When Buddhism was introduced into China, how did people begin to believe in Buddhism? According to historical records, it was not ordinary people who first began to believe in Buddhism, but the emperors and princes in the imperial court, which were closely related to each other. After the Jin Dynasty crossed to the south, Buddhism gradually penetrated into the middle class of the upper literati. According to Shi Shuo Xin Yu, not only did Yin read Buddhist scriptures, but Xie An,,, Yin Zhong Kan, Hao Chao, Sun Chuo, Wang,, and others were extremely enthusiastic about the discussion of Buddhism. These celebrities are all literati who are proficient in philosophy and good at metaphysics. At that time, many emperors also believed in Buddhism, especially in the Southern Dynasties. Liang Wudi was particularly convinced that he had given his life for the temple four times.
Other emperors, such as Wu Dadi, Wei Mingdi, Jinyuan, Song Wendi, Chen Houzhu, etc., accompanied by frequent wars and China-ization of Buddhist scriptures, Buddhism became popular among the broad masses of the people, and the number of believers also increased significantly. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were as many as 65,438+0,300 temples in Luoyang, the capital city alone, just as the ancient poem said, "There were 480 temples in the southern dynasties, and it was misty and rainy." At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were temples in Wei Chu and Luoyang, as well as in Xuzhou, Guangling and Xuchang. At that time, there were more than 2 million male and female believers in the country. It can be seen that the development of Buddhism in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is grand.