高僧傳 5.11

5.11

Dao'an was widely read in non-Buddhist texts and was skilled in composition. In Chang'an, sons of the gentry who composed poetry and rhapsodies all associated with him to acquire a reputation. At that time, Lantian County obtained a large bronze cauldron with a capacity of twenty-seven hu. It had a seal inscription on the side that no one could decipher, so they showed it to Dao'an. Dao'an said: "This is ancient seal script; it says it was cast by Duke Xiang of Lu." He then transcribed it into clerical script. There was also a person selling a bronze hu in the market. Its shape was perfectly round: facing downward it was a dou; of the crossbeam, the raised part was a dou and the lowered part was a ge; one end of the beam was a yue, equal to a zhong, holding half a ge; on its side was a seal inscription. Jian asked Dao'an about it, and Dao'an said: "This is from Wang Mang, who claimed descent from Shun. In the year wuchen, he changed the calendar and adopted the true title, standardizing the pitch pipes and measures and distributing them across the four quarters, wishing the small and large vessels to be uniform so that the world might obtain balance." Such was his vast learning and wide erudition. Jian decreed that scholars who had doubts regarding internal or external texts should all take Dao'an as their teacher. Therefore, the people of the capital had a saying: "If you study without taking Dao'an as master, you will not hit the mark when difficulties arise."