集古今佛道論衡 1.20

1.20

The compiler of the debates says: Sheng's courtesy name was Anguo. Some say he was a descendant of the famed Eastern Jin scholar Sun Chuo. His grandfather was Sun Chuji, a famous minister of the Wei. Sun Chuo had distinguished treatises, praised by his contemporaries for his talent and learning, and recorded in previous histories. Sheng, as the son of a renowned father, served the Jin as Gentleman in Attendance, Director of the Palace Library, and Cavalier Regular Attendant, with the title of Baron of Wuchang. In his youth he was fond of ancient canonical texts and roved his mind through historical records. He always maintained that although worthy sages were profound and distant, understood beyond words, benevolence and affection were cultivated from within oneself; and as for the efficacy of gradually imbuing the multitude of beings, nothing surpassed the classics and histories. Therefore, Zhongni based himself on the Lu historical records to compose the Spring and Autumn Annals, causing hundreds of generations to gaze up at his lofty style as a model. Meng Ke and Sun Qing both praised and propagated the great transformation. Down to the Historian Qian, he also recorded the successes and failures of an age, providing a clear mirror of admonition for future generations. Thereupon Sheng applied his mind extensively, compiling and investigating various matters, and wrote the Jin Yangqiu, seeking to emulate former worthies to glorify the instruction of the Way, in a total of thirty-two fascicles combining text and phonetics. He was also ordered to oversee the state history, exhausting his thoughts on classics and treatises; his works were celebrated in his day and he was praised as a fine historian. Before he could submit them to the throne, he passed away. In the fifteenth year of the Taiyuan era of the Jin, his son Qian presented them to the emperor. An imperial edict stated: "Having received the book written by the late Director of the Palace Library, We examine it with deep sighs of admiration. It models itself remotely on former canons and emulates the past; it is truly an achievement of an era. Let it be ordered to be accepted into the Secret Pavilion to be bequeathed to posterity." Qian inherited his father's noble rank and served as Chief Clerk and Consultant to the General of the Agile Cavalry, as seen in the Jin Annals. Sheng's various writings are fully detailed in his separate collection. He appraised Laozi as belonging to the category of intermediate worthies; thus we know that in writing the Yinshu, his ancestral transmission had grounds. Master Ji [Kang] said: Laozi studied the arts of the nine immortals under Juanzi, pursuing the refined elixirs—this may indeed have occurred. But when it comes to being a sage, it is never said that he studied. An ancient saying states: "Those who are born with knowledge are highest; those who learn and so get knowledge are next." As for what position Wang [Bi] and He [Yan] held, their classics conveyed great models. Thus Ban Gu's classification of people into nine ranks placed Kong Qiu and others in the highest-upper rank, all of whom are categorized as sages; Li Er and others were placed in the middle-upper rank, all of whom are categorized as worthies. Among sages there are supreme sages and second-rank sages; among worthies there are great worthies and intermediate worthies. Because their spiritual capacities have sharpness and dullness, the function of their wisdom has gradualness and suddenness. Sheng described Laozi as not being a great sage; his sageliness was of a leisurely, self-tending kind, unable to benefit all beings universally. He sat watching the decline of the Zhou and feigned escape to the western frontiers, but actually died in Fufeng and was buried in Huaili. That he was not an immortal who escaped to heaven is truly verified.