The Administration of Buddhism in China: A Study and Translation ...

(13) 大師以述作頗多敘，引未立猥猥業。見託不克固辭。總其篇題具如別錄，凡內典集一百五十二卷，外學集四十九卷。覽其文，知其道矣。因徵其世家行事，備而書之。使後之傳高僧銘塔。朝者於茲取信云。

Appendix 2

Biographical Record of Zanning in the Orthodox Transmission of Buddhism¹⁵⁵

(1) Zanning was of the Gao family from Bohai, who moved to De[qing].¹⁵⁶ His mother, [family name] Zhou, gave birth to him in a country villa on [Mount] Jin’e (Golden Goose) in the fifth year of the zhenming era (919) in the [Later] Liang dynasty. He left home [to become a monk] at Xiangfu (Auspicious Sign) [Monastery] in Hang[zhou].¹⁵⁷ At the beginning of the qingtai era (934-936), he received full ordination on [Mount] Tiantai.¹⁵⁸ When King Zhongyi invited him to be an imperial guest, they discussed and debated¹⁵⁹ day and night. Many officials and members of their families were devoted to [Zanning]. People like Retired Minister Shen Zhili, and so on, engaged in rhythmic verse exchanges in miscellaneous poetic styles [with him], and obtained the key to creating literature (wen). He received his poetic technique from the Great Master who Illuminates Wen, Huizheng, and acquired skill in the study of law from jinshi awardee, Long Gonglin,¹⁶⁰ and thereby was referred to as “a tiger cub.” He was appointed Ordination Supervisor in his native land (i.e., Wuyue), and Buddhist Controller of Both [the Eastern and Western] Districts of Zhe[jiang] province, and granted the honorific title, “Brilliant and Righteous Model of Culture.”

(2) In the third year of the taiping xingguo era (978), when King [Zhongyi] offered his territory back to the [Song] capital, the master entered the capital¹⁶¹ offering stūpa relics of Śākyamuni. The silk-robed Emperor [Taizong] learned of fame. They met face-to-face in the Hall of Abundant