肇論疏 1.21

1.21

第三、稱歎也。罄，盡也，如覆罄更無有物也。淵，深。浩博無涯窮法體相者，浩汗廣博無涯岸，窮盡諸法實相體也。雖復言約而義豐文華而理詣者，約，少；豐，多也。《易》云：豐：大也。《毛詩傳》云：豐，茂也。詣，進也，出《小雅》。彼文云：造奏詣進也。語勢連環意實孤誕者，連環，不絕也。孤誕，生也。《毛詩》云：誕，闊也。《爾雅》云：誕，大也。敢是絕妙好辭莫不竭茲洪論者，漢時會稽人曾肝，能撫節安歌，度浙江溺死。肝女曹娥年十二，求肝屍不得，自投浙江而死，經宿抱父屍而出。度尚為作碑，置於會稽上虞山。漢末議郎蔡邕，夜至碑所求火不得，以手摸之而讀，歎其能文。乃鎸碑背，作八字云：黃絹幼婦外孫韲臼。後曹操共揚脩讀此語，問修解不？答云：解。操令修勿語，待吾思之。行三十里方解，乃嗟曰：有智無智校三十里。後乃殺修，操諸子皆救。操曰：此人中之龍，恐非汝力之所駕馭。遂殺之。黃絹者，絲邊著色，此是絕字。幼婦，少女也，女邊著少，妙字也。外孫，女子也，女邊著子，此是好字也。韲臼者，受辛也，受邊著辛，此是辭字也。今謂絕妙好辭竭盡此論之中也。洪者，大也。所以童壽歎言下，此語出《名僧傳．慧觀傳》中也。明什法師作此語，非無所以也。彰在翰牘者，肇法師文理彰顯在翰牘也。古人以雞翰毛書簡牘之上，今名紙為牘也。

Third, praise. 'Qing' means completely, as when an overturned vessel contains nothing left. 'Yuan' means deep. 'Vast, boundless, exhausting the essence and characteristics of dharmas': Surging, broad, and shoreless, it exhausts the essence of the dharmatā of all dharmas. 'Though its words are concise, their meaning is rich; though its style is florid, its principle penetrates': 'Yue' means few; 'feng' means many. The Yijing says: 'Feng means great.' The Maoshi zhuan says: 'Feng means luxuriant.' 'Yi' means advancing, coming from the Xiaoya. That text says: 'Zao, zou, and yi mean to advance.' 'The rhetorical force is linked like a chain, while its import is truly solitary and grand': 'Linked like a chain' means unbroken. 'Gudan' means arising; the Mao Poetry says: 'Dan means wide.' The Erya says: 'Dan means great.' 'Daring to claim that supremely marvelous, fine words are entirely exhausted in this grand treatise': During the Han dynasty, Cao Gan of Kuaiji was skilled at keeping time and singing peacefully; while crossing the Zhejiang river, he drowned. Gan's daughter, Cao E, was twelve years old; unable to find Gan's corpse, she threw herself into the Zhejiang and died. After spending the night, she emerged embracing her father's corpse. Du Shang erected a stele for her on Mount Shangyu in Kuaiji. At the end of the Han, the court gentleman Cai Yong arrived at the stele by night; lacking a light, he felt it with his hands and read it, sighing in admiration at its literary skill. He then carved eight characters on the back of the stele, reading: 'Yellow silk, young woman, maternal grandson, mortar for pounding spices.' Later, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu read these words together, and Cao asked Xiu whether he understood them. Xiu answered: 'I understand.' Cao ordered Xiu not to speak, saying: 'Wait until I think about it.' After traveling thirty li he finally understood, and then sighed: 'Having wisdom and lacking wisdom differ by thirty li.' Later, Cao Cao killed Xiu, and all of Cao's sons pleaded for him. Cao said: 'This man is a dragon among men; I fear he cannot be harnessed by your powers.' He then executed him. 'Yellow silk' is silk beside color, which forms the character jue (supreme/silk). 'Young woman' is a girl; girl beside few forms the character miao (marvelous). 'Maternal grandson' is a female's son; female beside son forms the character hao (fine). 'Mortar for pounding spices' receives pungency; receiving beside pungent forms the character ci (words). Here it means that supremely marvelous, fine words are completely exhausted within this treatise. 'Hong' means great. 'Therefore Kumārajīva sighed, saying' below: these words appear in the 'Biography of Huiguan' in the Mingseng zhuan. This clarifies that Master Kumārajīva did not utter these words without reason. 'Manifest on brush and tablet': Master Sengzhao's literary style and principle are clearly manifested on brush and tablet. Ancient people used pheasant feathers to write upon bamboo slips and tablets; nowadays paper is also called tablet (du).