范子晔 | 安徒生读过《高僧传》吗？

Illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes".

The eighty-ninth chapter of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" ("Wuxiang Hou used the plan four times and the Southern Barbarian King was captured five times") wrote that Zhuge Liang led his troops to the south, and some soldiers drank the water of the "dumb spring" by mistake and could not speak. In addition to this spring, there are three springs: there is a spring in the southeast, its water is cold, if a person drinks water, there is no heating in the throat, the body is weak and dies, it is called the soft spring; there is a spring in the south, if a person splashes it in the body, his hands and feet are black and die, it is called the black spring; there is a spring in the southwest, it boils like a hot soup, if a person bathes in it, the skin and flesh are all taken off and dies, the name is called the extinguishing spring. There are these four springs in our place, and the poisonous gas gathers, and there is no cure. Such a spring is terrible, but what is even more terrifying is the "wild spring". The wild spring is the spring water that makes people crazy, whoever drinks it will make him crazy, and the crazy person is not only unaware of it, but also sees normal people as crazy. Although such a "wild spring" can't even be fictionalized by novelists, it actually appears in the palace of ancient official history:

In the past, there was a country, a water in the country, called the Wild Spring. The people of the country drink this water, all of them are crazy, but the monarch of the country passes through the well and draws it, and he is unharmed. The people of the country are not crazy, but they say that the lord of the country is not crazy, so they conspire to govern the lord of the country and treat his madness. The lord of the country did not let it suffer, so he went to the spring to drink the water, and when he was finished, he went crazy. The size of the monarch and the minister, his madness is like one, and the crowd is happy.

This passage is found in Shen Yue's Book of Song, Volume 89, "The Biography of Yuan Cang", which was told by the master Yuan Cang (419-477) to his frequent friends. The Book of Song was completed in February of the sixth year (488) of the reign of Emperor Xiao Zhen of Qi Wu of the Southern Dynasty. When I first read the Book of Song, this story made a deep impression on me, and it has been lingering in my mind for many years since then, always trying to figure out its textual origin, because I have always believed that this story was not written by Yuan Cang, but from some book. Recently, when I read "The Complete Works of Gibran's Prose Poems", I suddenly found that there is a "Wise King" in the complete collection of "Crazy Men" (translated by Yi Jing, Beijing Yanshan Publishing House, 2011 edition, p. 127):

Once upon a time, a majestic and wise nation ruled the distant city of Villane. His majesty was awe-inspiring, and his wisdom was beloved for him.　　 At that time, there was a well in the center of the city, and the water was so clear that all the people of the city drew water from it, even the king and his ministers, because it was the only well in the city.　　  　　

One night, when all the earth was asleep, a witch entered the city, lit seven drops of liquid in the well, and said, "From now on, whoever drinks the water of this well will go mad." ”　  　　

The next morning, all the inhabitants, except the king and the chief attendant, drank the water from the well, and they all became insane, just as the witch had prophesied.　　  　　

On this day, in the narrow alleys, in the market, people were whispering, and nothing else was done: "The king is crazy, our king and the chief attendant have lost their minds, we cannot let a mad king rule the country, we must depose him." ”　　  　　

That night, the land ordered a golden cup of water to be drawn from the well. As soon as the water arrived, the king took a sip and gave the rest of the water to the chief attendant.　　  　　

And so the distant city of Veranie rejoiced, for their king and his chief attendant came to their senses again.

The Mad Man was Gibran's first collection of prose poems published in English in 1918.

After reading this prose poem, I couldn't help but be surprised: Could it be that the great Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) also read The Book of Song? The Madman was Gibran's first collection of prose poems published in English in 1918, when he was only 35 years old. In fact, when Gibran died in New York in 1931 with Kafkaesque disappointment, he had not yet been exposed to Chinese culture, and there was no Western translation of the Book of Song. So, how did the great Arab poet learn about the story of the "Wild Spring"? Or do you go back to Yuan Cangqi. After telling the story, he said, "I am not crazy, I am not independent, and I want to try this water." This was actually a declaration of his determination to enter the official career, and he later died for it, and it seems that the worldly "wild spring" is still not drinkable. Years of reading experience have taught me that the way of thinking and the theme of this "Wild Spring" story do not seem to be native to China, and that in the Middle Ages of the mainland, the foreign culture was mainly Buddhism in ancient India. This reminds me of Gibran, who shouted "The whole earth is my homeland, and all mankind is my countryman", and although he did not believe in Buddhism, the spirit of fraternity was always the dominant idea in different religious fields. Recently, I happened to flip through the "Tripitaka Sutra", and suddenly saw the story narrated in Article 17 of the "Miscellaneous Parables", which completely confirmed my hunch:

There is a bad rain in foreign countries from time to time, if you fall into the water of rivers, lakes, rivers, wells, cities, and pools, people eat this water, which makes people madly drunk, and seven days is the solution. From time to time, the king was wise and kind, and the evil rain clouds rose, and the king knew about it, so he built a well, so that the rain did not enter. When the hundreds of officials and ministers ate the evil rain, they were crazy, stripped naked, painted their heads with mud, and sat in the king's hall. The king is the only one, who is not mad, and sits on the bed in the clothes he usually wears, the crown of heaven, and the jewels. All the ministers did not know that they were crazy, but called the king crazy. "Why did you write it?" said to everyone. This is not a trivial matter, and it is appropriate to think about it. The king feared that his ministers would rebel, so he said to himself, "I have a good medicine to cure this disease." Everyone, stop for a while, wait for me to take the medicine, and I must come out in a moment. Then the king went into the palace, took off his garment, and covered his face with mud, and returned it in a moment. When all the ministers saw it, they were all overjoyed, and they were called Fa Yinger, and they didn't know that they were crazy. Seven days later, the ministers came to their senses, ashamed of themselves, and came to the court in their clothes. The king sat naked, as before. All the ministers were astonished, and asked, "The king is always wise, why is it so?" The king replied, "My heart is always fixed, and there is no change." If you are crazy, you are crazy. Therefore, if it is, it is not solid. "The same is true for those who have come. If you hear that the great sage often says that all the laws are immortal and imperishable, and those who have no phase, they will be called the great sage as madness. Therefore, if you come and follow all sentient beings, you can now say that the Dharma is good or evil, and whether it is done or not. (Taisho Shinshu Tripitaka, vol. 4, No.0207, p. 526)

The so-called parable sutra is a sutra that uses parable stories to highlight the Buddha's teachings. This Miscellaneous Parables Sutra, compiled by the bhikshu Daolu and translated by Kumarosh (344-413), is authoritative among similar Buddhist sutras. The story of the wild spring can only be found in this sutra, and the "Miscellaneous Parables Sutra" translated by Lou Jiayu of the Later Han Dynasty, the "Old Miscellaneous Parables" translated by the Xitu Sage Sacred Collection and Wu Kang Sanghui, the "Hundred Parables Sutra" compiled by the Sangha Sina and translated by Qiunabidi, and the lost translation of the "Miscellaneous Parables" do not deal with this matter. The Rosh translation of the scriptures has been widely spread throughout the country during his lifetime.

Yuan Cang's mother was the daughter of Wang Dan (375-413), the great-grandson of Wang Dao, the prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. As early as the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Dao established a close relationship with the monks, so although the Lang Evil Wang clan worshiped the five buckets of rice Dao, there were monks who became monks, such as Daobao, the younger brother of Wang Dao, and Daojing, the great-grandson of Wang Xi, all of whom were monks. It can be inferred from this that Yuan Cang's mother may also be a layman who worships Buddhism at home. In short, Yuan Cang either read the "Miscellaneous Parables" or heard people talk about the "Miscellaneous Parables", so he dictated this Buddhist parable to his friends. However, both he and Gibran took only the first half of this Buddhist story, highlighting the theme that "everyone is drunk and I am sober" and is not tolerated by everyone and has to go along with everyone. In contrast, the narrative of the vicious rain in the Miscellaneous Parables is more tortuous, more intriguing, and more educational.

Gibran in his youth.

The Book of Song said that Yuan Cang was "neat and tidy, and he was very kind to himself, and often wrote "The Biography of Mr. Miaode" to continue Ji Kang's "Biography of Gao Shi" to improve his own situation", and according to my observation, this "Biography of Mr. Miaode" is completely an imitation of Tao Yuanming's "Biography of Mr. Wuliu". Tao Yuanming said: "Mr. I don't know who it is. Yuan Cang said: "There is Mr. Miaode, and Chen Guoren also." Tao Yuanming said: "Be quiet and say little, and don't envy Rongli." Yuan Cang said: "The spirit is empty, the posture is clear, the sex is filial piety, the industry is simple, and there is the legacy of Shun." Tao Yuanming said: "I am good at reading, I don't want to understand much; Yuan Cang said: "The words of the Nine Streams and the Hundred Clans, the art of carving the dragon and talking about the sky, are all widely known for their return, not to become famous." Tao Yuanming said: "Sex is addicted to alcohol, and the family is poor. "Forget about the gains and losses, and end up with this." Yuan Cang said: "The family is poor and tastes the official, not its good, mixed with its voice, obscure its heart, so it is deep friendship or strange, and the vulgar is ignorant." "Cultivating the path is successful, and in the end there is nothing to be praised." "And like Yuan Cang" is often hidden in the door, the three paths are cut through, although the Yangtze desert "Yunyun" is also based on Tao Yuanming's poems, such as "Returning to the Garden and Pastoral Home" The second "rare people in the wild, poor alleys and oligo-rounds." Cover the thorns during the day, and think about the dust in the empty room" and "Words for Returning", "Three Paths are Waste", and so on. In the twenty-ninth year of Yuanjia (452), that is, 25 years after Tao Yuanming's death, Bao Zhao wrote a poem "Pseudo-Tao Peng Zeti Fenghe Wang Yixing", Wang Yixing was Yixing Taishou Wang Shengda (423-458), the fifth grandson of Wang Dao. The appearance of this poem marks that Tao Yuanming has begun to enter the ranks of classic writers, and "Tao Yuanming's Collection" has been widely circulated. Therefore, it is easy for Yuan Cang to become familiar with Tao Yuanming's works.

