Volume 114: Treatise 10 - Buddhism and Daoism

大人有作，司牧生民，結繩以往，書契所絕，故靡得而知焉。自羲軒已還，至於三代，其神言秘策，蘊圖緯之文，範世率民，垂墳典之迹。秦肆其毒，滅於灰燼；漢採遺籍，復若丘山。司馬遷區別異同，有陰陽、儒、墨、名、法、道德六家之義。劉歆著七略，班固志藝文，釋氏之學，所未曾紀。案漢武元狩中，遣霍去病討匈奴，至臯蘭，過居延，斬首大獲。昆邪王殺休屠王，將其眾五萬來降。獲其金人，帝以為大神，列於甘泉宮。金人率長丈餘，不祭祀，但燒香禮拜而已。此則佛道流通之漸也。

When the great sages took office to shepherd the people, from the age of knotted cords through the period ended by written records, nothing can be known with certainty. From Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor down through the Three Dynasties, sacred utterances and hidden policies preserved the lore of charts and apocrypha, set norms for the world and guided the people, and bequeathed the record of the canonical classics. Qin unleashed its cruelty and perished in ashes; Han collected the surviving books and restored them in heaps as vast as hills. Sima Qian distinguished the various schools and recorded the doctrines of the six traditions: Yin-Yang, Confucian, Mohist, Logician, Legalist, and Daoist. Liu Xin wrote the Seven Summaries and Ban Gu catalogued literature in the Treatise on Arts and Letters, yet neither recorded the teachings of Buddhism. According to the records, during the Yuanshuo reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Qubing was dispatched against the Xiongnu, advanced to Gaolan, passed through Juyan, and won a great victory with many enemy heads taken. The King of Hunye killed the King of Xiutu and came to surrender with a following of fifty thousand. They seized a golden statue, which the emperor regarded as a great god and set up in Ganquan Palace. The golden statue stood over a zhang tall; no animal sacrifices were offered—only incense was burned and worship performed. This marks the earliest stage in the spread of Buddhism.

浮屠正號曰佛陀，佛陀與浮圖聲相近，皆西方言，其來轉為二音。華言譯之則謂淨覺，言滅穢成明，道為聖悟。凡其經旨，大抵言生生之類，皆因行業而起。有過去、當今、未來，歷三世，識神常不滅。凡為善惡，必有報應。漸積勝業，陶冶粗鄙，經無數形，澡練神明，[3]乃致無生而得佛道。其間階次心行，等級非一，皆緣淺以至深，藉微而為著。率在於積仁順，蠲嗜慾，習虛靜而成通照也。故其始修心則依佛、法、僧，謂之三歸，若君子之三畏也。又有五戒，去殺、盜、淫、妄言、飲酒，大意與仁、義、禮、智、信同，名為異耳。云奉持之，則生天人勝處，虧犯則墜鬼畜諸苦。又善惡生處，凡有六道焉。

The correct term for Futuo is Buddha; Buddha and Futu sound similar—both are Western words that came to be rendered in two forms. In Chinese it is rendered as Pure Awakening, meaning the elimination of impurity and attainment of illumination—the Way as supreme enlightenment. The gist of its scriptures is that all living beings arise from their deeds and accumulated karma. There are past, present, and future—the three ages—and the conscious spirit is never destroyed. Every good or evil act inevitably receives its due recompense. By gradually accumulating meritorious deeds, refining what is crude, passing through countless rebirths, and purifying the spirit, one ultimately reaches the state of non-birth and attains Buddhahood. The stages of spiritual cultivation are many and varied, all advancing from the shallow to the profound and from the subtle to the manifest. In essence it consists in accumulating benevolence and compliance, relinquishing cravings and desires, and cultivating emptiness and stillness until one achieves penetrating illumination. At the outset of spiritual cultivation one takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—the Three Refuges—analogous to the three things a gentleman holds in awe. There are also the Five Precepts—against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol—which correspond in spirit to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, differing only in terminology. Those who uphold them are reborn in the superior realms of gods and humans; those who violate them fall into the sufferings of ghosts and animals. The realms into which one is born according to one's deeds comprise six paths in all.

諸服其道者，則剃落鬚髮，釋累辭家，結師資，遵律度，相與和居，治心修淨，行乞以自給。謂之沙門，或曰桑門，亦聲相近，總謂之僧，皆胡言也。僧，譯為和命眾，桑門為息心，比丘為行乞。俗人之信憑道法者，男曰優婆塞，女曰優婆夷。其為沙門者，初修十誡，曰沙彌，而終於二百五十，則具足成大僧。婦入道者曰比丘尼。 [4]其誡至于五百，皆以□為本，[5]隨事增數，在於防心、攝身、正口。心去貪、忿、癡，身除殺、淫、盜，口斷妄、雜、諸非正言，總謂之十善道。能具此，謂之三業清淨。凡人修行粗為極。 [6]云可以達惡善報，漸階聖迹。初階聖者，有三種人，其根業各差，[7]謂之三乘，聲聞乘、緣覺乘、大乘。取其可乘運以至道為名。此三人惡迹已盡，但修心盪累，濟物進德。初根人為小乘，行四諦法；中根人為中乘，受十二因緣；上根人為大乘，則修六度。雖階三乘，而要由修進萬行，拯度億流，彌歷長遠，[8]乃可登佛境矣。

Those who follow the Way shave their heads, leave home and family, take teachers, observe the precepts, live together in harmony, cultivate purity of mind, and support themselves by begging for alms. They are called shramanas, or sangmen—the sounds are similar—and collectively they are called monks; all these terms are foreign words. Seng is rendered as the harmonious assembly; shramana means stilling the mind; bhikshu means mendicant. Lay followers of the teaching are called upasaka for men and upasika for women. Those who enter the monastic life first observe the ten precepts as novices; when they complete the two hundred fifty precepts, they are fully ordained as senior monks. Women who take monastic vows are called bhikshunis. Their precepts number as many as five hundred, all founded on the root precept; additional rules are added as circumstances require, aimed at guarding the mind, restraining the body, and rectifying speech. The mind abandons greed, hatred, and delusion; the body refrains from killing, sexual misconduct, and stealing; the mouth ceases lying, frivolous talk, and all improper speech—together called the Ten Good Paths. Those who fully observe these are said to have purified the three modes of conduct. For ordinary people, this practice represents the highest attainable standard. Through these one can understand the recompense of good and evil and gradually ascend toward sainthood. Those who first attain sainthood fall into three categories, each with different spiritual capacities—the Three Vehicles: the Shravaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Great Vehicle. They are so named because each serves as a vehicle by which one may reach the Way. These three have exhausted the traces of evil; they cultivate the mind to shed defilements, aid living beings, and advance in virtue. Those of inferior spiritual capacity follow the Small Vehicle and practice the Four Noble Truths; those of middling capacity follow the Middle Vehicle and accept the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination; those of superior capacity follow the Great Vehicle and cultivate the Six Perfections. Although there are three vehicles, one must still cultivate countless practices, save innumerable beings, and pass through vast ages before one can reach the Buddha realm.

所謂佛者，本號釋迦文者，譯言能仁，謂德充道備，堪濟萬物也。釋迦前有六佛，釋迦繼六佛而成道，處今賢劫。文言將來有彌勒佛，[9]方繼釋迦而降世。釋迦即天竺迦維衞國王之子。天竺其總稱，迦維別名也。初，釋迦於四月八日夜，從母右脅而生。既生，姿相超異者三十二種。天降嘉瑞以應之，亦三十二。其本起經說之備矣。釋迦生時，當周莊王九年。春秋魯莊公七年夏四月，恒星不見，夜明，是也。至魏武定八年，凡一千二百三十七年云。釋迦年三十成佛，導化羣生，四十九載，乃於拘尸那城娑羅雙樹間，以二月十五日而入般湼槃。湼槃譯云滅度，或言常樂我淨，明無遷謝及諸苦累也。

The Buddha was originally called Shakyamuni, rendered in Chinese as Able to Be Benevolent—meaning his virtue was complete and his Way perfected, fit to save all beings. Six Buddhas preceded Shakyamuni; Shakyamuni attained enlightenment after them, in the present Fortunate Kalpa. The scriptures say that in the future the Buddha Maitreya will succeed Shakyamuni in descending to the world. Shakyamuni was the son of the king of Kapilavastu in India. India is the general term; Kapilavastu is a specific place name. Shakyamuni was born on the night of the eighth day of the fourth month, emerging from his mother's right side. At birth he displayed thirty-two extraordinary physical marks. Heaven sent thirty-two auspicious omens in response. The Sutra of His Original Vows records all of this in full. Shakyamuni was born in the ninth year of King Zhuang of Zhou. The Spring and Autumn Annals records that in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, in the fourth month of summer, the fixed stars were not visible and the night was bright—this was that event. By the eighth year of Wuding of Wei, one thousand two hundred thirty-seven years had elapsed, it is said. At the age of thirty Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood and taught all beings; after forty-nine years, on the fifteenth day of the second month, between the twin sala trees at Kusinagara, he entered parinirvana. Nirvana is rendered as extinction and passing; it is also called permanence, bliss, self, and purity, signifying freedom from transmigration and all suffering.

諸佛法身有二種義，一者真實，二者權應。真實身，謂至極之體，妙絕拘累，不得以方處期，不可以形量限，有感斯應，體常湛然。權應身者，謂和光六道，同塵萬類，生滅隨時，修短應物，形由感生，體非實有。權形雖謝，真體不遷，但時無妙感，故莫得常見耳。明佛生非實生，滅非實滅也。佛既謝世，香木焚尸。靈骨分碎，大小如粒，擊之不壞，焚亦不燋，或有光明神驗，胡言謂之「舍利」。弟子收奉，置之寶瓶，竭香花，致敬慕，建宮宇，謂為「塔」。塔亦胡言，猶宗廟也，故世稱塔廟。於後百年，有王阿育，以神力分佛舍利，役諸鬼神，[10]造八萬四千塔，布於世界，皆同日而就。今洛陽、彭城、姑臧、臨淄皆有阿育王寺，[11]蓋承其遺迹焉。釋迦雖般湼槃，而留影迹爪齒於天竺，於今猶在。中土來往，並稱見之。

The dharma-bodies of all Buddhas have two aspects: the true body and the responsive body. The true body is the ultimate substance, transcending all bonds; it cannot be located in space or time or measured by form; it responds wherever there is need, its essence ever serene. The responsive body mingles its radiance with the six paths, shares the dust of the world with all beings, is born and dies according to the times, and lives long or short as circumstances require; its form arises from the needs of beings and is not ultimately real. Although the responsive form may pass away, the true body does not change; it is only because the times lack the proper receptivity that one cannot see it constantly. This shows that the Buddha's birth is not a real birth and his passing is not a real passing. After the Buddha passed from the world, his body was cremated with fragrant wood. The sacred bones broke into fragments the size of grains; they could not be broken by striking nor consumed by fire; some displayed luminous signs—in foreign speech they are called relics. Disciples collected and enshrined them in jeweled vessels, offered incense and flowers in reverence, and built shrines called stupas. Stupa is also a foreign word, equivalent to an ancestral temple; hence they are called stupa-temples. A century later King Ashoka used his supernatural powers to divide the Buddha's relics, employed spirits to build eighty-four thousand stupas throughout the world, all completed on the same day. Today Luoyang, Pengcheng, Guzang, and Linzi all have Ashoka temples, presumably preserving traces of this tradition. Although Shakyamuni entered parinirvana, he left traces of his shadow, footprints, fingernails, and teeth in India, which remain to this day. Travelers to and from China all claimed to have seen them.

初，釋迦所說教法，既湼槃後，有聲聞弟子大迦葉、阿難等五百人，撰集著錄。阿難親承囑授，多聞總持，蓋能綜覈深致，無所漏失。乃綴文字，撰載三藏十二部經，如九流之異統，其大歸終以三乘為本。後數百年，有羅漢、菩薩相繼著論，贊明經義，以破外道，摩訶衍，大、小阿毗曇，中論，十二門論，百法論，成實論等是也。皆傍諸藏部大義，假立外問，而以內法釋之。

After Shakyamuni's parinirvana, five hundred shravaka disciples including Mahakashyapa and Ananda compiled and recorded the teachings he had preached. Ananda had personally received the Buddha's transmission; learned in all teachings and holding them in memory, he was able to synthesize their profound meaning without omission. He then set down the scriptures of the Three Baskets in twelve divisions, like the separate traditions of the nine philosophical schools; their ultimate purpose rests on the Three Vehicles. Centuries later, arhats and bodhisattvas wrote treatises in succession to elucidate the scriptures and refute non-Buddhist doctrines—the Mahayana, the Great and Small Abhidharma, the Middle Treatise, the Twelve Gates Treatise, the Hundred Dharmas Treatise, the Establishment of Truth Treatise, and others. All draw on the major doctrines of the scriptural collections, pose hypothetical objections, and answer them with Buddhist teaching.

漢章帝時，楚王英喜為浮屠齋戒，遣郎中令奉黃縑白紈三十匹，詣國相以贖愆。詔報曰：「楚王尚浮屠之仁祠，潔齋三月，與神為誓，何嫌何疑，當有悔吝。其還贖，以助伊蒲塞、桑門之盛饌。」因以班示諸國。桓帝時，襄楷言佛陀、黃老道以諫，欲令好生惡殺，少嗜慾，去奢泰，尚無為。魏明帝曾欲壞宮西佛圖。外國沙門乃金盤盛水，置於殿前，以佛舍利投之於水，乃有五色光起，於是帝歎曰：「自非靈異，安得爾乎？」遂徙於道東，[12]為作周閣百間。佛圖故處，鑿為濛氾池，種芙蓉於中。後有天竺沙門曇柯迦羅入洛，宣譯誡律，中國誡律之始也。自洛中構白馬寺，盛飾佛圖，畫迹甚妙，為四方式。凡宮塔制度，猶依天竺舊狀而重構之，從一級至三、五、七、九。世人相承，謂之「浮圖」，或云「佛圖」。晉世，洛中佛圖有四十二所矣。漢世沙門，皆衣赤布，後乃易以雜色。

During the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han, Prince Ying of Chu observed Buddhist fasting and precepts and sent his chamberlain with thirty bolts of yellow silk and white gauze to the chancellor to atone for his offense. The imperial reply read: "The King of Chu honors the benevolent rites of Buddhism, has kept a pure fast for three months, and made vows before the spirits—what suspicion or doubt could there be? You should feel no regret. Return the offering and use it to provide lavish meals for lay followers and monks." The edict was then promulgated to all the kingdoms. During the reign of Emperor Huan, Xiang Kai cited the Buddha and the Way of Huang-Lao in a memorial, urging people to cherish life and abhor killing, reduce desires, abandon extravagance, and esteem non-action. Emperor Ming of Wei once wished to destroy the Buddhist pagoda west of the palace. A foreign monk placed water in a golden basin before the hall and cast Buddha relics into it; five-colored light arose. The emperor exclaimed: "If this were not supernatural, how could it be so?" He then moved it east of the road and built a hundred chambers in a surrounding gallery. The former site of the pagoda was excavated to create the Mengfan Pool, in which lotuses were planted. Later the Indian monk Dharmakala came to Luoyang and translated the precepts and monastic rules—the beginning of vinaya in China. From the construction of White Horse Temple in Luoyang, pagodas were richly adorned with paintings of exquisite quality that served as models throughout the land. Palace pagodas generally followed Indian models in their reconstruction, ranging from one story to three, five, seven, or nine. People handed down the name, calling them futu, or fotu. During the Jin dynasty, Luoyang had forty-two Buddhist pagodas. In Han times monks all wore red cloth; later they adopted variegated colors.

晉元康中，有胡沙門支恭明譯佛經維摩、法華、三本起等。微言隱義，未之能究。後有沙門常山衞道安性聰敏，日誦經萬餘言，研求幽旨。慨無師匠，獨坐靜室十二年，覃思構精，神悟妙賾，以前所出經，多有舛駁，乃正其乖謬。石勒時，有天竺沙門浮圖澄，少於烏萇國就羅漢入道，劉曜時到襄國。後為石勒所宗信，號為大和尚，軍國規謨頗訪之，所言多驗。道安曾至鄴候澄，澄見而異之。澄卒後，中國紛亂，道安乃率門徒，南遊新野。欲令玄宗在所流布，分遣弟子，各趣諸方。法汰詣揚州，法和入蜀，道安與慧遠之襄陽。道安後入苻堅，堅素欽德問，既見，宗以師禮。時西域有胡沙門鳩摩羅什，思通法門，道安思與講釋，每勸堅致羅什。什亦承安令問，謂之東方聖人，或時遙拜致敬。道安卒後二十餘載而羅什至長安，恨不及安，以為深慨。道安所正經義，與羅什譯出，符會如一，初無乖舛。於是法旨大著中原。

During the Yuankang era of Jin, the foreign monk Zhi Gongming translated scriptures including the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and the Sutra of the Buddha's Original Vows. Their subtle words and hidden meanings could not yet be fully understood. Later the monk Shi Dao'an of Changshan, a man of keen intelligence, recited more than ten thousand characters of scripture daily and probed their profound meaning. Lamenting that he had no teacher, he sat alone in meditation for twelve years until he attained spiritual insight; finding many errors in earlier translations, he corrected them. During the reign of Shi Le, the Indian monk Fotucheng, who in his youth in Wuchang had studied under an arhat, came to Xiangguo during the reign of Liu Yao. Later Shi Le honored and trusted him, calling him the Great Monk; he was frequently consulted on military and state affairs, and his words usually proved true. Dao'an once went to Ye to visit Fotucheng, who regarded him as extraordinary. After Fotucheng's death, with China in turmoil, Dao'an led his disciples south to Xinye. Wishing to spread the profound teaching wherever he went, he sent disciples in different directions. Fatai went to Yangzhou, Fahe to Shu, and Dao'an with Huiyuan to Xiangyang. Dao'an later entered the service of Fu Jian, who had long admired him; upon meeting, Fu Jian honored him as a teacher. At that time in the Western Regions there was the monk Kumarajiva, whose understanding of the Dharma was profound; Dao'an wished to study with him and repeatedly urged Fu Jian to summon Kumarajiva. Kumarajiva also received Dao'an's messages and called him the sage of the East, sometimes paying obeisance from afar. More than twenty years after Dao'an's death Kumarajiva arrived at Chang'an; he deeply regretted not having met him. The scriptural meanings Dao'an had corrected matched Kumarajiva's translations perfectly, without the slightest discrepancy. Thereupon Buddhist teaching flourished greatly in the Central Plains.

