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There have been many emperors in Chinese history who believed in Buddhism, but it is quite rare for an emperor who can believe in Buddhism to become a monk. There was such an emperor who went to the temple to become a monk, and then informed the minister to pool money to ransom people. He believed that monks should eat fasting, so he ordered a ban on monks eating meat, a ban that continues to this day. This emperor was Xiao Yan, the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Xiao Yan, born in 464 AD, was a native of Dongcheng, Wujin County, Nanlanling County (present-day Wanxian Town, Danyang, Jiangsu Province), and the founder of the Liang Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Born in Lanling Xiao clan, he was the twenty-fifth grandson of Xiao He of the Western Han Dynasty.
Xiao Yanben was the Yongzhou Assassin of Southern Qi, who participated in warlord melee battles many times, had considerable merits, and was the favorite of Emperor Ming of Qi. In 502, Xiao Yan coerced Xiao Baorong, the king of Nankang, into taking the throne by force, and established the Liang Dynasty as Emperor Wu of Liang.
Emperor Wu of Liang reigned for forty-seven years, and because of his deep belief in Buddhism, he did a lot of absurd things. On March 8, 527, the ministers of the Liang Dynasty suddenly found that the emperor was missing, and they were looking everywhere without a trace, and they were in a hurry. After three days, Emperor Wu of Liang returned dressed as a monk, and it turned out that he had gone to Tongtai Temple to become a monk for the past three days. After the Return of the Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Liang granted amnesty to the world and changed his era name to Datong.
On September 15, the third year of Datong (529), Emperor Wu of Liang went to Tongtai Temple for the second time to hold the "Four Unshackled Assemblies", took off the imperial robe, changed into a monk's robe, and sacrificed himself to become a monk. On September 16, he explained the "Great Nirvana Sutra", and on the twenty-fifth day, the courtiers donated 100 million yuan, prayed to the "Three Jewels", asked for the redemption of the "Emperor Bodhisattva", and returned to the world on the twenty-seventh day. The Qunchen trembled and welcomed back Emperor Wu of Liang, and at the same time pointed out to the emperor that the jiangshan sheji was the most important thing, and should not abandon the world.
On April 10, 546, Emperor Wu of Liang went to renunciation again. This time, Emperor Wu of Liang played even more, directly asking the temple to notify the chancellor to redeem people. The courtiers pooled two hundred million dollars to redeem it.
In 547, Emperor Wu of Liang became a monk for the fourth time, lived in Tongtai Temple for thirty-seven days, and on April 10, the imperial court paid 100 million yuan to redeem it.
The experience of becoming a monk four times made Emperor Liangwu realize that the monks had to eat fasts in order to respect the Buddha. Therefore, it was ordered that monks throughout the country must eat fasting, not eat meat, and even sacrifices should not use animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. This has been a bitter disgrace to the monks who have not been afraid of eating since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and since then they can only eat and fast, and this habit has been used to this day. Emperor Wu of Liang's order made it difficult for the ministers to accept it, and they all wrote a letter opposing it. The result of the final compromise was that the sacrificial cattle, sheep and pigs were replaced with flour.
Emperor Wu of Liang was so absurd that he naturally delayed the important affairs of the imperial court.
In 548, Hou Jing, the king of Henan and the general Hou Jing, rebelled and led his troops to capture the capital city of Jiankang. Hou Jing led 500 soldiers to kill Emperor Wu of Liang, and as a result, emperor Wu of Liang, the commander of the Guang pole, let the world see his difference. Only to see him ask Hou Jing without hurrying: "Where are you from, how dare you make trouble, are your wives and children still in the north?" Hou Jing was so scared and sweaty at this time that he didn't know how to answer. The subordinate next to him said for him: "Chenjing's wife and children have all been killed by the Gao clan, and now only one person has submitted to His Majesty." Xiao Yan asked, "How many soldiers and horses did you have when you crossed the river?" Hou Jing replied, "A thousand people." Xiao Yan asked, "How much was there during the siege?" "One hundred thousand." "Now?" "Within the soil, there is no one to have it." Finally, Emperor Wu of Liang comforted him: "If you are loyal to the imperial court, you should discipline your subordinates and not harass the people." Hou Jing agreed.
After meeting Emperor Wu of Liang, Hou Jing said to his close confidant Wang Shenggui, "I have never been timid in my conquests for many years. Seeing Xiao Yan this time was actually a little afraid of him, could it really be that the majesty of the Son of Heaven was inviolable? In fact, Hou Jing was firstly chaotic and weak-minded, and second, Emperor Wu of Liang was also a brave general on the battlefield, Hou Jing must have had a sense of awe long ago, plus the superstitious thinking at that time was serious, believing that the sons of heaven were all gods and spirits. There was also emperor Wu of Liang who believed in Buddhism and saw the power clearly, and his calmness undoubtedly made Hou Jing feel weak.
In 549, Emperor Wu of Liang became seriously ill, felt bitterness in his mouth, and wanted to eat honey. Left and right without Hou Jing's permission, did not dare to give him food. Emperor Wu of Liang was so furious that he let out two exclamations of "Ho, Ho" and left for the west at the age of eighty-six.