Who is Master Jianzhen?The story of Jianzhen traveling to Japan

Which country is Monk Jianzhen from?How many times did Monk Jianzhen travel to Japan?

Monk Jianzhen was a monk of the Tang Dynasty and traveled to Japan six times (the other saying is seven times).Monk Jianzhen (June 25, 688), whose family surname is Chunyu, is from Jiangyang, Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu), is the descendant of the Nanshan Sect of the Literature School, and is the founder of the Nanshan Sect of Japanese Buddhism, and is a famous medical scientist and translator.At the age of fourteen, Zen Master Zhiman became a monk and studied the Three Canons and was particularly particular about the precepts.At the request of the Japanese monk Rong Rui to join the Tang Dynasty, he went to Japan with his disciples to preach the Dharma, which promoted the spread and exchange of culture.

The story of Jianzhen traveling to Japan

742In 2018, Japanese monks Rong Rui and Puzhao arrived in Yangzhou and asked Jianzhen to travel to Japan to teach true Buddhism and teach Japanese believers the precepts.At that time, the monks in Daming Temple were silent and unresponsive, but Jianzhen said that this was a ritual, so why should you cherish your life?So he decided to cross the east.

The first eastward journey

742In the winter of 2018, Jianzhen and 21 disciples, together with four Japanese monks, went to Jiji Temple, Donghe near Yangzhou to build a ship and prepare to cross the east.

At that time, the Japanese monk held a letter from the companion of Prime Minister Li Linfu, so the local official Yangzhou warehouse Li Coo also provided assistance.Unexpectedly, a disciple of Jianzhen, Daohang and a junior brother Ruhai joked: Everyone is virtuous and the industry is cleared.Ruruhai and other young students could stop learning. RuHisen thought it was true and furious, so he falsely accused Jianzhen and his team of shipbuilding colluded with pirates and prepared to attack Yangzhou.Pirates were rampant back then, and the Huainan interview shocked Ban Jingqian when he heard the news. He sent someone to detain all the monks. Although they were released soon, they ordered the Japanese monks to return to their country immediately, and their first time to cross the east was killed.

The second eastward ferry

744In January 2019, after careful preparations, more than 100 people set off again, including 17 monks including Jianzhen (including Rong Rui and Puzhao who were hidden), together with 85 craftsmen who were hired to write and embroiderers, and embroiderers, and other craftsmen.As a result, before going to sea, a shipwreck was sunk in Langgoupu, at the estuary of the Yangtze River.As soon as the ship was repaired, it was exposed to strong winds and drifted to a small island in Zhoushan Islands. Five days later, everyone was rescued and transferred to Ashoka Temple in Mingzhou (now Ningbo, Zhejiang) to settle.After the spring, temples in Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng, Anhui) all invited Jianzhen to preach, and the second eastward ferry ended.

The third eastward journey

After finishing his tour, Jianzhen returned to Ashoka Temple and prepared to cross the east again.The monks in Yuezhou learned about this. In order to retain Jianzhen, they accused the Japanese monks of hiding China from the government, with the purpose of luring Jianzhen to Japan.So the government threw Rong Rui into prison and sent him to Hangzhou.Rong Rui pretended to be sick on the way and pretended to die of illness before he could escape.The third eastward ferry was abandoned.

The fourth eastward journey

Since it was inconvenient for the generation of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to go out to sea, Jianzhen decided to buy a boat from Fuzhou and lead more than 30 people to set off from Ashoka Temple.As soon as he arrived in Wenzhou, he was intercepted. It turned out that Lingyou, a disciple who was left in Daming Temple, was worried about his master's safety and asked the Yangzhou government to stop him. The Huainan interview envoy sent someone to intercept Jianzhen and his party back to Yangzhou.The fourth time the East was passed away was left unresolved.

The fifth eastward journey

748In 2019, Rong Rui and Puzhao came to Daming Temple again and asked Jianzhen to travel east.Jianzhen immediately led 14 monks, craftsmen and sailors, and set off from Chongfu Temple on June 28, the lunar calendar and headed east again.In order to wait for the wind, after leaving the Yangtze River, Jianzhen and his party stayed in the Zhoushan Islands for several months and could not go out to sea until November.On the East China Sea, the ship was hit by a strong north wind. It drifted for 14 days before it could see the land. It was only after 16 days that it could get ashore. It was found that it had drifted to Zhenzhou (now Sanya, Hainan) and settled in Dayun Temple.Jianzhen stayed in Hainan for a year and brought a lot of Central Plains cultural and medical knowledge to the local area. To this day, there are still Jianzhen ruins such as Shenjing Po and Daquantian in Sanya.

Afterwards, Jianzhen returned north and passed through Wan'anzhou (now Wanning, Hainan), Yazhou (now Haikou, Hainan), Leizhou, and Wuzhou to Shi'an County (now Guilin, Guangxi). He lived in Jianzhen in Shi'an Kaiyuan Temple for another year and was welcomed to Guangzhou to preach. When he passed through Duanzhou (now Zhaoqing, Guangdong), Rong Rui died of illness in Longxing Temple in the place.In Guangzhou, Jianzhen went to India and was comforted.After entering the summer, Jianzhen continued to set off. When he passed through Shaozhou, Puzhao resigned. When he was about to part, Jianzhen vowed not to go to Japan.The wish was not fulfilled.At this time, Jianzhen was blind due to his unacceptable environment and difficulty in traveling, and was misled by quack doctors.After passing Dayu Ridge, Jianzhen's eldest disciple Xiangyan sat in Jizhou (now Ji'an, Jiangxi) again, and Jianzhen was very sad.Next, Jianzhen passed through Lushan, Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), Jiangning County, Runzhou (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), and returned to Yangzhou.The fifth eastward ferry ends.

The sixth eastward journey

Jianzhen has made a name for himself because he traveled across half of China.In 753, Japan sent Tang envoys Kiyoshikawa, Yoshibe Shinbe, Chao Heng and others to Yangzhou and beg Jianzhen to cross the east with them again.At that time, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang believed in Taoism and wanted to send Taoist priests to Japan, but refused to do so, so Jianzhen was not allowed to go to sea.Jianzhen secretly took a boat to Huangsipu, Suzhou (in the Dongdu Garden of Luyuan, Tangqiao Town, Zhangjiagang City) and took a large ship to send Tang envoys.There were 24 people accompanying him, including 17 monks and nuns.On November 16, the fleet sailed to sea. At this time, Puzhao also arrived in Yuyao. On November 21, Jianzhen's boat was separated from Chao Heng on a boat. On December 6, the remaining two boats and one boat hit the reef. On December 20, he arrived in Satsuma, Japan.The sixth eastward journey was finally successful.