廣弘明集 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoxuan of Ximing Temple in the Great Tang

3.2

Chapter 1: "Returning to the Correct", Part 3

"Following Antiquity" by Palace Attendant Jiang Yan of Liang;
"Returning the Mind" by Guanglu [Senior Grand Master] Yan Zhitui of Northern Qi;
"Preface to the Seven Records" by Recluse Ruan Xiaoxu of Liang

3.4

"Following Antiquity"

3.5

By Palace Attendant Jiang Yan of the Liang

3.6

I once composed the poem "Creation", learning from antiquity to regulate the present, expanding it by following analogous categories. Thereupon I composed this text again, simultaneously emulating the "Heavenly Questions", to let my thoughts wander, that is all.

3.7

I have heard that in remote antiquity the great fire blazed, / and the waters too were boundless and without shores; / Nüwa smelted stones to patch the blue heavens, / and Mount Buzhou was what Gonggong crashed against; / did the battles along the Yellow and Luo Rivers plunge into the deep abyss? / The Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor clashed together in the plains of Zhuolu; / the female performers and nine sons were the leaders of the people; / for how many millennia did Chiyou forge weapons? / Ten suns rose simultaneously in the era of Yao; / and Yi then shot down the suns—could such things be so? / By whom was it passed down that Chang'e fled to the moon? / Fenglong rode the clouds as a spiritual immortal; / by what cause and condition did Kai of the Xia mount dragons? / How was Fu Yue's entombment in a star proclaimed? / The meaning of Kua Fu and the Deng forest is also difficult [to fathom]; / the Xun tree spans a thousand leagues—how can the crow be easily discussed? / King Mu roamed far and wide, going forth and returning; / could the Lord of the River and the Queen Mother be spoken with? / The revelations of the blue bird were utterly sincere; / five-coloured jade and stone emerged from the western frontiers; / the ruins of Kunlun lie between the seas of the north; / twelve thousand leagues distant from ancestral Zhou; / the Classic of Mountains and ancient books have their chapters scrambled; / Guo's commentaries give two versions, neither of which is precise and firm; / above there is the hard ether, as the Daoists speak of; / the sun, moon, and five stars all hang in the void; / the inverted reflection leaves the earth and emerges from the clouds and mist; / beneath the nine earths, it is as if there were heavens; / how could Lord of the Soil's nine bends have come first? / In the west, Rushou oversees the Golden Gate; / at the northern pole, Yuqiang endures forever; / the two daughters of the Emperor wander the Xiang and Yuan rivers; / Xiaoming and Zhuguang still shine with brilliance; / the Great Unity and the Arbiter of Fate are the heads of the ghosts; / the mountain spirits and national martyrs become wandering souls; / the Dao of Kapilavastu is the most revered; / who can fathom the golden body? / The disappearance of the fixed stars may well be discussed; / his teachings are illustrious and full of sagely words; / within the six directions, the principles are ever obscure; / the mysterious and bizarre cause wisdom to be confounded; / are the River Chart and Luo Writing truly so? / Kong Jia rearing dragons is handed down by all from of old; / in Yu's time, Fangfeng dwelled at Mount Yushan; / on what border were the tall Di born during the Spring and Autumn period? / By what circumstances was the vision seen at Lintao? / The waters of Penglai are shallower than before; / the waves of the Eastern Sea turn into mulberry fields; / how many thousands of mountains have collapsed and cities submerged? / Stones grow and earth expands surely through accumulated years; / the Han excavated Kunming Lake and ashes and charcoal were preserved; / the Wei dug the Jiqu canal and snails and mussels were hardened; / who made the white sun shine at noon a second time? / Where was the Northern Dipper hidden when it could not be seen? / The Phoenix Watchtower of the Jianzhang Palace connected with divine radiance; / the bell stands of Weiyang Palace sprouted fresh flowers; / bronze was used for weapons before the Qin; / and men wore variegated garments before the Six States; / in the Zhou era women went forth from the world; / Lord Ban in silk shoes roamed Mount Taishan; / at the juncture of humans and ghosts there are those hidden and sunken; / beyond the four seas, what is square and what is round? / The Okjeo and Sushen lie on the northeast border; / the long-armed and two-faced also ride in boats; / in the southeast the people of the Wa state all tattoo their bodies; / beyond them are the Black-Toothed, and next the Naked people; / the pygmies of three feet are neighbours together; / in the northwest are the Dingling and the Wusun; / the Cheshi and the Yuezhi are numerous in their tribes; / the state of horse-hoofed people runs as if galloping; / in the southwest are Wuyi and Jibin; / in India and Khotan they are all Hu people; / Tiaozhi and Anxi border the Western Sea; / where human footprints reach their utmost, one arrives at Daqin; / coral, bright pearls, copper, gold, and silver, / lapis lazuli and agate come arrayed together; / giant clam shells and crystal are all genuine; / realgar and orpiment come forth from mountain cliffs; / blue and white lotus flowers cover the water's shores; / the palaces and observation towers are adorned with the seven treasures; / on remote lands and vast seas there are yet other peoples; / with long legs and deep eyes, how could they have rulers and ministers? / Husband and wife and the three-bodied people, / the tied-chested, the reverse-tongued, and the one-armed people, / those who walk on tiptoe, cross-legged, and the feathered people; / by what cause are there countries of immortality? / Boundless is the vast creation, its principle hard to trace; / even sages cannot fathom it, how much less ordinary folks! / In my leisure from brush and ink I composed this text; / amidst the dusk thunder and lightning, I use it to forget my sorrows, and show it to you, my lord.

