In the second year of Tang Tianbao (743), monk Jian Zhen was invited by Japanese monks Rong Rui and Pu Zhao to preach in the East, but he failed for five consecutive times because of wind resistance. On October 29th, 12th year (753), 69-year-old Jian Zhen took a large number of Buddhist scriptures and artworks, and entered the sea from Huangsipu, Luyuan, Changshu (now Zhangjiagang, Suzhou) and started his sixth eastward crossing. After thousands of difficulties and dangers, I finally arrived in Nara in the following year, realizing my ambition to spread Buddhism and Chinese culture.
Jian Zhen traveled to Japan:
During the Tang Dynasty, the feudal economy was prosperous and the country was strong, and the friendly exchanges and cultural exchanges between China and Japan were unprecedented. In order to learn the political system and profound culture of the Tang Dynasty, from the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong to the end of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent envoys to China for 13 times (once only for Baekje), once for "welcoming envoys to the Tang Dynasty" (Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty did not return home for a long time, and sent missions to meet them), and twice for "sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty" (sending them back to the Tang Dynasty). There are many foreign students in the mission, as well as monks studying abroad, many of whom are eager to learn and knowledgeable.
Japan sent a delegation from the Tang Dynasty to sail to China, which was roughly divided into several stages:
In the early Tang Dynasty (the fourth year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan-the second year of Emperor Gaozong's reign, that is, 63-669 AD), the Japanese delegation was generally small, with only one or two ships and about 2 people.
route: take the north road. From Hakata Bay in Kyushu-Tsushima Island-along the coast of Korean Peninsula-Liaodong Peninsula-Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong Peninsula. This route takes dozens of days and is relatively safe.
in the heyday of the Tang dynasty (the second year of Chang' an of Wu Zetian-the eleventh year of Tianbao of Xuanzong, that is, 72-752 AD), the scale of the Japanese mission was greatly expanded, with more than 5 people, who came to the Tang Dynasty by four ships.
Route: During this period, due to the deterioration of the relationship between Silla and Japan, a new route, namely the South Island Route, was opened: from Kyushu-Japan's South Island Islands: Tanegashima (Domi), Yakushima and Amami Island-crossing the East China Sea-Mingzhou and Yangzhou. This route is risky and the voyage is not short.
Late Tang Dynasty (759-874 AD). Due to the influence of the Anshi Rebellion, which began in 755, the state of Tang declined day by day, and the size and number of Japanese envoys to Tang were greatly reduced.
Route: After the Anshi Rebellion, a new route was opened, namely the southern route. From Hakata Bay in Kyushu-Wudao Islands west of Nagasaki (waiting for the downwind)-crossing the East China Sea-Mingzhou and Yangzhou. The voyage of this route is short, and it can be reached in 1 days when the wind is favorable, but at that time, Japanese ships were limited by their production level and navigation knowledge, and the risk was the greatest.
Japanese people have also traveled to Japan for cultural exchanges between China and China, among which the Japanese monk made the greatest contribution.
Jian Zhen, whose common surname is Chunyu, was born in the Tang Dynasty when Wu Zetian hung over the arch for four years (AD 688) and died in the second year of Baoying in Tang Daizong (AD 763). He is a native of Jiangyang County, Yangzhou (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province). At the age of 14, he entered Dayun Temple in Yangzhou, where he was instructed by the world-famous Zhiman Zen Master to learn Zen Buddhism. Under the guidance of famous teachers, Jian Zhen made rapid progress in her studies. Three years later, he left Dayun Temple to learn the precepts in longxing temple, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), and was subjected to the "Bodhisattva precept". In the first year of Tang Zhongzong Jinglong (AD 77), he traveled around to study and visited Luoyang and Chang 'an. In the second year of Jinglong, when he was 2 years old, he was presided over by Hongjing, a legalist of the law Sect, and he received a "foot ring". Since then, he has been studying the Buddhist classics and has a deep study of the law Sect. Legalism was one of the top ten schools of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty. Legalism means that Buddhists hold five precepts, ten precepts and 25 precepts because of their grades. It was very popular in the early Tang Dynasty and was known as strict precepts.