魏先建國於玄朔，風俗淳一，無為以自守，與西域殊絕，莫能往來。故浮圖之教，未之得聞，或聞而未信也。及神元與魏、晉通聘，文帝久在洛陽，[13]昭成又至襄國，乃備究南夏佛法之事。太祖平中山，經略燕趙，所逕郡國佛寺，見諸沙門、道士，皆致精敬，禁軍旅無有所犯。帝好黃老，頗覽佛經。但天下初定，戎車屢動，庶事草創，未建圖宇，招延僧眾也。然時時旁求。先是，有沙門僧朗，與其徒隱于泰山之琨〈𤣩而〉谷。帝遣使致書，以繒、素、旃罽、銀鉢為禮。今猶號曰朗公谷焉。天興元年，下詔曰：「夫佛法之興，其來遠矣。濟益之功，冥及存沒，神蹤遺軌，信可依憑。其敕有司，於京城建飾容範，修整宮舍，[14]令信向之徒，有所居止。」是歲，始作五級佛圖、耆闍崛山及須彌山殿，加以繢飾。別構講堂、禪堂及沙門座，莫不嚴具焉。太宗踐位，遵太祖之業，亦好黃老，又崇佛法，京邑四方，建立圖像，仍令沙門敷導民俗。

When Wei first established its state in the far north, its customs were pure and simple, its people maintaining themselves through non-action; cut off from the Western Regions, they could not interact with them. Thus the Buddhist teaching had not reached them, or if heard was not believed. When Emperor Shenyuan exchanged envoys with Wei and Jin, Emperor Wendi had long resided in Luoyang and Emperor Zhaocheng had also been at Xiangguo—they came to know fully the Buddhist affairs of southern China. When Taizu pacified Zhongshan and campaigned in Yan and Zhao, at every monastery in the regions he passed he showed refined respect to monks and Daoist priests and forbade his troops from violating them. The emperor favored Huang-Lao teachings and read Buddhist scriptures extensively. But with the realm newly settled, military campaigns frequent, and all affairs still being established, he had not yet built temples or recruited monks. Yet he sought them out from time to time. Earlier there was the monk Seng Lang, who with his followers had hidden on Mount Tai in the Kun 〈qiu'er〉 valley. The emperor sent envoys with letters, offering silk, gauze, felt, and silver bowls as gifts. The place is still called Langong Valley today. In the first year of Tianxing, an edict declared: "The rise of the Buddhist teaching came from afar. Its power to benefit extends in secret to the living and the dead; its divine traces and transmitted paths may truly be relied upon. Let the relevant offices in the capital construct adorned images and repair palace halls so that believers may have places to dwell." That year they first built a five-story pagoda, a Mount Qijueju hall, and a Sumeru hall, all richly decorated. They also constructed lecture halls, meditation halls, and seats for monks, all rigorously appointed. When Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he followed the Taizu's policies, also favoring Huang-Lao and further honoring Buddhism; images were established throughout the capital and the realm, and monks were ordered to instruct the people.

初，皇始中，趙郡有沙門法果，誡行精至，開演法籍。太祖聞其名，詔以禮徵赴京師。後以為道人統，綰攝僧徒。每與帝言，多所愜允，供施甚厚。至太宗，彌加崇敬，永興中，前後授以輔國、宜城子、忠信侯、安成公之號，皆固辭。帝常親幸其居，以門小狹，不容輿輦，更廣大之。年八十餘，泰常中卒。未殯，帝三臨其喪，追贈老壽將軍、趙胡靈公。初，法果每言，太祖明叡好道，即是當今如來，沙門宜應盡禮，遂常致拜。謂人曰：「能鴻道者人主也，我非拜天子，乃是禮佛耳。」法果四十，始為沙門。有子曰猛，詔令襲果所加爵。帝後幸廣宗，有沙門曇證，年且百歲。邀見於路，奉致果物。帝敬其年老志力不衰，亦加以老壽將軍號。

Early in the Huangshi era, in Zhao commandery there was the monk Faguo, whose discipline and conduct were refined, and who expounded the Buddhist scriptures. Taizu heard of him and ordered him summoned to the capital with ceremonial honor. Later he was appointed Director of the Way, overseeing the monastic community. Whenever he spoke with the emperor, his words were well received; the offerings made to him were very generous. Under Emperor Taizong he was further honored; during the Yongxing era he was repeatedly offered the titles Assistant State, Marquis of Yicheng, Marquis of Zhongxin, and Duke of Ancheng—all of which he firmly declined. The emperor often visited his residence personally; because the gate was too narrow for the imperial carriage, it was enlarged. He died in the Taichang era at over eighty years of age. Before the encoffining, the emperor thrice attended his funeral and posthumously enfeoffed him as General of Longevity and Duke of Zhaohuling. Faguo had often said that Taizu, wise and devoted to the Way, was the present-day Tathagata and that monks ought to pay him full obeisance; he therefore constantly bowed to him. He told people: "Those who can spread the Way are rulers; I am not bowing to the Son of Heaven but paying obeisance to the Buddha." Faguo did not become a monk until the age of forty. He had a son named Meng, whom an edict ordered to inherit the titles Faguo had been granted. Later, when the emperor visited Guangzong, there was the monk Tan Zheng, nearly a hundred years old. He met the emperor on the road and presented fruit as offerings. The emperor respected his advanced age and undiminished vigor and also granted him the title General of Longevity.

是時，鳩摩羅什為姚興所敬，於長安草堂寺集義學八百人，重譯經本。羅什聰辯有淵思，達東西方言。時沙門道肜、[15]僧略、道恒、道𧝼、僧肇、曇影等，與羅什共相提挈，發明幽致。諸深大經論十有餘部，更定章句，辭義通明，至今沙門共所祖習。道肜等皆識學洽通，僧肇尤為其最。羅什之撰譯，僧肇常執筆，定諸辭義，注維摩經，又著數論，皆有妙旨，學者宗之。

At that time Kumarajiva was honored by Yao Xing; at Chang'an's Caotang Temple he gathered eight hundred scholars and retranslated the scriptures. Kumarajiva was clever and eloquent with profound insight, mastering the languages of East and West. The monks Daoyin, Senglüe, Daoheng, Daofu, Sengzhao, Tan Ying, and others worked with Kumarajiva to elucidate abstruse doctrines. They revised more than ten major sutras and treatises, clarifying chapter divisions and making the meaning transparent—translations that monks still study today. Daoyin and the others were all learned and accomplished; Sengzhao was especially outstanding. In Kumarajiva's translations Sengzhao often held the brush and fixed the terminology; he annotated the Vimalakirti Sutra and wrote several treatises, all with subtle insight, and scholars honored him.

又沙門法顯，慨律藏不具，自長安遊天竺。歷三十餘國，隨有經律之處，學其書語，譯而寫之。十年，乃於南海師子國，隨商人汎舟東下。晝夜昏迷，將二百日。乃至青州長廣郡不其勞山，南下乃出海焉。是歲，神瑞二年也。法顯所逕諸國，傳記之，今行於世。其所得律，通譯未能盡正。至江南，更與天竺禪師跋陀羅辯定之，謂之僧祇律，大備于前，為今沙門所持受。先是，有沙門法領，從揚州入西域，得華嚴經本。定律後數年，跋陀羅共沙門法業重加譯撰，宣行於時。

There was also the monk Faxian, who lamented that the vinaya collection was incomplete and traveled from Chang'an to India. Passing through more than thirty countries, wherever he found scriptures and vinaya he learned the local languages, translated them, and copied them. After ten years, at the Lion Kingdom in the Southern Sea, he boarded a merchant ship sailing east. For nearly two hundred days he drifted in dim confusion day and night. He finally reached Mount Lao at Buqi in Changguang commandery of Qing province, then sailed south out to sea. That year was the second year of Shenrui. Faxian recorded the countries he visited in a travel account that still circulates today. The vinaya he obtained could not be fully corrected in translation. In Jiangnan he worked with the Indian meditation master Buddhabhadra to finalize it; called the Mahasanghika Vinaya, it was far more complete than earlier versions and is what monks follow today. Earlier the monk Faling had traveled from Yangzhou into the Western Regions and obtained the Avatamsaka Sutra. Several years after the vinaya was established, Buddhabhadra and the monk Faye revised and translated it again, promulgating it widely.

世祖初即位，亦遵太祖、太宗之業，每引高德沙門，與共談論。於四月八日，輿諸佛像，行於廣衢，帝親御門樓，臨觀散花，以致禮敬。

When Emperor Shizu first ascended the throne, he followed the policies of Taizu and Taizong, often inviting eminent monks to discuss doctrine with him. On the eighth day of the fourth month he had Buddhist images borne in procession along the broad streets; the emperor personally manned the gate tower, scattering flowers from above in ritual homage.

先是，沮渠蒙遜在涼州，亦好佛法。有罽賓沙門曇摩讖，習諸經論。於姑臧，與沙門智嵩等，譯湼槃諸經十餘部。又曉術數、禁呪，歷言他國安危，多所中驗。蒙遜每以國事諮之。神䴥中，帝命蒙遜送讖詣京師，惜而不遣。既而，懼魏威責，遂使人殺讖。讖死之日，謂門徒曰：「今時將有客來，可早食以待之。」食訖而走使至。時人謂之知命。智嵩亦爽悟，篤志經籍。後乃以新出經論，於涼土教授。辯論幽旨，著湼槃義記。戒行峻整，門人齊肅。知涼州將有兵役，與門徒數人，欲往胡地。道路飢饉，絕糧積日，弟子求得禽獸肉，請嵩強食。嵩以戒自誓，遂餓死於酒泉之西山。弟子積薪焚其屍，骸骨灰燼，唯舌獨全，色狀不變。時人以為誦說功報。涼州自張軌後，世信佛教。敦煌地接西域，道俗交得其舊式，村塢相屬，多有塔寺。太延中，涼州平，徙其國人於京邑，沙門佛事皆俱東，象教彌增矣。尋以沙門眾多，詔罷年五十已下者。

Earlier, Juqu Mengxun in Liangzhou had also favored Buddhism. There was the Gandharan monk Dharmakṣema, who studied various sutras and treatises. At Guzang, together with the monk Zhisong and others, he translated more than ten Nirvana sutras and related texts. He was also skilled in numerology and spells, repeatedly predicting the safety or peril of other states, mostly with accuracy. Mengxun often consulted him on affairs of state. In the Shenyi era the emperor ordered Mengxun to send Dharmakṣema to the capital, but Mengxun, regretting the loss, did not send him. Later, fearing that Wei would hold him accountable, he had Dharmakṣema killed. On the day of his death, Dharmakṣema told his disciples: "A guest will soon arrive; eat early and wait for him." When they had finished eating, the messenger arrived. People of the time called this foreknowledge of fate. Zhisong was also quick-witted and devoted to the scriptures. Later he taught the newly translated sutras and treatises in the Liang region. Debating abstruse doctrines, he wrote a Commentary on the Meaning of the Nirvana Sutra. His discipline was stern and his disciples uniformly reverent. Knowing that Liangzhou would soon see military action, he set out with several disciples for the barbarian lands. On the road famine prevailed; after many days without grain, disciples obtained meat and urged Zhisong to eat it. Zhisong, bound by his vows, starved to death on the western mountain of Jiuquan. His disciples burned his body; of bones and ash only the tongue remained whole, its color unchanged. People regarded this as the reward of his preaching merit. From Zhang Gui onward the people of Liangzhou had believed in Buddhism for generations. Dunhuang bordered the Western Regions; clergy and laity alike followed its old customs; villages adjoined one another, many with pagodas and temples. In the Taiyan era Liangzhou was pacified and its people moved to the capital; monks and Buddhist institutions all went east together, and Buddhism flourished further. Soon, because the monastic community had grown too large, an edict dismissed those fifty years of age and below.

世祖初平赫連昌，得沙門惠始，姓張。家本清河，聞羅什出新經，遂詣長安見之，觀習經典。坐禪於白渠北，晝則入城聽講，夕則還處靜坐。三輔有識多宗之。劉裕滅姚泓，留子義真鎮長安，義真及僚佐皆敬重焉。義真之去長安也，赫連屈丐追敗之，道俗少長咸見坑戮。惠始身被白刃，而體不傷。眾大怪異，言於屈丐。屈丐大怒，召惠始於前，以所持寶劍擊之，又不能害，乃懼而謝罪。統萬平，惠始到京都，多所訓導，時人莫測其迹。世祖甚重之，每加禮敬。始自習禪，至於沒世，稱五十餘年，未嘗寢臥。或時跣行，雖履泥塵，初不汙足，色愈鮮白，世號之曰白脚師。太延中，臨終於八角寺，齊潔端坐，僧徒滿側，凝泊而絕。停屍十餘日，坐既不改，容色如一，舉世神異之。遂瘞寺內。至真君六年，制城內不得留瘞，乃葬於南郊之外。始死十年矣，開殯儼然，初不傾壞。送葬者六千餘人，莫不感慟。中書監高允為其傳，頌其德迹。惠始冢上，立石精舍，圖其形像。經毀法時，猶自全立。

When Emperor Shizu first pacified Helian Chang, he obtained the monk Huishi, surnamed Zhang. His family was originally from Qinghe; hearing that Kumarajiva was producing new translations, he went to Chang'an to study under him. He practiced meditation north of the White Canal, entering the city by day to hear lectures and returning each evening to meditate in stillness. Many learned men of the capital region took him as their model. When Liu Yu destroyed Yao Hong, he left his son Yizhen to guard Chang'an; Yizhen and his staff all deeply respected Huishi. When Yizhen fled Chang'an, Helian Qujie pursued and defeated him; monks and laity of all ages were slaughtered. Huishi's body was struck by bare blades yet was unharmed. The crowd marveled greatly and reported it to Qujie. Qujie was enraged, summoned Huishi, and struck him with his sword—it could not harm him; he then feared and apologized. When Tongwan was pacified, Huishi came to the capital and instructed many; no one could fathom his ways. Emperor Shizu greatly valued him and always showed him ritual respect. From when he first took up meditation until his death, more than fifty years, he never lay down to sleep. Sometimes he walked barefoot; though treading mud and dust, his feet were never soiled and his complexion grew ever fairer—the world called him the White-Footed Master. In the Taiyan era he died at the Bajiao Temple, sitting upright in purity with monks surrounding him, passing away in serene concentration. His body rested more than ten days without change of posture or complexion—the whole world regarded it as supernatural. He was buried within the temple. In the sixth year of Zhenjun, regulations forbade burial within the city, so he was buried outside the southern suburbs. Ten years after his death the coffin was opened—his body was still dignified and wholly undecayed. More than six thousand people attended the funeral, all grieving deeply. Zhongshu Supervisor Gao Yun wrote his biography, praising his virtuous deeds. At Huishi's tomb a stone shrine was erected with his image painted within. Even when the Dharma was suppressed, the shrine still stood intact.

世祖即位，富於春秋。既而銳志武功，每以平定禍亂為先。雖歸宗佛法，敬重沙門，而未存覽經教，深求緣報之意。及得寇謙之道，帝以清淨無為，有仙化之證，遂信行其術。時司徒崔浩，博學多聞，帝每訪以大事。浩奉謙之道，尤不信佛，與帝言，數加非毀，常謂虛誕，為世費害。帝以其辯博，頗信之。會蓋吳反杏城，關中騷動，帝乃西伐，至於長安。先是，長安沙門種麥寺內，御騶牧馬於麥中，帝入觀馬。沙門飲從官酒，從官入其便室，見大有弓矢矛盾，出以奏聞。帝怒曰：「此非沙門所用，當與蓋吳通謀，規害人耳！」命有司案誅一寺，閱其財產，大得釀酒具及州郡牧守富人所寄藏物，蓋以萬計。又為屈室，與貴室女私行淫亂。帝既忿沙門非法，浩時從行，因進其說。詔誅長安沙門，焚破佛像，敕留臺下四方令，一依長安行事。又詔曰：「彼沙門者，假西戎虛誕，妄生妖孽，非所以一齊政化，布淳德於天下也。自王公已下，有私養沙門者，皆送官曹，不得隱匿。限今年二月十五日，過期不出，沙門身死，容止者誅一門。」

When Emperor Shizu ascended the throne, he was still young. Soon he turned his keen attention to military achievement, always putting the pacification of disorder first. Although he honored Buddhism and respected monks, he did not study the scriptures or deeply seek the meaning of karmic retribution. When he encountered Kou Qianzhi's teachings, the emperor believed that purity and non-action offered proof of immortal transformation and practiced his arts. At that time Minister of Works Cui Hao was learned and widely informed; the emperor often consulted him on important matters. Hao followed Qianzhi's teachings and especially disbelieved Buddhism; he repeatedly slandered it to the emperor, calling it empty falsehood and a harm to the world. The emperor, impressed by his eloquence and learning, largely believed him. When Gai Wu rebelled at Xingcheng and Guanzhong was in turmoil, the emperor marched west as far as Chang'an. Earlier, monks at Chang'an had planted wheat in their temple; imperial grooms pastured horses in the wheat, and the emperor entered to inspect the horses. A monk gave wine to an attendant; the attendant entered his privy chamber and found a large store of bows, arrows, spears, and shields, which he reported. The emperor angrily said: "These are not what monks use—they must be in league with Gai Wu, plotting harm!" He ordered the authorities to investigate and execute the entire monastery; examining its property, they found brewing equipment and goods deposited by officials and wealthy men numbering in the tens of thousands. There were also hidden chambers where they privately committed sexual misconduct with women of noble families. Already angry at the monks' illegal conduct, with Hao accompanying him on the campaign, the emperor accepted his arguments. An edict ordered the execution of Chang'an monks and the destruction of Buddha images; regional commissioners throughout the realm were commanded to follow the Chang'an precedent. Another edict declared: "Those monks borrow empty falsehoods from the Western barbarians and recklessly produce demonic evils—they cannot unify government, transform the people, or spread pure virtue throughout the realm. From kings and dukes downward, anyone who privately keeps monks must send them to the authorities; none may conceal them. The deadline is the fifteenth day of the second month of this year; after the deadline the monk dies, and whoever harbors him suffers execution of his entire household."

