1
海南諸國
The Countries of the Southern Seas
2
海南諸國
The Countries of the Southern Seas
3
海南諸國，大抵在交州南及西南大海洲上，相去或四五千里，遠者二三萬里。 其西與西域諸國接。 漢元鼎中，遣伏波將軍路博多開百越，置日南郡。 其徼外諸國，自武帝以來皆朝貢。 後漢桓帝世，大秦、天竺皆由此道遣使貢獻。 及吳孫權時，遣宣化從事朱應、中郎康泰通焉。 其所經過及傳聞則有百數十國，因立記傳。 晉代通中國者蓋鮮，故不載史官。 及宋、齊至梁，其奉正朔、修貢職，航海往往至矣。 今采其風俗粗著者列為海南云。
The kingdoms of the southern seas lie for the most part south and southwest of Jiaozhou on great ocean islands, anywhere from four or five thousand li apart to as much as twenty or thirty thousand li in the farthest cases. To the west they adjoin the states of the Western Regions. During the Yuanding reign of the Han, the court sent the Pacification Army general Lu Bodede to subdue the Hundred Yue and established Rinan commandery. From the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the states beyond the frontier all sent tribute missions to court. Under Emperor Huan of the Later Han, Daqin and India both dispatched envoys along this route to present tribute. Under Sun Quan of Wu, the court sent the Pacification Commissioner Zhu Ying and the Gentleman Kang Tai to travel there. The lands they visited and learned of by report numbered well over a hundred, and they compiled a written record of them. During the Jin, contact with China was sparse, so the historiographers did not record these states. From the Song and Qi dynasties through Liang, states that acknowledged the imperial calendar and paid tribute often reached China by sea. Here I collect those whose customs are sufficiently distinctive and present them under the rubric of the Southern Seas.
4
林邑國
The Kingdom of Linyi
5
林邑國，本漢日南郡象林縣，古越裳界也。 伏波將軍馬援開南境，置此縣。 其地從廣可六百里。 城去海百二十里，去日南南界四百餘里，北接九德郡。 其南界，水步道二百餘里，有西圖夷亦稱王，馬援所植二銅柱，表漢家界處也。 其國有金山，石皆赤色，其中生金。 金夜則出飛，狀如螢火。 又出瓄瑁、貝齒、古貝、沈木香。 古貝者，樹名也，其華成時如鵝毳，抽其緒紡之以作布，布與紵布不殊。 亦染成五色，織為斑布。 沈木香者，土人斫斷，積以歲年，朽爛而心節獨在，置水中則沈，故名曰沈香，次浮者棧香。
Linyi had originally been Xianglin county in Han Rinan commandery, on the frontier of ancient Yuechang. The Pacification Army general Ma Yuan opened the southern frontier and founded this county. Its territory measured roughly six hundred li from east to west. The capital stood one hundred twenty li from the sea, more than four hundred li south of the Rinan border, and bordered Jiude commandery on the north. Two hundred-odd li along the southern border by water and trail lived the Xitu Yi, who likewise called themselves kings; the pair of bronze pillars Ma Yuan had erected marked the Han frontier. The kingdom had a Golden Mountain whose stones were all reddish and yielded gold within. At night the gold would rise and drift about like fireflies. It also exported tortoise shell, cowries, kapok fiber, and agarwood. Kapok is a tree whose blossoms, when mature, resemble goose down; the fibers are spun into cloth indistinguishable from ramie. It is also dyed in five colors and woven into variegated cloth. For agarwood, locals cut the timber and stack it for years until the outer wood rots away and only the heart remains; placed in water it sinks, hence the name sinking incense, while the lighter grade that floats is called stack incense.
6
漢末大亂，功曹區連殺縣令，自立為王。 數世，其後王無嗣，外甥范熊代立，死，子逸嗣。 晉成帝咸康三年，逸死，奴文篡立。 文本日南西卷縣夷帥范幼家奴，嘗牧牛於山澗，得鱧魚二化而為鐵，因以鑄刀。 刀成，文向石祝曰：「若斫石破者，文當王此國。」 因斫石如斷芻稿，文心異之。 範幼嘗使之商賈至林邑，因教林邑王作宮室及兵車器械，王寵任之。 後乃讒言諸子，各奔余國。 及王死無嗣，文偽于鄰國迓王子，置毒於漿中殺之，遂脅國人自立。 時交州刺史姜莊使所親韓戢、謝幼前後監日南郡，並貪殘，諸國患之。 穆帝永和三年，台遣夏侯覽為太守，侵刻尤盛。 林邑素無田土，貪日南地肥沃，常欲略有之。 至是因人之怨，襲殺覽，以其屍祭天。 留日南三年，乃還林邑。 交州刺史朱藩後遣督護劉雄戍日南，文復滅之，進寇九德郡，害吏人。 遣使告藩，願以日南北境橫山為界。 藩不許。 文歸林邑，尋復屯日南。 文死，子佛立，猶屯日南。 征西將軍桓溫遣督護滕畯、九真太守灌邃討之，追至林邑，佛乃請降。 安帝隆安三年，佛孫須達復寇日南、九德諸郡，無歲不至，殺傷甚多，交州遂致虛弱。
When the Han collapsed into chaos, the Clerk of Merit Qu Lian murdered the county magistrate and declared himself king. After several generations a king died without heirs, and his nephew Fan Xiong took the throne; when Fan Xiong died, his son Yi succeeded. In the third year of Xiankang under Emperor Cheng of Jin, Yi died and Wen the slave seized power. Wen had been a household slave of Fan You, a tribal leader in Juan county west of Rinan; while herding cattle in the hills he caught two snakehead fish that turned to iron, which he used to forge a knife. When the blade was finished, Wen prayed to a stone: "If this stone splits when I strike it, I shall rule this kingdom. He struck the stone and it split as easily as dry straw, and Wen took this as a wondrous sign. Fan You had once sent him to trade in Linyi, where he taught the Linyi king how to build palaces and military equipment; the king came to favor and rely on him. Later he slandered the princes until each fled to a neighboring kingdom. When the king died childless, Wen pretended in a neighboring state to escort the heir home, poisoned his gruel and killed him, then forced the people to accept him as ruler. The Jiaozhou inspector Jiang Zhuang had sent his favorites Han Ji and Xie You, in turn, to oversee Rinan; both were rapacious, and the frontier states groaned under them. In the third year of Yonghe under Emperor Mu, the court appointed Xiahou Lan administrator, and his exactions were worse still. Linyi had never possessed enough arable land of its own and coveted the fertile fields of Rinan, always seeking to seize them. Seizing on popular resentment, he attacked and killed Lan and offered his corpse in sacrifice to Heaven. He held Rinan for three years before returning to Linyi. Later the Jiaozhou inspector Zhu Fan sent Commandant-Protector Liu Xiong to garrison Rinan; Wen destroyed his force, pushed into Jiude commandery, and killed officials and civilians. He sent envoys to Zhu Fan proposing Mount Heng on Rinan's northern border as the frontier. Fan refused. Wen withdrew to Linyi but soon encamped in Rinan again. When Wen died, his son Fo succeeded him and still held camp in Rinan. The Western Campaign general Huan Wen sent Commandant-Protector Teng Jun and the Jiuzhen administrator Guan Sui against him; pursued to Linyi, Fo sued for peace. In the third year of Longan under Emperor An, Fo's grandson Xuda raided Rinan and Jiude year after year, inflicting heavy casualties until Jiaozhou was thoroughly weakened.
7
須達死，子敵真立，其弟敵鎧攜母出奔。 敵真追恨不能容其母弟，舍國而之天竺，禪位於其甥。 國相藏驎固諫不從。 其甥立而殺藏驎，藏驎子又攻殺之，而立敵鎧同母異父弟曰文敵。 文敵復為扶南王子當根純所殺，大臣范諸農平其亂，自立為王。 諸農死，子陽邁立。 陽邁初在孕，其母夢生兒，有人以金席藉之，其色光麗。 夷人謂金之精者為陽邁，若中國雲紫磨者，因以為名。 宋永初二年，遣使貢獻，以陽邁為林邑王。 陽邁死，子咄立，慕其父復曰陽邁。
When Xuda died, his son Dizhen took the throne while his younger brother Dikai fled abroad with their mother. Tormented that he had driven out his mother and brother, Dizhen abandoned the kingdom for India and abdicated in favor of his nephew. The chancellor Zang Lin protested strenuously, but Dizhen would not listen. The nephew took the throne and murdered Zang Lin; Zang Lin's son killed the nephew in turn and installed Dikai's younger half-brother, Wen Di. Wen Di was then killed by the Funan prince Danggen Chun; the senior minister Fan Zhunong quelled the turmoil and made himself king. When Zhunong died, his son Yangmai succeeded. While Yangmai was still in the womb, his mother dreamed of giving birth to a child laid on a golden mat of dazzling brilliance. The natives call the finest gold yangmai, comparable to the finest purple-polished gold in China, and they gave him that name. In the second year of Yongchu of Song he sent tribute envoys, and Yangmai was invested as King of Linyi. When Yangmai died, his son Zhuo succeeded and, in admiration of his father, adopted the name Yangmai himself.
