English
English version: The standing person in the painting is an old man who catches snakes. A young boy, leaning on a cane, stands respectfully by, waiting. The person riding in the bamboo sedan chair is Tao Yuanming (Yuanming) (poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty), who is about to return home. Tao Yuanming, due to a foot ailment, once used a bamboo basket as a sedan chair, which his son and disciples took turns carrying. The ones carrying the sedan chair in front seem to want to rest but cannot, while those in the back seem willing to bear the burden and forget their fatigue. These are probably his disciples and son. A young boy carries a wine pot, following behind. The person holding a palm-leaf manuscript (Beiye Jing) (Buddhist scriptures written on palm leaves) and riding a horse is Xie Lingyun (Xie Lingyun) (poet of the Southern Dynasties). Beside him, someone holds a sunshade hat. A young boy, carrying a book box, rides ahead. In total, there are thirty-eight figures, one horse, one ape, and one deer. The utensils and plants are too numerous to count. The figures are unrestrained, and the springs and rocks are beautiful and lush. The painting traces back to figures from a thousand years ago and gathers many virtuous scholars in the palm of one's hand. Opening the scroll, it feels as if one can directly interact with them. The person waving a duster and talking seems to want to speak eloquently and pour out endless words. The one listening silently seems to want to hold their breath and fully comprehend. The one carefully examining and silently contemplating seems to want to explore profound principles, savor distant artistic conceptions, knock on the mysterious gateway, settle the dwelling of the spirit, and wander in a hazy realm. The person chanting Buddhist hymns (Fanbai) (Buddhist songs) seems to want to move their throat and dance their tongue, emitting sounds like thunder and echoing the sound of the ocean tide. The person walking back and forth seems to be riding the wind and soaring far away. The person sitting by the water seems to be riding a whale and about to depart. The person laughing and holding hands laughs heartily, completely unconcerned about whether their attire is proper. This is because their heart and hand have forgotten each other, and the brush and spirit have merged, thus creating unexpected wonders. Therefore, they can command Gu Kaizhi (Gu Kaizhi) (painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty) and Lu Tanwei (Lu Tanwei) (painter of the Southern Dynasties), and employ Zhang Sengyao (Zhang Sengyao) (painter of the Southern Dynasties) and Wu Daozi (Wu Daozi) (painter of the Tang Dynasty). They stride across a thousand years and lead alone. If it were not for the eighteen virtuous scholars, it would not be enough to inspire Li Gonglin's (Li Gonglin) (Zi Boshi, painter of the Northern Song Dynasty) brush and ink. If it were not for Li Gonglin, it would not be enough to depict the interests of the eighteen virtuous scholars. Is this not because they all have a deep affection for springs, rocks, mountains, and forests, and an incurable addiction to mist and clouds? Their scents are similar, so the images in the painting seem to live together at the same time. Li Gonglin and I are cousins and like-minded friends in the mountains and forests. It took thirty-eight days to complete this painting. After obtaining this painting, I often reside and dine beneath it. When guests come to view it, they may not know the story of the Lotus Society (Lianshe) (Buddhist community founded by Master Huiyuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty), so I record these things at the end. The viewer should comprehend the artistic conception for themselves. This painting was completed on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the Gengshen year (1080) of the Yuanfeng era. On the twenty-sixth day of the first month of the Xinyou year (1081) of the following year, Li Chongyuan (Li Chongyuan) (Li Gonglin's name) of Longmian (place name, Li Gonglin's hometown) inscribed this. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 元中记。 东林十八高贤传(终) No. 1543-B
