宋高僧傳 30.26

30.26

Śramaṇa Guanxiu, courtesy name Deyin, secular surname Jiang, was a native of Denggao in Lanxi, Jinhua. When he was seven years old, his parents, who loved him dearly, sent him to Chan Master Yuanzhen of He'an Temple in the local county to leave the world as an acolyte. He recited one thousand characters of the *Lotus Sūtra* daily; what he heard even once was never forgotten. He was tonsured together with Chumo, and they lived in adjacent cloisters; across the fence, they discussed poetry, composing and chanting parallel couplets back and forth, so that monks who witnessed this were all astonished. After receiving the full precepts, his poetic fame shook the era. He then went to Yuzhang to transmit the *Lotus Sūtra* and the *Awakening of Faith*, thoroughly mastering their profound meanings and lecturing diligently. The prefect of the commandery, Wang Zao, respected him even more deeply. The succeeding prefect, Jiang Gui, opened an ordination platform for repentance, and appointed Xiu as the platform superintendent. In the beginning of the Qianning era, bearing high aspirations, he visited King Wusu of Wuyue, Qian [Liu], and presented five eight-line poems; they pleased the king's intention greatly, and the gifts bestowed upon him were also lavish. When the king accomplished the merit of eliminating rebels, the imperial court honored him as a meritorious official. The king then erected a separate hall with a stele recording the names of the generals and officers who joined forces to pacify Yue, and subsequently had Xiu's poems carved on the back of the stele, such was the high regard he enjoyed. Xiu was skilled in delicate painting and mastered the Six Canons of painting. He excelled in ink-wash, and his depictions of forms were striking to behold. At the invitation of the Qiang family's pharmacy at Zhongan Bridge, he produced a complete set of paintings of arhats, saying: "Every time I paint one image, I always pray in dreams to obtain the likeness of the True One before completing it." They were unlike ordinary styles. From then on, he traveled through Yi and She, finding spiritual resonance with Ācārya Lan of Tang'an Temple. Later, wishing to climb the Southern Peak, he went north to visit the commander of Jing, Cheng Rui, who initially treated him with great courtesy and accommodated him at Longxing Temple. At that time, Hanlin Academician Wu Rong, having been demoted, met him there, and they came and went discussing the Way and poetry. Rong composed a preface for Xiu's collection in the third year of the Qianning era. Soon after, Xiu was slandered before the Jing commander and banished to Gong'an. Depressed, he inscribed on his inkstone: "Only upon entering its case does the body find peace." His disciples urged their master to enter Shu; at that time, the Wang clan was plotting an illegitimate claim to the throne and inviting worthy scholars from all quarters. Delighted to obtain Xiu, they received him with lavish courtesy and bountiful gifts, bestowing on him the title "Grand Master Chanyue" (Zen Moon). The ruler of Shu often called him "The Monk Who Arrived Specially" (Dede lai Heshang). At that time, Wei Ai lauded his splendid title. What he excelled at were songs and chants, whose satirical subtleties were oriented toward moral instruction; in style and tune, he was not inferior to the two Lis—Li Bai and Li He. In the second year of the Qianhua era of the Liang dynasty, he passed away at his residence at the age of eighty-one. The ruler of Shu was deeply grieved; all funeral rites were conducted at public expense. His stūpa was named White Lotus, erected outside the north gate of Chengdu; this relocation of his stūpa took place in the Qiande era of the Former Shu, which corresponds to the third year of Qianhua of the Liang, the year Guiyou. Xiu was proficient in the sage-like cursive script. His disciple Tanyu compiled his master's literary collection in the year Guiyou, placing Academician Wu's preface at the beginning, with Yu writing an afterword. Wei Zhuang once presented him with a poem: "Is it on account of poverty that we are often kept apart? / It must only be your aversion to wine that keeps you from visiting." He was also on good terms with Master Guangcheng, Du Guangting, being his fellow countryman. Xiu's calligraphic hand was transmitted by enthusiasts under the name "Jiang style." When one once viewed Xiu's portrait, he was stout and short; the Shu prime minister Wang Kai wrote a eulogy for it. Tanyu was meticulous in vinaya studies and powerful in seal script; he recompiled Xu Shen's *Shuowen*, which currently circulates in Shu. He had a poetry collection, which was second only to his master's style.