In the first year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 713), Jian Zhen returned to daming temple, Yangzhou to preach the precepts, and more than 4, disciples were taught by him. At this time, he was already a master of Buddhism with profound knowledge and high prestige. He also constantly organized monks to copy scriptures, with more than 33, volumes. He also designed and built more than 8 monasteries, and Japanese monks studying in Datang also admired his Buddhist attainments.
In the 21st year of Kaiyuan (AD 733), Japan sent the Tang envoy to Datang for the ninth time. Rong Rui and Pu Zhao, Japanese monks studying abroad who came with the delegation, were ordered by Emperor Shengwu of Japan to invite Jian Zhen to the East. In the winter of the first year of Tianbao in Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 742), Rong Rui and Pu Zhao visited Jian Zhen in daming temple, Yangzhou, expressing their admiration for Japan, and said: Although Buddhism has spread to Japan, there are no eminent monks who have been taught dharma, so please "go to the east to visit Xinghua". Jian Zhen asked the monks in the temple, who would like to be invited here? The monks were silent. It was a long time before a monk named Xiang Yan said, "The other country is too far away, life is hard to survive, and the sea is vast, and there is nothing to come." Life is rare, China is hard to live, he is not prepared for further study, and the Taoist fruit is not gram, so the monks are silent. " Hearing this, Jian Zhen said, "It's a matter of law (to preach the great law), so why don't you cherish your life! If everyone doesn't go, I'll go. " Jian Zhen made up his mind to go, and from then on, he began to prepare for the eastward crossing to Japan. Jian Zhen's dedication to Buddhism touched 21 disciples, including Xiangyan and Daohang, who expressed their willingness to follow Master to spread Buddhism in Japan. At that time, the laws of the Tang Dynasty prohibited private shipbuilding from crossing to Japan. "Those who cross the border privately will only stay for one year, and those who cross the border will be added." (On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty) Because Japan once formed an alliance with Baekje countries on the Korean Peninsula to compete with the Tang Dynasty, and there were "pirates" along the coast of the East China Sea, the government strictly prohibited going to sea privately. Jian Zhen and his disciples only secretly prepared ships, Buddhist scriptures, food, medicines and so on.
the first trip to the east (April 743)
Jian Zhen and his disciples were going to travel to Japan in the second year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty (743). The preparatory work is going on smoothly, but in April, Daohang, a great disciple of Jian Zhen, thought that monk Ruhai was just learning from the younger generation and was not suitable for following Jian Zhen to the east. If the monk Hai was greatly dissatisfied, he secretly interviewed Huainan interview hall, which made Shen Jingqing falsely accuse Daohang pirates, saying, "Daohang built ships into the sea and connected with thieves." Shen Jingqing immediately detained Ruhai and sent troops to various monasteries to search for Chinese and Japanese monks. Daohang, Rong Rui and Puzhao were all arrested, and the ships they built were also lost. The first trip to Dongdu failed before departure.
The second trip to the East (December 743 AD)
In August, after the Japanese monks Rong Rui and Pu Zhao were released, they decided to respectfully invite Jian Zhen back to Japan again. They secretly went to daming temple to see Jian Zhen, expressing their sincerity in inviting him. Jian Zhen was deeply moved. In order to fulfill his wish, he paid 8 yuan to interview Liu Chenlin from Lingnan Road to buy an old military ship. He also hired 18 boatmen and 85 craftsmen, and prepared books such as classics and food, medicine and other items. In mid-December, Jian Zhen and others set out from Yangzhou and sailed down the Yangtze River. When they sailed to Langgoupu (now on the Langshan River in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province), they were caught in a strong wind, and the river waves were rough, and the ship ran aground and broke, making it impossible to drive. The boatman had to dock in the shallows to avoid the wind and waves temporarily and buy time to repair the ship. Unexpectedly, there was another tidal bore, and the water depth was waist-deep. In the cold winter, the cold wind was biting, and the grain and rice were soaked. There was no food in the abdomen, so they could not move forward and had to return to the shore.