時恭宗為太子監國，素敬佛道。頻上表，陳刑殺沙門之濫，又非圖像之罪。今罷其道，杜諸寺門，世不修奉，土木丹青，自然毀滅。如是再三，不許。乃下詔曰：「昔後漢荒君，信惑邪偽，妄假睡夢，事胡妖鬼，以亂天常，自古九州之中無此也。夸誕大言，不本人情。叔季之世，闇君亂主，莫不眩焉。由是政教不行，禮義大壞，鬼道熾盛，視王者之法，蔑如也。自此以來，代經亂禍，天罰亟行，生民死盡，五服之內，鞠為丘墟，千里蕭條，不見人迹，皆由於此。朕承天緒，屬當窮運之弊，欲除偽定真，復羲農之治。其一切盪除胡神，滅其蹤迹，庶無謝於風氏矣。自今以後，敢有事胡神及造形像泥人、銅人者，門誅。雖言胡神，問今胡人，共云無有。皆是前世漢人無賴子弟劉元真、呂伯強之徒，接乞胡之誕言，[16]用老莊之虛假，附而益之，皆非真實。至使王法廢而不行，蓋大姦之魁也。有非常之人，然後能行非常之事。非朕孰能去此歷代之偽物！有司宣告征鎮諸軍、刺史，諸有佛圖形像及胡經，盡皆擊破焚燒，沙門無少長悉坑之。」是歲，真君七年三月也。恭宗言雖不用，然猶緩宣詔書，遠近皆豫聞知，得各為計。四方沙門，多亡匿獲免，在京邑者，亦蒙全濟。金銀寶像及諸經論，大得秘藏。而土木宮塔，聲教所及，莫不畢毀矣。

At that time Crown Prince Gongzong supervised the state and had always revered Buddhism. He repeatedly submitted memorials arguing that executing monks was excessive and that images were not guilty. If its teaching is abolished and temple gates sealed, the world will cease worship—the structures will naturally decay. He argued thus repeatedly, but was not permitted. Then an edict was issued: "In former times the dissolute ruler of Later Han was deluded by evil falsity, falsely borrowing dreams to serve barbarian demon ghosts and disorder the heavenly order—never before in the Nine Provinces since antiquity. Extravagant and grand words, not rooted in human nature. In declining ages, benighted rulers and disorderly lords were all dazzled by it. Hence government and teaching failed, ritual and righteousness collapsed, the demonic Way flourished, and they treated the king's law with contempt. From then on generation after generation suffered disorder and calamity; heaven's punishment fell repeatedly, the people perished, the land within the five degrees of mourning became ruins, and for a thousand li none could be seen—all because of this. I have received heaven's mandate and face the ills of an exhausted age; I wish to eliminate the false and establish the true, restoring the governance of Fuxi and Shennong. Let all barbarian gods be thoroughly swept away and their traces extinguished, so that we may not fail our ancestors. From now on, whoever dares serve barbarian gods or make images of clay or bronze shall suffer execution of the household. Though they speak of barbarian gods, if one asks the barbarians of today, they all say there are none. All are worthless Han men of former ages like Liu Yuanzhen and Lü Boqiang, who adopted the wild words of barbarian beggars, using the empty falsity of Laozi and Zhuangzi and embellishing them—none is true. They caused the king's law to fall into disuse—these are truly the ringleaders of great wickedness. Only an extraordinary man can perform an extraordinary deed. If not I, who can remove these false things of successive ages! Let the relevant offices proclaim to the armies and prefects: wherever there are Buddhist images and barbarian scriptures, let all be smashed and burned, and monks young and old all buried alive." That year was the third month of the seventh year of Zhenjun. Although Gongzong's words were not adopted, he still delayed promulgation of the edict so that distant and near all heard in advance and could make plans. Monks throughout the realm mostly fled and hid to escape; those in the capital also mostly survived. Gold, silver, Buddha images, and scriptures were greatly hidden away in secret. But earthen and wooden temples wherever the teaching had reached were all utterly destroyed.

始謙之與浩同從車駕，苦與浩諍，浩不肯，謂浩曰：「卿今促年受戮，滅門戶矣。」後四年，浩誅，備五刑，時年七十。浩既誅死，帝頗悔之。業已行，難中修復。恭宗潛欲興之，未敢言也。佛淪廢終帝世，積七八年。然禁稍寬㢮，篤信之家，得密奉事，沙門專至者，猶竊法服誦習焉。唯不得顯行於京都矣。

At first Qianzhi and Hao accompanied the imperial carriage together; Qianzhi bitterly argued with Hao, who would not agree; Qianzhi told Hao: "You will soon die by execution, and your household will be extinguished." Four years later Hao was executed, suffering all five punishments, at the age of seventy. After Hao was executed, the emperor deeply regretted it. What had already been done could not easily be undone. Gongzong secretly wished to revive Buddhism but did not dare speak. Buddhism was suppressed to the end of the emperor's reign, for seven or eight years. Yet the prohibition gradually relaxed; devout families could secretly maintain worship, and dedicated monks still secretly wore religious garb and studied. Only they could not practice openly in the capital.

先是，沙門曇曜有操尚，又為恭宗所知禮。佛法之滅，沙門多以餘能自效，還俗求見。曜誓欲守死，恭宗親加勸喻，至於再三，不得已，乃止。密持法服器物，不暫離身，聞者歎重之。

Earlier, the monk Tanyao had integrity and was also known and honored by Gongzong. When Buddhism was suppressed, monks mostly used other skills to offer service, returning to lay life to seek audience. Tanyao vowed to die rather than comply; Gongzong personally urged him again and again; having no alternative, he desisted. He secretly held religious garments and implements and never left them; those who heard admired him.

高宗踐極，下詔曰：「夫為帝王者，必祗奉明靈，顯彰仁道，其能惠著生民，濟益群品者，雖在古昔，猶序其風烈。是以春秋嘉崇明之禮，祭典載功施之族。況釋迦如來功濟大千，惠流塵境，等生死者歎其達觀，覽文義者，貴其妙明，助王政之禁律，益仁智之善性，排斥群邪，開演正覺。故前代已來，莫不崇尚，亦我國家常所尊事也。世祖太武皇帝，開廣邊荒，德澤遐及。沙門道士善行純誠，惠始之倫，無遠不至，風義相感，往往如林。夫山海之深，怪物多有，姦淫之徒，得容假託，講寺之中，致有兇黨。是以先朝因其瑕釁，戮其有罪。有司失旨，一切禁斷。景穆皇帝每為慨然，值軍國多事，未遑修復。朕承洪緒，君臨萬邦，思述先志，以隆斯道。今制諸州郡縣，於眾居之所，各聽建佛圖一區，任其財用，不制會限。其好樂道法，欲為沙門，不問長幼，出於良家，性行素篤，無諸嫌穢，鄉里所明者，聽其出家。率大州五十，小州四十人，其郡遙遠臺者十人。各當局分，皆足以化惡就善，播揚道教也。」天下承風，朝不及夕，往時所毀圖寺，仍還修矣。佛像經論，皆復得顯。

When Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, an edict declared: "Those who become emperors must reverently serve bright spirits and manifest the benevolent Way; those who show kindness to the people and benefit the multitude—even in ancient times their merit is recorded. Therefore the Spring and Autumn Annals praise the rites of bright veneration, and the sacrificial regulations record clans of meritorious service. How much more does the Buddha Shakyamuni, whose merit aids the great thousand worlds and whose grace flows through the realm; those who contemplate birth and death admire his penetrating vision, and those who study doctrine treasure his subtle illumination, aiding royal law and increasing benevolence and wisdom, repelling evil and opening right awakening. Therefore former ages have not failed to honor it, and our state has also constantly respected it. Emperor Taizu Taowu opened the distant frontier; his virtue and grace reached far. Monks and Daoist priests of pure conduct, men like Huishi, came from afar without fail; drawn by wind and righteousness, they gathered like a forest. In the depths of mountains and seas there are many strange things; depraved persons could borrow false pretense—in temples there came to be violent factions. Therefore the former court, because of their offenses, executed the guilty. The relevant offices missed the intent and prohibited everything. Emperor Jingmu often sighed over this; with military and state affairs pressing, he had not yet restored it. I have received the great succession and rule the myriad states, thinking to follow the former will and elevate this teaching. Now it is ordered that in all prefectures, commanderies, and counties, in places where people dwell, each may build one Buddhist pagoda as their resources allow, without fixed quota. Those who delight in the Way and wish to become monks, regardless of age, if from good families of sincere conduct without defilement, known to their village, may be permitted to leave home. Large provinces fifty persons, small provinces forty; distant commanderies ten. Each in their jurisdiction, all sufficient to transform evil toward good and spread the teaching." The realm received the edict; before evening former destroyed temples were restored. Buddha images, scriptures, and treatises all again became manifest.

京師沙門師賢，本罽賓國王種人，少入道，東遊涼城，涼平赴京。罷佛法時，師賢假為醫術還俗，而守道不改。於修復日，即反沙門，其同輩五人。帝乃親為下髮。師賢仍為道人統。是年，詔有司為石像，令如帝身。既成，顏上足下，各有黑石，冥同帝體上下黑子。論者以為純誠所感。興光元年秋，敕有司於五級大寺內，[17]為太祖已下五帝，鑄釋迦立像五，各長一丈六尺，都用赤金二十五萬斤。 [18]太安初，有師子國胡沙門邪奢遺多、浮陀難提等五人，奉佛像三，到京都。皆云，備歷西域諸國，見佛影迹及肉髻，外國諸王相承，咸遣工匠，摹寫其容，莫能及難提所造者，去十餘步，視之炳然，轉近轉微。又沙勒胡沙門，赴京師致佛鉢并畫像迹。

The capital monk Shixian was originally of the kingly clan of Kapisa; in youth he entered the monastic life, traveled east to Liang city, and when Liang was pacified went to the capital. When Buddhism was suppressed, Shixian feigned returning to lay life through medical arts but did not abandon the Way. On the day of restoration he immediately returned to monastic life, with five companions. The emperor personally performed the tonsure for them. Shixian was again made Director of the Way. That year an edict ordered the relevant offices to make a stone image in the emperor's likeness. When completed, on the face and feet there were black stones, identical to the black moles on the emperor's body. Commentators regarded it as a response to pure sincerity. In autumn of the first year of Xingguang, an edict ordered the casting within the five-story great temple of five standing Shakyamuni images for the Five Emperors from Taizu down, each one zhang and six chi tall, using two hundred fifty thousand jin of red gold. At the beginning of Tai'an, five foreign monks from the Lion Kingdom including Yixie Yiduo and Fotu Nandi came to the capital, presenting three Buddha images. All said they had traversed the states of the Western Regions and seen the Buddha's shadow and cranial protuberance; foreign kings had sent craftsmen to copy his appearance, but none equaled Nandi's work—at more than ten paces it was bright and clear, drawing nearer it grew subtle. There was also a foreign monk from Shule who came to the capital presenting a Buddha bowl and painted image traces.

和平初，師賢卒。曇曜代之，更名沙門統。初曇曜以復佛法之明年，自中山被命赴京，值帝出，見于路，御馬前銜曜衣，時以為馬識善人。帝後奉以師禮。曇曜白帝，於京城西武州塞，鑿山石壁，開窟五所，鐫建佛像各一。高者七十尺，次六十尺，彫飾奇偉，冠於一世。曇曜奏：平齊戶及諸民，有能歲輸穀六十斛入僧曹者，即為「僧祇戶」，粟為「僧祇粟」，至於儉歲，賑給飢民。又請民犯重罪及官奴以為「佛圖戶」，以供諸寺掃洒，歲兼營田輸粟。高宗並許之。於是僧祇戶、粟及寺戶，徧於州鎮矣。曇曜又與天竺沙門常那邪舍等，譯出新經十四部。又有沙門道進、僧超、法存等，並有名於時，演唱諸異。 [19]

At the beginning of Heping, Shixian died. Tanyao replaced him and was renamed Director of Monks. In the year after Tanyao restored Buddhism, he was ordered from Zhongshan to the capital; meeting the emperor on the road, the imperial horse went before him and held his garment in its mouth—people said the horse recognized a good man. The emperor later honored him with the rites due a teacher. Tanyao told the emperor to cut into the stone cliff at Wuzhou Pass west of the capital and open five caves, carving one Buddha image in each. The tallest seventy chi, the next sixty chi—wonderfully carved and adorned, foremost in the age. Tanyao memorialized: households pacified from Qi and others who could yearly deliver sixty hu of grain to the monastic treasury would become sangha households, the grain sangha grain; in lean years it would relieve the hungry. He also requested that people who committed serious crimes and government slaves become pagoda households to supply temples with sweeping and farming, delivering grain each year. Emperor Gaozong permitted all of this. Thereupon sangha households, sangha grain, and temple households spread throughout the provinces and garrisons. Tanyao also together with the Indian monk Changnayeshe and others translated fourteen new sutras. There were also monks Daojin, Sengchao, Facun, and others, all famous in the age, lecturing on various teachings. [Editorial note 19.]

顯祖即位，敦信尤深，覽諸經論，好老莊。每引諸沙門及能談玄之士，與論理要。初高宗太安末，劉駿於丹陽中興寺設齋。有一沙門，容止獨秀，舉眾往目，皆莫識焉。沙門惠璩起問之，答名惠明。又問所住，答云，從天安寺來。語訖，忽然不見。駿君臣以為靈感，改中興為天安寺。是後七年而帝踐祚，號天安元年。是年，劉彧徐州刺史薛安都始以城地來降。明年，盡有淮北之地。其歲，高祖誕載。於時起永寧寺，構七級佛圖，高三百餘尺，基架博敞，為天下第一。又於天宮寺，造釋迦立像。高四十三尺，用赤金十萬斤，黃金六百斤。皇興中，又構三級石佛圖。榱棟楣楹，上下重結，大小皆石，高十丈。鎮固巧密，為京華壯觀。

When Emperor Xianzu ascended the throne, his devout faith was especially deep; he studied various scriptures and favored Laozi and Zhuangzi. He often invited monks and masters able to discuss the abstruse to debate essential principles with him. At first, in the last years of Tai'an under Emperor Gaozong, Liu Jun set up a fast at Zhongxing Temple in Danyang. There was one monk of unique bearing and deportment; the whole assembly looked toward him, yet none recognized him. The monk Huiqu rose to question him; he answered that his name was Huiming. He asked where he lived; the monk answered that he had come from Tian'an Temple. When they had finished speaking, he suddenly vanished. Liu Jun and his courtiers regarded it as a divine sign and renamed Zhongxing Temple Tian'an Temple. Seven years later the emperor took the throne, taking the reign title Tian'an, Year One. That year Xue Andu, regional inspector of Xuzhou under Liu Yu, first surrendered with his city and territory. The next year the Wei wholly took possession of the lands north of the Huai. That same year Emperor Gaozu was born. At that time Yongning Temple was built, with a seven-story pagoda over three hundred chi high; its foundation and frame were vast and spacious—the greatest under Heaven. At Tiangong Temple they also cast a standing image of Shakyamuni. It stood forty-three chi high and consumed one hundred thousand jin of copper alloy and six hundred jin of gold. During Huangxing, a three-tier stone pagoda was also constructed. Rafters, beams, lintels, and columns were layered one upon another, all carved from stone, ten zhang high. Solid and exquisitely crafted, it was a grand spectacle of the capital.

高祖踐位，顯祖移御北苑崇光宮，覽習玄籍。建鹿野佛圖於苑中之西山，去崇光右十里，巖房禪堂，禪僧居其中焉。

When Emperor Gaozu came to the throne, Emperor Xianzu moved to Chongguang Palace in the northern park to study abstruse texts. On the western hill within the park he built the Deer Park pagoda, ten li east of Chongguang; cliff chambers and meditation halls were built there, and meditation monks dwelt within.

延興二年夏四月，詔曰：「比丘不在寺舍，遊涉村落，交通姦猾，經歷年歲。令民間五五相保，不得容止。無籍之僧，精加隱括，有者送付州鎮，其在畿郡，送付本曹。若為三寶巡民教化者，在外齎州鎮維那文移，在臺者齎都維那等印牒，然後聽行。違者加罪。」又詔曰：「內外之人，興建福業，造立圖寺，高敞顯博，亦足以輝隆至教矣。然無知之徒，各相高尚，貧富相競，費竭財產，務存高廣，傷殺昆蟲含生之類。苟能精致，累土聚沙，福鍾不朽。欲建為福之因，未知傷生之業。朕為民父母，慈養是務。自今一切斷之。」又詔曰：「夫信誠則應遠，行篤則感深，歷觀先世靈瑞，乃有禽獸易色，草木移性。濟州東平郡，靈像發輝，變成金銅之色。殊常之事，絕於往古；熙隆妙法，理在當今。有司與沙門統曇曜令州送像達都，使道俗咸覩實相之容，普告天下，皆使聞知。」

In the fourth month of summer, Yanxing year 2, an edict said: "Bhikkhus have not remained in their monasteries but roam through villages, consorting with the crafty and dishonest, and this has gone on for years. Households shall guarantee one another in groups of five, and none shall give them shelter. Unregistered monks shall be rigorously sought out; those found shall be sent to provincial garrisons, and in the capital districts to the responsible bureau. If they travel to preach the Dharma on behalf of the Three Treasures, those in the provinces shall carry writs from sangha overseers, and those at court sealed passes from the chief sangha overseer—only then may they travel. Violators shall be punished." Another edict said: "People everywhere, in raising meritorious works and building pagodas and temples—grand and imposing—do enough to glorify the supreme teaching. Yet the ignorant vie in ostentation; rich and poor compete, exhausting their wealth to build ever higher and broader, killing insects and every living creature. If one is refined and sincere, even piling earth and gathering sand will forge merit that endures forever. They seek to lay the seeds of merit, unaware of the karma of taking life. As parent of the people, my task is to nurture them with compassion. From now on, all of this is forbidden." Another edict said: "Where faith is sincere, blessings reach far; where conduct is devout, stirrings run deep. Looking back at numinous omens of former ages, birds and beasts changed color and grasses and trees shifted nature. In Dongping Commandery, Jizhou, a numinous image radiated light and turned gold-bronze in color. An event without parallel since antiquity; the flourishing splendor of the wondrous Dharma belongs to the present age. The responsible offices, together with sangha director Tanyao, shall order the province to send the image to the capital, so clergy and laity alike may behold its true form, and announce it throughout the realm for all to hear."

三年十二月，顯祖因田鷹獲鴛鴦一，其偶悲鳴，上下不去。帝乃惕然，問左右曰：「此飛鳴者，為雌為雄？」左右對曰：「臣以為雌。」帝曰：「何以知？」對曰：「陽性剛，陰性柔，以剛柔推之，必是雌矣。」帝乃慨然而歎曰：「雖人鳥事別，至於資識性情，竟何異哉！」於是下詔，禁斷鷙鳥，不得畜焉。

In the twelfth month of year 3, while hawking, Emperor Xianzu caught a mandarin duck; its mate cried mournfully and circled overhead, refusing to leave. The emperor grew troubled and asked his attendants: "This bird crying as it flies—is it female or male?" His attendants answered: "Your servant believes it is the female." The emperor asked: "How do you know?" They answered: "Yang is hard and yin is soft; by that reasoning, it must be the female." The emperor sighed and said: "Though the affairs of humans and birds differ, in awareness and feeling, how are they ultimately different!" He then issued an edict forbidding the keeping of birds of prey.

