大宋僧史略 3.8

3.8

In antiquity, what was prized were titles and emblems. When conferring robes and insignia on people, the highest were vermilion and purple; green, black, and yellow ribbons were secondary. Therefore it is said: when purple ribbons were added, gold insignia had to be obtained. Now monks receive only the purple and not the gold (for the square robe is not a sash ribbon). Searching the various histories, monks' robes were of red, yellow, black, green, and other colors, but vermilion and purple are not heard of. According to the Tang History, during the reign of Zetian there were the monk Falang and others who retranslated the Great Cloud Sūtra and presented portents saying that Zetian was Maitreya descended to be born as the ruler of Jambudvīpa, and that the Tang house had declined, wherefore by this means the dynastic revolution took place and she claimed the Zhou (the new Great Cloud Sūtra says that after death she would be born in Maitreya's palace, not that Zetian was Maitreya). Falang, Xue Huaiyi, and nine others were all enfeoffed as commandery dukes, and gifts were bestowed with distinctions; all were granted purple kāṣāyas and silver tortoise pouches. The Great Cloud Sūtra was promulgated to monasteries throughout the realm, each storing one copy and ordering high seats to lecture on it. The bestowal of purple began from this. In looking at the New Tang History's claim that the Great Cloud is an apocryphal sūtra, that is incorrect. This sūtra had already been translated in the Jin dynasty, and the old text already spoke of a female king; how could the Heavenly Empress have existed at that time? It was merely because of the retranslation that grand falsehoods were added, and with Xue Huaiyi wedged in their midst, it gave rise to ridicule. After Zetian, in the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, on account of the barbarian monk Huifan's merit in repairing a monastery, he was enfeoffed as a commandery duke, but the purple robe was not applied. In the time of Emperor Ruizong, nothing is heard of it either. Emperor Xuanzong's fraternal love was consummate; because the Prince of Ning was ill, he dispatched inner palace emissaries and royal physicians who raced continuously back and forth, but only the monk Chongxian achieved medical success. The Emperor was pleased and granted him a crimson robe and fish tally pouch (Chongxian was the only person granted crimson and a fish pouch). Furthermore, in the ninth month of the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, the king of Persia dispatched the great-virtue monk Jilie to the Tang (Jilie was the monk's name); an imperial decree granted him a set of purple kāṣāyas and fifty bolts of silk, and sent him back to his home country. At the end of Tianbao, the śramaṇa Daoping resided at a monastery in Jincheng County; when the rebellion of An Lushan broke out, Xuanzong fled to Shu, and Suzong passed by the monastery. Daoping earnestly urged him to raise troops at Lingwu to recover Chang'an. Suzong thereupon entrusted him with troops and appointed him General of the Left Jinwu Guard. Reaching Lingao, he encountered the rebels and engaged in great battle, repeatedly achieving military merit. Later he begged to return to being a monk; an imperial decree assigned him to the Chongfu and Xingqing monasteries, granted him purple robes, and admitted him to the palace, where giving imperial audience became ordinary. During the Yongtai era of Emperor Daizong, the monk Chonghui of Zhangjing Monastery contested arts with Daoist priests; having reported victory, the inner official Gong Tingyu announced the grant of a set of purple robes (without the fish pouch). Next, the Indian monk Jituo of Zhenguo Monastery was six hundred years old; when approaching death, he sent a disciple to present his robe and bowl to the Emperor, and an imperial decree granted him purple robes. Emperor Dezong devoted his mind to the Śākya clan; he summoned the Dharma master Duanfu into the inner palace to debate doctrines with Confucians and Daoists, and bestowed a purple square robe. Shunzong, Xianzong, Muzong, Wenzong, and Wuzong all carried out such bestowals (in searching for the monks' names, they have simply not yet been found). The Dongguan zouji states: During the Dazhong era, the monk Xiuhui of Da'anguo Monastery was skilled at poetry and once composed on imperial command; his talent and thoughts were lofty and refined. One day, the Emperor heard him beg for a purple robe. The Emperor said: 'Am I begrudging it to you? Looking at your appearance, something is lacking; therefore it has not been given.' When it was granted and he returned to the monastery, he suddenly fell ill and died. On the imperial birthday festival of the twenty-second day of the sixth month of the fourth year of Dazhong, the meditation great-virtues of the inner palace were all granted purple, and Zongzhi, the director of the Zhuifu Courtyard, was also granted purple. Next, the pilgrimage monk Wuzhen from Shazhou arrived at the capital, and the great-virtue Xuanchang managed the Tripiṭaka; each was granted purple. Furthermore, Congjian, the supervisor of Faqian Monastery, was granted purple. When the Emperor visited Zhuangyan Monastery to venerate the Buddha's tooth relic, Vinaya Master Linghui was granted purple, as was Ruichuan of Chongfu Monastery. In the fourth year of the Xiantong reign of Emperor Yizong, the monk Faxin of Xiliang Prefecture submitted a commentary and notes on the Hundred Dharmas Treatise; upon verification of its worth, he was granted purple. On the Yanqing Festival on the fourteenth day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, monks and Daoists of the Two Streets entered the palace and debated in the Linde Hall; Kefu was granted purple. Also, the Japanese monk Ensai, residing at Ximing Monastery, took leave to return to his homeland, and was granted purple and sent back. On the Yanqing Festival of the twelfth year, when debates were held in the inner palace, Qingyun, Sili, Yunqing, and two others of the Left Street, and Youzhang, Huihui, Qingyuan, and one other of the Right Street, four men in all, were granted purple (the practice of granting purple robes to each of the street divisions began from Xiantong). Under Xizong and Zhaozong, the purple robes granted to monks recommended by various circuits were extremely numerous and are not recorded. In the eleventh month of the first year of Qianhua under Emperor Taizu of the Liang, the Uighur monks Ningluyi, Lisiyi, Yanjian, and others came to court, and each was granted purple and returned to their territory. Furthermore, the monk Fasi of Tanzhou and Guizhen of Guizhou personally requested and were granted purple. Emperor Zhuangzong delighted in granting purple robes to monks; so it was under the Jin, Han, and Zhou. Now, under our Great Song, they are granted only on imperial birthday festivals. In cases where inner practice center monks are already wearing purple, they are further granted three items of purple silk robes, which is called a double bestowal. As for the various hegemon states, their bestowals were likewise similar. During the illegitimate Shu dynasty, the Kingdom of Yunnan dispatched the court attendant and prior of Chongsheng Monastery, a monk bestowed with purple and a silver bowl, to serve as an envoy of good relations. Later, barbarian officials of high rank were granted golden bowls, just as the Central Plains granted silver fish tallies. The country of Wa [Japan] bestows on monks the title of Dharma Master of the Transmitted Lamp. Goryeo bestows purple robes on monks, placing gold or silver hooks on the cords to distinguish rank.