Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

During the Tang Dynasty, the feudal economy was prosperous and the country was powerful, and the friendly exchanges and cultural exchanges between China and Japan flourished unprecedentedly.In order to learn the political system and extensive and profound culture of the Tang Dynasty, from the reign of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan to the end of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent envoys to China 13 times (one only reached Baekje), and another time was sent to China. In the Tang Dynasty, the "welcome the Tang envoy" (the Japanese envoy to Tang, who had not returned to the country for a long time, sent a mission to meet him), twice was the "send Tang guest envoy" (the special envoy sent back to the Tang Dynasty).There are many foreign students and monks studying abroad in the mission, and there are many studious and knowledgeable people among them.

Japan sent Tang missions to China by sea, which can be roughly divided into several stages: In the early Tang Dynasty (the fourth year of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan to the second year of Emperor Gaozong Zongzhang, that is, AD 630-669), the missions sent by Japan were generally small in scale, with one or two ships and about 200 people. Route: Take the North Road.From Hakata Bay in Kyushu - Tsushima Island - along the coast of the Korean Peninsula - Liaodong Peninsula - Dengzhou and Laizhou on the Shandong Peninsula.This route takes dozens of days and is relatively safe. The heyday of the Tang Dynasty (the second year of Wu Zetian's Chang'an-the eleventh year of Xuanzong's Tianbao, that is, AD 702-752): The scale of the missions sent by Japan was greatly expanded, with more than 500 people, and they came to Datang in four ships. .

Route: During this period, due to the deteriorating relationship between Silla and Japan, a new route had to be opened, that is, the South Island route: from Kyushu to Japan’s South Island Islands: Tanegashima (Tami), Yakushima, Amami Oshima—— Across the East China Sea - Mingzhou, Yangzhou.This route is risky and the voyage is not short. The late Tang Dynasty (the second year of Suzong Qianyuan - the fifteenth year of Yizong Xiantong, that is, AD 759 - 874).Due to the influence of the Anshi Rebellion that began in 755, the Tang State declined day by day, and the scale and number of Japanese missions sent to Tang were greatly reduced.

Route: After the Anshi Rebellion, a new route was opened up, namely the southern route.From Hakata Bay in Kyushu—the Five Islands to the west of Nagasaki (wait for the wind)—cross the East China Sea—Mingzhou and Yangzhou.This route has a short voyage and can be reached within 10 days if there is a favorable wind. However, the Japanese ships at that time were limited by their production level and navigation knowledge, so the risk was the greatest. The Chinese also continued to travel eastward to Japan for Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges, among which the monk Jianzhen made the greatest contribution.

Jianzhen, whose common surname was Chunyu, was born in the fourth year of Chuigong (AD 688), Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty, and died in the second year of Tang Dynasty Zong Baoying (AD 763).He was born in Jiangyang County, Yangzhou (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province). He entered Dayun Temple in Yangzhou when he was 14 years old, and learned Zen from the famous Zen master Zhiman.Under the guidance of a famous teacher, Jianzhen's studies improved by leaps and bounds.Three years later, he left Dayun Temple to learn precepts at Longxing Temple in Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) and received the "Bodhisattva Precepts".In the first year of Jinglong, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty (707 A.D.), he traveled all over the world to study, and visited Luoyang and Chang'an.In the second year of Jinglong, when he was 20 years old, he was presided over by Master Hongjing of Luzong, and he received "full precepts".Since then, he has continued to study Buddhist scriptures and has a deep study of Vinaya.Luzong was one of the ten major sects of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty.Luzong means that Buddhists have five precepts, ten precepts, and two hundred and fifty precepts according to their ranks. It was very popular in the early Tang Dynasty, and it was called strict precepts.

