鶴林志序.........
Preface to the Forest of Cranes Records
京口有五名山，曰金、焦、甘露、招隱、鶴林，予皆信宿觴咏此中。然金焦險，甘露喧，招隱僻，獨鶴林南去縣郭無數里，不風濤而有清泉，不市囂而有幽梵，不舟車而可以緩步，可以遲歸，所謂幽人之貞，履道坦坦者也。山中有始皇鑿道、王恭飛樓、劉裕藏農具於此，戴顒女磨笄於此，殷七七借開杜鵑於此，最晚為馬素塔、米襄陽伽藍，與竹院蓮池耳。寺中多殘碑斷碣，自宋思陵，以及岳珂、孫覿、圓悟、中峯，其餘古佛大士刻像半出唐宋名手，非他山所敢坐也。寺茀廢垂久，賴冡宰陸公、郡守文壹吳公、玉沙王公，捐俸𠛼復，始還舊觀，而鶴林志則闕有俟焉。寺僧履中護戒能詩，乃以禪誦之暇，排纂志稿，請裁於函伯賀公，厥亦勤矣。夫國乘以勸戒賢不肖而設也，郡乘以因革利害而設也，而寺乘則否。夫名公巨人客卿，以探奇弔古至，其指點泉石，品量松桂，不至七聖迷而岐路哭者，賴一二寺僧為導師耳。若問之名勝，不知叩之古跡，不識愕焉嗒焉，如頑石稿木相似，使驂鸞控鶴者流，取往于犢子雀兒、田更谷叟之口，非山負客，乃僧負客也，亦僧負山也，而可乎？履中笑曰：山僧辛苦撰志，豈以逞識途之馬，通問津之舟？盖此志成就，豪右不敢漁，徒属不敢鬻祖塔，僧廬免于草莽，名蹟護法垂若日星侵者，還仆者起，皆志書一綫之力也。若為游客指迷，則諸公杖頭自有眼在，何煩老僧饒舌！
At Jingkou, there are five famous mountains: Gold Mountain, Jiaoshan, Sweet Dew Mountain, Hidden Retreat Mountain, and Crane Forest Mountain. I have stayed and composed poetry among them all. Yet Gold Mountain and Jiaoshan are perilous, Sweet Dew Mountain is noisy, and Hidden Retreat Mountain is remote. Only Crane Forest Mountain lies just a few miles south of the county town—free from wind and waves, blessed with clear springs; far from market clamor, filled with serene chants; no need for boats or carts, one can stroll leisurely and return unhurried. It truly embodies the steadfastness of the recluse, a path of virtue broad and smooth.
Within the mountain, there are traces of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s excavated road, Wang Gong’s soaring tower, and Liu Yu’s hidden farming tools. Here, Dai Yong’s daughter sharpened her hairpin, Yin Qiqi borrowed to bloom the azaleas, and later came Ma Su’s pagoda, Mi Xiangyang’s monastery, along with bamboo groves and lotus ponds. The temple holds many broken steles and fragmented tablets, from Emperor Gaozong of Song to Yue Ke, Sun Di, Yuanwu, and Zhongfeng. The carved images of ancient Buddhas and great bodhisattvas are mostly works of Tang and Song masters, unmatched by any other mountain.
The temple had long fallen into disrepair until Chief Minister Lu, Prefect Wu Wenyi, and Magistrate Wang Yusha donated their salaries for its restoration, returning it to its former glory. Yet a record of Crane Forest was still lacking. The temple monk Lüzhong, who upholds precepts and composes poetry, took time from meditation and chanting to compile a draft of the gazetteer, seeking refinement from Lord He Hanbo—a diligent effort indeed.
National records are set to encourage the virtuous and warn the unworthy; local records are for documenting changes and weighing benefits and harms. But a temple record is different. When distinguished visitors and scholars come to explore the ancient and unusual, to admire springs and rocks, to appreciate pines and osmanthus, they rely on a monk or two as guides to avoid losing their way like the Seven Sages or weeping at a fork. If asked about famous sites, they know nothing; inquired about historical traces, they stand blank, like dumb stones or withered trees—forcing those who ride phoenixes and command cranes to seek answers from cowherds, sparrows, old farmers, or village elders. This is not the mountain failing the visitor, but the monk failing the visitor—and the monk failing the mountain. How can this be?
Lüzhong smiled and said, “Would this humble monk toil to compile a record just to show off as a path-knowing horse or a ferry-directing boat? Once this gazetteer is complete, the powerful dare not encroach, disciples dare not sell ancestral pagodas, monastic quarters are spared from weeds, and famous sites are protected as clearly as the sun and stars. What was encroached upon will be returned; what had fallen will rise again—all by the slender thread of this record. As for guiding lost visitors, every gentleman’s staff has eyes of its own. Why trouble this old monk to chatter on?”
萬曆甲寅中秋日眉公陳繼儒撰......
Written by Chen Jiru of Meigong on the Mid-Autumn Day of the Jia Yin Year in the Wanli Era