Emperor Taizu of the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed the Buddha.
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 had always been exempt from paying taxes and corvees, Emperor Taizu, who was determined to practice martial arts, issued a decree in the fourth year of Taiyan (438) that all Samoans under the age of 50 would perform secular military service. He also listened to the rumors of the Prime Minister, 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 was an official of Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Emperor Taiwu. He had always been involved in military and political secrets and was deeply trusted by Emperor Taiwu. 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 Confucian classics and fasting and sacrificial ceremonies into Taoism, and transformed Wudou Mi Dao, making it easy for the Northern Wei emperors to accept.
In the early years of Taizu, Kou presented a Taoist book, but there were few believers in the ruling and opposition parties at that time, so he wrote to exhort Taizu to believe in Taoism and sent people to sacrifice jade animals to Songshan Mountain. 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.
Taizu's action of abolishing Buddha began in 444, the fifth year of Taiping. He ordered that from princes to Shu Ren, it was forbidden to keep shamans privately, and to hand them over privately 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 the emperor 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.
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 Emperor 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 Buddhism was abolished, Taizu died, Wen Chengdi ascended the throne, and issued a decree to revive Buddhism, and Buddhism gradually resumed development.
Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Buddha.
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. He was known as Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and was a famous politician and military commander in the Southern and Northern 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.
How can such an excellent politician and strategist oppose Buddhism? The reason is complicated. First of all, we should review the origin of Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty-Yuwen Hu, also known as Sabao, was Yu Wentai's nephew. In the Western Wei Dynasty, he was a general and an ordinary soldier. In 556, before Yu Wentai became seriously ill, he asked Yuwen Hu to help the young master. Yu Wenhu promised on the surface. But the next year, he made Yu Wenxuan emperor and established the Northern Zhou Dynasty. 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 held by Yu Wentai's nephew 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.
At the same time, Emperor Wudi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed Buddhism and Taoism. This is also closely related to a series of reform policies later implemented by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was social unrest. In 5 15, a large-scale rebellion broke out in Jeju, Samoa, with more than 50 thousand people. Faqing claimed to be Mahayana and advocated the birth of a new Buddha. Wherever he went, he destroyed temples, killed monks and burned scriptures and statues, which posed a great threat to the ruling class of monks and secular landlords at that time. Shortly after the Northern Wei Dynasty suppressed the Mahayana Uprising, in 523 A.D., a larger uprising broke out in six towns, and then anti-Wei uprisings appeared in various places. At that time, there were too many monks and Taoists in the northern region. According to Shu Wei, after Zheng Guang (A.D. 520-525), many editors from the country of origin devoted themselves to empty nets to avoid heavy taxes and tariffs. In addition, the intensification of social and political turmoil at that time also made ordinary people seek refuge in relatively safe religious entities. As a result, there were as many as 30,000 Buddhist temples and 2 million monks and nuns in China, which reached a very high level in the population proportion of northern China at that time, accounting for about 1 of the total population of the country. This prompted the feudal state power to take extreme measures to expand economic sources and enrich national strength.
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 Yuwen Hu as his own, the following year1February, 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? "
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 (AD 577), after the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, it immediately implemented the policy of destroying Buddhism to the Buddhist entities that continued to develop, destroying 40,000 monasteries and forcing 3 million monks and nuns to secularize, which was equivalent to 10 of the total population at that time, which was of great significance to the feudal court that was in urgent need of military and financial resources.
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.
But for Buddhist shamans, this incident was the strategy of Wu Tai in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Tang Dynasty to destroy Buddhism, which was also called "the disaster of the three armies".
Tang Wuzong destroyed the Buddha.
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).
In this regard, Han Yu set out from Confucianism and resolutely opposed it. In his view, Buddhism is just a method of barbarians, not inherent in China, and it was introduced to China at the end of the 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 flatly put forward: "With this bone, we can go down the drain 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 tries 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 Buddha: "I am in Kyushu Mountain, and both of them are deserted. Monks are becoming more and more popular, and so are Buddhist temples. 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").