承明元年八月，高祖於永寧寺，設太法供，度良家男女為僧尼者百有餘人，帝為剃髮，施以僧服，令修道戒，資福於顯祖。是月，又詔起建明寺。太和元年二月，幸永寧寺設齋，赦死罪囚。三月，又幸永寧寺設會，行道聽講，命中、祕二省與僧徒討論佛義，施僧衣服、寶器有差。又於方山太祖營壘之處，建思遠寺。自興光至此，[20]京城內寺新舊且百所，僧尼二千餘人，四方諸寺六千四百七十八，僧尼七萬七千二百五十八人。四年春，詔以鷹師為報德寺。 [21]九年秋，有司奏，上谷郡比丘尼惠香，在北山松樹下死，屍形不壞。爾來三年，士女觀者有千百。於時人皆異之。十年冬，有司又奏：「前被敕以勒籍之初，愚民僥倖，假稱入道，以避輸課，其無籍僧尼罷遣還俗。重被旨，所檢僧尼，寺主、維那當寺隱審。其有道行精勤者，聽仍在道；為行凡粗者，有籍無籍，悉罷歸齊民。今依旨簡遣，其諸州還俗者，僧尼合一千三百二十七人。」奏可。十六年詔：「四月八日、七月十五日，聽大州度一百人為僧尼，中州五十人，下州二十人，以為常準，著於令。」十七年，詔立僧制四十七條。十九年四月，帝幸徐州白塔寺。顧謂諸王及侍官曰：「此寺近有名僧嵩法師，受成實論於羅什，在此流通。後授淵法師，淵法師授登、紀二法師。朕每玩成實論，可以釋人染情，[22]故至此寺焉。」時沙門道登，雅有義業，為高祖眷賞，恒侍講論。曾於禁內與帝夜談，同見一鬼。二十年卒，高祖甚悼惜之，詔施帛一千匹。又設一切僧齋，并命京城七日行道。又詔：「朕師登法師奄至徂背，痛怛摧慟，不能已已。比藥治慎喪，未容即赴，便準師義，哭諸門外。」緇素榮之。 [23]又有西域沙門名跋陀，有道業，深為高祖所敬信。詔於少室山陰，立少林寺而居之，公給衣供。二十一年五月，詔曰：「羅什法師可謂神出五才，志入四行者也。今常住寺，猶有遺地，欽悅修蹤，情深遐遠，可於舊堂所，為建三級浮圖。又見逼昏虐，為道殄軀，既暫同俗禮，應有子胤，可推訪以聞，當加叙接。」

In the eighth month of Chengming 1, at Yongning Temple Emperor Gaozu held a great dharma offering and tonsured more than one hundred sons and daughters of good families as monks and nuns; the emperor shaved their heads himself, clothed them in robes, and had them observe the precepts for the merit of Emperor Xianzu. That month an edict also ordered Jianming Temple built. In the second month of Taihe 1, he visited Yongning Temple for a fast and pardoned prisoners under sentence of death. In the third month he again visited Yongning Temple for an assembly of chanting and sermons, and ordered the Central and Secretarial Secretariats to debate Buddhist doctrine with the monks, granting robes and precious vessels in graded amounts. At Mount Fang, where the Grand Ancestor had once encamped, he also built Siyuan Temple. From the Xingguang era to this time,[20] old and new temples in the capital numbered nearly one hundred, with more than two thousand monks and nuns; temples throughout the realm numbered 6,478, with 77,258 monks and nuns. In spring of year 4, an edict converted the falconers' compound into Baode Temple. [21] In the autumn of year 9, the offices reported: the bhikkhuni Huixiang of Shanggu Commandery died beneath a pine on the northern hill, and her corpse did not decay. In the three years since, thousands of men and women came to see her. At the time everyone regarded it as extraordinary. In winter of year 10, the offices again reported: "Previously, when ordered to compile the registry, commoners took advantage by falsely entering the clergy to evade taxes and corvée; unregistered monks and nuns were dismissed and returned to lay life. Under renewed orders, the monks and nuns under review were to be secretly vetted on site by each temple's abbot and sangha overseer. Those of genuine virtue and diligent practice were allowed to remain in orders; those of vulgar conduct, registered or not, were all dismissed and returned to ordinary subjecthood. Following the order, monks and nuns returned to lay life across the provinces totaled 1,327." The memorial was approved. In year 16 an edict said: "On the eighth day of the fourth month and the fifteenth day of the seventh month, large provinces may tonsure 100 persons as monks and nuns, medium provinces 50, and small provinces 20—this shall be the standing norm, recorded in statute." In year 17, an edict established forty-seven articles of monastic regulation. In the fourth month of year 19, the emperor visited White Pagoda Temple in Xuzhou. Turning to the princes and attendants he said: "Near this temple lived the renowned Master Song, who received the Treatise on the Completion of Truth from Kumārajīva and propagated it here. Later he transmitted it to Master Yuan, who transmitted it to Masters Deng and Ji. I often study the Treatise on the Completion of Truth—it can release people from defiled passions,[22] and so I have come to this temple." At that time the monk Daodeng, a master of Buddhist doctrine, won Emperor Gaozu's esteem and constantly attended him in lecture and debate. Once, within the palace, he talked with the emperor by night and they both saw a ghost. In year 20 he died; Emperor Gaozu greatly mourned him and ordered a gift of one thousand bolts of silk. He also held a feast for all monks and ordered seven days of ritual chanting throughout the capital. An edict also said: "My teacher Master Deng has suddenly passed away; grief overwhelms me and will not cease. As I am taking medicine and observing mourning restraint, I cannot go at once; I shall follow my teacher's teaching and weep outside the gates." Clergy and laity alike honored this. [23] There was also a Western Regions monk named Batuo, accomplished in the Way, deeply honored and trusted by Emperor Gaozu. An edict ordered Shaolin Temple built on the northern slope of Mount Shaoshi for his residence, with state provision of food and robes. In the fifth month of year 21, an edict said: "Master Kumārajīva may be called one whose spirit surpasses all five talents and whose resolve fulfills the four practices. At Changzhu Temple surviving land remains; in reverence for his cultivated path, a three-tier pagoda shall be built at the site of his old hall. He was harried by a brutal age and gave his life for the Way; having briefly followed lay custom, he ought to have descendants—seek them out and report, and they shall receive favor."

先是，立監福曹，又改為昭玄，備有官屬，以斷僧務。高祖時，沙門道順、惠覺、僧意、惠紀、僧範、道弁、惠度、智誕、僧顯、僧義、僧利，並以義行知重。

Previously the Directorate of Monastic Blessings was established, then renamed Zhaoxuan, fully staffed to adjudicate monastic affairs. During Emperor Gaozu's reign, monks Daoshun, Huijue, Sengyi, Huiji, Sengfan, Daobian, Huidu, Zhidan, Sengxian, Sengyi, and Sengli were all honored for doctrine and conduct.

世宗即位，永平元年秋，詔曰：緇素既殊，法律亦異。故道教彰於互顯，[24]禁勸各有所宜。自今已後，眾僧犯殺人已上罪者，仍依俗斷，餘犯悉付昭玄，以內律僧制治之。 [25]二年冬，沙門統惠深上言：「僧尼浩曠，清濁混流，不遵禁典，精粗莫別。輒與經律法師群議立制：諸州、鎮、郡維那、上坐、寺主，各令戒律自修，咸依內禁，若不解律者，退其本次。又，出家之人，不應犯法，積八不淨物。然經律所制，通塞有方。依律，車牛淨人，[26]不淨之物，不得為己私畜。唯有老病年六十以上者，限聽一乘。又，比來僧尼，或因三寶，出貸私財。緣州外。 [27]又，出家捨著，本無凶儀，不應廢道從俗。其父母三師，遠聞凶問，聽哭三日。若在見前，限以七日。或有不安寺舍，遊止民間，亂道生過，皆由此等。若有犯者，脫服還民。其有造寺者，限僧五十以上，啟聞聽造。若有輒營置者，處以違敕之罪，其寺僧眾擯出外州。 [28]僧尼之法，不得為俗人所使。若有犯者，還配本屬。其外國僧尼來歸化者，求精檢有德行合三藏者聽住，若無德行，遣還本國，若其不去，依此僧制治罪。」詔從之。

When Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne, in autumn of Yongping 1 an edict said: Clergy and laity are distinct, and the laws likewise differ. Therefore the Buddhist teaching manifests across the visible and invisible realms,[24] and prohibitions and encouragements each suit their place. From now on, monks who commit murder or greater crimes shall still be judged under secular law; all other offenses shall go to Zhaoxuan for adjudication under Vinaya and monastic regulations. [25] In winter of year 2, sangha director Huishen submitted: "Monks and nuns are vast in number; the pure and corrupt mingle; they do not observe the codes, and the worthy cannot be distinguished from the unworthy. I have met with Vinaya masters to establish regulations: sangha overseers, senior seats, and abbots in provinces, garrisons, and commanderies must each keep the precepts and obey internal regulations; those who do not know the Vinaya shall be demoted. Further, those who leave home must not break the law by amassing the eight impure possessions. Yet what sutras and Vinaya prescribe allows for flexibility in what is permitted and forbidden. Under the Vinaya, carts, oxen, temple servants,[26] and impure goods may not be kept for private use. Only for the aged and ill sixty and above is one mount permitted. Further, recently monks and nuns have lent out private wealth beyond provincial borders under cover of the Three Treasures. From now on this is forbidden. [27] Further, those who leave home originally have no mourning rites; they must not abandon the Way to follow lay custom. For parents and the three teachers, if death news arrives from afar, weeping for three days is permitted. If present at the death, the limit is seven days. Some who fail to settle in monasteries lodge among the people—disorder and offenses in the Way arise from such persons. Violators shall remove their robes and return to lay life. To build a temple requires fifty or more monks; one must report and receive permission to build. Unauthorized construction shall be punished as violation of an edict, and that temple's monks shall be expelled to outer provinces. [28] By monastic law, monks and nuns may not serve lay people. Violators shall be returned to their home jurisdiction. Foreign monks and nuns who come to submit—if found virtuous and versed in the Tripitaka, they may stay; if lacking virtue, send them home; if they refuse to leave, punish them under these regulations." The edict approved it.

先是，於恒農荊山造珉玉丈六像一。三年冬，迎置於洛濱之報德寺，世宗躬觀致敬。

Previously, a sixteen-foot image of fine jade was made at Jing Mountain in Hengnong. In winter of year 3 it was installed at Baode Temple on the Luo embankment; Emperor Xuanwu viewed it in person and paid reverence.

四年夏，詔曰：「僧祇之粟，本期濟施，儉年出貸，豐則收入。山林僧尼，隨以給施；民有窘弊，亦即賑之。但主司冒利，規取贏息，及其徵責，不計水旱，或償利過本，或翻改券契，侵蠹貧下，莫知紀極。細民嗟毒，歲月滋深。非所以矜此窮乏，宗尚慈拯之本意也。自今已後，不得專委維那、都尉，[29]可令刺史共加監括。尚書檢諸有僧祇穀之處，州別列其元數，出入贏息，賑給多少，并貸償歲月，見在未收，上臺錄記。若收利過本，及翻改初券，依律免之，勿復徵責。或有私債，轉施償僧，即以丐民，不聽收檢。後有出貸，先盡貧窮，徵債之科，一準舊格。富有之家，不聽輒貸。脫仍冒濫，依法治罪。」

In summer of year 4 an edict said: "Sangha grain was originally meant for charity; in lean years it is lent out, in abundant years it is collected in. Monks and nuns in remote mountain monasteries were likewise granted their share of the grain; When commoners fell into want and hardship, they too were supported from the fund. But the officials in charge chased profit and extracted exorbitant interest. When they pressed for repayment they took no account of flood or drought; sometimes interest payments exceeded the principal, sometimes original loan contracts were torn up and rewritten. They preyed upon the poor without limit. The suffering of humble folk deepened with every passing year. This was far from the original intent of cherishing the destitute and upholding compassionate relief. Henceforth the fund shall not be left entirely to monastery stewards and commandants;[29] prefects shall jointly supervise and audit the accounts. The Ministry shall inspect every district maintaining sangha-grain reserves. Each province shall report original quantities, income and surplus interest, amounts disbursed for relief, and the dates of all loans and repayments; outstanding balances shall be registered and submitted to the capital. Where interest has exceeded principal or initial contracts were illegally altered, the debtors shall be released by law and no further collection permitted. Private debts reassigned to monks for collection and then applied against the poor shall not be enforced. Future loans shall go first to the truly impoverished; debt collection shall follow existing regulations to the letter. Wealthy families may not receive loans. Anyone who continues to abuse the system shall be punished according to law."

又尚書令高肇奏言：「謹案：故沙門統曇曜，昔於承明元年，奏涼州軍戶趙苟子等二百家為僧祇戶，立課積粟，擬濟飢年，不限道俗，皆以拯施。又依內律，僧祇戶不得別屬一寺。而都維那僧暹、僧頻等，進違成旨，退乖內法，肆意任情，奏求逼召，致使吁嗟之怨，盈於行道，棄子傷生，自縊溺死，五十餘人。豈是仰贊聖明慈育之意，深失陛下歸依之心。遂令此等，行號巷哭，叫訴無所，至乃白羽貫耳，列訟宮闕。悠悠之人，尚為哀痛，況慈悲之士，而可安之。請聽苟子等還鄉課輸，儉乏之年，周給貧寡，若有不虞，以擬邊捍。其暹等違旨背律，謬奏之愆，請付昭玄，依僧律推處。」詔曰：「暹等特可原之，餘如奏。」

Minister of State Affairs Gao Zhao also submitted a memorial: "Upon investigation: the late Supervisor of Monks Tan Yao, in the first year of the Chengming reign, had recommended that two hundred military-registration households in Liang Province, including Zhao Gouzi and others, be registered as sangha-grain households, with taxes levied to accumulate grain for famine relief—open to both clergy and laity alike. Moreover, under internal monastic law, sangha-grain households could not be assigned exclusively to any single monastery. Yet the chief stewards, the monks Xian and Pin, and others defied the imperial decree and violated monastic law. Acting on whim, they petitioned for forced conscription, provoking such anguish that the roads rang with lamentation—children were abandoned, lives were lost, and more than fifty people hanged or drowned themselves. Surely this could not honor the sage emperor's intent of compassionate nurture, nor satisfy Your Majesty's devotion to the faith. These people took to the streets wailing, with nowhere to turn for redress; some thrust white feathers through their ears and queued before the palace gates to petition. Even the indifferent were moved to grief—how could men of compassion remain unmoved? I ask that Gouzi and the others be permitted to return home and resume tax payments; in lean years the grain should relieve the poor and needy, and in emergencies it may be used to support frontier defense. As for Xian and his associates, who defied the decree and violated the law in their wrongful petition, I ask that the case be referred to the Bureau of Monastic Affairs for adjudication under monastic law." The edict replied: "Xian and the others are specially pardoned; the remainder as submitted."

世宗篤好佛理，每年常於禁中，親講經論，廣集名僧，標明義旨。沙門條錄，為內起居焉。上既崇之，下彌企尚。至延昌中，天下州郡僧尼寺，[30]積有一萬三千七百二十七所，徒侶逾眾。

Emperor Shizong was deeply devoted to Buddhist doctrine. Each year within the palace he personally expounded sutras and treatises, gathering eminent monks to clarify their meaning. Registers of monks served as the inner court's household rolls. With the emperor above honoring the faith, those below looked up to it all the more. By the Yanchang period, Buddhist temples and nunneries throughout the empire's provinces and commanderies[30] totaled 13,727, with monastics far outnumbering the laity.

熙平元年，詔遣沙門惠生使西域，採諸經律。正光三年冬，還京師。所得經論一百七十部，行於世。

In the first year of Xiping, an edict dispatched the monk Huisheng as envoy to the Western Regions to collect sutras and vinaya texts. In the winter of the third year of Zhengguang, he returned to the capital. The one hundred and seventy sutras and treatises he brought back circulated throughout the realm.

二年春，靈太后令曰：「年常度僧，依限大州應百人者，州郡於前十日解送三百人，其中州二百人，小州一百人。州統、維那與官及精練簡取充數。 [31]若無精行，不得濫採。若取非人，刺史為首，以違旨論，太守、縣令、綱僚節級連坐，統及維那移五百里外異州為僧。自今奴婢悉不聽出家，諸王及親貴，亦不得輒啟請。有犯者，以違旨論。其僧尼輒度他人奴婢者，亦移五百里外為僧。僧尼多養親識及他人奴婢子，年大私度為弟子，自今斷之。有犯還俗，被養者歸本等。寺主聽容一人，出寺五百里，二人千里。私度之僧，皆由三長罪不及已，容多隱濫。自今有一人私度，皆以違旨論。隣長為首，里、黨各相降一等。縣滿十五人，郡滿三十人，州鎮滿三十人，免官，僚吏節級連坐。私度之身，配當州下役。」時法禁寬褫，不能改肅也。

In the spring of the second year, Empress Dowager Ling decreed: "For the annual ordination of monks, where a great province's quota is one hundred, the province and commandery shall ten days in advance submit three hundred candidates—two hundred for a medium province, one hundred for a small one. The provincial supervisor, chief steward, officials, and skilled examiners shall select candidates to fill the quota. [31]Those without genuine spiritual attainment may not be recklessly ordained. If unworthy candidates are selected, the prefect bears primary responsibility for violating the decree; the grand administrator, magistrate, and supervising officials are punished by degrees of joint liability; the supervisor and chief steward are transferred five hundred li to another province and ordained as monks. Henceforth male and female slaves are altogether forbidden to take monastic vows; princes and the imperial kin may not casually petition for their ordination. Violators shall be punished for defying the imperial decree. Monks or nuns who ordain others' slaves without authorization are likewise transferred five hundred li and ordained as monks. Monks and nuns frequently harbored relatives, acquaintances, and others' slave children, privately ordaining them as disciples when they came of age—this practice is henceforth forbidden. Violators shall be returned to lay life; those who were harbored revert to their original status. Monastery heads may keep one attendant within five hundred li of the monastery, two within a thousand li. Those privately ordained relied on the rule that the three elders bear guilt while the individual goes unpunished, and many abuses were concealed. Henceforth, if even one person is privately ordained, all involved shall be punished for violating the decree. The neighborhood elder bears primary responsibility; the li and dang officials each have their rank reduced one degree. If a county reaches fifteen persons, a commandery thirty, or a province or garrison thirty, officials are dismissed and subordinate clerks punished by degrees of joint liability. The privately ordained person himself is assigned to corvée labor at the lowest level in that province." At the time legal prohibitions had grown lax, and the reforms could not be rigorously enforced.

景明初，世宗詔大長秋卿白整準代京靈巖寺石窟，於洛南伊闕山，為高祖、文昭皇太后營石窟二所。初建之始，窟頂去地三百一十尺。至正始二年中，始出斬山二十三丈。至大長秋卿王質，謂斬山太高，費功難就，奏求下移就平，去地一百尺，南北一百四十尺。永平中，中尹劉騰奏為世宗復造石窟一，凡為三所。從景明元年至正光四年六月已前，用功八十萬二千三百六十六。肅宗熙平中，於城內太社西，起永寧寺。靈太后親率百僚，表基立剎。佛圖九層，高四十餘丈，其諸費用，不可勝計。景明寺佛圖，亦其亞也。至於官私寺塔，其數甚眾。

At the beginning of Jingming, Emperor Shizong ordered Grand Director of the Palace Domestic Service Bai Zheng, following the model of the Lingyan Cave Temple at the Wei capital, to construct two cave shrines at Yique Mountain south of Luoyang for Emperor Gaozu and Empress Dowager Wenzhao. At the start of construction, the cave ceiling stood three hundred and ten chi above the ground. By the second year of Zhengshi, twenty-three zhang of the mountainside had been cut away. When Grand Director Wang Zhi took charge, he judged the excavation too high and the labor too costly, and petitioned to lower the site to level ground—one hundred chi above ground, one hundred and forty chi north to south. During Yongping, Director of the Palace Domestic Service Liu Teng petitioned to build one more cave shrine for Emperor Shizong—three in all. From the first year of Jingming through the sixth month of the fourth year of Zhengguang, labor expended totaled 802,366 work-days. During Emperor Suzong's Xiping reign, the Yongning Temple was erected west of the Grand Soil Altar within the city. Empress Dowager Ling personally led the hundred officials to lay the foundation and establish the monastery. The Buddhist pagoda rose nine tiers, more than forty zhang high; its expenses were beyond reckoning. The pagoda of Jingming Temple was nearly its equal. Official and private temples and pagodas numbered in the thousands.

