南嶽總勝集 2.146

2.146

近衡陽界。乃唐徐安貞（名犯廟諱）避朝廷事隱名詐瘖居寺。以之因起佛殿。無人題梁。安貞手作書勢。以視眾人寺僧令書之。字迹遒勁。觀者駭然。後李邕遊岳。觀字驚而召出同歸京。此其故址也。侍郎盧驤題詩云。秋山山脚一招提。名與匡廬晉剎齊。天地洗根飛敗葉。雲霞留影落鳴溪。野藤交塢縈牛角。翠茁粘煙濕馬蹄。猶記採薇時節路。柔桑鳴雉寺田西。

Near the border of Hengyang. This was where Xu Anzhen of the Tang (his given name violates an imperial temple taboo) fled court affairs, concealing his name, feigning muteness, and residing in the monastery. Because a Buddha hall was being erected and there was no one to inscribe the ridgebeam, Anzhen gestured with his hands in the manner of writing to show everyone. The monastery monks had him write it; his brushwork was vigorous and powerful, startling the onlookers. Later, Li Yong toured the sacred peak, was astonished upon seeing the calligraphy, and summoned him forth to return with him to the capital. This is its ancient site. Vice Minister Lu Xiang inscribed a poem saying: 'A monastery at the foot of the autumn mountain, / Its name rivals the Jin monastery on Mount Lu. / Heaven and earth wash the roots as fallen leaves fly; / Clouds and mist cast shadows falling into the murmuring stream. / Wild vines cross the hollow, twining on ox horns; / Emerald shoots catch the mist, wetting horses' hooves. / I still remember the road in the season of gathering bracken, / Where soft mulberries and crying pheasants lie west of the temple fields.'