Chapter 41 132 Fan Zhen Against Superstition

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism gradually became popular.In the court of Southern Qi, from the emperor to the ministers, all advocated Buddhism.The prime minister of the Southern Qi Dynasty, King Jingling Xiao Ziliang, was a person who believed in Buddhism. Xiao Ziliang had a villa in Jilong Mountain outside Jiankang, where he often entertained celebrities and scholars, drinking and chatting.Sometimes, some monks are also invited to explain the principles of Buddhism to him.Xiao Ziliang also prepared meals and poured tea for the monk himself.Everyone thought that he was disrespectful as a prime minister, but he didn't care.

Once the prime minister advocated it, the influence of Buddhism will naturally become stronger.These monks preached that after death, the soul will not die. It is also said that a person's wealth or poverty is the karma of the previous life, and the suffering of the poor is predestined and irresistible. At that time, a bold scholar named Fan Zhen (sound zhen) stood up to expose this statement as a superstition and asked everyone not to believe it. Fan Zhen's cousin, Fan Yun, often walks around Xiao Ziliang's house.Xiao Ziliang was very annoyed when he heard that Fan Zhen dared to sing against Buddhism and opposed Buddhism, and asked Fan Yun to bring Fan Zhen to his home.

Xiao Ziliang asked Fan Zhen, "You don't believe in karma, so why would you say that some people are born rich and some are born poor?" Fan Zhen said calmly: "There is nothing strange about this. For example, life is like petals on a tree. When the wind blows the flowers, the petals fall with the wind. Some flitted past the curtains and landed on the seats; It blows over the fence and lands in the latrine." Xiao Ziliang stared, unable to understand what Fan Zhen meant.Fan Zhen went on to say: "The one who falls on the seat is like you; the one who falls in the latrine is like me. Rich and poor, that's all. How can there be any karma?"

When Fan Zhen came back from Xiao Ziliang, he felt that although Xiao Ziliang had been refuted, he hadn't explained his reasons against superstition thoroughly, so he wrote a special article called "On the Extinction of Gods".The article said: "The body is the essence of the spirit, and the spirit is only the function of the body. The relationship between the spirit and the body is like a knife and its sharpness. Without a knife, it cannot play the role of sharpness. Without the body, how can there be any spirit?" ?” In that article, Fan Zhen also concluded that the soul does not exist after death, and any karma is a lie.

As soon as this article came out, the entire court was in an uproar.Some of Xiao Ziliang's cronies and friends thought that Fan Zhen had to be dealt with severely.Xiao Ziliang recruited a group of eminent monks to argue with Fan Zhen, but what Fan Zhen said was the truth, those eminent monks still couldn't argue with Fan Zhen. A Buddhist believer, Wang Yan, satirized him and said: "Oh, Mr. Fan! If you don't believe in gods, then you don't even know where the gods of your ancestors are." Fan Zhen mocked Wang Yan tit-for-tat and said, "It's a pity, Mr. Wang. Since you know where your ancestors are, why didn't you go to them earlier."

Xiao Ziliang was afraid that Fan Zhen's influence would be too great and would shake everyone's belief in Buddhism.A few days later, he sent a confidant, Wang Rong, to persuade Fan Zhen, saying: "The prime minister appreciates talented people very much. It is not easy for a talented person like you to be a Zhongshulang! Why bother?" You must post such an out-of-trend comment. I feel sorry for you. I think you should withdraw that out-of-date article." After hearing this, Fan Zhen raised his head and laughed, and said, "If I, Fan Zhen, give up my views and seek an official, it will not be difficult to become a bigger official. Why do you care about Zhong Shulang?"

Xiao Ziliang had no choice but to let Fan Zhen go. The Southern Qi Dynasty only experienced two generations of Emperor Gao Gao and Emperor Wu of Qi before civil strife occurred.Xiao Yan, the governor of Yongzhou, raised his troops to attack Jiankang. In 502 AD, Xiao Yan destroyed the Southern Qi Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty. This is Emperor Wu of Liang.