Chapter 10 Chapter Nine Consecrated Books——A Song Monk Who Has Left His Name in History

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, although there was basically no official mutual engagement of envoys between China and Japan, non-governmental trade and monk exchanges were very active. The two countries also conducted official contacts and cultural exchanges through these channels, especially monks. Played an important role in Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.The Japanese monk 奝〔diao〕ran who came to China in the early Song Dynasty was a typical figure among them.The "Japanese Biography" of the official Chinese official history "Song History" actually has more than half of the page to record the passage of Yan Ran into the Song Dynasty and the content of the book.

He Ran (938-1016 A.D.), born in the Fujiwara family, had a distinguished family background, and his father had five officials.When he was young, he entered Nara Todaiji Temple as a monk, studied Buddhist scriptures with the eminent monks of the temple, and learned Esoteric Buddhism from the eminent monks of Shishan Temple, and was promoted to the position of Dafa. In August 983, Miao Ran and his apprentices Cheng Suan and Jia Ying went to China on a merchant ship of Song merchants Chen Renshuang and Xu Renman.They landed near Taizhou, Zhejiang, and were allowed to enter Beijing in October, accompanied by envoys from Taizhou.On the way, they stopped in Yangzhou. He and his party lived in the Dizangyuan of Kaihua Temple, visited Longxing Temple where Monk Jianzhen lived, and paid homage to the tooth of Buddha. In December, he arrived at Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

At the beginning of 984, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi personally summoned the master and apprentice.He Ran first presented more than 10 pieces of Japanese bronze wares, one volume each of the national books "Wang Dai Chronicle" and "Officer Order", and two volumes of the lost Chinese book "Xiao Jing Zheng Shi Zhu". Song Taizong asked him about Japan. all aspects of the situation.Although Xi Ran could not speak Chinese, he was good at official script of Chinese characters, so he answered them one by one on the paper.Emperor Taizong held him in high esteem, and bestowed on him a purple robe that was only allowed to be worn by high-ranking officials of the third rank or higher in China. This is a very high honor.Later, they were awarded the title of Master of Faji, and they were allowed to live in Taiping Xingguo Temple in Bianjing.

The main purpose of the monks who came to China during the Tang Dynasty was to seek the Dharma and learn the scriptures. Therefore, when they arrived in the Tang Dynasty, they first visited the eminent monks to learn the classics, and tried to bring back new schools of teachings and spread them to Japan.However, the monks who entered the Song Dynasty in the Song Dynasty not only came to China to learn the scriptures and seek the Dharma, but more importantly, they came to China to worship the holy sites for spiritual practice.When he described his wish to enter the Song Dynasty, he emphasized that he had been determined to cross the sea since Tianlu, but Japan had stopped sending envoys for a long time, so he had to go to Song Dynasty on a trading ship of the Song Dynasty to fulfill his wish.When a Chinese asked about the purpose of coming to China, he replied: "If you don't come to seek the Dharma, you will come to practice." He expressed that his greatest wish in China is first to visit Mount Wutai, the holy place that Japanese Buddhists yearn for. When you meet Manjusri, you will be your body."The second is to pay homage to Zhongtianzhu, "to pay homage to the relics of Sakyamuni".Therefore, when he visited Song Taizong, he also asked to worship Wutai Mountain face to face, and was approved by the court and granted a license.After visiting the big and small temples in Bianjing, Xi Ran and his party went to visit the Guoqing Temple in Wutai Mountain and worship the True Body Hall of Master Zhizhe.They also went to Baima Temple in Luoyang to pay homage to the ashram where Indian eminent monks such as Kasyapa Moten and Zhu Falan spread Buddhism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and visited the Longmen Stone Buddha in Luoyang.During his stay in China, Li Ran also studied Sitan Sanskrit scriptures from Sanzang Fatian of Nalanda Temple in India at Taiping Xingguo Temple in Bianliang, and directly translated Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit.

