This sounds a little unbelievable, how can an ordinary piece of wood be regarded as such a precious national treasure that even the emperor of Japan does not dare to touch it at will? There must be a little-known historical legend behind this. Let's trace the past that originated from Emperor Yang of Sui and Japan during the Tang Dynasty, and unveil the mystery of this wooden national treasure.
Peculiar national gifts
It is said that during the Sui Dynasty, Japan was a blank period of cultural development, and life was extremely backward. At that time, Japan had no choice but to seek advice from the Sui Dynasty. So they sent a mission across the ocean to make a pilgrimage to the Central Plains. Who knew that at the beginning of the national letter, there was an unreasonable title such as "The Son of Heaven at Sunrise Respects the Book of Heaven at Daytime", which almost made Emperor Yang of Sui furious and sent troops on an expedition.
Fortunately, the ministers tried their best to stop it, and pointed out this "unintentional mistake" to the Japanese mission in person. The Japanese side sincerely apologized again and again, which dispelled the doubts of Emperor Yang of Sui. When the Japanese mission was about to leave, Emperor Yang of Sui actually resorted to "revenge" and rewarded the Japanese with a large piece of agarwood wood.
The reason why Emperor Yang of Sui chose this peculiar national gift has its own profound meaning.
The first is to show off national strength. Such a huge piece of wood is tantamount to showing the financial and material strength of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty even showed off to his envoys, can Japan have this fragrant wood? When he learned that there was none, he proudly gave the wood to the Japanese.
Secondly, it is a satire of the latter. Although agarwood is large, it is extremely fragile. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty wanted to use this to warn the Japanese that there should be no more unreasonable rhetoric of "the country of the rising sun" and "the place where the sun is gone". However, the Japanese side did not understand this meaning, but regarded it as an extremely precious gift.
It is said that after this piece of agarwood was given to the Japanese side, it was also named "Lan Luxury" by the Japanese themselves. Lan, which means empty and quiet; Luxury, that is, the meaning of waiting and waiting. Lan is extravagant, and he wants to express his reverence for this piece of national gift.
As for this piece of agarwood that is so sacred to the Japanese, its provenance has to start from the side of Emperor Yang of Sui. It turned out that Emperor Yang of Sui loved to collect all kinds of rare treasures in his life, and this agarwood was one of the most proud. However, as time passed, some cracks gradually appeared in such a large wood, so Emperor Yang of Sui discarded it.
Unexpectedly, this discarded wood turned out to become a "national treasure" of the Japanese. Not only that, but even the supreme ruler of Japan, as the emperor, cannot touch it without permission. There is a mysterious legend behind this.
It is said that the famous Ashikaga Yoshikyo general of Japan wanted to forcibly take this piece of agarwood for himself. But the moment he touched the wood, the sky suddenly became windy and cloudy. Ashikaga Yoshinori was so frightened that he quickly put down the wood, and the sky was clear again. Seeing this, the senior monks and elders of Todaiji Temple warned the general not to desecrate the sacred objects, otherwise they would bring disaster to their descendants.
Ashikaga Yoshikyo had to give up, and the people later worshipped the piece of wood as a bad thing. Coupled with the deep meaning of Emperor Yang of Sui when he gave it back then, the Japanese naturally regarded it as a sacred treasure.
Despite this, the Japanese emperors later took a small "private pocket" from this piece of wood. It's just that the amount taken is insignificant, adding up to only 2,000 grams. It can be seen that this piece of agarwood, which was regarded as a discarded object by Emperor Yang of Sui in the past, has now become a national treasure that can never be desecrated in the hearts of the Japanese.
From a despised gift to a Japanese national treasure: the transformation of agarwood's status after its journey to Japan
The giant agarwood, which was given to Japan by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty as a "gift of revenge", was insignificant when he first arrived in Japan.
At that time, the Japanese envoys traveled far and wide, just to ask the Central Plains of the Sui Dynasty for advice on the way of cultural construction. They originally hoped to get gifts such as scriptures, classics, cultural relics and monuments, but they didn't expect Emperor Yang of Sui to be so contemptuous and reward a piece of wood as a state gift.
In this regard, the Japanese envoys were naturally very angry. Several envoys are said to have left on the spot, and no one knows where they ended up. The few people who stayed behind also reluctantly brought this piece of agarwood back, but never put it on the sandalwood case, but directly put it in the warehouse.
However, over time, the piece of wood has gradually been upgraded to become a "national treasure" of Japan. The point is that two things happened that greatly enhanced the status of this piece of wood in the hearts of the Japanese.
One is that a few years later, Japan asked the Central Plains Imperial Court for support to repair the building of Horyuji Temple, which was destroyed by the earthquake. The imperial court granted their request and shipped a large amount of sandalwood to Japan. This incident made the Japanese people realize that sandalwood is too precious and rare, and such a scarce item must be cherished.
So they began to re-examine the forgotten piece of agarwood, and finally realized how extraordinary it was. After all, agarwood is also a kind of sandalwood, the material is rare and precious, and they actually despise such a national treasure-like gift so much, it is simply a tyrannical thing! As a result, Japan enshrined it in Buddhist temples and regarded it as a treasure.
The other thing shows the magic of the wood. It is said that there was an Ashikaga Yoshikyo shogun who wanted to take this national treasure for himself. But as soon as he touched the wood, the sky was full of wind and thunder. Seeing this, a high-ranking monk rushed to reprimand the general not to desecrate the gods, otherwise it would bring disaster to his descendants.
Although the Ashikaga Yoshikyo was in power, it was also frightened and retreated. From this, people believe that this piece of wood is extraordinary, and it must have an extraordinary origin. Gradually, it became an important weapon of the state, and even the emperor could not touch it without permission.
In this way, the status of this piece of wood is naturally increasing day by day. It is no longer a "gift of revenge" that people have discarded, but has become a "talisman" and "treasure of the town" of the Japanese. People began to weave all kinds of legends and myths around it, and combined it with Buddhism, and regarded it as an important tool for Buddhism.
It can be seen that the piece of wood given to Japan by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty has undergone a process of transformation from being neglected to being regarded as a "national treasure". Although it was only regarded as a perfunctory gift at first, it has become a witness and symbol of Sino-Japanese friendship after hundreds of years.
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This history of vicissitudes of change is a vivid footnote, witnessing the tortuous and winding journey of cultural exchanges between the two countries. And the piece of wood that was left out in the cold finally regained its due light in the baptism of time. It is like a mirror, reflecting the spark of the collision of Eastern and Western civilizations, and inspiring future generations to explore the unique cultural origins.