釋氏稽古略 2.305

2.305

Master Wenzhong: Wang Tong traveled west to Chang'an, where he had an audience with the Emperor in the Taiji Hall and presented twelve strategies for great peace. He exalted the Kingly Way and promoted hegemonic strategies, examining antiquity and testing it against the present. The Emperor was greatly pleased, saying, "How late it is that I obtain this gentleman!" He referred the proposal to the dukes and ministers for discussion, but they were displeased. Tong knew that his plans would not be adopted; he composed the "Song of the Eastern Expedition" and returned home. Thereupon, he continued the Book of Odes and Book of Documents, rectified the rites and music, compiled the Yuanjing, and elucidated the Way of the Book of Changes. In nine years, the Six Classics were completed on a grand scale. Disciples who came from afar included Dong Chang of Henan, Yao Yi of Taishan, Du Ruhui of Jingzhao, Li Jing of Zhaojun, Cheng Yuan of Nanyang, Dou Wei of Fufeng, Xue Shou of Hedong, Jia Qiong of Zhongshan, Fang Xuanling of Qinghe, Wei Zheng of Julu, Wang Gui of Taiyuan, Wen Yanbo, and Chen Shuda of Yingchuan; all called him their master and faced north to receive the way of assisting kings. Besides these, there were more than a thousand others who came and went to receive instruction. When Jia Qiong asked how to halt slander, Tong said, "Do not argue." When he asked how to stop resentment, he said, "Do not contend." Tong said, "One who becomes angry upon hearing slander is a decoy for calumny. One who rejoices upon seeing praise is an agent for flattery. Cut off the decoy and remove the agent, and slander and flattery will be kept far away." At the beginning of Emperor Yang's reign, he was summoned repeatedly but did not accept. In the thirteenth year of the Daye era, he fell ill. Hearing that Emperor Yang had been harmed, he shed tears and rose up, saying, "The common people have long been weary of chaos. Perhaps the era of Yao and Shun is about to open. That I will not participate in it is destiny!" He then died. His disciples posthumously conferred upon him the name Master Wenzhong. The Master once composed the Zhongshuo to model after the Analects. Its "Duke of Zhou" chapter says: "That the Book of Odes and Book of Documents flourished yet the Qin dynasty perished was not the fault of Confucius. That the profound and vacuous expanded yet the Jin royal house fell into disorder was not the fault of Laozi and Zhuangzi. That fasting and precepts were practiced yet the Liang state was destroyed was not the fault of Śākya[muni]. Does not the Book of Changes say: 'If it is not the right person, the Way is not practiced in vain'?" Someone asked about the Buddha, and the Master said, "He was a sage." The person asked, "How is his Way?" He said, "It is the teaching of the West; in the Central Lands people become mired in it." He also said, "Observing the impartial discourses in the Huangji, the three teachings are thereby united." The Master's younger brother, Wang Ji, also authored books, styling himself the Master of Donggao. Master Wenzhong was lecturing on the Way by the stream of Baiwu; his disciples held books, faced north, and formed rows around the hall. When the lecture ended, Student Cheng withdrew to reflect under the pines. Speaking of the Book of Changes of the Zhou, Xue Shou sighed, saying, "How does it not match Fuxi? Why are there so many words?" Soon, there was a man carrying poria cocos, with white hair, who laid down his load, rested, and said, "Why do you sigh, my young master?" Xue Shou said, "Old man, what do you do that you should examine my sighing?" The porter said, "One who adheres to vermilion turns red; one who attaches to ink turns black: this is attained gradually. Now, that which my young master practices is the Way, and yet you still sigh; this means your five viscera and six bowels cannot receive it. This is why I asked." Xue Shou said, "I have heard from my master that the Book of Changes is the storehouse of the Way. Fuxi drew the hexagrams and King Wen appended the judgments; this did not equal the conciseness of the lines. This is why I sighed." The porter said, "How could King Wen be the affliction? Fuxi's affliction was far worse! Formerly, before Fuxi drew the hexagrams, were the three realms not established? Did the four seasons not circulate? Were the hundred things not generated? Were the myriad phenomena not dense? Why toil and expend effort in drawing them? Ever since Fuxi disclosed the secrets of the Way and leaked the subtleties of the divine, dissecting the Great Harmony and tearing asunder the Original Qi, the clever men of the world have brought forth deceptive and rebellious paths, saying: 'I am good at speaking of symbols and understanding the dispositions of things.' Yin and yang rub against each other; far and near seize each other. They concoct doctrines of hard and soft, sameness and difference, so as to alarm the minds of men. Thereupon the knowing became unknowing, and the Great Simplicity was shattered. Thus Fuxi was the one who first presaged chaos; how can you waste sighs lamenting King Wen?" Carrying his poria, he walked away. Pursuing him to ask about his residence and full name, he did not reply. Master Wenzhong heard of this and said, "Was he a recluse?" Tong was a native of Longmen.