2
The choice between benefiting the world and perfecting oneself alone, between serving in the open and withdrawing into obscurity—these paths have differed from the earliest times. Long ago Boyi and Shuqi were spared by King Wu of Zhou, yet Hua Yu found no place with the Grand Duke Jiang—why was that? Those who looked to their inner purpose hailed them as a check on greed; those who judged them by their deeds took them as a corrective wind of moral instruction. Yet in every generation there have been men who withdrew deep into hiding and never came back. Hence the Book of Changes speaks of one who 'leaves the world behind without distress' and 'serves neither kings nor lords.' The Odes has it: 'Bright is the white colt, there in the empty valley.' The Book of Rites declares that some scholars 'will not bow to the Son of Heaven above, nor serve the feudal lords below.' The Analects says that when reclusive worthies are brought forward, 'the hearts of the people throughout the realm will incline toward you.' Though whether to enter public life or withdraw, to speak or keep silent, follows different courses, each man declares his own intent—and all alike belong to the way of the gentleman.
3
洪崖兆其始，箕山扇其風，七人作乎周年，四皓光乎漢日。 魏、晉以降，其流逾廣。 其大者則輕天下，細萬物； 其小者則安苦節，甘賤貧。 或與世同塵，隨波瀾以俱逝； 或違時矯俗，望江湖而獨往。 狎玩魚鳥，左右琴書，拾遺粒而織落毛，飲石泉而庇松柏。 放情宇宙之外，自足懷抱之中。 然皆欣欣於獨善，鮮汲汲於兼濟。 夷情得喪，忘懷累有。 比夫邁德弘道，匡俗庇人，可得而小，不可得而忽也。 而受命哲王，守文令主，莫不束帛交馳，蒲輪結轍，奔走岩穀，唯恐不逮者，何哉？ 以其道雖未弘，志不可奪，縱無舟楫之功，終有堅貞之操，足以立懦夫之志，息貪競之風。 與苟得之徒，不可同年共日，所謂無用以為用，無為而無不為也。
Hong Ya opened the way at the beginning, Mount Ji spread the example, the Seven Worthies appeared in Zhou times, and the Four Hoary Heads shone in the Han. From the Wei and Jin dynasties onward, the movement spread ever wider. The greater ones held the realm lightly and regarded all things as insignificant; the lesser ones found peace in austere integrity and were content with humble poverty. Some mingled with the world and drifted away with the tide; others defied their age and corrected its ways, turning toward rivers and lakes to walk alone. They amused themselves with fish and birds, kept lutes and books close at hand, gathered fallen grain and wove shed feathers, drank from stone springs, and sheltered beneath pines and cypresses. They gave free rein to feeling beyond the bounds of the universe and found contentment within their own hearts. Yet all alike took joy in perfecting themselves alone and seldom strove with urgency to benefit the wider world. They set aside concern for gain and loss and cast off the burdens that weigh upon others. Compared with those who advance virtue, broaden the Way, reform custom, and shelter the people, such men may seem lesser—but they cannot be dismissed. Yet sage kings who received the mandate and cultured rulers who upheld the tradition all sent gifts and dispatched rush-wheeled carriages to mountain valleys, racing lest they arrive too late—why? Because though their teaching had not yet spread far, their resolve could not be broken; though they had no achievement as helmsmen of state, their steadfast integrity could steel the timid and quell the wind of greedy rivalry. They cannot be compared with those who seize whatever they can—the useless made useful, acting without acting, and thereby leaving nothing undone.
4
自叔世澆浮，淳風殆盡，錐刀之末，競入成群。 而能冥心物表，介然離俗，望古獨適，求友千齡，亦異人矣！ 何必御霞乘雲而追日月，窮極天地，始為超遠哉！
Since the decadent age, the pure wind has nearly vanished, and men scramble in crowds even over the point of an awl. Yet those who could still fix their minds beyond the world of things, stand cleanly apart from the vulgar, look to antiquity in solitary contentment, and seek companions across a thousand years—such men were truly extraordinary! Why must one ride the clouds and chase the sun and moon, reaching the utter ends of heaven and earth, before one is counted truly transcendent?
5
The History of Wei lists Suikua, Feng Liang, Li Mi, and Zheng Xiu in its 'Biographies of Hermits.' The History of Sui lists Li Shiqian, Cui Kuo, Cui Ze, Xu Ze, and Zhang Wenxu in its 'Biographies of Recluses.' Here Li Mi and Li Shiqian are placed with their family biographies, while the rest are gathered in this chapter to complete the 'Biographies of Recluses.'
