Wei Taizu destroyed the Buddha.
Background:
In order to unify the North and consolidate its position in the Central Plains, the Northern Wei Dynasty took the whole people as its soldiers. At that time, because Samoans were always exempt from paying taxes and corvees, Emperor Wei, who was keen on martial arts, issued a letter in the fourth year of Taiyan (438), and all Samoans under the age of 50 were secularized for military service. He also listened to the prime minister's exhortation, converted to Kou's Tao, rejected Buddhism, and gradually developed into an action to destroy Buddhism.
Ho Choi was born in a noble family, was proficient in classics, and was good at learning Yin-Yang, Five Elements and Shu-Shu. He is an official of Wei Daowu, Wei Mingyuan and Wei. He is often involved in military and political secrets and is deeply trusted. After getting to know Kou, he began to believe in Taoism and was fascinated by it. In his early years, Kou Qianzhi was keen on the immortal way, practicing the Five Mi Dou Way founded and spread by Zhang Ling, Zhang Heng and Zhang Lu at the end of Han Dynasty, and went to Huashan and Songshan with the alchemist to learn Taoism, boasting that he had been awarded the position of Tianshi by the old gentleman who commanded the command, and had twenty volumes of "The Commandments of the New Branches in the Clouds". At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Kou entered Pingcheng from Songshan and made friends with him. He often stayed up all night listening to the history of the ancient rebellion and sighed for it. Later, Kou Qianzhi absorbed Confucianism, Buddhist classics and fasting rituals into Taoism, and transformed Wudou Mi Dao, which is expected to be easily accepted by the emperors of the later Wei Dynasty.
In the early years of Wei Taizu, Kou presented a Taoist book, but there were few believers in the ruling and opposition parties at that time, so he wrote a letter to exhort Taizu to believe and sent people to worship Songshan with jade animals. Mao also established the Shi Tian Dojo in the southeast of Pingcheng, claiming to be the Prince of True Peace, and personally built a static wheel palace to worship the Prince of True Peace under the influence of Fuan, and renamed it the Prince of True Peace, thus becoming a Taoist priest.
Time:
Wu Tai, the Wei Emperor, began to abolish the Buddha in 444, and the Taiping King suppressed the shaman. He ordered that all shamans from princes to Shu Ren be forbidden to raise privately, and handed over private shamans within a time limit. If there is anything to hide, the whole door will be destroyed. The following year, there was an uprising in Gaiwu and Xingcheng (Huangling, Shaanxi) in the semi-final of Lushui, with more than 100,000 people. In seven years, Mao personally led the troops to suppress. When he arrived in Chang 'an, he found weapons in a temple. He was furious when he suspected that Shaman and Gaiwu colluded with each other. He ordered the monks in the whole temple to be killed. Ho Choi took the opportunity to persuade Wei Taizu to destroy the Buddha, so Taizu further pursued the policy of abolishing the Buddha: killing the shaman in Chang 'an and burning all the statues in the world. For a time, the whole country was in a panic.
Impact:
Crown Prince Tuoba, who was in charge of the country at that time, always believed in Buddhism and repeatedly went to the table to discourage Mao. Although none of them were adopted, the letters of abolishing the Buddha were postponed, which made the shamans near and far flee when they heard the news, and there were many Buddha statues and scriptures. None of Wei's temples and pagodas were spared, which was called too difficult in history. Shortly after the abolition of the Buddha, Kou died of illness, and later he was beheaded for writing "History of Wei", which despised the Hu nationality and killed more than 100 people. Six years after the abolition of Buddhism, Wu Tai, the Wei Emperor, died, Wei ascended the throne, and the imperial edict revived Buddhism, which gradually resumed development.
Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Buddha.
background
Yuwen Yong (543-578), whose name is Friend Lotu, is the fourth son of Yu Wentai. He was emperor for eighteen years and died at the age of thirty-five. Known as Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was a famous politician and strategist in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Emperor Wu of Zhou was the British ruler in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Unfortunately, just when he was going to "flatten the Turks and settle the south of the Yangtze River" and realize the ideal of reunifying the whole country, he died on the eve of going out to war, which made future generations lament.