3.8

The Liang dian states: "Jiang Yan reached the rank of gold seal and purple ribbon. When Yan was six years old, he was able to compose essays and poems; as he grew up, he possessed farsighted understanding and had a fondness for the rare and remarkable. At the age of twenty, he taught the Five Classics to the various princes of the Song dynasty, who treated him with the courtesies of a guest. When he was thirteen, he was orphaned and poor; gathering firewood to support his mother, he became famed for his filial piety. In the Liang dynasty, after six promotions, he became Palace Attendant. He dreamt that Guo Pu asked to take back the five-coloured brush, and Yan gave it to him; from then on, his compositions were no longer skilled, and people said his talent was exhausted. Yet this was because he did not fulfill his ambitions. He had a collection of ten fascicles. He had deep faith in the Indian scriptures on causes and effects." I have examined his deeds, and they are consistent with his biography. I compiled his discourses on Buddhist principles, but have not recorded many of his other writings, wishing only to make known the elegant aspirations of this wise and worthy man.

3.9

"Returning the Mind", from the Family Instructions

3.10

By Guanglu [Senior Grand Master] Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi

3.11

The affairs of the three times are trustworthy and verified; let your minds take refuge in this family legacy, and do not treat it lightly or disdainfully. The wonderful principles therein are fully provided in the various sutras and treatises; here I will not praise or elaborate on them anew. I only fear that you are not yet firm in your resolve, and therefore briefly encourage and guide you once more.

3.12

Now, the four elements and five aggregates dissect bodily existence. The six boats and three vehicles convey the multitude of living beings. The ten thousand practices return to emptiness, and the thousand gates lead to goodness. In eloquence and wisdom, how could [the Buddhist teaching] merely equal the broad learning of the seven classics and the hundred schools? Clearly, it is beyond the reach of Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. The inner and outer teachings were originally of one substance; in their graduated progression and ultimate reaches they differ, and their depths and shallows are not the same. The preliminary gate of the inner scriptures establishes the prohibitions of the five types, which tally with the five constants (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness) of the outer books: benevolence is the prohibition against killing; righteousness is the prohibition against stealing; propriety is the prohibition against sexual misconduct; wisdom is the prohibition against alcohol; trustworthiness is the prohibition against false speech. As for hunting, warfare, banqueting, and penal punishments, because of human nature they cannot be eradicated abruptly; limits were simply placed upon them to prevent excess and abuse. To turn to the Duke of Zhou and Confucius while turning one's back on the Śākya school—how deluded that is!

3.13

Those among the worldly who slander it fall generally into five classes: The first consider affairs beyond this world and unfathomable spiritual transformations to be absurd fabrications. The second consider good and bad fortune, and disasters and blessings, that may yet lack retribution, to be deceit. The third consider the conduct of monks and nuns, being for the most part impure, to be treacherous wickedness. The fourth consider the squandering of gold and jewels and the depletion of taxes and corvée labor to be harmful to the state. The fifth consider that even if there are causes and conditions that repay good and evil, how could the toil and hardship of person A today bring benefit to person B in a future life? This they take to be [the concern of] an unrelated person. I now explain all of these below.

3.14

The first explanation states: How can objects vast and distant be measured? What people today know best is nothing other than heaven and earth. Heaven is pure qi; the sun is the essence of yang; the moon is the essence of yin; and the stars are the essence of the myriad things. This is what the Confucians accept as settled. Yet when a star falls, it turns out to be a stone. If this essence were a stone, it could have no luminous nature, and its substance being heavy, to what could it be tethered? The diameter of a single star, in the larger cases, is a hundred li; the head and tail of a single lunar lodge are tens of thousands of li apart. With things of a hundred li linked together by the tens of thousands, their width, breadth, length, and slant never expand or contract. Moreover, the stars share the same light and color as the sun and moon, differing only in gradation of size. But then, could the sun and moon also be stones? If stone is solid and dense, how could the crow and the hare fit within it? If stones are suspended within the qi, how could they revolve on their own? If the sun, moon, and stars are all qi, the substance of qi is light and floating, so it should unite with heaven, revolving back and forth without departing from it. How could their speeds theoretically not be uniform? Why is it that the sun, the moon, the five planets, and the twenty-eight lunar lodges each have their own degrees, moving unevenly? How could falling qi suddenly transform into stone? Since the earth is dross and turbid, its nature ought to be heavy and sunken. Yet when one digs into the soil, springs are found; it floats upon water. Beneath this accumulated water, what other things exist? From where do the rivers and hundred valleys arise? Flowing east to the sea, why does it not overflow? Into what place do Guitang and Weilu drain? By what qi are the rocks of Wojiao set ablaze? By whom is the ebb and flow of the tides regulated? The Heavenly Han is suspended overhead; why does it not scatter and fall? The nature of water is to descend; why does it surge upward? When heaven and earth first opened, the stars and lodges already existed. When the Nine Provinces were not yet marked out and the various states were not yet divided, according to what were the demarcations and territories assigned to their celestial courses? Who has regulated and partitioned them since the enfeoffment of the states? States have increased and decreased, yet the stars neither advance nor retreat. Calamities, auspicious omens, disasters, and blessings nevertheless occur without error. With the celestial patterns so vast and the assembled stars so manifold, why should their allotted fields pertain solely to the Central States? If the Pleiades are the Mao banner, the station of the Xiongnu, are the Western Hu, the Eastern Yi, the tattooed-forehead tribes, and the Jiaozhi alone to be abandoned? Investigating in this manner, in the end nothing can be fully explained. How can one, through ordinary human affairs, dogmatically determine what lies beyond the universe?