6
眭誇，一名旭，趙郡高邑人也。 祖邁，晉東海王越軍謀掾，後沒石勒，為徐州刺史。 父邃，字懷道，慕容寶中書令。 誇少有大度，不拘小節，耽好書傳，未曾以世務經心。 好飲酒，浩然物表。 年三十，遭父喪，須鬢致白，每一悲哭，聞者為之流涕。 高尚不仕，寄情丘壑。 同郡李順願與之交，誇拒而不許。 邦國少長莫不憚之。 少與崔浩為莫逆之交。 浩為司徒，奏徵為中郎，辭疾不赴。 州郡逼遣，不得已，入京都，與浩相見。 經留數日，唯飲酒談敘平生，不及世利。 浩每欲論屈之，竟不能發言，其見敬憚如此。 浩後遂投詔書於誇懷，亦不開口。 誇曰：「桃簡，卿已為司徒，何足以此勞國士也？ 吾便將別。」 桃簡，浩小名。 浩慮誇即還，時乘一騾，更無兼騎，乃以誇騾內之廄中，冀相維縶。 誇遂托鄉人輸租者，謬為御車，乃得出關。 浩知而歎曰：「眭誇獨行士，本不應以小職辱之，又使其人杖策復路，吾當何辭以謝也！」 時朝法甚峻，誇既私還，將有私歸之咎。 浩仍相左右，始得無坐。 經年，送誇本騾，兼遺以所乘馬，為書謝之。 誇更不受其騾馬，亦不復書。 及浩沒，為之素服，受鄉人弔唁，經一時乃止。 歎曰：「崔公既死，誰能更容眭誇！」 婦父巨鹿魏攀，當時名達之士，未嘗備婿之禮，情同朋好。 或人謂誇曰：「吾聞有大才者必居貴仕，子何獨在桑榆乎？」 遂著《知命論》以釋之。 及卒，葬日赴會者如市。 無子。
Suikua, also called Xu, was a native of Gaoyi in Zhao Commandery. His grandfather Mai had been military strategist to Prince of Donghai Sima Yue of Jin; later, after falling into Shi Le's hands, he became Inspector of Xuzhou. His father Sui, styled Huaidao, served Murong Bao as Director of the Secretariat. From youth Suikua had a generous spirit, cared little for petty conventions, loved books and records, and never let worldly affairs weigh on his mind. He loved wine and lived with an expansive ease above the affairs of the world. At thirty he lost his father; his beard and temples turned white, and each time he wept in grief those who heard him were moved to tears. He held himself aloof from office and gave his heart to hills and ravines. Li Shun of the same commandery wished to befriend him, but Suikua refused. Young and old throughout the district stood in awe of him. In youth he and Cui Hao were the closest of friends. When Hao became Minister Over the Masses, he memorialized to summon Suikua as Palace Gentleman, but Suikua pleaded illness and did not go. Pressed by the prefecture and commandery, he had no choice but to enter the capital and see Hao. He stayed several days, drinking wine and talking over their lives together, never touching worldly gain. Hao always meant to argue him into submission, yet could never bring himself to speak—such was the respect and awe he inspired. Later Hao thrust the edict into Suikua's bosom, but Suikua still would not speak. Suikua said, 'Taojian, you are already Minister Over the Masses—why bother a man of the realm with this? I shall take my leave now.' Taojian was Hao's childhood name. Fearing Suikua would leave at once—he had only one mule and no second mount—Hao stabled Suikua's mule in his own stable, hoping to keep him there. Suikua then had a fellow townsman who was delivering rent grain pretend to drive the cart, and in that way got out through the pass. When Hao learned of it he sighed and said, 'Suikua is a man who walks his own path—I should never have insulted him with a petty post, and now to make him walk staff in hand on the road again—what apology can I possibly offer!' The court law was then very strict, and since Suikua had returned without permission he would have faced punishment for unauthorized departure. Hao continued to support him on every side, and in the end Suikua escaped punishment. A year later Hao sent back Suikua's original mule, together with the horse he himself had ridden, and wrote a letter of apology. Suikua again refused the mule and horse and did not write back. When Hao died, Suikua wore unhemmed mourning and accepted condolences from fellow townspeople, continuing for a time before he stopped. He sighed and said, 'Now that Lord Cui is dead, who will still tolerate Suikua!' His wife's father Wei Pan of Julu, a celebrated man of the age, never treated him with the full ceremony due a son-in-law; their affection was like that of friends. Someone said to Suikua, 'I have heard that men of great talent inevitably hold high office—why do you alone linger in your declining years?' Thereupon he wrote 'On Knowing Fate' to explain himself. When he died, mourners at his funeral filled the streets like a market fair. He had no sons.