神龜元年冬，司空公、尚書令、任城王澄奏曰：

In the winter of the first year of Shengui, Duke of State, Minister of State Affairs, and Prince of Ren Cheng submitted a memorial:

仰惟高祖，定鼎嵩瀍，卜世悠遠。慮括終始，制洽天人，造物開符，垂之萬葉。故都城制云，城內唯擬一永寧寺地，郭內唯擬尼寺一所，餘悉城郭之外。欲令永遵此制，無敢踰矩。逮景明之初，微有犯禁。故世宗仰修先志，爰發明旨，城內不造立浮圖、僧尼寺舍，亦欲絕其希覬。文武二帝，豈不愛尚佛法，蓋以道俗殊歸，理無相亂故也。但俗眩虛聲，僧貪厚潤，雖有顯禁，猶自冒營。至正始三年，沙門統惠深有違景明之禁，便云：「營就之寺，不忍移毀，求自今已後，更不聽立。」先旨含寬，抑典從請。前班之詔，仍卷不行，後來私謁，彌以奔競。永平二年，深等復立條制，啟云：「自今已後，欲造寺者，限僧五十已上，聞徹聽造。若有輒營置者，依俗違敕之罪，其寺僧眾，擯出外州。」爾來十年，私營轉盛，罪擯之事，寂爾無聞。豈非朝格雖明，恃福共毀，僧制徒立，顧利莫從者也。不俗不道，務為損法，人而無厭，其可極乎！

Looking up to Emperor Gaozu, who established the dynasty at Song and Luo with a mandate destined to endure for generations, he contemplated the course from beginning to end, harmonizing Heaven and man, opening the mandate of creation, and bequeathing it to ten thousand generations. Thus the capital regulations stipulated: within the city walls, only one site for Yongning Temple; within the outer walls, only one nunnery; all others outside the walls and moat. He intended that this regulation be forever observed, with none daring to overstep its bounds. By the beginning of Jingming, the prohibition had been slightly violated. Emperor Shizong, upholding his predecessor's intent, issued a clear decree: no pagodas or monastic dwellings were to be built within the city—also to cut off covetous hopes. Emperors Wen and Wu surely loved and honored the Buddhist Law—but the paths of clergy and laity diverge, and by principle they must not be confused. But the laity are dazzled by empty reputation and monks greedy for rich profit; despite clear prohibitions, they continued to build presumptuously. By the third year of Zhengshi, Supervisor of Monks Huishen, violating the Jingming prohibition, petitioned: "Temples already built—I cannot bear to demolish them; I request that from now on no more be permitted." The former decree contained leniency; canonical standards were set aside in favor of the petition. The earlier promulgated edict was shelved and not enforced; later private petitions grew ever more competitive. In the second year of Yongping, Huishen and others again established regulations, petitioning: "Henceforth, those wishing to build temples—with fifty monks or more, upon report and approval, building is permitted. Anyone who builds without authorization shall be punished for violating an edict; the monks of that temple shall be expelled to outer provinces." In the ten years since, private construction has flourished ever more; expulsions and punishments have been utterly unheard of. Is it not that though court regulations are clear, offenders rely on accumulated merit to evade them; though monastic rules exist, all look to profit and none comply? Neither truly lay nor truly monastic, they strive only to harm the Law; human greed knows no bounds!

夫學迹沖妙，非浮識所辯；玄門曠寂，豈短辭能究。然淨居塵外，道家所先，功緣冥深，匪尚華遁。苟能誠信，童子聚沙，可邁於道場；純陀儉設，足薦於雙樹。何必縱其盜竊，資營寺觀。此乃民之多幸，非國之福也。然比日私造，動盈百數。或乘請公地，[32]輒樹私福；或啟得造寺，限外廣制。如此欺罔，非可稍計。臣以才劣，誠忝工務，奉遵成規，裁量是總。所以披尋舊旨，研究圖格，輒遣府司馬陸昶、屬崔孝芬，都城之中及郭邑之內檢括寺舍，數乘五百，[33]空地表剎，未立塔宇，不在其數。民不畏法，乃至於斯！自遷都已來，年踰二紀，寺奪民居，三分且一。高祖立制，非徒欲使緇素殊途，抑亦防微深慮。世宗述之，亦不錮禁營福，當在杜塞未萌。今之僧寺，無處不有。或比滿城邑之中，或連溢屠沽之肆，或三五少僧，共為一寺。梵唱屠音，連簷接響，像塔纒於腥臊，性靈沒於嗜慾，真偽混居，往來紛雜。下司因習而莫非，[34]僧曹對制而不問。其於汙染真行，塵穢練僧，薰蕕同器，不亦甚歟！往在北代，有法秀之謀；近日冀州，遭大乘之變。皆初假神教，以惑眾心，終設姦誑，用逞私悖。太和之制，因法秀而杜遠；景明之禁，慮大乘之將亂。始知祖宗叡聖，防遏處深。 [35]履霜堅冰，不可不慎。

The traces of learning are subtle and wondrous—not shallow understanding can discern them; The mysterious gate is vast and silent—how can brief words exhaust it? Yet dwelling in purity beyond the dust is the Daoist ideal; merit rooted in hidden depths is not what glorifies elegant withdrawal. If one can be sincere in faith, children piling sand can surpass a sacred dharma-field; Chunda's frugal offering suffices to honor the Buddha beneath the Twin Trees. Why must one indulge theft and embezzlement to fund the building of temples and halls? This is the people's great fortune—not the state's blessing. Yet recently private construction often exceeds a hundred temples. Some obtain public land by petition[32] and presumptuously plant private merit; Some obtain permission to build a temple, then exceed the limit with expansive construction. Such deceptions are beyond counting. Your subject, though of inferior talent, discharges his engineering duties; reverently following established regulations, I have measured and assessed the total. Therefore I have examined old decrees and studied regulations, and dispatched the prefecture's Major Lu Chang and subordinate Cui Xiaofen to inspect temples within the capital and outer towns—the number exceeds five hundred;[33] vacant sites with monasteries established but no pagoda yet built are not counted. The people do not fear the law—to this extent! Since the capital was moved, more than two decades have passed; temples have seized commoners' dwellings—a third and more. Emperor Gaozu established these regulations—not merely to separate clergy from laity, but also to guard against subtle dangers with deep forethought. Emperor Shizong continued them—not to forbid merit-making entirely, but to block abuses before they sprouted. Today's monasteries exist everywhere without exception. Some fill nearly an entire city; some adjoin butcher shops and taverns; some three or five monks together constitute one temple. Sanskrit chanting mingles with butcher's cries, eaves joined in echo; image-towers stand amid stench and filth, the spiritual nature drowned in craving—true and false dwell together, coming and going in confusion. Lower officials, through habit, deem it not wrong;[34] the monastic bureau, facing regulations, does not inquire. As for defiling true conduct and soiling refined monks—artemisia and orchid in the same vessel—is it not excessive! In the past in Northern Dai, there was the plot of Faxiu; Recently in Jizhou, there was the disturbance of the Mahayana sect. All at first borrowed divine teaching to bewilder the multitude; in the end they set up treachery and deception to give free rein to private rebellion. The Taihe regulations, because of Faxiu, blocked distant dangers; the Jingming prohibitions, fearing the Mahayana's impending disorder. Then one knows the ancestors' sage wisdom—preventing and blocking ran deep. [35]Treading on frost leads to solid ice—one must be cautious.

昔如來闡教，多依山林，今此僧徒，戀著城邑。豈湫隘是經行所宜，浮諠必栖禪之宅，當由利引其心，莫能自止。處者既失其真，造者或損其福，乃釋氏之糟糠，法中之社鼠，內戒所不容，王典所應棄矣。非但京邑如此，天下州、鎮僧寺亦然。侵奪細民，廣占田宅，有傷慈矜，用長嗟苦。且人心不同，善惡亦異。或有栖心真趣，道業清遠者；或外假法服，內懷悖德者。如此之徒，宜辨涇渭。若雷同一貫，何以勸善。然覩法贊善，凡人所知；矯俗避嫌，[36]物情同趣。臣獨何為，孤議獨發。誠以國典一廢，追理至難，法網暫失，條綱將亂。是以冒陳愚見，兩願其益。

In the past when the Tathagata expounded the teaching, he relied much on mountain forests; today these monks cling to the cities. How can cramped quarters suit sutra-walking, or noisy streets be fit dwellings for meditation? Profit draws their hearts, and they cannot restrain themselves. Those who dwell have lost their truth; those who build sometimes damage their merit—they are the dregs of the Buddhist family, the temple rats of the Law, what inner precepts cannot tolerate and royal statutes should discard. Not only the capital is thus—monasteries in provinces and garrisons throughout the empire are likewise. Seizing and robbing commoners, broadly occupying fields and dwellings—this harms compassionate pity and deepens the people's suffering. Moreover, human hearts differ—good and evil also differ. Some lodge their hearts in true purpose, with the Way's work clear and distant; Some outwardly wear the Law's garb while inwardly harboring rebellious hearts. Such persons should be distinguished as Jing from Wei. If punishment strikes uniformly, how can one encourage good? Yet seeing the Law and praising good is what ordinary people know; Correcting custom and avoiding suspicion[36]—popular sentiment shares the same tendency. Your subject alone—why act thus, with a solitary opinion independently issued? Truly because if state canon is once abolished, restoring order afterward is extremely difficult; if the legal net is briefly lost, regulations and guidelines will fall into disorder. Therefore I presumptuously present this view, wishing benefit on both sides.

臣聞設令在於必行，立罰貴能肅物。令而不行，不如無令。罰不能肅，孰與亡罰。頃明詔屢下，而造者更滋，嚴限驟施，而違犯不息者，豈不以假福託善，幸罪不加。人殉其私，吏難苟劾。前制無追往之辜，後旨開自今之恕，悠悠世情，遂忽成法。今宜加以嚴科，特設重禁，糾其來違，懲其往失。脫不峻檢，方垂容借，恐今旨雖明，復如往日。又旨令所斷，標榜禮拜之處，悉聽不禁。愚以為，樹榜無常，禮處難驗，欲云有造，立榜證公，須營之辭，指言嘗禮。如此則徒有禁名，實通造路。且徙御已後，斷詔四行，而私造之徒，不懼制旨。豈是百官有司，怠於奉法？將由網漏禁寬，容託有他故耳。如臣愚意，都城之中，雖有標榜，營造粗功，事可改立者，請依先制。在於郭外，任擇所便。其地若買得，券證分明者，聽其轉之。若官地盜作，即令還官。若靈像既成，不可移撤，請依今敕，如舊不禁，悉令坊內行止，不聽毀坊開門，以妨里內通巷。若被旨者，不在斷限。郭內準此商量。其廟像嚴立，而逼近屠沽，請斷旁屠殺，以潔靈居。雖有僧數，而事在可移者，令就閑敞，以避隘陋。如今年正月赦後造者，求依僧制，案法科治。若僧不滿五十者，共相通容，小就大寺，必令充限。其地賣還，一如上式。自今外州，若欲造寺，僧滿五十已上，先令本州表列，昭玄量審，奏聽乃立。若有違犯，悉依前科。州郡已下，容而不禁，罪同違旨。庶仰遵先皇不朽之業，俯奉今旨慈悲之令，則繩墨可全，聖道不墜矣。

Your subject has heard: establishing orders where they must be carried out; establishing punishments values the ability to awe offenders. An order that is not carried out—better no order at all. A punishment that cannot awe—what difference from no punishment? Recently bright edicts have been repeatedly issued, yet builders increase all the more; strict limits have been suddenly applied, yet violations do not cease—is it not because offenders rely on borrowed merit, hoping punishment will not be added? Men sacrifice themselves to private interest; officials find it hard to perfunctorily impeach. Former regulations had no guilt for past acts; later decrees opened forgiveness from today onward—popular sentiment thus neglected what became law. Now one should add strict penalties, specially establish heavy prohibitions, correct ongoing violations, and punish past faults. If not strictly inspected, and leniency is extended instead, I fear that though today's decree is clear, it will be as in former days. Also, places marked by the decree's prohibition as sites of worship are altogether permitted without prohibition. Your foolish subject thinks: posted placards are not fixed, worship sites are hard to verify; to claim prior construction, one need only post a placard and point to past worship. Thus there would be only the name of prohibition, while in reality a path for building remains open. Moreover, after the imperial move, four prohibition edicts were issued, yet private builders did not fear the regulatory decree. Is it that the hundred officials and functionaries were slack in observing the law? Or is it because the net leaked, prohibitions were lax, and shelter and pretext had other reasons? According to your subject's view: within the capital, though posted placards exist, for construction with rough work that can be altered and rebuilt, I request following the former regulation. Outside the walls, let them choose what is convenient. If the land was bought with clear contracts and certificates, permit its transfer. If official land was stolen and built upon, immediately order its return to the state. If spirit-images are already completed and cannot be moved, I request following today's decree—as before, not prohibited; all shall remain within the ward, not permitting destruction of the ward to open gates, so as not to obstruct lanes within the li. If by imperial decree, they are not within the prohibition's limit. Within the outer walls, follow this deliberation. Where temple-images are solemnly established yet adjoin butcher shops and taverns, I request cutting off adjacent slaughter, to purify the spirit-dwelling. Though there are sufficient monks, where relocation is feasible, order them to move to open spacious sites, to avoid cramped quarters. Such as those built after the amnesty of the first month this year—I request following monastic regulations, investigating and adjudicating according to law. If monks do not reach fifty, they may mutually accommodate—small merging into large temples, necessarily making them fill the quota. Land sold and returned follows the above formula. From now on in outer provinces, if wishing to build a temple with fifty monks or more, the province must first memorialize and list; the Bureau of Monastic Affairs examines; upon approval, then establish. If there are violations, all follow the former penalties. Provinces and commanderies below, tolerating and not prohibishing—guilt equals violating the decree. May we look up to follow the former emperor's immortal enterprise, look down to uphold today's decree of compassion—then regulations can be preserved whole, and the sage Way not fall.

奏可。未幾，天下喪亂，加以河陰之酷，朝士死者，其家多捨居宅，以施僧尼，京邑第舍，略為寺矣。前日禁令，不復行焉。

The memorial was approved. Before long, the empire fell into disorder; added to the cruelty of Heyin, court gentlemen who died—their families mostly donated dwelling-houses to monks and nuns; capital mansions were largely turned into temples. The former prohibition edict was no longer enforced.

元象元年秋，詔曰：「梵境幽玄，義歸清曠，伽藍淨土，理絕囂塵。前朝城內，先有禁斷，自聿來遷鄴，率由舊章。而百辟士民，届都之始，城外新城，並皆給宅。舊城中暫時普借，更擬後須，非為永久。如聞諸人，多以二處得地，或捨舊城所借之宅，擅立為寺。知非己有，假此一名。終恐因習滋甚，有虧恒式。宜付有司，精加隱括。且城中舊寺及宅，並有定帳，其新立之徒，悉從毀廢。」冬，又詔：「天下牧守令長，悉不聽造寺。若有違者，不問財之所出，并計所營功庸，悉以枉法論。」興和二年春，詔以鄴城舊宮為天平寺。

In the autumn of the first year of Yuanxiang, an edict said: "The Buddhist realm is dark and mysterious; its meaning returns to clarity and vastness; the sangha's pure land—by principle it rejects clamor and dust. In the former dynasty within the city, prohibition already existed; since moving the capital to Ye, all follow the old regulations. Yet the hundred ministers and common people, upon arriving at the capital—the outer new city, all were given dwellings. Within the old city dwellings were temporarily lent—intended for later need, not for permanence. As I have heard, many people obtained land in both places, or abandoned the old city's borrowed dwelling and presumptuously established it as a temple. Knowing it was not their own, they borrowed this one name. In the end I fear that through habit it will grow ever more severe, damaging established norms. It should be entrusted to the responsible officials for meticulous inspection. Moreover, old temples and dwellings within the city all have fixed registers; those newly established shall all be destroyed and abolished." In winter, again an edict: "Prefects, garrison commanders, magistrates, and chiefs throughout the empire are altogether forbidden to build temples. If there are violators, without asking whence the wealth came, and counting the labor expended in construction—all punished as bending the law." In the spring of the second year of Xinghe, an edict made the old palace at Ye city into Tianping Temple.

世宗以來至武定末，沙門知名者，有惠猛、惠辨、惠深、僧暹、道欽、僧獻、道晞、僧深、惠光、惠顯、法榮、道長，並見重於當世。

From Emperor Shizong down to the end of Wuding, among monks of renown were Huimeng, Huibian, Huishen, the monk Xian, Daoqin, Sengxian, Daoxi, Sengshen, Huiguang, Huixian, Farong, and Daochang—all were honored in their age.

魏有天下，至於禪讓，佛經流通，大集中國，凡有四百一十五部，合一千九百一十九卷。正光已後，天下多虞，王役尤甚，於是所在編民，相與入道，假慕沙門，實避調役，猥濫之極，自中國之有佛法，未之有也。略而計之，僧尼大眾二百萬矣，其寺三萬有餘。流弊不歸，一至於此，識者所以歎息也。

Wei possessed the empire down to the abdication; Buddhist sutras circulated, greatly gathered in the Central States—in all 415 works, totaling 1,919 scrolls. After Zhengguang, the empire had many troubles; royal corvée was especially severe; thus registered commoners everywhere entered the clergy, falsely admiring monks while in reality avoiding tax and corvée—abuse to an extreme never seen since Buddhism came to the Central States. Roughly reckoning it, the great multitude of monks and nuns numbered two million; their temples exceeded thirty thousand. Flowing abuses not returning—reaching this point; men of insight therefore sighed.

