Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 354 A strong man descends from the sky
Zhiluojian was a Hu monk from Yuezhi (Kushan) who entered the Han Dynasty at the end of Emperor Huan's reign and studied Chinese studies in Luoyang. During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Zhiluojian translated a large number of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.

When Dong Zhuo moved west to Chang'an, Zhiluo Jianchen was forcibly moved to Chang'an. When Zhang Yu entered Chang'an, Zhiluo Jianchen lived in Chang'an for many years due to the war, and taught Buddhism, with hundreds of disciples.

At the moment, Jingzhao Yin Dong Zhao was worried about Buddhists evading taxes, so he banned Han people from becoming monks and forced monks to pay taxes. In order to spread Mahayana Buddhism, Zhi Luojian naturally went to Anyi to meet Zhang Yu, hoping that Zhang Yu would give him preferential policies.

"The Hu monk Zhichen comes to see the general!"

The kind-looking old Hu monk bowed respectfully to Zhang Yu and said.

Zhang Yu returned the greeting symbolically and said, "I wonder what the master is doing?"

Seeing Zhang Yu return the Buddhist greeting, Zhi Chen was very excited and said, "I dare not hide it from you, my lord. I am here to pay my respects to the monks of Prajna Temple."

Zhang Yu had some knowledge of this beforehand and said, "The Jingzhao Yin banned Han people from becoming monks in order to follow the old policy of our dynasty. I hope you can understand."

Zhang Yu did not have a favorable impression of Buddhists. His response with Buddhist salutes was more of a sign of respect for Zhi Chen, who, after all, had gone through so much hardship from the Kushan Empire to the Han Dynasty purely out of idealism.

Zhang Yu's willingness to meet Zhi Chen was nothing more than maintaining an open attitude towards the outside world. After all, there are so many nations and religions in the world, and they all have their own unique advantages. Therefore, learning from them and discarding their dross is the right way. Moreover, the situation in Central Asia today is different from that in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because the Kushan Empire worshipped Buddha, the Western Regions and Central Asian countries all valued Buddhism.

As for the policy mentioned by Zhang Yu that prohibited Han people from becoming monks, it actually came from Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang.

Liu Zhuang dreamed of a golden man at night, and ordered people to welcome Buddhism from the west and build the White Horse Temple in Luoyang. However, Liu Zhuang prohibited Han people from becoming monks on the grounds that "the Chinese and the Rong have different systems, and the gods are different..., and the Chinese and the Han people should not be mixed." In history, the first Han person to become a monk was Zhu Shixing (Zhu Bajie) during the Cao Wei period.

Seeing Zhang Yu reiterated his attitude, Zhi Chen asked calmly, "May I ask whether you believe in Confucianism?"

"letter!"

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Confucianism educates the people and has the art of governing a country, so the Han people regard Confucianism as a prominent school of thought."

Zhi Chen smiled and said, "Confucianism educates the people, encourages them to be kind, and teaches them to be grateful and filial. Buddhism encourages people to be compassionate, abstain from killing and release animals, and return to the world to repay kindness. It also has the merit of education, and is similar to Taoism's inaction and self-cultivation. So why do you value Taoism more and neglect Buddhism?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "Taoism advocates non-action, which means light taxes and levies, simple government and few documents, so that the people can rest and recuperate on their own. Although Buddhism encourages people to be good, it advocates reincarnation. Besides, I have never heard of a king who values Buddhism and can govern the world well."

Zhi Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, you may not know that Confucianism emphasizes the Five Constant Virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge, and trustworthiness. Without studying the classics, one cannot understand Prajna (wisdom). However, Buddhism has the Five Precepts, which are benevolence when not killing, righteousness when not stealing, propriety when not committing adultery, wisdom when not drinking, and trustworthiness when not lying. Confucianism and Buddhism are similar in nature."

"Taoism emphasizes non-action, but it teaches people to practice. Buddhism emphasizes compassion, and encourages people to be kind and worship Buddha. Although the teachings of Huang and Tu are different, they are similar. Moreover, you said that no king can rule the world with the Buddha, but you don't know the Kushan King Kanishka."

Zhi Chen recalled the memories in his mind and said, "Ming Wang was the founding king of Kushan. He conquered Dayuan in the north, replaced Yuezhi in the east, conquered Magadha in the south, and conquered Parthia in the west. His territory was vast, far superior to Yuezhi. And Ming Wang followed Ashoka's example in ruling the people of all ethnic groups, valuing Buddhism, building temples, and educating the people of the world. Therefore, the Kushan king was able to rule the world with the greatness of Buddhism, so why is it that Buddhism cannot rule the world."

Zhang Yu scratched his head. He knew a lot about Chinese history, but little about the changes in the states of Central Asia and North India. In reality, after localization in East Asia, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism have many similar ideas. However, there are significant differences and similarities among the three, because the threshold for understanding Confucianism is high, while the Buddhist reincarnation theory can attract people of all ethnic groups and is more universal.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Yu asked, "Master, you are very knowledgeable. What do you want from me now?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's attitude soften, Zhi Chen said respectfully: "I do not ask you to worship Buddhism, but I only hope that you can lift the ban on Buddhism and allow the common people to become monks, and treat Taoism equally."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The Jingzhao Yin banned Buddhism not because he didn't want the people to be ordained, but because he was worried that the monks would not work, pay taxes, and instead exploit the people."

