The magnolia is a precious flower in ancient my country. It blooms in May every year. The flowers have eight petals and are like white jade plates. The flowers are as beautiful as dancing jade butterflies. It is said that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once visited Yangzhou to see the magnolias, and thus the magnolias became famous all over the world. Every year at the turn of spring and summer, there is an endless stream of people coming to enjoy the flowers.

The front of Pingyuan Tower is also covered with lotus flowers. On the east side is the "Tōshōdaiji Lotus", on the west side is the "Tōshōdaiji Blue Lotus", and in the middle is the "Sino-Japanese Friendship Lotus".

It is said that in the spring of 1980, in order to celebrate the "Japanese National Treasure Statue of Monk Jianzhen" exhibition in Yangzhou Daming Temple, the Botanical Research Institute sent someone to deliver these three lotus varieties here. The ancient stone basins used to plant the lotus were antiques from the Ming and Qing dynasties and were specially selected and configured by the Yangzhou Garden Management Office.

Yan Chenyu and Koala walked eastward from the main hall and saw the most distinctive building of the Daming Temple, the Jianzhen Memorial Hall. The memorial hall was built to commemorate the 1,200th anniversary of the death of Master Jianzhen, and the foundation stone was laid when China and Japan commemorated the 1,200th anniversary of the death of Master Jianzhen.

The memorial hall was designed according to the architectural rules of the Tang Dynasty and with reference to the style of the "Golden Hall" of Japan's Toshodaiji Temple. It consists of the main hall, stele pavilion and corridors, with strong lines, neat structure, majestic and simple. The design plan was presided over by the famous architect Professor Liang Sicheng, and this was his last work designed during his lifetime.

The courtyard is planted with cherry blossoms, pine trees and green grass, and the whole building looks simple, elegant and solemn. There is also an introduction to Jianzhen's eastward voyage and historical materials on display in the south of the memorial hall. The entire area covers a total area of ​​2,540 square meters.

The ancient Daming Temple produced many famous monks, among whom Jianzhen, the master of Buddhist law in the Tang Dynasty, was the most famous.

Jianzhen (687-763) was a famous monk and medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty. His surname was Chunyu. He became a monk at Dayun Temple at the age of 14 and went to Chang'an to receive the "full precepts" from Master Hongjing at the age of 20. He traveled around the two capitals (Chang'an and Luoyang) and studied the Tripitaka. He specialized in Buddhist Vinaya classics such as Master Fali's "Four-Part Vinaya Commentary", Master Dingbin's "Shi Zong Yi Ji" and Master Daoxuan's "Xingshi Chao", and eventually became the successor of the Nanshan School of Vinaya.

Jianzhen returned to Yangzhou at the age of 26, and became the abbot of Daming Temple at the age of 55. He preached precepts and taught Buddhist precepts, built temples and pagodas, and sculpted Buddha statues, becoming a learned and talented master of Buddhism.

In the first year of Tianbao (742), Japanese monks Rongrui and Puzhao were entrusted by the Japanese Buddhist community and the emperor to invite him to Japan to preach, and Jianzhen gladly agreed. From that year to the twelfth year of Tianbao, in 12 years, he led people to cross the sea five times, but failed due to sea waves, reefs, and obstruction by local officials. In particular, the fifth time he drifted on the sea for 14 days.

On the way back, his Japanese disciple Rongrui died. Jianzhen was deeply saddened. In addition to the heat, he suddenly developed an eye disease, which caused him to lose his sight. However, his determination to spread Buddhism in the East became stronger. In the 12th year of Tianbao, Jianzhen, who was 66 years old, went to the East for the sixth time with the Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty. Finally, he arrived in Japan. Master Jianzhen brought a large number of Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist utensils and Buddhist statues, as well as 38 skilled craftsmen.

When he arrived in Japan, he promoted Buddhism and taught the precepts, while also spreading Chinese culture, teaching medical knowledge, and helping Japan build Buddhist temples. The Toshodaiji Temple in Nara City, which Jianzhen presided over the construction of, retains the style of Tang Dynasty architecture and is still a national treasure of Japan.

