1
崔善為薛頤甄權弟:立言宋俠許胤宗乙弗弘禮袁天綱孫思邈明崇儼張憬藏李嗣真張文仲附:李虔縱韋慈藏尚獻甫附:裴知古孟詵嚴善思金梁鳳張果葉法善僧玄奘僧神秀附:慧能普寂義福僧一行附:泓師桑道茂
Cui Shanwei; Xue Yi; Zhen Quan, with his younger brother Liyan; Song Xia; Xu Yinzong; Yifu Hongli; Yuan Tiangang; Sun Simiao; Ming Chongyan; Zhang Jingzang; Li Sizhen; Zhang Wenzong, with appended biographies of Li Qianzong and Wei Cizang; Shang Xianfu, with appended biographies of Pei Zhigu; Meng Shen; Yan Shansi; Jin Liangfeng; Zhang Guo; Ye Fashan; the monk Xuanzang; the monk Shenxiu, with appended biographies of Huineng, Puji, and Yifu; the monk Yixing, with appended biography of Hongshi; and Sang Daomao
2
夫術數占相之法，出於陰陽家流。 自劉向演《洪範》之言，京房傳焦贛之法，莫不望氣視祲，懸知災異之來； 運策揲蓍，預定吉凶之會。 固已詳于魯史，載彼《周官》。 其弊者肄業非精，順非行偽，而庸人不修德義，妄冀遭逢。 如魏豹之納薄姬，孫皓之邀青蓋，王莽隨式而移坐，劉歆聞讖而改名。 近者綦連耀之構異端，蘇玄明之犯宮禁，皆因占候，輔此奸凶。 聖王禁星緯之書，良有以也。 國史載袁天綱前知武后，恐匪格言，而李淳風刪方伎書，備言其要。 舊本錄崔善為已下，此深於其術者，兼桑門道士方伎等，並附此篇。
The arts of numerology, divination, and physiognomy arose from the Yin–Yang school of thought. From Liu Xiang's elaboration of the Great Plan through Jing Fang's transmission of Jiao Gan's techniques, practitioners alike watched the qi of heaven, read portents in the sky, and claimed to foresee disasters before they arrived; they cast stalks and counted yarrow, seeking to fix in advance whether fortune or misfortune would meet them. Such practices were already treated at length in the chronicles of Lu and enshrined in the Offices of Zhou. The abuse came when men pursued the craft without real mastery, cloaked false conduct in orthodox formulas, and ordinary people, neglecting virtue, vainly hoped fate would favor them. Wei Bao took Lady Bo because of a prophecy; Sun Hao courted the green-canopied carriage of surrender; Wang Mang moved his seat to follow an omen; Liu Xin changed his name when he heard a prognostication. More recently, Qi Lianyao's heterodox plotting and Su Xuanming's breach of the palace gates both drew on astrological divination to abet treachery. Sage rulers had good reason to ban books of star lore and celestial omens. The dynastic history notes that Yuan Tiangang foresaw Empress Wu—a passage some feared was not fit moral teaching—yet when Li Chunfeng edited the treatises on the arts, he recorded the essentials in full. The earlier edition listed from Cui Shanwei onward those most accomplished in these arts, together with Buddhist monks, Daoist priests, and other practitioners, all gathered in this chapter.
3
崔善為
Cui Shanwei
4
崔善為，貝州武城人也。 祖顒，後魏員外散騎侍郎。 父權會，齊丞相府參軍事。 善為好學，兼善天文算曆，明達時務。 弱冠州舉，授文林郎。 屬隋文帝營仁壽宮，善為領丁匠五百人。 右僕射楊素為總監，巡至善為之所，索簿點人，善為手持簿暗唱之，五百人一無差失，素大驚。 自是有四方疑獄，多使善為推按，無不妙盡其理。
Cui Shanwei was a native of Wucheng in Beizhou. His grandfather Yong served as an extraordinary attendant of the scattered cavalry in Northern Wei. His father Quanhui was a staff officer in the chief minister's office of Northern Qi. Shanwei was devoted to learning and equally skilled in astronomy, mathematics, and calendrics, with a keen grasp of contemporary affairs. At his coming of age he was nominated by the province and appointed Gentleman of the Forest of Literature. When Emperor Wen of Sui built Renshou Palace, Shanwei supervised five hundred corvée laborers and artisans. Yang Su, vice director of the right, served as chief overseer. When he came to Shanwei's section and demanded the roster to count the men, Shanwei held the register and recited every name from memory—not one of the five hundred was wrong. Yang Su was astonished. Thereafter, whenever doubtful legal cases came from the provinces, Shanwei was often assigned to investigate them, and he invariably unraveled each to its root.
5
仁壽中，稍遷樓煩郡司戶書佐。 高祖時為太守，甚禮遇之。 善為以隋政傾頹，乃密勸進，高祖深納之。 義旗建，引為大將軍府司戶參軍，封清河縣公。 武德中，曆內史舍人、尚書左丞，甚得譽。 諸曹令史惡其聰察，因其身短而傴，嘲之曰：「崔子曲知鉤，隨例得封侯。 髆上全無項，胸前別有頭。」 高祖聞之，勞勉之曰：「澆薄之人，醜正惡直。 昔齊末奸吏歌斛律明月，而高緯愚暗，遂滅其家。 朕雖不德，倖免斯事。」 因購流言者，使加其罪。 時傅仁均所撰《戊寅元曆》，議者紛然，多有同異，李淳風又駁其短十有八條。 高祖令善為考校二家得失，多有駁正。
During the Renshou reign he was promoted to clerk of the revenue section in Loufan commandery. When Gaozu was still a regional inspector, he treated Shanwei with exceptional courtesy. Seeing the Sui regime crumbling, Shanwei secretly urged Gaozu to rise in rebellion, and Gaozu took his counsel to heart. When the rebellion was launched, he was appointed revenue staff officer in the Grand General's headquarters and enfeoffed as Duke of Qinghe. During the Wude era he served as Secretariat drafter and then as left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, earning wide acclaim. The clerks of the various bureaus resented his sharp scrutiny. Because he was short and stooped, they mocked him with a verse: 'Young Cui, bent like a hook, wins a marquisate by routine. Above the shoulders he has no neck; on his chest he wears a second head. When Gaozu heard of this, he comforted Shanwei, saying: 'Petty men always hate what is upright and detest what is straight. At the end of Northern Qi, corrupt clerks spread songs defaming Hulu Guang, and the foolish Emperor Gao Wei destroyed his entire family. Though I lack virtue, I have been spared that fate. He then posted a reward for the slanderers and had them punished more severely. Fu Renjun's Wuyin Origin Calendar was then under heated debate, with many points of agreement and dispute, and Li Chunfeng added eighteen refutations of its errors. Gaozu ordered Shanwei to compare the two sides' arguments, and he offered many corrections.
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貞觀初，拜陝州刺史。 時朝廷立議，戶殷之處，得徙寬鄉。 善為上表稱：「畿內之地，是謂戶殷，丁壯之人，悉入軍府。 若聽移轉，便出關外。 此則虛近實遠，非經通之議。」 其事乃止。 後曆大理、司農二卿，名為稱職。 坐與少卿不協，出為秦州刺史，卒，贈刑部尚書。
Early in the Zhenguan era he was appointed prefect of Shanzhou. The court had proposed that people in densely populated districts be allowed to move to districts with spare land. Shanwei submitted a memorial arguing: 'The capital region is already densely settled, and every able-bodied man is enrolled in the military households. If relocation is permitted, they will simply move beyond the passes. That would hollow out what is near while strengthening what is far—a policy at odds with sound governance. The proposal was dropped. He later served as minister of judicial review and then minister of the imperial granaries, and in both posts was regarded as thoroughly competent. After a falling-out with a vice minister, he was posted out as prefect of Qinzhou. He died there and was posthumously awarded Minister of Justice.
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薛頤，滑州人也。 大業中，為道士。 解天文律曆，尤曉雜占。 煬帝引入內道場，亟令章醮。 武德初，追直秦府。 頤嘗密謂秦王曰：「德星守秦分，王當有天下，願王自愛。」 秦王乃奏授太史丞，累遷太史令。 貞觀中，太宗將封禪泰山，有彗星見，頤因言「考諸玄象，恐未可東封」。 會褚遂良亦言其事，於是乃止。
Xue Yi was a native of Huazhou. During the Daye era he became a Daoist priest. He mastered astronomy, pitch pipes, and calendrics and was especially skilled in miscellaneous divination. Emperor Yang brought him into the inner Daoist sanctuary and repeatedly ordered him to perform ritual offerings. Early in the Wude era he was summoned to serve at the Prince of Qin's establishment. Yi once told the Prince of Qin in secret: 'The Virtue Star holds the Qin asterism—you are destined to rule the realm. I urge you to take care of yourself. The prince then recommended him for appointment as vice director of the Astrographic Bureau, and he rose in stages to director. During the Zhenguan era, when Taizong planned to perform the Feng and Shan rites on Mount Tai, a comet appeared. Yi said, 'Judging by the celestial signs, I fear the eastern rite is not yet auspicious.' Chu Suiliang spoke to the same effect, and the rite was abandoned.
8
頤後上表請為道士，太宗為置紫府觀於九秬山，拜頤中大夫，行紫府觀主事。 又敕於觀中建一清台，候玄象，有災祥薄蝕謫見等事，隨狀聞奏。 前後所奏，與京台李淳風多相符契。 後數歲卒。
Yi later petitioned to become a Daoist priest. Taizong founded the Purple Mansion Abbey on Mount Jiuju, appointed Yi grand master of palace attendance, and made him acting abbot of the abbey. He also ordered a Pure Observatory built at the abbey to watch the heavens; whenever calamities, auspicious signs, eclipses, or unusual celestial appearances occurred, Yi was to report them at once. His reports largely agreed with those of Li Chunfeng at the capital observatory. He died several years later.
9
甄權，許州扶溝人也。 嘗以母病，與弟立言專醫方，得其旨趣。 隋開皇初，為秘書省正字，後稱疾免。 隋魯州刺史庫狄鏚苦風患，手不得引弓，諸醫莫能療。 權謂曰：「但將弓箭向垛，一針可以射矣。」 針其肩隅一穴，應時即射。 權之療疾，多此類也。
Zhen Quan was a native of Fugou in Xuzhou. When his mother fell ill, he and his younger brother Liyan devoted themselves to medicine and mastered its essentials. Early in the Kaihuang era of Sui he served as a Secretariat proofreader, then resigned on grounds of illness. Kudi Lei, regional inspector of Lu under Sui, suffered from a wind disorder that left him unable to draw a bow; no physician could cure him. Quan told him: 'Take your bow and arrow toward the target—one needle will let you shoot again. He needled a point at the corner of the shoulder, and the patient shot at once. Most of Quan's cures were of this kind.
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貞觀十七年，權年一百三歲，太宗幸其家，視其飲食，訪以藥性，因授朝散大夫，賜几杖衣服。 其年卒。 撰《脈經》、《針方》、《明堂人形圖》各一卷。
In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Quan was one hundred and three. Taizong visited his home, watched him eat and drink, and questioned him about medicinal properties. He then granted Quan the title Grand Master for Palace Counsel and gave him a couch, staff, and robes. He died that same year. He wrote one fascicle each of Pulse Classic, Needle Formulas, and Bright Hall Human Figure Diagram.
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弟立言
His younger brother Liyan
12
弟立言，武德中累遷太常丞。 御史大夫杜淹患風毒發腫，太宗令立言視之。 既而奏曰：「從今更十一日午時必死。」 果如其言。 時有尼明律，年六十余，患心腹鼓脹，身體嬴瘦，已經二年。 立言診脈曰：「其腹內有蟲，當是誤食發為之耳。」 因令服雄黃，須臾吐一蛇，如人手小指，唯無眼，燒之，猶有發氣，其疾乃愈。 立言尋卒。 撰《本草音義》七卷，《古今錄驗方》五十卷。
His younger brother Liyan rose during the Wude era to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Censor-in-Chief Du Yan suffered from wind toxin with painful swelling. Taizong ordered Liyan to examine him. He then reported: 'Eleven days from now, at the noon hour, he will die. Events unfolded exactly as he had predicted. There was a nun named Minglü, over sixty, who had suffered for two years from abdominal distension and wasting emaciation. After taking her pulse, Liyan said: 'There are worms in her belly—she must have eaten hair by mistake, and it has bred inside her. He had her take realgar, and presently she vomited a snake the size of a little finger, eyeless; when burned it still smelled of hair, and she recovered. Liyan died soon afterward. He wrote seven fascicles of Materia Medica Phonetic Glosses and fifty fascicles of Recorded Efficacious Formulas Ancient and Modern.
13
宋俠者，洺州清漳人，北齊東平王文學孝正之子也。 亦以醫術著名。 官至朝散大夫、藥藏監。 撰《經心錄》十卷，行於代。
Song Xia was from Qingzhang in Mingzhou, the son of Xiao Zheng, literary attendant to the Prince of Dongping of Northern Qi. He too was renowned for his medical skill. He rose to grand master for palace counsel and superintendent of the pharmaceutical repository. He wrote ten fascicles of Heart Classic Records, which circulated widely in his day.