Chinese
右莲社高贤传一卷。本不著作者姓名。自隋唐志晁陈二家俱未见书。曰原䟦。谓自昔出于庐山。宋熙宁间。嘉禾贤良陈舜俞。粗加刊正。大观初。沙门怀悟。复为详补。而是书始显。然此十八高贤。皆晋宋时人。则此传亦当为晋宋时书。故仍从唐宋丛书辨补。其曰莲社者。谓谢灵运在庐山。凿池种白莲。时远公诸贤同修净土之业。因号白莲社。灵运尝求入社。远公以其心杂而止之。夫既不许其人入社。而又取其人所种之莲以名社。则人之称斯社也。其谓之何。但如远公。始欲从学。范𡩋卒乃传经。雷次宗周续之。以一释和尚。而能为功经学前。此所未有也。白香山为刘轲代书。谓庐山自陶谢。洎十八贤以来。儒风绵绵不绝。而皆由远公倡之。今录其书。又岂独为释氏提振宗风耶。汝上王谟识。 现代汉语译本： 《元中记》。 《东林十八高贤传》(终) No. 1543-B 右《莲社高贤传》一卷。原本没有署作者姓名。隋朝和唐朝的志书中，晁氏和陈氏两家都没有收录这本书。跋文中说，这本书自古以来就出自庐山。宋朝熙宁年间，嘉禾的贤良陈舜俞，略加刊正。大观初年，沙门怀悟，又加以详细补充，这本书才开始显现于世。然而，这十八位高贤，都是晋宋时期的人，那么这本书也应当是晋宋时期的著作。所以仍然按照唐宋丛书进行辨别和补正。书中说的‘莲社’，是指谢灵运在庐山，开凿池塘种植白莲，当时慧远(Huiyuan)法师等贤人一同修习净土法门的事业，因此号称白莲社。谢灵运曾经请求加入莲社，慧远(Huiyuan)法师因为他心不纯正而阻止了他。既然不允许这个人加入莲社，却又取用这个人所种的莲花来命名莲社，那么人们该如何称呼这个莲社呢？但就像慧远(Huiyuan)法师，起初想要跟随范𡩋学习，范𡩋去世后才开始传授经书。雷次宗(Lei Cizong)、周续之(Zhou Xuzhi)，以一个僧人的身份，却能在经学方面做出超越前人的功绩，这是前所未有的。白居易(Bai Juyi)为刘轲(Liu Ke)代笔写文章，说庐山自从陶渊明(Tao Yuanming)、谢灵运(Xie Lingyun)，以及十八贤以来，儒家的风气绵延不绝，而这一切都是由慧远(Huiyuan)法师所倡导的。现在记录下这本书，又岂止是为佛教提振宗风呢？汝上王谟(Ru Shang Wang Mo)识。
English
English version: Yuan Zhong Ji (Records from the Depths). Biographies of the Eighteen Worthies of Donglin (End) No. 1543-B The above is one volume of 'Biographies of the Worthies of the Lotus Society'. The original did not have the author's name. Neither the Chao family nor the Chen family in the Sui and Tang Dynasties' bibliographies included this book. The postscript says that this book has been from Mount Lu since ancient times. During the Xining period of the Song Dynasty, Chen Shunyu, a virtuous scholar from Jiahe, made some corrections. In the early years of the Daguan period, the monk Huaiwu further supplemented it in detail, and this book began to appear in the world. However, these eighteen worthies were all people of the Jin and Song Dynasties, so this biography should also be a work of the Jin and Song Dynasties. Therefore, it is still identified and supplemented according to the Tang and Song series of books. The 'Lotus Society' mentioned in the book refers to Xie Lingyun digging ponds and planting white lotuses on Mount Lu. At that time, virtuous people such as Master Huiyuan (慧遠) practiced the Pure Land Dharma together, hence the name White Lotus Society. Xie Lingyun once requested to join the Lotus Society, but Master Huiyuan (慧遠) stopped him because his mind was impure. Since this person was not allowed to join the Lotus Society, but the lotus planted by this person was used to name the Lotus Society, then what should people call this Lotus Society? But like Master Huiyuan (慧遠), who initially wanted to study with Fan Ning, and only began to teach the scriptures after Fan Ning's death. Lei Cizong (雷次宗) and Zhou Xuzhi (周續之), as monks, were able to make achievements in Confucian classics that surpassed their predecessors, which was unprecedented. Bai Juyi (白居易) wrote an article on behalf of Liu Ke (劉軻), saying that since Tao Yuanming (陶淵明), Xie Lingyun (謝靈運), and the eighteen worthies, the Confucian atmosphere has been continuous on Mount Lu, and all of this was initiated by Master Huiyuan (慧遠). Now that this book is recorded, it is not only to promote the Buddhist tradition, is it? Recorded by Ru Shang Wang Mo (汝上王謨). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------