神僧傳 9.43

9.43

Śramaṇa Sengjian, secular surname Wang, was a native of Jingzhao. He constantly resided at Jingzhong Monastery. His beard and hair were gleaming white, yet his complexion was ruddy, and he was easygoing and carefree; no one could fathom his true nature. There was a Jinshi graduate of Huayang named Wang Chuhou who, having failed the civil service examinations under the illegitimate Shu regime, entered the monastery to dispel his sorrow among the pines and bamboos, where he saw Jian. Jian said, "Could you be Wang Chuhou?" Chuhou said in surprise, "We have never been acquainted; why do you call me so suddenly?" Jian said, "It is merely by chance." Chuhou knew in his heart that he was extraordinary, and inquired, "Master, how will my future path be?" Jian said, "Your future affairs will reach their limit next year; from then on, what happens may be known." He meant that Shu was about to perish, and urged him not to disclose it. One day, Jian picked up a bundle of writings on the table; looking at it, it was the draft of Chuhou's prefecture examination rhapsody. He said, "Examining the true and false, this is not the essay you composed beneath the candle! Why so much deceit?" He then reached into his sleeve, took out an examination draft, and showed it to him, saying, "Is this not the genuine manuscript of your examination?" Chuhou was endlessly astonished and terrified, and said, "I merely polished it later to make up for my hasty errors under the candle. From where did you obtain this copy, Master?" Jian said, "Not only this one rhapsody; all that you have composed in your life is stored [with me]." The next day, Chuhou visited him. Jian took Chuhou into the monastery to pay respects at the shrine of Grand Commandant Du Cong, Duke of Bin. Sitting under the western corridor, suddenly several clerks in motley garments came forth in single file from the hall, descended the steps, and bowed twice. Jian said, "The new official is here; you may now pay your court respects." Chuhou arose in terror. Jian said, "These fellows will be driven and commanded by you; why fear? Did you not know that Mount Tai has nominated you to be the arbiter of human destiny? Because you still harbor grandiose ambitions from the past and have not fulfilled your former intent, they requested to wait until you pass the examinations before enacting it. Furthermore, looking at the register of official emoluments, the number of persons on next spring's roster has already been fixed, and you are also among them. This is 'inscribed in the unseen world and received in the daylight world.' When you gain fame in the human world and consume the emoluments of the nether realm, this is 'inscribed in the daylight world and received in the unseen world.'" Chuhou was terrified and did not know what to do; he only asked for the names of those who would pass the next year. Jian asked for paper and brush, immediately wrote a short sealed note, and gave it to him, warning him to conceal it strictly, for if it were leaked, disaster would arrive immediately. When the spring examinations were concluded, Jian came to Chuhou's house, left a note saying, "I return for a short while to my humble hut, never to meet again." Later [Chuhou] went to the monastery to look for him, but he had already gone elsewhere. He then opened the short sealed note and looked at it; it only had four lines: "Zhou and Cheng will pass together, / Two Wangs with different names. / A Wang shall occupy the first place, / With a hundred days as the span." When the roster was published, there were eight scholars; the two Wangs were Chuhou and Wang Shenyan. Wang occupied the first place. Distressed by the phrase "with a hundred days as the span," Chuhou only associated with his fellow successful candidates, hosting lavish banquets to pursue pleasure to the utmost. Because of this, his health became disordered and he could not rise; that night he died suddenly. His classmates all dreamed that Chuhou, wearing a blue robe and holding a locust-wood tablet, marched ahead with an escort. Testing the glory of his passing the examinations, it lasted only a hundred and twenty days. Examining the year of Jian's birth, he was born in the early Taihe era of Emperor Wenzong and gained renown in the Dazhong era of Emperor Xuanzong; when Wang Chuhou met him, he was already over a hundred and thirty years old.