Why is Jian Zhen respected by the Chinese and Japanese people?

Historical contribution

In Buddhism, the main purpose of Jian Zhen's eastward journey is to spread Buddhism, preach laws and give precepts. The activities of Japanese monks in Jian Zhen for more than ten years have achieved this goal. Due to the emperor's attention, Jian Zhen was awarded the position of "Great Monk Capital" and became the "ancestor of teaching precepts". "Since then, Japanese laws and regulations have gradually become strict and passed down from teacher to teacher, all over the world." The Tang Zhaoti Temple built in Jian Zhen became the Japanese Grand Temple. Most of the Buddhist scriptures in Japan were passed on by Baekje monks, and there were many mistakes and omissions. In the case of blindness, Jian Zhen corrected the mistakes and omissions in Japanese Buddhist scriptures with his amazing memory. Because Jian Zhen also made considerable research on Tiantai Sect, Jian Zhen also played a great role in the spread of Tiantai Sect in Japan. Jian Zhen put Japanese Buddhism on the right track, facilitated the government's control of Buddhism, put an end to all kinds of disadvantages caused by neglect of management, and promoted Buddhism to be determined as the national religion of Japan. Jian Zhen and his disciples created the Japanese Legalist School, which has become one of the six schools in Nandu, and it still has an afterglow today. In medicine, Jian Zhen is familiar with medical prescriptions. When Queen Guangming was dying, only Jian Zhen's prescription was effective. According to Japan's Notes on Materia Medica, Jian Zhen can tell the species and authenticity of herbs by smelling them with his nose. He also vigorously spread the knowledge of Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile Diseases, leaving a volume of "The Secret Recipe of Master Jian". Therefore, he is known as "the ancestor of Chinese medicine in Japan". According to Yasuhiro Nozaki, chairman of Hanfang Nozaki Pharmacy in Japan, the following 36 kinds of herbs were brought to Japan by Jian Zhen to promote their use: Ephedra, Asarum, Paeonia lactiflora, Radix Aconiti Lateralis, Radix Polygalae, Radix Astragali, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix Sophorae Flavescentis, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Bupleuri, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Radix Scrophulariae, Radix Rehmanniae, Perillae, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Scutellariae Radix, Radix Platycodonis, Inula, Rhizoma Atractylodis, In calligraphy, Jian Zhen and his disciples also have profound attainments in calligraphy. On his sixth trip to the East, he brought an original running script of Wang Xizhi (funeral post), three original running scripts of Wang Xianzhi and 5 volumes of other calligraphy. This has greatly promoted the formation of Japanese calligraphy. Jian Zhen himself is also a famous calligrapher, and his "Please paste the classics" is known as a Japanese national treasure. In architecture, many of Jian Zhen's Dongdu disciples and entourage are proficient in architectural technology. Under the design and leadership of Jian Zhen, the famous Tang Zhaoti Temple was built. The lobby building in the temple, facing south, is seven rooms wide and four rooms deep, and has a three-story bucket arch shape. It is a Buddhist temple with a single eaves and a hilltop. Japan's Commentary on Specially Protected Buildings and National Treasures commented: "Jintang is the largest and most beautiful building in today's balance age." Because the monks in Jian Zhen adopted the most advanced construction methods in the Tang Dynasty, this building is extremely firm and exquisite. After more than 1,2 years of wind and rain, especially the test of the Japanese earthquake in 1597, the Dujintang was intact when other surrounding buildings were completely destroyed, and it still stands in the Zhaoti Temple in the Tang Dynasty. Jintang has become one of the most valuable and precious objects to study and understand the ancient architectural art in China. In sculpture, Jian Zhen and his disciples also left a valuable legacy in sculpture art. Jian Zhen was accompanied by Buddha statues, and in Japan, many Buddha statues were created by "dry painting method" (also known as "clamping method"). The famous ones are the sitting statue of Lushena Buddha, the statue of Tathagata, and the Buddha statue of Guanyin with thousands of hands in the Jintang of Zhaoti Temple in the Tang Dynasty. This method appeared in China as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the technology reached a high level in the Tang Dynasty. During Wu Zetian's reign, the giant Buddha shaped by the method of clamping was as high as 9 feet. Jian Zhen and his disciples promoted and developed this sculpture art in Japan. In Jian Zhen's later years, disciple Ren Ji and others made a sitting statue with a height of 8.4cm to commemorate this China monk. Jian Zhen was sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed, his mind serene and lifelike. It not only reproduces the true image of Jian Zhen, but also deliberately depicts the spiritual temperament, showing fortitude in gentleness, seriousness in serenity and meditation in smile. This statue has been enshrined in Zhaoti Temple in Tang Dynasty.