of Fufeng, its paths to Shu and Jian near the mountains. Ren An considered it a minor settlement with no families of distinction, easy to rise in. He stayed there and became a Park Warden. When the townspeople went out hunting together, Ren An would divide the elk, deer, pheasants, and rabbits among the hunters, assigning the old and weak to easier spots and the young and strong to more difficult ones. Everyone was pleased and said, "How capable! Young Officer Ren distinguishes matters fairly and shows good judgment." The next day, when the group gathered again, Ren An said, "Why hasn't So-and-so come?" Everyone marveled at how quickly he had noticed the absent man. Later he was appointed as a Three Elders official, then promoted to a local magistrate in charge of three hundred households. He was dismissed for failing to provide proper provisions when the Emperor traveled.

He became a retainer for the General of the Guards, where he met Tian Ren. Both served as retainers at the General's gate and grew deeply attached to each other. Both families were poor, with no money to entertain the General's household steward. The steward had them tend vicious, biting horses. The two men shared a bed. Tian Ren whispered, "What a poor judge of character our steward is!" Ren An replied, "If the General himself cannot judge character, what can you expect from a mere steward?" One day the General passed by the two men on his visit to Princess Pingyang. The princess's steward had the two men sit on the same mats as the cavalry slaves. The two drew their knives and cut the mats apart, sitting separately. The household was astonished and offended, but none dared reprove them.

Later, an imperial edict ordered the General of the Guards to select retainers to become Palace Attendants. The General chose the wealthier ones among his retainers, had fine saddles, crimson garments, and jade-handled swords prepared, and prepared to recommend them. At that time the virtuous official Zhao Yu, a former Minor Tutor, visited the General of the Guards. The General summoned the retainers he had selected and displayed them to Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu questioned them one by one, but among the more than ten men, not one showed any familiarity with affairs or displayed wisdom or strategic ability. Zhao Yu said, "I have heard it said that beneath the gate of a general there will be those of general caliber. The tradition holds: to know a lord, observe those he employs; to know a son, observe those he befriends. Now the edict orders the selection of the General's retainers as Palace Attendants, intending to observe the General and obtain men of worth and literary or martial talent. Yet you have merely selected wealthy young men and men of no wisdom or ability—wooden dolls dressed in brocade. What use is that?" Thereupon Zhao Yu summoned all the General's retainers, more than a hundred men, and questioned them in turn. When he came to Tian Ren and Ren An, he said, "Only these two will do. The rest are useless." The General, seeing how poor these two were, was displeased. When Zhao Yu left, he said to the two men, "Each of you, prepare new saddles and crimson garments." They replied, "Our families are poor—we have no equipment." The General flew into a rage. "You two speak as though your poverty were my concern! Are you harboring resentment against me? What manner of talk is this?" The General, having no alternative, submitted their names to the Emperor. An imperial edict summoned the General's retainers for audience. When these two presented themselves, the Emperor questioned them about their abilities. Tian Ren answered, "Beating a war drum and standing at the army's gate, making officers and soldiers eager to die in battle—such is where my abilities lie. I am not the equal of Ren An." Ren An answered, "Resolving doubtful cases, determining right from wrong, managing officials so that the people harbor no resentment—such is where my abilities lie. I am not the equal of Tian Ren." Emperor Wu laughed heartily and said, "Well spoken!" He assigned Ren An to guard the Northern Army and Tian Ren to oversee the cultivation of frontier lands along the Yellow River. These two thereupon established their reputations throughout the realm.

Later, an imperial edict ordered the General of the Guards to select retainers to become Palace Attendants. The General chose the wealthier ones among his retainers, had fine saddles, crimson garments, and jade-handled swords prepared for them, and intended to recommend them. At that time, the worthy official Zhao Yu, a former Minor Tutor, visited the General of the Guards. The General summoned the retainers he had selected and displayed them to Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu questioned them one by one, but among the more than ten men, not one showed any familiarity with affairs or displayed wisdom or strategic ability. Zhao Yu said, "I have heard it said that beneath the gate of a general there will be those of general caliber. The tradition holds: to know a lord, observe those he employs; to know a son, observe those he befriends. Now the edict orders the selection of the General's retainers as Palace Attendants, intending to observe the General and obtain men of worth and literary or martial talent. Yet you have merely selected wealthy young men and men of no wisdom or ability—wooden dolls dressed in brocade. What use is that?" Thereupon Zhao Yu summoned all the General's retainers, more than a hundred men, and questioned them in turn. When he came to Tian Ren and Ren An, he said, "Only these two will do. The rest are useless." The General, seeing how poor these two were, was displeased. When Zhao Yu left, he said to the two men, "Each of you, prepare new saddles and crimson garments." They replied, "Our families are poor—we have no equipment." The General flew into a rage. "You two speak as though your poverty were my concern! Are you harboring resentment against me? What manner of talk is this?" The General, having no alternative, submitted their names to the Emperor. An imperial edict summoned the General's retainers for audience. When these two presented themselves, the Emperor questioned them about their abilities. Tian Ren answered, "Beating a war drum and standing at the army's gate, making officers and soldiers eager to die in battle—such is where my abilities lie. I am not the equal of Ren An." Ren An answered, "Resolving doubtful cases, determining right from wrong, managing officials so that the people harbor no resentment—such is where my abilities lie. I am not the equal of Tian Ren." Emperor Wu laughed heartily and said, "Well spoken!" He assigned Ren An to guard the Northern Army and Tian Ren to oversee the cultivation of frontier lands along the Yellow River. These two thereupon established their reputations throughout the realm.

Later, Ren An was appointed Inspector General of Yizhou, and Tian Ren became Chief Clerk to the Chancellor.