In the first year of Kaiyuan (713 A.D.) of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Jianzhen returned to Daming Temple in Yangzhou to preach precepts. There were more than 40,000 disciples who listened to his lectures and taught precepts. At this time, he was already a learned and prestigious man. A master of Buddhism.He also continued to organize monks to copy scriptures, as many as 33,000 volumes. He also designed and built more than 80 monasteries. Japanese monks who came to the Tang Dynasty also admired his Buddhist attainments. In the 21st year of Kaiyuan (733 A.D.), Japan sent Tang envoys to Datang for the ninth time.The Japanese study abroad monks Rongrui and Fuzhao who came with the delegation were ordered by Emperor Shomu of Japan to invite Jianzhen to travel eastward.In the winter and October of the first year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao (742 A.D.), Rong Rui and Puzhao came to Daming Temple in Yangzhou to pay homage to Jianzhen, expressing Japan's admiration and saying: Although Buddhism has spread to Japan, there is no one who has taught it. Eminent monk, please "Yamato travels to Xinghua in the east".Jianzhen asked all the monks in the monastery, who is willing to accept this invitation?The monks were silent.After a long time, a monk named Xiangyan said: "The other country is too far away, life is difficult to survive, the sea is vast, and there is no one to reach. Life is rare, China is difficult to live, the study is not prepared, the path and fruit are not conquered, so the monks are silent. After hearing this, Jianzhen said: "For the sake of the Dharma (for the promotion of the Dharma), why waste your life! If you don't go, I will go." .Jianzhen's devotion to preaching Buddhism touched 21 disciples including Xiangyan and Daohang, and they all expressed their willingness to follow Master to travel to Japan to teach the Dharma.At that time, the laws of the Tang Dynasty strictly prohibited privately built ships from traveling eastward to Japan. "Those who pass through the customs privately will only take one year, and those who cross the border will be given a higher class." ("Tang Law Shuyi") Because Japan once formed an alliance with Baekje on the Korean Peninsula to compete with the Tang Dynasty, the East China Sea coast has another " "Pirates" are infested, and the government strictly prohibits going to sea without permission.Jianzhen and his disciples only secretly prepared ships, Buddhist scriptures, food, medicine, etc.

Jianzhen and his disciples planned to travel east to Japan in the second year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty (743 AD).The preparations are progressing smoothly, but in April, Jianzhen's great disciple Dao Hang thought that Monk Ruhai was just a junior who had learned less and was not suitable to follow Jianzhen to the east.Monk Ruhai was very dissatisfied, so he secretly interviewed Shen Jingqing in the Huainan interview hall and falsely accused Dao Hangtong of pirates, saying: "Dao Hang built a ship and went into the sea to connect with the bandits." Shen Jingqing immediately detained Ru Hai and sent troops to various monasteries to search for Chinese and Japanese The monks, Daohang, Rongrui, Puzhao, etc. were all arrested, and the boats they built were also confiscated. The first trip to the East failed before it even set off.

In August, after Japanese monks Rongrui and Puzhao were released, they decided to invite Jianzhen to return to Japan together.They secretly went to the Daming Temple to meet with Jianzhen and express their sincerity in the invitation.Jianzhen was deeply moved, and in order to fulfill his wish, he paid 80 guan to buy an old military ship from Liu Chenlin, the interview envoy of Lingnan Road.18 boatmen and 85 craftsmen were hired to prepare scriptures and other books, food, medicine and other items.In mid-December, Jianzhen and others set off from Yangzhou and went down the Yangtze River. When they sailed to Langgoupu (now on the Langshan River in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province), they encountered strong winds and rough river waves. .The boatman had to park the boat in the shoal to take shelter from the storm and buy time to repair the boat.Unexpectedly, there was a tide again, the water was waist deep, it was winter, the cold wind was biting, the rice was soaked, there was no food in the abdomen, and I could not move forward, so I had to return to the shore.

Jianzhen was determined, and one month later (the spring of 744 A.D.), he prepared food, fresh water and other items again. After repairing the ship, he wanted to sail directly to Japan from Dabanshan (now Liupanshan).However, after arriving at Daban Mountain, he was unable to berth, so he had to divert to Lantau Island.Facing a headwind, I had to wait for the tailwind, and it took more than a month before I had to take advantage of the tailwind to continue sailing.When approaching Chengming Mountain (now Daqu Mountain in the north of Zhoushan Island), there was a huge storm again, and when it was finally approaching the shore, it hit a reef again.At this time, the ship was wrecked and sank to the bottom of the sea. After struggling to climb ashore, although he narrowly escaped death, there was no dry food or fresh water.Facing the threat of hunger and thirst again, after three days and three nights, he met fishermen and was rescued.After the local monks learned about this, they did not want Jianzhen to take the risk of the stormy sea again, and asked the local officials to arrest the Japanese monk Rong Rui and others. Therefore, Jianzhen and others were placed under house arrest in Yin County (under the jurisdiction of Mingzhou) by the Mingzhou local officials. In the temple - Ashoka Temple, the third eastward journey failed again.

