評論
打印
By his wife， nee Chia， he had a daughter， to whom the infant name of Tai Yue was given. She was， at this time， in her fifth year. Upon her the parents doated as much as if she were a brilliant pearl in the palm of their hand. Seeing that she was endowed with natural gifts of intelligence and good looks， they also felt solicitous to bestow upon her a certain knowledge of books， with no other purpose than that of satisfying， by this illusory way， their wishes of having a son to nurture and of dispelling the anguish felt by them， on account of the desolation and void in their family circle （round their knees）。
But to proceed. Yue-ts'un， while sojourning at an inn， was unexpectedly laid up with a violent chill. Finding on his recovery， that his funds were not sufficient to pay his expenses， he was thinking of looking out for some house where he could find a resting place when he suddenly came across two friends acquainted with the new Salt Commissioner. Knowing that this official was desirous to find a tutor to instruct his daughter， they lost no time in recommending Yue-ts'un， who moved into the Yamen.
His female pupil was youthful in years and delicate in physique， so that her lessons were irregular. Besides herself， there were only two waiting girls， who remained in attendance during the hours of study， so that Yue-ts'un was spared considerable trouble and had a suitable opportunity to attend to the improvement of his health.
In a twinkle， another year and more slipped by， and when least expected， the mother of his ward， nee Chia， was carried away after a short illness. His pupil （during her mother's sickness） was dutiful in her attendance， and prepared the medicines for her use. （And after her death，） she went into the deepest mourning prescribed by the rites， and gave way to such excess of grief that， naturally delicate as she was， her old complaint， on this account， broke out anew.
Being unable for a considerable time to prosecute her studies， Yue-ts'un lived at leisure and had no duties to attend to. Whenever therefore the wind was genial and the sun mild， he was wont to stroll at random， after he had done with his meals.
On this particular day， he， by some accident， extended his walk beyond the suburbs， and desirous to contemplate the nature of the rustic scenery， he， with listless step， came up to a spot encircled by hills and streaming pools， by luxuriant clumps of trees and thick groves of bamboos. Nestling in the dense foliage stood a temple. The doors and courts were in ruins. The walls， inner and outer， in disrepair. An inscription on a tablet testified that this was the temple of Spiritual Perception. On the sides of the door was also a pair of old and dilapidated scrolls with the following enigmatical verses.
Behind ample there is， yet to retract the hand， the mind heeds not， until. Before the mortal vision lies no path， when comes to turn the will.
"these two sentences，" Yue-ts'un pondered after perusal， "although simple in language， are profound in signification. I have previous to this visited many a spacious temple， located on hills of note， but never have I beheld an inscription referring to anything of the kind. The meaning contained in these words must， I feel certain， owe their origin to the experiences of some person or other； but there's no saying. But why should I not go in and inquire for myself？"
Upon walking in， he at a glance caught sight of no one else， but of a very aged bonze， of unkempt appearance， cooking his rice. When Yue-ts'un perceived that he paid no notice， he went up to him and asked him one or two questions， but as the old priest was dull of hearing and a dotard， and as he had lost his teeth， and his tongue was blunt， he made most irrelevant replies.
