法苑珠林 65.36

65.36

In the Tang dynasty, Ma Jiayun of Wei commandery, in the first month of the sixth year of the Zhenguan era, was at home toward evening. Going out through the main gate, he suddenly saw two men, each holding a horse, who had already been standing under a tree outside the gate. Jiayun asked who they were. They answered, saying, 'The Duke of the Eastern Sea has sent us merely to welcome Scholar Ma.' Jiayun had always possessed learning and was renowned in the prefectures and villages; whenever commissioners from the censorate or noble guests from the four quarters arrived, many requested to see him. When they called him by name, he was not surprised. He said to the envoys, 'I have no horse.' The envoys said, 'We present this horse; with it we welcome Scholar Ma.' Jiayun thereupon mounted the horse under the tree and departed, while his physical body lay fallen beneath the tree. Soon they arrived at an official bureau and were about to enter the main gate. There were several tens of men and women outside the gate as if they were litigants. There was a woman who was previously acquainted with Jiayun; she was the concubine of Zhang Gongjin from the same commandery, of the Yuan surname. Holding a sheet of official documentation in her hand, she came forward and said to Jiayun, 'Scholar Ma, do you still recognize me? Formerly, when Commander-in-chief Zhang associated [with you], we often met. The Commander-in-chief, villainous and unprincipled, murdered me. I lodged an appeal to the Celestial Bureau, and now it has been three years. Because King Deva-master protected Gongjin, I was constantly suppressed. Only now have I obtained redress. The officials have already summoned him, and he will arrive before long. I was wondering why I alone was wronged and harmed; why have you also come, Scholar Ma?' Jiayun had previously known that Lady Yuan had been killed, and only upon seeing her did he realize that he himself had died. The envoys led him inside the gate. The gatekeeper said, 'The Duke is asleep and cannot yet be visited. You should go and sit at the quarters of Huo, the Director of Penal Law.' When Jiayun met the Director of Penal Law, it turned out to be Huo Zhang, the former Bureau Director of the Branch Department of State Affairs of Yizhou. Seeing Jiayun, he invited him to sit and said, 'The post of Record Keeper in this office is vacant. The Duke of the Eastern Sea has heard of your talent and learning, and wishes to condescend to employ you in this post.' Jiayun said, 'Being poor, I guard over my wife and children and do not wish to be an official. If I can be spared, it would be most fortunate.' Zhang said, 'If you cannot do it, plead for yourself that you lack learning. I have an acquaintance whom I can recommend to do it.' Shortly after, someone came and said, 'The Duke has awoken from sleep.' He led Jiayun inside, where he saw a man sitting in the hall, short, fat, and dark-complexioned. Calling Jiayun forward, he addressed him, saying, 'I have heard of your talent and learning, and wish to condescend to employ you as Record Keeper. Can you do it?' Jiayun bowed in gratitude and said, 'I am most fortunate. However, I am a rustic fellow of the fields, who merely teaches canonical learning to the younger generation; I am not sufficient to undertake the responsibilities of Record Keeper.' The Duke said, 'Do you know Huo Zhang?' He answered, saying, 'I know him.' Thereupon he sent for Zhang and asked about Jiayun's talents. Zhang said, 'All along I have known of his canonical learning, but have not seen him compose literary works.' The Duke said, 'Who is capable of literary composition?' Jiayun said, 'There is Chen Ziliang, who understands literary composition.' The Duke said, 'Release Scholar Ma to return.' He immediately ordered the summoning of Chen Ziliang. Jiayun took his leave, and Zhang parted from him, saying, 'I trouble you to speak to my son Gou: "When I was facing death, I told you to sell the horse I rode to build a stūpa. Why did you sell the horse for your own expenses? Swiftly construct the stūpa as I instructed."' What he called 'Gou' refers to his eldest son. Jiayun then asked, 'Just now I saw the concubine of Zhang Gongjin. Who was the Deva-master she mentioned?' Zhang said, 'A fellow countryman of Gongjin, Wang Wujie, died and became a Deva-master. He constantly rescued Gongjin, which is why he lasted until now. Now, it seems he cannot escape.' Having finished speaking, they parted. An envoy was dispatched to escort Jiayun. Arriving at a narrow, rough path, [the envoy] pointed and instructed him to return by this road. Jiayun recounted the whole matter. In the seventh month of that year, a man from Mianzhou surnamed Chen and named Ziliang died suddenly. After passing a night, he revived. He himself said he had seen the Duke of the Eastern Sea, who wished to employ him as Record Keeper, but he excused himself on the grounds of not knowing letters. Another Chen Ziliang, a man of Wu, also died. Gongjin likewise passed away. However, after both men died, Jiayun once walked on the road with someone. Suddenly he seemed to see an official bureau; with an anxious and frightened expression, Jiayun only hurried away. After a while he calmed down. His companion asked him about it, and he replied, saying, 'I just saw an envoy of the Duke of the Eastern Sea, who said they were going to Yizhou to summon someone, and further said: "Chen Ziliang bitterly denounced you; Huo, the Director of Penal Law, was reproached on your account. You almost did not escape. It was thanks to your merit of ransoming living beings that you managed to escape."' Formerly, when Jiayun was in Shu, people were about to drain a pond to take the fish; Jiayun, who had earned several tens of bolts of silk by lecturing on the classics for others, thereupon bought the fish in the pond to ransom their lives. It was this that was meant. During the Zhenguan era, when the imperial retinue was at Jiucheng Palace, [the emperor] heard of this and sent Vice Director of the Secretariat Cen Wenben to inquire into the matter. Wenben recorded it to present in a memorial, and it was so. Jiayun later became an Erudite of the National University and died in office. (The above single verification is taken from the Mingbao ji.)