佛祖統紀 10.67

10.67

In the first year of Jianlong of the present dynasty, [Taizu] granted him the post of Grand Marshal of the Armies of All under Heaven. In the winter of the first year of Qiande, during the suburban sacrifice, he sent his son Weijun to enter with tribute. In the eighth year of Kaobao, he accompanied the royal army in overcoming Jinling (the Later Ruler Li of the Southern Tang). In the second month of the ninth year, he came to court; an imperial decree granted him the privilege of ascending the palace hall with sword and boots, and imperial decrees did not address him by personal name. His wife, the lady Sun, was made Queen Consort of Wuyue. In the fourth month he returned to his state. In the third month of the third year of the Taiping Xingguo era of Taizong, he entered court and petitioned to surrender the registers and land of the thirteen prefectures under his administration to the celestial court; an imperial decree granted permission. He was re-enfeoffed as King of Huaihai and granted jade patents and gold seals, residing in the Lixian Residence in the capital. His sons Weijun and Weizhi both governed prefectural affairs as military commissioners. Zhongyi resided in the capital for twelve years before passing away; his wealth, nobility, honour, and splendour were beyond compare. Zhongyi was sincere and generous by nature and had known to revere the Buddha from an early age. Emulating King Aśoka, he constructed 84,000 stūpas, cast with exquisite craftsmanship in bronze, brass, and refined iron, inside of which he housed the Baoqieyin xinzhou jing, likewise numbering 84,000, distributing them throughout his domains as treasures to suppress and secure the land, securing the various townships of Qiantang. Across the north and south mountains of West Lake, the monasteries facing one another were all founded by Zhongyi. He revered and served the monks: figures such as National Preceptor Shao of Tiantai and Chan Master Shou of Yongming were all treated with the etiquette due to a teacher. Furthermore, he once summoned Dharma Master Ji of Luoxi to the Golden Gate to establish lectures and inquire about the doctrinal teachings of Zhiyi; because the canonical texts were incomplete, he generously dispatched emissaries bearing heavy treasures to seek the lost works in Goryeo and Japan. Thereupon, the doctrinal texts of the one tradition once more reached their full flourishment. Luoxi was able to transmit them to Baoyun, and Baoyun was able to transmit them to Siming, so that Fazhi came to monopolise the reputation of revival. Tracing the origin back to its source, it was truly the merit of Zhongyi's protection of the Dharma that was greatest. The King once produced twenty sets of the Lotus Sūtra in gold lettering, distributing them among famous mountains (the copy now preserved at Guoqing is one of them).