道家之原，出於老子。其自言也，先天地生，以資萬類。上處玉京，為神王之宗；下在紫微，為飛仙之主。千變萬化，有德不德，隨感應物，厥迹無常。授軒轅於峨嵋，教帝嚳於牧德，大禹聞長生之訣，尹喜受道德之旨。至於丹書紫字，昇玄飛步之經；玉石金光，妙有靈洞之說。如此之文，不可勝紀。其為教也，咸蠲去邪累，澡雪心神，積行樹功，累德增善，乃至白日昇天，長生世上。所以秦皇、漢武，甘心不息。靈帝置華蓋於濯龍，[37]設壇場而為禮。及張陵受道於鵠鳴，因傳天官章本千有二百，弟子相授，其事大行。齋祠跪拜，各成法道，[38]有三元九府、百二十官，一切諸神，咸所統攝。又稱劫數，頗類佛經。其延康、龍漢、赤明、開皇之屬，皆其名也。及其劫終，稱天地俱壞。其書多有禁祕，非其徒也，不得輒觀。至於化金銷玉，行符敕水，奇方妙術，萬等千條，上云羽化飛天，次稱消災滅禍。故好異者往往而尊事之。

The origin of the Daoist tradition comes from Laozi. In his own words, he was born before Heaven and Earth, to nourish the myriad categories of beings. Above he dwells in the Jade Capital, as patriarch of spirit-kings; Below he is at Purple Subtlety, as lord of flying immortals. A thousand transformations and ten thousand changes—having virtue or not having virtue; following sensation and responding to things, his traces are not fixed. He conferred the Way upon the Yellow Emperor at Emei, taught Emperor Ku at Mude; Great Yu heard the secret of long life; Yin Xi received the purport of the Dao and its Power. As for cinnabar writings and purple characters, sutras of ascending mystery and flying steps; jade-stone golden light, explanations of wondrous numinous caverns. Writings such as these cannot be fully recorded. As for its teaching, all universally cut away evil accumulations, bathe and purify the spirit-mind, accumulate conduct and establish merit, accumulate virtue and increase goodness—reaching even ascending to Heaven in broad daylight, long life in the world above. Therefore Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han pursued it with willing hearts that did not cease. Emperor Ling set Canopy of Flowers at Zhuolong;[37] established altar grounds and performed rites. When Zhang Ling received the Way at Heming, he thereupon transmitted the Heavenly Bureau's chapter-texts—1,200 in all; disciples transmitted them to one another, and the matter greatly flourished. Fast-rituals, ancestral worship, bowing and kneeling—each became a dharma-way;[38] there are Three Primes and Nine Palaces, 120 officials—all spirits are governed and controlled. They also speak of kalpa-numbers, quite resembling Buddhist sutras. Their Yankang, Longhan, Chiming, Kaihuang and the like—all are their names. When their kalpa ends, they say Heaven and Earth are both destroyed. Their books mostly have prohibitions and secrets; those not their disciples may not casually view them. As for transforming gold and dissolving jade, performing talismans and commanding water, strange formulas and wondrous techniques—ten thousand kinds and a thousand articles; above they say feather-transformation and flying to Heaven, below they call it eliminating disasters and extinguishing misfortune. Thus those who love the strange often respect and serve them.

初文帝入賓於晉，從者務勿塵，姿神奇偉，登仙於伊闕之山寺。識者咸云魏祚之將大。太祖好老子之言，誦詠不倦。天興中，儀曹郎董謐因獻服食仙經數十篇。於是置仙人博士，立仙坊，煮鍊百藥，封西山以供其薪蒸。令死罪者試服之，非其本心，多死無驗。太祖猶將修焉。太醫周澹，苦其煎採之役，欲廢其事。乃陰令妻貨仙人博士張曜妾，得曜隱罪。曜懼死，因請辟穀。太祖許之，給曜資用，為造靜堂於苑中，給洒掃民二家。而鍊藥之官，仍為不息。久之，太祖意少懈，乃止。

At first when Emperor Wen of Wei entered Jin as a hostage, his follower Wu Wuchen—with wondrous and imposing appearance—ascended to immortality at a mountain temple at Yique. Men of insight all said Wei's mandate was about to grow great. Emperor Taizu loved Laozi's words, reciting and intoning without weariness. In the Tianxing period, Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites Dong Mi thereupon presented several tens of scrolls of immortal-consumption and transcendence sutras. Thereupon he established a Transcendent Person Erudite, set up a Transcendent Quarter, boiled and refined a hundred medicines, and sealed off the Western Mountain to supply its fuel and steam. He ordered those guilty of capital crimes to try consuming them—not their true intent, many died without verification. Emperor Taizu still intended to continue the undertaking. Grand Physician Zhou Dan, bitter at the labor of boiling and gathering, wished to abolish the matter. He secretly ordered his wife to bribe Transcendent Person Erudite Zhang Yao's concubine, obtaining Yao's hidden crimes. Yao feared death and thereupon requested grain avoidance. Emperor Taizu permitted it, gave Yao supplies, and for him built a Quiet Hall in the park, giving two households of sprinkling and sweeping commoners. Yet the office of refining medicines still did not cease. After long time, Emperor Taizu's intent slackened somewhat, and then it stopped.

世祖時，道士寇謙之，字輔真，南雍州刺史讚之弟，自云寇恂之十三世孫。早好仙道，有絕俗之心。少修張魯之術，服食餌藥，歷年無效。幽誠上達，有仙人成公興，不知何許人，至謙之從母家傭賃。謙之嘗覲其姨，見興形貌甚強，力作不倦，請回賃興代己使役。乃將還，令其開舍南辣田。 [39]謙之樹下坐算，興墾發致勤，[40]時來看算。謙之謂曰：「汝但力作，何為看此？」二三日後，復來看之，如此不已。後謙之算七曜，有所不了，惘然自失。興謂謙之曰：「先生何為不懌？」謙之曰：「我學算累年，而近算周髀不合，以此自愧。且非汝所知，何勞問也。」興曰：「先生試隨興語布之。」俄然便決。謙之歎伏，不測興之深淺，請師事之。興固辭不肯，但求為謙之弟子。未幾，謂謙之曰：「先生有意學道，豈能與興隱遁？」謙之欣然從之。興乃令謙之潔齋三日，共入華山。令謙之居一石室，自出採藥，還與謙之食藥，不復飢。乃將謙之入嵩山。有三重石室，令謙之住第二重。歷年，興謂謙之曰：「興出後，當有人將藥來。得但食之，莫為疑怪。」尋有人將藥而至，皆是毒蟲臭惡之物，謙之大懼出走。興還問狀，謙之具對，興歎息曰：「先生未便得仙，政可為帝王師耳。」興事謙之七年，而謂之曰：「興不得久留，明日中應去。興亡後，先生幸為沐浴，自當有人見迎。」興乃入第三重石室而卒。謙之躬自沐浴。明日中，有叩石室者，謙之出視，見兩童子，一持法服，一持鉢及錫杖。謙之引入，至興尸所，興欻然而起，著衣持鉢、執杖而去。先是，有京兆灞城人王胡兒，其叔父亡，頗有靈異。曾將胡兒至嵩高別嶺，同行觀望，見金室玉堂，有一館尤珍麗，空而無人，題曰「成公興之館」。胡兒怪而問之，其叔父曰：「此是仙人成公興館，坐失火燒七間屋，被謫為寇謙之作弟子七年。」始知謙之精誠遠通，興乃仙者謫滿而去。

In Emperor Shizu's time, the Daoist Kou Qianzhi, styled Fuzhen, younger brother of Prefect of Southern Yong Province Zan—himself said he was the thirteenth-generation descendant of Kou Xun. From youth he loved the immortal Way, with a heart set on transcending the vulgar world. In youth he cultivated Zhang Lu's techniques, consuming medicines and elixirs—year after year without effect. Hidden sincerity reached above; there was an immortal, Duke Cheng Xing—no one knew whence he came—who came to Qianzhi's maternal aunt's house as a hired laborer. Qianzhi once visited his aunt and saw Xing's form and appearance very strong, laboring without weariness; he requested to exchange and hire Xing to replace his own corvée service. He then took him back and ordered him to open and cultivate the hot pepper field south of the house. [39]Qianzhi sat beneath a tree calculating; Xing plowed and opened the land with utmost diligence;[40] from time to time he came to look at the calculation. Qianzhi said to him: "You just labor hard—why look at this?" After two or three days, he again came to look—thus without end. Later when Qianzhi calculated the seven luminaries, there was something he could not resolve; he was dazed and lost. Xing said to Qianzhi: "Sir, why are you displeased?" Qianzhi said: "I have studied calculation for many years, yet recently my calculation of the Zhou Bi does not agree—because of this I am ashamed. Moreover it is not what you would know—why bother to ask?" Xing said: "Sir, try following my words and laying it out." In a moment it was resolved. Qianzhi sighed in submission, unable to fathom Xing's depth; he requested to take him as master. Xing firmly declined and would not agree, only requesting to become Qianzhi's disciple. Before long, he said to Qianzhi: "Sir, if you intend to study the Way, how can you hide away with me?" Qianzhi gladly followed him. Xing then ordered Qianzhi to purify and fast for three days, and together they entered Mount Hua. He ordered Qianzhi to dwell in a stone chamber; he himself went out to gather medicines, returned and shared food and medicine with Qianzhi—they no longer hungered. He then took Qianzhi into Mount Song. There were three tiers of stone chambers; he ordered Qianzhi to dwell in the second tier. After years passed, Xing said to Qianzhi: "After I go out, there will be someone bringing medicine. If you obtain it, just eat it—do not be suspicious or strange." Soon someone brought medicine—all were poisonous insects and foul, vile things; Qianzhi was greatly afraid and fled out. Xing returned and asked the circumstances; Qianzhi fully replied; Xing sighed and said: "Sir, you are not yet able to attain immortality—you can only be a teacher to emperors." Xing served Qianzhi for seven years, then said to him: "I cannot long remain; tomorrow at midday I should depart. After my death, Sir, please kindly bathe the body—naturally there will be someone coming to welcome me." Xing then entered the third-tier stone chamber and died. Qianzhi personally bathed the body. At midday the next day, someone knocked at the stone chamber; Qianzhi went out to look and saw two youths—one holding dharma-robes, one holding a bowl and tin staff. Qianzhi led them in; arriving at Xing's corpse, Xing suddenly rose, put on robes, took the bowl and staff, and departed. Before this, there was Wang Hu'er of Baling, Ba city in Jingzhao—his uncle had died, with considerable numinous strangeness. He once took Hu'er to a separate ridge of Mount Song's heights; traveling together to look about, they saw a golden chamber and jade hall—with one lodge especially rare and beautiful, empty without people; inscribed: "Lodge of Duke Cheng Xing." Hu'er wondered and asked; his uncle said: "This is the immortal Duke Cheng Xing's lodge—he sat and lost control of fire, burning seven rooms; he was demoted to be Kou Qianzhi's disciple for seven years." Then one knew Qianzhi's sincerity reached far; Xing was an immortal whose demotion-term was fulfilled and who departed.

謙之守志嵩岳，精專不懈，以神瑞二年十月乙卯，忽遇大神，乘雲駕龍，導從百靈，仙人玉女，左右侍衞，集止山頂，稱太上老君。謂謙之曰：「往辛亥年，嵩岳鎮靈集仙宮主，表天曹，稱自天師張陵去世已來，地上曠誠，[41]修善之人，無所師授。嵩岳道士上谷寇謙之，立身直理，行合自然，才任軌範，首處師位，[42]吾故來觀汝，授汝天師之位，賜汝雲中音誦新科之誡二十卷。號曰『並進』。」 [43]言：「吾此經誡，自天地開闢已來，不傳於世，今運數應出。汝宣吾新科，清整道教，除去三張偽法，租米錢稅，及男女合氣之術。大道清虛，豈有斯事。專以禮度為首，而加之以服食閉練。」使王九疑人長客之等十二人，[44]授謙之服氣導引口訣之法。遂得辟穀，氣盛體輕，顏色殊麗。弟子十餘人，皆得其術。

Qianzhi kept his resolve at Mount Song, concentrating exclusively without slackening; on the yimao day of the tenth month of the second year of Shenrui, he suddenly encountered a great spirit, riding clouds and driving dragons, with a hundred numinous beings as guides, immortal maidens left and right attending and guarding; gathering and stopping at the mountain peak, calling himself the Most High Lord Lao. He said to Qianzhi: "In the past xinhai year, the Lord of the Numinous Assembly Palace at Mount Song memorialized the Heavenly Bureau, saying: Since Celestial Master Zhang Ling passed away, sincerity on earth has been vast and empty;[41] persons cultivating goodness have had no one to receive them as master. The Mount Song Daoist Kou Qianzhi of Shanggu—upright in person and straight in principle, conduct matching nature, talent fitting the standard, first occupying the master's seat[42]—I therefore come to observe you, confer upon you the Celestial Master's seat, and bestow upon you twenty scrolls of new precepts in cloud-middle incantation. Called "Concurrent Advancement." [43]He said: "These sutra-precepts of mine, since Heaven and Earth opened and unfolded, have not been transmitted in the world; now the cycle of fate responds and they should emerge. You shall proclaim my new precepts, purify and rectify the Daoist teaching, remove the false methods of the Three Zhangs, grain-rent and money-taxes, and the technique of male-female union of breaths. The Great Way is pure and empty—how could there be such matters? Take ritual norms as foremost, and add to them grain-avoidance and breath-sealing refinement." He sent twelve persons including Chang Kezhi of Wangjiuyi to confer upon Qianzhi the oral formulas of qi-ingestion and daoyin. Thereupon he attained grain-avoidance; his qi flourished and body lightened, his complexion exceptionally beautiful. More than ten disciples all obtained his techniques.

泰常八年十月戊戌，有牧土上師李譜文來臨嵩岳，云：老君之玄孫，昔居代郡桑乾，以漢武之世得道，為牧土宮主，領治三十六土人鬼之政。地方十八萬里有奇，蓋歷術一章之數也。其中為方萬里者有三百六十方。 [45]遣弟子宣教，云嵩岳所統廣漢平土方萬里，以授謙之。作誥曰：「吾處天宮，敷演真法，處汝道年二十二歲，除十年為竟蒙，其餘十二年，教化雖無大功，且有百授之勞。 [46]今賜汝遷入內宮，太真太寶九州真師、治鬼師、治民師、繼天師四錄。修勤不懈，依勞復遷。賜汝天中三真太文錄，劾召百神，以授弟子。文錄有五等，一曰陰陽太官，二曰正府真官，三曰正房真官，四曰宿宮散官，五曰並進錄主。壇位、禮拜、衣冠儀式各有差品。凡六十餘卷，號曰錄圖真經。付汝奉持，輔佐北方泰平真君，[47]出天宮靜輪之法。 [48]能興造克就，則起真仙矣。 [49]又地上生民，末劫垂及，其中行教甚難。但令男女立壇宇，朝夕禮拜，若家有嚴君，功及上世。其中能修身練藥，學長生之術，即為真君種民。」藥別授方，銷練金丹、雲英、八石、玉漿之法，皆有決要。上師李君手筆有數篇，其餘，皆正真書曹趙道覆所書。古文鳥迹，篆隸雜體，辭義約辯，婉而成章。大自與世禮相準，擇賢推德，信者為先，勤者次之。又言二儀之間有三十六天，中有三十六宮，[50]宮有一主。最高者無極至尊，次曰大至真尊，次天覆地載陰陽真尊。次洪正真尊，姓趙名道隱，以殷時得道，牧土之師也。牧土之來，赤松、王喬之倫，及韓終、張安世、劉根、張陵，近世仙者，並為翼從。牧土命謙之為子，與群仙結為徒友。幽冥之事，世所不了，謙之具問，一一告焉。經云：佛者，昔於西胡得道，在三十二天，[51]為延真宮主。勇猛苦教，故其弟子皆髠形染衣，斷絕人道，諸天衣服悉然。

On the wuxu day of the tenth month of the eighth year of Taichang, the Pastoral Earth Superior Master Li Puwen came to Mount Song, saying he was the Mysterious Grandson of Lord Lao; in the past he dwelt at Sanggan in Dai Commandery; in Emperor Wu of Han's age he attained the Way, becoming Lord of the Pastoral Earth Palace, governing the policies of thirty-six earths of men and ghosts. The territory was 180,000 li and more—covering the number of one chapter of calendrical calculation. Among them, those forming squares of ten thousand li each numbered 360 squares. [45]He dispatched disciples to proclaim the teaching, saying the Guanghan Pingtu square of ten thousand li governed by Mount Song was conferred upon Qianzhi. An edict was made: "I dwell in the Heavenly Palace, spreading and expounding the true Law; you have been in the Way for twenty-two years; ten years are removed as childish obscurity—the remaining twelve years, though teaching without great merit, yet have the labor of a hundred transmissions. [46]Now I bestow upon you transfer into the Inner Palace—the four registers of True Master of the Great Perfection and Great Treasure of the Nine Provinces, Master of Governing Ghosts, Master of Governing People, and Successor Celestial Master. Cultivate diligence without slackening; according to labor, further transfer. I bestow upon you the Great Perfection Great Text Register of the Three Perfections of the Heavenly Center, commanding and summoning the hundred spirits, to confer upon disciples. Text-registers have five grades: first, Yin-Yang Great Official; second, Correct Prefecture True Official; third, Correct Chamber True Official; fourth, Lodging Palace Dispersed Official; fifth, Concurrent Advancement Register Lord. Altar positions, worship, robes and caps, ritual forms—each has graded distinctions. In all more than sixty scrolls, called the Register-Chart True Sutra. Entrusted to you to uphold and assist the Northern True Lord of Great Peace[47]—issuing the Heavenly Palace Quiet Wheel Law. [48]If you can raise and complete construction, then true immortals will arise. [49]Also, the living people on earth—the final kalpa hangs near; among them, carrying out teaching is very difficult. But order men and women to establish altar halls, worship morning and evening—if the household has a strict elder, merit reaches to upper generations. Among them, those who can cultivate body and refine medicine, study the technique of long life—they are seed-people of the True Lord." Medicines were separately conferred in formulas—methods of dissolving and refining golden elixir, cloud-essence, eight stones, and jade-broth—all have decisive essentials. Superior Master Lord Li's own hand had several scrolls; the rest were all written by the True Writing Clerk of the Correct Perfection, Cao Daofu. Ancient script in bird-tracks, seal and clerical mixed forms—word-meaning concise and eloquent, graceful and forming chapters. Greatly from the beginning matching worldly rites—choosing the worthy and promoting virtue, the faithful come first, the diligent second. Also it says: Between the Two Principles there are thirty-six Heavens; within them are thirty-six palaces;[50] each palace has one lord. The highest is the Limitless Supreme; next is the Great Perfect True; next the Heaven-Covering Earth-Bearing Yin-Yang True. Next the Vast Correct True, surname Zhao named Daoyin—he attained the Way in the Yin age, master of the Pastoral Earth. When the Pastoral Earth came, Chisongzi, Wang Qiao and their kind, and Han Zhong, Zhang Anshi, Liu Gen, Zhang Ling—recent-age immortals—all were wing-followers. The Pastoral Earth ordered Qianzhi as son, and with the host of immortals formed master-disciple friendship. Matters of the dark and hidden—what the world cannot understand—Qianzhi fully asked; one by one he was told. The sutra says: The Buddha—in the past attained the Way in Western Hu, in the thirty-second Heaven,[51] as Lord of the Extended Perfection Palace. Bold and brave in bitter teaching, therefore his disciples all shave their heads and dye their robes, cutting off human relations—the clothes of all heavens are likewise.