Why did such an outstanding politician and strategist destroy the Buddha? The reason is complicated. First of all, we should review the history of Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty. Yuwen Hu, also known as Saber, is Yu Wentai's nephew. In the Western Wei Dynasty, he was a general and an ordinary soldier. In 556, Yu Wentai was critically ill and ordered Yuwen Hu to assist the young master. Yu Wenhu made a superficial promise. The following year, Yu Wenxuan was made emperor and the Northern Zhou Dynasty was established. Yu Wenxuan's Sexual Congo, Evil Promotes Public Protection and Exclusive Rights. When Yu Wenhu saw that he refused to accept it, he quickly poisoned him and made Yu Wenyu emperor and Ming Di in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. In the fourth year of Ming Di in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Hu poisoned him and changed him to Yu Wenyong, the emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Before Emperor Wu came to power, power was in the hands of Yuwen Hu. Yuwen Hu vigorously preached Buddhism and Taoism, so Liang Wudi also admired Buddhism and Taoism at that time, which may also be a necessity to preserve our sanity. Yong Yuwen
In the second year of Tianhe (567), a man named Wei wrote a letter to Emperor Wu of Zhou, arguing that "Tang and Yu were national security without Buddha; Qi Liang lost his temple and did not get together. But benefiting the people and the country must be the Buddha's heart. Those who care for the Buddha's heart are based on compassion and compassion, and they are happy and have a life, and will not be forced to serve the people. " So he suggested that Emperor Wu of Zhou destroy the Buddha. In 572 AD, after Emperor Wu of Zhou took over from Yuwen Hu and monopolized the power, in December of the following year, he called monks, monks and officials to discuss the issues of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism again. This time, "the emperor got up and sat up and explained the three religions in turn, with Confucianism as the first, Taoism as the second and Buddhism as the last." In fact, putting Buddhism at the bottom is a prelude to the demise of Buddhism. At that time, some Buddhists didn't know what the intention of Emperor Wu of Zhou was, but they argued endlessly, indicating that Buddhism was above Taoism, and they were not convinced. However, other discerning people saw through the thoughts of Emperor Wu of Zhou and pointed out: "If the other party is in a foreign country and is known far and near, it is really strange to suspect that he is seeking soldiers among monks and nuns and occupying land under the pagoda temple." They think that Emperor Wu of Zhou did not achieve the expected purpose, because "but the stubborn monk is not enough to add soldiers; If the temple is for the people, how can it be rich? "
time
Liang Wudi is not afraid of the threat of going to hell after death. On May 15th, the third year of Jiande (574), Emperor Wu of Zhou wrote a letter to "break the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism, destroy the scriptures, and order the shaman and Taoist priests to return to the people". It is also forbidden to swear, and those who are not in the ceremony will be eliminated. " For a time, the Northern Zhou Dynasty "melted Buddhist scriptures and drove monks to break towers ... Buddhist temples and garlands were all common houses, and the Samans released the seeds to make them white". In the sixth year of Jiande (A.D. 577), after the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, it immediately implemented the policy of destroying Buddhism to the developing Buddhist entities, destroying 40,000 monasteries and forcing 3 million monks and nuns to return to the secular world, equivalent to one tenth of the total population at that time. This is of great significance to the feudal court, which urgently needs soldiers and financial resources.
affect
It took a long time for Emperor Wu of Zhou to destroy the Buddha, involving a wide range, touching deeply and achieving considerable results. This is worthy of full affirmation. Therefore, some people praised it at that time: "It is the best policy to strengthen the country and enrich the people if the Emperor moves far away." In fact, the extinction of Buddha also played a role: "There is a little hope for the civilian, the rent is increasing year by year, and the soldiers are growing." Dongping Qi State, Xiding Glory and Guoan Folk Music. It is precisely because of the success of the Northern Zhou Dynasty's campaign to destroy Buddhism that the national strength was greatly enhanced, which laid a solid foundation for the Northern Zhou Dynasty to destroy Qi and even unify the North.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism and Taoism flourished extremely, and Emperor Wu of Zhou created a new way to destroy Buddhism and cut off Taoism, but did not kill monks, which showed the high flexibility of his rule. Even though Emperor Wu of Zhou personally recognized and even admired religious thoughts, when the development of religion conflicts with the operation of the state machine, it is really commendable that he can clearly recognize and make a decisive choice without sticking to tradition. Compared with the feudal monarchs of the same period, that is, the Northern Qi and Jiangzuo regimes, most of them can't face up to the disadvantages brought by the excessive development of religion, especially Buddhism, and blindly promote it, which can set off the flexibility of Zhou Wudi's ruling policy.
