Full Translation of Cai Gen Tan in Vernacular

Hong Yingming, the author of "Cai Gen Tan Vernacular Translation", was born in the Ming Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zicheng, his nickname is Huan Chujeng, and his place of origin is unknown. There are two works handed down from generation to generation, "Lai Gen Tan" and "The Strange Traces of Immortals and Buddhas". In his early years, he was keen on official career and fame, and in his later years, he retired to the mountains and forests. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, he lived in Qin Zhunhe, Nanjing, and wrote books with him. The text in Lai Gentan is concise, clear and meaningful, and is both elegant and popular. Someone commented on it: "It is like a quotation, but it has the interest that a quotation does not have; it is like an essay, but it has a neatness that is difficult to achieve in an essay; it is like an admonishment, but it has the intimacy and sobriety that admonishment lacks; and it is tinged with the scenery of the rainy mountains and the sound of bells in the quiet night. What it says is innocent and has a taste, and the wind and moon are boundless."