大唐內典錄 3.13

3.13

When hegemonic lords inherit lineage and rule, beneficial appearances show forth according to their respective regions, and each realm has its assigned officials. The succession of calendars and moving turns of dynastic destiny have long been known. Hence, acting in accordance with the times, sovereigns connect barbarian and Chinese affairs alike; looking back upon antiquity, one treads in the footsteps of another. Yao Chang of the Later Qin was a Qiang of the Western Rong. Taking advantage of Fu Jian’s campaign against Murong Chong, he stepped forward and established his state. He still made Yongguan his capital, renaming Chang’an to Chang’an [Constant Peace]. After reigning for eight years, Fu Jian led ghostly troops into the palace in broad daylight and stabbed him in the groin, causing a dan of blood to pour forth. Calculating the knots of grudge and hatred, it was indeed hard for him to perish peacefully—how could one not take this as a mirror? Upon his demise, his son Yao Xing was enthroned. In the spring of the third year of Hongshi, trees with interlocking branches sprouted in the ancestral temple’s court, and in the Xiaoyao Garden, green onions changed into Chinese leeks. All called this an auspicious omen, betokening that a wise man was destined to enter the realm. In the winter, [Kumāra]jīva arrived in Yongzhou. Yao Xing treated him with supreme courtesy, attending upon him as the Preceptor of the State with the highest veneration and respect. He widely expounded sūtras and treatises; the flourishing of propagation and translation in Cīnasthāna was at its zenith in this dynasty. Monks from the four quarters gathered like rushing clouds. Prior to this, from the fall of the Former Han until the rise of the Fu Qin, over the course of 331 years, Chang’an had been deserted of court and market, with civil customs desolate and overgrown. Although there were several saṅghārāmas, faithful devotees were scarce. Three thousand virtuous monks lived together in one place, jointly receiving the offerings of the Heavenly King of the Yao Qin. The world called it the Great Monastery, though that was not its original name. In its midst, a hall was temporarily thatched with grass; within it and in the Xiaoyao Garden were the two places of translation. The Dharma jewel was spread afar, as verified by such auspicious omens. Thereupon, monastic officials were established with salaries equal to that of a Palace Attendant; two Overseers of the Capital (Dulu) were appointed to supervise the monks of the five divisions. The flourishing of the Zhaoxuan [Monastic Bureau] originated from this. Between the end of the Wei and the beginning of the Zhou, when the avenues and wards were somewhat regularized, the Great Monastery was divided into four saṅghārāmas: the original Caotang [Grass Hut] became a monastery of its own; east of Caotang was the Changzhu Monastery; south of Changzhu was the Jingzhaowang Monastery, which was later renamed the Andingguo Monastery; west of Andingguo was the Dacheng Monastery. Flanking the left side of Andingguo, on the eastern verge of Tianjie Avenue, is an octagonal large well: this was the former eastern kitchen of the old Great Monastery, the sweet spring that once supplied the three thousand monks. Over three generations of sovereigns spanning thirty-two years, [the dynasty] was ultimately destroyed by the Jin. It began with Yao Chang in the first year of Chuyuan, the bingxu year, which corresponds to the eleventh year of the Taiyuan era of the Jin. It ended with Yao Hong in the second year of Yonghe, the bingchen year, which corresponds to the twelfth year of the Yixi era of the Jin. He met his death in Jiankang, and the realm was absorbed into the Northern Wei. There were altogether eight monks who translated and transmitted [scriptures]. The sūtras, vinayas, precepts, and śāstras translated by them number 124 works in 665 fascicles, recorded here as the Catalogue of the Yao Family of the Later Qin.