8
其國俗，居處為閣，名曰幹闌。 門戶皆北向。 書樹葉為紙。 男女皆以橫幅古貝繞腰以下，謂之幹漫，亦曰都漫。 穿耳貫小環。 貴者著革屣，賤者跣行。 自林邑、扶南以南諸國皆然也。 其王者著法服，加瓔珞，如佛像之飾。 出則乘象，吹螺擊鼓，罩古貝傘，以古貝為幡旗。 國不設刑法，有罪者使象蹋殺之。 其大姓號婆羅門，嫁娶必用八月。 女先求男，由賤男而貴女。 同姓還相婚姻。 使婆羅門引婿見婦，握手相付，祝曰：「吉利吉利。」 為成禮。 死者焚之中野，謂之火葬。 其寡婦孤居，散發至老。 國王事尼幹道，鑄金銀人像大十圍。
In that kingdom people live in raised pavilions called ganlan. All doors and gates face north. They write on leaves in place of paper. Men and women alike wrap a band of kapok cloth below the waist, called ganman or duman. They pierce their ears and wear small rings. The elite wear leather sandals; commoners go barefoot. The same customs prevail in all kingdoms from Linyi and Funan southward. Their kings wear ceremonial robes hung with jeweled chains, much like the adornments on a Buddha image. When the king goes abroad he rides an elephant to the sound of conches and drums, shaded by a kapok umbrella and preceded by kapok banners. The kingdom has no written penal code; offenders are trampled to death by elephants. The great clans are called Brahman, and weddings must be held in the eighth month. Women take the initiative in courtship, for men are held cheap and women precious. People of the same surname may marry one another. A Brahman leads the groom to the bride; they clasp hands and the priest blesses them: "Good fortune, good fortune. With that the marriage rite is complete. The dead are cremated in the open country, a practice called fire burial. Widows live alone with their hair unbound until they grow old. The king followed the Nigan teaching and cast gold and silver statues ten arm-spans high.
9
元嘉初，陽邁侵暴日南、九德諸郡，交州刺史杜弘文建牙欲討之，聞有代乃止。 八年，又寇九德郡，入四會浦口。 交州刺史阮彌之遣隊主相道生帥兵赴討，攻區栗城不克，乃引還。 十二年、十五年、十六年、十八年，每遣使貢獻，獻亦陋薄，而寇盜不已。 文帝忿其違傲，二十三年，使交州刺史檀和之、振武將軍宗愨伐之。 和之遣司馬蕭景憲為前鋒，陽邁聞之懼，欲輸金一萬斤、銀十萬斤、銅三十萬斤，還所略日南戶。 其大臣愺僧達諫止之。 乃遣大帥范扶龍戍其北界區栗城。 景憲攻城克之，乘勝即克林邑，陽邁父子並挺身逃奔。 獲其珍異，皆是未名之寶。 又銷其金人，得黃金數十萬斤。
Early in Yuanjia, Yangmai ravaged Rinan and Jiude; the Jiaozhou inspector Du Hongwen mustered troops to punish him but halted when he learned he was to be replaced. In the eighth year he raided Jiude again and entered the mouth of Sihui harbor. The Jiaozhou inspector Ruan Mizhi sent company commander Xiang Daosheng to attack him; the assault on Quli city failed and the column withdrew. In the twelfth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth years he sent tribute missions, but the gifts were paltry and his raids never stopped. Emperor Wen, enraged by his insolence, sent the Jiaozhou inspector Tan Hezhi and the Quelling Martial general Zong Que against him in the twenty-third year. Hezhi sent Major Xiao Jingxian as vanguard; Yangmai, alarmed, offered ten thousand jin of gold, one hundred thousand jin of silver, three hundred thousand jin of copper, and the Rinan households he had seized. His minister Cao Sengda dissuaded him. Instead he sent his great commander Fan Fulong to hold Quli city on the northern frontier. Jingxian stormed and took the city, then pressed on to capture Linyi while Yangmai and his son fled. They seized treasures so rare they had no names in Chinese. They melted down his golden statues and recovered several hundred thousand jin of gold.
10
和之，高平金鄉人，檀憑之子也。 以功封雲杜縣子。 孝建三年，為南兗州刺史，坐酣飲黷貨，迎獄中女子入內，免官禁錮。 後病死，見胡神為祟。 追贈左將軍，諡曰襄子。
Hezhi was a native of Jinxiang in Gaoping and the son of Tan Ping. For his service he was enfeoffed as Viscount of Yundu. In the third year of Xiaojian he became inspector of Southern Yanzhou but was stripped of office and imprisoned for drunkenness, bribery, and keeping a woman from the jail in his quarters. He later died of illness, claiming to be haunted by a foreign god. He was posthumously promoted to Left General with the posthumous title Viscount Xiang.
11
廣州諸山並狸獠，種類繁熾，前後屢為侵暴，曆世患之。 宋孝武大明中，合浦大帥陳檀歸順，拜龍驤將軍。 檀乞官軍征討未附，乃以檀為高興太守，遣前朱提太守費沈、龍驤將軍武期南伐，並通朱崖道，並無功，輒殺檀而反，沈下獄死。
The hills of Guangzhou teemed with Li and Liao tribes whose numbers had swelled; generation after generation they raided the lowlands. During the Daming reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Song, the Hepu chieftain Chen Tan submitted and was appointed Dragon Cavalry General. Tan asked for imperial troops to subdue holdouts and was made administrator of Gaoxing; the former Zhuti administrator Fei Shen and Dragon Cavalry General Wu Qi marched south and tried to open the Zhuya route, but the campaign failed, Tan was executed and rose in revolt, and Shen died in prison.
12
扶南國
The Kingdom of Funan
13
扶南國，在日南郡之南，海西大灣中，去日南可七千里。 在林邑西南三千餘里。 城去海五百里，有大江廣十里，從西流東入海。 其國廣輪三千餘里，土地洿下而平博，氣候風俗大較與林邑同。 出金、銀、銅、錫、沈木香、象、犀、孔翠、五色鸚鵡。
Funan lay south of Rinan commandery in the great gulf west of the sea, roughly seven thousand li from Rinan. It stood more than three thousand li southwest of Linyi. The capital was five hundred li from the sea; a great river ten li wide ran west to east into the ocean. The kingdom measured more than three thousand li around; the land was low, damp, and flat, and its climate and customs closely resembled those of Linyi. It exported gold, silver, copper, tin, agarwood, elephants, rhinoceros horn, peafowl, and multicolored parrots.
14
其南界三千餘里有頓遜國，在海崎上，地方千里。 城去海十里。 有五王，並羈屬扶南。 頓遜之東界通交州諸賈人。 其西界接天竺、安息徼外諸國，往還交易。 其市東西交會，日有萬餘人。 珍物寶貨無不有，又有酒樹似安石榴，采其花汁停甕中，數日成酒。
Three thousand-odd li to the south lay Dunsun on a coastal headland, a kingdom a thousand li across. Its capital stood ten li from the sea. Five kings ruled the realm, all in subordination to Funan. On its eastern border, Dunsun linked up with the merchants of Jiaozhou. To the west it connected with India, Parthia, and the lands beyond the frontier, across which traders shuttled constantly. Its bazaar was a crossroads where east and west converged, drawing more than ten thousand people each day. Every sort of treasure and luxury could be found there. There was even a wine tree that looked like a pomegranate: sap from its blossoms was collected in jars and fermented into wine within days.