3.15

What ordinary people believe is only what meets their ears and eyes; beyond this, they harbor doubts about everything. In explaining heaven, the Confucians have several theories: some speak of the Huntian (spherical heaven), some of the Gaitian (canopy heaven), some of the vaulted dome, and some of the flat expanse. Regarding the revolutions of the Dipper and the Pole, and the moorings of the net of heaven, if these were observed in person, they could not admit of discrepancies; if they were merely inferred by calculation, how could they suffice to be relied upon? Why believe the speculative claims of ordinary people and doubt the subtle purports of the Great Sage, dogmatically asserting that there cannot be worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges or kalpas as numerous as specks of dust? Even Zou Yan had his discourse on the Nine Provinces. People of the mountains do not believe there are fish as large as trees; people of the seacoast do not believe there are trees as large as fish. Emperor Wu of the Han did not believe in lute-string glue; Emperor Wen of the Wei did not believe in fireproof cloth. Barbarians seeing brocade do not believe it is produced by worms eating trees and spitting silk. In former days in Jiangnan, people did not believe there were felt tents that could hold a thousand men; upon coming to Hebei, they did not believe there were ships of twenty thousand shi. These are all empirical facts. In the world there are masters of incantations and various magical arts, who are yet able to walk on fire, tread on blades, plant melons, and move wells, producing a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations in an instant. If what is achieved by human power can still be like this, why should we doubt that inconceivable spiritual transformations and sympathetic responses can produce a jewel banner of a thousand li, a seat of a hundred yojanas, the transformation of a pure land, or the springing forth of a marvelous stūpa?

3.16

The second explanation states: The arising of faith and slander is like shadows and echoes; of things heard with the ears and seen with the eyes, instances are already numerous. In some cases, sincere devotion is not deep, or karmic conditions have not yet resonated; if the timing happens to be slightly discordant, in the end it is difficult to obtain retribution. That acts of good and evil are where disaster and blessing return is maintained equally by the nine lineages and the hundred schools; how could Buddhist scriptures alone be false? The premature deaths of Xiang Tuo and Yan Hui; the freezing and starvation of Bo Yi and Yuan Xian; the fortune and longevity of Robber Zhi and Zhuang Qiao; the wealth and power of Duke Jing of Qi and Huan Tui—if one refers these to their previous karma and hopes for results in their future lives, it becomes all the more solid and real. If, because doing good happens by chance to meet with the retribution of disaster, or doing evil happens to meet with signs of blessing, one may immediately complain and resent, declaring it to be deceitful and fraudulent, then the sayings of Yao and Shun would also be hollow, and the Duke of Zhou and Confucius untruthful. In what, then, could one place trust to establish oneself?

3.17

The third explanation states: Since the beginning of the world, wicked people have been many and good people few; on what grounds should one angrily demand purity from them all? When people see eminent monks of exalted conduct, they overlook them and do not speak of them; yet when they observe the vulgar and worldly, they immediately give rise to censure and slander. Furthermore, when students are not diligent, how can it be the fault of the teacher? In what way does a worldly monk's study of the sūtras and vinaya differ from a scholar's study of the Odes and Rites? The teachings of the Odes and Rites set standards for court officials, yet practically none observe them completely. The prohibitions of the sūtras and vinaya set standards for the ordained; why demand of them alone that they commit no infraction? Moreover, officials deficient in conduct still seek emoluments and positions; why should those who break the precepts feel ashamed to accept offerings? Regarding their conduct according to the precepts, there will naturally be transgressions; yet once clad in the Dharma robes, they already belong to the assembly of monks. What they accomplish in a year through fasting, lecturing, reciting, and upholding, compared to that of white-robed laymen, is more different than mountains and seas.

3.18

The fourth explanation states: The inner teaching has many paths; leaving home to be ordained is naturally only one of its methods. If one can keep sincerity and filial piety in mind and take benevolence and kindness as the foundation, then like Sudatta and Jalavāhana, one does not necessarily have to shave one's hair. How could it be intended to exhaust the well-field lands to erect stūpas and temples, or to deplete registered households to make them monks and nuns? This has all come about because those who govern are unable to regulate it, resulting in illicit monasteries interfering with the people's farming and unproductive monks draining the state's tax revenues. This is not the original purport of the Great Enlightened One. Moreover, to discuss it further: seeking the Way is a plan for oneself; sparing expense is a calculation for the state. A plan for oneself and a calculation for the state cannot both be fulfilled. A loyal minister serves his ruler and abandons his parents; a filial son brings peace to his family and forgets the state. Each has his own course of action. Among Confucians, there are those who do not bow before kings and dukes, exalting their personal integrity; among recluses, there are those who decline kingship, refuse the chancellorship, and flee the world into mountains and forests. How can one tally their taxes and corvée labor and deem them criminals? If one could transform all the common people so that they all entered the place of practice, as in the World of Wondrous Joy or the Realm of Śaṅkha, there would be natural non-glutinous rice and inexhaustible jewel treasuries; why seek the profits of farming and sericulture?

3.19

The fifth explanation states: Although the physical body dies, the consciousness still endures. When a person lives in the world, looking toward a future body, it seems unconnected; but after death, it is related to the previous body just like old age and youth, or morning and evening. In the world there are spirits that manifest in dreams, or descend upon male and female servants, or affect wives and children, seeking food and drink or demanding blessings; instances of this are by no means few. When people today suffer poverty, lowliness, illness, and hardship, none fail to complain and resent; yet in previous lives they did not cultivate merit. Discussing it in this way, how can one not lay the groundwork for it? Having children and grandchildren is naturally just having another living being between heaven and earth; what does it have to do with oneself that one loves and protects them, leaving them an estate and foundation? How much more so should one not suddenly cast aside one's own spiritual soul? Therefore, the two Shus grasped one aspect of this, and for successive generations their praise has shone ever brighter.

