集古今佛道論衡 3.29

3.29

天子欲為皇后者可讀此經。據此言及國家檢田。令云。道士通三皇經者給地三十畝。檢公式令諸有令式不便者奏聞此三皇經文言有異具錄以聞。有勅令。百官議定。依追道士張惠元問有此言不。惠元答云。此處三皇經並無此言。不知遠州何因有此。然為之一字聲有平去。若平聲讀之。誠如所奏。若去聲讀之。此乃為國於理無妨。臣等以為惠元所說不乖勸善。然此經中天文大字符圖等不入。篆籀請除餘者請留。吏部楊纂等議云。依識三皇經。今與老子道德經義類不同。並不可留。以惑於後　勅旨。其三皇經並收取焚之。其道士通道德經者給地三十畝。仍著令。於時省司下諸州收三皇經。並聚於尚書禮部廳前于尚書。試以火爇一時灰燼。昔宋時鮑靜初造三皇被誅。今仍宗尚改三皇為三洞。妄立天文大字惑誤昏俗。其詐顯然。迷者不覺。今遇大唐聖帝。體其偽妄。故此焚除。近如大業末年。京師五通觀道士輔慧詳。三年不言。改涅槃經為長安經。將欲入山巖中。於時條制不許出城門。候見其內著黃衣。又獲新經執送留守。及至勘校改經事實。尚書衛文昇以狀奏聞。於金光門外戮之。耳目生靈所共同委。其覺者如此。不覺者有之。然彼輒爾制經寫於藏篋。無人檢勘。誰辯偽真。且所造者。文義淺俗濫引佛經。讀者無味不足觀採。至如南華幽求。固是命家之作。不可及也。

the Son of Heaven or wishes to become the Empress may read this scripture.’ Relying on these words and upon the state's land statutes, which stated: ‘Daoist priests who master the *Sanhuang jing* shall be granted thirty *mu* of land,’ and examining the general statutes that any unsuitable statutes should be reported in a memorial, they fully recorded these differing words of the *Sanhuang jing* and submitted them to the throne. An imperial edict ordered the hundred civil officials to deliberate and decide. In accordance with this, they summoned the Daoist priest Zhang Huiyuan and asked whether such words existed. Huiyuan answered: “The *Sanhuang jing* in this place has no such words. I do not know why a distant prefecture has this. However, the single character *wei* has both level and departing tones. If read in the level tone, it is indeed as memorialized; if read in the departing tone, it means ‘for the sake of the state,’ and in principle presents no hindrance.” The ministers thought that Huiyuan's explanation did not violate the encouragement of good; however, the great characters of heavenly script, talismanic charts, and the like in this scripture were not proper seal or clerical script, so they requested they be removed while the rest be retained. Yang Zuan and others of the Ministry of Personnel deliberated: “According to our understanding of the *Sanhuang jing*, its principles and categories are not the same as Laozi's *Daode jing*; none of it should be preserved to mislead later generations.” The imperial decree stated: “Let all copies of the *Sanhuang jing* be confiscated and burned. Daoist priests who master the *Daode jing* shall be granted thirty *mu* of land, and let this be recorded in the statutes.” At that time, the ministries and departments sent orders to the various prefectures to collect the *Sanhuang jing*, and all were gathered in front of the hall of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Minister Yu tested them with fire, and in an instant they were reduced to ashes. Formerly, during the Song dynasty, when Bao Jing first fabricated the *Sanhuang [jing]*, he was executed. Nowadays they still revere it, changing the ‘Three Sovereigns’ (*Sanhuang*) to the ‘Three Caverns’ (*Sandong*), and falsely establishing great characters of heavenly script to deceive and mislead the benighted commoners. Its fraud is conspicuous, yet the confused fail to perceive it. Now, meeting the Sage Emperor of the Great Tang, who discerned its falsity and deceit, it was therefore burned and eradicated. Recently, such as in the late Daye era, the Daoist Fu Huixiang of the Wutong Abbey in the capital did not speak for three years; he altered the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* into the *Chang'an jing*, intending to enter the mountain cliffs. At that time, the regulations did not permit leaving the city gates. The guards saw that he wore yellow robes beneath, and also seized the new scripture, taking him into custody to deliver him to the Regent. When the facts of his altering the scripture were verified through cross-examination, Minister Wei Wensheng reported it in a memorial, and he was executed outside the Jinguang Gate. This is something mutually witnessed by all living beings with ears and eyes. Those who perceive it are like this, while those who do not perceive it exist as well. However, they arbitrarily concoct scriptures and copy them into book-boxes; with no one to examine and check them, who can distinguish the false from the genuine? Furthermore, what they compose is shallow and vulgar in literary meaning, inappropriately plagiarizing Buddhist sutras; readers find them tasteless and unworthy of examination. As for works such as the *Nanhua [zhenjing]* or *Youqiu*, they are truly compositions of renowned masters that cannot be matched.