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Question: English translation of 五代史伶官传序
Answer:
Here is the English translation of the famous preface to “The Biographies of伶官 (Court Actors/Musicians)” from Ouyang Xiu’s New History of the Five Dynasties (新五代史 · 伶官传序):
Preface to the Biographies of the Court Performers
The flourishing or decline of states has never depended solely on the presence or absence of talented people; it has always depended on whether the ruler can employ them properly.
When a state is about to rise, outstanding and capable men emerge in large numbers, and the ruler is able to employ them, so the state flourishes. When a state is about to perish, outstanding and capable men still exist, but the ruler is unable to employ them, so the state declines.
This principle is clear and obvious, and even ordinary people understand it. Yet from ancient times to the present, rulers who have ruined their states and brought destruction upon themselves have almost all been those who favored flatterers, loved lewd music, indulged in women and hunting, built extravagant palaces and towers, or delighted in foreign curiosities and rare objects.
Among these, none caused greater harm than the love of music and actors.
In the past, when the Later Tang dynasty was first established, Zhuangzong (Li Cunxu) himself excelled at music and acting. He often performed on stage together with优伶 (court actors), calling himself “Li Tianxia” (Li, Master of All Under Heaven). He bestowed the surname Li upon many actors, allowing them to share his imperial surname. He was extremely intimate with them and frequently held drinking parties where he mingled with the actors, sometimes even letting them strike him with wooden clappers, and he would laugh without anger.
Later, when power fell into the hands of actors, government affairs became chaotic and corrupt. Rewards and punishments were disordered, laws and regulations fell into disuse, the treasury was emptied, the people were impoverished, soldiers lost their fighting spirit, and enemies grew stronger day by day. Within a few years the dynasty collapsed.
Alas! When the empire had just been pacified and the Central Plains had been newly recovered, how magnificent was the moment! Yet within a short time it was lost again. Does this not show that the rise and fall of a dynasty truly depend on the ruler’s employment of men?
The Book of Documents says: “Do not indulge in music and women.” The Classic of Poetry warns: “Do not follow the path of depravity.” These are not empty words.
Therefore I have written this preface to the Biographies of the Court Performers to serve as a mirror and warning for later rulers.
This is one of the most celebrated prose pieces in Chinese literary history, renowned for its concise yet powerful argument, elegant classical style, and sharp historical lesson drawn from the fall of the Later Tang dynasty under Emperor Zhuangzong.
References:
- Standard translations and interpretations appear in many English editions of Ouyang Xiu’s works, such as Richard L. Davis’s Historical Records of the Five Dynasties (Columbia University Press) and various classical Chinese literature anthologies.