弘明集 3.28

3.28

重告并省大論。置陣如項籍。既足以賊漢祖。況弱士乎。證譬堅明文辭淵富。誠欲廣其利釋施及凡民。深知君子之用心也。足下方欲影嚮以神其教。故宜緘默成人之美。但常謂外國之事或非中華所務。是以有前言耳。果今中外宜同。余則陋矣。敢謝不敏。雖然猶有所懷。夫明天地性者。不致惑於迂怪。識盛衰之逕者。不役心於理表。儻令雅論不因善權篤誨。皆由情發。豈非通人之蔽哉。未緣言對。聊以代面。何承天白。

I have received your letter again and read your great treatise. Its array is like Xiang Yu's battle formation: having already proved sufficient to wound Emperor Gaozu of Han, how much more so for a weak scholar! Your proofs and analogies are solid and clear, and your prose is profound and rich. You truly wish to broaden its benefits and explanations to extend them to common mortals; I deeply recognize a gentleman's intentions. As you now wish to utilize shadows and echoes to make the teaching spiritual, I ought to remain silent to assist in bringing about your fine purpose. But I have always held that the affairs of foreign lands might not be the business of the Central Realm, which is why I made my previous remarks. If indeed inside and outside ought to be the same, then I am crude and narrow; I venture to apologize for my lack of discernment. Even so, I still harbor some thoughts: one who understands the nature of Heaven and Earth will not be misled by the bizarre and outlandish; one who recognizes the pathways of flourishing and decline will not exhaust his mind beyond reason. If your elegant discourse does not stem from earnest instruction through skillful means, but rather issues purely from emotion, would that not be an oversight on the part of an accomplished scholar? Having no opportunity for verbal dialogue, I offer this briefly in lieu of meeting face to face. He Chengtian respectfully states.