Jianzhen was knowledgeable and versatile in medicine. He was very compassionate. He once presided over the Beitianyuan of Dayun Temple and treated people. He personally prepared medicine for the sick and cured the illnesses of Empress Dowager Komyo and Emperor Shomu. The Japanese Emperor conferred the titles of "Daishotsu" and "Yamatosho" on Jianzhen. The Japanese people called Jianzhen "the roof of the Tempyo era", meaning that his achievements were enough to represent the roof of the culture of the Tempyo era.

Before Jianzhen's voyage to Japan, monks from the Tang Dynasty, such as Daorui Zen Master of Luoyang Dafuxian Temple, had been invited to the voyage. Why did Japan insist on inviting Jianzhen? Moreover, after arriving in Japan, Jianzhen's status was much higher than that of monks from China, India, Baekje and other places at the same time.

Some researchers believe that Japan invited eminent monks from the Tang Dynasty to spread Buddhism mainly to solve the problem of lax discipline among Japanese monks. Japanese people generally adopt the "self-vow and voluntary" method to become monks. There are many different interpretations of the discipline. In other words, anyone can declare himself a monk as long as he wants, and there are no disciplines to restrict him.

The Japanese government and the public both highly respected Buddhism, but they felt that they could not trust such casual monks. Therefore, strict precepts were created to regulate the requirements for monks through the process of taking precepts.

Due to different Buddhist sects, the content of the precepts varies greatly. Generally, monks receive the Five Precepts, Eight Precepts, Ten Precepts, etc. The most strict ones are the Mahayana followers, who must receive 250 precepts, called the "Complete Precepts". No one in Japan understood this strict precepts at the time, so they decided to go to China to hire eminent monks.

Jianzhen was a monk who had received the "full ordination" and had ordained more than 40,000 monks before he went to Japan. He was exactly the ideal candidate that the Japanese were looking for. Today, the Buddhist community in Japan no longer rejects eating meat and marrying wives, and the Vinaya monks in the Toshodaiji Temple founded by Master Jianzhen are still one of the few monks in Japan who strictly observe the precepts, except for the Rinzai sect.

Jianzhen lived in Japan for 10 years and died of illness in Nara, Japan in the first year of Guangde in the Tang Dynasty (763) at the age of 76. During his 10 years in Japan, he established the Vinaya school for Japan and revised the Japanese Tripitaka.

He also introduced Chinese architecture and sculpture to Japan. Under his personal design and supervision, the Toshodaiji Temple was built in Nara, Japan.

In addition, he cured the eye disease of the Empress Dowager of Japan, identified medicines by her sense of smell, introduced medical knowledge to the Japanese people, exchanged Chinese science and technology such as Buddhism, linguistics, literature, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy, and printing, promoted the development of Japanese culture, and was hailed by the Japanese people as the "Father of Culture" and the "Founder of the Vinaya School."

The red lacquer statue of Jianzhen, which was made by his disciples before his death, is enshrined in the Toshodaiji Temple in Japan. It is now a national treasure of Japan. In 1980, the statue of Jianzhen was exhibited in Beijing and Yangzhou, China, for nearly a month.

In order to welcome the return of the statue of Master Jianzhen to China for a tour, Chairman Zhao Puchu inscribed a stone tablet with the inscription "Wind and Moon in the Same Sky" and placed it on the west window door on the east side of the main hall of the Jianzhen Memorial Hall. This window door is the only way for the Japanese national treasure Jianzhen statue to pass through when it returns to Yangzhou to "visit relatives" to lead to the main hall of the Jianzhen Memorial Hall.

When Elder Morimoto Takashun escorted the statue of Master Jianzhen from the Huaguo History Museum to the Fayuan Temple for exhibition on May 4, he was welcomed by more than 100 monks from various temples in the capital who gathered at the Fayuan Temple. Coming out of the "Jianzhen Memorial Hall" and passing through a courtyard, you will reach the "Master Jianzhen Memorial Pavilion".

Inside the pavilion lies a huge white marble stele with a Sumeru pedestal. On the front is the inscription "Memorial to Great Monk Jianzhen of the Tang Dynasty" written by Guo Moruo. On the back is the inscription and eulogy written by Zhao Puchu to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of Jianzhen's death.

There is a head statue of the famous architect Liang Sicheng on the right front side of the memorial pavilion. In order to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of Jianzhen's death, China and Japan decided to build the "Jianzhen Memorial Hall" in Yangzhou Daming Temple and held a foundation laying ceremony.