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許胤宗
Xu Yinzong
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許胤宗，常州義興人也。 初事陳，為新蔡王外兵參軍。 時柳太后病風不言，名醫治皆不愈，脈益沉而噤。 胤宗曰：「口不可下藥，宜以湯氣薰之。 令藥入腠理，周理即差。」 乃造黃蓍防風湯數十斛，置於床下，氣如煙霧，其夜便得語。 由是超拜義興太守。 陳亡入隋，曆尚藥奉禦。 武德初，累授散騎侍郎。
Xu Yinzong was a native of Yixing in Changzhou. He first served the Chen dynasty as external military staff officer to the Prince of Xincai. Empress Dowager Liu suffered a wind disorder that left her unable to speak. Famous physicians could not cure her; her pulse grew weaker and she could not utter a word. Yinzong said: 'She cannot swallow medicine. She should be treated with the steam of a medicinal decoction. Let the medicine enter through the pores; once it reaches every part of the body, she will recover. He prepared several tens of hu of an astragalus and saposhnikovia decoction and placed it beneath her bed. The steam rose like mist, and that night she could speak again. For this he was promoted out of turn to grand administrator of Yixing. After the fall of Chen he entered Sui service and became imperial attendant of the pharmaceutical office. Early in the Wude era he was promoted to attendant cavalier.
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時關中多骨蒸病，得之必死，遞相連染，諸醫無能療者。 胤宗每療，無不愈。 或謂曰：「公醫術若神，何不著書以貽將來？」 胤宗曰：「醫者，意也，在人思慮。 又脈候幽微，苦其難別，意之所解，口莫能宣。 且古之名手，唯是別脈； 脈既精別，然後識病。 夫病之於藥，有正相當者，唯須單用一味，直攻彼病，藥力既純，病即立愈。 今人不能別脈，莫識病源，以情臆度，多安藥味。 譬之於獵，未知兔所，多發人馬，空地遮圍，或冀一人偶然逢也。 如此療疾，不亦疏乎！ 假令一藥偶然當病，復共他味相和，君臣相制，氣勢不行，所以難差，諒由於此。 脈之深趣，既不可言，虛設經方，豈加於舊。 吾思之久矣，故不能著述耳！」 年九十餘卒。
At the time bone-steaming fever was rampant in Guanzhong. Those who contracted it invariably died, and the disease spread from one person to the next; no physician could treat it. Whenever Yinzong treated it, the patient recovered. Someone asked him: 'Your medical skill is almost supernatural—why not write a book for future generations? Yinzong replied: 'Medicine is a matter of insight—it depends on how one thinks. Pulse signs are subtle and hard to distinguish; what the mind grasps, the tongue cannot express. The great physicians of old distinguished pulses alone; only after mastering the pulse could they recognize the disease. When a disease matches a drug precisely, one need only use a single ingredient and strike directly at the illness. With the drug's power undiluted, the disease is cured at once. Today's physicians cannot distinguish pulses or identify the source of disease. They guess by feeling and pile many ingredients into a prescription. It is like hunting without knowing where the hare lies: one sends out many beaters to surround empty ground, hoping someone will stumble on the game by chance. To treat illness this way—is that not reckless? Even when one drug happens to match the disease, mixing it with others makes sovereign and minister ingredients counteract one another so the remedy's force cannot act—no doubt that is why cures are so hard to achieve. The deep art of pulse diagnosis cannot be put into words; composing formal prescriptions in vain could hardly improve on what the ancients knew. I have thought about this for a long time, which is why I cannot write a book. He died at over ninety years of age.
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乙弗弘禮
Yifu Hongli
18
乙弗弘禮，貝州高唐人也。 隋煬帝居籓，召令相己。 弘禮跪而賀曰：「大王骨法非常，必為萬乘之主，誠願戒之在得。」 煬帝即位，召天下道術人，置坊以居之，仍令弘禮統攝。 帝見海內漸亂，玄象錯謬，內懷憂恐，嘗謂弘禮曰：「卿昔相朕，其言已驗。 且占相道術，朕頗自知。 卿更相朕，終當何如？」 弘禮逡巡不敢答。 帝迫曰：「卿言與朕術不同，罪當死。」 弘禮曰：「臣本觀相書，凡人之相，有類于陛下者，不得善終。 臣聞聖人不相，故知凡聖不同耳。」 自是帝嘗遣使監之，不得與人交言。
Yifu Hongli was a native of Gaotang in Beizhou. When Emperor Yang of Sui was still a prince, he summoned Hongli to read his physiognomy. Hongli knelt and congratulated him, saying: 'Your Highness's bone structure is extraordinary—you are destined to rule the realm. I earnestly urge you to guard against excess once you attain it. When Yang took the throne, he summoned masters of the Way and the arts from across the realm, housed them in dedicated quarters, and placed Hongli in overall charge. Seeing the realm slide into disorder and celestial signs turn ominous, the emperor grew inwardly fearful. He once told Hongli: 'You once read my physiognomy, and your words have already come true. Moreover, in divination, physiognomy, and the arts of the Way, I know my own art fairly well. Read my physiognomy again—what will my end be? Hongli hesitated and dared not answer. The emperor pressed him: 'If what you say differs from my own art, the offense deserves death. Hongli said: 'I studied physiognomy books. Ordinary men whose features resemble Your Majesty's do not meet a good end. I have heard that sages are not read by physiognomy, and so I know that the ordinary and the sacred are not the same.' From then on the emperor often sent agents to watch him, and he was forbidden to speak with others.
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初，泗州刺史薛大鼎隋時嘗坐事沒為奴，貞觀初，與數人詣之，大鼎次至，弘禮曰：「君奴也，欲何所相？」 咸曰：「何以知之？」 弘禮曰：「觀其頭目，直是賤人，但不知餘處何如耳？」 大鼎有慚色，乃解衣視之，弘禮曰：「看君面，不異前言。 占君自腰已下，當為方岳之任。」 其占相皆此類也。 貞觀末卒。
Earlier, Xue Dading, regional inspector of Si, had been enslaved during Sui for an offense. Early in the Zhenguan era he came with several others to see Hongli. When Dading's turn came, Hongli said: 'You are a slave—what is there to read? They all asked: 'How do you know?' Hongli said: 'Judging by his head and eyes, he is plainly a man of low station—but I cannot tell how the rest of him will fare.' Dading flushed with shame, then stripped so Hongli could examine him further. Hongli said: 'Your face confirms what I said before. From the waist down, you are destined for a regional governor's post.' His physiognomic readings were mostly of this kind. He died near the end of the Zhenguan era.
20
袁天綱
Yuan Tiangang
21
袁天綱，益州成都人也。 尤工相術。 隋大業中，為資官令。 武德初，蜀道使詹俊赤牒授火井令。 初，天綱以大業元年至洛陽。 時杜淹、王珪、韋挺就之相。 天綱謂淹曰：「公蘭台成就，學堂寬博，必得親糾察之官，以文藻見知。」 謂王曰：「公三亭成就，天地相臨，從今十年已外，必得五品要職。」 謂韋曰：「公面似大獸之面，交友極誠，必得士友攜接，初為武職。」 復謂淹等「二十年外，終恐三賢同被責黜，暫去即還。」 淹尋遷侍御史，武德中為天策府兵曹、文學館學士。 王珪為太子中允。 韋挺，隋末與隱太子友善，後太子引以為率。 至武德六年，俱配流巂州。 淹等至益州，見天綱曰：「袁公洛邑之言，則信矣。 未知今日之後何如？」 天綱曰：「公等骨法，大勝往時，終當俱受榮貴。」 至九年，被召入京，共造天綱。 天綱謂杜公曰：「即當得三品要職，年壽非天綱所知。 王、韋二公，在後當得三品官，兼有年壽，然晚途皆不稱愜，韋公尤甚。」 淹至京，拜御史大夫、檢校吏部尚書。 王珪尋授侍中，出為同州刺史。 韋挺曆御史大夫、太常卿，貶象州刺史。 皆如天綱之言。
Yuan Tiangang was a native of Chengdu in Yizhou. He was especially skilled in physiognomy. During the Daye era of Sui he served as director of the granary office. Early in the Wude era, the Shu circuit envoy Zhan Jun personally delivered an appointment warrant making him magistrate of Huojing. Tiangang first arrived in Luoyang in the first year of Daye. At the time Du Yan, Wang Gui, and Wei Ting came to him to have their physiognomy read. Tiangang told Yan: 'Your orchid terrace is complete and your study hall broad—you will surely obtain a post of close scrutiny and be known for literary talent. He told Wang: 'Your three pavilions are complete and heaven and earth face each other—from ten years on you will surely obtain an important fifth-rank post.' He told Wei: 'Your face resembles that of a great beast; in friendship you are utterly sincere—you will surely be taken up by men of talent, and at first hold a military post.' He further told Yan and the others: 'Beyond twenty years, I fear you three worthies will together be censured and dismissed, but after a temporary departure you will return.' Yan was soon promoted to attendant censor; during the Wude era he served as military staff officer of the Heavenly Stratagem headquarters and as an academician of the Literary Hall. Wang Gui served as attendant to the crown prince. Wei Ting, at the end of Sui, was friendly with the Hidden Crown Prince; later the prince brought him in as commander of his guard. By the sixth year of the Wude era all were banished to Xizhou. When Yan and the others reached Yizhou, they visited Tiangang and said: 'Master Yuan, your words about Luoyang have proved true. We do not know what will happen from today onward? Tiangang said: 'Your bone structures far surpass what they were before; in the end you will all receive honor and high rank.' By the ninth year they were summoned to the capital and together visited Tiangang. Tiangang told Master Du: 'You will shortly obtain an important third-rank post; as for length of life, that is not something Tiangang can know. The two gentlemen Wang and Wei will later obtain third-rank offices and also enjoy long life, yet none of you will be content in your later years—Master Wei especially so. Yan reached the capital and was appointed censor-in-chief and acting minister of the personnel department. Wang Gui was soon appointed palace attendant and then sent out as prefect of Tongzhou. Wei Ting served successively as censor-in-chief and minister of imperial sacrifices, then was demoted to prefect of Xiangzhou. All came about exactly as Tiangang had said.
22
大業末，竇軌客游德陽，嘗問天綱。 天綱謂曰：「君額上伏犀貫玉枕，輔角又成、必于梁、益州大樹功業。」 武德初，軌為益州行台僕射，引天綱，深禮之。 天綱又謂軌曰：「骨法成就，不異往時之言。 然目氣赤脈貫瞳子，語則赤氣浮面。 如為將軍，恐多殺人。 願深自誡慎。」 武德九年，軌坐事被征，將赴京，謂天綱曰：「更得何官？」 曰：「面上家人坐仍未見動，輔角右畔光澤，更有喜色，至京必承恩，還來此任。」 其年果重授益州都督。
Near the end of the Daye era, Dou Gui, traveling as a guest in Deyang, once consulted Tiangang. Tiangang told him: 'On your forehead the hidden rhinoceros pierces the jade pillow, and your auxiliary angles are complete—you will surely establish great achievements in Liang and Yizhou. Early in the Wude era, Gui served as vice director of the Yizhou field headquarters; he brought in Tiangang and treated him with great respect. Tiangang again told Gui: 'Your bone structure is complete—just as I said before. Yet the qi of your eyes is red, crimson vessels pierce the pupils, and when you speak a red flush rises to your face. If you become a general, I fear you will kill many people. I urge you to restrain yourself deeply. In the ninth year of the Wude era, Gui was implicated in an affair and summoned to the capital. About to depart, he asked Tiangang: 'What office will I receive next?' He said: 'The family-seat on your face has not yet shifted; the right side of your auxiliary angle is lustrous and shows further signs of joy—you will surely receive imperial favor at the capital and return to this post.' That year he was indeed reappointed military commissioner of Yizhou.
23
則天初在繈褓，天綱來至第中，謂其母曰：「唯夫人骨法，必生貴子。」 乃召諸子，令天綱相之。 見元慶、元爽曰：「此二子皆保家之主，官可至三品。」 見韓國夫人曰：「此女亦大貴，然不利其夫。」 乳母時抱則天，衣男子之服，天綱曰：「此郎君子神色爽徹，不可易知，試令行看。」 於是步於床前，仍令舉目，天綱大驚曰：「此郎君子龍睛鳳頸，貴人之極也。」 更轉側視之，又驚曰：「必若是女，實不可窺測，後當為天下之主矣！」
When Wu Zetian was still in swaddling clothes, Tiangang came to the household and told her mother: 'By your bone structure alone, you will surely bear a noble child. He then summoned the sons and had Tiangang read their physiognomy. Seeing Yuangqing and Yuanshuang, he said: 'These two sons will both be pillars of the household; their offices may reach the third rank. Seeing the Lady of Han, he said: 'This girl is also greatly noble, yet it will not benefit her husband.' The wet nurse was holding Wu Zetian, dressed in boy's clothing. Tiangang said: 'This young gentleman's spirit and color are clear and bright—not easily read; try having him walk and look around.' Thereupon the child walked before the bed and was made to lift his eyes. Tiangang cried out in astonishment: 'This young gentleman has dragon eyes and a phoenix neck—the utmost of nobility.' Turning to view the child from the side, he was astonished again: 'If this must be a girl, she truly cannot be fathomed—later she will become sovereign of the realm!'
