釋迦方志 2.78

2.78

From the rise of written records, Pao Xi was the beginning, down to the Tang dynasty, the successive reigns can be chronicled and heard. Before the Qin and Zhou, people still valued simplicity, and their aspirations did not reach far; thus communication was restricted only to the Divine Land [of China]. After the Han and Wei, writing became widespread, capable undertakings flourished, and broad vision extended ever farther. Therefore, interpreters were appointed and embassies to the four borders were established. They crossed Kongsang and passed through the Kunlun hills; they traversed the Chicken Field and spanned Bird Cave. Coursers with dragon patterns and blood-stained sweat could be sought out however remote the borderlands; treasures of bright pearls and kingfisher plumes were invariably brought from the edges of the heavens. To exhaust arms and indulge in warfare was truly to exhaust the troops for Dayuan; to hold the imperial tally across muddy seas was surely to wear oneself out from afar for the royal command. But when Xianzong was moved by the auspicious sign, the fountainhead of benevolent transformation was first opened; venerating faith and cherishing the Way grew ever more flourishing from this time. Some, lamenting that they were born in a frontier land, cast their lives toward the Western Heavens; some, spreading the Dharma and proclaiming conversion, raised their staffs toward the Eastern Realm. Some personally opened the teaching traces, traveling far in search of scriptures; some, seeking the sacred signs and old models, personally went to examine them in detail. Most of these great endeavors returned to the Śākya lineage. Thus, the divine strategic opening of general and separate paths began in the Former Han; coming down to our Great Tang, the total number of envoys who have journeyed to and fro approaches twenty. Moreover, Zhang Qian's tracing of the Yellow River was fundamentally a secular affair; yet by first opening the name of the Buddha, it was the start of the Śākya conversion. Therefore, we also recount in general the cases of seeking the Dharma. Now, scouring the biographies, we arrange the routes of the missions in order, listing their predecessors and successors with clear evidence.