Tang Wuzong destroyed the Buddha.
background
Huichang, Tang Wuzong (84 1 ~ 846) was an event to expel the Buddha. It is hard to say that the world will prosper.
In the 14th year of Yuanhe (8 19), Tang Xianzong greeted the Buddha bone (the so-called relic) at Famen Temple in Yufeng. First, he was supported in the palace for three days, and then he was sent to the temple in Beijing for monks and nuns to pay homage, thus once again setting off a national religious fanaticism. At the right time, "the princes and the people give up because they are popular, for fear of being overwhelmed." Those who exhaust their production and give them, those who burn incense and support them "(Zi Jian, Volume 240). Tang Wuzong
In this regard, Han Yu resolutely opposed it from the standpoint of Confucianism. In his view, Buddhism is just a barbarian method, not inherent in China. It was introduced to China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so it did not precede Wang Zhidao. He also said that the popularity of Buddhism made "chaos and death one after another, but fortunately it didn't last long", which was harmful to feudal rule. He emphasized: "The barbarians, who are mainly Buddhists, can't talk to China, and their costumes are unique. I don't speak the words of the former king, I don't obey the laws of the former king, and I don't know the meaning of the minister and the love between father and son, so it is not suitable to worship. So he put forward categorically: "With this bone, we can pay for it and invest in from the mire, which will never be fundamental, break the suspicion of the world and never be confused by future generations." (admonishing and welcoming the Buddha's bones table, complete works of Han Changli, volume 39) and said, "If the Buddha has a spirit, it can be a disaster. If there is a disaster, it should be added to the body. "This table is in conflict with the intention of Xian Zong to serve Buddha, and the previous generations of emperors served Buddha for a short time, which led to Xian Zong's great anger and wanted to kill Han Yu. After Pei Du, Cui Qun and others interceded, he was finally demoted to Chaozhou Secretariat.
Han Yu's anti-Buddhism was carried out at the peak of Buddhism, which had a far-reaching influence compared with Fu Yi's anti-Buddhism in the early Tang Dynasty. Historically, Han Yu "never liked Buddhism" and believed in Confucius and Mencius. He felt that after the Anshi Rebellion, the buffer region was powerful and the central government was weakened. He also felt the decline of Confucianism and the spread of Buddhism and Taoism. He has written papers such as Primitive Road, Primitive Nature and Primitive Man. In these papers, he believes that only by vigorously supporting the famous religion, advocating Confucius and Mencius' loyalty and filial piety, and limiting the spread of Buddhism and Taoism can centralized rule be effectively consolidated. He pointed out in "The Original Road": "Today's law says: we must abandon the monarch and the minister, go to the father and son, and ban the way of mutual assistance, so as to be pure and silent"; "Now I also want to rule my heart, and the country outside the world will destroy its nature. The son is not the father, the minister is not the king, and the people are not doing things"; "Today, the method of introducing foreign land is also taught by the former king, and geometry is unprofessional." In other words, Buddhism's abandonment of Confucian orthodoxy is harmful to the national economy and people's livelihood, and it is against cultural traditions and must be rejected.
In order to achieve the goal of expelling Buddhism, Han Yu put forward the Confucian orthodoxy as the main line of national culture to oppose the inheritance of various Buddhist sects. He believes that he has got the true biography of Confucianism, taking the inheritance and development of Taoism from Yao Shun to Mencius as his historical mission, and trying to develop Buddhism and Taoism by imitating Mencius' yang-nourishing spirit and Mohism. Based on this, he especially praised the theoretical system of the university. "University" focuses on governing the country and is linked to personal moral cultivation. Buddhism advocates nativism, which not only violates feudal ethics, but also denies the concept of national supremacy, so Buddhism cannot be tolerated.