Zhang Yu rejected Buddhism for two reasons. First, Buddhist monks used the teachings of ghosts and gods to confuse the people and squeeze money and food from them. Second, he was worried that Buddhism did not involve production and would conceal the land.

However, Zhang Yu was not unacceptable to the first point. After all, it was due to the limitations of the times. Even in the 21st century, there were still people who were superstitious about ghosts and gods. Therefore, what really made Zhang Yu reject Buddhism was the second point.

Zhi Chen bowed and said, "I am willing to resolve your concerns. I, the Buddhist monk, have received the land and am willing to pay taxes according to the law. However, if the Buddhist monks are unable to cultivate the land through alms, I hope you can reduce or exempt the taxes."

"If everyone uses the Buddhist monks' ascetic practice as an excuse, wouldn't everyone be able to reduce taxes?" Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "I have no intention of making things difficult for the Buddhists. If a temple is built in Han territory, the monks must pay land taxes and human taxes!"

"Handi?"

Zhi Chen was touched and asked, "If I, a monk, build a temple in the territory of Qiang, Di, and Xianbei, I wonder how I will be treated?" Seeing that Zhi Chen intended to preach in the territory of the Hu people, Zhang Yu said, "If the monk builds a temple in the Hu territory, I would like to order the leaders of each tribe to worship Buddhism. And those who become monks will be exempted from labor service, taxes, military service, etc., but once they become monks, they are not allowed to return to secular life."

Zhi Chen seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "There should be differences between the Han border and the Hu country. Han people need to work as monks, while Hu people can study Buddhism as monks."

Zhang Yu said: "Not only that, the monks must be supervised by the General's Office and be granted the title of Master by me!"

The trend of Buddhism spreading in East Asia could not be stopped by Zhang Yu alone. Therefore, if Buddhism could be spread under his guidance, it might become a powerful tool for him to control ethnic minorities and tame the fierce Hu people into docile people.

After all, the Qing Dynasty ruled Mongolia. In order to keep Mongolia pedantic and backward, it not only prohibited the Han people from interacting with Mongolia, but also implemented the policy of "promoting the Yellow Sect to pacify the Mongols." Now Zhang Yu does not mind learning from the Qing Dynasty's policies and using religion to restrain the regime of the Hu tribe leader.

"On behalf of all the monks, I would like to thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency!" Zhi Chen bowed and said.

Zhi Chen had traveled the world for decades, so how could he not know that Zhang Yu intended to use the monks to rule the Hu people? However, in order to spread Mahayana Buddhism, Zhi Chen was willing to accept Zhang Yu's conditions.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Master, you are from the Western Regions and are very knowledgeable. I intend to hire you as my staff member so that I can consult you on matters in the West. When you have nothing to do, you can live in a temple outside the city and study Buddhism with the Western monks."

"If your Excellency does not despise me for my humble knowledge, I am willing to serve you."

Seeing that he could work beside Zhang Yu, Zhi Chen thought about it and agreed.

Zhang Yu thought of something and asked, "Do you know the language of the Western Regions?"

"Know a thing or two!"

"Master, thank you for teaching me and my disciples the Western Regions' barbarian language!"

Zhi Chen was overjoyed and said, "Your Excellency is a man of Prajna, and now you have learned the Western Regions' Hu language, which should be easy for you!"

"good!"

If we ignore Zhi Chen's identity as a foreign monk, he is a rare international talent in the world, especially proficient in the affairs of the Western Regions and Central Asia. Although Zhang Yu has not yet unified the world, Zhi Chen's profound knowledge may provide Zhang Yu with a new perspective on some things.

Moreover, as a high-ranking monk, Zhi Chen would be more helpful for Zhang Yu to understand the original Buddhism so that he could reform Buddhism.

As for learning the Hu language of the Western Regions, it was from another dimension. For example, since Zhang Yu started his career, his ability to speak the Xianbei Hu language helped him a lot. Now it must be said that Zhang Yu was very ambitious. At present, the Central Plains had not yet been unified, so he looked to the more vast Western Regions and Central Asia.

After a few pleasantries, Zhi Chen left with satisfaction.

"Your Excellency allows the Hu monks to preach in the Hu territory. Do you want to eliminate the barbaric nature of the Hu people?" Jia Xu asked.

Seeing Jia Xu's unique vision, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "To control the Hu people, I need to win over the leader of the Hu tribe. If the leader is fickle, the Hu people will be restless. Now, if we allow the Hu monks to enter the Hu tribe to preach, we can restrain the leader of the Hu tribe. If we want to control the crude Hu people, we have to do both."

Jia Xu praised and said: "Your Excellency is really wise in governing. In previous dynasties, the leaders of the Hu people were appeased. Now using Shamen to govern the Hu people can not only persuade the Hu people to be good, but also restrain the Hu tribe."

“Shamans are coming to China for the first time!”

Zhang Yu said with regret: "If we want to make the barbarians believe in the monks, even if we work for decades or even hundreds of years, it will not be enough to see results!"

"Your Excellency is the one who planted the trees, and the people in the future will enjoy your grace!" Jia Xu complimented.

"I hope so!" Zhang Yu sighed.

Compared with before, Zhang Yu's thoughts have gradually changed. Now he not only firmly believes in the strong man who falls from the sky, but he even hopes to become a strong man who falls from the sky and leaves his name in history.

(End of this chapter)