The news released by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on November 10, 2021, was deliberately dug up by Kyodo News agency Chinese network. Kyodo News Agency Chinese Network published an article on the 4th to expound the Chinese Tang Dynasty Buddhist historical materials of the Japanese government's application to the United Nations for the "Memory of the World Register" (also known as the "World Documentary Heritage" or "Memory of the World Heritage"). According to the article, the two historical materials are "Zhizheng Master Yuanzhen Related Literature Classics - Japan? Chinese passports- and "Three Great Collections of the Pure Land Sect's DabenShan Zengshang Temple", of which the relevant documents and classics of the Zhizheng Master Yuanzhen were precious materials brought back from the Tang Dynasty in China.
The report claims that regarding the review system of the "Memory of the World" list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the "Nanjing Massacre" related materials being included in the list, Japan has called for reforms, and UNESCO has introduced a new system that can be challenged by relevant countries. As one of the first projects under the new system, the Japanese government decided in November last year to recommend two ancient Buddhist historical materials, and various historical groups have applied to UNESCO. The cadres of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology who conducted the selection claimed: "These historical materials are national treasures or national important cultural heritage, and a full academic investigation has been conducted." Dissent is unlikely. ”
Kyodo News Agency mentioned that these two historical materials are "the relevant documents of the wisdom master Yuanzhen - Japan? Chinese passports - and "Pure Land Sect Daiben Shan Zengshang Temple Three Great Collections". The 56 ancient documents collected by Enjo-ji Temple (Mitsui-ji) in Otsu City and the Tokyo National Museum are national treasures, and the three major collections of Shōjo-ji Temple in Minato-ku, Tokyo are designated as Important Cultural Properties.
The report goes on to say that the above 56 documents are Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist paintings brought back from the Tang Dynasty in China by Yuanzhen, who introduced esoteric buddhism to Japan in the Heian period, and also include a pass issued by the Tang Dynasty government. According to Yuancheng Temple, although there are cases of excavations and excavations, this is the only original in the world that has been preserved and passed down to this day, and it is an important historical material for understanding the traffic system of the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, it is reported that the three major collections of Zengshang Temple are the general names of the three editions of the Buddhist classic "Great Tibetan Sutra", which totals about 12,000 copies. Specifically, it is a folded book and booklet that records Buddhist scriptures, and it is said that three editions of one collection are very rare in the world. All were collected and donated by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
These three editions were made of wood in China and Korea in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries and printed in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Regarded as the foundation of Buddhist studies, Zengshang Temple emphasizes that it is "also the crystallization of Movable Type culture and printing technology in East Asia".
The "Memory of the World List" was opposed by Japan because of the 2015 "Nanjing Massacre" related materials, and the application for the "comfort women" information was also postponed due to Japan's strong opposition, and the new review was frozen after 2017. In April 2021, UNESCO finalized the new system, and if there is any objection in the relevant countries, it will not be included in the heritage until a consensus is reached, which will be the first review under the new system, and it is expected to decide whether to include it in 2023.
With regard to the history of the Nanjing Massacre, the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry has reiterated on many occasions that the Nanjing Massacre was a brutal crime committed by Japanese militarism in the war of aggression against China, and the evidence is overwhelming, and the international community has long been conclusive about this. The attempts of a very small number of people in Japan to erase, cover up, and distort this period of history are a blatant challenge to international justice and the conscience of mankind, and are in line with the erroneous acts of the Japanese leader in reversing history, which should arouse the high vigilance of the international community. China solemnly urges the Japanese side to squarely face up to and profoundly reflect on the history of aggression, properly handle relevant issues left over from history with a responsible attitude, and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with practical actions.
Source: World Wide Web