The Third Journey to the East (in the spring of 744 AD)
Jian Zhen was determined. One month later (in the spring of 744 AD), he prepared food, fresh water and other things again. After repairing the ship, he wanted to fly directly to Japan from Dabanshan (now Liupanshan). However, when we got to Osaka Mountain, we couldn't dock and had to turn to Lantau Island. I was facing a headwind, so I had to wait for the tailwind, and I had to continue sailing with it for more than a month. When approaching the famous mountain (now Daqu Mountain in the north of Zhoushan Island), it was hit by a huge storm, and when it was almost ashore, it hit a reef again. At this time, the ship was smashed and sank to the bottom of the sea. After trying hard to climb ashore, although it was a narrow escape, there was no dry food and fresh water. Faced with the threat of hunger and thirst, it took three days and three nights to meet the fishermen and be rescued. When the local monks learned of this incident, they didn't want Jian Zhen to take the risk of stormy waves again, and asked the local officials to arrest the Japanese monk Rong Rui and others. Therefore, Jian Zhen and others were placed under house arrest by the local officials in Mingzhou, a famous temple in Yinxian (under the jurisdiction of Mingzhou), and the third trip to the East failed again.
The Fourth Journey to the East (AD 744)
After hearing that Jian Zhen had arrived at Ashoka Temple, monks from all over the world went to ask Master Jian Zhen to give lectures. In the third year of Tang Tianbao (AD 744), Jian Zhen toured Yuezhou (now Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province), Hangzhou, Huzhou (now Xing Wu County, Jiangsu Province) and Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng County, Anhui Province) to give lectures and teach precepts. Secretly raise the cost of going to Japan again during the lecture. In order to prevent the pursuit of the government, after careful consideration, he planned to board a boat to Japan in a distant place-Fuzhou. To this end, he sent his disciples to Fuzhou first to buy a boat and make various preparations for the voyage. Then I borrowed the ancient temples of famous mountains and temples from all over the country to worship Buddha, and then took the opportunity to leave for Fuzhou to meet my disciples in Fuzhou and go to Japan together. However, the business was not secret. After Jian Zhen's disciple Ling You in Yangzhou heard that Master was going to cross the sea again, he couldn't bear to take the risk of "Wan Li's life and death are unpredictable", so he joined the monks of various temples to sue the government to stop Jian Zhen from crossing the sea. Accordingly, the Jiangdong Road interviewer sent someone to zenrinji, Huangyan County to send Jian Zhen and others back to daming temple, Yangzhou. The plan to board a boat from Fuzhou to Japan also failed.
The Fifth Journey to the East (A.D. 748)
In the spring of the seventh year of Tang Tianbao (A.D. 748), Japanese monks Rong Rui and Pu Zhao arrived in Jian Zhen from Tongan County (now Anqing City, Anhui Province) by boat, and agreed to spend the day again, and immediately prepared boats and various accompanying articles. On June 27th, Jian Zhen, his disciples, sailors and other 35 people arrived. They waited for more than a month after hardships, only to wait until the southwest was downwind and set sail for the east. The ship just left Zhoushan Islands and entered the East China Sea. Unfortunately, it was hit by the northeast wind, which was "swift and steep, and the water was as black as ink", and it blew them to the southwest. All the ships had only Guanyin (the original translation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, which was called "Guanyin" because of the taboo of the word "world" in Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong). Everyone threw their belongings into the sea to reduce the weight of the ship, and some monks also put the scriptures copied with their whole lives into the sea. The ship was out of control and went up and down with the waves for three days at sea. "Monks were so annoyed that they got seasick and vomited that they couldn't get up." However, when Master Pu Zhao eats every day, she will take out a little raw rice to satisfy her hunger with the monks. There is no fresh water on the boat, chewing rice, and the mouth and throat are very dry, so it is impossible to swallow and spit, and drinking a little seawater will lead to abdominal distension. It was not until the seventh day that the storm subsided, and it rained for another two days, and we received some rain on the boat, so that everyone felt a little better. On the ninth day, the boat approached an island, and everyone quickly landed, found fresh water, filled the boat with water, and continued to board. After 14 days of drifting at sea, they landed and saw lush trees and flowers everywhere. It turned out that the storm blew them from the East China Sea to the South China Sea and they had reached the southernmost tip of Hainan Island. Then he arrived in Zhenzhou (now Yaxian County, Hainan Island-Sanya) and was sent by local officials to welcome Jian Zhen and his party to Dayun Temple in the city. Lived here for a year. Later, he passed through Wan 'an Prefecture (now Wanning) and Yazhou (now Qiongshan), crossed the Qiongzhou Strait, and then stopped in Guangxi (now Guilin, Guangxi) and Hainan County (now Guangzhou). On the way, Japanese monk Rong Rui died unfortunately in Duanzhou (now Gaoyao, Guangdong) because of overwork, and Jian Zhen's eyes became inflamed due to grief, hard work and heat, and finally he became blind. Xiang Yan, a loyal disciple who followed him all the time, died unfortunately in Jiangxi because of years of overwork, which was really a heavy blow to Jian Zhen. After three years of arduous journey, Jian Zhen and others finally returned to Yangzhou via Jiujiang and Nanjing. The fifth eastward crossing failed, which was also the most painful failure in Jian Zhen's eastward crossing. However, Jian Zhen didn't lose heart. Difficulties couldn't conquer his will, but only strengthened him, and he wouldn't give up until he reached his goal.