24
貞觀八年，太宗聞其名，召至九成宮。 時中書舍人岑文本令視之。 天綱曰：「舍人學堂成就，眉覆過目，文才振於海內，頭又生骨，猶未大成，若得三品，恐是損壽之征。」 文本官至中書令，尋卒。 其年，侍御史張行成、馬周同問天綱，天綱曰：「馬侍御伏犀貫腦，兼有玉枕，又背如負物，當富貴不可言。 近古已來，君臣道合，罕有如公者。 公面色赤，命門色暗，耳後骨不起，耳無根，只恐非壽者。」 周後位至中書令、兼吏部尚書，年四十八卒。 謂行成曰：「公五嶽四瀆成就，下亭豐滿，得官雖晚，終居宰輔之地。」 行成後至尚書右僕射。 天綱相人所中，皆此類也。 申國公高士廉嘗謂曰：「君更作何官？」 天綱曰：「自知相命，今年四月盡矣。」 果至是月而卒。
In the eighth year of the Zhenguan era, Taizong heard his name and summoned him to Jiucheng Palace. At the time Secretariat drafter Cen Wenben had him read his physiognomy. Tiangang said: 'Drafter, your study hall is complete, your brows cover past the eyes, your literary talent resounds throughout the realm, and bone has grown on your head—yet it is not fully mature; if you reach the third rank, I fear it is a sign of shortened life. Wenben rose to chief minister of the Secretariat and soon died. That year attending censor Zhang Xingcheng and Ma Zhou together consulted Tiangang. Tiangang said: 'Attending censor Ma, your hidden rhinoceros pierces the brain and you also have the jade pillow; your back is as if bearing a burden—you will be rich and noble beyond words. Since recent antiquity, the harmony of lord and minister has rarely been like yours. Your facial color is red, the life-gate color is dark, the bone behind the ears does not rise, and the ears have no root—I fear only that you are not long-lived. Zhou later rose to chief minister of the Secretariat and concurrent minister of the personnel department; he died at forty-eight. He told Xingcheng: 'Your five peaks and four waterways are complete, your lower pavilion full—though your office comes late, in the end you will occupy the seat of chief counselor. Xingcheng later rose to vice director of the right of the Department of State Affairs. Tiangang's physiognomic readings proved accurate in cases like these. Duke of Shen Gao Shilian once asked him: 'What office will you hold next? Tiangang said: 'Knowing my own fate from physiognomy, my life ends in the fourth month of this year.' Indeed, he died in that month.
25
孫思邈
Sun Simiao
26
孫思邈，京兆華原人也。 七歲就學，日誦千餘言。 弱冠，善談莊、老及百家之說，兼好釋典。 洛州總管獨孤信見而歎曰：「此聖童也。 但恨其器大，難為用也。」 周宣帝時，思邈以王室多故，隱居太白山。 隋文帝輔政，征為國子博士，稱疾不起。 嘗謂所親曰：「過五十年，當有聖人出，吾方助之以濟人。」 及太宗即位，召詣京師，嗟其容色甚少，謂曰：「故知有道者誠可尊重，羨門、廣成，豈虛言哉！」 將授以爵位，固辭不受。 顯慶四年，高宗召見，拜諫議大夫，又固辭不受。
Sun Simiao was a native of Huayuan in Jingzhao. At seven he began his studies, reciting over a thousand words a day. At his coming of age he was skilled at discussing Zhuangzi, Laozi, and the teachings of the hundred schools, and also loved Buddhist scriptures. Dugu Xin, regional commander of Luozhou, saw him and sighed: 'This is a prodigy. Only I regret that his capacity is too great—hard to put to ordinary use. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Zhou, Simiao withdrew to Mount Taibai because the royal house was beset by troubles. When Emperor Wen of Sui served as regent, Simiao was summoned as erudite of the Imperial Academy but pleaded illness and declined. He once told those close to him: 'In fifty years a sage will appear, and only then will I assist him in healing people. When Taizong took the throne, Simiao was summoned to the capital. The emperor marvelled at how youthful he still looked and said: 'Thus one knows that a man of the Way is truly worthy of respect—what Xianmen and Guangcheng said was no empty talk!' The emperor was about to grant him a noble rank, but he firmly declined. In the fourth year of Xianqing, Gaozong summoned him and appointed him remonstrating grand master, but again he firmly declined.
27
吾聞善言天者，必質之於人，善言人者，亦本之於天。 天有四時五行，寒暑迭代，其轉運也，和而為雨，怒而為風，凝而為霜雪，張而為虹蜺，此天地之常數也。 人有四支五藏，一覺一寢，呼吸吐納，精氣往來，流而為榮衛，彰而為氣色，發而為音聲，此人之常數也。 陽用其形，陰用其精，天人之所同也。 及其失也，蒸則生熱，否則生寒，結而為瘤贅，陷而為癰疽，奔而為喘乏，竭而為焦枯，診發乎面，變動乎形。 推此以及天地亦如之。 故五緯盈縮，星辰錯行，日月薄蝕，孛彗飛流，此天地之危診也。 寒暑不時，天地之蒸否也； 石立土踴，天地之瘤贅也； 山崩土陷，天地之癰疽也； 奔風暴雨，天地之喘乏也； 川瀆竭涸，天地之焦枯也，良醫導之以藥石，救之以針劑，聖人和之以至德，輔之以人事，故形體有可愈之疾，天地有可消之災。
I have heard that one who speaks well of heaven must test it against man, and one who speaks well of man must also root it in heaven. Heaven has the four seasons and five phases, cold and heat succeeding each other; in its turning, harmony becomes rain, anger becomes wind, congealing becomes frost and snow, and stretching becomes rainbow—this is the constant measure of heaven and earth. Man has four limbs and five viscera, waking and sleeping, breathing in and out, essential qi coming and going; flowing it becomes nutritive and defensive qi, manifesting it becomes complexion, and issuing it becomes voice—this is the constant measure of man. Yang employs form, yin employs essence—this is what heaven and man share. When this balance is lost, steaming produces heat and blockage produces cold; congealing becomes tumors and excrescences, sinking becomes abscesses and sores, racing becomes panting and exhaustion, and depletion becomes withering desiccation—diagnosis appears on the face and change shows in the body. Extend this principle to heaven and earth and it is likewise so. Thus the expansion and contraction of the five planets, the errant movement of stars, eclipses of sun and moon, and comets and shooting stars—these are the critical diagnoses of heaven and earth. Cold and heat out of season are the steaming and blockage of heaven and earth; Stones standing upright and earth heaving upward are the tumors and excrescences of heaven and earth; Mountain collapses and earth sinks are the abscesses and sores of heaven and earth; Gale winds and torrential rain are the panting and exhaustion of heaven and earth; Rivers and waterways running dry are the withering desiccation of heaven and earth. Good physicians guide the body with medicines and stones and rescue it with needles and decoctions; sages harmonize the world with supreme virtue and assist it with human affairs. Thus the body has illnesses that can be cured, and heaven and earth have calamities that can be dispelled.
28
又曰：
He also said:
29
膽欲大而心欲小，智欲圓而行欲方。 《詩》曰：「如臨深淵，如履薄冰」，謂小心也； 「糾糾武夫，公侯干城」，謂大膽也。 「不為利回，不為義疚」，行之方也； 「見機而作，不俟終日」，智之圓也。
One should wish for a large gall bladder and a small heart, round wisdom and square conduct. The Book of Odes says, "As if facing a deep abyss, as if treading on thin ice"—this speaks of caution; "Sturdy warriors, bulwarks for lords and marquises"—this speaks of boldness. "Not swayed by profit, not shamed by righteousness"—this is squareness in conduct; "Seeing the moment and acting, not waiting for the whole day"—this is roundness in wisdom.
30
思邈自云開皇辛酉歲生，至今年九十三矣； 詢之鄉里，咸云數百歲人。 話周、齊間事，歷歷如眼見。 以此參之，不啻百歲人矣。 然猶視聽不衰，神采甚茂，可謂古之聰明博達不死者也。
Simiao himself said he was born in the xinyou year of the Kaihuang era, and by this year he was ninety-three; When asked in his home village, all said he was a man of several hundred years. When he spoke of affairs between Northern Zhou and Northern Qi, he recounted them vividly, as if he had seen them with his own eyes. Judging by this, he was surely no less than a man of a hundred years. Yet his sight and hearing had not declined, and his spirit was very vigorous—he could be called an undying man of ancient wisdom, erudition, and broad attainment.
31
初，魏徵等受詔修齊、梁、陳、周、隋五代史，恐有遺漏，屢訪之，思邈口以傳授，有如目睹。 東台侍郎孫處約將其五子侹、儆、俊、佑、佺以謁思邈，思邈曰：「俊當先貴； 佑當晚達； 佺最名重，禍在執兵。」 後皆如其言。 太子詹事盧齊卿童幼時，請問人倫之事，思邈曰：「汝後五十年位登方伯，吾孫當為屬吏，可自保也。」 後齊卿為徐州刺史，思邈孫溥果為徐州蕭縣丞。 思邈初謂齊卿之時，溥猶未生，而預知其事。 凡諸異跡，多此類也。
Initially, when Wei Zheng and others received orders to compile the histories of Qi, Liang, Chen, Zhou, and Sui, fearing omissions they repeatedly consulted him; Simiao transmitted accounts by word of mouth, as if he had witnessed the events himself. East Terrace Vice Director Sun Chuyue brought his five sons Ting, Jing, Jun, You, and Quan to visit Simiao. Simiao said, "Jun will attain eminence first; You will achieve distinction late; Quan will be most famed and honored, but disaster lies in wielding arms. Later all came to pass as he had said. When Lu Qiqing, Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, was still a child, he asked about human relations. Simiao said, "Fifty years from now you will rise to the rank of regional inspector; my grandson will serve as your subordinate official—you may rely on this for your own protection. Later Qiqing became prefect of Xuzhou, and Simiao's grandson Pu indeed became assistant magistrate of Xiao County in Xuzhou. When Simiao first spoke to Qiqing, Pu had not yet been born, yet he foreknew this matter. Of all such extraordinary signs, most were of this kind.
32
永淳元年卒。 遺令薄葬，不藏冥器，祭祀無牲牢。 經月余，顏貌不改，舉屍就木，猶若空衣，時人異之。 自注《老子》、《莊子》，撰《千金方》三十卷，行於代。 又撰《福祿論》三卷，《攝生真錄》及《枕中素書》、《會三教論》各一卷。
He died in the first year of the Yongchun era. His final instructions ordered a simple burial, no grave goods, and sacrifices without livestock. After more than a month his countenance did not change; when the corpse was lifted into the coffin it was as if empty clothing, and people of the time marveled at this. He annotated the Laozi and Zhuangzi himself, and compiled Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold in thirty scrolls, which circulated in his time. He also wrote Treatise on Fortune and Blessings in three scrolls, and Records of True Nourishment of Life, Plain Book from the Pillow, and Discourse on Harmonizing the Three Teachings, each in one scroll.
33
子行，天授中為鳳閣侍郎。
His son Xing served as Vice Director of the Phoenix Pavilion during the Tianshou era.
34
明崇儼
Ming Chongyan
35
明崇儼，洛州偃師人。 其先平原士族，世仕江左。 父恪，豫州刺史。 崇儼年少時，隨父任安喜令，父之小吏有善役召鬼神者，崇儼盡能傳其術。 乾封初，應封嶽舉，授黃安丞。 會刺史有女病篤，崇儼致他方殊物以療之，其疾乃愈。 高宗聞其名，召與語。 悅之，擢授冀王府文學。 儀鳳二年，累遷正諫大夫，特令入閣供奉。 崇儼每因謁見，輒假以神道，頗陳時政得失，帝深加允納。 潤州棲霞寺，是其五代祖梁處士山賓故宅，帝特為制碑文，親書于石，論者榮之。
Ming Chongyan was a native of Yanshi in Luozhou. His ancestors were a gentry clan of Pingyuan who for generations served in the lands south of the Yangtze. His father Ke was prefect of Yuzhou. When Chongyan was young he accompanied his father to his post as magistrate of Anxi; among his father's minor clerks was one skilled at summoning spirits and ghosts, and Chongyan fully inherited his arts. Early in the Qianfeng era he responded to the Fengshan examination and was appointed assistant magistrate of Huang'an. It happened that the prefect's daughter was gravely ill; Chongyan procured rare things from distant places to treat her, and her illness was cured. Emperor Gaozong heard his name and summoned him to converse. Pleased with him, the emperor promoted him to Literary Scholar of the Princely Establishment of Ji. In the second year of Yifeng he was promoted in succession to Regular Remonstrance Grand Master and was specially ordered to enter the privy council in attendance. Whenever Chongyan had an audience he would invoke supernatural ways and speak quite frankly on the gains and losses of current policy; the emperor deeply approved and accepted his counsel. Qixia Temple in Runzhou was the former residence of his fifth-generation ancestor, the Liang recluse Shan Bin; the emperor specially composed an inscription and personally wrote it on stone, and commentators regarded this as an honor.
36
四年，為盜所殺。 時語以為崇儼密與天后為厭勝之法，又私奏章懷太子不堪承繼大位，太子密知之，潛使人害之。 優制贈侍中，諡曰莊，仍拜其子珪為秘書郎。
In the fourth year he was killed by robbers. Rumor at the time held that Chongyan secretly practiced counter-curse rites with Empress Tianhou and had privately memorialized that Crown Prince Zhanghuai was unfit to succeed the throne; the crown prince learned of this in secret and secretly sent men to harm him. By gracious edict he was posthumously granted Grand Counselor, given the posthumous name Zhuang, and his son Gui was appointed Secretary.
37
珪，開元中仕至懷州刺史。
Gui rose during the Kaiyuan era to prefect of Huaizhou.