15
頓遜之外大海洲中，又有毗騫國，去扶南八千里。 傳其王身長丈二，頸長三尺，自古不死，莫知其年。 王神聖，國中人善惡及將來事，王皆知之，是以無敢欺者。 南方號曰長頸王。 國俗，有室屋衣服，噉粳米。 其人言語小異扶南。 有山出金，金露生石上，無央限也。 國法，刑人並于王前噉其肉。 國內不受估客，有往者亦殺而噉之，是以商旅不敢至。 王常樓居，不血食，不事鬼神。 其子孫生死如常人，唯王不死。 扶南王數使與書相報答。 常遺扶南王純金五十人食器，形如圓盤，又如瓦塸，名為多羅，受五升，又如碗者受一升。 王亦能作天竺書，書可三千言，說其宿命所由，與佛經相似，並論善事。
Far beyond Dunsun, on a great island in the open sea, lay Piqian, eight thousand li from Funan. Legend held that the king stood twelve feet tall with a neck three feet long, had never died since time immemorial, and whose age no one could tell. So holy was the king that he knew every deed and its consequence, and even what lay ahead—no one in the kingdom dared deceit. Southerners knew him as the Long-Neck King. The people lived in houses, wore clothes, and ate husked rice. Their language differed only slightly from that of Funan. A mountain yielded gold that formed openly on the rock face, in inexhaustible abundance. By law, condemned prisoners were executed before the king, who then ate their flesh. Merchants were not welcome: any who entered were killed and devoured, so traders kept well away. The king lived in a tower, ate no meat, and worshipped no spirits. Only the king was immortal; his descendants lived and died like anyone else. The king of Funan and he often exchanged letters by envoy. He regularly sent the Funan king enough pure-gold tableware for fifty men—round platters and jar-shaped vessels called duoluo that held five sheng, and bowls holding one sheng. The king could even write in Indian script—a text of some three thousand characters explaining karmic origins, much like a sutra and devoted to the merits of virtue.
16
又傳扶南東界即大漲海，海中有大洲，洲上有諸薄國，國東有馬五洲。 復東行漲海千餘里，至自然大洲，其上有樹生火中，洲左近人剝取其皮，紡績作布，以為手巾，與蕉麻無異而色微青黑。 若小垢洿，則投火中，復更精潔。 或作燈炷，用之不知盡。
Tradition placed Funan's eastern frontier at the open ocean, where a great island held the kingdom of Zhubo and, beyond it to the east, five isles called the Horse Isles. Another thousand li east across the ocean lay the Isle of Natural Abundance, where flame-touched trees grew. Locals on the western shore stripped the bark, spun it into cloth for hand towels—much like hemp, but tinged bluish black. Minor stains could be burned away in fire, leaving the cloth fresh and clean again. Wicks made from the same fiber seemed never to burn out.
17
扶南國俗本裸，文身被髮，不制衣裳，以女人為王，號曰柳葉。 年少壯健，有似男子。 其南有激國，有事鬼神者字混填。 夢神賜之弓，乘賈人舶入海。 混填晨起即詣廟，於神樹下得弓，便依夢乘舶入海，遂至扶南外邑。 柳葉人眾見舶至，欲劫取之。 混填即張弓射其舶，穿度一面，矢及侍者。 柳葉大懼，舉眾降混填，填乃教柳葉穿布貫頭，形不復露，遂君其國，納柳葉為妻，生子分王七邑。 其後王混盤況以詐力間諸邑，令相疑阻，因舉兵攻並之。 乃選子孫中分居諸邑，號曰小王。 盤況年九十餘乃死，立中子盤盤，以國事委其大將范蔓。 盤盤立三年死，國人共舉蔓為王。 蔓勇健有權略，復以兵威攻伐旁國，咸服屬之，自號扶南大王。 乃作大船窮漲海，開國十餘，辟地五六千里。 次當伐金鄰國，蔓遇疾，遣太子金生代行。 蔓姊子旃因篡蔓自立，遣人詐金生而殺之。 蔓死時有乳下兒名長在人間，至年二十，乃結國中壯士，襲殺旃。 旃大將范尋又攻殺長而代立。 更繕國內，起觀閣遊戲之，朝旦中晡三四見客。 百姓以蕉蔗龜鳥為禮。
Funan custom had once been bare skin, tattooed bodies, and loose hair with no proper clothes, and the ruler was a woman called Willow Leaf. Young and powerfully built, she could pass for a man. To the south lay the kingdom of Ji, where a spirit-worshipper named Kaundinya lived. A god appeared in his dream and gave him a bow; he then boarded a merchant vessel and set out to sea. At dawn Kaundinya went straight to the shrine, found the bow beneath the sacred tree, sailed as the dream had commanded, and landed at a Funan outpost. When Willow Leaf's followers saw the ship approach, they moved to seize it by force. Kaundinya drew the bow and shot clear through the hull; the arrow struck one of Willow Leaf's attendants. Terrified, Willow Leaf surrendered with all her people. Kaundinya taught them to wear cloth tunics pulled over the head so their bodies were covered; he then took the throne, married Willow Leaf, and appointed their sons as petty kings over seven districts. Later King Hun Pan Kuang used trickery and force to turn the districts against one another, then marched and conquered them one by one. He installed members of his line as Lesser Kings across the districts. Pan Kuang lived past ninety before he died. His middle son Pan Pan succeeded him and entrusted government to his general Fan Man. Pan Pan reigned three years and died; the realm then raised Fan Man to the throne. Fan Man was bold and shrewd. He subjugated the neighboring kingdoms by force and styled himself Great King of Funan. He built great ships to cross the ocean, founding more than ten states and extending his domain five or six thousand li. When he was about to invade Jinlin, Fan Man fell ill and sent the crown prince Jin Sheng in his stead. Fan Man's nephew Zhan seized the throne and had Jin Sheng lured to his death. Fan Man left an infant named Chang, who at twenty rallied loyal warriors and killed Zhan in a surprise attack. Zhan's general Fan Xun then killed Chang and took the throne himself. He rebuilt the capital, erected towers and galleries for pleasure, and received visitors three or four times a day—at dawn, noon, and dusk. Commoners brought gifts of plantains, sugar cane, turtles, and birds.
18
國法，無牢獄，有訟者，先齋三日，乃燒斧極赤，令訟者捧行七步。 又以金鐶、雞卵投沸湯中，令探取之，若無實者手即爛，有理者則不。 又於城溝中養鱷魚，門外圈猛獸，有罪者輒以餧猛獸及鱷魚，魚獸不食為無罪，三日乃放之。 鱷大者長三丈餘，狀似鼉，有四足，喙長六七尺，兩邊有齒利如刀劍，常食魚，遇得獐鹿及人亦噉之，蒼梧以南及外國皆有之。
There were no prisons. Litigants fasted three days, then a red-hot axe was placed in their hands and they were ordered to walk seven paces. Accused parties also had to reach into boiling water for a gold ring or an egg; the hand of the guilty rotted away, but the innocent suffered no harm. Crocodiles were kept in the moat and wild beasts penned outside the gate. Criminals were thrown to them; if the animals refused the flesh after three days, the accused was deemed innocent and released. The largest crocodiles exceeded thirty feet, looked like alligators on four legs, with jaws six or seven feet long and teeth like blades. They fed mainly on fish but devoured deer and humans when they could. They were found south of Cangwu and throughout the southern lands.
19
吳時，遣中郎康泰、宣化從事朱應使于尋國，國人猶裸，唯婦人著貫頭。 泰、應謂曰：「國中實佳，但人褻露可怪耳。」 尋始令國內男子著橫幅。 橫幅，今幹漫也。 大家乃截錦為之，貧者乃用布。
During Wu, Palace Gentleman Kang Tai and Promotion Officer Zhu Ying were sent to Fan Xun's court. The people still went nearly naked; only women wore cloth pulled over the head. Kang Tai and Zhu Ying told him, "Your land is splendid, but it is odd that people go about so indecently exposed. Fan Xun then ordered the men of the realm to wear loincloths. These loincloths are what is now called a ganman. Wealthy families cut theirs from brocade; the poor used plain cloth.
20
其國人皆醜黑拳發，所居不穿井，數十家共一池引汲之。 俗事天神，天神以銅為像，二面者四手，四面者八手，手各有所持。 或小兒，或鳥獸，或日月。 其王出入乘象，嬪侍亦然。 王坐則偏踞翹膝，垂左膝至地，以白疊敷前，設金盆香爐於其上。 國俗，居喪則剃除鬚髮。 死者有四葬：水葬則投之江流，火葬則焚為灰燼，土葬則瘞埋之，鳥葬則棄之中野。 人性貪吝無禮義，男女恣其奔隨。
The people were dark-skinned and curly-haired; they dug no wells, and dozens of households shared a single pond for water. They worshipped a celestial deity cast in bronze: two-faced images had four arms, four-faced images had eight, each hand gripping a different emblem. Some held a child, others a bird or beast, others the sun or moon. The king traveled by elephant, as did his consorts and attendants. Seated, the king rested one knee on the ground with the other raised, white cloth spread before him and a gold basin and incense burner set upon it. When mourning, they shaved head and beard. The dead were disposed of in four ways: cast into rivers, cremated to ash, buried in earth, or left in the open for birds. They were grasping and without propriety; men and women took lovers freely.
21
先是，三年八月，武帝改造阿育王佛塔，出舊塔下舍利及佛爪發，發青紺色，眾僧以手伸之，隨手長短，放之則旋屈為蠡形。 按僧伽經云：「佛發青而細，猶如藕莖絲。」 佛三昧經云：「我昔在宮沐頭，以尺量發，長一丈二尺。 放已右旋，還成蠡文。」 則與帝所得同也。 阿育王即鐵輪王，王閻浮提一天下。 佛滅度後，一日一夜，役鬼神造八萬四千塔，此即其一。 吳時有尼居其地為小精舍，孫綝尋毀除之，塔亦同滅。 吳平後，諸道人復于舊處建立焉。 晉元帝初度江，更修飾之。 至簡文咸安中，使沙門安法程造小塔，未及成而亡。 弟子僧顯繼而修立，至孝武太元九年，上金相輪及承露。
Earlier, in the eighth month of the third year of his reign, Emperor Wu rebuilt the Ashoka pagoda. Beneath the old stupa lay relics together with the Buddha's nail-clippings and hair. The hair was deep blue-green; when monks pulled it, it stretched to whatever length they chose, and when released it coiled like a snail shell. The Sangha Sutra says: "The Buddha's hair was blue-green and fine as lotus-stem silk. The Buddha Samadhi Sutra says: "When I lived in the palace and washed my hair, a ruler measured it at twelve feet. Released, it spiraled to the right and resumed its snail-shell curl. That matched exactly what the emperor had found. Ashoka was the universal Iron-Wheel King who ruled all of Jambudvipa. After the Buddha's nirvana, Ashoka commanded spirits to erect eighty-four thousand stupas in a single day and night; this was one of them. During Wu a nun had built a small monastery on the site; Sun Chen soon tore it down and the stupa disappeared with it. After the fall of Wu, monks rebuilt on the original ground. When Emperor Yuan of Jin first crossed the Yangzi, he restored and embellished it. During the Xian'an reign of Emperor Jianwen, the monk An Facheng was commissioned to build a small stupa, but the emperor died before it was finished. His disciple Seng Xian completed the work; by the ninth year of the Taiyuan reign of Emperor Xiaowu, a gilded wheel and finial had been added.
22
其後，有西河離石縣胡人劉薩何遇疾暴亡，而心猶暖，其家未敢便殯，經七日更蘇。 說云：「有兩吏見錄，向西北行，不測遠近。 至十八地獄，隨報重輕，受諸楚毒。 觀世音語云：'汝緣未盡，若得活可作沙門。 洛下、齊城、丹陽、會稽並有阿育王塔，可往禮拜。 若壽終則不墮地獄。 '」語竟如墜高岩，忽然醒寤。 因此出家名慧達。 遊行禮塔，次至丹陽，未知塔處，及登越城四望，見長幹裏有異氣，因就禮拜，果是先阿育王塔所，屢放光明，由是定知必有舍利。 乃集眾就掘入一丈，得三石碑，並長六尺。 中一碑有鐵函，函中有銀函，函中又有金函，盛三舍利及發爪各一枚，發長數尺。 即遷舍利近北對簡文所造塔西造一層塔。 十六年，又使沙門僧尚加為三層。 即是武帝所開者也。 初穿土四尺，得龍窟及昔人所舍金銀環釧釵鑷等諸雜寶物。 可深九尺許至石磉，磉下有石函，函內有鐵壺以盛銀坩，坩內有金鏤罌盛三舍利如粟粒大，圓正光潔。 函內有琉璃碗，碗內得四舍利及發爪。 爪有四枚，並為沈香色。 至其月二十七日，帝又到寺禮拜，設無礙大會，大赦。 是日以金缽盛水泛舍利，其最小者隱不出，帝禮數十拜，舍利乃於缽內放光，旋回久之，乃當中而止。 帝問大僧正慧念曰：「見不可思議事不？ 「慧念答曰：「法身常住，湛然不動。」 帝曰：「弟子欲請一舍利還台供養。」 至九月五日，又於寺設無礙大會，遣皇太子王侯朝貴等奉迎。 是日風景明淨，傾都觀屬。 所設金銀供具等物，並留寺供養，並施錢一千萬為寺基業。 至四年九月十五日，帝又至寺設無礙大會，豎二刹，各以金罌，次玉罌，重盛舍利及爪發內七寶塔內。 又以石函盛寶塔，分入兩刹刹下，及王侯妃主百姓富室所舍金銀環釧等珍寶充積。 十一年十一月二日，寺僧又請帝於寺發般若經題。 爾夕二塔俱放光明，敕鎮東邵陵王綸制寺大功德碑文。 先是，二年改造會稽鄮縣塔，開舊塔中出舍利，遣光宅寺釋敬脫等四僧及舍人孫照暫迎還台。 帝禮拜竟，即送還縣，入新塔下，此縣塔亦是劉薩何所得也。
Later a man of foreign origin named Liu Sahe from Lishi in Xihe fell suddenly ill and died; his heart was still warm, so his family delayed burial—and after seven days he revived. He reported: "Two underworld clerks seized me and led me northwest, I know not how far. I passed through the eighteen hells and suffered torments matching my deeds. Guanyin said, 'Your time has not yet come. If you live, become a monk. Ashoka stupas stand at Luoyang, Qicheng, Danyang, and Kuaiji—go worship at them. When your life ends, you will not fall into hell. When the words ended I seemed to plunge from a cliff and woke suddenly. He took vows and received the name Huida. He traveled worshipping at stupas and came to Danyang, unsure where this one stood. From atop Yue city he scanned the horizon and saw an uncanny radiance over Changgan Lane. He went to pay reverence and confirmed it as the site of the ancient Ashoka stupa, which had flashed with light again and again; he knew relics must lie below. He gathered a crowd to dig. One zhang down they uncovered three stone tablets, each six feet long. One tablet enclosed an iron box, inside it a silver box, inside that a gold box holding three relics plus one hair and one nail-clipping—the hair several feet long. The relics were moved north and a one-tier stupa was built just west of the stupa Emperor Jianwen had erected. In the sixteenth year the monk Seng Shang was commissioned to raise it to three tiers. This was the stupa Emperor Wu had opened. When digging began, four feet down they found a dragon's den and a trove of offerings—gold and silver rings, bracelets, pins, tweezers, and other treasures left by past donors. Nine feet deeper lay a stone foundation; beneath it a stone casket holding an iron pot, inside that a silver dish, and within a gilded jar containing three relics the size of millet grains—perfect spheres, luminous and smooth. A glass bowl in the casket held four more relics together with hair and nail-clippings. There were four nail-clippings, all the color of agarwood. On the twenty-seventh of that month the emperor returned to worship at the temple, held a great dharma assembly, and proclaimed a general amnesty. That day relics were set afloat in a gold bowl of water. The smallest remained hidden until the emperor bowed dozens of times; then it shone from the bowl, wheeling in light for a long while before settling at the center. The emperor asked the chief monastic officer Hui Nian, "Have you witnessed anything beyond comprehension? Hui Nian answered, "The Dharma-body is ever-present, tranquil and unmoved." The emperor said, "Your disciple wishes to ask for one relic to take back to the palace for veneration." On the fifth day of the ninth month another great assembly was held at the temple, and the crown prince, princes, nobles, and court officials were sent to escort the relic in procession. The day was bright and clear, and the whole capital turned out to watch. The gold and silver ritual vessels were left at the temple for ongoing worship, and ten million coins were granted as the monastery's endowment. On the fifteenth of the ninth month in the fourth year the emperor returned for another great assembly and raised two stupas. In each, a gold vessel and then a jade vessel enclosed the relics, hair, and nail-clippings within jeweled pagodas. Stone caskets holding the jeweled stupas were placed beneath the two towers, and the gold and silver rings, bracelets, and other treasures offered by princes, consorts, noblewomen, commoners, and the wealthy piled up beyond measure. On the second day of the eleventh month in the eleventh year, the monks of the temple again invited the Emperor to the temple to open a lecture on the Prajna Sutra. That very night both pagodas shone with light at once, and the Emperor commanded Xiao Lun, Prince of Shaoling and commander of the eastern garrison, to write the stele inscription commemorating the temple's great acts of merit. Earlier, during the second year of the renovation of the pagoda at Yin County in Kuaiji, relics were discovered when the old stupa was opened. The Emperor dispatched four monks, among them Jingtuo of Guangzhai Temple, together with the palace attendant Sun Zhao to bring them briefly to the capital. Once the Emperor had finished his devotions, the relics were sent straight back to the county and enshrined beneath the new pagoda. This county stupa, too, was one that Liu Sahe had obtained.
