Linghu Chong in "The Swordsman" has a famous saying: "As soon as you see a nun, you will lose every bet." This was originally a joke to rescue Yilin from the "lonely man" Tian Boguang. But people at that time were more jealous of nuns, and it was also written in the book that when the Hengshan sect was in the top ranks, those sent to deal with shopkeepers were all lay disciples. In Lu Xun's famous work, after Ah Q was beaten by a fake foreign devil, he attributed all his bad luck to seeing a little nun. What is the reason for this?

There was only one social 'function' of Buddhism in the late Qing Dynasty that not only did not weaken or mutate, but was greatly strengthened. This is recommending death and transcending life. Since the Ming Dynasty, recommending transcendental beings has become the "patent" of Buddhism and Taoism. Taoism is commonly known as "Dojo", Buddhism is called "Sutra Repentance", and large patriarchal families invite both Buddhism and Taoism. 'Sutra confession' is condemned by eminent monks, so why do many self-proclaimed Buddhists still enjoy it? This can only be explained from social needs.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, social resources were exhausted, so why did the big patriarchal families not hesitate to invest huge sums of money in it? First of all, the reason why large patriarchal families held large funerals in the late Qing Dynasty cannot rule out a sense of doomsday. They have personally experienced the irreversible decline of the patriarchal system, which is the so-called "decline in the world"; they have personally experienced that compared with the past pomp and circumstance, their inner pockets are becoming increasingly empty. In a situation where people in the entire society are depleted of money, the income from plundering is limited, and from the narrow perspective of the agricultural society they are accustomed to, the risk of investing the remaining capital in industry and commerce is extremely high. However, it is indeed difficult for national industry and commerce to develop under government control and foreign business dumping. Therefore, in order to maintain their family business, they have no choice but to count on 'the blessings of their ancestors'. Secondly, the grand funeral ceremony is also related to the traditional Chinese appearance.

Even if their lives are not well-off, many farmers and civilians still need to borrow money to cope with the pressure of neighborhood public opinion. A wealthy family can use this to show the filial piety of their descendants and win respect from society; on the other hand, it can also show that the family's reputation is still intact and that future loans will not be rejected. Thirdly, if the children's service was lacking during the deceased's lifetime, taking care of it is also a kind of psychological compensation. They also often have the idea that paying filial piety to the deceased is the last time, so they do not hesitate to spend more money. It is undeniable that some Buddhists ask monks to perform sutra repentance out of filial piety, believing that after doing sutra repentance, the souls of the dead can be saved. Finally, the death ceremony itself also contains reasonable content to appease the grief of relatives of the deceased. It should not be completely denied, but should be replaced by more reasonable, reasonable and economical methods.

Although the prevalence of recommending death to transcendental beings also reflected the needs of the society at that time and had some reasonable factors, Buddhism in some areas was so weak that it became the main source of income, regardless of social criticism. The 'death' religion specializes in bringing death to life. As a result, monks and nuns were ridiculed by the society at that time: "The lazy man in the court, the moth in the rice", "The wife is easy to beat, the monk is easy to bully". Bhikshunis are lower than human beings. According to the custom in Wu region (today's Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou areas), you cannot meet nuns on the road during the first month, otherwise it will be 'unlucky'. Obviously, the formation of this custom is related to the fact that monks and nuns specialized in 'Sutra Repentance' after the Ming Dynasty, because the Chinese people tabooed 'death'.

Isn’t it a shame that Chinese Buddhism, which was so vibrant during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, has declined to this point?