38
張憬藏
Zhang Jingzang
39
張憬藏，許州長社人。 少工相術，與袁天綱齊名。 太子詹事蔣儼年少時，嘗遇憬藏，因問祿命。 憬藏曰：「公從今二年，當得東宮掌兵之官，秩未終而免職。 免職之後，厄在三尺土下。 又經六年，據此合是死征。 然後當享富貴，名位俱盛，即又不合中，年至六十一，為蒲州刺史，十月三十日午時祿絕。」 儼後皆如其言。 嘗奉使高麗，被莫離支囚於地窖中，經六年，然後得歸。 及在蒲州，年六十一矣，至期，召人吏妻子與之告別，自雲當死。 俄而有敕，許令致仕。
Zhang Jingzang was a native of Changshe in Xuzhou. In youth he was adept at physiognomy and shared fame with Yuan Tiangang. When Jiang Yan, Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, was young he once met Jingzang and asked about his fate and emolument. Jingzang said, "From now, in two years you will obtain an office in the Eastern Palace in charge of troops; before your term ends you will be dismissed. After dismissal, your affliction will be beneath three feet of earth. After another six years, by this reckoning it should be a sign of death. Yet afterward you should enjoy wealth and honor, with fame and rank both flourishing—though this too will not match precisely; at age sixty-one, as prefect of Puzhou, on the thirtieth day of the tenth month at the noon hour your allotted span will end. Later Yan found all came to pass as he had said. He once served on mission to Goguryeo and was imprisoned by Molizhi in an underground cellar; after six years he was finally able to return. When he was in Puzhou, he was sixty-one; when the appointed day came he summoned clerks, subordinates, and his wife and children to take leave, saying himself that he must die. Shortly afterward an edict arrived permitting him to retire.
40
左僕射劉仁軌微時，嘗與鄉人靖思賢各齎絹贈憬藏以問官祿。 憬藏謂仁軌曰：「公居五品要官，雖暫解黜，終當位極人臣。」 仁軌後自給事中坐事，令白衣向海東效力。 固辭思賢之贈，曰：「公當孤獨客死。」 及仁軌為僕射，思賢尚存，謂人曰：「張憬藏相劉僕射，則妙矣。 吾今已有三子，田宅自如，豈其言亦有不中也？」 俄而三子相繼而死，盡貨田宅，寄死於所親園內。 憬藏相人之妙，皆此類。 竟不仕，以壽終。
When Liu Ren'gui, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, was still obscure, he once brought silk together with his fellow townsman Jing Sixian as a gift to Jingzang to inquire about official rank and emolument. Jingzang said to Ren'gui, "You will hold a key fifth-rank office; though temporarily dismissed, in the end you will reach the utmost of ministerial rank. Later Ren'gui, as supervising secretary, was punished for an offense and ordered to serve in commoner's dress in the eastern sea region. He firmly declined Sixian's gift, saying, "You will die alone as a stranger. When Ren'gui became Vice Director, Sixian was still alive and said to people, "Zhang Jingzang's reading of Vice Director Liu was marvelous. I now have three sons and my fields and house are as they should be—can his words also have missed the mark? Shortly afterward his three sons died in succession; he sold all his fields and house and arranged to die in a kinsman's garden. Jingzang's marvelous skill in reading men was all of this kind. He never took office and died of old age.
41
李嗣真
Li Sizhen
42
李嗣真，滑州匡城人也。 父彥琮，趙州長史。 嗣真博學曉音律，兼善陰陽推算之術。 弱冠明經舉，補許州司功。 時左侍極賀蘭敏之受詔于東台修撰，奏嗣真弘文館參預其事。 嗣真與同時學士劉獻臣、徐昭俱稱少俊，館中號為「三少」。 敏之既恃寵驕盈，嗣真知其必敗，謂所親曰：「此非庇身之所也。」 因咸亨年京中大饑，乃求出，補義烏令。 無何，敏之敗，修撰官皆連坐流放，嗣真獨不預焉。 調露中，為始平令，風化大行。 時章懷太子居春宮，嗣真嘗於太清觀奏樂，謂道士劉概、輔儼曰：「此曲何哀思不和之甚也？」 概、儼曰：「此太子所作《寶慶樂》也。」 居數日，太子廢為庶人。 概等以其事聞奏，高宗大奇之，征拜司禮丞，仍掌五禮儀注，加中散大夫，封常山子。
Li Sizhen was a native of Kuangcheng in Huazhou. His father Yanchong was chief secretary of Zhao Prefecture. Sizhen was broadly learned and versed in music, and also skilled in yin-yang calculation and prognostication. At his coming of age he passed the Mingjing examination and was appointed Records Officer of Xuzhou. At that time Left Attendant-in-Ordinary Helan Minzhi received orders to compile at the East Terrace and memorialized that Sizhen join the Hongwen Academy in participating in the work. Sizhen, together with contemporaries among the academicians Liu Xianchen and Xu Zhao, were all called young talents; within the academy they were styled the "Three Young Men." Once Minzhi, relying on favor, grew arrogant and overbearing, Sizhen knew he would surely fall and said to those close to him, "This is not a place to shelter oneself. Because in the Xianheng era the capital suffered great famine, he sought to leave and was appointed magistrate of Yiwu. Before long Minzhi fell; all compiling officials were implicated and exiled, but Sizhen alone was not involved. During the Tiaolu era he served as magistrate of Shiping, where moral transformation was greatly carried out. At that time Crown Prince Zhanghuai resided in the Eastern Palace; Sizhen once performed music at Taqing Abbey and said to the Daoist priests Liu Kai and Fu Yan, "Why is this melody so grievously sad and disharmonious? Kai and Yan said, "This is the Baojing Music composed by the crown prince. Within several days the crown prince was deposed as a commoner. Kai and others reported this matter to the throne; Emperor Gaozong was greatly astonished, summoned him, and appointed him Assistant Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, still in charge of the ceremonial regulations of the five rites; he was also granted Grand Master of Palace Attendance and enfeoffed as Viscount of Changshan.
43
永昌中，拜右御史中丞，知大夫事。 時酷吏來俊臣構陷無罪，嗣真上書諫曰：「臣聞陳平事漢祖，謀疏楚君臣，乃用黃金五萬斤，行反間之術。 項王果疑臣下，陳平反間果行。 今告事紛紜，虛多實少，焉知必無陳平先謀疏陛下君臣，後謀除國家良善，臣恐為社稷之禍！ 伏乞陛下特回天慮，察臣狂瞽，然後退就鼎鑊，實無所恨！」 疏奏不納。 尋被俊臣所陷，配流嶺南。
During the Yongchang era he was appointed Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and managed the duties of the censor-in-chief. At that time the cruel official Lai Junchen framed the innocent; Sizhen submitted a memorial remonstrating, "Your servant has heard that when Chen Ping served Emperor Gaozu of Han, he plotted to drive apart the lord and ministers of Chu and used fifty thousand jin of gold to carry out counter-intelligence tactics. Lord Xiang indeed grew suspicious of his subordinates, and Chen Ping's counter-intelligence did succeed. Now denunciations swarm—empty more than real—who is to say there is certainly no Chen Ping who first plots to drive apart Your Majesty and his ministers, then plots to remove the state's good and worthy? Your servant fears disaster for the altars of soil and grain! I humbly beg Your Majesty especially to turn back the heavenly deliberation, examine your servant's rash blindness, and then let me withdraw to the cauldron—I shall truly have no regret! The memorial was submitted but not accepted. Soon he was framed by Junchen and sentenced to exile in Lingnan.
44
萬歲通天年，征還，至桂陽，自筮死日，預讬桂陽官屬備兇器。 依期暴卒。 則天深加憫惜，敕州縣遞靈輿還鄉，贈濟州刺史。 神龍初，又贈御史大夫。
In the Wansui Tongtian era he was recalled; reaching Guiyang he divined his own day of death and beforehand entrusted the Guiyang officials to prepare funeral implements. On the appointed day he suddenly died. Empress Zetian deeply mourned and cherished his memory, ordered the prefectures and counties to relay his funeral carriage homeward, and posthumously granted him prefect of Jizhou. Early in the Shenlong era he was again posthumously granted Censor-in-Chief.
45
撰《明堂新禮》十卷，《孝經指要》、《詩品》、《書品》、《畫品》各一卷。
He compiled New Rites of the Bright Hall in ten scrolls, and Essentials of the Classic of Filial Piety, Judgments on Poetry, Judgments on Calligraphy, and Judgments on Painting, each in one scroll.
46
張文仲
Zhang Wenzong
47
張文仲，洛州洛陽人也。 少與鄉人李虔縱、京兆人韋慈藏並以醫術知名。 文仲，則天初為侍御醫。 時特進蘇良嗣於殿庭因拜跪便絕倒，則天令文仲、慈藏隨至宅候之。 文仲曰：「此因憂憤邪氣激也。 若痛沖脅，則劇難救。」 自朝候之。 未及食時，即苦沖脅絞痛。 文仲曰：「若入心，即不可療。」 俄頃心痛，不復下藥，日旰而卒。 文仲尤善療風疾。 其後則天令文仲集當時名醫共撰療風氣諸方，仍令麟台監王方慶監其修撰。 文仲奏曰：「風有一百二十四種，氣有八十種。 大抵醫藥雖同，人性各異，庸醫不達藥之性使冬夏失節，因此殺人。 唯腳氣頭風上氣，常須服藥不絕。 自餘則隨其發動，臨時消息之。 但有風氣之人，春末夏初及秋暮，要得通泄，即不困劇。」 於是撰四時常服及輕重大小諸方十八首表上之。 文仲久視年終於尚藥奉禦。 撰《隨身備急方》三卷，行於代。
Zhang Wenzong was a native of Luoyang in Luozhou. In youth he, together with his fellow townsman Li Qianzong and Wei Cizang of Jingzhao, were all famed for medical skill. Wenzong, at the beginning of Zetian's reign, served as Attending Physician. At that time Excellency Su Liangsi collapsed unconscious while bowing and kneeling in the palace hall; Zetian ordered Wenzong and Cizang to follow him to his residence and attend him. Wenzong said, "This is because gloomy resentment and evil qi were stirred up. If the pain reaches the chest and flank, then it will be extremely hard to save. They attended him from the morning court session onward. Before mealtime he was already wracked with wrenching pain in the chest and flank. Wenzong said, "If it enters the heart, then it cannot be treated." In a moment he suffered heart pain; medicine was no longer given, and at sundown he died. Wenzong was especially skilled at treating wind disorders. Afterwards Zetian ordered Wenzong to gather the renowned physicians of the time to compile formulas for treating wind and qi disorders, and also appointed Wang Fangqing, Director of the Palace Library, to supervise the work. Wenzong memorialized, "Wind has one hundred twenty-four types; qi has eighty types. In general, though the same medicine may be prescribed, patients differ; mediocre physicians who do not understand how drugs behave in season, winter or summer, end up killing people. Only for foot qi, head wind, and upper qi must one take medicine without interruption. For all other conditions, one treats them as they arise, adjusting the remedy to fit each episode. Those prone to wind and qi disorders must purge freely at the end of spring, the start of summer, and in late autumn; then they will not suffer severely. He then compiled eighteen formulas—for seasonal regular use and for conditions mild or severe, great or small—and submitted them in a memorial. In the Jiushi era Wenzong died while serving as Director of Pharmacy Attending the Emperor. He compiled Portable Emergency Formulas in three scrolls, which circulated widely in his day.
48
李虔縱韋慈藏附
Li Qianzong and Wei Cizang, appended biographies
49
虔縱，官至侍御醫。 慈藏，景龍中光祿卿。 自則天、中宗已後，諸醫咸推文仲等三人為首。
Qianzong rose to Attending Physician. Cizang served as Minister of Imperial Entertainments during the Jinglong era. From the reigns of Zetian and Zhongzong onward, physicians everywhere ranked Wenzong and these three men first among their peers.
50
尚獻甫
Shang Xianfu
51
尚獻甫，衛州汲人也。 尤善天文。 初，出家為道士。 則天時召見，起家拜太史令，固辭曰：「臣久從放誕，不能屈事官長。」 則天乃改太史局為渾儀監，不隸秘書省，以獻甫為渾儀監。 數顧問災異，事皆符驗。 又令獻甫于上陽宮集學者撰《方域圖》。 長安二年，獻甫奏曰：「臣本命納音在金，今熒惑犯五諸候、太史之位。 熒，火也，能克金，是臣將死之征。」 則天曰：「朕為卿禳之。」 遽轉獻甫為水衡都尉，謂曰：「水能生金，今又去太史之位，卿無憂矣。」 其秋，獻甫卒，則天甚嗟異惜之。 復以渾儀監為太史局，依舊隸秘書監。
Shang Xianfu was a native of Ji in Weizhou. He was especially skilled in astronomy. At first he left home and became a Daoist priest. During Zetian's reign he was summoned to court and, on entering official service, was appointed Director of the Grand Astrologer; he firmly declined, saying, "Your subject has long lived in unfettered freedom and cannot submit to serving superiors. Zetian thereupon converted the Bureau of the Grand Astrologer into the Directorate of the Armillary Sphere, independent of the Secretariat, and appointed Xianfu its director. She repeatedly consulted him on portents and calamities, and events always bore out his predictions. She also had Xianfu gather scholars at Shangyang Palace to compile the Map of the Territories. In the second year of Chang'an, Xianfu memorialized, "Your subject's natal pitchpipe tone belongs to Metal; Mars now violates the Five Marquis and the Grand Astrologer's station. Mars is Fire and can overcome Metal—this is a sign that I am about to die. Zetian said, "I shall perform exorcistic rites on your behalf. She immediately transferred Xianfu to Colonel of the Water Balance and said, "Water generates Metal, and you are now removed from the Astrologer's station as well—you need not worry. That autumn Xianfu died, and Zetian sighed in wonder and deep regret. The Directorate of the Armillary Sphere was restored as the Bureau of the Grand Astrologer, again subordinate to the Director of the Secretariat.