When monks from all over the world heard that Jianzhen had arrived at Ashoka Temple, they all went to ask Master Jianzhen to give lectures.In the third year of Tang Tianbao (AD 744), Jianzhen went to Yuezhou (now Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province), Hangzhou, Huzhou (now Wuxing County, Jiangsu Province), Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng County, Anhui Province) and other places to give lectures and teach precepts.In the process of giving lectures, I secretly raised the expenses for going to Japan again.In order to prevent the government from chasing him, after careful consideration, he planned to go to Japan by boarding a boat in Fuzhou.For this reason, he sent his disciples to Fuzhou to buy ships and prepare for various voyages.Then I borrowed the name of going to famous mountains, famous temples and ancient temples to worship Buddhist relics, and then took the opportunity to escape to Fuzhou and join my disciples in Fuzhou to go to Japan.But the matter was not confidential. Lingyou, Jianzhen's disciple in Yangzhou, heard that his master was about to cross the east again, and he couldn't bear the risk of his master crossing the ocean, so he joined forces with various monasteries. The monks sued the government to prevent Jianzhen from traveling eastward.Based on this, Jiangdong Dao's interview envoy sent people to Chanlin Temple in Huangyan County to send Jianzhen and others back to Daming Temple in Yangzhou.The plan to go to Japan by boat from Fuzhou also failed.

In the spring of the seventh year of Tang Tianbao (AD 748), Japanese monks Rongrui and Puzhao arrived at Chongfu Temple in Yangzhou by boat from Tong'an County (now Anqing City, Anhui Province) to visit Jianzhen. Accompanying items, on June 27, 35 people including Jianzhen, his disciples, and sailors set off from Chongfu Temple in Yangzhou, boarded a boat at the mouth of the Sancha River in Yangzhou, entered the Yangtze River along the canal to Guazhou Town, and encountered bad waves when they reached Langshan. Finally rushed out of the mouth of the Yangtze River and went to sea in Hangzhou Bay.They went through hardships and waited for more than a month before they waited for the favorable wind from the southwest and sailed eastward.The ship had just left the Zhoushan Islands and entered the East China Sea. Unfortunately, it encountered a northeasterly wind. Taizong Li Shimin's word "Shi" is a taboo, and the province is called "Guanyin"). Everyone threw their belongings into the sea to reduce the weight of the boat. Then jumped into the sea to be buried together.The ship lost control and went up and down with the waves for three days. "All the monks lay down annoyed" and couldn't get up due to seasickness and vomiting.But when Master Puzhao eats every day, he will take out a little raw rice to feed the monks.There was no fresh water on board, so when I chewed rice, my mouth and throat were so dry that I couldn't swallow it, and I couldn't spit it out. Drinking a little sea water made me bloated.It was not until the seventh day that the storm subsided, and it rained for two more days. We collected some rainwater from the boat, and everyone felt better.On the ninth day, the boat approached a small island, and everyone went ashore quickly, found fresh water, filled the boat with water, and continued on board.After drifting at sea for 14 days, when they landed, they saw lush trees and flowers blooming. It turned out that the storm had blown them from the East China Sea to the South China Sea, and they had reached the southernmost tip of Hainan Island.Then they arrived in Zhenzhou (now Ya County, Hainan Island—Sanya), and the local officials sent troops to welcome Jianzhen and his party to Dayun Temple in the city.Lived here for a year.After that, it passed through Wan'an Prefecture (now Wanning), Yazhou (now Qiongshan), crossed the Qiongzhou Strait, and then stopped in Guizhou (now Guilin, Guangxi) and Hainan County (now Guangzhou). Unfortunately, due to overwork, he died of illness in Duanzhou (now Gaoyao, Guangdong). Due to excessive grief, hard work, and intense heat, Jianzhen's eyes became inflamed, and eventually he lost his sight.Xiangyan, a loyal disciple who always followed him, also died in Jiangxi due to years of overwork and illness. This was a very heavy blow to Jianzhen.After three years of suffering and arduous journey, Jianzhen and others finally returned to Yangzhou via Jiujiang and Nanjing.The fifth trip to the east failed, which was also the most painful failure of Jianzhen's trip to the east.However, Jianzhen was not discouraged. Difficulties could not conquer his will, but only made him stronger, and he would never give up until he reached his goal. Jianzhen's will to go eastward became stronger. After he returned to Yangzhou from Hainan Island, he continued to raise cultural relics to prepare for the eastward journey despite the difficulty of being blind. On October 15th, the twelfth year of Tang Tianbao (753 A.D.), on the eve of the 10th time that Japan sent Tang envoys back to China, they sent Tang ambassadors Fujiwara Kiyokawa, deputy envoys Kibi Mabi, Otomo Gumaro and Tang officials for many years. Shi Zhongcheng, secretary supervisor and other Japanese students studying abroad, Abe Nakamaro (Chinese name Chao Heng) are also preparing to return to China, and they will go to Yanguang Temple in Yangzhou to pay homage to Jianzhen.Ambassador Fujiwara said: "I heard that the great monk traveled eastward to Japan five times to preach. I am very honored to meet you today. If the great monk still has this wish, the disciples will return to Japan with four boats and all the necessary supplies. Do you want to go with us?" Although Jianzhen is 66 years old and blind, he agreed to Japan's entreaty in order to pass on the precepts and to promote friendship and cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese people. After the news that Jianzhen wanted to go to Japan again spread in Yangzhou, the relevant temples took strict precautions to obstruct this trip.At this time, Renqian, a disciple of Jianzhen, came to Yangzhou from Wuzhou (now Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province). Knowing that his master was about to travel far away, he secretly agreed that he would prepare a boat to meet him at Jiangtou.On the evening of October 29th, 24 people, including Jianzhen and his apprentice craftsmen, sneaked from Longxing Temple in Yangzhou to Jiangtou, and immediately boarded a boat and set off, leaving the Grand Canal and entering the Yangtze River, heading straight for Huangsipu, Suzhou (now Huangsi, Changshu County, Jiangsu Province, That is, Huang Xiepu) joined the fleet of Japanese envoys sent to Tang Dynasty. Jianzhen brought 8 Buddha statues such as Tathagata and Avalokitesvara, 7 kinds of Buddhist relics such as relics and bodhisattvas, 84 Buddhist scriptures such as Huayan Sutra and more than 300 volumes, and three kinds of copybooks such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi's authentic running script. In Zhenzhen Yuankai's "Tang Dahe Shangdong Expedition Biography", the route and voyage of Jianzhen's sixth eastward journey are recorded as follows: Going out of the temple to Jiangtou... Take a boat down to Huangxipu (Huangxiepu) in Suzhou. On the 15th, the four boats set off together, and one pheasant flew before the first boat, and stayed anchored. On the 16th, on the 21st Wuwu, the first and second boats arrived at Arnaibo Island (Okinawa Island), southwest of Tami