廣弘明集 7.24

7.24

A man of Wei Commandery, during the Wuping era of Northern Qi he served as an Erudite of the Forest of Scholars. At that time, the Buddhist Dharma was revered and honored, and the construction [of temples] was taken to the utmost limit; practically all fertile lands belonged to monks, and the state treasuries were emptied to supply the Buddha's field of merit. Lay scholars could not compare. Zituo held a petty office and was naturally not among the favored. Thereupon he submitted a memorial stating: 'The emperor above serves the Sovereign of Heaven, and below nurtures the common people; sovereign and subject, husband and wife—the bonds and disciplines have their foundation. Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, barbarian demons have brought chaos to China, turning their backs on their lords and rebelling against their fathers, not taking wives and not taking husbands; yet in licentious extravagance they command authority and blessings, sitting back to receive heightened respect and holding scholars and commoners in contempt. Consorts and princesses enter monks' quarters by day, while sons and younger brothers lodge in nuns' cells by night.' He also said: 'Your servant is not terrified, nor afraid, nor avoids the cauldron of boiling water; I have straightway bathed, carried a coffin, and presented this memorial to be heard.' It comprised more than ten sheets of paper. When the memorial was submitted, the emperor was enraged and wished to kill him. Gao Na'gong said: 'This fellow seeks fame and wants to die. If Your Majesty chops off his head, you will fall into the fellow's trap. You should imprison him permanently and let him die on his own.' [The emperor] followed this advice. After two years, Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi and released him. At the beginning of the Sui he was still alive, and his end is unknown. Now, reading Zituo's memorial, it merely recounts the demons, lust, and accumulation of wealth among monks, possessing no other distinct merit. His phrasing is redundant and heavy, expanding broadly on every incident. The undiscriminating might think his memorial raised a great many matters, but the discerning see that it comes down to only two tracks—namely, wealth and sex. It largely resembles Xun Ji's words, yet in talent and principle they are as far apart as clouds and mud, and he could not compare. In the two dynasties of Wei and Qi, eminent monks were like a forest: they appointed the Ten Directors to oversee them and established the Bureau of the Clarification of the Mysterious to manage them; the pure assembly was brilliant and could not be dragged down. Zituo's family was inherently poor and distressed, with no one to turn to for shelter; the support for his physical form was nothing more than clothing and food. Trapped in perpetual destitution and long afflicted by hunger and cold, he envied the monks' lavish offerings and consequently presented his confrontational memorial, only to be suppressed and rejected in the end, failing to achieve his ambition. He can be called a sluggish Han erudite whose words were wasteful and lacked refinement and restraint. Fu Yi added yet more embellishment, but his words became increasingly superficial and petty, mocked even by the most foolish—how much more so by the thoroughly enlightened!