3.20

Ordinary people are deluded and blind, not seeing the future; hence they say that that life and this life are not of the same substance. If they had the divine eye to perceive that each thought perishes in succession and life after life is unbroken, how could they not be terrified? Furthermore, when a gentleman dwells in the world, what he values is being able to restrain himself, return to propriety, rescue the times, and benefit things. One who governs a family desires the blessing of the entire household; one who governs a state desires the excellence of the entire country. What intimacy do servants, handmaids, ministers, and commoners ultimately have with one's own person, that one should labor and toil to cultivate virtue on their behalf? If that were so, Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius also fruitlessly missed out on joy and pleasure. When one person cultivates the Way, how many living beings are ferried across? How many burdens of guilt throughout lifetimes are escaped? Please consider this thoroughly.

3.21

When a person lives in the world, they must attend to worldly affairs and establish their household; they cannot abandon wives and children entirely, all becoming ordained. They should simply combine the practice of their conduct with paying heed to reciting and chanting, making it the provisions for future lives. A human body is difficult to obtain; do not let it pass in vain.

3.22

Preface to the Seven Records

3.23

By the Liang recluse Ruan Xiaoxu

3.24

The sun and moon are pure and bright, yet without their radiant beams they could not shed their light below; Mount Song and Mount Hua sustain and nurture, yet without wind and clouds they could not suspend their subtle resonance. Great sages are born out of the ordinary, answering their destined times to order the age; thus they rectify and succour prevailing customs and reform the constant human relations. Were it not for the Three Odes and Eight Inscriptions, the classical canons, the Songs, Documents, Rites, and Music, how could they accomplish reverent and majestic achievements, or bring about such vast and boundless transformation? Therefore, when the primeval vastness receded and the Way was lost, Emperor Taihao originated the lines of the trigrams; when the significance of knotted cords became obscure, Sovereign Cangjie first created written characters. From that time forth, traditions were inherited or altered according to appropriateness; when achievements were completed and order was established, each had its bamboo tablets and books. But once the orthodox tradition perished, music collapsed, and rites disintegrated, the ways of the former sages hung precariously like trailing banners. Thus Zhongni sighed, saying: 'The practice of the Great Way and the outstanding men of the Three Dynasties—I, Qiu, did not reach them, but to them my aspirations are set.' Having his aspirations set, he deemed that the ancient texts were still good. Therefore, returning from Wei to Lu, he first established himself as the Uncrowned King. Thereupon he pruned the Songs and Documents, fixed the Rites and Music, arrayed the Five Beginnings in the Spring and Autumn Annals, and gave rise to the Ten Wings in the Way of Changes. When the Master passed away, the subtle words almost ceased; when the seventy disciples likewise perished, the great principles were subsequently compromised. Coming down to the Warring States period, customs differed and governments diverged; the hundred schools competed to arise, and the nine lineages of thought emerged alongside one another. Ying Zheng detested them; hence occurred the catastrophe of burying scholars and burning books. Not until the fourth year of Han Emperor Hui was the statute prohibiting the possession of books first abolished. Thereafter, externally there were the archives of the Minister of Ceremonial, the Grand Astrologer, and the Erudites; internally there were the repositories of the Yan Pavilion, the Guangnei Hall, and the Secret Chamber. A path for presenting books was opened, and officials for copying books were appointed. By the reign of Xiaocheng, rather many texts had been lost; hence he sent the Internuncio Chen Nong to seek out lost books throughout the realm. Liu Xiang, Grandee of the Imperial Household, and his sons Ji and Xin collated the chapters and texts; whenever each chapter was finished, they recorded and submitted it. When Xiang happened to pass away, Emperor Ai commanded Xin to carry on his previous undertaking; thereupon the books kept in the Wenshi Hall were moved into the Tianlu Pavilion. Xin then comprehensively synthesized the various treatises and submitted his Seven Summaries (Qilüe). Under the Later Han, the Orchid Terrace was still the bureau of books; furthermore, in the Dongguan Library and the Renshou Gate, newly recorded compilations were drafted. Ban Gu, Gentleman Collator of Books, and Fu Yi both took charge of the secret archives; Gu then relied on the text of the Seven Summaries to compose the Treatise on Arts and Literature for the Book of Han. Among those who subsequently composed works, Yuan Shansong likewise recorded them in his book. In the Wei and Jin eras, literary texts became increasingly numerous; they were all stored in the three inner and outer pavilions of the Department of the Palace Library. Zheng Mo, Gentleman of the Palace Library under Wei, edited and settled the old texts; contemporary critics described it as 'distinguishing the vermilion from the purple.' Xun Xu, Director of the Palace Library under Jin, composed a new catalogue based on the Wei Zhongjing; although it was divided into more than ten fascicles, he comprehensively distinguished them using four sections. During the disturbances of Emperors Hui and Huai, these books were almost completely lost; in the rustic beginnings on the south of the Yangzi, not one in ten remained. Although they were collected later on, confusion and disorder were extreme. Not until Assistant Editorial Director Li Chong began to edit and correct them: relying on the four-section method of Xun Xu's old catalogue, he swapped the books of the second and third classes (B and C), omitted the individual titles of various treatises, and comprehensively ordered them using Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding (A, B, C, D). From that time onward, successive generations took this as their model. Under Song, Director of the Palace Library Xie Lingyun and Vice Director Wang Jian, and under Qi, Vice Director Wang Liang and Director Xie Fei, all presented new accessions and further compiled a catalogue called the Seven Records (Qizhi). The collection of lost books from the Central Court grew somewhat wider, yet more than half of what had been lost was still missing. At the end of Qi, the fires of warfare spread to the Secret Pavilion; in the early years of the Liang, the gaps and losses were very numerous. Thereupon Ren Fang, Director of the Palace Library, was commanded to classify and assemble them in person; in addition, diverse books were separately stored within the Wende Hall, and Scholars such as Liu Xiaobiao were ordered to search out and present more. Then, separating texts on calculations and divination (shushu) into a distinct section, they ordered Zu Geng, Court Attendant, to compile their nominal catalogue. Within the Department of the Affairs of State, classic, historic, and miscellaneous books were separately stored, and in the Hualin Garden the sūtras and treatises of the Śākya lineage were brought together. Ever since the rise of literary works south of the Yangzi, none has surpassed the present time. In my youth