7
馮亮，字靈通，南陽人，梁平北將軍蔡道恭之甥也。 少博覽諸書，又篤好佛理。 隨道恭至義陽，會中山王英平義陽，獲焉。 英素聞其名，以禮待接。 亮性清靜，後隱居嵩山，感英之德，以時展覲。 英亡，亮奔赴，盡其哀慟。 宣武嘗召以為羽林監，領中書舍人，將令侍講《十地》諸經，固辭不許。 又欲使衣幘入見，苦求以幅巾就朝，遂不強逼。 還山數年，與僧禮誦為業，蔬食飲水，有終焉之志。 會逆人王敞事發，連山中沙門法。 而亮被執赴尚書省，十餘日，詔特免雪。 亮不敢還山，遂寓居景明寺，敕給衣食及其從者數人。 後思其舊居，復還山室。 亮既雅愛山水，又兼工思，結架岩林，甚得棲遊之適。 頗以此聞，宣武給其工力，令與沙門統僧暹、河南尹甄深等同視嵩山形勝之處，遂造閒居佛寺。 林泉既奇，營制又美，曲盡山居之妙。 亮時出京師。 延昌二年冬，因遇篤疾，宣武敕以馬輿送令還山，居嵩高道場寺，數日卒。 詔贈帛二百匹，以供凶事。
Feng Liang, styled Lingtong, was a man of Nanyang and nephew of Cai Daogong, Liang's Pacifier of the North. In youth he read widely in all books and was deeply devoted to Buddhist teaching. He followed Daogong to Yiyang, and when Prince of Zhongshan Yuan Ying pacified Yiyang he was taken captive. Yuan Ying had long heard his name and received him with courtesy. Liang's nature was pure and quiet; later he withdrew to Mount Song, moved by Yuan Ying's virtue, and from time to time paid him respectful visits. When Yuan Ying died, Liang rushed to the funeral and mourned with the deepest grief. Emperor Xuanwu once summoned him to serve as Supervisor of the Feathered Forest and concurrently Palace Secretary, intending to have him lecture on the Dashabhumi and other sutras, but he firmly refused. They also wanted him to enter audience wearing the official cap, but he earnestly begged to attend court in a plain cloth headwrap, and they did not press him further. Back in the mountains for several years he made chanting scripture with monks his calling, ate vegetables and drank water, and intended to end his days there. When the rebel Wang Chang's affair broke out, it implicated the monks of the mountain monastery. Liang was arrested and taken to the Ministry of Justice; after more than ten days an edict specially pardoned and cleared him. Liang dared not return to the mountains and lodged at Jingming Temple; the court granted food and clothing for him and several followers. Later, longing for his old dwelling, he returned once more to his mountain cell. Liang loved mountains and waters deeply and was also skilled in design; the structures he built among cliff and forest suited dwelling and wandering perfectly. Word of this spread, and Emperor Xuanwu supplied labor so that Liang, together with the Superintendent of Monks Sengxuan, Intendant of Henan Zhen Shen, and others, might survey the finest sites on Mount Song and build a secluded temple there. The woods and springs were marvelous and the construction beautiful; the art of mountain dwelling was brought to full perfection. Liang would sometimes come to the capital. In the winter of the second year of Yanchang he suddenly fell gravely ill; Emperor Xuanwu ordered a litter to send him back to the mountains. He took up residence at Songgao Daochang Temple and died within days. An edict granted two hundred bolts of silk for funeral expenses.
8
He left instructions to his nephew Zong: wrap the body in hemp garments, place a board in the left hand and one roll of the Classic of Filial Piety in the right, lay the corpse on a flat stone, withdraw several li from other people, leave it for more than ten days, then burn it on the mountain; where the ashes lay, raise a pagoda and a scripture repository. At first, because Liang died in deep winter, snow fell day after day; in the desolate ravines of the remote mountains birds and beasts were starving, and the corpse lay exposed in the wild with no protection. At that time the Shouchun Daoist Huixu went each dawn to look upon the corpse and brushed away dust and snow. Tracks of birds and insects crisscrossed all around, yet the body was never violated or harmed. The clothing remained as before, only the hemp headwrap had been worn by the wind. He also placed ten large chestnuts from the southern-method teacher Xin, whom Liang had known, saying they foretold future reward of the Ten Stages; he opened Liang's hand and placed them in his grasp. After one night they were eaten by insects and birds; the skins and shells lay on the ground, yet the flesh was not harmed. On the day of cremation a pale mist rose dense and rolled around the body from earth to sky, unbroken all morning. More than a hundred monks and laypeople in the mountains who assisted were all astonished.