The Jianzhen Memorial Hall was designed by the famous architect Liang Sicheng. It has a foyer, stele pavilion, main hall, east and west corridors, covering an area of ​​2,540 square meters. The entire building is in the Tang Dynasty style, and the main hall is similar to the main hall of Toshodaiji Temple in Nara, Japan.

On the front left side of the memorial pavilion stands a bust of Zhao Puchu, former president of the Chinese Buddhist Association, and next to the statue is a poetry stele.

Zhao Puchu's "Dream of Yangzhou? Visiting Jianzhen's Former Residence" The sky opens at dusk, and I see a cloud flying over the river. I shake my clothes and walk on Shugang, and I miss the ancient lofty footsteps. I sacrificed my life to spread the doctrine, and crossed the wind and waves to Penglai. In the Nara period, Shodaiji Temple, the elegance and grace are endless!

The masters of the two countries jointly promote it, and Gu Su, who is good at poetry and wine, is the only one who can follow and accompany him. The bright moon in Yangzhou, how many heroic talents! The east wind changes the face of Wucheng, and the rewards of the group's merits are poured into Jianghuai. The important task of Luliang is left to us.

The temple was in the middle of the stone lantern presented by the elder Morimoto Takajun of Toshodaiji Temple in Nara, Japan. In his speech at the Japanese Congress, he said: "There is a stone lantern in the Daming Temple in Yangzhou. It is a pair with the stone lantern in Toshodaiji Temple in Japan. It is still burning today, symbolizing the everlasting friendship between China and Japan."

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

The main hall is an imitation of the Golden Hall of Toshodaiji Temple built in Japan under the supervision of Jianzhen. In the center of the memorial hall is a seated statue of Master Jianzhen. This statue is an imitation of the statue of Jianzhen in Toshodaiji Temple in Nara, Japan, and is made of nanmu carved with dry lacquer and paper.

There is a copper incense burner in front of the statue, which was given by Emperor Hirohito of Japan to commend Master Jianzhen for his great contribution to the cause of Japan-China friendship. On the left side of the main hall is the "model of the Tang envoy ship" used by Jianzhen when he sailed to Japan.

In one cabinet are displayed commemorative banners presented to China by Japanese friendly delegations when they visited the Jianzhen Memorial Hall in the 1970s and 1980s.

More than a thousand years later, Master Jianzhen is still playing a great role in promoting friendship between China and Japan. The memorial hall uses a large number of pictures and text materials to reflect the life of Master Jianzhen and his tragic experience of going through hardships and dangers, crossing the sea six times, and bringing Tang Buddhism and culture to Japan.

The memorial hall contains photos of the 1980 return of the lacquer statue of Jianzhen from the Toshodaiji Temple in Japan, including a group photo of Comrade Deng meeting with the elder Moriki Takashun of the Toshodaiji Temple in Japan, who escorted the lacquer statue of Jianzhen back to China for exhibition. There is also a copy of the article "A Grand Event of Far-reaching Significance" written by Secretary Deng and published in the newspaper at that time.

Opposite the entrance hall of the memorial hall was the Qingkong Pavilion, which is now the exhibition room for the cultural relics and historical materials of Jianzhen's life. Under the advocacy of Master Hsing Yun, the foundation donated more than 50 million yuan to build the Jianzhen Library. When the Jianzhen Library was completed, Master Hsing Yun personally came to Yangzhou to cut the ribbon and participated in the tree planting activities.

Mr. Kazuo Ikeda, a famous Japanese Buddhist expert, spent a huge amount of money to purchase a rare white jade Buddha head from the Yongkang period of the Western Jin Dynasty. This Buddha head is more than 1,700 years old and its value is immeasurable.

In his later years, Kazuo Ikeda had a strong desire to return this Buddha head to its hometown, China. After many twists and turns, through the help of Le Feng, deputy director of the Chen Congzhou Art Museum and vice president of the Folk Culture Society, it finally returned to the Daming Temple in Yangzhou.

To commemorate the return of the Buddha's head, a pavilion similar to Japanese architecture was built in Daming Temple. Couplets on the Hongfo Pavilion: A thousand years of great virtues follow the clouds; a ray of Buddha's heart accompanies the moon. (Want to know more exciting updates about "He Came from the End of the World"? Open WeChat now, click the "+" sign in the upper right corner, select Add Friends to add a public account, search for "", follow the public account, and never miss any updates!) (To be continued..)