始光初，奉其書而獻之，世祖乃令謙之止於張曜之所，供其食物。時朝野聞之，若存若亡，未全信也。崔浩獨異其言，因師事之，受其法術。於是上疏，讚明其事曰：「臣聞聖王受命，則有大應。而河圖、洛書，皆寄言於蟲獸之文。未若今日人神接對，手筆粲然，辭旨深妙，自古無比。昔漢高雖復英聖，四皓猶或耻之，不為屈節。今清德隱仙，不召自至。斯誠陛下侔蹤軒黃，應天之符也，豈可以世俗常談，而忽上靈之命。臣竊懼之。」世祖欣然，乃使謁者奉玉帛牲牢，祭嵩岳，迎致其餘弟子在山中者。於是崇奉天師，顯揚新法，宣布天下，道業大行。浩事天師，拜禮甚謹。人或譏之，浩聞之曰：「昔張釋之為王生結襪。吾雖才非賢哲，今奉天師，足以不愧於古人矣。」及嵩高道士四十餘人至，遂起天師道場於京城之東南，重壇五層，遵其新經之制。給道士百二十人衣食，齊肅祈請，六時禮拜，月設厨會數千人。

At the beginning of Shiguang, [Qianzhi] presented his books and offered them; Emperor Shizu thereupon ordered Qianzhi to stay at Zhang Yao's place, supplying his food. At the time court and countryside heard of it—as if present, as if absent—not fully believing. Cui Hao alone found his words strange; he thereupon took him as master, receiving his dharma-techniques. Thereupon he submitted a memorial, praising and clarifying the matter: "Your subject has heard: when a sage king receives the mandate, then there are great responses. Yet the Yellow River Chart and Luo River Writ are both entrusted in words of insects and beasts. They are not like today—human and spirit face to face, hand-writing brilliant, word-intent deep and wondrous, without parallel since antiquity. In the past Emperor Gaozu of Han, though again heroic and sage, the Four Whiteheads were still ashamed and would not bend their integrity. Now the pure virtue hidden immortal comes without being summoned. This is truly Your Majesty matching the traces of Xuanyuan and the Yellow Emperor, the talisman responding to Heaven—how can one neglect the command of upper spirits with worldly common talk? Your subject secretly fears it." Emperor Shizu was pleased; he then sent the Herald bearing jade silks and sacrificial animals to sacrifice at Mount Song, welcoming and bringing the remaining disciples in the mountains. Thereupon he honored and upheld the Celestial Master, displayed and spread the new Law, proclaimed it throughout the empire—the Way's work greatly flourished. Hao served the Celestial Master, bowing and performing rites with utmost reverence. Some ridiculed him; Hao, hearing it, said: "In the past Zhang Shizhi tied socks for Lord Wang. Though my talent is not that of worthies and sages, now serving the Celestial Master, it suffices not to be ashamed before the ancients." When more than forty Mount Song daoists arrived, they thereupon raised the Celestial Master's dharma-ground southeast of the capital city—a heavy altar of five tiers, following the new sutra's regulations. They gave 120 daoists food and clothing; solemnly they prayed and requested; six times daily they bowed and worshipped; each month they set up kitchen assemblies of several thousand persons.

世祖將討赫連昌，太尉長孫嵩難之，世祖乃問幽徵於謙之。謙之對曰：「必克。陛下神武應期，天經下治，當以兵定九州，後文先武，以成太平真君。」真君三年，謙之奏曰：「今陛下以真君御世，建靜輪天宮之法，開古以來，未之有也。應登受符書，以彰聖德。」世祖從之。於是親至道壇，受符錄。備法駕，旗幟盡青，以從道家之色也。自後諸帝，每即位皆如之。恭宗見謙之奏造靜輪宮，必令其高不聞雞鳴狗吠之聲，欲上與天神交接，功役萬計，經年不成。乃言於世祖曰：「人天道殊，卑高定分。今謙之欲要以無成之期，說以不然之事，財力費損，百姓疲勞，無乃不可乎？必如其言，未若因東山萬仞之上，為功差易。」世祖深然恭宗之言，但以崔浩贊成，難違其意，沉吟者久之，乃曰：「吾亦知其無成，事既爾，何惜五三百功。」

Emperor Shizu was about to campaign against Helian Chang; Grand Commandant Changsun Song found it difficult; the emperor then asked Qianzhi about hidden omens. Qianzhi replied: "Certainly victorious. Your Majesty's divine martial responds to the age; Heaven's norm descends to govern—you should with arms settle the Nine Provinces; afterward culture, before martial—thereby completing the True Lord of Great Peace." In the third year of Zhenjun, Qianzhi memorialized: "Now Your Majesty with the True Lord governs the age, establishing the Quiet Wheel Heavenly Palace Law—opening since antiquity, never before existing. You should ascend and receive talisman-texts, to display sage virtue." Emperor Shizu followed it. Thereupon he personally arrived at the dharma-altar and received talisman-registers. Fully equipped with the imperial carriage, banners and flags all green—to follow the Daoist family's color. Thereafter, every emperor upon taking the throne did the same. When Prince Gong saw Kou Qianzhi's memorial proposing the Quiet Wheel Palace—built so high that neither cockcrow nor dog bark could be heard, so the emperor might ascend and commune with celestial spirits—he noted that the project consumed tens of thousands of laborers and remained unfinished after a full year. He then said to Emperor Shizu, "The paths of men and Heaven differ; high and low have fixed stations. Now Qianzhi would bind you to a deadline that cannot be met, persuading you with what cannot be so—wealth squandered, the people exhausted. Surely this will not do? Even if his plan were followed, would it not be easier to build on the ten-thousand-ren heights of East Mountain?" Emperor Shizu deeply agreed with Prince Gong, but since Cui Hao had endorsed the project, he could hardly refuse. He pondered a long while, then said, "I too know it will never succeed. Since matters have come to this, what harm in spending five or six hundred units of labor?"

九年，謙之卒，葬以道士之禮。先於未亡，謂諸弟子曰：「及謙之在，汝曹可求遷錄。吾去之後，天宮真難就。」復遇設會之日，更布二席於上師坐前。弟子問其故，謙之曰：「仙官來。」是夜卒。前一日，忽言「吾氣息不接，腹中大痛」，而行止如常，至明旦便終。須臾，口中氣狀若烟雲，上出窗中，至天半乃消。屍體引長，弟子量之，八尺三寸。三日已後，稍縮，至斂量之，長六寸。 [52]於是諸弟子以為尸解變化而去，不死也。

In the ninth year, Qianzhi died and was buried with daoist rites. Before he died, he told his disciples, "While I am still here, you may seek transfer registers. After I am gone, the Heavenly Palace will truly be hard to attain." On a day when a feast was held, he again laid out two mats before the seat of the supreme master. When disciples asked why, Qianzhi said, "Immortal officials are coming." That night he died. The day before, he had suddenly said, "My breath fails to connect; great pain in my belly," yet carried on as usual; by dawn the next day he was dead. In a moment, breath from his mouth like smoke and cloud rose through the window and, reaching mid-heaven, dispersed. The corpse stretched; disciples measured it at eight feet three inches. After three days it gradually shrank; measured for burial, it was six inches long. [52] Thereupon the disciples believed he had shed his corpse, transformed, and departed—not that he had died.

時有京兆人韋文秀，隱於嵩高，徵詣京師。世祖曾問方士金丹事，多曰可成。文秀對曰：「神道幽昧，變化難測，可以闇遇，難以豫期。臣昔者受教於先師，曾聞其事，未之為也。」世祖以文秀關右豪族，風操溫雅，言對有方，遣與尚書崔賾詣王屋山合丹，竟不能就。時方士至者前後數人。河東祁纖，好相人。世祖賢之，拜纖上大夫。潁陽絳略、聞喜吳劭，道引養氣，積年百餘歲，神氣不衰。恒農閻平仙，博覽百家之言，然不能達其意，辭占應對，義旨可聽。世祖欲授之官，終辭不受。扶風魯祈，遭赫連屈孑暴虐，避地寒山，教授弟子數百人，好方術，少嗜慾。河東羅崇之，常餌松脂，不食五穀，自稱受道於中條山。世祖令崇還鄉里，立壇祈請。崇云：「條山有穴，與崐崘、蓬萊相屬。入穴中得見仙人，與之往來。」詔令河東郡給所須。崇入穴，行百餘步，遂窮。後召至，有司以崇誣罔不道，奏治之。世祖曰：「崇修道之人，豈至欺妄以詐於世，或傳聞不審，而至於此。古之君子，進人以禮，退人以禮。今治之，是傷朕待賢之意。」遂赦之。又有東萊人王道翼，少有絕俗之志，隱韓信山，四十餘年，斷粟食荽，[53]通達經章，書符錄。常隱居深山，不交世務，年六十餘。顯祖聞而召焉。青州刺史韓頹遣使就山徵之，翼乃赴都。顯祖以其仍守本操，遂令僧曹給衣食，以終其身。

At the time there was Wei Wenxiu of Jingzhao, living in seclusion on Mount Song, who was summoned to the capital. Emperor Shizu had once questioned adepts about the golden elixir; most said it could be achieved. Wenxiu replied, "The divine Way is obscure; transformation is hard to fathom. One may encounter it unawares, but cannot foretell it. Your servant once received instruction from his former master and heard of the matter, but has never practiced it." Emperor Shizu, finding Wenxiu a man of a great clan west of the Pass, with refined conduct, gentle speech, and apt replies, sent him with Minister Cui Yan to Mount Wangwu to compound the elixir—but in the end they could not succeed. Several adepts arrived during this period, one after another. Qi Xian of Hedong was skilled at physiognomy. Emperor Shizu respected him and appointed Xian Senior Grand Master. Jiang Lüe of Yingyang and Wu Shao of Wenxi had practiced daoyin and nourishing qi for over a hundred years; their spirit and vigor did not decline. Yan Pingxian of Hengnong had read widely among the hundred schools but could not grasp their meaning; in divination and reply, his points were worth hearing. Emperor Shizu wished to grant him office, but he consistently declined. Lu Qi of Fufeng, fleeing Helian Quxie's brutal tyranny, took refuge on Cold Mountain, taught several hundred disciples, loved alchemical arts, and had few desires. Luo Chongzhi of Hedong regularly consumed pine resin, ate no grain, and claimed to have received the Way on Mount Zhongtiao. Emperor Shizu ordered Chongzhi to return to his native place and set up an altar to pray and petition. Chongzhi said, "On Mount Tiao there is a cave connected to Kunlun and Penglai. Entering the cave, one may see immortals and go back and forth with them." An edict ordered Hedong Commandery to supply what was required. Chongzhi entered the cave and walked more than a hundred steps before the passage ended. Later he was summoned again; the authorities charged Chongzhi with deceit and heterodox conduct and memorialized for punishment. Emperor Shizu said, "Chongzhi is a man who cultivates the Way—how could he stoop to deceit the world? Perhaps hearsay was inaccurate and led to this. The gentlemen of old advanced men with rites and dismissed men with rites. To punish him now would wound Our intent in treating the worthy." He was therefore pardoned. There was also Wang Daoyi of Donglai, who from youth aspired to transcend the vulgar; he lived in seclusion on Mount Hanxin for more than forty years, cutting off grain and eating coriander,[53] mastering scriptural chapters, and writing talismans and registers. He always lived deep in the mountains, had no commerce with worldly affairs, and was over sixty. Emperor Xianzu heard of him and summoned him. Han Yan, governor of Qing Province, sent envoys to the mountain to summon him; Daoyi then came to the capital. Emperor Xianzu, seeing that he still held to his original resolve, ordered the Monks' Office to provide food and clothing for the rest of his life.

太和十五年秋，詔曰：「夫至道無形，虛寂為主。自有漢以後，置立壇祠，先朝以其至順可歸，用立寺宇。昔京城之內，居舍尚希。今者里宅櫛比，人神猥湊，非所以祗崇至法，清敬神道。可移於都南桑乾之陰，岳山之陽，永置其所。給戶五十，以供齋祀之用，仍名為崇虛寺。可召諸州隱士，員滿九十人。」

In the autumn of the fifteenth year of Taihe, an edict said, "The utmost Way is formless; emptiness and stillness are its lord. Since Han times altars have been established; former dynasties, finding their utmost compliance fit to be honored, erected temple halls. In former days within the capital, dwellings were still sparse. Now houses stand row upon row; men and spirits crowd together—this is not the way to reverence the supreme Law and keep pure respect for the divine Way. It shall be moved south of the capital, on the shady side of the Sanggan and the sunny side of Mount Yue, and permanently established there. Grant fifty households to supply offerings for pure sacrifice, and still name it the Temple of Revering Emptiness. Recluses from the provinces may be summoned until the quota of ninety is filled."

遷洛移鄴，踵如故事。其道壇在南郊，方二百步，以正月七日、七月七日、十月十五日，壇主、道士、哥人一百六人，[54]以行拜祠之禮。諸道士罕能精至，又無才術可高。武定六年，有司執奏罷之。其有道術，如河東張遠遊、河間趙靜通等，齊文襄王別置館京師而禮接焉。

When the capital moved to Luoyang, Ye was treated according to precedent. Its Way-altar lay in the southern suburb, two hundred paces square; on the seventh day of the first, seventh, and tenth months, the altar master, daoists, and ge singers—one hundred six persons [54]—performed bowing and sacrificial rites. Daoists could rarely achieve refined attainment, and none had talent or learning of high standing. In the sixth year of Wuding, the authorities memorialized requesting abolition. Those who possessed the Way's arts, such as Zhang Yuanyou of Hedong and Zhao Jingtong of Hejian, were separately given lodges in the capital by Prince Wenxiang of Qi and received with courtesy.

校勘記

Collation notes

項有日光諸本作「頂有白光」，冊府卷五一〈五六六頁〉作「頂有日光」，廣弘明集卷二錄釋老志如上摘句。按水經注卷一六穀水篇作「項佩日光」，洛陽伽藍記卷四白馬寺條作「項背日月光明」，牟子理惑論作「身有日光」。可證廣弘明集引志是，今據改。

Light on the nape like sunlight: various editions read "white light on the crown"; Cefu yuangui, juan 51 〈p. 566〉 reads "sunlight on the crown"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, quotes the Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism as above. According to Shui jing zhu, juan 16, Gushui pian, it reads "sunlight hung on the nape"; Luoyang qielan ji, juan 4, White Horse Temple entry, reads "sun and moon light on the nape and back"; Mouzi lihuo lun reads "the body had sunlight." This confirms that Guang hongming ji's citation of the Treatise is correct; the text is amended accordingly.

漢因立白馬寺於洛城雍門西諸本「門」作「關」。按水經注穀水篇、伽藍記並稱北魏洛陽之西陽門即漢之「雍門」，牟子理惑論云：「時於洛陽城西雍門外起佛寺。」這裏「關」乃「門」之訛，今改正。

Han therefore established the White Horse Temple west of Yong Gate in Luoyang: various editions read "pass" for "gate." According to Shui jing zhu, Gushui pian, and Qielan ji, the Xiyang Gate of Northern Wei Luoyang was Han's "Yong Gate"; Mouzi lihuo lun says, "At the time a Buddhist temple was raised outside Yong Gate west of Luoyang city." Here "pass" is a corruption of "gate"; it is corrected.

澡練神明諸本「澡」作「藻」，御覽卷六五三〈二九一七頁〉、廣弘明集卷二引志作「澡」。按下文敍道教也說「澡雪精神」，這裏「藻」字訛，今據改。

Bathing and refining the spirit: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Imperial Readings, juan 653 〈p. 2917〉 and Guang hongming ji, juan 2, citation of the Treatise read "the cited text." According to the passage below, Daoism also speaks of "bathing and purifying the spirit"; here "the cited text" is corrupt; it is amended accordingly.

婦入道者曰比丘尼百衲、南、汲、局四本「入」作「人」，北本、殿本作「入」。疑當作「婦人入道者」，舊本脫「入」字，北本改「人」為「入」。今姑從北、殿本。

Women who enter the Way are called bhikṣuṇīs: the Bai na, Nan, Ji, and Ju editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; the Bei and Dian editions read "the cited text." It is suspected it should read "women who enter the Way"; the old edition dropped "the cited text," and the Bei edition changed "the cited text" to "the cited text." For now the Bei and Dian editions are followed.

皆以□為本百衲本空格作墨釘，北、汲、殿三本注「闕」，南本、局本作「五戒」。按南本當是以意補，今作空格。

All take □ as the root: the Bai na edition's blank space is a black dot; the Bei, Ji, and Dian editions note "missing"; the Nan and Ju editions read "five precepts." The Nan edition appears to supply by conjecture; a blank space is used here.

凡人修行粗為極按語不可解，疑有訛脫，今於「極」字句斷。

When ordinary people cultivate, roughly as the utmost: the phrase is unintelligible; corruption or omission is suspected; a break is made after "utmost."

其根業各差諸本「各」作「太」，廣弘明集卷二作「各」。按上云「有三種人」，作「各」是，今據改。

Their root-karma each differs: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text." According to the passage above, "there are three kinds of people," reading "the cited text" is correct; it is amended accordingly.

彌歷長遠諸本無「歷」字，廣弘明集卷二有。按文義當有此字，今據補。

Extending through long ages: various editions lack "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, has it. According to the sense, this character should be present; it is supplied accordingly.

文言將來有彌勒佛按「文」疑當作「又」。

The text says that in the future there will be the Buddha Maitreya: "the cited text" is suspected to be "the cited text."

役諸鬼神諸本「役」作「於」，廣弘明集卷二作「役」。按阿育王役鬼神，一日一夜造八萬四千塔的神話屢見佛教紀載。「於」乃「役」之訛，今據改。

Employing spirits and demons: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text." According to the myth, repeated in Buddhist records, that King Aśoka employed spirits and demons to build eighty-four thousand stūpas in one day and one night. "the cited text" is a corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

今洛陽彭城姑臧臨淄皆有阿育王寺諸本「淄」作「渭」，廣弘明集卷二作「淄」。按廣弘明集卷一五列塔像神瑞迹列舉所謂阿育王塔無「臨渭」而有「臨淄」，云「青州臨淄城中有阿育王寺，其形象露盤在深林巨樹下。」語出高僧傳卷一０竺佛圖澄傳。這裏「渭」字乃「淄」形近而訛，今據改。

Now Luoyang, Pengcheng, Guzang, and Linzi all have Aśoka temples: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text." According to Guang hongming ji, juan 15, list of stūpa-image miracles, the so-called Aśoka stūpas have no "Linwei" but do have "Linzi," saying, "In Linzi city of Qing Province there is an Aśoka temple; its image and dew-dish stand beneath deep forest and great trees." The words come from Gaoseng zhuan, juan 10, biography of the monk Fotudeng. Here "the cited text" is a corruption through graphic similarity to "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

遂徙於道東百衲本「東」字空格，諸本注「闕」字。按法苑珠林卷五三舍利篇敍此云：「乃於道東造周閭百間」，知此志所脫是「東」字，今據補。「閣」「閭」皆可通。

Thereupon moved east of the road: the Bai na edition has a blank space for "the cited text"; various editions note "missing." According to Fayuan zhulin, juan 53, Relics section, which narrates this: "Thereupon east of the road they built a hundred rooms of Zhou pavilions"-knowing that this Treatise dropped "the cited text," it is supplied accordingly. "the cited text" and "the cited text" are both acceptable.

