According to the current historical data, the death of The Debater is more recognized that he had an affair with Princess Gaoyang, and after being discovered by Emperor Taizong, he was beheaded and died. However, many people have always been skeptical of this, so what is history like? Today, we talk about the mystery of the death of this legendary monk of the Tang Dynasty.
First, the young and talented, selected as the great virtue of the affixed
Debater, 15-year-old monk, before the monastic name can not be verified, it is said to be Zhejiang Jinhua people. Born in 619 AD, died in 649 AD, only 30 years old when he died, it can be said that he died young.
1. Young talents are highly skilled, and they meet senior monks when they are just born
After his ordination, he took The Famous Sabbat scholar Daoyue (道岳), a famous scholar of the Temple, as his teacher. Daoyue was also a highly enlightened monk, who became a monk at the age of fifteen and specialized in the study of the theory of clubhouses, and wrote the Twenty Volumes of the Treatise on the Clubhouse. At that time, he should also be a highly respected monk. The Sabha Sutra is one of the twenty parts of Theravada Buddhism. That is to say, it is a school of Hinayana Buddhism, and his master Daoyue is a well-known scholar and researcher of this school.
What kind of place is Daichosanji Temple? This temple is not an ordinary temple. This temple is a proper royal temple and is the top temple among the temples.
Map of the Imperial City of the Tang Dynasty
According to the "New Record of the Two Capitals" and "Chang'an Zhi", the temple is located in the southwest corner of Tang Chang'an City and HepingFang and Yongyangfang. In 602, in honor of his wife, Empress Duguo, Emperor Wen of Sui built a temple in Yongyangfang, southwest of Daxing City, and the temple was called Zending Temple. In July of the fourth year of Renshou (604 AD), Emperor Wen of Sui died. The following year, in honor of his father's merits, the Sui Emperor Yang Guang built a large Buddhist temple on the west side of the Yongyangfang Zending Temple, named the Great Zending Temple. The Great Zen Temple, in terms of scale and structure, is comparable to the Zen Temple in the east, and a tall wooden pagoda has also been created inside the temple.
In 618, the 19-year-old Master Xuanzang and his elder brother Master Changjie hung up at the Meditation Temple. In the same year, Li Yuan took the throne and changed the name of the country to Datang, and Daxing City was also renamed Chang'an City. Because Emperor Wen of Sui had legislated himself, calling it "Zongzhi" and the LoneLy Empress as "Solemn", the Great Chanding Temple was renamed the Great General Holding Temple, and the Zending Temple was renamed the Great Solemn Temple. In the Tang Dynasty, the Second Temple has always maintained a prominent position.
In summary, it can be seen that if the 15-year-old fledgling debater had not had his true talent and practical learning, it would have been impossible for him to ascend to the heavens and enter the royal monastery one step at a time, and he would not have been accepted as an apprentice by the senior monk Daoyue at that time. Later, Master Daoyue was appointed as the head of puguang temple in the east of the south gate of The Zhengfang, and the debater moved to Huichang Temple, located in Jinchengfang, northwest of Chang'an City. For more than ten years, he has devoted himself to the study of Buddhist theory. The temple of the two masters and apprentices should actually be on the same street, not far from each other. This has made him quite accomplished in the Mahayana sutras.
2. Drill the Buddhist scriptures and be selected as a great master, and write a travelogue to enter the peak
In the nineteenth year of Zhenguan (645), when Master Xuanzang returned to China to open the first translation field at Chang'an Hongfu Temple, the 26-year-old debater was recommended to be selected into Xuanzang's translation field and became one of the nine great masters of the affix. As the name suggests, a person of high moral character is a person who writes articles. Here are people with super high abilities and moral skills, who are responsible for helping Master Xuanzang sort out, translate, and write down the Buddhist scriptures. Only nine people were selected in the country, and the debater was the youngest of these nine. On the one hand, he was mainly responsible for translating the Western Regions Scriptures for Master Xuanzang, and on the other hand, he compiled the book "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" based on Master Xuanzang's dictations.
The history books call him "elegant, brilliant, and particularly handsome." In today's parlance, properly rich and handsome, the "high" here refers to his birth status among the younger generation at that time. The "rich" here refers to his outstanding talent and superb ability, and "handsome" is handsome in appearance and a small piece of fresh meat. Such a capable, status, handsome, and young young man, even a monk, is definitely the object of many self-media pursuits now. I think that at that time, I would also let the royal lady who had the opportunity to see the real face shine with golden light.
Second, to die for love, a lifetime of merit is difficult to evaluate
Such a dazzling young man, by chance, met the daughter-in-law of Fang Xuanling, the prime minister at that time, the daughter-in-law of Tang Taizong, and Princess Gaoyang. Since then, the young man has been mistaken for life at a glance.
1. Cracking the theft case is now a jade pillow, which is a shocking affair
In 649, the capture of Chang'an City cracked an ordinary theft case, captured a bandit, and found a jade pillow from his dirt. The case-handling personnel had sharp eyes and saw at a glance that this jade pillow was not a folk object, and after questioning, they learned that it was stolen by bandits from a monk's home. On the one hand, the catcher traced and traced the source of the stolen goods, and on the other hand, asked the palace about the origin of this jade pillow.
After tracking down, it was found that it was stolen from the home of the debater monk. And the jade pillow is indeed a royal thing. The catcher quickly tracked down the defense machine and asked him to tell the origin of the jade pillow, but the defense machine did not hide it, and told the truth, saying that it was a gift from Princess Gaoyang.
When it comes to royal face, if it is said that this is something else, it may not be too much, the Tang Dynasty is still Buddha, and the princess gives gifts to senior monks. But this was the pillow that the princess was sleeping on, and it was a woman's boudoir, and the problem must have been very serious at the time. The arrest did not dare to cut off privately, and reported it layer by layer, so he stabbed Tang Taizong, who saw that the case was full of iron evidence, and there was a confession from the debate machine, and the thunder was furious, and the defense machine was beheaded, and all the maids who served the princess were executed.
