集古今佛道論衡 1.32

1.32

Emperor Gaozu, the Martial Emperor of the Liang, ascended the throne at the age of thirty-four and was in power for forty-nine years. Although the affairs of the myriad millions were burdensome, a scroll never left his hand. There were no inner scriptures or outer canons that he did not hold in mind, composing commentaries and explanations for several thousand fascicles. He was frugal and self-restrained, wearing no silk or brocade; his bedchamber was plain and quiet, and he was untiring day and night. He went so far as to have a cloth quilt, rushes for a mat, straw sandals, and a kudzu cap. Upon first ascending the throne, he was already fully observant of these practices. He ate only one meal a day and perpetually abstained from all pungent roots and meat. Since the dawn of rulers and kings, rarely has anyone matched this. Formerly, he had served Laozi and esteemed talismans and charts, but upon searching to their roots, they were like reckless fabrications. The Emperor thereupon personally wielded the divine brush and issued an edict on renouncing Daoism, which stated: