大唐內典錄 4.8

4.8

The transition from the Song destiny to the Qi dynasty followed established precedent. Its governance of both the religious and secular spheres was renowned in the southern realm, and so it is not narrated in full detail. Its Emperor Gao, Xiao Daocheng, was a native of Linyi. Basing himself on the remaining patrimony of the Song, he continued to keep the capital at Jiankang. In the first year of the Jianyuan era, a wildfire in Ancheng consumed the marshes, yet in an area of only a few zhang, the grass alone did not burn. When they went and looked within it, they obtained a golden statue. Having thus been touched by this miraculous auspicious omen, sagely transformation flourished once more. The emperor said: 'Were I to govern the world for ten years, I would surely make gold equal in price to dirt.' Unfortunately, he died after four years. His son Ze, whose courtesy name was Xuanyuan, succeeded him. The rivers and seas were serene and tranquil. There was Prince Wenxuan of Jingling, [Xiao] Ziliang, the second son of the emperor, who assisted in the administration. In the position of Minister of Education (situ), he harmonised and reformed, greatly subduing superficial customs and especially propagating the Buddhist teachings. He composed numerous works. For the excellence of his propagation and protection, he stood out as uniquely acclaimed; he broadly sought out the elite and talented to assist and praise profound principles. He compiled the Jingzhuzi in twenty fascicles, the History of Buddhism in ten fascicles, and excerpted and collected various sūtras, expanding or abbreviating, abridging or broadening, so as to benefit all universally. Through the succession of seven sovereigns across twenty-three years, there were twenty translators and transcribers, both monastic and lay. The sūtras, vinayas, biographies, and other works produced by them amounted to forty-seven titles in three hundred and forty-six fascicles altogether, constituting the Qi Dynasty Catalogue.