Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 143: The Propagation of Buddhism Through Woodblock Printing, the Enduring Charm of Ink

Woodblock printing appeared at least as early as the early Tang Dynasty. The early woodblock printed materials discovered in later generations were mostly Buddhist scriptures and images of Buddha, and the content gradually became more and more diverse.

By the mid-Tang Dynasty, the application of woodblock printing had become increasingly widespread, and it had broken through the limitations of religious themes, beginning to print poems, legends, and other content for sale as commodities.

Zhang Dai was somewhat surprised to discover a complete printing industry chain at Changshou Temple, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

“There is a Monk’s Office in the temple, and all the monks and laborers are under the management of the Monk’s Office.”

Seeing how concerned Zhang Dai was about this matter, the monk Hui'an searched through a pile of records and found more relevant information to present to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai immediately picked up these records and browsed through them one by one. He discovered that Changshou Temple had been in business for quite some time. As early as when the temple was founded, it had already begun to carve and print images of Maitreya Buddha to distribute to believers.

At that time, it was during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, and Changshou Temple was built by order of her. In order to create her own sacredness, she claimed to be the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha. Therefore, Changshou Temple did these things with certain political purposes.

However, after the Shenlong Revolution, the relevant financial subsidies stopped, and Changshou Temple had to find its own way to make a living. The printing industry was also interrupted for a time until several years ago when its former abbot took over the temple affairs. He then used the original industrial technology and craftsmen to create cultural and creative products such as peace paper, which revitalized this traditional industry.

Zhang Dai then searched through the nearest and most complete industry records and found that this Moleyuan had the highest revenue last year, with profits reaching as much as 80,000 strings of cash!
Although he often discusses tens or even hundreds of thousands of strings of cash lately, it doesn't mean that 80,000 strings of cash is a small amount. If a family could have an industry that generates tens of thousands of strings of cash in stable income, they would be laughing in their dreams!
The cultural and creative products such as the "Peace Paper" produced by Changshou Temple's Moleyuan branch are not Buddhist offerings aimed at high-end customers. For example, Wei Lin used them as gifts when visiting him. Their real audience was ordinary people who came and went in Luoyang.

The profits from these people can amount to tens of thousands of strings of cash every year, which shows that the profits in this industry are indeed very considerable!
However, what Zhang Dai truly valued was not its commercial performance. Money, at a certain point, really is just a number. If one cannot use money to have a profound impact on society and to carry out reforms, then earning a little more or a little less is meaningless.

Take Zhang Dai as an example. Although he has not yet achieved true wealth and status, money is not a very important thing to him. The significance of acquiring money lies more in expanding his network of contacts and exchanging for more social resources, such as for far-reaching things like disaster relief.

Woodblock printing during the prosperous Tang Dynasty was definitely a new type of productive force. Its role was not limited to disseminating religious content. The further promotion and dissemination of culture was also one of the results of the development and maturation of printing technology.

Zhang Dai wanted to learn more about the technical level and production model of the Mole Institute, so he asked the monk Huian to arrange for a novice to take him to the institute. Gao Chengxin was still focused on reviewing the inventory warehouse's ledgers and did not pay any attention to this matter.

Changshou Temple is quite large, and its interior is divided into several monastic courtyards. Mole Courtyard is one of them, located in the southwest corner of the temple. The Yi River flows into the city and passes through the south of the courtyard.

As Zhang Dai approached, he smelled a strong, pungent odor of cooking oil, which made him frown. He noticed that the other monks in the temple rarely came near this place, clearly because they couldn't stand the smell.

The area of ​​Mole Temple is not small; it resembles a small community. After the novice monk led Zhang Dai inside, they saw many men and women moving around in front of and behind the houses and in the courtyards.

Rows of wooden racks lined the courtyard, with paper drying on them. To the south, near the Yi River, lay a large pond filled with papermaking raw materials, emitting a rotten smell. The pungent smell of cooking oil emanated from several rooms along the river; the novice monk explained that these were the ink rooms.

Besides the papermaking and ink-making workshops, the engraving and printing workshops were connected. Because the temple was currently under lockdown, these monks were only producing and storing paper and ink materials and had not yet begun printing.

Zhang Dai arrived at the woodblock printing room, where a large number of printing blocks were stored, and several woodblock craftsmen were applying tung oil to the printing blocks for maintenance.

"You all go out first and answer the important person's question!"

The air inside was too pungent. Zhang Dai stood at the door and gestured for the novice monk to go in and summon the craftsmen for questioning.

None of the craftsmen were monks from the temple; they appeared rather awkward and reserved, and became even more nervous after being summoned to the doorway.

"Don't be afraid, I've only come to ask about these woodblocks. What are they made of? How long does it take to make one block? And how many times can they generally be used?"

Zhang Dai was basically a novice in the industry and had many questions. The craftsmen had limited language skills and answered questions haltingly, but with Zhang Dai's patient questioning, they were able to answer most of his questions.

The current woodblock printing technology is far more advanced than he imagined, and it is no longer limited to printing single pages; it already supports printing books in rolls.

