廣弘明集 24.48

24.48

Your disciple, the orphan Manying, bows his head and makes prostration. The other day I was honored by your showing me the Biographies of Eminent Monks (Gaoseng zhuan) that you compiled, asking me to criticize and select from it. Applying all my efforts to examine it to the end, I saw only extraordinary talent. Though the paper became frayed and the ink faded, I could not lay it down until I was finished. Now, when the supreme Dharma spread and renowned virtues arose, nearly five hundred years have passed, through six dynasties. From the time Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna set their carriages in motion from the Western Regions, and the Marquis An [Shigao] and Lokakṣema bore their staves to the Eastern Capital, though their traces appeared and disappeared, and their practices were deep or shallow, they all served as boats and bridges, creating immense benefit. It was truly fitting that silk should transmit their beauty and writing tablets establish the phrasing, brightly displaying them to later generations and praising the past luminaries. Yet Dao'an and Kumārajīva only appeared intermittently in the records of Qin; Fotudeng and Daojin were recorded sporadically in the documents of Zhao. What was culled by the Jin histories is regrettably confined to that contemporary period, while what the Song records favored largely depended on chance circumstances. Moreover, [some] stood out as the accounts of Juntai, or were mixed into the tales of Yuanliang; responses and resonances might have been selectively gathered, and the hidden and manifest were not without outlines, yet displaying them broadly in marginal texts was insufficient to glorify and propagate them. While other biographies appeared intermittently, they lacked overall coherence: Jingxing merely collected mountain recluses; Sengbao only stitched together itinerant mendicants; Faji set forth solely instances of lofty reclusion; Fa'an designated merely the category of moral resolution; Kang Hong strictly chronicled Dan Kai; Wang Ji praised only the High Seat; Sengyu remarkably recorded [one person] alone; and Xuanzhang transcended [others] in an isolated account. Only the work by Shi Fajin and the writing of Wang Jin had the intention of comprehensive synthesis, capable of establishing an independent tradition. Yet Fajin's reputation was broad though his coverage was not comprehensive, and Wang Jin's framework was established but never brought to completion. Authors who emerged in the Liang dynasty also suffered from these defects: Sengyou's finished slips shared the fault of Faji, and Wang Ji's dipped brush incurred once more the critique made against Jingxing. As for the compilation of Master Chang, it came closest [to the ideal]. Seeking my humble assessment, the outline is clearly visible: your compilation, Dharma Master, is truly what may be called an indelible masterpiece! Spanning past and present, encompassing both inner and outer teachings, it arrays words and collates facts, neither overly ornate nor crude. If one calls it extensive, it is difficult to abridge; if one calls it concise, what could possibly be added? By using 'Eminent' in the title, it causes those who fall short to feel shame; by expanding categories to form a broad scope, it is sufficient to encourage the virtuous to aspire toward it. How could the previous writings of those two or three gentlemen be spoken of in the same breath, comparing length and breadth on the same day? Truly, the crowd of literati could not add a single word to it; the marketplace set out a thousand pieces of gold in vain. It is fit to be placed among the dragon-inscribed cases and ascend to the Unicorn Pavilion, to be drawn from and placed into the jasper satchels, and rolled and unrolled within jade baskets. Although your disciple is truly undiscerning, I loved learning in my youth. Lately, being frail and feeble, I find myself benighted at every turn. Yet obtaining the unfurling of your incoming volumes, truly 'culture resides here!' Lost in admiration, I had no leisure to debate it; what could I possibly criticize? Truly, it is not unlike Zitong feeling shame upon reading the treatises of Yuanze, or Chudao's admiration deepening when knowing the writings of Xiuyi; it is merely Xie An admiring the elegance of Zhu Kuang, or Yin Hao standing in awe of the talent of Zhi Dun. Having not seen you for ten days, my yearning heart has grown weary; mustering my strength I write this letter to express my thoughts to the utmost. Your disciple, the orphan Wang Manying, bows his head and makes prostration.