23
初，高悝得像，後有西域胡僧五人來詣悝曰：「昔于天竺得阿育王造像，來至鄴下，逢胡亂，埋于河邊。 今尋覓失所。」 五人嘗一夜俱夢見像曰：「已出江東，為高悝所得。」 悝乃送此五僧至寺，見像噓欷涕泣，像便放光，照燭殿宇。 又瓦官寺慧邃欲摸寫像形，寺主僧尚慮損金色，謂邃曰：「若能令像放光，回身西向，乃可相許。」 慧邃便懇拜請。 其夜像即轉坐放光，回身西向。 明旦便許摸之。 像趺先有外國書，莫有識者，後有三藏那跋摩識之，雲是阿育王為第四女所造也。
When Gao Hui first came into possession of the image, five foreign monks from the Western Regions later came to see him and said, "In former days we obtained in India an image cast by King Ashoka. On our way to Ye we were caught in barbarian unrest and buried it beside a river. We have searched for it since, but cannot find where it lies. One night all five dreamed that the image spoke to them, saying, "I have already come forth in Jiangdong and been taken by Gao Hui. Gao Hui then brought the five monks to the temple. At the sight of the image they broke into sobs and tears, and the image at once radiated light that filled the hall with brilliance. Huisui of Waguan Temple also wished to make a rubbing of the image, but the abbot, fearing the gilt might be harmed, told him, "Only if you can make the image shine with light and turn to face west will I give my consent. Huisui immediately bowed in earnest supplication. That very night the image turned where it sat, radiated light, and shifted to face west. At daybreak the abbot allowed the rubbing to proceed. Foreign characters had long stood on the image's pedestal, but none could read them until the Tripitaka master Napomo deciphered them and declared that King Ashoka had commissioned the image for his fourth daughter.
24
及大同中，出舊塔舍利，敕市寺側數百家宅地以廣寺域，造諸堂殿並瑞像周回閣等，窮於輪奐焉。 其圖諸經變，並吳人張繇運手。 繇丹青之工，一時冠絕。
In the Datong period, when relics were taken from the old stupa, the Emperor ordered several hundred homes beside the temple bought up to enlarge the monastic precinct. Halls, the sacred image, encircling galleries, and more were built until the ornamentation reached its very limit. All the painted sutra tableaux were the work of Zhang Yao of Wu. In his day Zhang Yao's mastery of brush and color had no equal.
25
訶羅陀國
Keroduo
26
西南夷訶羅陀國，宋元嘉七年，遣使奉表曰：「伏承聖主信重三寶，興立塔寺，周滿世界。 今故遣使二人，表此微心。」
In the seventh year of Yuanjia under the Song, the southwestern kingdom of Keroduo sent envoys with a memorial that read, "We humbly hear that Your Sacred Majesty holds the Three Jewels in deep reverence and raises pagodas and temples until they fill the world. We therefore send two envoys to convey this modest devotion."
27
呵羅單國
Heluodan
28
呵羅單國都闍婆洲，元嘉七年，遣使獻金剛指環、赤鸚鵡鳥、天竺國白疊、古貝、葉波國古貝等物。 十年，呵羅單國王毗沙跋摩奉表曰：「常勝天子陛下，諸佛世尊，常樂安隱，三達六通，為世間導，是名如來，是故至誠五體敬禮。」 其後為子所篡奪。 十三年，又上表。 二十六年，文帝詔曰：「呵羅單、婆皇、婆達三國，頻越遐海，款化納貢，遠誠宜甄，可並加除授。」 乃遣使策命之。 二十九年，又遣長史婆和沙彌獻方物。
Heluodan lay in Java. In the seventh year of Yuanjia its envoys brought tribute of a diamond ring, crimson parrots, white cotton from India, kapok cloth, kapok from Yeyabo, and other goods. In the tenth year King Vishavarman of Heluodan submitted a memorial that began, "To His Majesty the Ever-Victorious Son of Heaven: the World-Honored Buddhas abide forever in bliss and peace, endowed with the three penetrations and six supernormal powers, guiding the world—this is the Tathagata. With utmost sincerity I bow in full prostration. He was later overthrown by his own son. In the thirteenth year another memorial was sent. In the twenty-sixth year Emperor Wen decreed, "Heluodan, Pohuang, and Pada have again and again crossed the far seas, drawn near in submission, and offered tribute. Such distant loyalty deserves reward; let them all be granted official titles at once. Envoys were sent to invest them by formal patent. In the twenty-ninth year the chief clerk Pohe and a shramana envoy again brought local products as tribute.
29
婆皇國
Pohuang
30
婆皇國，元嘉二十六年，國王舍利婆羅跋摩遣使獻方物四十一種，文帝策命之為婆皇國王。 二十八年，復遣使貢獻。 孝武孝建三年，又遣長史竺那婆智奉表獻方物，以那婆智為振威將軍。 大明三年，獻赤白鸚鵡。 大明八年、明帝泰始二年，又遣使貢獻。 明帝以其長史竺須羅達、前長史振威將軍竺那婆智並為龍驤將軍。
In the twenty-sixth year of Yuanjia King Shilipoluobamo of Pohuang sent envoys bearing forty-one kinds of local goods, and Emperor Wen invested him as king of Pohuang. In the twenty-eighth year tribute envoys came again. In the third year of Xiaojian under Emperor Xiaowu the chief clerk Zhunabozhi arrived with a memorial and local products, and Zhunabozhi was named General Who Pacifies Might. In the third year of Daming crimson and white parrots were sent as tribute. In the eighth year of Daming and again in the second year of Taishi under Emperor Ming, tribute envoys were dispatched. Emperor Ming appointed both their chief clerk Zhuxuluoda and the former chief clerk and General Who Pacifies Might, Zhunabozhi, as Generals of Ferocious Cavalry.
31
婆達國
Pada
32
婆達國，元嘉二十六年，國王舍利不陵伽跋摩遣使獻方物，文帝策命之為婆達國王。 二十六年、二十八年，復遣使獻方物。
In the twenty-sixth year of Yuanjia King Shilibulingjiabamo of Pada sent envoys with local products, and Emperor Wen invested him as king of Pada. In the twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth years envoys again brought local products.
33
闍婆達國
Zhebaduo
34
闍婆達國，元嘉十二年，國王師黎婆達呵陀羅跋摩遣使奉表曰：「宋國大主大吉天子足下，教化一切，種智安隱，天人師降伏四魔，成等正覺，轉尊法輪，度脫眾生。 我雖在遠，亦沾靈潤。」
In the twelfth year of Yuanjia King Shilipodahituoluobamo of Zhebaduo sent envoys with a memorial addressed, "At the feet of the Great Lord, the Greatly Auspicious Son of Heaven of Song: You transform all beings; Your seed-wisdom brings peace and ease; as Teacher of gods and men You subdue the four maras, attain perfect enlightenment, turn the honored Wheel of the Law, and deliver all living beings— though I dwell far away, I too am touched by Your sacred grace."
35
盤盤國
Panpan
36
盤盤國，元嘉、孝建、大明中，並遣使貢獻。 梁中大通元年、四年，其王使使奉表累送佛牙及畫塔，並獻沈檀等香數十種。 六年八月，復遣使送菩提國舍利及畫塔圖，並菩提樹葉、詹糖等香。
Panpan sent tribute envoys throughout the Yuanjia, Xiaojian, and Daming reigns. In the first and fourth years of Zhongdatong under Liang its king's envoys repeatedly sent memorials, bearing Buddha's tooth relic and painted stupa images together with several dozen kinds of agarwood and other incense. In the eighth month of the sixth year envoys came again with relics from the land of Bodhi, painted stupa images, bodhi leaves, ghanosugar incense, and other fragrant goods.