The Changshou Temple still preserves a complete set of woodblock prints of the "Dayun Sutra Commentary," a scripture used to promote Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne. It was printed and disseminated during the reign of Empress Wu.

In other words, current woodblock printing technology is quite comprehensive, but it hasn't been widely applied due to insufficient commercial development. After all, woodblock production requires time and money; if the printed content cannot circulate widely after the woodblocks are made, it will undoubtedly result in a huge loss. Only scriptures with strong political purposes, such as the *Dayun Jing Shu*, would be printed regardless of cost.

"How many craftsmen are left here? Why is the environment so dirty and chaotic?"

Zhang Dai had already decided to take over the entire place, including the people and the land. So he wandered around and observed the place again. He found that in addition to the serious air pollution, the production and living areas were mixed together, and all kinds of production waste and domestic filth were everywhere. The men and women were also pale and dressed in rags.

"This is where the servants and laborers live. It is a place where lowly people gather, so it is inevitably dirty and messy. Please forgive us for disturbing the nobleman's sight and hearing."

The supervising monk in charge of the temple affairs hurried in from outside. Upon hearing Zhang Dai's question, he quickly bowed and said, "There are still more than two hundred male and female slaves here. Recently, the government raided our estates outside the city and confiscated some of them..."

"Then what are you? The people here work hard day and night, collecting grains and money to support your monks' clothing and food. If you are still considered lowly, then what are you monks who, after becoming monks, do not serve your parents, do not uphold the precepts, do not recite scriptures, and do not respect the Buddha when you worship him?

Zhang Dai originally wanted to know more, but after hearing the supervisor monk's cold and contemptuous reply, he couldn't help but glare at him and say coldly.

"This, this... This humble monk has not disrespected you, young master. How have I offended you?"

Upon hearing this, the supervising monk's expression changed instantly, filled with shame, anger, and fear. He lowered his head and said in a trembling voice.

Zhang Dai, too lazy to continue the conversation, turned and left. He had originally planned to keep the supervisor monk around for easier management and communication after taking over the craftsmen and their families, but now it seemed there was no need to keep him.

When he returned to the Buddhist temple, Gao Chengxin was no longer looking through the records. He was discussing something with the monk Huian. The two of them had their heads very close together, and it didn't look like they were talking about anything good.

"Does Liu Lang have a plan?"

The two men had come here to divide up Changshou Temple. Gao Chengxin asked with a smile after seeing Zhang Dai return.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded, and then said to the monk Huian, “My family has donated money and made offerings to this temple many times, and we have a deep karmic connection with Changshou Temple. Now I wish to donate a property outside the city to build a temple, but the property is too remote. I need to borrow a monastery in Changshou Temple to temporarily house the Three Jewels. I ask that Zen Master Huian grant this wish and borrow the south monastery of the temple to build a Pure Land Dharma site.”

The monk Hui'an had already been recruited by Gao Chengxin, so he dared not utter a single word of dissent. Upon hearing this, he quickly nodded and said, "This old monk will definitely assist in handling this matter as soon as possible to fulfill the young master's wish to worship Buddha!"

“Let the monks and nuns of Möller Monastery also be included in this Pure Land Dharma assembly.”

Zhang Dai wanted both the people and the land, but directly designating it as a private courtyard as Gao Chengxin suggested would be too crude.

With Gao Chengxin as the merit envoy working together, things are certainly easier now. However, if someone else is appointed as the merit envoy in the future, it will inevitably become a hidden danger when it comes to investigation.

Therefore, Zhang Dai simply donated his family's southern farmland to build a Buddhist temple. In addition, his stepmother, Zheng, had a previous record of donating to Changshou Temple for Buddhist worship, so he placed the main body of the temple in the monks' quarters of Changshou Temple.

In this way, the land deeds of the monastery and his estate in the south of the city can be registered together as the property of the temple.

If the government and officials in charge investigate later, they will only trace it back to this temple. As long as the temple's permits are in order, they will not be able to find out that he embezzled Changshou Temple's property. Outsiders, however, are unaware that this temple does not exist at all and still believe that this Pure Land Temple is part of Changshou Temple.

When high-ranking officials and wealthy families donated their family fortunes to build Buddhist temples, it wasn't necessarily out of genuine devotion to Buddhism. More often, it was a way to ensure the temples' legacy was passed down through generations. There's nothing new under the sun; this is similar to how some wealthy families in later generations establish charitable foundations to avoid taxes.

The imperial court also took precautions against similar situations, so on the one hand, it limited the number of temples approved, and on the other hand, princes and nobles who wanted to donate property to build temples had to report to the imperial court for approval, otherwise it would be illegal.

Zhang Dai was neither a prince or nobleman nor a high-ranking official in the court. Moreover, he had Gao Chengxin, the merit envoy, to assist in the investigation. Furthermore, the farmland south of the city had already been seized by his father, Zhang Jun, and then returned by Consort Wu Hui. It did not belong to the category of private farmland. The land registration would probably have to be searched in the palace registers.

He wasn't really planning to acquire land to build a temple; he was just going through the motions to get a permit. Moreover, he didn't even need monks' ordination certificates to ordain monks and manage the temple's propagation of Buddhism, which made things much simpler.

(End of this chapter)