Island (Tanegashima). The third boat was moored at the same place last night. The boat landed on the rock without moving, and the second boat sailed to Tami, and arrived at Yijiu Island (Yakushima) on the 7th. On the 18th, Ziyi rescued the boat, and on the 19th, it was stormy, and I didn’t know where it was. At noon, I saw the top of the mountain on the waves. At noon on the twenty-first day of Yiyou, the second boat landed at Akizuyapo, Ado County, Satsuma Country (Akime, Kawabe County). Before leaving, fearing that the government would find out that the scriptures were missing, Jianzhen and his party took the second, third and fourth boats on November 15th.Jianzhen did not board the second ship of Otomo Komaro until the fleet set sail on November 16.After sailing into the East China Sea, the fleet was blown away by the strong northeasterly wind, the fourth ship disappeared without a trace, and the remaining three ships sailed forward with all their efforts.On November 21, the No. 1 and No. 2 ships arrived at Okinawa Island together, and were already in the southwest of Tami Island (now Tanegashima, Japan).The third ship was moored at the same place last night.On December 6th, the southerly wind that people longed for was blowing on the sea, and the three ships set sail one after another and moved forward with the wind, but the first ship on which Ambassador Fujiwara and Abe Nakamaro were on board hit a rock and was unable to move.Jianzhen's second boat sailed to Tami, and arrived at Yijiu Island (now Yakushima, Japan) in seven days.Stay at anchor for 10 days and wait for the rest of the ships.After the first ship was repaired, it continued to sail. Due to a northerly storm, it drifted to Annanhuan (Huanhuan) Prefecture (in today's Vietnam). There were more than 180 people on board, and more than 170 people died. Only Ambassador Fujiwara Kiyokawa and Abe Nakamaro and others More than 10 people survived.A third ship also sailed back to Japan later.On December 18th, the second ship departed from Yijiu Island for a voyage. On the 19th, it encountered a storm and could not tell the north from the south. Jianzhen and others went through hardships and arrived at Satsuma, Kyushu, Japan at noon on December 20. Multi-county Akizuma Ura (today's Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan).On December 26, Jianzhen and his party entered Dazaifu, Japan under the guidance of the Japanese monk Yanqing, and on February 1 of the following year (AD 754), they sailed to Namba, the departure port of the Japanese Tang Dynasty fleet. near present-day Osaka, Japan).On February 4th, Jianzhen arrived in Nara, the capital of Japan, and received a grand welcome from all over Japan, including the royal family, nobles, and monks. During the 12 years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen traveled eastward to Japan six times and suffered hardships. Finally, with extraordinary belief and tenacious perseverance, he realized his grand long-cherished wish and set foot on the land of Japan. In March, Ji Bei Zhenbei read the emperor's imperial edict to Jianzhen as an imperial envoy: "I am very pleased that the great monk has traveled far away to come to our country. From now on, the great monk will be responsible for giving precepts and teachings." At the beginning of April, an altar of precepts was set up in Todaiji Temple, presided over by Jian Zhen Deng altar, who conferred precepts successively to Emperor Shomu, Empress Dowager, Prince and more than 400 monks. In 756, Emperor Xiaoqian appointed Jianzhen as the capital of monks to manage the affairs of monks and Buddhists in Japan. He resigned in 758 and was honored as "Yamato Shang", and he respectfully made offerings. In 759, Jianzhen led his disciples to imitate the design of Daming Temple in Yangzhou and built Tangzhaoti Temple, which still exists today. It is regarded as a national treasure of Japan and has an important influence on Japanese architectural art.Later, Jianzhen gave precepts and lectures here, and passed the Law School to Japan, becoming the ancestor of the Japanese Law School.Although Jianzhen is blind, he can proofread Buddhist scriptures from memory.He is also proficient in medicine, distinguishes herbs by smell, and treats diseases for people.He left behind a volume of medical books called "Secret Instructions from the Master", which contributed to the development of Japanese medicine.The printed Chinese Buddhist scriptures and calligraphy inscriptions he brought to Japan had a great influence on Japanese printing and calligraphy art. 763 yearbook really passed away in Zhaodaiji Temple in Japan.The sitting statue of Jianzhen is still preserved in the temple, which is also a national treasure of Japan.This is built for him by Jianzhen's disciples Ren Ji and Si Tuo using Chinese ones.Jianzhen has been in Japan for 10 years, and he has made great contributions to the cultural exchanges between China and Japan. Entrusted by Jianzhen's disciple Sito and others, 16 years after Jianzhen passed away, the famous writer Zhen Yuankai of the Nara period (710-784 AD) in Japan wrote "Tang Dahe Shangdong Expedition Biography".The book describes in detail Jianzhen's six arduous expeditions to the east, enabling future generations to understand the shipbuilding and navigation techniques of China and Japan in the Tang Dynasty. Jianzhen’s sixth eastward voyage took the South Island route. When he set sail, he crossed the East China Sea and pointed to Amami Island, the South Island Islands of Japan, but deviated from the route and arrived at Okinawa Island, which is already southwest of Tanegashima.However, since Japan has set up signs on all the islands of the South Island, the name of the island, the place where the boat is moored, the voyage to various places, and the name of the place where fresh water is drawn are all clearly marked.These records show that the South Island route was a busy shipping route at that time.

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