The starting point and argument basis of Han Yu's anti-Buddhism is to strengthen the political and economic interests of the central government and establish the orthodox position of Confucian culture, which is much deeper than the social and ideological issues involved by Fu Yi. In order to realize his political ideal of Confucianism, he put forward the slogan of "people, burn their books and live in their houses" in the original way, trying to completely abolish Buddhism by administrative means. This thought provided an important basis for the extinction of Buddhism in Tang Wuzong. His exclusive respect for Confucianism and Confucian orthodoxy had a significant impact on the formation of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty.
Tang Zhongzong was also a successful emperor. Since then, political corruption, factional struggles, and the decline of the country, while Tang Muzong, Tang Jingzong, Tang Wenzong and others preached Buddhism as usual, the number of monks and nuns kept rising, and the temple economy continued to develop, which greatly weakened the power of the government and increased the burden on the country. After Tang Wuzong ascended the throne, he decided to abolish the Buddha while rectifying the platform, recovering lost territory and stabilizing the frontier. He wrote in the letter of abolishing the Buddha: "In Kyushu Mountain, both of them are deserted, and there are more and more monks, and Buddhist temples worship. Civil engineering rewards merit, and robbing people is conducive to Jinbao decoration; When you leave your husband behind your teacher, you violate your spouse's commandments. Evil laws do harm to people, nothing more than this. Some people endure hunger; Women are not silkworms, there are those who suffer from their cold. Today, countless monks and nuns are waiting for farmers to eat and silkworms to dress. There are a lot of tricks in the temple, and I don't know anything about Ji Ji. It's all clouds and algae, and I take over the palace. Jin, Song, Liang and Qi, material resources are dying, and customs are deceiving. " In his view, abolishing Buddha is the only way to "punish the eternal source, learn from hundreds of kings, help others, and benefit the public" (Volume 18 of Wu Zongchuan's Old Tang Book). This is the main reason why Wu Zong was determined to destroy the Buddha.
Before Tang Wuzong ascended the throne, he preferred Taoism. After he acceded to the throne, he called eighty-one people, including Taoist Zhao Guizhen, into the palace, built the "Jinsu Dojo" in the three halls, and personally went to the three halls to receive the Dharma. While believing in Taoism more and more, Wu Zong began to rectify Buddhism. However, Zhao Guizhen, who was slandered by monks in Beijing, often felt "heartbroken, when can I forget" (Biography of the Song Monks, Volume 17). At this time, he took advantage of Wuzong's partial belief in Taoism, and the palace "will be destroyed when it is right" ("Buddhist Biography of Past Dynasties"). He recommended Taoist priests Deng and others to Wuzong, and with their voices, they plotted to destroy the Buddha. The incitement of Taoist priests strengthened Tang Wuzong's determination to destroy Buddha.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty declined rapidly. The courage and confidence to be tolerant and completely open to foreign cultures have been lost. As a foreign religion, Buddhism is naturally excluded. In April of the third year of Huichang (843), the imperial court "ordered the Mani master in the world to be killed, and shaved his hair to make the cassock be killed in the form of a shaman" (Volume III of Renyuan Datang Seeking Dharma). In March of the fourth year of Huichang, he was named "Professor Zuo You Jie Dao Men". "Being favored by all parties, ruining the family, not being taught by China, is life-consuming and should be removed. The emperor was quite convinced ("Wu Zongchuan, Old Tang Book, Volume 18").
time
The demise of Buddhism in Tang Wuzong actually began in the early years of Huichang and reached its climax in the late years of Huichang. As early as the second year of Huichang (842), Wu Zong had secularized the criminals and lawbreakers among monks and nuns, confiscated all their property and "charged two taxes" (Volume 18 of Wu Zongzhuan and Old Tang Shu). In July of the fourth year of Huichang, imperial edicts were issued to demolish all temples, Lan Ruo and Buddhist temples. There are less than 200 monks and nuns in the world, and all of them are ordered to return to the secular.
