宋高僧傳 4.27

4.27

釋彥悰，未知何許人也。貞觀之末，觀光上京，求法于三藏法師之門。然其才不迨光、寶，遍長綴習學耳。於玄儒之業，頗見精微。辭筆之能，殊超流輩。有魏國西寺沙門慧立性氣炰烋，以護法為己任，著傳五卷，專記三藏自貞觀中一行盛化及西域所歷夷險等，號《慈恩傳》，蓋取寺題也。及削[葶-丁+呆]云畢，慮遺諸美，遂藏于地穴。至疾亟，命門徒掘土出之而卒。其本數年流散他所，搜購乃獲。弟子等命悰排次之，序引之，或文未允，或事稍虧，重更伸明，曰「箋述」是也。乃象鄭司農箋「毛」之詁訓也。或有調之曰：「子與隋彥琮相去幾何？」對曰：「賜也，何敢望回，雖長卿慕藺，『心宗』慕於『玉宗』，故有以也。」《詩》曰：「言念君子，溫其如玉」，自許亦顏之士也。或人許焉。悰不知終所。

Śramaṇa Yancong was of unknown origin. At the end of the Zhenguan reign era, he traveled to inspect the capital and sought the Dharma at the gate of the Tripiṭaka Master. However, his talent did not match Shengguang and Fabao; he only excelled extensively in composition and study. In the undertakings of the Daoist mysteries and Confucianism, he displayed considerable subtlety. His ability in literary prose far surpassed his peers. There was a śramaṇa of the Western Temple of the State of Wei named Huili, who was spirited and vehement, taking the protection of the Dharma as his personal responsibility. He authored a biography in five scrolls, specifically recording the Tripiṭaka Master's glorious teaching career starting from the Zhenguan era and the perils and hardships he traversed in the Western Regions, entitling it the Cien zhuan, deriving it from the temple's name. When he finished paring the bamboo slips, fearing that many virtues might be omitted, he concealed it in an underground cavity. When his illness became critical, he ordered his disciples to excavate the earth, take it out, and then passed away. Its copies were scattered elsewhere for several years, only obtained after searching and purchasing. The disciples ordered Yancong to arrange the sequence and compose a preface; where the wording was inadequate or events somewhat missing, he elucidated them anew, which was called "annotating and relating" (jianshu). This was modeled on the Agricultural Minister Zheng's commentary upon the glosses of the Mao edition. Someone bantered with him, saying: "How far are you from Yancong of the Sui?" He replied: "As for Ci [Zigong], how could he dare hope to equal Hui [Yan Hui]? Though Changqing [Sima Xiangru] admired Lin [Xiangru], 'Xincong's' admiration for 'Yucong' likewise has its reason." The Book of Songs says: "When I think of the gentleman, he is gentle like jade"; he also considered himself a man like Yan Hui. The person assented. It is not known where Cong ended his days.