北山錄 3.2.5

3.2.5

[His personal name was Dan, and his courtesy name was Pengzu. He was the son of Emperor Kang, enthroned at the age of two; Empress Dowager Chu held court as regent.] Zhi Daolin was of outstanding brilliance within the monastic forest. His untainted manner was cool and refreshing, [like] clear ripples amid the flourish of waters. He built a dwelling in the woods and wilds, living in reclusion to pursue his aspirations. His virtue and literary style were revered by his generation. From the Son of Heaven, the three chief ministers, and the myriad magistrates (the 'three chief ministers' are the Three Excellencies, and the 'myriad magistrates' are the various ministers) to worthy literati, none among those renowned in the crags and thickets failed to extol his pre-eminent brilliance and respectfully accept his discourses on the Way. Figures such as Xie An, Wang Meng, Liu Tan, Yin Hao, Sun Chuo, Huan Yanbiao, and Wang Wendu—the glory of the realm and the order of all beings (all of them gentlemen of the noble clans and high ministers of the Eastern Jin)—all observed the eight precepts; on holidays they would gather, traversing mountains and lodging by marshes, washing clean their caps and sashes to offer incense and flowers. Harmonious and reverent, they associated with and looked up to him with mutual affection ('harmonious and reverent' describes an appearance of peace and joy). Their shared appreciation of the pure and extraordinary made this the splendor of an entire era. Wang Xizhi said to others, 'How can one trust someone's initial air [of brilliance]?' Yet once he saw him, only then did he regret his former words, [realizing] they had nearly fallen into error ('nearly' means fallen; some versions have 'blemish'; both are acceptable). Now, the purpose of setting forth the living is to illuminate their kinds. The *Classic of Poetry* says: 'Only when one befriends them, / Can one resemble them' (this is the final stanza of 'Changdi zhi hua' in the Lesser Odes of the *Classic of Poetry*; the meaning is that because the gentleman possesses such a lofty manner, the friends he acquires all resemble him; the words differ slightly from the *Poetry*, but one should not let the phrasing harm the sense). By this we know that owls and phoenixes do not flock together (the owl is an unfilial bird that eats its mother before flying away; in winter regulations it is captured and torn apart on roads; the character is written with a bird atop wood. The phoenix is an auspicious bird, with a chicken's head, snake's neck, swallow's chin, turtle's back, and fish's tail, five-colored, six feet tall; the female is called *huang*); leopards and swine do not companion each other (a leopard is a beast like a tiger but smaller; a swine is a pig). To promote the good so as to seek their company—this is indeed to follow the manner of antiquity ('follow' means conform to). Zhongni said: 'If you do not know the man, observe those he befriends; if you do not know the ruler, observe those he employs.' How worthy is the appreciation of worthies! This was truly the Sage Confucius. When the seven gentlemen followed him, the Marquis of Jin became hegemon (the seven gentlemen refer to Dian Jie, Wei Wuzi, Minister of Works Jizi, Hu Yan, Zhao Cui, Hu Mao, and Jia Tuo; these seven followed Chong'er of Jin when he fled into exile and ultimately returned to bring hegemony to Jin); when the Four Elders came to protect him, the heir of Han was established (Emperor Gaozu of the Han favored Consort Qi and was on the verge of establishing a new crown prince, which remained unsettled; superiors and inferiors were fearful. Zhang Liang instructed Empress Lü to invite them from Mount Shang to support the prince in attending court. As soon as Emperor Gao saw them, his position was settled. The Four White-Haired Elders were: first, Dongyuan Gong; second, Xia Huang Gong; third, Qi Liji; and fourth, Master Jiao Li; 'Jiao' is pronounced Lu); when Zhang Lu left Wei, Qin arose (Fan Sui was slandered by Xu Jia and suffered disgrace under Wei Qi; he then changed his surname and personal name, calling himself Master Zhang Lu. Qin employed him as prime minister and enfeoffed him as a marquis, greatly raising up the state of Qin); when Elai served as prime minister to Zhou, Yin perished (the *Records of the Grand Historian* says: Feilian fathered Elai, who served Zhou; he had great strength and was also adept at slandering the feudal lords. King Wu attacked Zhou and executed Elai). These words have been fully verified, yet men rarely bear them in mind. Therefore, in antiquity, entire factions were promoted or entire factions were executed; in truth, this did not fail regarding the good and evil of all under heaven (in the penal codes of antiquity, when a faction was good, all were rewarded; when