52
裴知古附
Pei Zhigu, appended biography
53
時又有雍州人裴知古，善於音律。 長安中為太樂丞。 神龍元年正月，春享西京太廟，知古預其事。 謂萬年令元行沖曰：「金石諧和，當有吉慶之事，其在唐室子孫乎？」 其月，中宗即位，復改國為唐。 知古又能聽婚夕環佩之聲，知其夫妻終始。 後卒于太樂令。
At that time there was also Pei Zhigu of Yongzhou, skilled in musical pitch and regulation. During the Chang'an era he served as Vice Director of the Imperial Music Office. In the first month of the first year of Shenlong, at the spring offering in the Western Capital's Imperial Ancestral Temple, Zhigu took part in the ceremony. He said to Yuan Xingchong, magistrate of Wannian, "Metal and stone are in harmony—there should be an auspicious celebration. Might it concern descendants of the Tang house? That same month Zhongzong ascended the throne and restored the dynastic name to Tang. Zhigu could also listen to the sound of jade pendants on a wedding night and foretell how a marriage would begin and end. He later died while serving as Director of the Imperial Music Office.
54
孟詵，汝州梁人也。 舉進士。 垂拱初，累遷鳳閣舍人。 詵少好方術，嘗于鳳閣侍郎劉禕之家，見其敕賜金，謂禕之曰：「此藥金也。 若燒火其上，當有五色氣。」 試之果然。 則天聞而不悅，因事出為台州司馬。 後累遷春官侍郎。
Meng Shen was a native of Liang in Ruzhou. He passed the jinshi examination. At the beginning of Chuigong he rose through several posts to Drafting Secretary of the Phoenix Pavilion. From youth Shen loved the arts of formulas and techniques; once at the home of Vice Minister Liu Yizhi of the Phoenix Pavilion he saw gold bestowed by imperial decree and said to Yizhi, "This is alchemical gold. If you apply fire to it, five-colored vapor should rise. When they tested it, it was exactly as he said. Zetian heard of this and was displeased; on a pretext he was sent out to serve as Military Assistant of Taizhou. He was later promoted through several posts to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.
55
睿宗在籓，召充侍讀。 長安中，為同州刺史，加銀青光祿大夫。 神龍初致仕，歸伊陽之山第，以藥餌為事。 詵年雖晚暮，志力如壯，嘗謂所親曰：「若能保身養性者，常須善言莫離口，良藥莫離手。」 睿宗即位，召赴京師，將加任用，固辭衰老。 景雲二年，優詔賜物一百段，又令每歲春秋二時，特給羊酒糜粥。 開元初，河南尹畢構以詵有古人之風，改其所居為子平裏。 尋卒，年九十三。
When Ruizong held a princely fief, he was summoned to serve as Lecturer-in-attendance. During the Chang'an era he served as Prefect of Tongzhou and was granted the title Silver Azure Seal Grand Master for Splendid Happiness. At the beginning of Shenlong he retired to his mountain estate at Yiyang and devoted himself to medicinal compounds. Though Shen was advanced in years, his will and strength remained vigorous; he once told those close to him, "If you would preserve your body and nurture your nature, keep kind words ever on your lips and good medicine ever in your hand. When Ruizong ascended the throne, he was summoned to the capital for further appointment but firmly declined on account of old age. In the second year of Jingyun an exceptional edict granted him one hundred rolls of goods and ordered that each spring and autumn he receive special provisions of mutton, wine, and porridge. At the beginning of Kaiyuan Bi Gou, Intendant of Henan, finding that Shen had the bearing of the ancients, renamed his neighborhood Ziping Lane. He died soon after, at the age of ninety-three.
56
詵所居官，好勾剝為政，雖繁而理。 撰《家》、《祭禮》各一卷，《喪服要》二卷，《補養方》、《必效方》各三卷。
In the offices he held, Shen favored meticulous investigation in governance; though his methods were demanding, affairs were well ordered. He compiled Family Rites and Sacrificial Rites, each in one scroll; Essentials of Mourning Garb in two scrolls; and Nourishing Formulas and Sure-Effect Formulas, each in three scrolls.
57
嚴善思
Yan Shansi
58
嚴善思，同州朝邑人也。 少以學涉知名，尤善天文歷數及卜相之術。 初應消聲幽藪科舉擢第。 則天時為監察御史，權右拾遺、內供奉。 數上表陳時政得失，多見納用。 稍遷太史令。
Yan Shansi was a native of Chaoyi in Tongzhou. From youth he was known for broad learning and was especially skilled in astronomy, calendrics, and the arts of divination and physiognomy. He first passed the special examination for Hidden Talents in Secluded Groves. During Zetian's reign he served as Investigating Censor, with additional duties as Right Reminder and Internal Attendant. He repeatedly submitted memorials on the merits and faults of current policy, and many of his recommendations were adopted. He was gradually promoted to Director of the Grand Astrologer.
59
聖曆二年，熒惑入輿鬼，則天以問善思。 善思對曰：「商姓大臣當之。」 其年，文昌左相王及善卒。 長安中，熒惑入月，鎮星犯天關。 善思奏曰：「法有亂臣伏罪，且有臣下謀上之象。」 歲餘，張柬之、敬暉等起兵誅張易之、昌宗。 其占驗皆此類也。
In the second year of Shengli, Mars entered the Chariot and Ghost asterism, and Zetian asked Shansi what it portended. Shansi replied, "A great minister of Metal surname will bear this omen. That year Wang Jishan, Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, died. During the Chang'an era, Mars entered the Moon and Saturn violated Tian'guan. Shansi memorialized, "The portents show a rebellious minister brought to justice and also subordinates plotting against their ruler. More than a year later, Zhang Jianzhi, Jing Hui, and others raised troops and executed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. His verified prognostications were all of this kind.
60
神龍初，遷給事中。 則天崩，將合葬乾陵，善思奏議曰：
At the beginning of Shenlong he was promoted to Supervising Secretary. When Zetian died and they were about to bury her jointly in Qianling, Shansi submitted a memorial stating:
61
謹按《天元房錄葬法》云：「尊者先葬，卑者不合於後開入。」 則天太后，卑于天皇大帝，今欲開乾陵合葬，即是以卑動尊。 事既不經，恐非安隱。 臣又聞乾陵玄闕，其門以石閉塞，其石縫隙，鑄鐵以固其中。 今若開陵，必須鐫鑿。 然以神明之道，體尚幽玄； 今乃動眾加功，誠恐多所驚黷。 又若別開門道，以入玄宮，即往者葬時，神位先定，今更改作，為害益深。 又以修築乾陵之後，國頻有難，遂至則天太后權總萬機，二十餘年，其難始定。 今乃更加營作，伏恐還有難生。
Respectfully according to the Tianyuan Fanglu Burial Methods, "The superior is buried first; the inferior should not afterward be opened and placed inside. Empress Zetian stood below Emperor Tianhuang; to open Qianling now for joint burial would be to let the inferior disturb the superior. The matter lacks precedent and may not be safe. Your subject also hears that at the dark gate of Qianling the doors are sealed with stone, and iron is cast into the seams to hold them fast. If the tomb is opened now, it must be carved and chiseled open. Yet the way of the spirits reveres what is hidden and numinous; to mobilize a crowd and add labor now would, I fear, provoke much desecration of the sacred. Moreover, if a separate gate path is opened to enter the inner palace, the spirit seat was fixed at the original burial; to alter it now would deepen the harm. Moreover, after Qianling was built the state suffered repeated calamities, until Empress Zetian seized control of all affairs for more than twenty years before order was restored. To add construction now—I fear calamities may arise again.
62
但合葬非古，著在禮經，緣情為用，無足依准。 況今事有不安，豈可復循斯制！ 伏見漢時諸陵，皇后多不合葬； 魏、晉已降，始有合者。 然以兩漢積年，向餘四百； 魏、晉之後，祚皆不長。 雖受命應期，有因天假，然以循機享德，亦在天時。 但陵墓所安，必資勝地，後之胤嗣，用托靈根，或有不安，後嗣亦難長享。 伏望依漢朝之故事，改魏、晉之頹綱，於乾陵之傍，更擇吉地，取生墓之法，別起一陵，既得從葬之儀，又成固本之業。
Joint burial is not ancient custom; the ritual classics record it only as an accommodation to human feeling—not a reliable standard to follow. Moreover, when the present matter is unsafe, how can we follow that institution again! Your subject observes that in Han times, at the various imperial tombs, empresses were mostly not jointly buried; from Wei and Jin downward, joint burial began to appear. Yet the two Han dynasties endured for nearly four hundred years combined; after Wei and Jin, none of those dynasties endured long. Though receiving the Mandate and answering the age may owe something to Heaven's favor, to seize opportunity and enjoy virtue also depends on Heaven's season. Yet where an imperial tomb rests must rely on an excellent site; later heirs entrust their spiritual root to it—if the site is disturbed, successors will find it hard to enjoy long prosperity. Your subject hopes to follow Han precedent, reform the decadent norms of Wei and Jin, choose anew an auspicious site beside Qianling, adopt the method of a living tomb, and build a separate mound—thus honoring the rites of accompanying burial while securing the dynasty's foundation.
63
臣伏以合葬者，人緣私情； 不合者，前修故事。 若以神道有知，幽途自得通會； 若以死者無知，合之復有何益！ 然以山川精氣，土為星象，若葬得其所，則神安後昌； 若葬失其宜，則神危後損。 所以先哲垂范，具之葬經，欲使生人之道必安，死者之神必泰。 伏望少回天眷，俯覽臣言，行古昔之明規，割私情之愛欲，使社稷長享，天下乂安。 凡在懷生，孰不慶倖！
Your subject submits that joint burial serves private human feeling; not to bury jointly follows the precedents of former worthies. If the spirit way has awareness, the dark path will naturally allow communion; if the dead have no awareness, what benefit is there in burying them together! Yet mountains and rivers hold refined qi; earth forms star images—if burial finds its proper place, spirits are at peace and descendants flourish; if burial misses its proper place, spirits are endangered and descendants suffer loss. Therefore the sages of old left models, fully set forth in the burial classics, wishing to make the way of the living secure and the spirits of the dead at peace. Your subject humbly hopes Your Majesty will turn His heavenly favor even slightly, heed these words, follow the clear precedents of antiquity, set aside private affection and desire, and so secure the altars of state and bring peace to all under Heaven. All who cherish life—who would not count themselves fortunate!
64
疏奏不納。
The memorial was submitted but not accepted.
65
景龍中，遷禮部侍郎，出為汝州刺史。 睿宗在籓，善思嘗謂姚元之曰：「相王必登帝位。」 及踐祚，元之以事聞奏，由是召拜右散騎常侍。
During the Jinglong era he was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites and appointed Prefect of Ruzhou. While Ruizong was still a prince, Shansi once told Yao Yuanshi, "The Prince of Xiang will surely take the throne." When Ruizong took the throne, Yuanshi reported what Shansi had said, and Shansi was summoned and appointed Right Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry.
66
唐隆元年，鄭愔謀冊譙王重福為帝，乃草偽制，除善思為禮部尚書，知吏部選事。 及譙王下獄，景雲元年，大理寺奏：「善思與逆人重福通謀，合從極法。」 給事中韓思復奏曰：「議獄緩死，列聖明規； 刑疑惟輕，有國恆典。 嚴善思往在先朝，屬韋氏擅內，恃寵宮掖，謀危社稷。 善思此時，乃能先覺，因詣相府，有所發明，進論聖躬，必登宸極。 雖交遊重福，謀陷韋氏，敕追善思，書至便發，向懷逆節，寧即奔命？ 一面疏綱，誠合順生； 三驅取禽，來而有宥。 唯刑是恤，理合昭詳。 請付刑部集群官議定奏裁，以符慎獄。」 時議者多云：「善思合從原宥。」 有司仍執前議請誅之。 思復又駁奏懇直。 睿宗納其奏，竟免善思死，配流靜州。 無幾，遇赦還。 年八十五，開元十七年卒。
In the first year of Tanglong, Zheng Yin plotted to install Prince of Qiao Zhongfu as emperor, drafted a forged edict appointing Shansi Minister of Rites, and put him in charge of personnel selection at the Ministry of Personnel. When the Prince of Qiao was imprisoned, in the first year of Jingyun the Court of Judicial Review memorialized: "Shansi conspired with the rebel Zhongfu and should be punished by the utmost penalty." Attendant-in-Ordinary Han Sifu memorialized: "Debating cases and deferring execution is the enlightened norm of successive sage emperors; when the law is in doubt, lean toward leniency—this is the enduring standard of any state. Yan Shansi had served in the previous reign when Empress Wei monopolized the inner palace, relying on favor in the women's quarters and plotting to endanger the dynasty. At that time Shansi saw the danger first, went to the Prince of Xiang's residence, made his views known, and argued that His Sacred Person would surely ascend the throne. Though he had associated with Zhongfu and plotted against Empress Wei, when an edict summoned Shansi he set out the moment the letter arrived—if he had truly harbored treasonous intent, would he have obeyed so promptly? To loosen the net on one side truly accords with sparing life; in a three-sided hunt, those that come forward are spared. When punishment alone is at stake, the matter ought to be examined with full clarity. Your subject asks that the case be referred to the Ministry of Justice for deliberation among the officials and a memorial for imperial decision, in keeping with careful adjudication." At the time many argued that Shansi should be pardoned." The responsible offices still held to the earlier view and requested his execution. Sifu submitted another forceful rebuttal, earnest and unsparing. Ruizong accepted his memorial and ultimately spared Shansi's life, banishing him to Jingzhou. Before long he was amnestied and allowed to return. He died at eighty-five in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan.
67
初，善思為御史時，中書舍人劉允濟為酷吏所陷，當死。 善思湣其老，密表奏請，允濟乃得免誅。 善思後見允濟，竟不自言其事。 韓思復奏免善思之罪，亦未曾有所言謝。 時人稱其長者。
Earlier, when Shansi was an investigating censor, Secretariat Drafter Liu Yunji was framed by a harsh official and condemned to death. Shansi pitied his age and secretly memorialized on his behalf, and Yunji was spared execution. When Shansi later met Yunji, he never once mentioned what he had done. When Han Sifu memorialized to spare Shansi from punishment, Shansi likewise never spoke a word of thanks. People of the time praised him as a man of true maturity.
68
善思子向，乾元中為鳳翔尹，寶應中授太常員外卿。 始善思父徐州長史延及善思，俱年八十五而卒； 廣德二年，向卒，又年八十五。 向兄前趙郡司馬宙，長向十歲，向卒時，宙並無恙。
Shansi's son Xiang served as Prefect of Fengxiang during the Qianyuan era and was appointed Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices during Baoying. From the beginning, Shansi's father Yan, Senior Administrator of Xuzhou, and Shansi himself had both died at eighty-five; In the second year of Guangde, Xiang died—again at the age of eighty-five. Xiang's elder brother Zhou, former Military Advisor of Zhao commandery, was ten years his senior; when Xiang died, Zhou was still in good health.
69
金梁鳳
Jin Liangfeng
70
金梁鳳，不知何許人也。 天寶十三載，客於河西。 善相人，又言玄象。 時哥舒翰為節度使，詔入京師。 裴冕為祠部郎中，知河西留後，在武威。 梁鳳謂冕曰：「玄象有變，半年間有兵起，郎中此時當得中丞，不拜中丞，即得宰相，不離天子左右，大富貴。」 冕曰：「公乃狂言，冕何至此？」 梁鳳曰：「有一日向東京，一日入蜀川，一日來向朔方，此時公得相。」 冕懼其言，深謝絕之。 其後安祿山反，南犯洛陽，僭稱偽位。 哥舒翰東守潼關，累月，奏冕為御史中丞，追赴京。 冕又詰曰：「事驗也。」 冕又問三日之兆，梁鳳曰：「東京日即自磨滅，蜀川日亦不能久，此間日何轉分明，不可說。」 冕志之。 既潼關失守，玄宗幸蜀，肅宗北如靈武，冕會之，勸成策立，改元為至德元年。 冕果為中書侍郎、平章事。 冕奏之，肅宗召拜都水使者。
Jin Liangfeng—no one knew where he came from. In the thirteenth year of Tianbao he was staying in Hexi. He was skilled at physiognomy and also spoke of celestial omens. At the time Geshu Han was military commissioner and had been summoned to the capital. Pei Mian was Director in the Ministry of Rites, serving as acting deputy commissioner for Hexi at Wuwei. Liangfeng said to Mian, "The celestial signs are changing; within half a year war will break out. At that time you, Sir, will become Vice Censor-in-Chief; if you do not accept that post, you will become chancellor, never leaving the Son of Heaven's side—great wealth and honor await." Mian said, "That is mad talk—how could I ever rise so high?" Liangfeng said, "One day toward the Eastern Capital, one day into Shu, one day toward Shuofang—at that moment, Sir, you will become chancellor." Mian was alarmed by his words and firmly cut off further conversation. Afterward An Lushan rebelled, marched south against Luoyang, and proclaimed himself emperor. Geshu Han held Tong Pass in the east for months, then memorialized to appoint Mian Vice Censor-in-Chief and summon him to the capital. Mian questioned him again: "It has come true." Mian asked about the omen of the three days. Liangfeng said, "The sun over the Eastern Capital will soon fade away; the sun over Shu cannot endure either; as for the sun between them—how it grows ever clearer—I cannot speak of that." Mian committed this to memory. When Tong Pass fell, Xuanzong fled to Shu and Suzong went north to Lingwu; Mian joined him, urged the proclamation of a new reign, and the era name was changed to the first year of Zhide. Mian did indeed become Vice Director of the Secretariat and Grand Councilor. Mian reported this to the throne, and Suzong summoned Liangfeng and appointed him Director of Waterways.
71
梁鳳在河隴，謂呂諲曰：「判官骨相，合得宰相。 須得一大驚怖，即得。」 諲後至驛，責讓驛長，搒之。 驛吏武將，性粗猛，持弓矢突入，射諲，矢兩發，幾中諲面，諲逾牆得免。 以報梁鳳，梁鳳曰：「此必入相。」 逾年，諲自黃門侍郎知政事。
While in the He-Long region, Liangfeng said to Lü Yun, "From the bone structure of your face, Sir, you are destined to become chancellor. You need one great shock of terror, and then you will attain it." Later Yun arrived at a post station, rebuked the station chief, and had him beaten. The station's military attendant was coarse and fierce; seizing bow and arrows he burst in and shot at Yun—two arrows, nearly striking his face—and Yun scaled a wall and escaped. When this was reported to Liangfeng, he said, "This man will surely enter the chancellorship." A year later Yun rose from Vice Director of the Gate of Yellow to administer state affairs.
72
梁鳳在鳳翔，李揆、盧允二人同見之，俱素服，自稱選人。 梁鳳謂之曰：「公等並至清望官，那得雲無官。」 揆、允以實對。 梁鳳遣二人行，謂揆曰：「公從舍人即入相，一年內事。」 謂允曰：「公好即是吏部郎中。」 及克復兩京，揆自中書舍人知禮部侍郎事，入為中書侍郎、平章事，乃以允為吏部郎中。 其驗多此類。 爾後佯聾以自晦。 冕為右僕射、兼御史大夫、成都尹、劍南節度使，有進止，令將梁鳳行。 後乃病卒。
At Fengxiang, Li Kui and Lu Yun visited Liangfeng together, both in plain dress and calling themselves examination candidates. Liangfeng said to them, "You are both men of the highest repute—how can you claim to hold no office?" Kui and Yun answered truthfully. Liangfeng sent the two on their way and said to Kui, "Sir, from Drafting Attendant you will enter the chancellorship—all within one year." To Yun he said, "Sir, your next post will be Director in the Ministry of Personnel." When the two capitals were recovered, Kui rose from Secretariat Drafter overseeing the Vice Ministry of Rites to Vice Director of the Secretariat and Grand Councilor, and Yun was appointed Director in the Ministry of Personnel. Predictions of this sort were fulfilled again and again. Afterward he feigned deafness to conceal himself. When Mian became Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, Prefect of Chengdu, and military commissioner of Jiannan, he had Liangfeng accompany him whenever he traveled. Later he fell ill and died.
73
張果者，不知何許人也。 則天時，隱於中條山，往來汾、晉間，時人傳其有長年秘術，自雲年數百歲矣。 嘗著《陰符經玄解》，盡其玄理。 則天遣使召之，果佯死不赴。 後人復見之，往來恆州山中。 開元二十一年，恆州刺史韋濟以狀奏聞。 玄宗令通事舍人裴晤往迎之。 果對使絕氣如死，良久漸蘇。 晤不敢逼，馳還奏狀。 又遣中書舍人徐嶠齎璽書以邀迎之。 果乃隨嶠至東都，肩輿入東宮中。
Zhang Guo—no one knew where he came from. During Wu Zetian's reign he hid on Zhongtiao Mountain, traveling between Fen and Jin; people said he possessed secret arts of longevity and claimed to be several hundred years old. He once authored An Esoteric Commentary on the Classic of the Hidden Talisman, exhaustively treating its arcane principles. Wu Zetian sent envoys to summon him; Guo feigned death and refused to go. Later people saw him again, traveling in the mountains of Heng prefecture. In the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan, Prefect Wei Ji of Heng submitted a report to the throne. Xuanzong ordered Attendant of Affairs Pei Wu to go and escort him to court. Guo stopped breathing before the envoy as if dead; after a long while he gradually revived. Wu dared not press him and galloped back to report. He again sent Secretariat Drafter Xu Qiao bearing an imperial seal letter to invite him. Guo then followed Qiao to the Eastern Capital and was carried in a sedan chair into the Eastern Palace.
74
玄宗初即位，親訪理道及神仙方藥之事，及聞變化不測而疑之。 有邢和璞者，善算人而知夭壽善惡。 玄宗令算果，則懵然莫知其甲子。 又有師夜光者，善視鬼。 玄宗召果與之密坐，令夜光視之。 夜光進曰：「果今安在？」 夜光對面終莫能見。 玄宗謂力士曰：「吾聞飲堇汁無苦者，真奇士也。」 會天寒，使以堇汁飲果。 果乃引飲三卮，醺然如醉所作，顧曰：「非佳酒也。」 乃寢。 頃之，取鏡視齒，則盡燋且黧。 命左右取鐵如意擊齒墜，藏於帶。 乃懷中出神仙藥，微紅，傅墜齒之齗。 復寐良久，齒皆出矣，粲然潔白，玄宗方信之。
When Xuanzong first took the throne he personally inquired into the Way of governance and matters of immortals and elixirs; hearing of Guo's unpredictable transformations, he grew doubtful. There was Xing Hehu, skilled at calculating people's fates and discerning their span of life and whether their fortune would be good or ill. Xuanzong had him calculate Guo's fate; he was utterly baffled and could not determine his birth year. There was also Master Yeguang, skilled at seeing ghosts. Xuanzong summoned Guo and had him sit privately with Yeguang, ordering Yeguang to look at him. Yeguang stepped forward and said, "Where is Guo now?" Face to face with him, Yeguang could not see him at all. Xuanzong said to Lishi, "I have heard that one who drinks hellebore juice without tasting bitterness is a true marvel." It happened to be cold weather; he had Guo drink hellebore juice. Guo drank three cups, swaying as if drunk, and turning said, "This is not fine wine." Then he slept. Shortly after, he took a mirror to look at his teeth—they were all charred and blackened. He ordered attendants to take an iron ruyi scepter, knock his teeth out, and hide them in his belt. Then from his bosom he produced a divine medicine, faintly red, and applied it to the sockets of the fallen teeth. After sleeping again for a long while, all his teeth had grown back, bright and clean white; only then did Xuanzong believe.
75
玄宗好神仙，而欲果尚公主。 果固未知之，謂秘書少監王迥質、太常少卿蕭華曰：「諺雲娶婦得公主，真可畏也。」 迥質與華相顧，未曉其言。 即有中使至，宣曰：「玉真公主早歲好道，欲降先生。」 果大笑，竟不奉詔。 迥質等方悟向來之言。
Xuanzong loved immortals and wished to marry Guo to a princess. Guo did not yet know this; he said to Secretary Director Wang Huizhi and Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Xiao Hua, "The proverb says that marrying and getting a princess is truly fearsome." Huizhi and Hua looked at each other, not understanding what he meant. Immediately a palace envoy arrived and announced, "Princess Yuzhen has loved the Way since her youth and wishes to descend and marry the Master." Guo laughed loudly and ultimately refused the edict. Only then did Huizhi and the others understand what he had meant earlier.
76
後懇辭歸山，因下制曰：「恆州張果先生，游方外者也。 跡先高尚，深入窈冥。 是渾光塵，應召城闕。 莫詳甲子之數，且謂羲皇上人。 問以道樞，盡會宗極。 今特行朝禮，爰畀寵命。 可銀青光祿大夫，號曰通玄先生。」 其年請入恆山，錫以衣服及雜彩等，便放歸山。 乃入恆山，不知所之。 玄宗為造棲霞觀於隱所，在蒲吾縣，後改為平山縣。
Later he earnestly begged leave to return to the mountains; an edict was issued: "Master Zhang Guo of Heng prefecture is one who wanders beyond the mundane world. His path was lofty from the first, plunging deep into the hidden dark. Though he blended with light and dust alike, he answered the summons to the imperial capital. No one could determine his birth year; they called him a man from the age of Fuxi himself. When questioned on the pivot of the Way, he fully grasped its ultimate principle. Now he is specially granted an audience at court and honored with a favored appointment. He is appointed Silver-and-Purple Gleaming Light Grand Master of the Palace and styled Master of Penetrating Mystery." That year he asked to enter Mount Heng; he was given clothing and various silks and then released to return to the mountains. He entered Mount Heng, and no one knew where he went. Xuanzong had the Qixia Abbey built at his hermitage in Puwu county, later renamed Pingshan county.
77
葉法善
Ye Fashan
78
道士葉法善，括州括蒼縣人。 自曾祖三代為道士，皆有攝養占卜之術。 法善少傳符籙，尤能厭劾鬼神。 顯慶中，高宗聞其名，征詣京師，將加爵位，固辭不受。 求為道士，因留在內道場，供待甚厚。 時高宗令廣征諸方道術之士，合煉黃白。 法善上言：「金丹難就，徒費財物，有虧政理，請核其真偽。」 帝然其言，因令法善試之，由是乃出九十餘人，因一切罷之。 法善又嘗於東都淩空觀設壇醮祭，城中士女競往觀之。 俄頃數十人自投火中，觀者大驚，救之而免。 法善曰：「此皆魅病，為吾法所攝耳。」 問之果然。 法善悉為禁劾，其病乃愈。
The Daoist Ye Fashan was a native of Kuocang county in Kuozhou. For three generations from his great-grandfather onward his family had been Daoists, all skilled in nourishing life and divination. Fashan inherited talismanic registers in his youth and was especially adept at suppressing and exorcising ghosts and spirits. During the Xianqing era, Gaozong heard his name, summoned him to the capital, and was about to confer a noble rank, but Fashan firmly declined. He asked to remain a Daoist and was kept in the inner monastery, where he was sumptuously maintained. At the time Gaozong broadly summoned Daoist adepts from all regions to work together at transmuting gold and silver. Fashan submitted a memorial: "The golden elixir is hard to achieve; it wastes resources in vain and harms good governance—please verify who is genuine and who is not." The emperor approved and had Fashan test them; more than ninety men were exposed and all were dismissed. Fashan also once set up an altar for a communion rite at the Lingkong Abbey in the Eastern Capital, and men and women of the city flocked to watch. In a moment dozens of people threw themselves into the fire; the onlookers were greatly alarmed, but rescued them before any were killed. Fashan said, "These are all cases of demonic affliction—they were taken in by my rite, that is all." When questioned, this proved true. Fashan exorcised them all, and their afflictions were cured.
