唐護法沙門法琳別傳 1.16

1.16

高祖納皇儲等諫。因降勅曰。寺留三所京置千僧。餘並給賜王公。僧等放還桑梓。嚴勅既下。皂白難分。不敢忤意而止焉。夏五月六日。

Gaozu accepted the remonstrance of the Crown Prince and others, and thereupon issued an imperial decree stating: 'Three monasteries shall be retained, and one thousand monks established in the capital; the remainder shall all be bestowed upon princes and dukes, and the monks discharged to return to their native places.' Once the strict decree was promulgated, it was difficult to distinguish black from white; none dared oppose the imperial will, and so it was halted. On the sixth day of the fifth month, in summer,