I, Xiaoxu, loved ancient canons and records, and in maturity never grew weary. Lying ill in leisurely retirement, I have had no worldly distractions around me. As soon as the morning light breaks, the pale yellow bags are unfastened; when the night clepsydra is divided, the book cases are finally closed. Yet I have still been unable to exhaustively investigate the traditions and summaries, or plumb every secret and profound depth. Whenever I open the catalogue and reflect within, I find there are many deficiencies. I have rather been fond of gathering lost and obscure records. For all the mansions of princes, dukes, and officials from Song and Qi onward, if only they had accumulated ancient books, I always thought to obtain their lists and registers. Whatever I encountered, saw, or heard, when collated against the official catalogues, showed many omissions. Thereupon I gathered the various collections together and made a new record. From the domestic scriptures and records down to skills and arts, they are combined into five records, called the Inner Chapters; the external traditions of Buddhism and Daoism each form one record, called the Outer Chapters. Altogether there are seven records, hence it is titled Seven Records (Qilu). In ancient times, Sima Zichang recorded the events of thousands of years; former sages took pity on his diligence, and although he is renowned as a fine historian, there were still reproaches regarding his selections. How much more so when comprehensively synthesizing more than forty thousand fascicles of various books, discussing, investigating, verifying, and determining their central tenets! My talent is ashamed of lacking penetrating discernment; my learning is embarrassed by lacking broad mastery. I have neither the imperial grant of books of Ban Si, nor the Dongguan Library of Huang Xiang. When I wish to look up and inspect something, my private shelves are scarce of scrolls; if doubts and blockages arise, there is no one beside me to enlighten or instruct. Are not the errors and blunders bound to be manifold? I fear that those who blame me in the future—will it not be on account of this catalogue? If there be corrections, I beg to await the noble-minded. In ancient times, when Liu Xiang collated books, he made a record for each, discussing its purport and discerning its errors; as each was completed, he submitted it, and all were appended to the original books. At that time he also separately collected these records, calling it the Separate Records (Bielüe); this is the present-day Bielüe. His son Xin extracted its essential purports and composed the Seven Summaries (Qilüe). One of the chapters was the overall summary of the other six; hence it was named Summary (Cüelüe). Next was the Six Arts Summary; next, the Philosophers Summary; next, the Poetry and Rhapsodies Summary; next, the Military Treatises Summary; next, the Calculations and Divination Summary; next, the Methods and Skills Summary. In Wang Jian's Seven Records (Qizhi), the Six Arts was changed to Classical Canons; next was Philosophers; Poetry and Rhapsodies was changed to Literature; Military Treatises was changed to Martial Texts; Calculations and Divination was changed to Yin-Yang; Methods and Skills was changed to Arts and Techniques. Because Xiang and Xin, though speaking of seven summaries, actually had six branches, he established a section for Charts and Genealogies to complete the number of seven. Outside of this, he also itemized the books missing from the Seven Summaries, the Han Treatise on Arts and Literature, and the Zhongjing catalogue, together with the scriptures of the external realm: Buddhist scriptures and Daoist scriptures each formed a record, which, though following after the Seven Records, were not counted among their number. In the present compilation of the Seven Records, I have deliberated between Wang and Liu. Wang deemed the designation 'Six Arts' insufficient to serve as a banner for the canonical texts, and changed it to 'Classical Canons'; I now follow this. Therefore, the record of Classical Canons is arranged as the first of the Inner Chapters. Both Liu and Wang combined the various histories with the Spring and Autumn Annals. In Liu's time historical works were very few; attaching them to the Spring and Autumn Annals truly suited the precedent. Now the records and biographies of various authors are twice as many as the classical canons; if one still followed this scheme, it would truly be redundant and chaotic. Moreover, in the Seven Summaries, poetry and rhapsodies were not subordinated to the sections of the Six Arts, presumably because those books were already numerous, and thus made into a separate summary. Now, imitating this precedent, I have separated out the various histories, arranging the record of Chronicles and Biographies as the second of the Inner Chapters. The designation 'Philosophers' is the same in both Liu and Wang. Further, Liu had a Military Treatises Summary; Wang, deeming the word 'military' (bing) crude and shallow and the word 'martial/army' (jun) profound and broad, changed 'military' to 'martial'. I venture to think that in antiquity there were expressions such as 'weapons and cuirass' (bingge), 'military operations' (bingrong), 'regulating troops' (zhibing), and 'deploying troops' (yongbing); these are general terms for martial affairs. Therefore I have reverted from 'martial' back to 'military'. Since military books are few and insufficient for a separate record, I now attach them to the philosophers, comprehensively titling them 'Philosophers and Military'. Therefore, the record of Philosophers and Military is arranged as the third of the Inner Chapters. Wang, deeming that the title 'Poetry and Rhapsodies' did not encompass other genres, changed it to 'Literature'. I venture to consider that in recent ages literary compositions are comprehensively called 'anthologies' (ji); changing 'letters' (han) to 'anthologies' (ji) makes the designation especially distinct. Therefore, the record of Literary Anthologies is arranged as the fourth of the Inner Chapters. Wang, deeming that the designation 'Calculations and Divination' (shushu) was suspect of being complicated and miscellaneous, changed it to 'Yin-Yang'. The phrase 'Methods and Skills' (fangji) lacked canonical authority, so he also changed it to 'Arts and Techniques' (yishu). I venture to consider that Yin-Yang is biased toward a single connection and is not as comprehensive as 'Calculations and Divination'; 'Arts and Techniques' confuses the Six Arts with calculations and divination, and does not match the conciseness and clarity of 'Methods and Skills'. Therefore I have reverted to following Liu's system, keeping each to its original name. However, since bedchamber techniques and immortals are already subsumed under the Daoist way of transcendence, while medical classics and formularies are insufficient to establish a separate category, I have combined the titles of techniques and skills (shuji) to name a single record as the fifth of the Inner Chapters. Wang's category of Charts and Genealogies was absent in Liu's Summaries. Although Liu's Calculations and Divination included calendars and genealogies, they differed from today's genealogies. I venture to think that treatises of drawings and paintings should be classified according to what is depicted; therefore, following their titles, each is appended to its original record. As for genealogies, being of the nature of records and notes, they should be correlated with the style of history; therefore they are placed at the end of Chronicles and Biographies. All the above constitute the Inner Chapters.