79
法善自高宗、則天、中宗曆五十年，常往來名山，數召入禁中，盡禮問道。 然排擠佛法，議者或譏其向背。 以其術高，終莫之測。
From Gaozong through Wu Zetian and Zhongzong—spanning fifty years—Fashan often traveled among famous mountains and was repeatedly summoned into the inner palace, where emperors treated him with full courtesy and questioned him on the Way. Yet he rejected Buddhism, and critics sometimes mocked his inconsistency of purpose. Because his arts were supreme, in the end no one could fathom him.
80
睿宗即位，稱法善有冥助之力。 先天二年，拜鴻臚卿，封越國公，仍依舊為道士，止于京師之景龍觀，又贈其父為歙州刺史。 當時尊寵，莫與為比。
When Ruizong took the throne, he said Fashan had aided him from beyond the visible world. In the second year of Xiantian he was appointed Grand Herald and enfeoffed as Duke of Yue, yet remained a Daoist as before, residing at the Jinglong Abbey in the capital; his father was also posthumously appointed Prefect of Shezhou. At the time no one could match the honor he received.
81
法善生於隋大業之丙子，死於開元之庚子，凡一百七歲。 八年卒。 詔曰：
Fashan was born in the bingzi year of Daye under Sui and died in the gengzi year of Kaiyuan—altogether one hundred and seven years. He died in the eighth year. An edict said:
82
故道士鴻臚卿、員外置、越國公葉法善，天真精密，妙理玄暢，包括秘要，發揮靈符，固以冥默難源，希夷罕測。 而情棲蓬閬，跡混朝伍，保黃冠而不杖，加紫綬而非榮，卓爾孤秀，冷然獨往。 勝氣絕俗，貞風無塵，金骨外聳，珠光內應。 斯乃體應中仙，名升上德。 朕當聽政之暇，屢詢至道； 公以理國之法，數奏昌言。 謀參隱諷，事宣弘益。 歎徽音之未泯，悲形解之俄留，曾莫憖遺，殲良奄及。 永惟平昔，感愴於懷，宜申禮命，式旌泉壤。 可贈越州都督。
The late Daoist Grand Herald, supernumerary appointment, Duke of Yue Ye Fashan—heavenly in truth and precise in refinement, wondrous in principle and sublime in clarity, encompassing secret essentials and unfurling spirit talismans; truly his silent depth was beyond tracing, his rare stillness barely to be fathomed. Yet his heart dwelt in thatched retreats and rustic lanes while his track mingled with court ranks; he kept the yellow cap without leaning on a staff and wore the purple sash without taking it as glory—exceptionally lone and outstanding, coolly alone he went his way. His spirit surpassed the vulgar world, his upright bearing untouched by dust; golden bones showed without, pearl-light answered within. Thus his body accorded with the middle immortal, his name ascended to the highest virtue. In Our leisure from governing, We have repeatedly inquired into the ultimate Way; you, Sir, on the methods of governing the state have repeatedly presented brilliant counsel. Your counsel served as hidden remonstrance; your deeds brought broad benefit. We sigh that your fine voice has not yet faded, yet grieve that your body dissolved so suddenly; such virtue was never spared—goodness has been cut off all at once. Ever mindful of former days, We are moved to grief; rites and honors should be extended to proclaim them at the tomb. He is posthumously appointed Military Commissioner of Yuezhou.
83
僧玄奘
The Monk Xuanzang
84
僧玄奘，姓陳氏，洛州偃師人。 大業末出家，博涉經論。 嘗謂翻譯者多有訛謬，故就西域，廣求異本以參驗之。 貞觀初，隨商人往游西域。 玄奘既辯博出群，所在必為講釋論難，蕃人遠近咸尊伏之。 在西域十七年，經百余國，悉解其國之語，仍采其山川謠俗，土地所有，撰《西域記》十二卷。 貞觀十九年，歸至京師。 太宗見之，大悅，與之談論。 於是詔將梵本六百五十七部於弘福寺翻譯，仍敕右僕射房玄齡、太子左庶子許敬宗，廣召碩學沙門五十餘人，相助整比。
The monk Xuanzang, surname Chen, was a native of Yanshi in Luozhou. At the end of the Daye era he left home and broadly studied sutras and treatises. He once said that translators had introduced many errors; therefore he went to the Western Regions to seek widely for variant texts to compare and verify them. At the beginning of the Zhenguan era he followed merchants to travel the Western Regions. Xuanzang was eloquent and learned beyond the crowd; wherever he went he lectured and debated, and foreigners near and far all revered and submitted to him. In the Western Regions for seventeen years, passing through more than a hundred states, he mastered the language of each; he also gathered their geography, songs, customs, and local products, and composed the Record of the Western Regions in twelve scrolls. In the nineteenth year of Zhenguan he returned to the capital. Taizong received him and was greatly pleased, and discoursed with him. Thereupon an edict ordered the translation at Hongfu Temple of six hundred and fifty-seven fascicles of Sanskrit texts; Right Vice Director Fang Xuanling and Left Assistant to the Heir Apparent Xu Jingzong were also commanded to summon more than fifty eminent scholar-monks to assist in collating them.
85
高宗在宮，為文德太后追福，造慈恩寺及翻經院，內出大幡，敕《九部樂》及京城諸寺幡蓋眾伎，送玄奘及所翻經像、諸高僧等入住慈恩寺。 顯慶元年，高宗又令左僕射于志寧、侍中許敬宗、中書令來濟、李義府、杜正倫、黃門侍郎薛元超等，共潤色玄奘所定之經，國子博士范義碩、太子洗馬郭瑜、弘文館學士高若思等，助加翻譯。 凡成七十五部。 奏上之。 後以京城人眾競來禮謁，玄奘乃奏請逐靜翻譯，敕乃移於宜君山故玉華宮。 六年卒，時年五十六，歸葬于白鹿原，士女送葬者數萬人。
When Gaozong was still in the palace, to seek merit for Empress Wende he built Cien Temple and a scriptural translation hall; from within the palace great banners were issued, and the Nine-Part Music and banners, canopies, and performers from temples of the capital were sent to escort Xuanzang, the translated images, and eminent monks to take up residence at Cien Temple. In the first year of Xianqing, Gaozong again ordered Left Vice Director Yu Zhining, Palace Attendant Xu Jingzong, Secretariat Directors Lai Ji, Li Yifu, and Du Zhenlun, Vice Secretariat Director Xue Yuanchao, and others jointly to polish the scriptures Xuanzang had settled; Director of the Directorate of Education Fan Yishuo, Groom of the Heir Apparent Guo Yu, and Academician of the Hongwen Institute Gao Ruosi, among others, assisted in further translation. Altogether seventy-five fascicles were completed. They were submitted to the throne. Later, because crowds in the capital competed to come pay respects, Xuanzang memorialized requesting a quiet place for translation; an edict then moved the work to the former Yuhua Palace on Mount Yijun. In the sixth year he died at fifty-six; he was buried at Bailuyuan, and tens of thousands of men and women attended the funeral.
86
僧神秀
The Monk Shenxiu
87
僧神秀，姓李氏，汴州尉氏人。 少遍覽經史，隋末出家為僧。 後遇蘄州雙峰山東山寺僧弘忍，以坐禪為業，乃歎伏曰：「此真吾師也。」 便往事弘忍，專以樵汲自役，以求其道。
The monk Shenxiu, surname Li, was a native of Weishi in Bianzhou. In youth he broadly read the classics and histories; at the end of the Sui he left home to become a monk. Later he encountered the monk Hongren of Dongshan Temple on Twin Peaks in Qizhou, who made seated meditation his practice; he sighed in admiration and said, "This is truly my teacher." He then went to serve Hongren, devoting himself solely to gathering firewood and drawing water as he sought the Way.
88
昔後魏末，有僧達摩者，本天竺王子，以護國出家，入南海，得禪宗妙法，雲自釋迦相傳，有衣缽為記，世相付授。 達摩齎衣缽航海而來，至梁，詣武帝。 帝問以有為之事，達摩不說。 乃之魏，隱于嵩山少林寺，遇毒而卒。 其年，魏使宋雲於蔥嶺回，見之，門徒發其墓，但有衣履而已。 達摩傳慧可，慧可嘗斷其左臂，以求其法，慧可傳璨，璨傳道信，道信傳弘忍。
In the late Northern Wei there was a monk named Bodhidharma, originally a prince of India; to protect his state he left home, entered the South Sea, and obtained the wondrous method of the Chan school—he said it had been transmitted from Shakyamuni, with robe and bowl as tokens passed down from generation to generation. Bodhidharma carried robe and bowl across the sea and came to Liang, where he went to see Emperor Wu. The emperor questioned him on matters of conditioned action; Bodhidharma would not discuss them. He then went to Wei and hid at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, where he was poisoned and died. That same year, the Wei envoy Song Yun, returning from the Pamirs, saw him; his disciples opened his tomb and found only clothing and shoes. Bodhidharma transmitted to Huike; Huike once cut off his left arm to seek the teaching; Huike transmitted to Sengcan, Sengcan to Daoxin, and Daoxin to Hongren.
89
弘忍姓周氏，黃梅人。 初，弘忍與道信並住東山寺，故謂其法為東山法門。 神秀既師事弘忍，弘忍深器異之，謂曰：「吾度人多矣，至於懸解圓照，無先汝者。」
Hongren's surname was Zhou; he was a native of Huangmei. At first Hongren and Daoxin both stayed at Dongshan Temple; therefore their teaching was called the Dongshan gate of the Dharma. After Shenxiu became Hongren's disciple, Hongren greatly prized him, saying, "Of the many I have brought to deliverance, in suspended understanding and perfect illumination none comes before you."
90
弘忍以咸亨五年卒，神秀乃往荊州，居於當陽山。 則天聞其名，追赴都，肩輿上殿，親加跪禮，敕當陽山置度門寺以旌其德。 時王公已下及京都士庶，聞風爭來謁見，望塵拜伏，日以萬數。 中宗即位，尤加敬異。 中書舍人張說嘗問道，執弟子之禮，退謂人曰：「禪師身長八尺，龐眉秀耳，威德巍巍，王霸之器也。」
When Hongren died in the fifth year of Xianheng, Shenxiu went to Jingzhou and dwelt on Mount Dangyang. Wu Zetian heard his name and summoned him to the capital; he was carried in a sedan chair into the hall, and she personally bowed to him on her knees; an edict ordered Dumen Temple built on Mount Dangyang to honor his virtue. At the time princes and dukes down to the gentry and common people of the capital, hearing his renown, competed to come pay respects; they bowed prostrate in the dust, numbering tens of thousands a day. When Zhongzong took the throne, Shenxiu was especially respected and favored. Secretariat Drafter Zhang Yue once questioned him on the Way and observed the rites of a disciple; afterward he said to others, "The Chan master is eight feet tall, with sweeping brows and fine ears; his authority and virtue are towering—he has the stuff of kings and hegemons."
91
慧能普寂義福附
Huineng, Puji, and Yifu—Appended Biographies
92
初，神秀同學僧慧能者，新州人也。 與神秀行業相埒。 弘忍卒後，慧能住韶州廣果寺。 韶州山中，舊多虎豹，一朝盡去，遠近驚歎，咸歸伏焉。 神秀嘗奏則天，請追慧能赴都，慧能固辭。 神秀又自作書重邀之，慧能謂使者曰：「吾形貌短陋，北土見之，恐不敬吾法。 又先師以吾南中有緣，亦不可違也。」 竟不度嶺而死。 天下乃散傳其道，謂神秀為北宗，慧能為南宗。
At first Shenxiu's fellow-student the monk Huineng was a native of Xingzhou. His practice and attainment rivaled Shenxiu's. After Hongren died, Huineng dwelt at Guangguo Temple in Shaozhou. In the mountains of Shaozhou there had been many tigers and leopards; in one morning they all departed, and people near and far marveled and submitted to him. Shenxiu once memorialized Wu Zetian, requesting that Huineng be summoned to the capital; Huineng firmly declined. Shenxiu also wrote a letter himself earnestly inviting him; Huineng said to the envoy, "My appearance is short and ugly; if people of the North see me, they may not revere my teaching. Moreover my former teacher said I had karmic ties in the south, and that too cannot be violated." In the end he did not cross the mountains and died. All under Heaven then spread his teaching separately, calling Shenxiu the Northern school and Huineng the Southern school.
93
神秀以神龍二年卒，士庶皆來送葬。 有詔賜諡曰「大通禪師」。 又于相王舊宅置報恩寺，岐王范、張說及征士盧鴻一皆為其碑文。
Shenxiu died in the second year of Shenlong; gentry and commoners all came to the funeral. An edict bestowed the posthumous title "Chan Master of Great Penetration." Ba'en Temple was also established at the former residence of the Prince of Xiang; Prince of Qi Fan, Zhang Yue, and the recluse Lu Hongyi all wrote his epitaph.
