Jianzhen (688-763), the "great benefactor" of the development of Japanese culture, was a famous monk who went to Japan to spread the Dharma in the Tang Dynasty. In Japan, he was often called "the master who crossed the sea" and "the great monk of the Tang Dynasty". The common surname is Chunyu, a native of Jiangyang, Yangzhou (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu). He became a monk at the Dayun Temple in Yangzhou at the age of 14 (some say he was 16 years old). He once toured Chang'an and Luoyang. After returning to Yangzhou, he built Chongfu Temple, Fengfa Temple and other major halls. Statue of the pagoda, preaching the Vinaya. In more than 40 years, he ordained lay people and taught the precepts to more than 40,000 people. He was revered as the ordination master in Jianghuai.

At that time, the Japanese Buddhist precepts were incomplete and the monks could not follow them. Lu Yi was ordained. In 733 (the fifth year of Japan's Tianping period), monks Rongrui and Puzhao sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to invite eminent monks to teach the precepts. After visiting for 10 years, they decided to invite Jianzhen. Some of Jianzhen's disciples advised him not to go. "Go to Japan." The journey is long, the sea is vast, and there is no way to reach it..." Jianzhen said: In order to spread Buddhism, why should we sacrifice our lives? In the first year of Tang Tianbao (742), Jianzhen ignored the dissuasion of his disciples, resolutely accepted the invitation, and decided to go eastward. However, due to obstruction by local officials and dangerous sea conditions, the trip failed four times. The first trip eastward in 742 was missed due to disagreements among disciples. The second trip eastward in December of the following year, Shortly after setting out to sea, the ship ran aground and was damaged, and could not make the journey. The third trip eastward was blocked because someone reported it to the government. In 744, disciples of the Jianzhen sect secretly purchased ships and prepared for the third voyage in the name of visiting "Buddhist relics". He made four trips eastward. Unexpectedly, out of love for his master, his disciples in Yangzhou submitted a request to the government to prevent Jianzhen from crossing the east. The government sent troops to detain Jianzhen and his party and escort them back to Yangzhou. In 748, Jianzhen returned to Yangzhou again. The fifth eastward crossing began. Due to the ship straying into the sea current and encountering strong winds and waves, Jianzhen and his party arrived at the southern part of Hainan Island after drifting at sea for 14 days. Jianzhen and his party crossed the sea to Guangzhou and prepared to return north and cross eastward again, but due to Overworked and coupled with the hot weather in the south, Jianzhen suffered from an eye disease, and the treatment failed and he became blind. Then, the Japanese monk Rongrui unfortunately died of illness, and Jianzhen's best disciple Xiangyan also died on the way. He failed to make several eastward journeys and died one after another. 36 Chinese and Japanese, Jianzhen was also blind, but all this did not make Jianzhen flinch. He was always brewing a new eastward crossing plan.

The opportunity finally came.753 When Japan's "envoy to the Tang Dynasty" Fujiwara Aokawa and his party returned to China, they paid a special visit to Jianzhen in Yangzhou and invited him to sail eastward again. Regardless of his advanced age and blindness, Jianzhen decided to sail eastward for the sixth time on a Japanese ship. November 10 On the 6th, they set out from Zhouhuangshuangpu. Among the disciples who accompanied them were three monks and nuns, as well as the Hu people An Rubao, Kunlun Army Fali, and Champo Shanshuo. Jianzhensuo took the boat on January 17, 754 ( On December 20, the fifth year of Tenpyo Shoho's reign, he arrived in Akizumaura, Kawabe County, Satsuma Province (today's Akimeura, Kawabe County, Kagoshima Prefecture). More than a month later (March 2, 754), he arrived at Shanda He entered the capital Nara with a grand welcome. This was his sixth eastward journey. Although he finally succeeded, he was already nearly seventy years old.

That year (Japanese Tenpyo Shoho 6 Years), Jianzhen set up an ordination altar at Todaiji Temple in Nara, and Japanese monks became ordained with the participation of 10 monks called "Three Masters and Seven Certificates". This was the beginning of formal ordination in Japan. The emperor appointed Jianzhen as the chief monk capital and became the capital of the great monks. The founder of the Japanese Vinaya Sect. In 759 (the third year of the Japanese Tenhei Hoji), the foundation of Tangshodai Temple he established was established. Even Japan's Emperor Shomu, the Empress Dowager, and Emperor Xiaoqian took the lead in coming to the altar to ask Jianzhen to give ordination, and then the royal novices 400 Many people were ordained one after another. Later, even some eminent Buddhist monks who were accustomed to "taking vows to be ordained" also came to the altar to receive ordination with sincerity. Jianzhen brought many Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues, and Buddhist utensils to Japan. Although he was blind, he could still He assisted in correcting errors in Buddhist scriptures and used his sense of smell to identify herbal medicines. Some of his fellow disciples were good at sculpture, painting, architecture, etc. They spread the culture of the Tang Dynasty and made significant contributions to the friendly relations and cultural exchanges between the people of China and Japan.

In the first year of Tang Guangde (763, the seventh year of the Japanese balance treasure), Jianzhen passed away. His deeds have been passed down from generation to generation among the Japanese people. Japanese cultural historians even call him a great benefactor of culture. The dry lacquer-wrapped statue made by his disciples has been admired by the Japanese people for more than 1,200 years. In 1980, Japan sent this statue to China for a short period of time, which became a good story in the history of Sino-Japanese friendly relations and a piece of cultural exchange history. Big things.