鐔津文集 11.24

11.24

楊從事公濟與冲晦晤上人訪潛子。明日乃邀宿靈隱。又明日如天竺。遂宿於天竺也。三人者游且詠。得詩三十六篇。公濟請潛子前敘。潛子讓公濟曰。吾不敢先朝廷之士。公濟曰。此山林也。論道不論勢。潛子敘非忝也。潛子曰。諾吾敘。然公濟與潛子輩儒佛其人異也。仕進與退藏又益異也。今相與於此。蓋其內有所合而然也。公濟與冲晦以嗜詩合。與潛子以好山水閑適合。潛子亦粗以詩與冲晦合。而冲晦又以愛山水與吾合。夫詩與山水。其風味淡且靜。天下好是者幾其人哉。故吾屬得其合者嘗鮮矣。適從容山中。亦以此會為難得。故吻然嗒然終日相顧相謂。幾忘其形迹不知孰為佛乎孰為儒乎。晉之時王謝許子以樂山水友支道林。唐之時白公隱廬阜亦引四釋子為方外之交。其意豈不然哉。合之道其可忽乎。雲與龍貴以氣合。風與虎貴以聲合。聖與賢貴以時合。君與臣貴以道合。學者貴以聖人之道合。百工貴以其事合。昆蟲貴以其類合。不相合。雖道如仲尼伯夷。亦無所容於世也。天下烏得不重其所合乎。方二君之來也。逼歲除。山欝欝以春意。然代謝相奪乍陰乍晴。朝則白雲青靄絢如也。晚則餘氷殘雪瑩如也。飛泉冷冷若出金石。幽林梅香或凝或散。樹有啼鳥㵎有游魚。而二人者嗜山水則所好益得。嗜閑適則其情益樂。勝氣充浹而更發幽興優游紆餘吟嘯自若。雖傍人視之。不知其所以為樂也。坐客接之。不知其所以為得也。獨潛子蒼顏敝履幸其末游。而謂之曰。二君之樂非俗之所樂也。二君之得非俗之所得也。是乃潔靜逍遙乎趨競塵累之外者之事也。終之可也。因評其詩曰。公濟之詩贍。冲晦之詩典。如老麗雅健則其氣格相高焉。潛子默者。於詩不專。雖其薄弱病拙。遠不及二君。豈謂盡無意於興也。

Attendant Yang Gongji and Master Chonghui Wuwu visited Qianzi. The next day, they invited him to stay overnight at Lingyin [Temple]. The day after that, they went to Tianzhu, and thus stayed overnight at Tianzhu. The three of them wandered and chanted, producing thirty-six poems. Gongji asked Qianzi to write a preface. Qianzi deferred to Gongji, saying, "I dare not take precedence over a gentleman of the court." Gongji said, "This is the mountain forest. We discuss the Way, not worldly power. It is no presumption for Qianzi to write the preface." Qianzi said, "I agree; I shall write it. Yet Gongji and Qianzi's kind differ as Confucian and Buddhist; their official advancement and secluded retirement differ even more. Now that we associate together here, it is surely because inward concord has made it so. Gongji and Chonghui unite through their fondness for poetry; with Qianzi, they unite through their love of mountains and waters, leisure and ease. Qianzi also broadly accords with Chonghui in poetry, while Chonghui again accords with me in loving mountains and waters. Poetry and mountains and waters—their flavor is plain and quiet. How many people in the world are fond of these? Thus, those of our sort who find such harmony have ever been rare. Happening to be at ease in the mountains, we also considered this gathering hard to come by. Therefore, harmonious and self-forgetful, we looked at and spoke to one another all day long, almost forgetting our physical forms and traces, knowing not who was Buddhist and who was Confucian. In the Jin era, the Wangs, the Xies, and Xu [Xun] befriended Zhi Daolin through their delight in mountains and waters; in the Tang era, Lord Bai retired to Mount Lu and likewise took four Buddhist monks as friends beyond the worldly pale. Could their intention have been otherwise? How can the way of concord be neglected? Clouds and dragons find value in matching by their vapor; winds and tigers find value in matching by their roar; sages and worthies find value in matching by their timing; ruler and minister find value in matching by the Way; scholars find value in matching by the Way of the sages; all artisans find value in matching by their craft; crawling insects find value in matching by their kind. If they do not match, then even with a Way like that of Zhongni or Bo Yi, there is nowhere to be accommodated in the world. How could the world fail to value that which accords? Just when the two gentlemen arrived, it was close to the end of the year. The mountains were lush with the feeling of spring. Yet the alternation [of seasons] contended with one another, suddenly overcast and suddenly clear. In the morning, white clouds and green mists were brilliant; at dusk, lingering ice and remaining snow glistened. The cascading spring was chill and crisp, as if emerging from metal and stone; the plum blossom fragrance of the secluded grove was now gathered, now dispersed. In the trees were singing birds, and in the streams swimming fish. When the two gentlemen indulged in mountains and waters, what they loved was obtained all the more; when they indulged in leisure and ease, their feelings were pleased all the more. Their supreme spirit suffused them fully, and they gave rise to ever deeper, quiet inspiration, wandering freely and chanting with composed ease. Even if bystanders looked on, they would not understand what made it delightful; if seated guests encountered them, they would not understand what made it satisfying. Only Qianzi, with his withered face and worn-out sandals, had the good fortune to follow at the rear of their outing, and said to them: "The joy of you two gentlemen is not what the vulgar enjoy; the attainment of you two gentlemen is not what the vulgar attain. This is the affair of those who are pure and quiet, wandering free beyond the bustle of worldly competition and entanglements. It is worthy to carry it through to the end!" Thereupon he appraised their poetry, saying: "Gongji's poetry is abundant; Chonghui's poetry is classical. In seasoned beauty, elegance, and vigor, their spirits and registers vie with each other in loftiness. Qianzi is a man of silence, not devoted to poetry; though his poems are thin, flawed, and clumsy, falling far short of the two gentlemen, could one say that he is entirely devoid of poetic inspiration?"