9
Zheng Xiu was a man of Beihai. In youth he withdrew to Fan Valley south of Qi, built a dwelling against the cliffs, kept aloof from the world, loved the classics and histories, and devoted himself to the mysteries. Prefects and generals of successive administrations summoned him, but he never came. Prefect of Qi Wei Langen repeatedly sent urgent summons; Xiu had no choice but to come out briefly to see Langen, then soon returned to his mountain dwelling. Langen submitted a memorial recommending Xiu; Emperor Ming ordered Prefect of Yong Province Xiao Baoyin to verify the facts and report back. Baoyin rebelled, and the matter came to nothing.
10
Cui Kuo, styled Shixuan, was a native of Anping in Boling. His father Ziyuan was Military Assistant of Yan Prefecture under Northern Qi. Kuo was orphaned and poor from youth; his mother was of low station, and for this reason the clan did not count him among their own. At first he served as a village assistant and was repeatedly humiliated; stirred by this, he fled into the mountains. There he read widely and mastered many fields; scholars throughout the eastern provinces all looked to him as their guide. After returning home he declined every summons to office. He and Li Shiqian of Zhao Commandery were friends beyond the need for words; people spoke of them together as Cui and Li. When Shiqian died, Kuo mourned him with deep grief, wrote his biography, and submitted it to the imperial archive. Shiqian's widow, Lady Lu, would send someone to consult Kuo on every household matter. Kuo once wrote a treatise on the principles of law and punishment; its argument was very fine, though most of the text is not preserved here. He died at home during the Daye era of Sui.
11
His son Ze, styled Zujun, could compose literary pieces at the age of seven. He was short in stature but gifted in debate. At the beginning of Kaihuang, Prince Xiao of Qin recommended him, and he placed at the top in the policy examination. An edict ordered him, together with various Confucian scholars, to fix the court music; he was appointed Collator and later promoted to Director of Harmonization. Director of Ceremonies Su Wei held him in high esteem. He left office to mourn his mother; deeply filial by nature, he took neither water nor food for five days. Later he was summoned to serve as Lecturer to the Princes of Henan and Yuzhang, alternating each day between their two residences. When the Prince of Henan became Prince of Jin, Ze was transferred to Recorder of the Headquarters and thereafter left Yuzhang. The prince valued him without cease and sent Ze a letter that read:
12
In former times, at the Western Capital of Han and when Liang founded its state, the Level Terrace and Eastern Park drew men of virtue like a forest; Sima Xiangru resigned his post in the Feathered Cavalry, and Mei Sheng gave up his governorship of Hongnong. Whenever I read the histories I have privately wondered: why did they cast off official glory and linger in princely residences? Looking from the present back to antiquity, I now understand their lofty intent. Those two men were not acting in vain! You, sir, are broadly learned with a strong memory, probing the deep to reach the far; compared with the three baskets of a Han minister, it is like ascending Mount Meng; faced with the five cartloads of a Liang chancellor, it is like swallowing Lake Yunmeng whole. My elder brother cherishes the worthy and esteems scholars, honoring them without weariness; he first built a palace for Guo Kui and always kept the wine of Mu Sheng ready. Now he has reopened his domain and renewed his oath over mountains and rivers. His territory spans seven hundred li and encloses Qufu; his cities number seventy and embrace Linzi. Greatly opening Nanyang, he is just now opening the Eastern Gate to welcome guests. I imagine you will ride beneath a flying canopy, trail a long robe, recline on a tortoiseshell mat, step in pearl slippers, sing of the mountain cassia's lofty grace, and compose verses on the pool bamboo's elegant clusters. Your lofty dignity is like that, your elegant spirit like this—how fortunate, how fortunate! What joy could equal it! Looking up to the capital, I think of Dezuo; in talent I fall short of heaven and man, and am much ashamed before Zijian. A letter cannot exhaust my meaning; why wait for more words?
14
Yesterday I respectfully received your instructive letter; the honor bestowed was beyond the ordinary, and my spirit was overwhelmed. As for reasoning that surpasses the Image and Attachment of the Changes, even Guan Lu would ponder without understanding; matters rich as the Classic of Mountains and Seas—Guo Pu annotated them yet could not exhaust them. As for the five colors harmonizing and the eight tones gathering in abundance—phoenix song is insufficient as a metaphor, and dragon pattern has no equal. Wu Zha's discourse on the Zhou Eulogies—how could it fully praise you; the Ying guest's performance of 'Spring Sun'—who could match the measure? I respectfully consider that Your Highness the Prince, endowed with the moisture of the Heavenly Ford and inheriting radiance from Sun-View Peak, surpasses the Prince of Dongping in refined learning and rises above the Prince of Beihai in literary art. In Han there were Sima Qian and Xiao Wangzhi; in Jin there were Pei Kai and Zhang Hua. Your fame rises at the Rooster Tree, your beauty spreads at the Egret Pool; gazing at my humble dust, the path between us is far and still.
15
Zujun is a superfluous guest south of Yan, an idle wanderer of the northern Yellow River region; I never intended to emulate Yan Hui, nor had any mind to admire Lin Xiangru. I have never gathered fireflies to read by snowlight, nor hung my head and pricked my thigh in study. Reading the Analects I take only one chapter; opening the Zhuangzi I read no more than a foot's length. Moreover my mulberry-and-elm years draw toward evening, my wild greens are often empty, raising the candle yields no success, and shooting through the willow is wholly abandoned. Yet like Yan seeking the horse's head, or Xue raising the cock's crow, I wrongly take rank among the grand rites and falsely occupy a place among fine steeds. To clasp Mount Tai and leap over the sea—compared with repaying your kindness this would not be hard; to dam Mount Kunlun and make it a pool—matching your grace in return would instead be easy.
16
Suddenly the Zhou paulownia received its auspice, the Tang waters inherited the house; your gate has generals and ministers, and your tree is fit for peaches and plums. When the true dragon is about to descend, who would care to be famous; the incompetent flute-player should flee first—why need another hearing? Yet your gracious intent lowers the high and raises the low; it is for this that rivers and seas are called kings, and hills and mounds cannot match them. If Cao Zhi by chance heard your lofty discourse, his fine name would not perish; if Yang Xiu secretly stood in your lee, his pure virtue would likewise not be diminished. Unable to bear the fullness of my gratitude, I respectfully submit this letter to inform you.
17
The Prince of Yuzhang received his letter and sent fifty piculs of rice, along with clothing, money, and silks. At the time the documents of the Prince of Jin's residence were largely written by his own hand. When the prince entered the Eastern Palace, Ze was appointed Master of the Crown Prince's Fast, and soon also served as Attendant Gentleman. When Crown Prince Yuande died, he returned home on grounds of illness. Later he was summoned as Imperial Diarist.
18
大業四年，從駕汾陽宮，次河陽鎮。 藍田令王曇于藍田山得一玉人，長三四寸，著大領衣，冠幘。 奏之。 詔問群臣，莫有識者。 賾答曰：「謹案：漢文帝已前，未有冠幘，即是文帝以來所制也。 臣見魏大司農盧元明撰《嵩高山廟記》云：『有神人，以玉為形，像長數寸，或出或隱，出則令世延長。』 伏惟陛下，應天順人，定鼎嵩、雒，嶽神自見，臣敢稱慶。」 因再拜，百官畢賀。 天子大悅，賜縑二百匹。 從駕往太山，詔問賾曰：「何處有羊腸阪？」 賾答曰：「臣案《漢書·地理志》，上党壺關縣有羊腸阪。」 帝曰：「不是。」 又答曰：「臣案皇甫士安撰《地書》，云太原北九十里，有羊腸阪。」 帝曰：「是也。」 因謂牛弘曰：「崔祖浚所謂問一知二。」
In the fourth year of Daye he accompanied the imperial procession to Fenyang Palace and halted at Heyang garrison. Wang Tan, magistrate of Lantian, obtained a jade figure on Mount Lantian, three or four inches tall, wearing a broad-collared robe and a cap with headwrap. He reported it to the throne. An edict asked the assembled ministers, but none could identify it. Ze replied: 'I respectfully consider: before Emperor Wen of Han there were no caps with headwraps; this must have been made from Emperor Wen's time onward. Your subject has seen the Record of the Song Mountain Temple written by Lu Yuanming, Grand Minister of Agriculture of Wei, which says: "There is a divine being in the form of jade, a figure several inches long, who sometimes appears and sometimes hides; when he appears the age is prolonged." I respectfully consider that Your Majesty, responding to Heaven and following the people, has fixed the tripod at Song and Luo; the mountain god has revealed himself, and your subject dares to offer congratulations.' Thereupon he bowed twice, and all the officials offered congratulations. The emperor was greatly pleased and granted him two hundred bolts of silk. Accompanying the procession to Mount Tai, the emperor asked Ze: 'Where is Yangchang Slope?' Ze replied: 'Your subject finds in the Geography Monograph of the Book of Han that Yangchang Slope is in Huguan County, Shangdang.' The emperor said: 'That is not it.' He replied again: 'Your subject finds in the Geography written by Huangfu Shi'an that ninety li north of Taiyuan there is a Yangchang Slope.' The emperor said: 'That is it.' Thereupon he said to Niu Hong: 'This is what Cui Zujun means by asking one and knowing two.'
