神僧傳 8.44

8.44

釋弘道。不知何許人。居於千福寺。人言其晝閉關以寐。夕則視事於陰府。十祈叩者八九拒之。時河中少尹鄭復禮。始應進士舉十上不第。方蹇躓憤惋。乃擇日齋沐候焉。道頗溫容之。且曰。某未甞妄洩於人。今茂才抱積薪之歎。且久不能忍耳。勉旃進取終成美名。然其事頗異不可言也。鄭拜請其期。道曰。唯君期須四事相就。然後遂志。四缺其一則復負冤。如是者骨肉相繼三牓。三牓之前猶梯天之難。三牓之後則反掌之易也。鄭愕視不可喻。則又拜請四事之目。道持疑良久。則曰。慎勿言於人。君之成名其事有四。亦可以為異矣。其一須國家改元之第二年。其二須是禮部侍郎再知貢舉。其三須是第二人姓張。其四同年須有郭八郎。四者闕一則功虧一簣矣。如是者賢弟姪三牓率須依此。鄭雖大疑其說。然欝欝不樂。以為無復望也。敬謝而退。長慶二年人有道其名姓於主文者。鄭以且非再知貢舉。意甚疑之果不中第。直至改元。寶曆二年新昌楊公再司文柄。乃私喜其事未敢洩言。來春果登第。第二人姓張名知。實同年郭八郎名言揚。鄭奇歎且久。因紀於小書之杪。私自謂曰。道言三牓。率須如此。一之已異其可至于再乎至于三乎。次至故尚書右丞諱憲應舉大和二年。頗有籍甚之譽。以主文非再知舉。試日果有期周之恤。爾後應大和九舉敗於垂成。直至改元開成二年。高鍇（器駭切）再司文柄右轄。私異其事明年果登上第。第二人姓張名棠同年郭八郎名植。因又附於小書之末。三牓雖欠其一兩牓且無小差。閨門之內私相謂曰。豈其然乎。時僧弘道已不知所往矣。次年故附馬都尉顥應舉。時譽轉洽。至改元會昌之二年。禮部柳侍郎璟再司文柄。都尉以狀頭及第。第二人姓張名潛同年郭八郎名京。弘道所說無差焉。

Shi Hongdao's origins are unknown. He resided at Qianfu Monastery. People said that during the day he kept his doors closed and slept, while at night he attended to affairs in the underworld. Of every ten people who came to pray and ask him questions, he refused eight or nine. At that time, Zheng Fuli, Vice Governor of Hezhong, had begun taking the jinshi examination and failed ten times. Just as he was frustrated and filled with resentment, he selected an auspicious day, fasted, bathed, and waited upon the master. Hongdao received him quite warmly and said, "I have never casually revealed things to anyone. Now you, worthy talent, harbor the sorrow of accumulated wood and have long been unable to bear it. Exert yourself in pursuit; in the end you will establish a good name. Yet the circumstances are rather strange and cannot be easily spoken of." Zheng bowed and requested to know the time. Hongdao said, "Only when four conditions coincide for you will your aspiration be fulfilled. If one of the four is lacking, you will again suffer disappointment. This will hold true across three postings of the examination roster among members of your own family. Before these three rosters, success will be as difficult as climbing the heavens; after these three rosters, it will be as easy as turning over one's palm." Zheng gazed at him in astonishment, unable to comprehend, and again bowed, asking for the details of the four matters. Hongdao hesitated for a good while, and then said, "Be careful not to speak of this to others. For your name to be established, there are four matters, which may indeed be considered extraordinary: First, it must be the second year after a change of the imperial reign era. Second, it must be that the Vice Minister of Rites is directing the imperial examinations for a second time. Third, the second-ranking candidate must have the surname Zhang. Fourth, among your examination cohort there must be a Guo the Eighth. If one of these four is missing, the endeavor will fall short of the final basket of earth. Three rosters among your worthy brothers and nephews will all follow this rule." Although Zheng deeply doubted his words, he felt melancholy and unhappy, believing there was no longer any hope. He thanked the master respectfully and withdrew. In the second year of Changqing, someone mentioned his name to the chief examiner. Because it was not a case of directing the examination for a second time, Zheng was very doubtful of it, and indeed he did not pass. This continued until the reign era changed. In the second year of Baoli, Lord Yang of Xinchang was presiding over the examinations for a second time. Zheng was secretly pleased about this matter, not daring to reveal a word. The following spring, he indeed passed the examination. The second-ranking candidate had the surname Zhang and the personal name Zhi; indeed, in his cohort there was Guo the Eighth, named Yanyang. Zheng marveled and sighed for a long time. Thereupon he recorded it at the end of a small book, saying privately to himself, "Hongdao said there would be three rosters that would generally follow this rule. That it happened once was already extraordinary; could it happen a second time? Could it happen a third time?" Next came his late younger brother, the Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, named Xian, who took the examination in the second year of Dahe. He had a widespread reputation, but because the examiner was not directing the examination for a second time, on the day of the test there indeed occurred the misfortune of a year of mourning. Thereafter, he took the examination nine times during Dahe, failing on the verge of success each time, until the reign era changed to the second year of Kaicheng, when Gao Kai was for a second time presiding over the examinations as the Right Assistant Director. Privately finding this extraordinary, the next year Xian indeed passed in the upper ranks. The second-ranking candidate had the surname Zhang and the personal name Tang, and in his cohort was Guo the Eighth, named Zhi. He therefore appended this to the end of the small book. Although one roster was still lacking among the three, the two rosters had not deviated in the slightest. Within the household, they whispered among themselves, "Could it really be so?" At that time, no one knew where the monk Hongdao had gone. The following year, the late Consort Commandant Hao took the examination. His renown at the time was spreading ever wider. When it came to the second year of the change of reign era to Huichang, Vice Minister of Rites Liu Jing was directing the examinations for a second time. The Commandant passed as the top graduate (zhuangyuan). The second-ranking candidate had the surname Zhang and the personal name Qian, and in his cohort was Guo the Eighth, named Jing. What Hongdao had spoken of did not differ in the least.