Cāng Cí appellation Xiàorén was a Huáinán man. He began as a prefecture official. During Jiàn’ān [196-220], Tàizǔ began recruiting for Garrison-Farms in Huáinán, and appointed Cí as Collections Commandant. At Huángchū’s end, he became Cháng’ān magistrate, was pure and frugal with correct conduct, and the officials and people feared and loved him.

倉慈字孝仁，淮南人也。始為郡吏。建安中，太祖開募屯田於淮南，以慈為綏集都尉。黃初末，為長安令，清約有方，吏民畏而愛之。

During Tàihé [227-233] he was promoted to Dùnhuáng Administrator. The prefecture was on the western frontier, and due to the tragic chaos was cut off, and had been neglected and without Administrator for twenty years, the great clans were imposing and flourishing, and therefore took over customs. Former Administrator Yǐn Fèng and others followed the former situation and nothing more, making no corrections or reforms. Cí arrived, restrained and dampened the powerful, comforting and giving relief to the poor and weak, greatly obtaining his reasoning. Formerly the great clans’ fields and lands were abundant, but the lesser people had no land to set up plows; Cí all at once by population divided and gave out [land], slowly allowing everyone to set themselves up. Before this the cities’ prison and litigation cases were many, the counties could not resolve them, and many gathered below the [prefecture] government; Cí personally went and reviewed them, judged their severity, and those that were not executions, he only used flogging to deal with them, and in one year the execution punishments were not used for more than ten people. Also, often the Western Region’s various Hú peoples wish to come with tribute, but the various powerful clans often opposed and cut them off, and even in commerce and trade, they cheated and insulted, and many could not be clearly contested, so the Hú peoples always complained, and Cí all consoled them. Those [Hú] that wished to visit Luò[yáng] were given letters allowing passage, those that wished to from the prefecture return [to their homelands], the government fairly dealt with them, always with government inspected materials to trade in the market, and sending officials and people to escort them on the road; because of the people and the foreigners were friendly and praised his virtue and kindness.

太和中，遷燉煌太守。郡在西陲，以喪亂隔絕，曠無太守二十歲，大姓雄張，遂以為俗。前太守尹奉等，循故而已，無所匡革。慈到，抑挫權右，撫恤貧羸，甚得其理。舊大族田地有餘，而小民無立錐之土；慈皆隨口割賦，稍稍使畢其本直。先是屬城獄訟眾猥，縣不能決，多集治下；慈躬往省閱，料簡輕重，自非殊死，但鞭杖遣之，一歲決刑曾不滿十人。又常日西域雜胡欲來貢獻，而諸豪族多逆斷絕；既與貿遷，欺詐侮易，多不得分明。胡常怨望，慈皆勞之。欲詣洛者，為封過所，欲從郡還者，官為平取，輒以府見物與共交市，使吏民護送道路，由是民夷翕然稱其德惠。

After several years he died in office, the officials and people were sorrowful as if mourning for close kin, and drew his portrait, to remember his image. When the Western Region’s various Hú heard that Cí had died, all gathered together below the government offices of the Five-Six Colonel and the [county] Chiefs to mourn, some using knives to carve their faces, to show their blood and sincerity, and also for him established shrine, together offering sacrifices. (1)

數年卒官，吏民悲感如喪親戚，圖畫其形，思其遺像。及西域諸胡聞慈死，悉共會聚於戊己校尉及長吏治下發哀，或有以刀畫面，以明血誠，又為立祠，遙共祠之。〔一〕

• (1) Wèilüè states: Tiānshuǐ’s Wáng Qiān succeeded Cí, but although he followed his example, he could not match him. Jīnchéng’s Zhào Jī succeeded [Wáng] Qiān later, and again could not match [Wáng] Qiān. Reaching Jiāpíng [249-254], Āndìng’s Huángfǔ Lóng succeeded [Zhào] Jī as Administrator. Previously, Dùnhuáng was not knowledgeable of farming, always irrigating and flooding with water, causing it to be completely wet and muddy, and only afterward plowed. Also they did not know how to make seed drills, used water and then planted, so that the people and oxen wasted their strength, and the gathered grain was very little. [Huángfǔ] Lóng arrived, taught how to make seed drills, and also taught how to spread out irrigation, and at the year’s end’s calculations, the conserved labor was over half, and the obtained grain increased five [out of ten]. Also in Dùnhuáng’s customs, when married women made skirts, they twisted strands like goat intestine, using cloth of one pǐ; [Huángfǔ] Lóng also prohibited and changed this, and the savings could not be counted. Therefore Dùnhuáng’s people believed [Huángfǔ] Lóng’s firm decisiveness and strict resolution did not match Cí, but his industriousness respect and love and kindness, and benefits for subordinates, could be after him.

〔一〕　魏略曰：天水王遷，承代慈，雖循其跡，不能及也。金城趙基承遷後，復不如遷。至嘉平中，安定皇甫隆代基為太守。初，燉煌不甚曉田，常灌溉滀水，使極濡洽，然後乃耕。又不曉作耬犁，用水，及種，人牛功力既費，而收穀更少。隆到，教作耬犁，又教衍溉，歲終率計，其所省庸力過半，得穀加五。又燉煌俗，婦人作裙，攣縮如羊腸，用布一匹；隆又禁改之，所省復不訾。故燉煌人以為隆剛斷嚴毅不及於慈，至於勤恪愛惠，為下興利，可以亞之。