釋迦方志 1.23

1.23

五謂人者。不出凡聖。凡人極位名曰輪王。聖人極位名曰法王。蓋此二王不生則已。生必居中。又山川國邑人之依報。人勝則依勝。故此二王居焉。又輪王有四王約統四洲。金輪王者則通四有。銀輪三方除北一洲。銅輪二方除西北方。鐵輪在南除於三有。言贍部者。中梵天音。唐言譯為輪王居處。言四輪王通局。乃殊住必南有也。古翻此洲。云好金地。謂閻浮檀金。在洲北岸海中。金光浮出海上。其傍有閻浮樹林其果極大。得神通者方至於彼。今言此洲輪王得名兩設其致耳。又一此洲四主所統。雪山已南至于南海名象主也。地惟暑濕偏宜象住故。王以象兵而安其國。風俗躁烈篤學異術。是為印度國。然印度之名。或云賢豆。或云天竺。或云身毒。天篤等。皆傳之訛僻耳。然以印度為正。唐無以翻。雪山之西至于西海名寶主也。地接西海偏饒異珍。而輕禮重貨是為胡國。雪山以北至于北海。地寒宜馬名馬主也。其俗兇暴忍殺衣毛。是突厥國。雪山以東至于東海名人主也。地惟和暢俗行仁義。安土重遷是至那國。即古所謂振旦國也。上列四主且據一洲。分界而王以洲定中。輪王為正居中王邊古今不改。此土諸儒滯於孔教。以此為中餘為邊攝。別指雒陽以為中國。乃約軒轅五岳以言。未是通方之巨觀也。又指西蕃例為胡國。然佛生遊履。雪山以南名婆羅門國。與胡隔絕書語不同。故五天竺諸婆羅門。書為天書語為天語。謂劫初成梵天來下。因味地肥便有人焉。從本語書天法不斷。故彼風俗事天者多。以生有所因故也。胡本西戎無聞道術。書語國別傳譯方通。神州書語所出無本。且論書契可以事求。伏羲八卦文王重之。蒼頡鳥迹其文不行。漢時許慎方出說文。字止九千以類而序。今漸被世文言三萬。此則隨人隨代會意出生。不比五天書語一定。上以五義。以定中邊。可以鏡諸。餘如隋初魏郡沙門靈裕聖迹記述。

Fifth, concerning people: they do not go beyond the ordinary and the holy. The supreme position of ordinary people is called a cakravartin (wheel-turning king); the supreme position of holy people is called a Dharma King. Truly, if these two kings are not born, so be it; but when born, they must reside in the centre. Furthermore, mountains, rivers, countries, and towns are the dependent retribution (environmental conditions) of people; when people are superior, their dependent retribution is superior. Therefore, these two kings reside there. Furthermore, the wheel-turning kings are four, governing the four continents respectively: the gold-wheel king extends to all four continents; the silver-wheel king governs three regions, excluding the one northern continent; the copper-wheel king governs two regions, excluding the northwest; and the iron-wheel king is in the south, excluding three continents. The term 'Jambudvīpa' is the Central Sanskrit pronunciation, translated into Chinese as 'residence of the wheel-turning king.' As for the scope of the four wheel-turning kings being universal or limited, though they differ, they must certainly dwell in the southern continent. Ancient translations of this continent called it the 'land of fine gold,' referring to the Jāmbūnada gold in the sea off the north shore of the continent. The golden radiance floats up from the sea. Beside it is a forest of jambu trees whose fruits are extremely large. Only those who have attained supernormal faculties can reach there. Now we state that the naming of this continent after the wheel-turning king simply puts forward both considerations. Moreover, this single continent is governed by four rulers. From the Snow Mountains south to the southern sea is called the Lord of Elephants. The land is hot and humid, especially suitable for elephants to dwell; thus the king secures his state by means of elephant troops. Their customs are ardent and impetuous, and they devote themselves to studying extraordinary arts; this is the country of India (Yindu). As for the name of India (Yindu), some call it Xiandou, some Tianzhu, some Shendu or Tiandu, and so on; all these are erroneous and corrupted transmissions. However, Yindu is the correct form; in Tang Chinese there is no translation for it. From the west of the Snow Mountains to the western sea is called the Lord of Treasures. The land adjoins the western sea and is especially abundant in rare treasures, but they make light of ritual and value commodities; this is the land of the Hu. From the north of the Snow Mountains to the northern sea, the land is cold and suitable for horses, and is called the Lord of Horses. Their customs are fierce and violent; they are cruel in slaughter and wear skins and wool; this is the country of the Turks (Tujue). From the east of the Snow Mountains to the eastern sea is called the Lord of Men. The land is mild and harmonious, and the customs practice benevolence and righteousness. They are attached to the soil and reluctant to move away; this is the country of Cīna (Zhina), which is what was anciently called Zhendan. The above four lords are listed each based on one continent. They divide the boundaries and rule as kings, determining the centre by the continent. Taking the wheel-turning king as correct, dwelling in the centre and ruling the periphery has remained unchanged from ancient times to the present. The various Confucian scholars of this land are bogged down in the teachings of Confucius; taking this as the centre and subsuming the rest as the periphery, they point specifically to Luoyang as the 'Middle Kingdom' (Zhongguo). This was stated merely with reference to Xuanyuan (the Yellow Emperor) and the Five Sacred Mountains; it is not yet an all-embracing comprehensive vision. Moreover, they point to the Western Barbarians and categorically call them Hu states. However, where the Buddha was born and wandered, south of the Snow Mountains, is called the Brāhmaṇa country; it is cut off from the Hu, and the script and language are different. Therefore, among the various brāhmaṇas of the Five Indias, the script is divine script and the language is divine language. It is said that when the kalpa was first formed, Brahmā gods descended; because of tasting the fat of the earth, there came to be human beings. Handed down from their original speech and script, the divine method has not been broken. Therefore, among their customs, many serve the heavens, because their birth has an origin. The Hu are originally Western Rong; they have no heard knowledge of the Way or arts. Scripts and spoken languages differ by state, becoming intelligible only through transmission and interpretation. The script and language of Shenzhou arose without an origin. Let us consider written records, which can be investigated through facts: Fu Xi made the eight trigrams, and King Wen doubled them. Cang Jie made bird tracks, but those graphs are not in use. Only in the Han dynasty did Xu Shen bring forth the Shuowen; the graphs numbered only nine thousand, arranged by category. Now they have gradually spread through the world to thirty thousand written words. These were born as people of each generation combined meanings; they cannot compare to the fixed nature of the script and language of the Five Indias. By the above five meanings, we have determined the centre and the periphery. They can serve as a mirror for this. The rest is as recounted in the Record of Holy Traces by Śramaṇa Lingyu of Weijun in the early Sui.