歷代三寶紀 9.2

9.2

The Five Catalogues of the Western Qin, Northern Liang, Wei, Qi, and Chen dynasties: These were also rulers who seized their moments to save the world, benefit the people, and proclaim transformation. Qifu Guoren was a Xianbei from Longxi, whose family had resided in Yuanchuan for generations as the Southern Chanyu. After the defeat of the Former Qin, he assumed the title of King of Qin, establishing his capital at Zicheng. He revered and served śramaṇas. At that time, he met Shengjian, who had arrived there on his mission of teaching; Guoren treated him with increased veneration, and the grace and courtesy shown to him were extremely generous. Having propagated the Buddhist tradition, he had scriptures translated. His lineage spanned five rulers over forty-four years, until it was extinguished by the Xia. The Wei in turn swallowed the Xia. Juqu Mengxun was a Lushui Hu barbarian from Linshong, whose ancestors were for generations the Left Great Juqu of the Xiongnu; they took their official title as their clan name. Availing himself of the Former Liang, he established himself independently and moved his administrative seat to Guzang. He encountered Dharma Master Dharmakṣema, who translated the *Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra*, the *Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra*, and other texts. His lineage lasted two rulers over forty-three years, until it was destroyed by the Wei. Tuoba Gui, courtesy name Shegui, was a barbarian from Wuyuan in Yunzhong who served as Qin's Protector of the Army. After the fall of the Fu clan, he assumed the imperial title, naming his state Wei and capital at Heng. When the third ruler, Emperor Taiwu, Fuli, ruled, he believed and accepted heterodox words, destroying the Buddhadharma, executing monks, and demolishing monasteries. For seven years, an evil illness afflicted his body. After he died, [the Dharma] was restored. Four rulers reigned in the north. By the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, Hong, the capital was moved to Luoyang, the clan name was changed to Yuan, and Chinese court robes and caps were first adopted. In the first year of the Xiping reign period of Emperor Xiaoming, Empress Dowager Ling of the Hu clan built Yongning Monastery and erected a nine-story wooden pagoda ninety fathoms high. Atop it was a precious finial another ten fathoms high, reaching one thousand feet above the ground; it could be seen from afar a hundred li from the capital. When they first sought to build the foundation and dug down to the yellow springs, they unearthed thirty-two golden statues. The Empress Dowager believed this was an auspicious omen for the Dharma, and so its construction exhausted the utmost earthly skill. The golden vase atop the finial held twenty-five dan. Beneath the vase were dew-catching golden discs in eleven tiers, surrounding the perimeter, all hanging golden bells. Furthermore, there were four iron chains guiding the finial toward the corners of the pagoda, and upon the four corner chains were also golden bells, each the size of a one-dan urn. On each of the nine stories of the pagoda, every corner had gilded copper bells suspended, totaling one hundred and thirty bells from top to bottom. On the four sides of the pagoda, each side had three doors and six windows, all with red lacquered door leaves. On each door leaf were five rows of golden bells; the twelve doors and twenty-four door leaves had a total of 5,400 bells. Beneath the bells were carved golden ring knockers, exhausting the ingenuity of fabrication and the heights of carpentry and masonry. The common people came as if to build their own homes, finishing it without delay; the Buddhist works were exquisite, wondrous, and inconceivable. The embroidered pillars and golden fittings startled human eyes and minds. In the long nights of autumn months when high winds blew, the precious bells chimed in harmony, their sounds blending melodiously; in the middle of the night, shining brightly, their glow illuminated the sky, and the resonant sounds could be heard for over ten li. North of the pagoda was a Buddha hall, shaped like the Hall of the Supreme Ultimate. Inside was an eighteen-foot golden statue, ten life-sized golden statues, three woven pearl statues, five woven gold images, and two jade statues; their exquisite craftsmanship surpassed all in contemporary times. There were more than a thousand monks' quarters and multi-storied pavilions; the carved beams, whitewashed walls, blue lattice patterns, and decorated openwork screens were beyond description. Cypress, fir, chun, and pine grew luxuriously beneath the eaves; thickets of bamboo and fragrant herbs spread across the courtyards and terraces. Therefore, Chang Jing's inscription for the monastery said: "Neither the jewel hall of Sumeru nor the pure palace of Tuṣita could surpass this." Miraculous scriptures and statues presented by foreign countries were all kept in this monastery. The surrounding walls of the monastery were all fitted with corbel brackets and covered with roof tiles, resembling palace walls. On each of the four sides of the monastery was an open gate. The main southern gate had a three-story pavilion connecting three passageways, rising twenty fathoms from the ground, styled like the current Duan Gate; painted with clouds, colorful celestials, and immortals, adorned with interlaced coins and blue lattices, it was dazzling and magnificent. Flanking the two sides of the gate were four guardian warriors and four lions, adorned with gold and silver and embellished with pearls and jewels, arrayed in a glorious radiance unheard of in the world. The east and west gates were also just like it, differing only in having two stories. The single northern gate had no pavilion above it, resembling a black-post gate. Outside all four gates, green locust trees were planted, bordered by clear water; passersby in the capital mostly took shelter beneath them. Carriages jammed the roads not because they sought moisture from soaking clouds; cool breezes brought relief, with no need for the shade of the collective silk trees. The offerings and utensils were equal to those of the Jetavana, and the four requisites were provided to seven hundred Indian monks. Bodhiruci was the head of translation. By imperial decree, Li Kuo was sent to compile a catalogue of scriptures. When Emperor Yongxi moved into the Pass, it split into four Weis—Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern—totaling sixteen emperors across a period of one hundred and sixty-one years, which then diverged into the Zhou and Qi. Gao Yang, a barbarian garrison commander from Wuchuan, accepted the abdication of the Eastern Wei, called his dynasty Qi, and established his capital at Ye, ruling over three of the Four Rivers and five of the Nine Provinces. Yang was actually acute and perceptive, but his conduct seemed mad. He ordered Daoist priests to shave their heads, and those who refused were executed. There were more than two million śramaṇas and over thirty thousand temples and pagodas. His lineage spanned six rulers over twenty-eight years until it was swallowed and destroyed by the Zhou, and the spiritual traces of the Three Jewels vanished at once. Chen Baxian was a man from Changcheng in Wuxing. Availing himself of Hou Jing's destruction of Jinling, the King of Xiangdong of the Liang pacified Jing and established his capital in Chu, but Chu was annexed by the Wei. Baxian thereupon established himself at Jiankang, using his surname as the dynasty's name. It lasted four rulers over thirty-three years until the lineage was severed. In the ninth year of Kaihuang, the year of Jiyou, the six directions and the two polarities were unified once again. The kingship of the Qifu began in the twelfth year of the Taiyuan reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, when the star position was in Juzi; up to the current year of Kaihuang, in the year of Zuoe, it is two hundred and three years. The various translators, Chinese and barbarian, monastic and lay, numbered twenty-seven in all. The translated sūtras, vinayas, śāstras, precepts, abhidharmas, biographies, and compilations, along with lost translations, amount to two hundred and three works in eight hundred and fifty-five fascicles. These are summarized as the generation-by-generation catalogues of twenty-seven rulers, five dynasties, and seven capitals.