The birth and death year, family background and birthplace of Qingyuan thought are not clear in Buddhist history books of past dynasties. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Shi Puji (1179-1253) wrote the Biography of the Five Lantern Festival, which was only called "Jizhou's Adult" and was written on December 13th, the 28th lunar month of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (74 1 1). China Buddhism published in 1980s called him "a native of Ji 'an County, Luling". As for his birth year, family background and exact place of origin, there is no mention of it, which has become an eternal mystery. What a pity! In view of this, with the assistance of a close friend in Ji 'an City, Jiangxi Province, the author made a field trip to Jingju Temple in Qingyuan Mountain and Yantian Township in Anfu County, and went to Ji 'an City Library to consult historical books. Finally, he found out that the birth year of Qing Yuan Xing Si should be the first year of Tang Gaozong Ritual in Xianheng-the fourth year of Xianheng, that is, 670-673 AD. The year of death should be 738-74 1 year, that is, in the 26th year of Kaiyuan in Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Shishou is sixty-eight years old. Its ancestor was Liu Fa, the king of Changsha in the Western Han Dynasty (or Wang Jiao Liu of Chu Yuan). His hometown is Longyun Liuxia Village, Yantian Township, 30 kilometers northwest of Pingdu Town, Anfu County, Ji 'an City, Jiangxi Province. According to legend, Xing Si suffered from dysentery when he was young, nicknamed "Liu's dysentery". Because of his extraordinary wisdom and unfathomable ability, the villagers all praised him as "Liu". Up to now, the legendary story of Liu's dysentery is still circulating in Yantian area.
Year of birth and death:
There is a big bronze bell in Ji 'an City, which was cast in the tenth year of the Ming Dynasty (15 15). On it, Zhong Ming of Ju Jing Temple in Qingyuan has the following words: "Ci Ying, the seventh ancestor of Dongtu, is a Zen master, and his home is in Liu Cheng, An, and he was in the mountains in the twenty-sixth year of Tang Kaiyuan." On the 26th page of Volume 6 of Qing Yuan Lue, which was compiled by the abbot of Qing Yuan Mountain Jingju Temple in the eighth year of Qing Dynasty (1669), the Ji 'an Library has the inscription of Xiao's Qing Yuan Legacy: "Tianbao Six Years (747) Monument is short: Seven ancestors, Changsha (Liu) epigenetic. Kaiyuan was twenty-six years old (sitting) and lived sixty-eight. "
According to these two historical records, Qingyuan died in the 26th year of Tang Kaiyuan (738). It is clearly recorded in Qingyuan stele that he enjoys a life of 68 years old, so it can be inferred that his birth year should be the first year of Tang Xianheng (670). There is also a message in the Annotation that the monument of Qingyuan Mountain in Tang Dynasty was erected in Tianbao, Li Longji, Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (747), only nine years before Xingsi's death, so its records should be credible. In this way, the year of birth and death of Qingyuan Xingsi has a clear answer, that is, 670-738 AD. According to Shi Puji's Biography of Wu Guang Xing Si, Xing Si died in the 28th year of Tang Kaiyuan (74 1) and was born in the 4th year of Xianheng (673).
Family background and birthplace:
"The bells of Jingju Temple in Qingyuan Mountain chime" says: "The seven ancestors of Dongtu are Zen masters, and their home is Liu Ancheng". Gu 'an City is Anfu County, Ji 'an City, Jiangxi Province today. Anfu County began in the Western Han Dynasty, formerly known as Anping County. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was renamed Pingdu County. In the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the abandoned county settled in Anfu County. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan Wude period (about 62 1), renamed Anfu County, has been 1400 years. The county seat is Pingdu Town. According to the Records of Twenty-six Counties in Song Dynasty written by Shen Yue of Nanliang (441-513), in the second year of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Haobao, the last emperor of Wu, decided to divide Zhang Yu, Luling and Changsha into Ancheng County and Pingdu County (now Wuheng Village, Yantian Town, Anfu County).
Ji 'an Library collects Xiao's Qing Yuan stele on page 26 of Eight Years of Kangxi: "A brief description of Tianbao's six-year stele: the seventh ancestor was born after Wang (Liu) of Changsha, Han Dynasty." Check the Table of Fourteen Kings of Hanshu written by Ban Gu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which lists Liu Fa as the son of Liu Qi, the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, and made him the king of Changsha in the second year of Yuan Shuo (BC 127). Liu Cang and Liu Cheng, the sons of Changsha King, were listed in the Prince Hou List of Hanshu 15, and were named as Ancheng Temple Hou and Yichun Hou in Zhangyu County in the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty (BC 136).