19
In the fifth year he received an edict to compile, with various Confucian scholars, the Gazetteer of the Realm in two hundred fifty volumes, and submitted it. The emperor was displeased with it and ordered Yu Shiji and Xu Shanxin to expand it into six hundred volumes. He left office to mourn his father, but was soon recalled and ordered to resume his duties. During the Liaodong campaign he was appointed Chief Clerk of the Soaring Hawk Command. The names of the commanderies and counties established in Liaodong were all Ze's proposals. He received an edict to compose the Record of the Eastern Expedition. In the ninth year he was appointed Chief Administrator to the Prince of Yue. At that time bandits rose like bees in the eastern provinces; the emperor ordered him to pacify Gaoyang and Xiangguo, and more than eight hundred surrendered. In the twelfth year he accompanied the imperial procession to Jiangdu. When Yuwen Huaji assassinated the emperor, Ze was appointed Compiler, but he pleaded illness and did not take up the post. On the road he fell ill and died at Pengcheng at the age of sixty-nine.
20
Ze was on good terms with Yuan Shan of Henan, Liu Bi of Hedong, Wang Shao of Taiyuan, Yao Cha of Wuxing, Zhuge Ying of Langya, Liu Zhuo of Xindu, and Liu Xuan of Hejian; on holidays they would converse in pure talk all day. His writings in rhapsodies, fu, stele inscriptions, and records totaled more than one hundred thousand characters; he compiled the Record of Broad Learning in seven volumes and the Record of Four Categories through Eight Dynasties in thirty volumes. Before they could be put into effect Jiangdu fell, and all were reduced to ashes.
21
Xu Ze was a native of Tan in Donghai. From youth he was quiet and reserved, with few desires; he studied under Zhou Hongzheng, was skilled in the Three Mysteries, excelled in disputation, and his fame filled the capital. Ze sighed and said: 'Fame is the guest of reality—am I to be the guest!' Thereupon he embraced the resolve to dwell in seclusion, took staff in hand, and entered Mount Jinyun. Later several hundred students earnestly begged him to teach, but Ze declined and sent them away. He did not marry and always wore a cloth cap and hemp robe. In the Taijian era of Chen he answered a summons and came to rest at the Zhizhen Abbey. After a month he again took leave and entered Mount Tiantai. There he abstained from grain to nurture his nature; his sole sustenance was pine water; even in the deep cold of midwinter he wore no cotton padding. Grand Tutor Xu Ling carved a mountain inscription and erected a eulogy for him.
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初在縉雲山，太極真人徐君降之曰：「汝年出八十，當為王者師，然後得道也。」 晉王廣鎮揚州，聞其名，手書召之曰：「夫道得眾妙，法體自然，包涵二儀，混成萬物，人能弘道，道不虛行。 先生履德養空，宗玄齊物，深曉義理，頗味法門。 悅性沖玄，恬神虛白，餐松餌術，棲息煙霞。 望赤城而待風雲，遊玉堂而駕龍鳳。 雖復藏名台嶽，猶且騰實江、淮。 藉甚嘉猷，有勞寤寐。 欽承素道，久積虛襟，側席幽人，夢想岩穴。 霜風已冷，海氣將寒，偃息茂林，道體休悆。 昔商山四皓，輕舉漢庭； 淮南八公，來儀籓邸。 古今雖異，山谷不殊。 市朝之隱，前賢已說。 導凡述聖。 非先生而誰？ 故遣使人，往彼延請，想無勞東帛，賁然來思，不待蒲輪，去彼空穀。 希能屈己，佇望披云。」 則謂門人曰：「吾今年八十一，王來召我，徐君之旨，信而不征。」 於是遂詣揚州。 晉王將請受道法，則辭以時日不便。 其後夕中，命待者取香火，如平常朝禮之儀，至於五更而死。 支體柔弱如生，停留數旬，顏色不變。 晉王下書曰：「天台真隱東海徐先生，虛確居宗，沖玄成德，齊物處外，檢行安身。 草褐蒲衣，餐松餌朮，棲隱靈岳，五十餘年。 卓矣仙才，飄然騰氣，千尋萬頃，莫測其涯。 寡人欽承道風，久餐德素，頻遣使乎，遠此延屈，冀得虔受上法，式建良緣。 至止甫爾，未淹旬日，厭塵羽化，反真靈府。 身體柔軟，顏色不變，經方所謂屍解地仙者哉。 誠復師禮未申，而心許有在，雖忘怛化，猶愴於懷。 喪事所資，隨須供給。 霓裳羽蓋，既且騰雲； 空槨餘衣，詎藉墳壟？ 但杖舄在爾，可同俗法。 宜遣使人，送還天台定葬。」
When he was first on Mount Jinyun, the Perfected One of the Grand Ultimate, Lord Xu, descended to him and said: 'When your years pass eighty you will become teacher to a king, and only then attain the Way.' Prince of Jin Yang Guang held Yangzhou and, hearing his name, personally wrote to summon him: 'The Way obtains the myriad subtleties; its law embodies nature, embraces the two principles, and blends to form the ten thousand things. Man can expand the Way, and the Way does not move in vain. You, sir, tread virtue and nurture emptiness, take the dark as your standard and align with things, deeply understand principle and reason, and have tasted the gates of the Law. Your nature delights in pure mystery, your spirit is tranquil and empty-white; you dine on pine and take elixirs, dwelling amid mist and rosy clouds. Gazing toward Red Wall to await wind and clouds, roaming the Jade Hall