出三藏記集 2.2

2.2

Far-reaching indeed is the cover of the Dharma jewel! The spiritual principle is fundamentally quiescent; it connects only when there is a response. The resonance with China began in the Han dynasty. Formerly, when Liu Xiang collated the books, he had already seen Buddhist scriptures; thus we know that the canonical texts had arrived long before the reign of Emperor Cheng. Coming down to Emperor Xiaoming's inspiring dream, Zhang Qian was dispatched on an embassy to distant lands; in the west, in the realm of the Yuezhi, he transcribed the Sūtra in Forty-Two Sections. It was encased and stored in the Orchid Terrace, stamped with the seal of the sovereign. Thereupon, wondrous images graced the city gates, and golden spires shone over the capital of Luoyang; the teachings of wisdom unfolded, shining brightly throughout the realm.
Examining the final years of the two Han dynasties, the world suffered turmoil and disruption: the Western Capital was overthrown and the ancient classics were scattered; the Eastern Capital was relocated and historical records were largely lost. Although the texts seen by Zizheng [Liu Xiang] have vanished, the chapters transcribed under Xianzong [Emperor Ming] still survive. That the Dharma first flowed to the East is evidenced here.
I, Sengyou, have inspected and reviewed the Tripiṭaka and investigated its lingering origins. Among the ancient sūtras extant today, none precedes the Sūtra in Forty-Two Sections; as for the inception of translation, none exceeds the embassy of Zhang Qian. From the Zhanghe reign era onwards, the emergence of sūtras was quite deficient. This was truly because, although Fan texts arrived, opportunities and circumstances differed: where there was translation they were transmitted; where there was none they remained hidden. Indeed, without the right person, the Way does not walk in vain.
Approaching the reigns of Huan and Ling, the arrival of sūtras gradually broadened: the cohort of An Qing [An Shigao] and Shuo Fo [Zhu Shuofo], the company of Zhi Chen [Lokakṣema] and Yan Diao—they fluently translated and rendered the Fan texts, their minds harmonising across ten thousand li; parsing the text to match the meaning, their brilliant achievements succeeded one another.
Yet though the wheel of the Dharma had reached people's hearts, no one had arranged and catalogued them. It began with Master Dao'an, who first composed a title catalogue, appraising the talents of translators and recording the years and months. That the wondrous scriptures can be verified is truly reliant upon that man! Daring as a late scholar to echo and follow his previous precedent, I have drawn upon my own limited view to continue it as a new catalogue, also broadly consulting separate catalogues, examining and correcting discrepancies, and pursuing branches and origins so as to make the cataloguing form complete.
Originating with the Han and coming down to the Great Liang, traversing six dynasties over the course of nearly five hundred years: sūtras verified by Fan texts number four hundred and nineteen works; those who transmitted and translated them, whether Chinese or barbarian, number eighty-five persons. Arranged in sequence by name and order, it is now roughly complete. In cases where what is identically one sūtra was produced at different times, with contradictions between new and old and discrepancies in fascicle counts, separate sections and items have been established to prevent confusion and doubt. As for the Vinaya-piṭaka, at its initial opening, its original source is recorded in detail, and the persons and dynasties are carefully verified and listed in the upper catalogue. If a sūtra is preserved but the translation [details] are lost, it is compiled in the lower fascicles. This shall ensure that the causes of the Dharma's transmission command trust, and that the minds of those who hear the Way harbour no doubt. Reverently bequeathed to future generations, may it not fall into decay!