2. When encountering the public initiative, the heart is regretted for life
The debater was executed, let's not talk about it for the time being, let's go back and talk about our heroine, Princess Gaoyang. It was a proper white rich beauty. Born into the royal family, he was deeply loved by Tang Taizong, and he also looked like a sinking fish and a goose, not a mortal dust. That's also a collection of thousands of pets. In her opinion, ordinary ordinary people could not enter her eyes at all. Then, feudal society, the order of parents, the words of a matchmaker. Even royal princesses are no exception and are victims of political marriage. He was given the marriage by Emperor Taizong of Tang to Fang Xuanling, who was then the prime minister. It should be known that the idiom "Fang Mou Du Duan" is that Fang Xuanling was regarded as Tang Taizong's right and left arm at that time. Marrying his favorite princess to be his daughter-in-law can also be regarded as the emperor's grace and great grace to Fang Xuanling.
However, this may not be the best choice for the princess and Fang Yi'ai. After marriage, Princess Gaoyang simply did not look up to the fang relics of Zhao Zhao Wufu, and her eyes could only accommodate elegant people full of wisdom and knowledge. And Fang Yi'ai also dared to be angry at this cold-faced princess, who let her be a princess.
One day the princess was bored and asked Fang Yi'ai to accompany her to the fiefdom to walk horses, and coincidentally met a debater who was studying Buddhism in the hut. The two of them sat idly in the hut, talking about the Dharma, talking about the scriptures, talking about ideals, talking about life, and the closer they talked, the closer they got, and they fell in love at first sight. The princess was attracted by the talent of the debater, who was impressed by the princess's enthusiasm and beauty. This unworldly unrequited love affair was thus formed. The donkey horse was also happy to see its success, and did not stop it, and in order to repay the grace of the horse's fulfillment, the princess specially selected two beautiful women who were loved by the house to give to him.
However, there is no impermeable wall, and I thought that everything was safe, and this envy of the beauty of the world could have been perpetuated. However, there is a lover who has not lasted long, the East Window incident, poor this pair of miserable Mandarin ducks, annoying people, this yin and yang are separated, people are overwhelmed.
3, cut the teenager to lose love, one mistake after another
In the TV series "History of the Tang Dynasty", when the debater was cut off by the waist, an ant crawled on the knife, and he gently put the ant aside to avoid the pain of a knife. And he was already full of life and death, and he resolutely died under the knife. Perhaps at the moment when he and the princess broke through the rules and precepts, he already knew that there would be such a day, this moment he saw through life and death, but he did not necessarily see through the love of the world.
When Princess Gaoyang learned that her beloved had been killed by her biological father and had lost the favor of her father, she was also devastated at that moment. Since then, Princess Gaoyang has acted more obediently. When Emperor Taizong died and Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, Princess Gaoyang became even more free of herself and completely degenerated. Until one day, she ran to the palace to perform witchcraft, and later participated in the rebellion, and was cut off by the door.
4, merit and who said, the mystery of the ages
If this affair of the debater is an ordinary person, it may not be a matter of disaster. However, he loves the princess, which is the face of the royal family, not to mention that he is still elected as a person of great virtue, which is intolerable to Tang Taizong. But judging from his contributions, it is indeed a name that has left a legacy in history. Only one "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" made this highly talented monk impressive. What would his achievements have looked like without this event? If he had rejected his daughter the king, as in "Journey to the West", would he have become another Xuanzang mage?
For this widely circulated affair, it can be regarded as a love tragedy. But is this seemingly novel-like story really the truth of history?
3. The historian's words are true or defamatory
It is precisely because this paragraph is not mentioned in the Old Book of Tang, and the barnyard official yeshi, inscription novels, etc. are popular, coupled with some ridicule of the Song Dynasty against the previous dynasty, and the resistance of the two writers to Buddhism, the records that have produced are very suspicious. Is it that the Old Book of Tang is too secretive to mention this matter, or is it deliberately fabricated by later generations?
A hundred years later, Ouyang Xiu, the new history of the state compiled by the Song Dynasty, compiled this matter into the main history. Sima Guang also recorded this incident when he compiled the Zizhi Tongjian. However, the historical materials in the Taiping Imperial Records written by Li Fang during the Reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty also do not mention Princess Gaoyang and the debater. I don't know what kind of historical materials the New Book of Tang saw to compile this matter into the history books. At present, there is not enough information to confirm the authenticity of the new Book of Tang, and we can only take the record of this book for the time being. At this point, the debate monk was identified as the thirty years old and beheaded in the city.
Fourth, correct the history of the wild and explore the historical truth
Regarding this story, the novel and later TV series are mentioned in movies. Even Guo Degang's cross-talk also told about this legendary relationship. In Guo Degang's stand-up comedy "Feng Tianqi Makes Trouble in Tongzhou", there is a fold that Feng Tianqi stayed overnight at the temple and encountered strange things, in which a small monk Hui An was purged of resentment, saying that this little monk was a debater monk in his previous life, and Feng Tianqi was the ant saved by the debater, and what he borrowed was the story of the debater.
I think that the expert and family historians who explore the truth will not stop here, and more and more excavated cultural relics may be able to bring us more detailed information to confirm the authenticity of the historical records. However, it is undeniable that the debater made outstanding contributions to the Tang Dynasty and even later Generations of China in understanding the culture of the Western Regions and disseminating the Buddhist scriptures of the Western Regions. Therefore, his personal affair should be regarded as a kind of legendary story of his.
(Image from the Internet, copyright belongs to the original author)