文帝久在洛陽諸本「久」作「又」，冊府卷五一〈五六七頁〉作「久」。按下稱「昭成又至襄國」，兩「又」字重複。卷一序紀稱文帝沙漠汗自力微之四十二年至洛陽，四十八年始返，故云「久在洛陽」，「又」字訛，今據改。

Emperor Wen long in Luoyang: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 567〉 reads "the cited text." Below it says "Zhaocheng again arrived at Xiangguo"-the two "the cited text" characters repeat. Juan 1, Annals Preface, states that Emperor Wen Shamo Han from the forty-second year of Liwei to Luoyang, and only returned in the forty-eighth year-hence "long in Luoyang"; "the cited text" is corrupt; it is amended accordingly.

修整宮舍百衲、南、汲、局四本「宮」作「官」，北本、殿本作「宮」。按冊府卷五一〈五六七頁〉作「宮室」，知上一字當作「宮」，今從北、殿本。

Repairing palace quarters: the Bai na, Nan, Ji, and Ju editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; the Bei and Dian editions read "the cited text." According to Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 567〉 it reads "palace halls," knowing the preceding character should be "the cited text"; the Bei and Dian editions are followed.

時沙門道肜諸本「肜」作「彤」。按高僧傳卷六有道融傳，曾參預鳩摩羅什譯經。「融」古亦作「肜」，訛作「彤」，今改正。

At the time the monk Daorong: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to Gaoseng zhuan, juan 6, biography of Daorong, who participated in Kumārajīva's translation work. "the cited text" was also written "the cited text"; corrupted to "the cited text"; it is corrected.

接乞胡之誕言諸本無「接」字，廣弘明集卷二有。按「接乞胡」與下「用老莊」相對，原當有此字，今據補。

Receiving the foreigner's miraculous words: various editions lack "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, has it. According to "receiving the foreigner" paired with "using Laozi and Zhuangzi" below, this character should originally have been present; it is supplied accordingly.

敕有司於五級大寺內諸本「級」作「緞」，冊府卷五一〈五六八頁〉、廣弘明集卷二作「級」。按五級，指寺之塔，也即稱此寺為「五級寺」。卷七五尒朱兆傳見晉陽五級寺，高僧傳卷五釋道安傳見長安五級寺，亦名五重寺，雖非一地，可以類比。「緞」字訛，今據改。

Ordered the authorities at the Five-Tier Great Temple: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 568〉 and Guang hongming ji, juan 2, read "the cited text." According to "five tiers," referring to the temple's pagoda—hence this temple is also called the "Five-Tier Temple." Juan 75, biography of Erzhu Zhao, mentions Jinyang Five-Tier Temple; Gaoseng zhuan, juan 5, biography of the monk Dao'an, mentions Chang'an Five-Tier Temple, also called Five-Story Temple—though not the same place, they may be compared. "the cited text" is corrupt; it is amended accordingly.

都用赤金二十五萬斤諸本「二十五萬斤」作「二萬五千斤」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉、廣弘明集卷二作「二十五萬斤」。按下文稱造釋伽立像，高四十三尺，用赤金十萬斤，黃金六百斤。這次造像五，各長一丈六尺。像雖較小，却有五個，決不會僅用二萬五千斤。今據改。

Altogether used twenty-five hundred thousand jin of red gold: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 and Guang hongming ji, juan 2, read "the cited text." According to the passage below, casting the Śākyamuni standing image, forty-three feet high, used one hundred thousand jin of red gold and six hundred jin of yellow gold. This time five images were cast, each one zhang six chi long. Though the images were smaller, there were five of them—they could not have used only twenty-five thousand jin. It is amended accordingly.

演唱諸異冊府卷五一〈五六九頁〉「異」作「典」。按「諸異」指諸故事，亦通。

Chanting various marvels: Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 569〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to "various marvels" referring to various stories, it also makes sense.

興光至此諸本「興」作「正」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「興」。按上文敍太和元年〈四七七〉事，正光〈五二０〉遠在其後。興光是文成帝元濬年號〈四五四－四五九〉，其時佛教重興。這裏「正」字顯訛，今據改。

From Xingguang to here: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to the passage above narrating the first year of Taihe 〈477〉 the matter; Zhengguang 〈520〉 is far later. Xingguang was the era name of Emperor Wencheng Yuan Jun 〈454–459〉 at which time Buddhism revived. Here "the cited text" is clearly corrupt; it is amended accordingly.

詔以鷹師為報德寺按卷一三文明皇后馮氏傳稱：「罷鷹師曹，以其地為報德佛寺。」卷七上高祖紀上太和四年正月丁巳作「罷畜鷹鷂之所，以其地為報德佛寺」。鷹師是訓練鷹的人，鷹師曹是畜養鷹的機構與場所，「曹」字不宜省，當是脫文。

Edict making the Hawk Office into Baode Temple: according to juan 13, biography of Empress Dowager Feng the Civil, it says, "The Hawk Office bureau was abolished and its grounds made into Baode Buddhist Temple." Juan 7a, Annals of Emperor Gaozu, Taihe fourth year first month dingsi reads, "The places for keeping hawks and falcons were abolished and their grounds made into Baode Buddhist Temple." Hawk masters were men who trained hawks; the Hawk Office bureau was the institution and grounds for keeping hawks-the character "the cited text" should not be omitted; it is likely dropped text.

可以釋人染情諸本「染」作「深」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「染」。按「染污」是佛教術語，「釋人染情」意為「破除煩惱障」。「深情」用在這裏不適合，「深」乃「染」之形訛，今據改。

Can release people's defiled emotions: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to "defilement" as a Buddhist term, "releasing people's defiled emotions" means "removing the affliction-obstruction." "Deep emotion" is unsuitable here; "the cited text" is a graphic corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

緇素榮之諸本此句作「繢素之」三字，百衲本作「績素之」，冊府卷五一〈五七０頁〉作「祭奠之」，廣弘明集卷二如上摘句。按「緇素」即僧俗，傳本「緇」訛「繢」、「績」，又脫「榮」字，語不可解，冊府以意改作，今據廣弘明集補正。

Monks and laity honored it: various editions have this line as three characters "the cited text"; the Bai na edition reads "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 570〉 reads "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, as above. According to "monks and laity" (the cited text), in transmitted texts "the cited text" is corrupted to "the cited text" and "the cited text," and "the cited text" is dropped-the phrase is unintelligible; Cefu changed by conjecture; it is restored according to Guang hongming ji.

故道教彰於互顯冊府〈同上卷頁〉「互」作「玄」。按「玄顯」猶言「幽顯」，疑作「玄」是。

Therefore Daoism was displayed in mutual manifestation: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to "mysterious and manifest" (the cited text), like "hidden and manifest,"the cited text" is suspected to be correct.

以內律僧制治之諸本脫「治」字，不可通，今據冊府〈同上卷頁〉補。廣弘明集卷二引志「治」作「判」，乃避唐諱改。

Governing them by inner vinaya and monastic regulations: various editions drop "the cited text"; it is unintelligible; it is supplied according to Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 supplement. Guang hongming ji, juan 2, citation of the Treatise reads "the cited text" for "the cited text"-a Tang taboo alteration.

車牛淨人諸本「淨」作「淫」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「淨」。按「淨人」是僧寺的僕役，「淫」乃「淨」形近而訛，今據改。

Cart oxen and temple servants: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to "temple servants" (the cited text) as monastic attendants, "the cited text" is a graphic corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

緣州外按此三字文義不相連，疑有訛脫，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「自此不得更爾」，或是以意改，今於「外」字句斷。

Beyond the border prefectures: these three characters do not connect in sense; corruption or omission is suspected; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "from this none may do so again"-perhaps changed by conjecture; a break is made after "the cited text."

其寺僧眾擯出外州諸本「寺」上有「僧」字，冊府〈同上卷頁〉無。按下文元澄上奏引此條制，「寺」上亦無「僧」字，知這裏衍文，今據刪。

The temple's monastic community expelled to outer prefectures: various editions have "the cited text" before "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 does not. According to Yuan Cheng's memorial below citing this regulation, there is also no "the cited text" before "the cited text"-knowing this is superfluous text; it is deleted accordingly.

不得專委維那都尉諸本「專」作「傳」，冊府卷五〈一五七一頁〉作「專」。按文義當作「專」，今據改。又當時管理僧人的機構「昭玄」，有都統、維那等，不聞有都尉，下文正光二年靈太后令有「州統、維那」，卷一一０食貨志敍莊帝初入粟買官之制，僧人依入粟多寡授州統、大州都〈脫「統」字〉、畿郡都統、郡維那、縣維那等。疑此「都尉」當作「都統」。

May not exclusively entrust the chief steward and commandant: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 5 〈p. 1571〉 reads "the cited text." According to the sense, it should read "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly. Moreover, the institution then managing monks, "Zhaoxuan," had chief stewards, chief administrators, and the like—there is no mention of commandants; below, Empress Dowager Ling's order in the second year of Zhengguang has "provincial chief stewards and administrators"; juan 110, Food and Goods Treatise, narrating Emperor Zhuang's system of buying offices with grain, grants provincial chief stewards, great-province chiefs character "the cited text" dropped capital-district chiefs, commandery administrators, and county administrators, and the like. It is suspected this "commandant" should be "chief steward."

天下州郡僧尼寺諸本「寺」作「等」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「寺」。按下接稱「積有一萬三千七百二十七所」，明是指「寺」，非指人。「等」乃「寺」之形訛，今據改。

Buddhist and daoist temples throughout the empire's provinces and commanderies: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to what follows, "totaling thirteen thousand seven hundred twenty-seven establishments"—clearly referring to temples, not persons. "the cited text" is a graphic corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

州統維那與官及精練簡取充數按「及」字與文義不恊，疑是「司」之訛，或衍文。

Provincial chief stewards and administrators with officials and refined selections to fill the quota: "the cited text" does not fit the sense-it is suspected to be "the cited text" corrupted, or superfluous text.

或乘請公地冊府卷五一〈五七二〉「乘」作「剩」。按「剩」是額外多餘之意，通典卷二引關東風俗傳有「至有貧人，實非賸〈即剩〉長買匿」語，意為實非額外多買，隱匿田地。所謂「剩請公田」，亦即額外多請公地。「乘」疑當作「剩」。

Or seizing public land by excess petition: Cefu, juan 51 〈p. 572〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to "the cited text" meaning extra surplus, Tongdian, juan 2, cites Guandong fengsu zhuan: "There were poor men who in truth did not buy extra i.e., the cited text fields and concealed them"—meaning in truth not buying extra fields and concealing land. The so-called "excess petition of public fields" is likewise petitioning public land in excess. "the cited text" is suspected to be "the cited text."

數乘五百冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「剩」。按「數剩五百」即數踰五百之意，「乘」也是「剩」之訛。

Several times exceeding five hundred: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to "several times exceeding five hundred" meaning several times over five hundred, "the cited text" is also a corruption of "the cited text."

下司因習而莫非冊府〈同上卷頁〉「下」作「有」，疑是。

Lower officials through habit all did so: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text"-suspected to be correct.

防遏處深冊府〈同上卷頁〉「處」作「慮」，疑是。

Preventing and blocking with deep concern: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text"-suspected to be correct.

矯俗避嫌冊府〈同上卷頁〉「矯」作「隨」。按「矯俗」與下「物情同趣」相背，疑作「隨」是。

Correcting custom and avoiding suspicion: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to "correcting custom" contradicting "common sentiment alike inclined" below, "the cited text" is suspected to be correct.

靈帝置華蓋於濯龍諸本「濯」作「灌」，廣弘明集卷二作「濯」，注一作「灌」。按後漢書卷七桓帝紀延熹九年七月庚午「祠黃老於濯龍池」，續漢書祭祀志同。「灌」乃「濯」形近而訛，今據改。又「靈帝」也當作「桓帝」。

Emperor Ling placed the Canopy of Flowers at Zhuolong: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text," with a note reading "the cited text." According to Hou Han shu, juan 7, Annals of Emperor Huan, ninth year of Yanxi seventh month gengwu: "Sacrificed to Yellow Emperor and Laozi at Zhuolong Pool"; Xu Han shu, Sacrificial Treatise, agrees. "the cited text" is a graphic corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly. Moreover "Emperor Ling" should also be "Emperor Huan."

各成法道廣弘明集卷二作「各有成法」，疑是。

Each formed the Law and Way: Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "each had established law"—suspected to be correct.

令其開舍南辣田冊府卷五三〈五八五頁〉「辣」作「棗」，疑是。

Ordered them to open and grant the southern pepper fields of the lodge: Cefu, juan 53 〈p. 585〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text"-suspected to be correct.

興墾發致勤諸本「墾」作「懇」，下有「一」字，冊府〈同上卷頁〉也作「懇」，但無「一」字。按「一」字乃衍文，據刪。「懇」必是「墾」之訛，今改正。

Promoting reclamation with utmost diligence: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text," with a following "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 also reads "the cited text," but without "the cited text." The character "the cited text" is superfluous text; it is deleted accordingly. "the cited text" must be a corruption of "the cited text"; it is corrected.

地上曠誠廣弘明集卷二「誠」作「職」。疑是。

Above ground, broad sincerity: Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." Suspected to be correct.

才任軌範首處師位冊府卷五三〈五八六頁〉作「才任範首，可處師位」。按前有「天師張陵」，不得云「首處師位」，且這是揑造所謂太上老君的命令，「才任」什麼，可官什麼也是通用格式。疑冊府是。

Talent fit to be model chief, may occupy the master's seat: Cefu, juan 53 〈p. 586〉 reads "talent fit to be model chief, may occupy the master's seat." According to the preceding "Celestial Master Zhang Ling," one cannot say "first to occupy the master's seat"; moreover this is a fabricated command of the so-called Supreme Lord Lao—"talent fit" for what office, what one may appoint—all follow a common formula. Cefu is suspected to be correct.

100

號曰並進並進不可解，下見「並進錄主」，疑「並進」下有脫文。

Styled Concurrent Advancement: Concurrent Advancement is unintelligible; below one sees "Concurrent Advancement Register Master"—suspected dropped text after "Concurrent Advancement."

101

使王九疑人長客之等十二人冊府〈同上卷頁〉無「王」字，「客」作「容」，廣弘明集卷二作「玉女九疑十二人」。按「使」字下人名訛脫，廣弘明集恐也是以意節改，今仍之。

Sent Wang, a man of Jiuyi, Chang Keren, and twelve others: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 lacks "the cited text"; reads "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "twelve jade maidens of Jiuyi." According to corruption and omission of personal names after "sent," Guang hongming ji also appears to abbreviate by conjecture; the original is retained.

102

其中為方萬里者有三百六十方諸本「方」作「万」，廣弘明集卷二作「方」。按上云「為方萬里」，下稱「廣漢平土方」。「万」乃「方」的殘缺，今據改。

Among them, regions ten thousand li square numbered three hundred sixty regions: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text." According to the passage above, "regions ten thousand li square," and below, "Guanghan Pingtu region." "the cited text" is a damaged form of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

103

且有百授之勞冊府〈同上卷頁〉「百授」作「指授」。按「百授」語晦，疑作「指授」是。

And there was the labor of a hundred transmissions: Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text" for "the cited text." According to "hundred transmissions" being obscure, "the cited text" is suspected to be correct.

104

輔佐北方泰平真君諸本「輔」訛「轉」，今據冊府〈同上卷頁〉、廣弘明集卷二、通鑑卷一一九〈三七六二頁〉改。

Assisting the Northern True Lord of Great Peace: various editions corrupt "the cited text" to "the cited text"; amended according to Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 Guang hongming ji, juan 2, and Zizhi tongjian, juan 119 〈p. 3762〉 amended.

105

出天宮靜輪之法諸本「輪」作「論」，冊府卷五三〈五八七頁〉、廣弘明集卷二、通鑑〈同上卷頁〉並作「輪」。按下文寇謙之奏有云：「陛下以真君御世，建靜輪天宮之法」，此「靜輪宮」又見於水經注卷一三㶟水篇。「論」乃「輪」形近而訛，今據改。

Issuing the Heavenly Palace Quiet Wheel method: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 53 〈p. 587〉 Guang hongming ji, juan 2, and Zizhi tongjian 〈same juan, same page〉 all read "the cited text." According to Kou Qianzhi's memorial below: "Your Majesty as True Lord governs the age, establishing the Quiet Wheel Heavenly Palace method"—this "Quiet Wheel Palace" also appears in Shui jing zhu, juan 13, Guishui pian. "the cited text" is a graphic corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

106

則起真仙矣廣弘明集卷二作「超登真仙矣」。按「起真仙」語晦，「起」當是「超」之訛。

Then one rises to true immortality: Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "surpasses and ascends to true immortality." According to "rises to true immortality" being obscure, "the cited text" is suspected to be "the cited text" corrupted.

107

中有三十六宮諸本脫「六」字，今據冊府〈同上卷頁〉、廣弘明集卷二補。

Within are thirty-six palaces: various editions drop "the cited text"; supplied according to Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 and Guang hongming ji, juan 2, supplement.

108

在三十二天諸本「三」作「四」，廣弘明集卷二作「三」。按上云：「兩儀之間有三十六天」，雖荒誕無稽，前後也應照應不得又稱「四十二天」。「四」乃「三」之訛，今據改。

In the thirty-second heaven: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Guang hongming ji, juan 2, reads "the cited text." According to the passage above: "Between the Two Principles are thirty-six heavens"—though absurd and groundless, front and back should correspond and one cannot again say "forty-two heavens." "the cited text" is a corruption of "the cited text"; it is amended accordingly.

109

長六寸冊府卷五三〈五八八頁〉作「長六尺六寸」，疑此脫「六尺」二字。

Six chi long: Cefu, juan 53 〈p. 588〉 reads "six chi six inches long"—suspected that "six feet" is dropped here.

110

斷粟食荽諸本「荽」作「麥」，冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「荽」。按「斷粟食麥」，又何足異。「荽」是香草。今據改。

Cutting off grain and eating coriander: various editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; Cefu 〈same juan, same page〉 reads "the cited text." According to "cutting off grain and eating wheat"—what would be remarkable about that? "the cited text" is a fragrant herb. It is amended accordingly.

111

壇主道士哥人一百六人北本、殿本「哥」作「高」，百衲本、南本、汲本作「哥」，冊府卷五五〈五八九頁〉作「奇」。按「哥人」不可解，北、殿本作「高人」，當是以意改。「奇」字與「哥」形近，但無他證。今仍之。

Altar master, daoists, and ge singers one hundred six persons: the Bei and Dian editions read "the cited text" for "the cited text"; the Bai na, Nan, and Ji editions read "the cited text"; Cefu, juan 55 〈p. 589〉 reads "the cited text." According to "ge singers" being unintelligible, the Bei and Dian editions read "exalted persons"—apparently changed by conjecture. The character "the cited text" is graphically similar to "the cited text," but there is no other evidence. The original is retained for now.

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