In March of the fifth year of Huichang, an imperial edict forbade all monasteries in the world to build manors, and ordered an inventory of all monasteries, their monks and nuns, handmaiden and property to prepare for the complete extinction of Buddhism. In April of the same year, a nationwide campaign to destroy Buddha was launched. Monks and nuns, whether they have families or not, make them secular; All the temples were destroyed; All the bronze statues and bells of the abandoned temple were handed over to salt and iron to melt and cast money, and iron was handed over to the state as a farm tool for casting. In August, the imperial edict announced the result of destroying the Buddha: "More than 4,600 monasteries have been demolished in the world, and 260,500 monks and nuns have converted to secular monks and nuns, and two households have been taxed; Demolition of more than 40,000 Lanruo schools, expropriation of tens of millions of hectares of land, and collection of handmaiden 150,000 tax households. " At the same time, in order to "not mix the Chinese style", he "encouraged Qin Baomin and only secularized 3,000 people".
affect
The destruction of Buddhism in Huichang was a heavy blow to Buddhism. According to the eyewitness account of Japanese monk Ren Yuan, there are "dilapidated monasteries and naked Buddha statues" everywhere in the temples in Shandong and Hebei, and "dilapidated monasteries can't eat much; The holy tomb was late and no one repaired it (Volume 4 of Exploring the Laws of the Tang Dynasty). In Jiangnan, it is also a situation of "decadent temples and accumulated years" (Xiulonggong Temple Monument and Jinshi Cui Bian (volume 108). Shortly thereafter, the peasant war broke out in the late Tang Dynasty, which was another shock to Buddhism. Because the temple economy was stripped off, monks and nuns were forced to return to secularism, temples were destroyed and scriptures were lost, which made the Buddhist sects lose the objective conditions for prosperity. Therefore, Buddhism needs the advocacy of new powerful people and adopts new forms of survival and development.
To sum up, the "Three Extinctions to Destroy the Buddha" was mainly related to the increasingly prominent contradiction of economic interests between monks and secular landlords at that time, and most of them were related to the collision and intersection of different cultures in the ideological field. That is to say, the "Three Extinctions to Eliminate Buddhism" is the result of the negative impact of the development of Buddhism on the normal operation of social economy on the one hand, and the result of the struggle between Buddhism and China Confucian orthodox culture and Taoist culture for ideological dominance on the other. Of course, the "Three Extinctions to Destroy the Buddha" is more directly related to the will and decision of the ruling class, especially the supreme ruler. Under the operation of feudal autocratic centralization mechanism, the emperor's attitude towards Buddhism can even play a decisive role in the rise and fall of Buddhism. Therefore, the author believes that Buddhism, as a foreign religion, is bound to be restricted by China's socio-economic foundation and superstructure when it evolves and expands its living space, and the inherent political characteristics of "absolute obedience to divine power and kingship" in China society show that Buddhism, a religious culture that preaches the idea of being born, cannot be separated from the harsh specific conditions of China society. Buddhism, as an increasingly China ideology, cannot be destroyed materially. Although Buddhism revived rapidly after the catastrophe, showing great vitality, the "Three Extinctions to Eliminate Buddhism" added a bumpy and tragic color to the development of Buddhism in China with cruel facts. But the demise of Buddhism also shows that when the development of Buddhism is conducive to feudal rule, it will be supported and fostered; Once you leave or deviate from the feudal political track, you will be hit and restricted. In a word, theocracy must obey kingship, and religion must serve feudal rule. It is in this environment that the tortuous development of Buddhism has become a prominent feature of the spread of Buddhism in China, and it is also one of the objective reasons for promoting the China of Buddhism. In a word, theocracy and kingship, the twin brothers of feudal society, will eventually cooperate for their own development. Buddhism adapted to China society, learned to "depend on the country" and then "legislate"; The feudal regime continued to use the "persuasion" function of Buddhism to consolidate the regime.