37
丹丹國
Dandan
38
幹陀利國
Gantoli
39
幹陀利國，在南海洲上，其俗與林邑、扶南略同，出斑布、古貝、檳榔。 檳榔特精好，為諸國之極，宋孝武世，王釋婆羅那鄰陀遣長史竺留陀獻金銀寶器。 梁天監元年，其王瞿曇修跋陀羅以四月八日夢一僧謂曰：「中國今有聖主，十年之後，佛法大興。 汝若遣使貢奉禮敬，則土地豐樂，商旅百倍； 若不信我，則境土不得自安。」 初未之信，既而又夢此僧曰：「汝若不信我，當與汝往觀。」 乃於夢中至中國拜覲天子。 既覺心異之，陀羅本工畫，乃寫夢中所見武帝容質，飾以丹青，仍遣使並畫工奉表獻玉盤等物。 使人既至，摸寫帝形以還其國，比本畫則符同焉。 因盛以寶函，日加敬禮。 後跋陀死，子毗針邪跋摩立，十七年，遣長史毗員跋摩奉表獻金芙蓉、雜香藥等。 普通元年，復遣使獻方物。
Gantoli lay on an island in the Southern Sea. Its ways resembled those of Linyi and Funan, and it produced patterned cloth, kapok, and betel nut. Its betel nuts were exceptionally fine—the finest in any kingdom. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Song, King Shiboluanalintuo sent his chief clerk Zhuliutuo with gold, silver, and precious vessels. In the first year of Tianjian under Liang, on the eighth day of the fourth month King Gautama Xiubatuoluo dreamed of a monk who told him, "China now has a sage ruler. Ten years from now the Buddhist Law will flourish greatly. If you send envoys to offer tribute and pay homage, your land will grow rich and content, and merchants and travelers will multiply a hundredfold; but if you do not believe me, your realm will know no peace. At first he did not believe it. Then he dreamed of the monk again, who said, "If you still do not believe me, I shall take you to see for yourself. In the dream he traveled to China and bowed before the Son of Heaven. When he awoke he was deeply moved. Batuo was himself a skilled painter, so he painted Emperor Wu's features as he had seen them in the dream, colored the portrait, and sent envoys together with painters bearing a memorial and gifts that included a jade tray. When the envoys reached the capital they made a copy of the Emperor's likeness to carry home, and it matched the original painting exactly. The portrait was then placed in a jeweled casket and honored with daily worship. After Batuo's death his son Pizhenyebamo succeeded him. In the seventeenth year the chief clerk Piyuanbamo was sent with a memorial and tribute of golden lotus blossoms, assorted fragrant medicines, and more. In the first year of Putong tribute envoys came again with local products.
40
狼牙修國
Langyaxiu
41
狼牙修國，在南海中。 其界東西三十日行，南北二十日行，北去廣州二萬四千里。 土氣物產與扶南略同，偏多棧、沈、婆律香等。 其俗，男女皆袒而被髮，以古貝為幹漫，其王及貴臣乃加雲霞布覆胛，以金繩為絡帶，金環貫耳。 女子則被布，以瓔珞繞身。 其國累磚為城，重門樓閣。 王出乘象，有幡旄旗鼓，罩白蓋，兵衛甚嚴。 國人說，立國以來四百餘年，後嗣衰弱，王族有賢者，國人歸向之。 王聞乃加囚執，其鎖無故自斷。 王以為神，因不敢害，乃逐出境，遂奔天竺。 天竺妻以長女。 俄而狼牙王死，大臣迎還為王。 二十餘年死，子婆伽達多立。 天監十四年，遣使阿撤多奉表。
Langyaxiu lay in the Southern Sea. Its borders ran thirty days' journey east to west and twenty days' journey north to south, twenty-four thousand li north of Guangzhou. Its climate and products resembled Funan's, though it had especially abundant agarwood, aloeswood, and vara incense. By custom men and women alike went bare-chested with loose hair, wearing kapok as a lower garment. The king and nobles added cloud-patterned cloth over the shoulders, girded themselves with gold cords, and wore gold rings in their ears. Women wrapped themselves in cloth and wound strings of jewels about their bodies. The kingdom built its walls of stacked brick, with layered gates, towers, and galleries. When the king went abroad he rode an elephant, accompanied by banners, pennants, flags, and drums beneath a white canopy, with a stern armed escort. The people said that more than four hundred years had passed since the kingdom was founded. In time the royal line weakened, and the people turned toward a worthy man of the royal clan. When the king heard of this he had the man bound and imprisoned, but the shackles broke of their own accord. The king took this as a sign of the divine and dared not harm him, but drove him from the realm instead. The man fled to India. India gave him its eldest daughter as wife. Before long the king of Langya died, and the ministers welcomed the exile back to rule. After more than twenty years on the throne he died, and his son Baguaduo succeeded him. In the fourteenth year of Tianjian he sent the envoy Acheduo with a memorial.
42
婆利國
Bali
43
婆利國，在廣州東南海中洲上，去廣州二月日行。 國界東西五十日行，南北二十日行。 有一百三十六聚。 土氣暑熱，如中國之盛夏。 穀一歲再熟，草木常榮。 海出文螺、紫貝。 有石名坩貝羅，初采之柔軟，及刻削為物暴幹之，遂大硬。 其國人披古貝如帊，及為都縵。 王乃用斑絲者，以瓔珞繞身，頭著金冠高尺餘，形如弁，綴以七寶之飾。 帶金裝劍，偏坐金高坐，以銀蹬支足。 侍女皆為金花雜寶之飾，或持白毦拂及孔雀扇。 王出以象駕輿，輿以雜香為之，上施羽蓋、珠簾。 其導從吹螺擊鼓。 王姓憍陳如，自古未通中國，問其先及年數不能記。 自言白淨王夫人即其國女。
Bali lay on an island in the sea southeast of Guangzhou, two months' voyage from the port. Its borders extended fifty days' journey east to west and twenty days' journey north to south. It contained one hundred thirty-six settlements. The climate was sweltering, like midsummer in China. Grain ripened twice a year, and plants and trees stayed green through the seasons. The sea yielded ornamental conches and purple cowries. There was a stone called ganbeiluo that was soft when first taken from the quarry, but once carved and sun-dried it grew very hard. The people wore kapok like cloaks and wrapped it as turbans. The king alone wore patterned silk, with jeweled strings wound about his body. On his head he wore a gold crown more than a foot high, shaped like an official cap and set with the seven treasures. He girded on a sword with gold fittings, sat sideways upon a high golden seat, and rested his feet on silver stirrups. Attendant maidens were adorned with golden flowers and assorted jewels, some bearing white yak-tail whisks and peacock-feather fans. When the king went abroad he rode in an elephant-drawn carriage built of blended incense, topped with a feather canopy and pearl curtains. His escort blew conch shells and beat drums. The royal house bore the surname Kaundinya. From antiquity they had had no contact with China, and when asked about their origins and the length of their history they could not say. They claimed that the consort of King Suddhodana had been a woman of their land.
44
天監十六年，遣使奉表獻金席等。 普通三年，其王頻伽復遣使珠智獻白鸚鵡、青蟲、兜鍪、琉璃器、古貝、螺杯、雜香藥等數十種。
In the sixteenth year of Tianjian envoys arrived with a memorial and tribute that included golden mats. In the third year of Putong King Pinjia again sent the envoy Zhuzhi with white parrots, green beetles, helmets, glassware, kapok cloth, conch-shell cups, assorted fragrant medicines, and several dozen other goods.
45
中天竺國
Central India
46
中天竺國，在大月支東南數千里，地方三萬里，一名身毒。 漢世張騫使大夏，見邛竹杖、蜀布，國人云市之身毒，即天竺也。 從月支、高附西，南至西海，東至盤越，列國數十，每國置王，其名雖異，皆身毒也。 漢時羈屬月支。 其俗土著與月支同，而卑濕暑熱，人畏戰，弱于月支。 國臨大江，名新陶，源出昆侖。 分為五江，總名恒水。 其水甘美，下有真鹽，色正白如水精。 土出犀、象、貂鼠、玳瑁、火齊、金銀銅鐵、金縷織成金罽、細靡白疊、好裘、毾憕。 火齊狀如雲母，色如紫金，有光曜，別之則薄如蟬翼，積之則如紗縠之重遝也。 西與大秦、安息交市海中。 多大秦珍物，珊瑚、琥珀、金碧、珠璣、琅玕、郁金、蘇合。 蘇合是合諸香汁煎之，非自然一物也。 又云大秦人采蘇合，先笮其汁以為香膏，乃賣其滓與諸國賈人，是以輾轉來達中國不大香也。 郁金獨出罽賓國，華色正黃而細，與芙蓉華里被蓮者相似。 國人先取以上佛寺，積日槁乃糞去之，賈人以轉賣與他國也。
Central India lay several thousand li southeast of the Great Yuezhi. Its domain covered thirty thousand li, and it was also known as Shendu. In Han times, when Zhang Qian went as envoy to Daxia, he saw Qiong bamboo staffs and Shu cloth. The people there said such goods were bought in Shendu—that is, in India. From the Yuezhi and Gaofu in the west to the Western Sea in the south and Panyue in the east lay several dozen states, each with its own king. Their names differed, but all were part of Shendu. In Han times they were subject to the Yuezhi. Like the Yuezhi they were settled agriculturalists, but the land was low, damp, and hot. The people feared war and were weaker than the Yuezhi. The country bordered a great river called Xintao, which had its source in Kunlun. It divided into five branches, known together as the Ganges. Its waters were sweet and pure. True salt lay beneath them, white as crystal. The land produced rhinoceros horn, elephants, sable, tortoiseshell, fire crystal, gold, silver, copper, and iron, along with gold-thread brocade woven into gold kasaya cloth, fine white layered textiles, good furs, and carpets. Fire crystal resembled mica in form and purple gold in color, with a bright luster. Split apart, it was as thin as a cicada's wing; piled up, it lay in layers like folded gauze. To the west they traded by sea with Daqin and Parthia. Many precious goods from Daqin passed through: coral, amber, gold and jade, pearls and gems, langgan jade, turmeric, and storax. Storax was compounded by boiling together the juices of various aromatics; it was not a single natural product. It was also said that when people of Daqin gathered storax, they first pressed out the juice to make fragrant ointment and then sold the dregs to merchants of other lands. By the time the residue reached China through repeated resale, it was no longer very fragrant. Turmeric came only from Kapisi. Its blossoms were a pure, fine yellow, resembling the lotus that grows within hibiscus flowers. The people first offered it at Buddhist temples. After many days it withered and was cast away as refuse, and merchants then resold it to other countries.
