| | 王章妻女: |
王章妻女，漢京兆尹王仲卿之妻及其女也。仲卿為書生，斈於長安，獨與妻居。疾病，無被，臥牛衣中；與妻訣，泣涕。妻呵怒曰：「仲卿尊貴在朝廷，誰愈於仲卿者？今疾病困厄，不自激昂，乃反涕泣，何鄙也！」後章仕宦至京兆尹。 |
| | Wang Zhang's wife and daughter were Wang Zhongqing, the wife of the Han Dynasty's Jingzhao Yin, and their daughter. Zhongqing was a scholar who studied in Chang'an and lived alone with his wife. When he fell ill, they had no quilt; he lay wrapped in a cowhide. He bid farewell to his wife and wept bitterly. His wife scolded him, saying, "Zhongqing, you hold a noble position in the imperial court; who is superior to Zhongqing?" "Now that you are suffering from illness and hardship, if you do not encourage yourself, but instead weep and wail, how despicable!" Later, Zhang served as an official up to the position of Jingzhao Yin.
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| | 王章妻女: |
成帝舅大將軍王鳳秉政專權，章雖為鳳所舉，意不肯附。會有日食之變，章上封事，言鳳不可任用。事成當上，妻止之曰：「人當知足，獨不念牛衣中流涕時耶？」章曰：「非女子所知！」書遂上，天子不忍退鳳，章猶是為鳳所陷，事至大逆，收繫下獄。 |
| | Chengdi's maternal uncle, Grand General Wang Feng, held power and monopolized authority; although Zhang had been recommended by Feng, he did not wish to attach himself to him. At the time there was an eclipse of the sun; Zhang submitted a sealed memorial stating that Feng should not be entrusted with office. When it was about to succeed, his wife stopped him and said, "A person should know contentment; do you not remember the time when we shed tears wrapped in a cowhide?" Zhang replied, "That is not something for a woman to understand!" The memorial was submitted; however, the Son of Heaven could not bear to remove Feng. Zhang was still implicated by Feng and accused of a grave crime, arrested, and imprisoned in the lower prison.
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| | 王章妻女: |
章有小女，年十二，夜號哭曰：「平日坐獄上，聞呼囚數常至九，今八而止；我君素剛，先死者必我君也。」明日問之，果死。妻子皆徒合浦。鳳薨後，成都侯王商為大將軍，閔章無罪，白還其妻子﹑財產田宅，眾庶給之。君子謂：「王章妻知卷舒之節。」《》云：「」言王為威虐之政，則無罪而遘咎也。 |
| | Zhang had a young daughter who was twelve years old, and at night she wailed and cried, saying, "On ordinary days when I sat above the prison, I heard that the number of prisoners called out often reached nine; today it has stopped at eight;" "Since my father is always resolute, those who died first must be my father." The next day they inquired about it and found that he had indeed died. His wife and daughter were both exiled to Hepu. After Feng's death, Chengdu Hou Wang Shang became the Grand General. Taking pity on Zhang's innocence, he reported to the court and returned his wife, daughter, property, fields, and houses; the common people provided for them. The gentlemen said: "Wang Zhang's wife understood the virtue of flexibility and restraint." "The Book of Songs" says: "The vast heaven has already shown its wrath; I am cautious, yet innocent of any crime." This means that when a ruler enforces tyrannical policies, the innocent may still suffer blame.
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