故宮書畫錄(卷七),第四冊,頁6&*唐太宗(西元六二七至六四九年在位)高祖次子,名世民,隋末天下大亂,勸高祖舉兵,征服四方,成統一之業。封秦王。即位後,銳意圖治,賢相有房玄齡、杜如晦,諫臣有魏徵、王珪,名將有李勣,李靖;去奢輕賦,寬刑整武,海內昇平,威及域外。號天可汗,年號貞觀。&*The Emperor T'ai-tsung (reigned 627-649 A.D.), whose personal name was Shih-min, was the second son of Emperor Kao-tsu. In the disturbed period at the end of the Sui dynasty he urged his father to raise an army, with which he succeeded in conquering and uniting China. During his father's reign he took the title of Prince of Ch'in, later succeeding to the throne himself. During his reign he was surrounded by ministers and generals who were able and virtuous; and he carried out reforms such as the lightening of corv'ee service and criminal punishments, and the regulation of military service. He brought peace to the empire and spread China's influence beyond her borders. His reign period was called Chen-kuan.&* 李世民(598-649),締造盛唐太平盛世,威及域外,史稱貞觀之治。 《西遊記》裡,唐太宗在夢中應允涇河龍王救命之請,卻未能阻止魏徵夢斬龍王,引出龍王糾纏太宗「還命」,致使太宗受驚染病,魂遊地府。太宗還陽後,想做水陸大會超度冤魂。觀音菩薩前來說法,告訴他西天如來處有大乘佛法,能解百冤之結,能消無妄之災。而玄奘向太宗表示願意前往,於是奉旨西行取經。&* Li Shih-min (598-649), known by the posthumous imperial name as T'ai-tsung, was the emperor who consolidated rule in the T'ang dynasty, a time of great prosperity and contact with other cultures in China's history. In Journey to the West, T'ai-tsung consented to save the Ching River Dragon King, but he could not prevent Wei Cheng from beheading it. The Dragon King harassed T'ai-tsung to "give back" its life, resulting in the emperor taking fright and falling ill, his soul wandering the Halls of the Underworld. After returning to the mortal world, Emperor T'ai-tsung held rites for the release of land and water spirits that had been wronged. The bodhisattva Kuan-yin also came to preach Buddhism, telling him of this religion in India, in which one was able to reverse wrongs and avert calamities. The monk Hsüan-tsang then informed T'ai-tsung that he could go and was thus ordered to journey west to India for original scriptures.