法苑珠林 9.116

9.116

夫神理無聲。因言辭以寫意。言辭無跡。緣文字以圖音。故字為言蹄。言為理筌。音義合符不可偏失。是以文字應用彌綸宇宙。雖跡繫翰墨而理契乎神。昔造書之主。凡有三人。長名曰梵。其書右行。次曰佉盧。其書左行。少者蒼頡。其書下行。梵佉盧居于天竺。黃史蒼頡在於中夏。梵佉取法於淨天。蒼頡因華於鳥跡。文書誠異傳理則同矣。仰尋先覺所說有六十四書。鹿輪轉眼筆制區分。龍鬼八部字體殊式。准梵及佉盧為世勝文。故天竺諸國謂之天書。西方寫經同祖梵文。然三十六國往往有異。譬諸中土猶有篆籀之變體乎。安蒼頡古文沿世代變。古移為籀。籀遷為篆。篆改成隷。其轉易多矣。至於傍生八體。則有仙龍雲芝。二十四書則有楷奠鍼灸名實雖繁為用益尠。然原本定義。則體備於六文。適時為敏則莫要於隷法。東西之書源亦可得而略究也。

Now, spiritual principles are soundless; through words and phrases they express intent. Words and phrases leave no trace; relying on written characters they map out sound. Therefore, characters are the snare for words, and words are the trap for principle. When sound and meaning accord, neither may be neglected. Thus, the practical application of writing encompasses the universe: though its traces are bound to brush and ink, its principle accords with the spirit. In ancient times, there were three lords who invented writing. The eldest was named Brahmī; his writing goes to the right. The next was named Kharoṣṭhī; his writing goes to the left. The youngest was Cangjie; his writing goes downward. Brahmī and Kharoṣṭhī dwelt in India; the Yellow Emperor's scribe Cangjie dwelt in the Central Summer (China). Brahmī and Kharoṣṭhī took their models from the pure heavens; Cangjie derived patterns from the tracks of birds. The written documents indeed differ, but the principles they convey are the same. Looking up to and examining what earlier awakened ones taught, there are sixty-four scripts. Divided by deer, wheel, revolving eye, and stylus styles, the scripts of the eight classes of dragons and spirits have diverse forms. Brahmī and Kharoṣṭhī are considered the most excellent scripts in the world; hence the various Indian lands call them divine scripts. The Western Regions' copying of scriptures all shares Brahmī as their ancestor. However, the thirty-six kingdoms often display differences, just as within the Central Plains there still exist variant forms of seal and greater seal scripts. The ancient script of Cangjie evolved and changed over successive generations: the ancient shifted into the greater seal; the greater seal moved into the lesser seal; the lesser seal was transformed into the clerical script—its transitions and alterations are numerous. As for the eight derivative styles, there are the immortal, dragon, cloud, and fungal [scripts]; of the twenty-four scripts, there are standard, foundation, needle, and moxa. Though the names and realities are numerous, their practical utility is exceedingly slight. However, when tracing their origin and fixing their definitions, their forms are fully provided in the six principles of writing; and for responding to the times with dexterity, nothing is more essential than clerical script. The origins of Eastern and Western scripts can thus be briefly investigated.