and driving dragon and phoenix. Though you again conceal your name on terrace and peak, your substance still rises along the Yangtze and Huai. Your excellent counsel is greatly renowned and has long occupied my waking and sleeping thoughts. I respectfully receive your pure Way, long held in my open heart; I sit askance for the recluse and dream of mountain caves. The frost wind is already cold and the sea air will soon turn chill; rest at ease in the lush forest and let your Way-body find repose. In former times the Four Hoary Heads of Mount Shang lightly entered the Han court; the Eight Worthies of Huainan came as guests to a princely residence. Though ancient and modern differ, mountains and valleys are not unlike. Reclusion within the marketplace and court—former worthies have already spoken of it. To guide the common and expound the sage— if not you, sir, then who? Therefore I send an envoy to invite you; I trust you need not be urged with silk gifts but will come with radiant intent, and need not wait for rush-wheeled carriages to leave that empty valley. I hope you can humble yourself; I wait in expectation to part the clouds.' Ze said to his disciples: 'I am eighty-one this year; the prince has come to summon me—Lord Xu's prophecy is trustworthy and not false.' Thereupon he went to Yangzhou. The Prince of Jin was about to request instruction in the Way, but Ze declined on the grounds that the time was not suitable. That evening he ordered his attendants to fetch incense and fire and perform the usual morning ritual; by the fifth watch he was dead. His limbs were soft as in life; he remained for several tens of days and his complexion did not change. The Prince of Jin issued a letter: 'The true recluse of Mount Tiantai, Master Xu of Donghai, takes emptiness and certainty as his standard, forms virtue through pure mystery, aligns with things while standing apart, and restrains conduct to secure his person. In hemp robe and rush garment he dined on pine and took atractylodes, dwelling in seclusion on the numinous peak for more than fifty years. Transcendent was his immortal talent, soaring and ethereal; a thousand fathoms and ten thousand acres—none could measure his bounds. I have long admired his Way-wind and nourished myself on his pure virtue, repeatedly sending envoys to invite him from afar, hoping to receive the higher Law devoutly and establish a fine bond. He had just arrived and not yet passed ten days when, weary of the dust, he transformed by feather and returned to the numinous realm. His body was soft and his complexion unchanged—is this not what the scriptures call a corpse-dissolving earthly immortal? Truly the rites of master and disciple were not yet performed, yet a promise of the heart remained; though he forgot sorrow in transformation, grief still lodges in my breast. Whatever the funeral requires shall be supplied as needed. Rainbow robes and feathered canopies have already risen on clouds; an empty coffin and leftover garments—why rely on mound and tomb? Only the staff and shoes remain with you; you may follow the common custom. You should send envoys to return him to Mount Tiantai for burial.'
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At that time, from Jiangdu to Mount Tiantai, many on the road saw Ze walking on foot, saying he had been released to return. When he reached his old dwelling he took out scriptures and Daoist methods, distributed them among his disciples, and ordered a room swept clean, saying: 'If guests come, they should be received here.' Then he crossed the stone bridge and departed, and no one knew where he went. Shortly afterward the coffin arrived; they knew he had undergone spiritual transformation; he was then eighty-two. The Prince of Jin, hearing this, was all the more astonished; he sent a thousand bolts of funeral goods, dispatched a painter to depict his likeness, and ordered Liu Bi to compose a eulogy.
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At that time there were also Song Yuquan of Jian'an, Kong Daomao of Kuaiji, and Wang Yuanzhi of Danyang, who likewise practiced the Way of grain abstinence and sustained themselves on pine water—all were esteemed by Emperor Yang.
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張文詡，河東人也。 父琚，開皇中，為洹水令，以清正聞。 文詡博覽群書，特精《三禮》。 隋文帝方引天下名儒碩學之士，文詡時游太學，博士房暉遠等莫不推伏之。 書侍御史皇甫誕，一時朝彥，恆執弟子之禮，以所乘馬就學邀屈。 文詡遂每牽馬步進，意在不因人自致也。 右僕射蘇威聞而召之，與語大悅，勸令從官，文詡固辭。 仁壽末，學廢，文詡策杖而歸，灌園為業。 州郡頻舉，皆不應命。 事母以孝聞。 每以德化人，鄉黨頗移風俗。 嘗有人夜中竊刈其麥者，見而避之。 盜因感悟，棄麥而謝。 文詡慰諭之，自誓不言，固令持去。 經數年，盜者向鄉人說之，始為遠近所悉。 鄰家築牆，心有不直，文詡因毀舊堵以應之。 文詡常有腰疾，會醫者自言善禁，文詡令禁之，遂為刀所傷，至於頓伏床枕。 醫者叩頭請罪。 文詡遽遣之，因為隱，謂妻子曰：「吾昨風眩，落坑所致。」 其掩人短，皆此類也。 州縣以其貧素，將加賑恤，輒辭不受。 嘗閒居無事，從容歎曰：「老冉冉而將至，恐修名之不立！」 以如意擊幾自樂，皆有處所，時人方之閔子騫、原憲焉。 終於家，鄉人為立碑頌，號曰張先生。
Zhang Wenxu was a man of Hedong. His father Ju, during Kaihuang, served as magistrate of Huanshui and was known for integrity and uprightness. Wenxu read broadly in all books and was especially expert in the Three Rituals. Emperor Wen of Sui was then gathering renowned Confucian scholars and eminent learned men from throughout the realm; Wenxu was studying at the Imperial Academy, and Erudites such as Fang Huiyuan all deferred to him. Palace Attendant Censor Huangfu Dan, a leading figure of the court, always performed the rites of a disciple and used the horse he rode to invite Wenxu to study. Wenxu therefore each time led the horse and walked on foot, intending not to advance himself through others. Right Vice Director Su Wei heard of him and summoned him; after conversing he was greatly pleased and urged him to take office, but Wenxu firmly declined. At the end of Renshou the academy was abolished; Wenxu returned leaning on a staff and made watering gardens his occupation. Prefectures and commanderies repeatedly recommended him, but he never answered the summons. He was known for filial devotion to his mother. He always transformed people through virtue, and the village and neighborhood gradually changed their customs. Once someone stole and reaped his wheat at night; Wenxu saw him and stepped aside. The thief was moved by this, abandoned the wheat, and apologized. Wenxu comforted and instructed him, swore he would not speak of it, and firmly told him to take the wheat away. After several years the thief told fellow villagers, and only then did those near and far come to know of it. When a neighbor built a wall that encroached inward, Wenxu tore down his old wall to accommodate him. Wenxu often suffered from a waist ailment; once a physician claimed skill in incantation-healing, and Wenxu had him perform it, but was wounded by a knife and collapsed on bed and pillow. The physician kowtowed and begged forgiveness. Wenxu at once sent him away and concealed the matter, telling his wife and children: 'I had a dizzy spell yesterday and fell into a pit.' His way of concealing others' faults was all of this kind. Because he was poor and plain, prefectures and counties were about to grant relief, but he always declined and would not accept. Once, idle at home with nothing to do, he sighed at ease and said: 'Old age slowly approaches—I fear a cultivated name will not be established!' He struck the table with his ruyi scepter for his own pleasure, each stroke falling in its place; people of the time compared him to Min Ziqian and Yuan Xian. He died at home; fellow villagers erected a stele in his praise and called him Master Zhang.
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The commentary says: What the ancients called recluses was not hiding the body so it would not be seen, not closing the words so they would not be spoken, not concealing wisdom so it would not be deployed. Rather, they took tranquil simplicity as their heart, neither glaring nor dim, adapting to the times and following what is fitting, without private attachment to things. Suikua forgot official rank and cap, fulfilled his purpose in hills and gardens, concealing himself without violating kinship, remaining pure without cutting off the world; or teaching without instruction and sending empty but receiving full—without natural pure virtue, who could reach this? Yet Wenxu, though injured, was without anger; Xu Ze's intent lay in deep obscurity—neither closeness nor distance, neither nobility nor baseness could affect him; all may be called men who embraced simplicity. Cui Kuo, stirred by humiliation, came to be praised for his deep withdrawal; Zujun's excellence in letters was sufficient to continue the hall and framework of his house. Though father and son differed in movement and stillness, in achieving fame they were one—how fine!