大宋僧史略 2.37

2.37

When the teaching was transmitted during the Eastern Han and passed through the Wei dynasty, faith and devotion had not yet matured, and saṃghārāmas were very few. Since the monks were few in number, matters were likewise not numerous. If [an issue arose that] went against prior regulations, they were required to notify [the authorities]. To what office was notification given? It fell under the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglu si). Hence we know that śramaṇas initially were subordinate to the Court of State Ceremonial. For the Western Jin there is no record. For the Later Wei it is recorded that they first established the Bureau for Overseeing Blessings (Jianfucao) to administer and regulate the ranks of monks, and soon changed it to the Zhaoxuan Court (Zhaoxuansi). Thus the 'Treatise on the Hundred Officials' in the Sui shu states: 'The Zhaoxuansi had charge of Buddhist affairs; it appointed one Grand Controller (Datong), one Controller (Tong), and three Chief Karmadānas (Duweina), and installed personnel for Merit Officers (Gongcao) and Records Clerks (Zhubu), in order to govern the śramaṇas of the various prefectures, commanderies, and counties.' Later it was again changed to the Chongxuan Office (Chongxuanshu). Sengyou of the Liang says: 'It is like the present Tongwen Temple.' Hence I suspect that during the Qi and Liang eras the Tongwen Temple was once established to manage saṃgha affairs, though I have not seen textual evidence of it. At that time officials were addressed with their concurrent departmental titles, hence they were called 'Grand Controller of Zhaoxuan'. In the early Tang there was entirely no such title, and monks and nuns were all subordinate to the Bureau of Receptions (Sibin). According to the Huiyao: On the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the first year of the Yanzai era (694) of Zetian, an imperial edict ordered that monks and nuns throughout the realm be subordinate to the Bureau of Sacrifices (Cibu), without need to belong to the Bureau of Receptions. Thus we know that before the Heavenly Empress, they belonged to the Bureau of Receptions. This was indeed the beginning of subordination to the Bureau of Sacrifices, the principle being drawn from the idea of 'cultivating good and repelling evil, blessing [the realm] and averting disasters'. In the fourteenth year of the Kaiyuan era of Xuanzong (726), the Secretariat-Chancellery memorialized that monks and nuns be detached and subordinated to the Court of State Ceremonial; this was approved. In the first month of the fifteenth year (727), an imperial edict ordered monks and nuns to be inspected and verified by the Bureau of Sacrifices, while Daoist priests and female Daoists were subordinated to the Court of the Imperial Clan (Zongzheng si), presumably because the Li clan was entered in the imperial registry. In the second month of the second year of the Yuanhe era of Xianzong (807), an imperial decree ordered that monks, nuns, and Daoist priests be completely subordinated to the Commissioners of Merits of the Left and Right Streets; from this point on, the Bureau of Fiefs (Sifeng) and the Bureau of Sacrifices no longer dealt with or memorialized about them. The Huiyao states: In the fourteenth year of the Dali era (779), an imperial edict decreed that both the Inner and Outer Commissioners of Merits should be discontinued. If so, Commissioners of Merits were established as early as the reign of Daizong; it was only that the 'Inner and Outer' differed from the 'Left and Right Streets'. In the Yuanhe era, the duties of the Bureau of Fiefs and the Bureau of Sacrifices were merged, and the Commissioners of Merits of the Left and Right Streets were instituted; because Tutu Chengcui had repeatedly established military merit, he received this appointment, and monks and Daoists were subordinated to it. During the Baoli era (825–827), the Palace Commandant of the Army of Inspired Strategy Liu Gui also filled this commission. Coming to the fifth year of the Huichang era (845), when temples and images were abolished, an imperial edict stated that monks and nuns should not be subordinate to the Bureau of Sacrifices. At that time the Secretariat-Chancellery memorialized: 'We have received the proclamation that monks and nuns should not be subordinate to the Bureau of Sacrifices, but ought to belong to the Bureau of Receptions (Zhuge) as their reliance, and that the Court of State Ceremonial should be ordered to take charge of them, and that we should report back with an analysis. Monks and nuns throughout the realm have, since the dynastic founding, all been subordinate to the Court of State Ceremonial; in the second year of Tianbao they were subordinated to the Bureau of Sacrifices (differing from the Yanzai era). Your ministers observe that according to the Da Tang liudian, the Bureau of Sacrifices has charge of the great sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the Ancestral Temple, which is entirely inappropriate for monastic affairs. Moreover, fundamental administrative matters ought to return to the Department of State Affairs (Shangshu sheng); subordinating them to the Court of State Ceremonial was not suitable. Furthermore, according to the Liudian, the Bureau of Receptions has charge of more than seventy foreign vassal states that offer tribute, and the five regions of India are among their number. The Śākya clan originated in India. Now, since Your Majesty considers that they are not part of the Middle Kingdom, their registers have already been overhauled; they should simply be attached to the Bureau of Receptions and not be subordinate to either the Bureau of Sacrifices or the Court of State Ceremonial.' This was approved. In the fifth month of the sixth year (846), an imperial decree ordered that monks and nuns should, as before, be taken charge of by the Commissioners of Merits of the Two Streets, and not be attached to the Bureau of Receptions; the ordination certificates for those ordained were still to be issued by the Bureau of Sacrifices. When Xuanzong again propagated the Buddhist teachings, the ordained monks and nuns returned to subordination under the Commissioners of Merits of the Left and Right Streets. Hence Yang Qinyi served as Commissioner of Merits of the Left Street, and an imperial proclamation sent him to arrest the Daoist priest Zhao Guizhen. During the reign of Zhaozong, the Grand Councilor Cui [Yin] memorialized to execute the eunuchs; all inner commissioners were completely discontinued and returned to the ministries and courts, and the grand councilors held the concurrent title of Commissioner of Merits. When the Liang replaced the mandate of the Tang, Daoist priests were not entered into the Court of the Imperial Clan, and monks and nuns were again attached to the Bureau of Sacrifices. In the first year of the Longde era of Emperor Modi of the Liang (921), private ordinations of monks and nuns throughout the realm were prohibited; those who wished to leave the household were ordered to enter the capital for examination, after which the Bureau of Sacrifices submitted a request [for ordination]. For the Later Tang nothing is heard. Under the Jin, Yang Guangyuan was made Commissioner of Merits of the Realm; after [Yang] Weiqing's unlawful acts, this commission was no longer established. Coming to our Great Song, monks and Daoists are both subordinate to the Commissioners of Merits. When they leave the household to seek ordination and are tested on scriptural studies, the Commissioners of Merits notify the Bureau of Sacrifices to issue certificates, binding them to the two bureaus.