94
神秀卒後，弟子普寂、義福，並為時人所重。
After Shenxiu died, his disciples Puji and Yifu were both highly regarded by people of the time.
95
普寂姓馮氏，蒲州河東人也。 年少時遍尋高僧，以學經律。 時神秀在荊州玉泉寺，普寂乃往師事，凡六年，神秀奇之，盡以其道授焉。 久視中，則天召神秀至東都，神秀因薦普寂，乃度為僧。 及神秀卒，天下好釋氏者咸師事之。 中宗聞其高年，特下制令普寂代神秀統其法眾。
Puji's surname was Feng; he was a native of Hedong in Puzhou. In youth he sought eminent monks everywhere to study sutras and vinaya. At the time Shenxiu was at Yuquan Temple in Jingzhou; Puji went to become his disciple; for six years Shenxiu thought him extraordinary and fully transmitted his teaching to him. During the Jiushi era, Wu Zetian summoned Shenxiu to the Eastern Capital; Shenxiu thereupon recommended Puji, and he was ordained as a monk. When Shenxiu died, all who loved Buddhism under Heaven took Puji as their teacher. Zhongzong heard of his great age and specially issued an edict ordering Puji to succeed Shenxiu in leading the Dharma assembly.
96
開元十三年，敕普寂于都城居止。 時王公士庶，競來禮謁。 普寂嚴重少言，來者難見其和悅之容，遠近尤以此重之。 二十七年，終於都城興唐寺，年八十九。 時都城士庶曾謁者，皆制弟子之服。 有制賜號為「大照禪師」。 及葬，河南尹裴寬及其妻子，並衰麻列于門徒之次，士庶傾城哭送，閭里為之空焉。
In the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, an edict ordered Puji to reside in the capital. At the time princes, dukes, gentry, and commoners competed to come pay respects. Puji was grave and spoke little; visitors found it hard to see his gentle and pleasant countenance, and people near and far especially honored him for this. In the twenty-seventh year he died at Xingtang Temple in the capital, aged eighty-nine. At the time, all gentry and commoners of the capital who had ever paid him respects had disciple's robes made. An edict bestowed the posthumous title "Chan Master of Great Illumination." At the burial, Henan Intendant Pei Kuan and his wife, in hemp mourning garments, stood among the disciples; gentry and commoners sent the whole city out weeping in farewell, and the streets were emptied.
97
義福姓薑氏，潞州銅鞮人。 初止藍田化感寺，處方丈之室，凡二十餘年，未嘗出宇之外。 後隸京城慈恩寺。 開元十一年，從駕往東都，途經蒲、虢二州，刺史及官吏士女，皆齎幡花迎之，所在途路充塞。 以二十年卒，有制賜號「大智禪師」。 葬于伊闕之北，送葬者數萬人。 中書侍郎嚴挺之為制碑文。
Yifu's surname was Jiang; he was a native of Tongdi in Luzhou. At first he stayed at Huagan Temple in Lantian, occupying the abbot's quarters; for more than twenty years he never stepped outside the temple precinct. Later he was affiliated with Cien Temple in the capital. In the eleventh year of Kaiyuan, accompanying the emperor to the Eastern Capital, he passed through Pu and Guo prefectures; prefects, officials, gentry, and common folk all brought banners and flowers to welcome him, and the roads were packed wherever he went. He died in the twentieth year; an edict bestowed the posthumous title "Chan Master of Great Wisdom." He was buried north of Yique; tens of thousands attended the funeral. Vice Director of the Secretariat Yan Tingzhi composed his epitaph.
98
神秀，禪門之傑，雖有禪行，得帝王重之，而未嘗聚徒開堂傳法。 至弟子普寂，始於都城傳教，二十餘年，人皆仰之。
Shenxiu was an outstanding figure of the Chan school; though he had Chan practice and won imperial favor, he never gathered disciples in a hall to transmit the Dharma. It was only with his disciple Puji that teaching was first transmitted in the capital; for more than twenty years all looked up to him.
99
僧一行
The monk Yixing
100
僧一行，姓張氏，先名遂，魏州昌樂人，襄州都督、郯國公公謹之孫也。 父擅，武功令。
The monk Yixing, surname Zhang, formerly named Sui, was a native of Changle in Weizhou, grandson of Gongjian, Regional Commander of Xiangzhou and Duke of Tan. His father Shan was magistrate of Wugong.
101
一行少聰敏，博覽經史，尤精曆象、陰陽、五行之學。 時道士尹崇博學先達，素多墳籍。 一行詣崇，借揚雄《太玄經》，將歸讀之。 數日，復詣崇，還其書。 崇曰：「此書意指稍深，吾尋之積年，尚不能曉，吾子試更研求，何遽見還也？」 一行曰：「究其義矣。」 因出所撰《大衍玄圖》及《義決》一卷以示崇。 崇大驚，因與一行談其奧賾，甚嗟伏之。 謂人曰：「此後生顏子也。」 一行由是大知名。 武三思慕其學行，就請與結交，一行逃匿以避之。 尋出家為僧，隱於嵩山，師事沙門普寂。 睿宗即位，敕東都留守韋安石以禮征。 一行固辭以疾，不應命。 後步往荊州當陽山，依沙門悟真以習梵律。
Yixing was clever from youth, widely read in classics and histories, and especially skilled in calendrical astronomy, yin-yang doctrine, and the Five Phases. At the time the Daoist Yin Chong was a learned elder of long standing, always rich in ancient texts. Yixing went to Chong and borrowed Yang Xiong's Classic of Supreme Mystery to take home and read. After several days he went again to Chong and returned the book. Chong said, "The meaning of this book runs rather deep; I have sought it for years and still cannot understand it. You might try to pursue it further—why return it so soon?" Yixing said, "I have plumbed its meaning." Thereupon he produced the Chart of the Great Evolution's Mystery and a one-scroll Explication of Its Meaning that he had composed and showed them to Chong. Chong was greatly startled; he then discussed its deepest subtleties with Yixing and deeply admired him. He said to others, "This young man is a Yan Hui reborn." From this Yixing became greatly renowned. Wu Sansi admired his learning and conduct and sought his friendship; Yixing hid himself to avoid him. Soon he left home and became a monk, hiding on Mount Song and taking the monk Puji as teacher. When Ruizong took the throne, an edict ordered Eastern Capital Regent Wei Anshi to summon him with proper ceremony. Yixing firmly declined on grounds of illness and did not answer the summons. Later he walked to Mount Dangyang in Jingzhou and studied Buddhist precepts under the monk Wuzhen.
102
開元五年，玄宗令其族叔禮部郎中洽齎敕書就荊州強起之。 一行至京，置於光太殿，數就之，訪以安國撫人之道，言皆切直，無有所隱。 開元十年，永穆公主出降，敕有司優厚發遣，依太平公主故事。 一行以為高宗末年，唯有一女，所以特加其禮。 又太平驕僭，竟以得罪，不應引以為例。 上納其言，遽追敕不行，但依常禮。 其諫諍皆此類也。
In the fifth year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong had his clansman the Ministry of Rites Bureau Director Qia carry an imperial letter to Jingzhou and forcibly summon him. When Yixing reached the capital he was placed in Guangtai Hall; the emperor repeatedly visited him and questioned him on the way to secure the state and soothe the people; his words were all forthright, with nothing held back. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, when Princess Yongmu went forth in marriage, an edict ordered the relevant offices to send her off with generous provisions, following the precedent of Princess Taiping. Yixing held that in Gaozong's later years the emperor had only one daughter, and for that reason her rites had been specially enlarged. Moreover Taiping had been arrogant and overstepped her place, and in the end was punished for it; her case should not be cited as precedent. The emperor accepted his words, promptly revoked the edict, and followed only the usual rites. His remonstrances were all of this kind.
103
一行尤明著述，撰《大衍論》三卷，《攝調伏藏》十卷，《天一太一經》及《太一局遁甲經》、《釋氏系錄》各一卷。 時《麟德歷經》推步漸疏，敕一行考前代諸家曆法，改撰新曆，又令率府長史梁令瓚等與工人創造黃道游儀，以考七曜行度，互相證明。 於是一行推《周易》大衍之數，立衍以應之，改撰《開元大衍歷經》。 至十五年卒，年四十五，賜諡曰「大慧禪師」。
Yixing was especially accomplished in authorship; he wrote the Great Evolution Treatise in three scrolls, the Compendium of Regulation and the Suppressed Treasury in ten scrolls, and one scroll each of the Scripture of the Heavenly One and Grand One, the Scripture of the Grand One Board and Hidden Stems Escapes, and the Genealogical Record of the Buddhist Lineage. At the time the Lindé Calendar Scripture had grown gradually loose in its calculations; an edict ordered Yixing to examine the calendar methods of various schools in former ages and compile a new calendar; he was also ordered, together with Chief Secretary of the Court of Imperial Entertainments Liang Lingzan and craftsmen, to create a yellow-path traveling instrument to measure the courses of the seven luminaries and verify one another. Thereupon Yixing derived the numbers of the Great Evolution from the Book of Changes, established the evolution to correspond to them, and compiled the Kaiyuan Great Evolution Calendar Scripture. He died in the fifteenth year, aged forty-five; the posthumous title "Chan Master of Great Wisdom" was bestowed.
104
初，一行從祖東台舍人太素，撰《後魏書》一百卷，其《天文志》未成，一行續而成之。 上為一行制碑文，親書于石，出內庫錢五十萬，為起塔於銅人之原。 明年，幸溫湯，過其塔前，又駐騎徘徊，令品官就塔以告其出豫之意； 更賜絹五十匹，以蒔塔前松柏焉。
At first Yixing's grand-uncle the Secretariat Drafter of the Eastern Terrace Taisu compiled the Book of Later Wei in one hundred scrolls; its Monograph on Astronomy was unfinished, and Yixing continued and completed it. The emperor composed an epitaph for Yixing and personally wrote it on stone; five hundred thousand in cash from the inner treasury was expended to erect a pagoda for him on Tongren Plain. The next year, on a visit to the hot springs, passing before his pagoda, the emperor again reined in his horse and lingered, ordering a ranked official to go to the pagoda and tell it of his intent to go out in pleasure; He further bestowed fifty bolts of silk to adorn the pine and cypress before the pagoda.
105
初，一行求訪師資，以窮大衍，至天臺山國清寺，見一院，古松十數，門有流水。 一行立於門屏間，聞院僧於庭布算聲，而謂其徒曰：「今日當有弟子自遠求吾演算法，已合到門，豈無人導達也？」 即除一算。 又謂曰：「門前水當卻西流，弟子亦至。」 一行承其言而趨入，稽首請法，盡受其術焉，而門前水果卻西流。 道士邢和璞嘗謂尹愔曰：「一行其聖人乎？ 漢之洛下閎造曆，云：'後八百歲當差一日，必有聖人正之。 '今年期畢矣，而一行造《大衍》正其差謬，則洛下閎之言，信矣！ 非聖人而何？
At first, seeking a teacher to exhaust the Great Evolution, Yixing came to Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai; he saw a cloister with a dozen ancient pines and a stream before its gate. Yixing stood within the gate screen and heard the temple monk in the courtyard casting counting rods, saying to his disciples, "Today a disciple should come from afar seeking my methods of calculation; he ought already to have reached the gate—is there no one to lead him in?" Thereupon he removed one rod from the count. He also said, "The water before the gate should turn and flow westward; the disciple will also arrive." Yixing, hearing his words, hurried in, bowed his head and requested the teaching, and fully received his methods; and the water before the gate indeed turned and flowed westward. The Daoist Xing Hepu once said to Yin Yin, "Is Yixing a sage? Luoxia Hong of Han devised a calendar, saying, 'After eight hundred years it will be off by one day; there must be a sage to correct it. This year the term is complete, and Yixing has compiled the Great Evolution to correct its error—then Luoxia Hong's words are verified! If not a sage, then what?
106
泓師附
Hongshi—Appended Biography
107
時又有黃州僧泓者，善葬法。 每行視山原，即為之圖，張說深信重之。
At the time there was also the monk Hong of Huangzhou, skilled in burial methods. Whenever he traveled to view hills and plains he would draw maps of them; Zhang Yue deeply trusted and valued him.
108
桑道茂
Sang Daomao
109
桑道茂者，大曆中游京師，善太一遁甲五行災異之說，言事無不中。 代宗召之禁中，待詔翰林。 建中初，神策軍修奉天城，道茂請高其垣牆，大為制度，德宗不之省。 及硃泚之亂，帝蒼卒出幸，至奉天，方思道茂之言。 時道茂已卒，命祭之。
Sang Daomao, during the Dali era traveled in the capital, skilled in the doctrines of the Grand One, Hidden Stems Escapes, and the Five Phases regarding calamities and portents; whatever he foretold, none missed. Daizong summoned him to the inner palace and kept him as Hanlin Attendant-in-Waiting. At the beginning of Jianzhong, when the Shence Army repaired Fengtian city, Daomao requested that its walls be raised higher and its fortifications greatly enlarged; Dezong paid no heed. When Zhu Ci's rebellion broke out, the emperor fled in haste; upon reaching Fengtian he at last recalled Daomao's words. By then Daomao had already died; the emperor ordered sacrifices performed for him.
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贊曰：術數之精，事必前知。 粲如垂象，變告無疑。 怪誕之夫，誣罔蓍龜。 致彼庸妄，幸時艱危。
The encomium says: When arts of number reach refinement, events are known beforehand. Brilliant as hung emblems, changes announce themselves without doubt. Men of strange extravagance deceive with milfoil and tortoise. They bring on the foolish and presumptuous to take advantage of hard and perilous times.