大唐內典錄 2.17

2.17

The flow of the teaching soaked in gradually: although heard of under the Han and Wei, its broad propagation truly began under the Jin. Moreover, although the Jin is considered lacking in refined governance, its literary talent was exceedingly flourishing. Thus, the translation and dissemination ultimately became manifest through individuals. Therefore, the rites, music, and official attire were only perfected under the Jin dynasty, and the fountainhead of faith and the ocean of wisdom arose in succession. Could it be otherwise? Regarding the Western Jin Catalogue: Sima Yan, courtesy name Anshi, was a man of Wen in Henai. He was the crown prince of Sima Zhao, General-in-Chief, Palace Attendant, Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, Chancellor, and Prince of Jin under the Wei. When Zhao died, Yan succeeded him as Prince. Emperor Yuan knew that the heavenly mandate had found its home, and sent Grand Protection Zheng Chong to present the imperial seal and cede the throne. Yan folded his hands and accepted the abdication; this was Emperor Wu. The dynasty was called Jin, and capital was kept at Luoyang and Chang'an, the former Eastern and Western capitals. Emperor Wu of Jin was on the throne for fifteen years. In the middle of the Xianning era, he ordered Sima Zhou to pacify Wu, capturing Sun Hao, who was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guiming. From the twenty-fourth year of the Yong'an era of the Later Han down to the first month of the gengzi year, the inaugural year of the Taikang era of the Jin, the Nine Provinces were once again unified. Furthermore, at the beginning of the Huangwu era of Wu, Lu Ji said: 'Sixty years from now, all under Heaven will have carts on the same tracks and writing in the same characters.' When it came to this time, it was indeed as Lu Ji had predicted. Shu was pacified and Wu was destroyed, taking nearly sixty years. Twenty years later, at the beginning of the Yongning era of Emperor Hui, the correct path crumbled and declined, and the warlords stood like lofty peaks. The Prince of Zhao laid the ground for treason, usurped the throne in court, and Zhang Gui followed in his footsteps, refusing to act as a vassal and ruling the Liang lands arbitrarily. Inside and out, chaos boiled over, and the steps of disorder gradually escalated. Liu Yuan thereby held Pingyang, and Li Xiong on account of this occupied Jingluo. Emperor Huai was caught in the turmoil of the Hangu Pass, and Emperor Min wandered in exile from Chang'an. Thus, the Way depended on the times to flourish, yet the two capitals were shattered; the Dharma became manifest through individuals, yet encountered two monarchs who were unsettled and anxious. The myriad people broke apart and dispersed, with no support for their devotion; the hundred officials abandoned their posts, and the disciples of the Śākya clan had nothing to rely upon. At that time, there were the śramaṇas Dharmarakṣa, Kāla-ruci, and others, who forgot themselves to benefit living beings, vowing to propagate and proclaim [the teaching]. Not fearing hardships, they took the illumination of the Dharma as their task. Dharmarakṣa translated the most sūtras during the Jin era; the promotion and preservation of the Dharma's net arose through him. Such figures as Faqin, Mokṣala, Nie Chengyuan and his son, and Zhu Shulan translated and transmitted in succession. Therefore, within fifty years, among Chinese and foreign, monastic and lay, there were thirteen individuals; together with the earlier sūtras and precepts whose translators have been lost, they amount to four hundred and fifty-one works in seven hundred and seventeen fascicles, compiled as this chronicle of fifty-two years spanning four rulers and the two capitals of the Western Jin.