3.25

The teaching of the Śākya clan has truly spread throughout the central lands; its lectures, recitations, and savouring of meaning run parallel to the books of Confucius. Although Wang recorded them in his writing, they were not included within the scope of his Records; seeking the reality in light of principle, this was not satisfactory. Therefore, the record of the Buddha-Dharma is arranged as the first of the Outer Chapters. The books of the Way of the Immortals have a venerable antiquity; Liu set the immortals at the end of Methods and Skills, whereas Wang placed Daoist scriptures outside of his Seven Records. I now combine them into an arranged record of the Way of the Immortals as the second of the Outer Chapters. While Wang put Daoism first and Buddhism second, I now put Buddhism first and Daoism second; this is because their venerated traditions are different, and also because their teachings have depths and shallows. The Inner and Outer Chapters together make seven records. The world's lost books and secret records may hopefully be fully accounted for herein.

3.26

In the fourth year of the Putong era of the Liang dynasty, in the year Shan'e (gui-mao), on the seventeenth day of the second month of spring, I began drafting this book at my residence in Jinzhong Lane in Jiankang. Liu Yao of Pingyuan, a man of broad learning, was associating with me; thereupon I spoke of this matter. Yao had long had this ambition, but had not yet been able to take up the brush. Hearing that I had already wielded the whip ahead of him, he was delighted and understood my purpose. All that he had copied and collected, he gave entirely to me to broaden my knowledge and view; he was truly of great assistance. This was just like how, regarding Zheng Kangcheng's commentaries and explanations, all of Zishun's books were entrusted to him.

3.27

Ancient and Modern Book Compendium

3.28

The Qilüe: 38 categories, 603 authors, 13,219 fascicles. 572 authors lost; 31 authors extant.
The "Treatise on Literature and Art" of the Hanshu: 38 categories, 596 authors, 13,369 fascicles. 552 authors lost; 44 authors extant. Yuan Shansong's Hou Han yiwen zhi: 87 authors lost.
The Jin Zhongjing bu: 4 divisions, 1,885 titles, 20,935 fascicles. Among them were 16 fascicles of Buddhist scriptures; the catalogue is missing 2 fascicles, so the details of what they contained are unknown. 1,119 titles lost; 766 titles extant.
Emperor Yuan of Jin's Catalogue of Books: 4 divisions, 305 cases, 3,014 fascicles.
Catalogue of the Four Divisions of the Imperial Library in the Fourth Year of Yixi of the Jin [408 CE].
Catalogue of the Four Divisions of the Imperial Library in the Eighth Year of Yuanjia of the Song [431 CE]: 1,564 cases, 14,582 fascicles (55 cases, 438 fascicles were Buddhist scriptures).
Catalogue of Books of the Four Divisions of the Imperial Library in the First Year of Yuanhui of the Song [473 CE]: 2,020 cases, 15,074 fascicles.
Catalogue of the Four Divisions of the Imperial Library in the First Year of Yongming of the Qi [483 CE]: 5,000 newly supplemented; in total, 2,332 cases, 18,010 fascicles.
Catalogue of the Four Divisions and Mantic Texts of the Wende Zheng Yu in the Fourth Year of Tianjian of the Liang [505 CE]: in total, 2,968 cases, 23,106 fascicles (compiled by Assistant in the Palace Library Yin Jun; because the books of the four divisions in the Imperial Library were fewer than those in the Wende [Hall], their numbers are not recorded).
The newly compiled Qilu: Inner and Outer Sections, maps and writings, altogether 55 sections, 6,288 varieties, 8,547 cases, 44,526 fascicles (6,078 varieties, 8,284 cases, 43,624 fascicles were canonical works and writings; 203 varieties, 263 cases, 879 fascicles were diagrams and talismans).
Inner Section: 5 records, 46 sections, 3,453 varieties, 5,493 cases, 37,983 fascicles (3,318 varieties, 5,206 cases, 37,108 fascicles were canonical works and writings; 135 varieties, 187 cases, 775 fascicles were diagrams).
Outer Section: 2 records, 9 sections, 2,835 varieties, 3,054 cases, 6,538 fascicles (2,759 varieties, 2,978 cases, 6,434 fascicles were canonical works and writings; 78 cases, 104 fascicles were talismans).