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".
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 Dharma in 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.
After Zhou Shizong destroyed the Buddha.
Among these events, the post-Zhou Shizong event is the most influential. In fact, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the northern regime took some measures to ban Buddhism, but the extinction of Buddhism in Zhou Shizong was a big problem. Judging from the available data, Zhou Shizong did not slaughter a large number of monks and nuns and burn Buddhist scriptures this time, but it has the nature of rectifying Buddhism and still retains many monasteries and monks and nuns. However, due to the overall development of Buddhism in China, it has reached a stage of barely maintaining. After this blow, it has become even more depressed. In this context, the dispute between the three religions tends to ease. Since then, the dispute between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism is no longer as sharp and obvious as it used to be. Although it still exists, it is relatively small.
Impact and evaluation
In the history of Buddhism, there is a case called "Difficulty in Buddhism". In the history of China, four emperors, namely Wu Tai in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Liang Wudi in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Tang Wuzong and Zhou Shizong in the Five Dynasties, refused to fight Buddhism.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was founded by the Tuoba people of Xianbei nationality and belonged to one of the nomadic people in northern China at that time. Tuoba Shu is "isolated from the western regions" and does not understand Buddhism. Later, in the process of governing Zhao Yan and unifying the north, I gradually came into contact with the Central Plains culture and Buddhism. Wu Tai of the Northern Wei Dynasty, like the first two emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was kind to the Buddha and respected the shaman. Taizu Tuoba Tao especially worships Taoism. Taoist Kou, who made great contributions to the reform of Taoism and made it an orthodox religion, has always been around people. In 439 AD, Emperor Taizu was recorded in the Taoist altar and changed his country name to Taiping Zhenjun. He followed Taoism and began the prelude to the demise of Buddhism. The direct cause of the extinction of the giant Buddha was that in 446 AD, it was heard that there were weapons hidden in a Buddhist temple in Chang 'an. He suspected that the monks and Gaiwu who gathered for the uprising, encouraged by Ho Choi, the prime minister who believed in Taoism, tried their best to kill the Saman in Chang 'an. Soon, Emperor Taizu ordered the whole country to burn temples to learn from the scriptures and kill monks.
The royal family of Northern Zhou Dynasty belongs to Yuwen Department of Xianbei nationality. Yuwen Yong, the Emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, attached great importance to Confucianism, and also believed in Taoism and Buddhism in his early years. After he came to power, he wanted to put Confucianism first, Taoism second and Buddhism second. It is not a problem that Confucianism ranks first, but the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism has intensified. In 574 AD, Emperor Wu of Zhou personally convened a shaman Taoist to debate. The argument was so fierce that Zhixuan even refuted the Emperor Wu of Zhou on the spot. So Emperor Wu of Zhou made a decision to ban Buddhism and Taoism. "At the beginning, the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism were broken, and the elephant was destroyed, and the monk was secularized. It is also forbidden to swear, and anyone who does not enter the ceremony will be excluded. " (History of the Northern Zhou Dynasty) In the same year, the "Canal View" was established, aiming to "help Li Yuan and help him become a Taoist" with the Confucian "sage quips and sage teachings". "Gather 120 bachelor of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism to study the philosophy of the three religions. In 577 AD, after Emperor Wu of Zhou destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, he "destroyed the pagodas built hundreds of years ago in Guanshan and swept the floor. "Melt the holy face, burn the classics. Eight states temple out of forty thousand, all distributed to ministers, as a homestead. The three parties have reduced the amount by three million, and all of them have been returned to the people, which is also a compilation. "
Tang Wuzong didn't like Buddhism before he ascended the throne, preferring Taoism. After he ascended the throne, he favored Taoist priests Zhao Guizhen and Liu Xuanjing, and even built Sendai in the palace. Taoist Zhao Guizhen and others often attack Buddhism as "talking about impermanence and emptiness is a monster, which has nothing to do with longevity and inaction." "At that time, the emperor was determined to learn the fairy, learn the Tao, return to the truth, and be prized. Each pair destroyed the stone family, saying that it was not the religion of China and should be eliminated. The emperor believed it very much. " (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty, Wu Zongchuan) In the fifth year of Huichang (845), Tang Wuzong wrote a letter to destroy the Buddha, claiming that it was "difficult to destroy the law in Huichang", tearing down more than 44,000 Buddhist temples, and returning more than 260,000 monks and nuns to vulgarity. The bronze statue of Zhong Qing in the temple is used to cast money, cast iron statues and cast iron tools. In the second year, in the sixth year of Huichang, Wu Zongfu died of erysipelas poisoning.
