釋氏稽古略 2.309

2.309

In the yichou year, the first year of Daye (605), in the first month, the Emperor built the West Chanding Monastery for Emperor Gaozu. He also built the Jiangsheng Monastery in Gaoyang. He bestowed a letter upon Mahāsattva Fu's Shuanglin Monastery in Wuzhou, which stated in brief: 'We, having reverently inherited the precious mandate and nurturing the ten thousand regions, desire to propagate virtuous transformation so that it extensively reaches near and far.' (The text of the sentence expressing reverence can be seen in the Biography of the Mahāsattva.) He first instituted the jinshi examination. In the third month, on the wushen day, an imperial edict stated: 'Only by listening to popular songs and taking counsel with the common people can one truly examine the successes and failures of penal governance. Now We are about to travel through the Huai and sea regions to observe local customs.' He ordered Yuwen Kai, Secretariat Drafter Feng Deyi, and others to construct the Xianren Palace. To the south it adjoined Zhuoxiang, and to the north it spanned the banks of the Luo River. Rare timber and extraordinary stones were requisitioned from south of the Yangtze River and north of the Five Ridges to be transported to Luoyang. Moreover, fine trees, exotic plants, rare birds, and strange beasts were sought from throughout the realm to stock the gardens and parks. He also ordered the Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Huangfu Yi, to mobilize over one million commoners from the commanderies of Henan and Huaibei at various times to open the Tongji Canal. From the Western Park, it led the waters of the Gu and Luo to reach the Yellow River; further, from Banzhu it led the River through Rongze to enter the Bian River; and further, from east of Daliang it led the Bian River into the Si to reach the Huai. He also mobilized more than one hundred thousand commoners from Huainan to open the Hangou connecting canal (in Anzhou). From Shanyang to Yangzi it entered the Yangtze River. The canal was forty paces wide. Beside the canal, imperial highways were constructed and planted with willows. From Chang'an to Jiangdu, more than forty detached palaces were established. He also dispatched Gentleman Attendant of the Yellow Gate Wang Hong and others to Jiangnan to build dragon boats and tens of thousands of various vessels. In the fifth month, the Western Park was constructed with a circumference of two hundred li. Inside it, a sea was made with a circumference of over ten li, and such mountains as Fangzhang and Penglai were built, rising over one hundred feet above the water's surface. Terraces, watchtowers, and palaces were arrayed across the mountains, their orientations wondrously arranged as if by spirits. North of the sea was the Dragon Scale Canal, which meandered and flowed into the sea. Along the canal, sixteen courtyards were made, all with gates facing the canal. Each courtyard was presided over by a fourth-rank consort. The halls, palaces, and pavilions reached the utmost in splendor and magnificence. When the palace trees shed their foliage in autumn and winter, colored silk was cut into flowers and leaves and affixed to the branches; when the colors faded, they were replaced with new ones, so that it always seemed like balmy spring. In the ponds, cut colored silk was also made into lotus, water chestnuts, and fox nuts; when the imperial carriage went on an outing, the water was drained and these were laid out. The Emperor was fond of riding on moonlit nights, followed by several thousand palace maidens, roaming the Western Park, composing the 'Tune of the Pure Night Excursion' and performing it on horseback. In the eighth month, the Emperor made an imperial progress to Jiangdu. Setting out from the Xianren Palace, he exited Luokou and boarded the dragon boat. The dragon boat had four levels, was forty-five feet high, and two hundred feet long. On the upper level were the main hall, inner halls, and the eastern and western court halls. On the middle two levels were one hundred and twenty rooms, all adorned with gold and jade. On the lower level the inner attendants resided. The Empress rode the Soaring Chi-Dragon boat; its dimensions were slightly smaller, but its decorations were no different. The boat trackers all wore robes of brocade and silk. There were also several thousand vessels [with names] such as Floating Luminescence, Rippling Color, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Chi-Dragon (the character chī is pronounced with the fanqie su-dao). There were more than eighty thousand boat trackers. Prows and sterns connected one after another for more than two hundred li, illuminating the rivers and land. Cavalry flanked both banks as they marched, and their banners darkened the wilds. Whenever the Emperor went on an imperial tour, the imperial guard extended for over twenty li. The magnificence of the regalia and splendor was unmatched in recent times (Sui shu). / In the second year (606), in the third month, the Emperor departed from Jiangdu. In the fourth month, he entered the Eastern Capital. He established a bodhimaṇḍa and held a pañcavārṣika assembly, ordaining one hundred and twenty men and women as monks and nuns. On behalf of Emperor Wendi, he made a seated bronze-gilt image of Śākyamuni Buddha. In Bingzhou (which is Taiyuan), he built the Hongshan Monastery. Beside Longshan, he made a seated image of Amitābha, one hundred and thirty feet high. In Yangzhou, he established the Huiri Bodhimaṇḍa. In Chang'an, he built the Qingchan, Riyan, and Xiangtai Monasteries. Furthermore, he donated nine palaces to become nine monasteries. At both Tailing and Zhuangling, he built monasteries. On behalf of Emperor Wen and Empress Xian, he built two monasteries and two pagodas in Chang'an, and separately established two monasteries. He repaired six hundred and twelve canons of old scriptures, totaling 903,580 fascicles; one hundred and one thousand old statues; cast 3,856 new statues; and ordained 16,200 monks. When the Emperor went on tours of inspection, he was always accompanied by monks, nuns, Daoist priests, and Daoist nuns; these were called the 'Four Bodhimaṇḍas' (Di ji and Bianzheng lun). / In the third year (607), on the twenty-eighth day of the first month, the Emperor hosted a vegetarian feast and drew up a memorial stating: 