47
漢桓帝延熹九年，大秦王安敦遣使自日南徼外來獻，漢世唯一通焉。 其國人行賈往往至扶南、日南、交址。 其南徼諸國人少有到大秦者。 孫權黃武五年，有大秦賈人字秦論來到交址，太守吳邈遣送詣權。 權問論方土風俗，論具以事對。 時諸葛恪討丹陽，獲黝、歙短人。 論見之曰：「大秦希見此人。」 權以男女各十人，差吏會稽劉咸送論，咸於道物故，乃徑還本國也。
In the ninth year of Yanxi under Emperor Huan of Han, King Andun of Daqin sent envoys from beyond the Rinan frontier to present tribute—the only such contact recorded for the Han dynasty. Merchants from Daqin often traveled as far as Funan, Rinan, and Jiaozhi. Few people from the southern frontier states ever reached Daqin. In the fifth year of Huangwu under Sun Quan, a Daqin merchant named Qin Lun arrived in Jiaozhi, and Prefect Wu Miao had him escorted to Sun Quan. Sun Quan questioned Qin Lun about the geography and customs of his homeland, and Qin Lun answered in full. At that time Zhuge Ke was campaigning against Danyang and captured short-statured people from You and She. When Qin Lun saw them he said, "In Daqin people like this are rarely seen." Sun Quan gave him ten men and ten women and dispatched the official Liu Xian of Kuaiji to escort him home. Liu Xian died on the road, and Qin Lun then returned directly to his own country.
48
漢和帝時，天竺數遣使貢獻，後西域反叛遂絕。 至桓帝延熹三年、四年，頻從日南徼外來獻，魏、晉世絕不復通。 唯吳時扶南王范旃遣親人蘇勿使其國，從扶南發投拘利口，循海大灣中正西北入，曆灣邊數國，可一年余到天竺江口，逆水行七千里乃至焉。 天竺王驚曰：「海濱極遠，猶有此人乎！」 即令觀視國內，仍差陳、宋等二人以月支馬四疋報旃，勿積四年方至。 其時吳遣中郎康泰使扶南，及見陳、宋等，具問天竺土俗，云：「佛道所興國也。 人敦龐，土饒沃，其王號茂論。 所都城郭，水泉分流，繞于渠塹，下注大江。 其宮殿皆雕文鐫刻。 街曲市里，屋舍樓觀，鐘鼓音樂，服飾香華，水陸通流，百賈交會，器玩珍瑋，恣心所欲。 左右嘉維、舍衛、葉波等十六大國。 去天竺或二三千里，共尊奉之，以為在天地之中。」
Under Emperor He of Han, India repeatedly sent envoys with tribute, but after the Western Regions rebelled contact was broken off. In the third and fourth years of Yanxi under Emperor Huan, envoys came frequently from beyond the Rinan frontier, but in the Wei and Jin periods contact ceased altogether. Only in Wu times did King Fan Zhan of Funan send his kinsman Su Wu as envoy to India. Setting out from Funan, he put in at the mouth of Koli and sailed northwest across the great bay, passing several countries along its shores. After more than a year he reached the mouth of the Ganges, and after another seven thousand li upstream he arrived at the capital. The king of India was astonished and said, "At the farthest edge of the sea, can such people still exist!" He immediately had them shown about the realm, then dispatched Chen, Song, and two others with four Yuezhi horses to report back to Fan Zhan. Su Wu took four years in all to make the return journey. At that time Wu dispatched Palace Gentleman Kang Tai as envoy to Funan. When he met Chen, Song, and the others, he questioned them at length about the land and customs of India. They said, "It is the country where Buddhism arose. The people are stout and robust, and the soil rich and fertile. Their king bears the title Maolun. The capital city had branching springs that wound through canals and moats before flowing down into the great river. Its palaces were all carved and engraved with ornamental designs. Winding streets and market wards were lined with houses, towers, and pavilions; bells, drums, and music filled the air; garments, incense, and flowers abounded. Water and land routes connected, merchants of every kind gathered to trade, and vessels and curios, precious and rare, were there for the taking. To its left and right lay sixteen great states, including Kashi, Shravasti, and Gandhara. Two or three thousand li from India, they all honored and served it, believing it to stand at the center of Heaven and Earth."
49
天監初，其王屈多遣長史竺羅達奉表獻琉璃唾壺、雜香、古貝等物。
At the beginning of Tianjian, King Quduo sent Chief Clerk Zhu Luoda with a memorial presenting a glass spittoon, assorted incense, kapok cloth, and other goods.
50
天竺迦毗黎國
Kapili of India
51
天竺迦毗黎國，元嘉五年，國王月愛遣使奉表，獻金剛指環、摩勒金環諸寶物，赤白鸚鵡各一頭。 明帝泰始二年，又遣使貢獻，以其使主竺扶大、竺阿珍並為建威將軍。 元嘉十八年，蘇摩黎國王那羅跋摩遣使獻方物。 孝武孝建二年，斤陀利國王釋婆羅那鄰陀遣長史竺留陀及多獻金銀寶器。 後廢帝元徽元年，婆黎國遣使貢獻。 凡此諸國皆事佛道。
Kapili of India: in the fifth year of Yuanjia, King Yue'ai sent envoys with a memorial presenting diamond finger-rings, moluo gold rings, and various precious objects, along with one red and one white parrot. In the second year of Taishi under Emperor Ming, envoys were sent again with tribute, and their mission chiefs Zhu Fuda and Zhu Azhen were both appointed General Who Establishes Might. In the eighteenth year of Yuanjia, King Narapamoda of Sumoli sent envoys presenting local products. In the second year of Xiaojian under Emperor Xiaowu, King Shibharanata of Gandhara sent Chief Clerk Zhu Liutuo and others to present gold, silver, and precious vessels. In the first year of Yuanhui under the deposed emperor, Poli sent envoys with tribute. All these countries alike followed Buddhism.
52
佛道自後漢明帝法始東流，自此以來，其教稍廣，別為一家之學。 元嘉十二年，丹陽尹蕭摹之奏曰：「佛化被於中國，已曆四代，而自頃以來，更以奢競為重。 請自今以後有欲鑄銅像者，悉詣台自聞； 興造塔寺精舍，皆先列言，須許報然後就功。」 詔可。 又沙汰沙門罷道者數百人。 孝武大明二年，有曇標道人與羌人高闍謀反，上因是下詔，所在精加沙汰，後有違犯，嚴其誅坐。 於是設諸條禁，自非戒行精苦，並使還俗，而諸寺尼出入宮掖，交關妃後，此制竟不能行。 先是，晉世庾冰始創議欲使沙門敬王者，後桓玄復述其義，並不果行。 大明六年，孝武使有司奏沙門接見皆盡敬，詔可。 前廢帝初復舊。
Since Buddhism first flowed east in the time of Emperor Ming of Later Han, its teaching had gradually spread and become a distinct school of its own. In the twelfth year of Yuanjia, Prefect of Danyang Xiao Muzhi memorialized, "The Buddha's teaching had spread over China for four dynasties already, but in recent times extravagant rivalry had become paramount. I request that from now on anyone wishing to cast bronze images must report in person to the central administration; and that in erecting pagodas, temples, and monasteries, one must first submit a statement and may begin work only after permission is granted." The edict approved the proposal. Monks were also screened, and several hundred who had abandoned the monastic life were dismissed. In the second year of Daming under Emperor Xiaowu, the monk Tanbiao plotted rebellion with the Qiang man Gao Ge. Because of this the emperor issued an edict ordering strict screening everywhere, with severe punishment for any future violations. Various prohibitions were then established: except for those of strict and arduous discipline, all were made to return to lay life. Yet nuns of the various temples entered and left the palace quarters and maintained relations with consorts and empresses—this regulation could not be enforced after all. Earlier, in Jin times Yu Bing had first proposed that monks should show respect to the ruler; later Huan Xuan had restated the argument. Neither proposal was carried out. In the sixth year of Daming, Emperor Xiaowu had the relevant offices memorialize that monks should show full respect when received in audience, and the edict approved the proposal. At the beginning of the deposed emperor's reign the former practice was restored.