When Xi Ran visited Song Taizong, he introduced Japan's national conditions, increased Chinese people's understanding of Japan, and promoted Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.Therefore, "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Japan" took the trouble to record the Japanese knowledge introduced by Yan Ran in detail with more than 1,000 words.Youran told Song Taizong through Chinese written talks that there are five classics and Buddhist scriptures in Japan.It also specifically mentions the 70 volumes of "Bai Juyi Collection", all of which come from China.The collection of poems and essays of Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, was introduced to Japan in the early 9th century and was very popular with people from all walks of life in Japan.It is said that Emperor Saga got a collection of Bai Juyi, as if he had found a treasure, and regarded it as a "pillow secret".Emperor Daigo once said: "The seventy volumes of "Bai Shi Anthology" that I love in my life is also true." Bai Juyi's poems are often inserted in Zi Shibu's famous novels.He also introduced Japan's products, customs, and human conditions. "The soil is suitable for five grains but less wheat, and copper coins are used for trading." Cold and heat are classified into China", "Eastern Ouzhou (that is, Mutsu) produces gold, and Xibetsu Island (should be Tsushima Island) produces silver as a tribute." ("Song History · Japan Biography")

However, Song Taizong was very impressed by the Japanese national system that he talked about.He introduced that in Japan, "the king takes Wang as his surname, and it has been passed down to the sixty-fourth generation, and all civil and military bureaucrats are world officials."Song Taizong couldn't help being greatly moved, and said to the prime minister: "Japan is just an island barbarian, but the world has lived for a long time, and its subjects can continue to inherit it. This is the ancient way!" He considers himself Chinese, but since the war at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the country has been divided and divided, and "it is difficult to continue hereditary ministers."He said that in the future, he will "work hard day and night to build endless careers."At the same time, it is also for the descendants of the monarch and ministers to inherit the position.

The "King Chronicles" dedicated to Song Taizong was written by him after referring to Japanese historical records and conducting investigations and researches in the government office. It recorded the name, deeds and geography of the 64th emperor of Japan in the Heian period. Condition.It is very valuable for the Chinese people to have a rich understanding of Japan.Later, when Yang Ren wrote "Taizong Veritable Records", he quoted Su Ran's "Wang Chronicle". "Taizong Veritable Records" has been lost today, but Prime Minister Tuotuo and others at the end of the Yuan Dynasty referred to this book to compile "Song History·Japanese Biography".In addition, the "Personnel Order" is an institutional classic in the "Dabao Order" in 701, which contains regulations on the duties and posts of the Japanese government's two officials and eight provinces, as well as the central and local civil and military officials.

Since the turmoil in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties in China, the loss of classics was quite serious, so Japanese monks who entered the Song Dynasty often brought the lost Chinese books preserved in Japan to China to make up for the incomplete.Of course, this time also presented to Song Taizong a volume of "Zheng Shi's Notes on the Classic of Filial Piety" and a volume of "The Fifteenth New Meaning of the King of Yue's Classic of Filial Piety" made with golden hazel and red crystal shafts.The classic of Chinese Confucianism, The Classic of Filial Piety, is highly valued in Japan.Emperor Xiaoqian even ordered every family in the country to prepare a copy of the "Book of Filial Piety" and "recite diligently".Japan also preserves various commentaries on the "Book of Filial Piety" published in China. "Zheng's Annotation to the Classic of Filial Piety" is a commentary on the Classic of Filial Piety written by Zheng Xuan, a great Confucian in the Eastern Han Dynasty. "The New Meaning of the King of Yue Xiaojing" was written by Yue Wangzhen, the son of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.These two books were lost in China at that time, and became rare books in Japan.

He stayed in the Song Dynasty for three years. In July 985, he returned to China with Zheng Rende, a businessman from Ninghai County, Taizhou, on a trading ship to Japan.The monks who entered the Song Dynasty not only brought lost Chinese books from Japan, but also brought back a large number of Buddhist classics from China that had not yet been introduced to Japan.He Ran brought back more than a thousand volumes of the latest engraved edition of the Tripitaka bestowed by Song Taizong.China engraved all the "Tripitaka" according to the order of Song Taizu.It took a total of 12 years from 971 (the fourth year of Kaibao) to 983 before it was carved in Chengdu, Sichuan. ".It happened that in the year when the "Tripitaka" was engraved, Jin Dynasty paid a visit to Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty, so what Song Taizong granted him at his request was the first printed version of the imperial edition of "Tripitaka".There are few typos in this book, and the printing is exceptionally clear.The "Tripitaka" brought back by Xi Ran was originally stored in the scripture collection of Hosei Temple in Kyoto, but it was later destroyed by a fire in the temple.This "Tripitaka" was often used as a blueprint for copying scriptures by people in the Japanese Buddhist circle at that time. It played a great role in the research and preservation of Japanese Buddhist scriptures, and promoted the Japanese engraving and printing industry.During the Tang and Song dynasties, Japan's block printing industry was almost in a state of suspension, but shortly after returning to China, Japan's block printing industry flourished again, especially the aristocrats in Kyoto often printed Tiantai classics for support, such as 1009 One thousand copies of the Lotus Sutra were printed in 1041, and another thousand copies of the Lotus Sutra were printed in 1041.You Ran also brought back 286 volumes of the newly translated scriptures given by Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty from China. There are records.These newly translated scriptures are also collected in the scripture collection of Facheng Temple.

