佛祖歷代通載 9.43

9.43

（二十三）　是年四月。昭明太子薨。太子諱統字維摩。天監元年生於霸府。三日而建康平。識者以為天命所集。幼聰睿。三歲受孝經論語。五歲遍讀五經悉能諷誦。八歲於壽光殿講孝經。名儒重臣畢集座側。太子詞吐華暢淵源無滯。皆欽服以為聖童。年十二於內省決獄。剖斷平允。自是數使聽訟。賴活者不可勝數。性慈孝美容止。讀書數行俱下。過目憶誦無違。帝既留心內典躬自講說。太子亦天性好佛。凡釋部經論披覽略遍。於東宮別立惠義殿。專為法集之所。招引名僧。撰次法事儀注。及立三諦等義。世咨美之。母薨每哭輒動絕水漿不入口。帝勅左右宣旨曰。毀不滅性聖人所制。不勝哀比於不孝。有我在那得自毀如此。即可強進飲粥。太子奉旨始進粥。體素肥腰帶十圍。至是減削過半。帝尋委以軍國政事。太子處決無留滯。引納天下奇材賞愛無倦。東宮有書凡二萬餘卷。群賢畢集。文雅之盛由晉已來未之有也。甞游後池乘綵文舸。摘芙蕖以嬉。姬人蕩舟沒溺而出。感疾動股。恐貽帝憂。不以聞。遂薨。天下哭之如喪其親焉。

(Twenty-three) In the fourth month of this year, Crown Prince Zhaoming died. The Crown Prince's taboo name was Tong, and his courtesy name was Weimo. He was born in the hegemon's mansion in the first year of Tianjian; three days later, Jiankang was pacified. Those who had discernment considered that the Heavenly Mandate had gathered [upon him]. He was intelligent and sagacious from childhood. At age three, he received instruction in the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects; at age five, he had read all of the Five Classics and was capable of reciting them. At age eight, he lectured on the Classic of Filial Piety in the Shouguang Hall. Famous scholars and important ministers all gathered at the side of his seat. The Crown Prince's diction was elegant, fluent, profound, and unimpeded; they all admired and submitted, regarding him as a holy child. At age twelve, he decided lawsuits in the inner bureau, and his judgments were fair and impartial. From then on, he was repeatedly ordered to hear lawsuits, and those whose lives were preserved were beyond counting. By nature he was compassionate and filial, with an attractive countenance and demeanor. In reading, several lines would be taken in simultaneously; once passing before his eyes, they were memorized without error. Since the Emperor had set his mind on Buddhist texts and personally gave lectures, the Crown Prince also had a natural fondness for Buddhism; he perused almost all the sūtras and treatises of the Buddhist canon. In the Eastern Palace, he separately established the Huiyi Hall specifically as a place for Dharma assemblies, inviting famous monks, compiling the rituals and ceremonial procedures for Dharma affairs, and establishing doctrines such as the Three Truths, for which the world praised him. When his mother passed away, whenever he wept, he would swoon and lose consciousness, not letting water or broth enter his mouth. The Emperor ordered his attendants to announce the decree: 'The sages instituted that grief should not destroy one’s life. Excessive sorrow is comparable to unfilial conduct. With me present, how can you destroy yourself like this? You must force yourself to take porridge.' Only after receiving the decree did the Crown Prince begin to take porridge. His body had naturally been stout, his waist ten girths, but by this time it had diminished by more than half. Soon after, the Emperor entrusted him with military and state affairs; the Crown Prince resolved them without delay. He attracted and admitted extraordinary talents from throughout the realm, admiring and treasuring them tirelessly. In the Eastern Palace there were more than twenty thousand fascicles of books; all the worthy gathered there, and such flourishing of literary elegance had not been seen since the Jin dynasty. He once wandered at the rear pond, riding in an ornate boat, picking lotus flowers for amusement. A maid-in-waiting rocked the boat, and he fell into the water and emerged; he fell ill and suffered pain in his legs. Fearing to cause the Emperor distress, he did not report it. He then died. All under Heaven wept for him as though they had lost their own parent.