Chapter 81 172 Han Yu Opposes to Welcome Buddha Bone

Relying on Pei Du and Li Yan, Tang Xianzong quelled the Huaixi rebellion, and felt that his face was radiant.He decided to erect a monument to commemorate this great victory.Who is called to write this inscription?It happened that Pei Du had a marching Sima Han Yu who was good at writing articles, and he followed Pei Du to Huaixi.Tang Xianzong ordered Han Yu to draft the "Pinghuai West Stele". Han Yu, an outstanding writer in the Tang Dynasty, was born in Heyang, Henan (now west of Meng County, Henan).He believes that since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the social atmosphere has been bad, and even the style of writing has declined.Many articles written by literati like to pile up rhetoric, emphasize duality, and lack true feelings.He was determined to reform this style of writing and wrote a lot of prose, which had a great influence at that time.His ideas and writing practice are actually a kind of reform, but he also inherited some traditions of ancient prose, so it is called "Ancient Prose Movement".Later, people called him and Liu Zongyuan the founders of the "Ancient Prose Movement".

Han Yu is not only good at writing articles, but also a minister who speaks out and speaks out.After he finished writing "Pinghuaixi Stele", another thing that offended the court happened. It turned out that Tang Xianzong became superstitious in Buddhism in his later years.He found out that in Fengxiang's Famen Temple, there is a pagoda called Huguo Zhenshen Pagoda.A bone is enshrined in the pagoda, which is said to be a phalanx left by Buddha Sakyamuni. It is opened every thirty years for people to pay respects and worship.In this way, we can achieve good weather and everyone is safe.

Tang Xianzong believed it, so he specially sent a team of 30 people to Famen Temple to welcome the Buddha bones to Chang'an grandly.He first put the bones of the Buddha in the palace to worship, and then sent them to the temple for everyone to admire.The following group of princes and ministers saw that the emperor was so serious, whether they believed it or not, they wanted to have fun.Many people do everything possible to get the opportunity to pay respects to the Buddha bones.Those who have money donate incense money; those who have no money use incense to burn a few incense scars on the top of their heads and arms, which can also be regarded as a show of devotion to the Buddha.

Han Yu never believed in Buddhism, let alone looked at the bones of Buddha.He was very dissatisfied with such extravagance and waste to welcome the Buddha bone, so he wrote a memorial to Tang Xianzong, admonishing him not to do such superstitious things.He said that Buddhism did not exist in ancient China, and it was only introduced from the Western Regions after Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty.He also said that in history, all dynasties that believed in Buddhism did not live long, which shows that Buddha is not credible. When Tang Xianzong received this memorial, he lost his temper, and immediately called the prime minister Pei Du, saying that Han Yu had slandered the court and he must be executed.

Pei Du hurriedly interceded for Han Yu, Tang Xianzong gradually calmed down, and said: "Han Yu said that I believe in Buddhism too much, but I can forgive him; he actually said that emperors who believe in Buddhism have a short life span, isn't this cursing me? ? Just based on this, I can't spare him." Later, more and more people interceded for Han Yu. Tang Xianzong did not kill Han Yu, so he demoted him to Chaozhou as the governor. It was a long way from Chang'an to Chaozhou, Han Yu was alone, and was sent to such a remote place, not to mention the bitterness along the way.

When Han Yu arrived in Chaozhou, he thought of his own misfortune and the lives of the people.He called the officials in the Chaozhou government and asked the local people what they were suffering. Someone said: "There is little production here, and the people's life is very hard; there is also a crocodile in the Exi River (now Hanjiang, Guangdong) in the east of the city, which often comes ashore to harm livestock. The people really suffer from it." Han Yu said: "Since this is the case, we have to find ways to get rid of it." Having said that, Han Yu is a literati, he can't use a knife, and he can't shoot an arrow, so how can he get rid of crocodiles?Later, he wrote a "Crocodile Sacrifice" and sent people to the riverside to read this sacrificial text. He also asked people to kill a pig and a sheep and throw them into the river to feed the crocodiles.In that sacrificial text, he ordered the crocodiles to move to the sea within seven days, otherwise he would shoot all the crocodiles to death with a strong bow and poisonous arrows.

Han Yu doesn't believe in Buddhism, so how could he believe that crocodiles have spirits?Of course, this is just a way for him to calm his mind. Coincidentally, it is said that after that, the crocodile in the big pond really did not appear again.The local people thought that the deportation order issued by the high officials sent by the imperial court to the crocodile had worked, and they gave birth with peace of mind. Han Yu served as an official in other places for a year before returning to Chang'an to take charge of the work of Guozijian (the highest educational institution established by the imperial court).In this year (820 AD), Tang Xianzong was killed by eunuchs.His son Li Heng came to the throne, and this is Tang Muzong.