Of course, the most precious of the items brought back from China is the Zhan (zhan felt) Sandalwood Sakyamuni statue still preserved in Saga Qingliang Temple in Kyoto, which has been designated as a Japanese national treasure.This statue is exquisitely carved from white sandalwood and is 5.35 feet high. It is said that it is the same height as Sakyamuni, the ancestor of Buddhism, and its image is lifelike.Legend has it that the prototype of this Buddha statue with a unique ancient Indian artistic style was originally brought from India via the Western Regions. It was brought back by Qin Fujian when he conquered the Western Regions of Kucha, and was collected by successive Chinese emperors.Song Taizong even welcomed it into the Zifu Hall in the palace.However, after visiting the Song Dynasty, he admired it very much, and desperately wanted to imitate one to bring back, so he asked Zhang Yanjiao, a famous Chinese sculptor at that time, to imitate one.After it was brought back to Japan, it was placed in Qingliang Temple, which caused a sensation in Japanese Buddhist circles. Temples such as Toshodai Temple and Saidai Temple sent people to engrave it.This Buddha statue not only has a unique carving technique, but also has a large number of cultural relics sealed in the body of the Buddha, many of which were donated by Chinese monks, faithful men and women.It was sealed up in Taizhou on August 18, 985.It was not discovered until later when the Buddha statue was repaired.For example, a pair of models of the five internal organs of the human body made of silk belonged to "the nuns Qingxiao, Shengrong, Wenqing, and Yu Qiniangshe Buddha of Miaoshan Temple" in Taizhou.The five viscera have different colors and shapes. They were rare in the Song Dynasty when anatomy was not yet developed more than a thousand years ago. They are of great value to the study of ancient oriental medicine and have been designated as "new national treasures".Many different kinds of silk pieces, such as Qiuluo, yarn, Wenluo, and silk, were found in the body of the Buddha, which is also a valuable cultural relic for the study of silk fabrics in the Northern Song Dynasty in China.He also brought back a painting of sixteen arhats, which is now in the Qingliang Temple. This is the earliest arhat painting introduced to Japan.It is said that when the foundation stone was laid for the palace of Qingliang Temple in Kyoto, he buried the soil brought back from Mount Wutai in China and the sketch map of Qingliang Temple on Mount Wutai that he had drawn himself.

In February 988, more than two years after Can Ran returned to China, he sent his disciple Jia Yin and others to come to China on a Song merchant trading ship, and brought gifts to thank Can Ran for the hospitality he received during his stay in the Song Dynasty.In "Xie Biao", he recalled that he entered the Song Dynasty and "achieved the prosperity of China", was received by Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty, and "permitted to trek outside the wilderness" and "perceived the wonders of the universe". "Looking at Yaoyun among the nine prohibitions", "worshiping the holy lamp on the five platforms". "Study on the Tripitaka, visit temples and travel well." Even after returning with a full load, "Buddha's edict was passed on to the east of the East China Sea."Said "the more you go, the more you dare to forget the depth of the emperor's thoughts. How can you repay the benefits of a day if you are a fan of a hundred years". ("Song History: Biography of Japan") presented gifts including Aoki letter Buddhist scriptures, amber crystal rosary, mother-of-pearl calligraphy table, Japanese painting screen, bat fan, Japanese sword, and Japanese calligrapher Fujiwara Sari's handwriting, etc.Among them, Japanese knives, Japanese folding fans, and screens were all favorite items of Chinese scholars at that time.The famous poem "Song of the Japanese Sword" in the Song Dynasty once described that "the treasured sword came out of Japan, and the fish skin was pasted with a fragrant wood sheath," "a hundred gold was introduced to the good man, and admiration can dispel evil spirits." What happened a thousand years ago before and after Sui Ran entered the Song Dynasty can be regarded as a microcosm of the cultural exchanges between China and Japan in the Song Dynasty.