The statue of Kumarosh in front of the Thousand Buddha Cave in Kizil, Baicheng County, Xinjiang.

Similar to the wild spring is the greedy spring that appeared in Guangzhou during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it is said that drinking this spring water makes people insatiable. Article 47 of "The World Says New Words and Virtues" Liu Xiao annotated and quoted "Emperor Jin An" and said:

(Wu) hidden has the supreme nature, to be honest, Fenglu awarded the nine clans, and the winter moon is not covered. Huan Xuan wants to reform the Lingnan Dynasty, thinking that Guangzhou is a thorn in history. There is a greedy spring in the twenty miles of the state, and the people who drink it are tireless. Hidden even on the water, drink and drink, because the poem said: "There is a greedy spring in the stone gate, and it is a lot of gold." Try to drink it together, but it should not be easy to be happy. ”

The incorruptible Wu Yinzhi pretended to starve Shouyang to death, Bo Yi and Shuqi, who were not easy to be virtuous, and showed his personality self-confidence and moral self-discipline with his high-style greedy spring poems. The story of the Greedy Spring also has its roots in Buddhism. In the first year of the Later Qin Hong, the Buddha Yesha Gongzhu Buddha recited and translated the "Buddha Says the Long Ahan Sutra", the sixth and second divisions of the first "Xiaoyuan Sutra No. 1":

Heaven and earth are always, when the catastrophe is exhausted, all life will be born in the light and sound of the sky, naturally incarnated, feeding on thoughts, shining brightly, and flying in the sky. Then the land became flooded, and it was all over the place. At that time, there was no sun, moon and stars, no days and nights, no years, months and years, only the great underworld. After that, this water becomes the earth, and the blessings of the heavens and the heavens of light and sound are all over, and the next life is here. Although he was born here, he still thought of food, his feet flew into the air, and his body shone on himself. After staying here for a long time, each of them said, "All beings, all beings!" and then a sweet spring gushed out from this place, like crisp honey. When he first came to the spring, he saw this spring, and said to himself, "What is this? That is, the inner finger is in the spring, and he tastes it. If so, I will realize its beauty. He copied it by hand and ate it to himself, and if he was happy, he was insatiable. The rest of the sentient beings regained their effect and ate it, and if they did it again and again, they regained their beauty and ate it endlessly. Its body turned rough,...... Lost the beauty of the sky, no recovery of the gods, walking on the ground, the light of the body turned out, and the heaven and the earth were dark. (Taisho New Revision of the Tripitaka, Volume 1, No. 0001, The Sutra of Chang Ahan, p. 37)

It turns out that the greed and depravity of human beings are caused by the greed for the sweet spring of light and sound: under the nourishment of this sweet spring, the human body becomes uglier and uglier, and the ability to "shine brightly and fly in the air" is completely lost, and finally it is reduced to a lower intelligent animal that hates each other and quarrels constantly.

Finally, in order to further expand the "results", let's read another parable story told by Master Pantou Data to Kumarosh in Xiao Liang Shi Huijiao's "Biography of the High Monks", Volume 2, "The Biography of Kumarosh":

Thou sayest that everything is empty, and it is terrible, and that there is a way to live and love emptiness? As the madman of the past, he made the performance line of the master, extremely fine, and the master added his intentions, as fine as dust, and the madman still hated its coarseness, and the master was furious, but pointed to the void and said, "This is a thin wisp!" The madman said: "Why don't you see it?" The madman said: "This wisp is extremely fine, and the good craftsman of my work is still missing, but what about others?" The madman was overjoyed, and he paid the weaver, and the master also followed suit, and they were all rewarded, but there was nothing. This is also the law of your emptiness. (Edited by Tang Yongtong, Chung Hwa Book Company, 1992 edition, p. 49)

Pantou is intended to criticize Rosh's "empty law", which we can ignore because the "good craftsman" in his metaphorical story is very similar to the liar in the classic fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Has Hans Christian Andersen read "The Biography of a High Monk"? Where did Gibran learn about the story of the "Wild Spring"? With my academic ability, these problems can no longer be solved, and I believe that the world's erudite scholars will be able to prevent me from being able to catch them. (The original title ""Wild Spring", "Greedy Spring" and Others, the current title is proposed by the editor)

Fan Ziye

Editor-in-charge: Liu Xiaolei