At this point, Qingyuan thinks that he is a descendant of Changsha Wang Liufa, and the answer seems clear. But the author further traced back to the source, but found some problems.
It turns out that the author has a close friend Liu, whose ancestral home is Long Yun Village, Yantian Township, northwest Anfu County. This village is 30 kilometers away from Pingdu Town where Liu lives. The Liu Ancestral Hall in the village is a three-step brick-wood building. Later generations set up a room to worship the seven ancestors, which is called the "Seven Immortals Room", and there is a genealogy in the room. Unfortunately, the ancestral hall was destroyed by fire at 1988, leaving only brick walls. The couplet at the entrance of the ancestral hall reads "princes will be in the government, loyal ministers will be in the bachelor's home", which shows the brilliant achievements of our ancestors. In the east of the village, it is the settlement of Hangsi clan, which is the birthplace of Hangsi. The "Dugong Temple" under the ancient shade is the ancestral hall of the Si nationality.
With Liu's great assistance, the author was able to consult the Family Tree of Liu's Family in Shuiqiao Er compiled in the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947), in which it was recorded that Xing Si's distant ancestor moved to Beishuiqiao in Anfu County from the time when Xia Liu was the satrap of Ancheng in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. As the saying goes, "(Liu) is a distant relative of Xiluo (now Luoyang) (a work called' Defect'). After making friends with Wang (Liu), he was promoted to the position of (city) satrap. When I am full, I will stay at Ancheng Shuiqiao and settle down at home. Later generations are the ancestors of the Liu family in Baqiao. " It is worth noting that the ancestor of Liu mentioned here is not the king of Changsha, but the king. According to the List of Kings in Hanshu XIV, "Wang (Liu) is a friend and Liu Bang is a brother", and his grandson was killed in the rebellion of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty (154), so there is no heir. Of course, it is also possible that descendants who do not inherit the throne will not be punished and reproduce. However, whether the ancestor of Qingyuan Aviation Company was Changsha Wang Liufa or Chu Yuan Wang Jiaoliu has not been verified because there is no exact historical data. However, it is an indisputable fact that Qingyuan thinks it is an imperial clan of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Qiao, the ancestor of Qingyuan Thought, described it in the Second Biography of Liu's Genealogy in Shuiqiao: "(Liu) Qiao, the grandson of the fifth An Chenggong (referring to Xia Liu), once served as the right-hand man of Nan (Liu) and was famous for his scholarship. No, Jiang Yan (444-505) inscribed his tomb. "
"Shuiqiao Liu Family Biography II" describes Qingyuan Xingsi's grandfather like this: "(Liu) Yan, the word, is the tenth grandson of An Chenggong, and Shi Sui is the official (foreign) lang. And the murder of the emperor Yang Di (Jiangdu coup in the 14th year of Great Cause, Yu Wenhuaji and others incited mutiny in Jiangdu Palace and rebelled against the emperor Yang Di), abandoned his official position to Shuiqiao, moved to Long Yun Village, and never returned. He is building a shrine, and the filial piety emperor worships, never forgetting what he has done. Later generations held high its righteousness, sculpted it as a silhouette, and worshipped incense in the world, so they thought it was the god who kept the land. Son 2, (Liu) Quan, (Liu). (Liu) Quan Zier, (Liu) Zhong Xing, (Liu) Running script. (Liu) Hang Zhong is the deputy general manager of March on Qinzhou Road in Tang Dynasty. (Liu) was relieved of Yao's worship of Prime Minister (Yao Chong, 65 1—72 1, a famous prime minister in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty), was born as (Liu) Chen, and was promoted to imperial academy of Tang Guangde (764). (Liu) Second, (Liu) Xingzhi, (Liu) Thinking about behavior. (Liu) Thinking about becoming a monk, (Shi) Master Hongji. "
The Genealogy Biography of Liu Family in Shuiqiao II synthesizes the old genealogy and historical materials about Qingyuan's thought of traveling in Ji 'an Prefecture, and records: "Hongji Zen Master, famous for his traveling, once became a monk in the village of Liu, and Sui Shangshu was the grandson of Yuan Wailang (Liu) Yan. I heard that Cao's sixth ancestor method was promoted to attend the ceremony. Then he asked,' What should we do, just not to fall behind?' (6) Zu asked, "When were you born?" (OK) The secretary replied, "Even the imperial edict is not for you." (6) The ancestors said,' What class do you belong to?' (thinking about it) said,' What class is there before the sacred principle is done?' (6) the ancestors are deep, and the teachers are the first. One day, (6) the ancestor said,' Take a side.' After studying Dharma, he returned to Jizhou and lived in Jingju Temple in Qingyuan Mountain, giving lectures and expounding Zen. So far, every body still exists, and the tower says' Return to Reality'. "
Villagers in the same village as Qingyuan Hangsi also took out a copy of Tang Jingzong Spectrum compiled by them in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The historical materials of "Ten Ancestors (Ada)" recorded above are completely consistent with the Biography of the Second Liu Family in Shuiqiao, and they all call Qingyuan Hangsi their grandson.