a faction committed evil, all were executed through collective liability). Today's petty men mostly appropriate the friendship of gentlemen to win acclaim (deceitful knaves of recent times lack virtue themselves; they attach themselves to the high and eminent, improperly seeking reputation and fawning upon the world like foxes), yet the neighborhoods do not investigate their beginnings or ends, mutually accepting their deceit and trickery, and men of high discernment find it difficult to dispute them alone. Therefore, regarding friendships, antiquity was straightforward, while today it is careless (the Master said: 'Friendship with the upright, friendship with the sincere, and friendship with the well-informed are beneficial. Friendship with the obsequious, friendship with the smooth-tongued, and friendship with the glib are harmful'). Master Lin was detained at the capital for three years, yearning to return to East Mountain. The emperor did not promptly grant permission, so he firmly submitted a memorial to take his leave, his sincerity deeply moving. In the spurious Qin, there was the Venerable She (the eminent monk, the Venerable She, was originally from the Western Regions; his prophecies were mostly verified. In the fifteenth year of Jianyuan he arrived in Chang'an; in the sixteenth year he passed away; in the seventeenth year there was a great drought), who did not eat the five grains, could travel five hundred *li* a day, and could chant spells over a dragon so that it descended into his almsbowl and made rain fall. In the year the Venerable She passed away, there was a great drought. Fu Jian said to Zhu Tong (Zhu Tong was the director of the Palace Library), 'If the Venerable She were here, how could he let Us scorch Our heart over the Milky Way?' Earlier, the Qin Grand Astrologer had memorialized that a Star of Virtue had appeared in the planetary division of the foreign kingdoms, signaling that a sage was to enter to assist the Central State, and whoever obtained him would rule as king. Fu Jian then separately ordered Fu Pi (Pi was Jian's concubine-born son) to attack Xiangyang and capture Dao'an, and Lü Guang to chastise Kucha and seek Kumārajīva (the full name is Jiūmóluóshí; here translated as 'Youthful Purity'). When Zhu Xu was captured by Qin (Zhu Xu, General of the Southern Gentlemen of the Household for the Jin, was captured by Pi), Dao'an and Xi Zuochi were brought. Jian rejoiced and said, 'In employing a host of a hundred thousand, We have obtained a man and a half!' (the one man refers to Dao'an; the half refers to Xi Zuochi). Whenever the state had doubts in deliberation, or ancient vessels, garments, seal-script, clerical-script, or precious gems that could not be identified, he would have Dao'an consulted. Fu Jian once wished to tour the Eastern Park and ordered Dao'an to share his carriage. Quan Yi remonstrated, saying (Quan Yi was the Qin Left Assistant Director), 'Your servant has heard that for the Son of Heaven's official carriage, the Palace Attendants ride along. Dao'an has disfigured his form and is a lowly fellow; how could he improperly approach the imperial carriage?' Jian angrily changed countenance and said, 'Master An's Way is merged with the ultimate realm, and his virtue is honored by the age. Were We to weigh the whole realm against him, it would not suffice to match him. This is not the Master's glory, but Our own glory!' He made Quan Yi assist Dao'an into the carriage. Thus, the minister's remonstrance made manifest his loyalty, while the ruler's refusal showed his love for the worthy. Quan [Yi]'s [mind] was a petty measuring stick (Quan Yi's remonstrance was what was proper for a subject, yet he was unable to honor the worthy and esteem virtue; his capacity was indeed not broad), whereas Fu [Jian's] was a vast, overflowing lake (Master An was truly a worthy of an era, and Lord Fu deeply valued him; although there were strong remonstrances, he ultimately did not accept them; truly this was a vision of profound insight). The ruler and minister seemed opposed, as if not in accord ('seemed' means like or as if), yet regarding the state, they were in accord. Therefore, the gentleman is harmonious but does not conform. Without this, what could be made of it? (The Way of the gentleman is not to contend, yet what they see differs; this is what is called arriving at the same destination by different routes.) That spurious Fu was still better than the genuine Jie (although Jie was a legitimate ruler, he was devoid of the Way; although Qin was a spurious hegemon, he possessed virtue). Truly, he may be said to have attained the Way of hegemony! (Dao'an was a native of Fuliu in Changshan; his surname was Wei. His clan was of eminent Ruists. He lost his parents' protection early and was raised by his maternal cousin.)