3.29

Contents of the Qilu:
Record of the Classics (Inner Section 1):
Changes section: originally 4 varieties, 96 cases, 590 fascicles.
Documents section: 27 varieties, 28 cases, 190 fascicles.
Odes section: 52 varieties, 61 cases, 398 fascicles.
Rites section: 140 varieties, 211 cases, 1,570 fascicles.
Music section: 5 varieties, 5 cases, 25 fascicles.
Spring and Autumn section: 111 varieties, 139 cases, 1,153 fascicles.
Analects section: 51 varieties, 52 cases, 416 fascicles.
Classic of Filial Piety section: 59 varieties, 59 cases, 144 fascicles.
Primary Learning section: 72 varieties, 72 cases, 313 fascicles.
The above 9 sections: 591 varieties, 710 cases, 4,701 fascicles.

Record of Chronicles and Biographies (Inner Section 2):
State Histories section: 216 varieties, 509 cases, 4,596 fascicles.
Annotated Calendars section: 59 varieties, 167 cases, 1,221 fascicles.
Ancient Precedents section: 87 varieties, 127 cases, 1,038 fascicles.
Official Posts section: 81 varieties, 104 cases, 801 fascicles.
Ceremonial Canons section: 80 varieties, 250 cases, 2,256 fascicles.
Legal Statutes section: 47 varieties, 95 cases, 886 fascicles.
Illegitimate Histories section: 26 varieties, 27 cases, 161 fascicles.
Miscellaneous Biographies section: 241 varieties, 289 cases, 1,446 fascicles.
Ghosts and Spirits section: 29 varieties, 34 cases, 205 fascicles.
Geography section: 73 varieties, 171 cases, 869 fascicles.
Genealogies section: 43 varieties, 423 cases, 1,064 fascicles.
Registers and Catalogues section: 36 varieties, 62 cases, 348 fascicles.
The above 12 sections: 1,020 varieties, 2,248 cases, 14,888 fascicles.

Record of Philosophers and Military (Inner Section 3):
Confucian section: 66 varieties, 75 cases, 630 fascicles.
Daoist section: 69 varieties, 76 cases, 431 fascicles.
Yin-Yang section: 1 variety, 1 case, 1 fascicle.
Legalist section: 13 varieties, 15 cases, 118 fascicles.
Names section: 9 varieties, 9 cases, 23 fascicles.
Mohist section: 4 varieties, 4 cases, 10 fascicles.
Vertical and Horizontal [Alliances] section: 2 varieties, 2 cases, 5 fascicles.
Miscellaneous section: 57 varieties, 297 cases, 2,338 fascicles.
Agriculturalist section: 1 variety, 1 case, 3 fascicles.
Minor Sayings section: 10 varieties, 12 cases, 63 fascicles.
Military section: 58 varieties, 61 cases, 245 fascicles.
The above 11 sections: 290 varieties, 550 cases, 3,894 fascicles.

Record of Literary Collections (Inner Section 4):
Elegies of Chu section: 5 varieties, 5 cases, 27 fascicles.
Individual Collections section: 768 varieties, 858 cases, 6,497 fascicles.
General Anthologies section: 16 varieties, 64 cases, 649 fascicles.
Miscellaneous Literary Works section: 273 varieties, 451 cases, 3,587 fascicles.
The above 4 sections: 1,042 varieties, 1,375 cases, 10,755 fascicles.

Record of Arts and Techniques (Inner Section 5):
Astronomy section: 49 varieties, 67 cases, 528 fascicles.
Apocrypha and Prognostication section: 32 varieties, 47 cases, 254 fascicles.
Calendar and Mathematics section: 50 varieties, 50 cases, 219 fascicles.
Five Phases section: 84 varieties, 93 cases, 615 fascicles.
Divination by Turtle and Stalk section: 50 varieties, 60 cases, 390 fascicles.
Miscellaneous Divination section: 17 varieties, 17 cases, 45 fascicles.
Penal Law section: 47 varieties, 61 cases, 307 fascicles.
Medical Classics section: 8 varieties, 8 cases, 50 fascicles.
Formularies section: 140 varieties, 180 cases, 1,259 fascicles.
Miscellaneous Arts section: 15 varieties, 18 cases, 66 fascicles.
The above 10 sections: 505 varieties, 606 cases, 3,736 fascicles.

Record of the Buddha's Teaching, 3 fascicles (Outer Section 1):
Precepts and Vinaya section: 71 varieties, 88 cases, 339 fascicles.
Dhyāna-Meditation section: 104 varieties, 108 cases, 176 fascicles.
Wisdom section: 2,077 varieties, 2,190 cases, 3,677 fascicles.
Spurious and Doubtful section: 46 varieties, 46 cases, 60 fascicles.
Treatises and Records section: 112 varieties, 164 cases, 1,158 fascicles.
The above 5 sections: 2,410 varieties, 2,595 cases, 5,400 fascicles.

Record of Immortality and the Way (Outer Section 2):
Scriptures and Precepts section: 290 varieties, 318 cases, 828 fascicles.
Dietary Regimens section: 48 varieties, 52 cases, 167 fascicles.
Bedchamber Arts section: 13 varieties, 13 cases, 38 fascicles.
Talismans and Diagrams section: 70 varieties, 76 cases, 103 fascicles.
The above 4 sections: 425 varieties, 459 cases, 1,138 fascicles.

Wen zi ji lüe: 1 case, 3 fascicles; Introductory Record: 1 fascicle.
Zheng shi shan fan: 14 cases, 135 fascicles; Introductory Record: 1 fascicle.
Gaoyin zhuan: 1 case, 10 fascicles; Introductory Precedent: 1 fascicle.
Gu jin shi dai lu: 1 case, 7 fascicles.
Qi lu: 1 case, 11 fascicles.
Miscellaneous Writings: 1 case, 10 fascicles.
Sheng wei: 1 case, 10 fascicles.
The above 7 works: 21 cases, 181 fascicles, compiled by Ruan Xiaoxu, not appropriate to be categorized into the preceding records and thus recorded here.

3.30

[Ruan] Xiaoxu was a native of Chenliu, the great-grandson of Song Senior General of the Capital Army [Ruan] Xinzhi, grandson of Huizhen, the Grand Administrator of Linghe, and son of Yan, Attendant Officer of the Commander-in-Chief. At the age of thirteen, Xiaoxu roughly grasped the main principles of the Five Classics. Accompanying his father, who served as an administrative clerk in Xiangzhou, he would not write upon southern paper so as to uphold his father's incorruptibility. At the age of sixteen he was struck by mourning and completed the mourning period; he did not wear padded silk garments, and though he ate simple vegetarian food, whenever it was flavorful he immediately spat it out. While listening to lectures at Zhongshan, his mother, the lady Wang, suddenly fell ill; Xiaoxu felt an alarm in his heart at his lecture seat and returned home. Compounding the medicine required wild ginseng; he personally gathered it on the high peaks of Zhongshan, but for whole days he did not encounter any. Suddenly a deer walked in front of him; wondering at it in his heart, he reached the place where the deer rested, and indeed found ginseng there, whereupon his mother's illness was cured. Wang Yan, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing of the Qi, who had long-standing family ties and was an eminent noble of high power, came to call upon him, his heralds calling out with great honor; Xiaoxu abhorred it and fled through a hole in the hedge. When Yan sent gifts, he refused and would not accept them. Once he was eating bean paste and found it delicious; when he inquired about it, it was a gift from the Wang house, whereupon he ordered the condiments thrown out. When Yan was later executed, Xiaoxu was spared because he was not of his clique. He constantly made Deer Forest (Lulin) his retreat, surrounding it with groves and ponds, and cut off social interactions; few were those who ever got to see him. Ren Fang, the Palace Attendant and Imperial Censor, wished to visit him but did not dare; going forward to gaze upon Deer Forest, he said to Xiaoxu's elder brother Lü: 'His dwelling is near, yet the man is far.' Grand Master of the Palace Yin Yun presented him with a poem; Ren Fang restrained him, saying: 'If our paths of taking and leaving differ, why disturb each other?' Thereupon the court nobility ceased making calls or invitations, and he only kept company with Pei Zhenzi (Zhenzi was the posthumous title of Ziye). In the twelfth year of the Tianjian reign era, the Supervisor of the Palace Library Fu Zhao recommended him, but he never presented himself. The Son of Heaven considered that he was only establishing an empty reputation to seek fame and honor, and thereafter no longer summoned or engaged him. Thus He Yin and Xiaoxu were both able to fulfill their lofty aspirations. The Prince of Nanping, [Xiao] Weimou, said to Lü: 'In former times, your grandfather's actions did not incur blame through idle wandering; why is it that your worthy younger brother alone clings so stubbornly to his purpose?' Xiaoxu said: 'If the roe deer and the river deer could all be harnessed alongside horses, how would they differ from steeds of fine breed?' The Prince composed the 'Treatise on Two Kinds of Darkness' and the 'Discourse on Nature and Emotions', and showed them both to him, requesting that he polish them. When Gaozu composed the Biographies of Loyal Subjects, compiled the Inscriptions and Epitaphs of the Buddhist Sages, and the Governor of Danyang recorded the Record of the Gracious and Divine, all were first submitted to the Upāsaka for selection before being put into effect. The Prince Zhonglie of Poyang was Xiaoxu's brother-in-law; the Prince and his sons sent gifts throughout the seasons, but he did not accept a single thing. He once cast hexagrams for his own time of death, saying: 'It is the same year as Editorial Director Liu.' That autumn Liu Yao died; Xiaoxu glanced aside and said: 'How much time do I have left?' Several tens of days later he indeed passed away, at the age of fifty-eight. The Crown Prince sent an emissary to offer condolences and sacrifices, presenting very lavish mortuary gifts; his son Shu, reiterating his late father's intentions, firmly declined and did not accept them. His disciples conferred on him the posthumous title of Recluse Wenzhen.

3.31

Xiaoxu read extensively across all books; there was nothing he was not skilled at. His vigor was immense and his memory keen, making him the authority for scholars. He composed the Seven Records, the Reduction of Superfluities, and other works totaling one hundred and eighty-one fascicles, all of which circulated in the world. The arrangement of Buddhism and Daoism as chapters on the transcendent realm originated with this.

3.32

Expanded Collection for the Propagation and Clarification of Buddhism, Fascicle Three

Linked texts (1)

廣弘明集 — Classical Chinese