The development of Buddhism in Sui and Tang Dynasties can be analyzed from three aspects:
First, there are many monasteries with developed economy. In these thirty-seven years, the number of monasteries in China has reached 3985. When the emperor was in power, there was a monk in Zhou Pu, Shanxi Province, who lived in the Qing Zen Temple in Chang 'an. The scale was amazing: "Nine levels of ups and downs, heavy outlines and distant photos, halls and courtyards, everything in the garden, bamboo forests and seas, surrounded by gardens." Without this temple, it is a very large manor of monks and landlords. In the Tang dynasty, it was even bigger. On the eve of the extinction of the Buddha by Wuzong, there were 4,600 temples and 40,000 small temples in China. At that time, "there were many temples, and people wasted tens of billions; There are countless people, and tens of millions of mediocre people are free of rent. "After Tang Wuzong boiled, tens of millions of hectares of fertile land were scraped from the temple landlords. Therefore, some people in the Tang Dynasty said, "There are ten treasures in the world, and there are seven or eight Buddhas. "。
Second, there are many monks and nuns, and the upper stratum of monks and nuns landlords is often closely related to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. They are directly sheltered by the government, and many of them are politically powerful representatives. According to the canon of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were 300,000 monks and nuns in the Sui Dynasty. After four years in Tang Wenzong (830), as many as 700,000 people applied to become nuns all over the world. The power of the temple landlord. Not only did they directly take away those who collected taxes from the state, but some Buddhist leaders also played an important role in politics. For example, the Sui Dynasty itself was a nobleman in the Southern Dynasties. Since the Southern Dynasties, he has become the ancestor of Tiantai Sect, a famous Buddhist Sect. When the Sui Dynasty was just destroyed, Emperor Wendi sent him a letter with great respect, expressing "respecting faith and valuing affection" and demanding his political cooperation. Visit the teacher. Therefore, Zhi has been proudly boasting to his disciples: "I have deep feelings with King Jin. During the reign of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong, Xuanzang's position was also quite high. Emperor Taizong praised Xuanzang for "standing high and leaving early" and personally wrote a preface to his translation of Buddhist scriptures, namely the famous preface to Tang Sanzang. He is more prominent politically. After becoming a monk, Wu Zetian appointed him as the master of the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, and his son-in-law Xue Shao recognized him as the "father of the season". The Biography of Xue Huaiyi in the Old Tang Dynasty said that when he was in power, "all the princes were grovelling, and Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi all held servant ceremonies for him."
Third, the number of Buddhist scriptures translated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is incomparable with the number of Buddhist sects formed in any previous period. According to Fei Changfang's Three Treasures of Past Dynasties, there are 2 146 Buddhist scriptures in Sui Dynasty, with a volume of 6,235. In the Tang Dynasty, it increased a lot. According to the Catalogue of Newly Defined Buddhism in Zhenyuan recorded by Emperor Dezong, there are 2,447 volumes. During the first year of Wudeli Town, Tang Gaozu, during the * * * 180 years, the total number of Buddhist scriptures translated by China reached 435 volumes, 2,476 volumes, with 46 translators. Therefore, the Sui and Tang Dynasties were the most glorious period in the history of Buddhist scripture translation in China. Most influential sects in the history of Buddhism in China were formed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. For example, Tiantai Sect formed in Sui Dynasty, Zhizong Sect, Huayan Sect, Zen Sect, Tantric Sect, Pure Land Sect and Fazong formed in Tang Dynasty. These Buddhist sects all have their own eminent monks, such as the wisdom of Tiantai Sect and Xuanzang of Zhizong Sect.
The development of Boiling Religion in Sui and Tang Dynasties had a far-reaching impact on the cultural history of China. Hou Wailu's General History of China's Ideological History once pointed out that Taoism in the Song and Ming Dynasties was the "continuation" of Buddhism, Buddhism and Taoism's subjective idealism. The book holds that "Buddhism first merged with metaphysics, but recently it led to Taoism." Many Taoists and Neo-Confucianists in the Song Dynasty often had a profound understanding of Buddhism, and the "reason" and "teacher" of Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao were often associated with the so-called "director" of Hua Yanzong. It is said that Ouyang Xiu, a great statesman and great scholar in the Song Dynasty, died suddenly on his deathbed, which shows that Buddhism had a far-reaching influence on the intellectual circles at that time. Zen also had a deep influence on Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, so that the Ming people said that "learning Confucianism in the Song Dynasty and Zen became the fashion of literati in the Song Dynasty. Buddhism also had a great influence on Tang and Song literature. Wang Wei, who became famous before Li Bai and Du Fu in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, was once called "Shi Fo" by literary historians. He has a deep study of Buddhism, and many of his poems talk about Buddhism. His poems are quiet and leisurely, which is inseparable from his Buddhist cultivation. Liu Zongyuan, one of the eight masters in Tang and Song Dynasties, also believed in Buddhism and belonged to Tiantai Sect. Although he has many outstanding materialistic thoughts in philosophy, he still can't get rid of the transcendental world view of Buddhism in some philosophical theories and literary theories. Bai Juyi, another outstanding poet in the Tang Dynasty, was also influenced by Buddhism. In his later years, he ended his official career, retired and became a monk, calling himself "Xiangshan lay man". Buddhism has a far-reaching influence in the history of China's novels, and many stories are told in tang legends's novels. In addition, China later developed into literary forms, such as evolution history, popular stories, novels and dramas, all of which originated from Buddhist songs, lectures and essays with strong Buddhist colors in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. According to Mr. Xiang Da's textual research, the "vulgar monk" mentioned in Duan Youyang's zaju in Tang Dynasty and the "demon decline" and "eye change" discovered in Dunhuang. This kind of folk literature was transferred from Buddhist temples to the market, and it was divided into several categories, such as "lecture on classics" and "lecture on history", and finally became a vernacular novel. In the history of painting in China, Buddhism also had a great influence. Wu Daozi was a famous painter in Tang Dynasty. Most of his works were Buddhist stories in temples. According to statistics, only the temples in Chang 'an and Luoyang painted more than 300 religious murals. This also shows the position of Buddhism in the history of China painting.
(Selected from A Hundred Questions on the Ancient History of China, Henan Education Press, 1986 edition)