The above is called the "three wonders" in the history of Buddhism. 1 10 years later, that is, in 955 AD, Zhou Shizong wrote another imperial edict, abolishing temples without money in the world, destroying bronze statues and collecting money from bells, cymbals and cymbals.
Together with Zhou Shizong, they are called "Three Heroes Case".
There are four "difficulties in law enforcement" in the so-called "three devices and one case", and the reasons are very complicated and different. It is too simplistic to attribute them all to economic reasons; It is absurd, ignorant and vulgar nonsense to attribute them to the religious exclusiveness of Confucianism. It can also be said that all three sects have religious disputes, but the direct reason is the dispute between Taoism and Buddhism, especially the difficulty of making peace, and the dispute between Taoism and Buddhism is quite fierce and clear.
Among the first two legal difficulties of "Martial Arts", Confucianism is indeed involved, but this involvement is mainly manifested in politics, not religion. Wu Tai in the Northern Wei Dynasty was a brilliant monarch. At that time, the Han people regarded Xianbei as "Hu" or "Rong", and he wanted to unify the whole country and become the emperor of China, which was dominated by Han people with high cultural traditions. So he should praise Confucianism and Taoism to flaunt himself. He called Buddhism ","to show that he was not "Hu". In his edict to destroy Buddha, he said that "ghost Taoism thrives", which leads to "bad politics and religion, bad etiquette and righteousness"; "The king's law is abolished, but it can't be done", and he himself "wants to get rid of the false and save the true, and restore the rule of Xi 'an Nong". "It's like the image of an orthodox Han king. It is particularly noteworthy that he respected Confucianism and did not regard Confucianism as a religion. On the contrary, he believes that Confucianism must oppose ghosts and gods and superstitions. Emperor Taizu said in the imperial edict of the fifth year of Taiping Zhenjun (AD 444): "Fools are ignorant, believe in evil spirits, and raise witches privately; Books containing prophecies, Yin and Yang, maps and latitudes, and Ji Fang. Another disciple of the shaman pretended to be born in Xirong and gave birth to a demon. If it were not so politicized, Bu Chunde would be on earth. " (Shu Wei Shi Zu Ji, with the book Shi Lao Zhi, is recorded as the seventh year of Taiping Zhen Army, that is, in 446 AD. Here, "Ji Fang" is the source of immortal Taoism; And "divination, yin and yang, drawing latitude" is not only owned by Taoism, but also caused waves in Confucianism since the Han Dynasty. Mao's extermination of Buddhism not only targeted at Buddhism, but also swept away the confusing "evil spirits" mixed with Confucianism, which objectively played a role in purifying Confucianism.