The Sixth Journey to the East (October, 753-February, 754)
Jian Zhen's will to travel to the East grew stronger. After he returned to Yangzhou from Hainan Island, he continued to raise cultural relics to prepare for the journey, regardless of the difficulty of blindness.
On October 15th, the 12th year of Tang Tianbao (A.D. 753), on the eve of Japan's 1th dispatch of Tang envoys to China, Japanese student Abe Zhongmalu (Chao Heng in Chinese), who sent Tang ambassadors Fujiwara Qinghe, assistant Kibi No Asomi Makibi, great companion Gumalu and served as Tang officials for many years, was also preparing to return to China, and they all went to Yanguang Temple to pay a visit. Ambassador Fujiwara said: "I heard that the Great Monk had traveled to Japan five times to preach. It is a great honor to see him today. If the Great Monk still wishes to do so, his disciples will have four ships to return to Japan and all the application materials are ready. I wonder if they will go with him?" Although Jian Zhen is 66 years old and blind, he agreed to the Japanese entreaties in order to preach the precepts of professors and the friendship and cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese people.
After the news that Jian Zhen wanted to visit Japan again spread in Yangzhou, the temples concerned took strict precautions to obstruct this trip. At this time, Ren Gan, a disciple of Jian Zhen, came to Yangzhou from Wuzhou (now Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province). Knowing that Master was going to travel far away, he secretly agreed that he would prepare a boat to meet him at Jiangtou. On the evening of October 29th, Jian Zhen and his disciples and craftsmen sneaked to Jiangtou from longxing temple, Yangzhou, and immediately boarded the boat and set off, leaving the Grand Canal for the Yangtze River, heading for Huangsipu, Suzhou (now Huangsipu, Changshu County, Jiangsu Province, that is, Huang Xie Pu) to join the Japanese fleet of envoys to the Tang Dynasty.
Jian Zhen brought with him eight Buddha statues such as Tathagata and Avalokitesvara, seven kinds of Buddhist tools such as Buddhist relics and Bodhi, more than 3 volumes of 84 Buddhist scriptures such as Huayan Sutra, and three kinds of copybooks such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.
In Yuan Kai's Biography of Tang Dahe's Journey to the East, the route and sailing date of Jian Zhen's sixth eastward crossing are recorded as follows: "In the twelfth year of Tianbao, I left longxing temple (Yangzhou) to Jiangtou ... and took a boat to Suzhou Huangt Pupu (Huang Xie Pupu). On the 15th, Renzi, four boats were launched at the same time, and one pheasant flew to the first boat, but still stayed under the anchor. Send it on the sixteenth. On the 21st, the first and second boats went to Anebo Island (Okinawa Island), southwest of Domi Island (Tanegashima). The third boat was moored in the same place last night. On December 6, the south wind started, and one boat hit the stone without moving. The second boat sailed to Tomi, and on the seventh day, it reached Esau Island (Yakushima Island). ten