'The Emperor, disciple of the bodhisattva precepts, Guang, addresses the Three Jewels: Within the entire realm, We respectfully establish supreme conditions, inviting monks to practice the Way for seven days and ordaining one thousand monks. By means of this merit, may the defilements of sin be universally purified for all sentient beings so that they together attain bodhi' (Bianzheng lun). In the third month, the Emperor returned to Chang'an. Because the laws and statutes were harsh and severe during Emperor Gaozu's final years, an edict ordered the revision of the penal code and statutes. The people, having long detested the harsh severity, rejoiced at the lenient governance. Commandant of Cavalry Liu Xuan participated in revising the penal code and statutes. Minister of Personnel Niu Hong leisurely asked Xuan: 'In the Rites of Zhou, affairs were many yet the clerks were few. Now the scribes are a hundredfold greater than before, yet if we reduce them, affairs do not succeed. What is the reason for this?' Xuan said: 'The ancients entrusted duties and held officials accountable for results, assessing their superior or inferior performances at the end of the year (inferior performance was called dian, and superior performance was called zui). Case files were not repeatedly collated, and texts were not convoluted and detailed; the duty of the clerks was merely to manage the essential headings. Today's written ledgers are constantly scrutinized for re-investigation; if the compilation is not airtight, witnesses are summoned from ten thousand li away, and centuries-old precedents are exhumed—this is the reason for it' (Sui shu). Commanderies (zhou) were renamed as commanderies (jun); weights, measures, and standards were all adjusted according to ancient patterns. Officials from the Pillar of State and below were renamed grandees. The Palace Administration was established alongside the Department of State Affairs, the Chancellery, the Secretariat, and the Palace Library to make the Five Directorates. The Receptionist Bureau and the Metropolitan Commandant's Bureau were added to the Censorate to make the Three Tribunals. The Court of the National Granaries was divided to establish the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories, which alongside the Court of the Imperial Consorts, the Directorate of the Sons of Heaven, the Directorate of Palace Buildings, and the Directorate of Waterways formed the Five Directorates. Furthermore, the Left and Right Guard Regiments were adjusted and expanded into the Sixteen Guards. The ranks of count, viscount, and baron were abolished, retaining only the three ranks of prince, duke, and marquis. An edict ordered the mobilization of over one million able-bodied men to build the Great Wall, extending west to Yulin and east to the Zi River. Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs Su Wei remonstrated, but the Emperor did not listen. The construction was completed in two decades of days. In the eighth month, the imperial carriage departed from Yulin, passed through Yunzhong, and sailed up the Jin River. At that time, the world was at peace, all commodities were abundant, there were over five hundred thousand armored soldiers and one hundred thousand horses. In the ninth month, he arrived at the Eastern Capital. / In the fourth year (608), an edict ordered the construction of the Fenyang Palace north of Fenzhou, at the source of the Fen River. / In the fifth year (609), in the first month, the Eastern Capital (Dongjing) was renamed Dongdu. An edict ordered the equal distribution of land throughout the realm. In the third month, the imperial carriage toured the west. / In the sixth year (610), an imperial edict commanded the excavation of the Jiangnan River, extending over eight hundred li from Jingkou to Yuhang and more than ten zhang wide, so that dragon boats could pass through. Post stations and officials were also established, as he wished to tour Kuaiji to the east. / In the seventh year (611), in the second month, the Emperor traveled from Jiangdu to Zhuo Commandery. On the renwu day, an edict was issued to launch a punitive expedition against Koguryŏ, and the realm was thrown into turmoil. Wang Bo, a commoner of Zouping, gathered a multitude and occupied Mount Changbai, plundering the outskirts of Qi and Ji. Calling himself the 'Master Who Knows the World', he composed the song 'Do Not Go to Liaodong to Die in Vain' to move and encourage others; many who fled conscription and corvée went to join him. / In the eighth year (612), troops from the four quarters reached Pyongyang in Koguryŏ, totaling 1,133,800 men. The army and the imperial carriage crossed the Liao River. The various cities of Koguryŏ all defended tenaciously and did not fall. Initially, when the nine armies crossed the Liao River, there were 305,000 men in all; by the time the Emperor returned to Liaodong City, there were only 2,700 men left, and supplies and weaponry were completely lost and destroyed. / In the ninth year (613), in the fourth month, the Emperor appointed Li Yuan, Junior Lord of the Imperial Insignia, as Garrison Commander of Honghua Commandery; troops from the thirteen commanderies of Guanxi were all placed under his conscription. / In the tenth year (614), in the second month, an edict ordered the hundred civil and military officials to deliberate on attacking Koguryŏ; for several days, none dared to speak. On the wuzi day, an edict ordered another mobilization of the realm's troops to advance simultaneously along a hundred routes. Koguryŏ was also impoverished and exhausted, and sent envoys begging to surrender. The Emperor then withdrew the army and returned to the Western Capital. / In the eleventh year (615), in the first month, one hundred and twenty officials were added to the Palace Library, all filled by scholars. / In the eleventh [recte: twelfth] year (616), in the first month, an edict appointed Li Yuan, General of the Right Valiant Cavalry and Duke of Tang, as Garrison Commander of Taiyuan, with Wang Wei and Gao Junya as his deputies. The imperial carriage arrived in Jiangdu. At that time, there was famine; the people gathered tree bark and leaves, or pounded weed seeds into powder to boil and eat. When all things were exhausted, they ended up eating one another. The Emperor was ultimately assassinated in Jiangdu.