| Chapter 1: | The Life and Times of Zanning |
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age seventy-nine; Grand Master of Remonstrance of the Left,132 Yang Zhengzhi, age seventy-five; Prefect of Yingzhou, Supervisor of the Patrol Officers and Armory of the Imperial Guard,133 Wei Pi, age seventy-six; retired Vice Minister134 of the Chamberlain for Ceremonials,135 Li Yun, age eighty; Director of the Bureau of Waterways and Irrigation,136 Auxiliary137 of the Imperial Archives,138 Zhu Ang, age seventy-one; Vice Director139 of the Military Commissioner of Luzhou, Wu Chongcheng, age seventy-nine; retired Companion of the Heir Apparent,140 Zhang Haowen, age eighty-five; and the Great Master who at the time was seventy-eight years of age; nine men in total.
(11) Wen Zhengong held a banquet at his estate141 that took the form of an artistic event.142 With voiced poems spread through song, they disseminated [their contents] without end. When the leader of the state of Shu (?) rose in revolt and the imperial court delayed leaving, the Master, it goes without saying,143 remained [in the capital].
At present,144 among the group of nine elders, Li [Yun], Song [Qi], Yang [Zhengzhi], Wei [Pi], and Zhang [Haowen] have already passed away. At the age of eighty-two, the great Master’s sight and hearing were failing and he [resides] in his native land [of Wuyue].
(12) [Including] Wusu, Wenmu, and the deposed King Zhongyi, constituting the rules of four generations [in Wuyue];145 two emperors of the [Later] Liang dynasty (907-923);146 the yingshun (933-934) and qingtai (934-937) eras of Emperor Zhuangzong (r. 923-926) of the Later Tang dynasty;147 Emperors Gaozu (r. 936-942) and Chudi (r. 942-947) of the [Later] Jin dynasty; Emperors Gaozu (r. 947-948) and Yindi (r. 948-951) of the [Later] Han dynasty; Emperors Taizu (r. 951-954) and Shizong (r. 954-959) of the [Later] Zhou dynasty; the Prince of Liang, our [Song dynasty] Brave Warrior, Sage of Letters, Emperor of Godly Virtues, Taizu (r. 960-976); and our [Song dynasty] Remarkable Achiever, Sagely and Virtuous Emperor of Letters and Marital [spirit], Taizong (r. 976-997); through the current Emperor [Zhenzong] totals fifteen reigns of sovereigns. Consequently, he was able to receive the influential effects of their