Another villager took out his treasured manuscript "The Four-character Classics of One Source Genealogy in the Three Villages of An Chenglong and Liu Yun", including Angela Liu's "Official History to Imperial History, Tang Dynasty Training; Uncle Chen believes that Qingyuan is immortal; "Seven ancestors, the flesh is obvious" and so on.
To sum up, it can be concluded that Master Xing Si of Qingyuan is a descendant of the imperial clan of the Western Han Dynasty, and his hometown is Liuxia Village, Longyun Township, 30 kilometers northwest of Anfu County, Ji 'an City, Jiangxi Province.
It can be seen from the genealogical historical materials such as Chuaner Shuiqiao Liu's Genealogy that after becoming a monk in his early years, Qingyuan Hangsi did not change his common name, but adopted the name of Hangsi in his genealogy. As for the dharma number, the bell of the Buddhist temple in Qingyuan calls "kindness". After he was sworn in, he went to Nanhua Temple in Caoxi, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province to attend the Dharma Meeting of Master Huineng (638-7 13). The questions and answers are as above. Huineng spoke highly of him and listed him as the first disciple. One day, Huineng said to him: "From the coat method to the double line, the teacher has handed it in;" Clothing is a sign of trust, and law is a way to convey the heart. I still have people today, why not trust them! I have suffered a lot since I put on my clothes. Depending on future generations, there will be more competition. If you leave your clothes at the city gate, you should divide them and don't kill them. " After thinking about Dharma, he was ordered by his teacher to go to the safflower side and return to Anyin Temple in Qingyuan Mountain, Jizhou. Anyin Temple was built in the first year of Shenlong in Li Xian, Tang Zhongzong (705). He held a dharma meeting here, recruiting disciples and monks from all directions, and Qingyuan Mountain became a famous southern Zen Dojo. Especially after the death of Master Huineng, the sixth ancestor in the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (7 13), many Caoxi monks came to Qingyuan Mountain to stop and think. Among them, Shi Xiwan (700-790), Heze Shenhui and others were famous, and later they were called the Eight Patriarchs of Zen. In the third year of worshipping Ning in the Northern Song Dynasty (1 104), Hui Zong presented the tablet of "Jingju Temple" to Anyin Temple, which lasted for more than 900 years.
Before Huineng ascended the throne, the fourteen-year-old little novice monk Xi Shi next to him asked him, "Who will depend on for money after becoming a monk for a hundred years?" Huineng replied, "Think about it." I didn't understand the teacher's intention at the moment. After Huineng's death, he wanted to sit and think all day, which is beside the point. The man in the first seat asked him, "My father is dead, why is he still sitting there laughing?" Qian said, "I asked for discipline, so I thought about it." The first one said, "You have a brother who misses monks. Now you live in Jizhou, so you are destined to be there. The teacher is very straightforward and you are fascinated! " Moved to the point, it suddenly dawned on me that the will of the Sixth Ancestor "think" did not mean to think hard, but to "seek (do) it." So I came all the way to Qingyuan Mountain, where I stopped my brother who was 29 years older than him from studying. Money was first influenced by Huineng and gained some enlightenment. I met my senior brother at Anyin Temple for the first time and asked him what he had brought from Caoxi. He replied: I never lost anything before I came to Caoxi. Then he asked, then why did you go to Caoxi? Qian replied, how can you know if you don't go to Caoxi? Seeing the confidence in his words, he had to look up and sigh happily: "Although there are many horns, one forest is enough!" He who does his best will eventually achieve great things.