53
孝武寵姬殷貴妃薨，為之立寺，貴妃子子鸞封新安王，故以新安為寺號。 前廢帝殺子鸞，乃毀廢新安寺，驅斥僧徒，尋又毀中興、天寶諸寺。 明帝定亂，下令修復。
When Emperor Xiaowu's favored consort, Consort Yin, died, a temple was erected for her. Her son Ziluan was enfeoffed as Prince of Xin'an, and Xin'an was taken as the temple's name. The deposed emperor killed Ziluan, then destroyed Xin'an Temple and drove out the monks. Soon afterward he also destroyed the Zhongxing, Tianbao, and other temples. When Emperor Ming suppressed the rebellion, he ordered the temples restored.
54
宋世名僧有道生道人，彭城人，父為廣戚令。 道生為沙門法大弟子，幼而聰悟。 年十五便能講經，及長有異解，立頓悟義，時人推服。 元嘉十一年，卒於廬山，沙門慧琳為之誄。
Among the famous monks of the Song was Daosheng, a native of Pengcheng whose father had served as magistrate of Guangqi. Daosheng was the chief disciple of the monk Fada and had been clever and perceptive from childhood. At fifteen he could already expound the sutras. When grown he developed unusual interpretations and established the doctrine of sudden enlightenment, which people of the time admired. In the eleventh year of Yuanjia he died on Mount Lu, and the monk Huilin composed a eulogy for him.
55
慧琳者，秦郡秦縣人，姓劉氏。 少出家，住冶城寺。 有才章，兼內外之學，為廬陵王義真所知。 嘗著均善論，頗貶裁佛法，云：「有白學先生，以為中國聖人經綸百世，其德弘矣，智周萬變，天人之理盡矣。 道無隱旨，教罔遺筌，聰叡迪哲，何負於殊論哉。 有黑學道士陋之，謂不照幽冥之塗，弗及來生之化，雖尚虛心，未能虛事，不逮西域之深也。」 為客主酬答，其歸以為「六度與五教並行，信順與慈悲齊立」。 論行於世。 舊僧謂其敗黜釋氏，欲加擯斥。 文帝見論賞之，元嘉中，遂參權要，朝廷大事皆與議焉。 賓客輻湊，門車常有數十兩。 四方贈賂相系，勢傾一時。 方筵七八，座上恒滿。 琳著高屐，披貂裘，置通呈書佐，權侔宰輔。 會稽孔覬嘗詣之，遇賓客填咽，暄敘而已。 覬慨然曰：「遂有黑衣宰相，可謂冠屨失所矣。」 注孝經及莊子逍遙篇文論傳於世。
Huilin was a native of Qin County in Qin Commandery, of the Liu clan. He left home at a young age and resided at Ye City Temple. He had literary talent and combined Buddhist and secular learning, and came to be known by Prince Yizhen of Luling. He once wrote the Treatise on Equal Goodness, which rather criticized Buddhism, saying, "There is a master of White Learning who holds that the sages of China have governed for a hundred generations; their virtue is vast, their wisdom encompasses myriad changes, and the principles of Heaven and man are fully exhausted. The Way has no hidden meaning; teaching leaves no essential untold. What need have the wise and enlightened for foreign doctrines? A master of Black Learning despises this, saying it does not illuminate the path of the dark underworld and falls short of transformation in lives to come. Though it honors empty mind, it cannot empty affairs—it does not reach the depth of the Western Regions." He set forth guest and host in mutual response and concluded that "the six perfections and the five teachings proceed together; faith and obedience stand alongside compassion and mercy." The treatise circulated widely. Older monks said it degraded Buddhism and wished to have him ostracized. Emperor Wen read the treatise and praised it. In the Yuanjia era Huilin came to participate in power, and major affairs of court were all discussed with him. Guests gathered in crowds, and there were often several dozen carriages at his gate. Gifts and bribes from all directions followed one after another, and his influence eclipsed his age. He kept seven or eight banquet tables, and his seats were always full. Huilin wore high clogs and draped himself in sable fur, kept clerks to receive petitions and present documents, and wielded power equal to a chief minister. Kong Yi of Kuaiji once called on him and found guests packed in so tightly that there was only noisy conversation. Kong Yi said with indignation, "Now there is a black-robed chief minister—one might say caps and shoes have lost their proper places." He also annotated the Classic of Filial Piety and wrote a literary treatise on the "Free and Easy Wandering" chapter of Zhuangzi, both of which circulated widely.
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又有慧嚴、慧議道人，並住東安寺。 學行精整，為道俗所推。 時鬥場寺多禪僧，都下為之語曰：「鬥場禪師窟，東安談義林。」
There were also the monks Huiyan and Huiyi, both residing at Dong'an Temple. Their learning and conduct were refined and orderly, and monks and laypeople alike esteemed them. At that time Dou Chang Temple had many Chan monks, and people in the capital said, "Dou Chang is the cave of Chan masters; Dong'an is the grove of doctrinal discourse."
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孝武大明四年，于中興寺設齋，有一異僧，眾莫之識，問名，答言名明慧，從天安寺來。 忽然不見。 天下無此寺名，乃改中興曰天安寺。 大明中，外國沙門摩訶衍苦節有精理，於都下出新經勝鬘經，尤見重釋學。
In the fourth year of Daming under Emperor Xiaowu, a vegetarian feast was held at Zhongxing Temple. There was a strange monk whom no one recognized. Asked his name, he answered that he was called Minghui and had come from Tian'an Temple. Suddenly he vanished. There was no temple by that name anywhere in the realm, so Zhongxing was renamed Tian'an Temple. In the Daming era, the foreign monk Mahayana, austere in discipline and refined in doctrine, brought out in the capital the new sutra Shorter Sutra of Queen Shrimala, which was especially valued in Buddhist studies.
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師子國
Lion Country
59
師子國，天竺旁國也。 其地和適，無冬夏之異。 五穀隨人種，不須時節。 其國舊無人，止有鬼神及龍居之。 諸國商估來共市易，鬼神不見其形，但出珍寶，顯其所堪價。 商人依價取之。 諸國人聞其土樂，因此競至，或有住者，遂成大國。
Lion Country was a neighboring state of India. Its land was mild and temperate, with no difference between winter and summer. The five grains could be planted whenever people sowed them, without regard to season. Formerly the country had no human inhabitants; only spirits and dragons dwelt there. Merchants of various countries came to trade. The spirits did not show themselves but produced precious goods and displayed the prices they would accept. Merchants took the goods according to the stated price. When people of various countries heard that its land was pleasant, they raced to come. Some settled there, and it gradually became a great state.
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晉義熙初，始遣使獻玉像，經十載乃至。 像高四尺二寸，玉色潔潤，形制殊特，殆非人工。 此像曆晉、宋在瓦官寺，先有征士戴安道手制佛像五軀，及顧長康維摩畫圖，世人號之三絕。 至齊東昏遂毀玉像，前截臂，次取身，為嬖妾潘貴妃作釵釧。
At the beginning of Yixi under Jin, envoys were first sent presenting a jade image. After ten years it arrived. The image stood four feet two inches high. The jade was pure and lustrous, its form extraordinary—hardly the work of human hands. This image remained at Waguan Temple through Jin and Song. There were already five Buddha images made by the recluse Dai Andao and Gu Kaizhi's painting of Vimalakirti; people of the time called them the three supreme works. By the time of Donghun of Qi, the jade image was destroyed: first the arms were cut off, then the body was taken, and hairpins and bracelets were made for the favorite consort, Consort Pan.