About forty years later, the sinicization reform carried out by the famous Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty was the inevitable result of the continuation of Taizu's policy. When I was in Emperor Xiaowen, I got a deeper understanding of China's culture and tradition, mainly represented by Confucianism, and I talked about the meaning of the Five Classics. (Wei Shu) Therefore, he not only does not reject Buddhism, but also "has a history of hundred schools of thought, which is not suitable for involvement" and "is good at talking about Zhuang and Lao, especially understanding." (ditto) On the basis of profound understanding, his measures to eliminate the evil spirits of divination were more thorough, which made the deeper significance of Emperor Taizu's exclusion of Buddhism manifest. Emperor Xiaowen wrote in the ninth year of Taihe (485): "The prosperity of divination began in the third quarter. It is neither a classic of the country nor an evil spirit. From then on, the divination, the secret latitude, and the person named "Confucius closed the room" were all burned. On the "Great King" as a Retainer. Besides, all wizards and witches pretend to be ghosts and gods and talk about good and bad luck, and what is contained in Bufei's tomb in the lane is forbidden. " Due to various reasons, the dirt and dregs mixed in Confucianism need to be swept away by British masters from ethnic minorities, and the irony of history is shown here in an accidental way.
If divination, yin and yang, figure latitude, evil spirits, witches, ghosts and gods, good or bad luck, etc. add up to what people call "Confucianism", then Wu Tai in the Northern Wei Dynasty not only destroyed Buddhism, but also "Confucianism". Emperor Xiaowen did not destroy Buddha, but "destroyed Confucianism".
There are similarities between the extermination of Buddha by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and that by Wu Tai of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Historically, Emperor Wu of Zhou also said that he was not in the five lakes, so he had no intention of respecting Buddha. In order to show his identity with China culture, he not only worships Confucianism, but also prefers Taoism. However, in the debate on Buddhism and Taoism convened by Jiande in May of the third year (574), after the exposure of Daoan, Man Zhen and Zhixuan, Emperor Wu of Zhou realized that Taoism was illusory and superstitious, so even Taoism was ousted. But he took a more moderate attitude and didn't kill anyone; Appoint eminent monks according to their abilities and entrust them with official positions; Encourage further discussion on the philosophy of Buddhism and Taoism, both of which show a deep understanding of China culture and Confucianism.
The main reason for Tang Wuzong's extinction of Buddhism is the dispute between Taoism and Buddhism, followed by economy. This is a typical religious struggle, but it has nothing to do with Confucianism. The disappearance of Buddhism in Zhou Shizong during the Five Dynasties was mainly due to economic reasons. After Zhou Shizong succeeded to the throne, he inherited the reform policy of Guo Wei, the founder of Zhou Dynasty. In order to unify the whole country, he took measures such as unifying taxes and developing production to increase fiscal revenue. When China was short of money, he thought of a way to destroy the bronze statue and make money. When talking about the reasons for his extinction of Buddhism, Zhou Shizong said: "I heard from the Buddha that being a man is stupid, but the most urgent thing is to benefit others. If you want to cut it, it will benefit the world. What a pity this bronze statue is. " Since the Buddha can give his life to save people from danger, why not give up the bronze statue to save the world? Although this statement is somewhat unreasonable, it can be seen that the main reason is the economy, not the other. In fact, Buddhism is not banned in Zhou Shizong. The decline of Buddhism in the Five Dynasties was actually caused by the war.
The so-called "three armed forces case" is difficult, the background is complex and the situation is inconsistent. Wei and Emperor Wu of Zhou only eliminated Buddhism in the north, while Buddhism in the south still flourished. Zhou Shizong has no unified world, and its strength is not as good as before. However, in any case, it is purely a hollow theory to say that they are the exclusive expression of Confucianism as a religion.
After these large-scale campaigns to exterminate Buddhism, two important sects of Buddhism in China (Southern Buddhism and Buddhism introduced to the West) suffered severe blows and never became the state religion again. A large number of cultural heritages and artistic works of Buddhism in China were also destroyed in these movements. Because of its special religious rules (self-cultivation, keeping the family in order), Zen lost the least in these sports. After that, it quickly became an important sect of Buddhism in China, keeping pace with Tibetan Buddhism that followed Mongolia and Manchu into the Central Plains.