Author: Sasha
This article is Sasha's original and will not be reprinted by any media
On this day in history, the master of authenticity successfully crossed to Japan. Master Jian Zhen's visit to Japan was not only to preach Buddhism, but also to bring many treasures, including: Chinese medicine, calligraphy, architecture, carving, and even tofu, tea leaves and miso. Listen to Sasha.
In order to promote Buddhism, Master Jian Zhen braved the ban of the Tang Dynasty government to carry out 6 smuggling trips, which finally reached Japan.
For this, the Master of Authenticity paid a huge price. He nearly died several times, and eventually became blind, and the eldest disciple Xiangyan died on the way.
Finally, in the twelfth year of Tianbao (753), the Jian Zhen master Dongdu succeeded.
He landed in Saaki Yaura (present-day Akizukiura, Kagoshima, southern Kyushu), Japan, and thus spent 10 years in action, eventually passing away.
To this day, the Japanese people have a very high evaluation of the master of authenticity, known as the "father of culture" and "the ancestor of the Vinaya".
In addition to the Dharma, the Master of Truth-Seeing also brought a lot of things.
First, Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Before master Jian Zhen arrived in Japan, there was already Chinese medicine here, also known as Kampo medicine.
In the 5th century, more than 200 years before Master Jian Zhen, Chinese medicine passed through the Korean Peninsula and entered Japan.
However, at this time, Japanese Chinese medicine is still a very weak thing. Medicines for TCM were scarce and expensive, and the level of doctors was low, serving only the Japanese court and a small number of nobles.
After the arrival of Master Jian Zhen, Chinese medicine has undergone great changes.
Many of the monks of the Tang Dynasty were famous doctors.
As a product of the combination of Buddhism and secularism, monks often used to see ordinary people to preach buddhism and admit believers.
The 50-year-old master of authenticity, also a monk who is proficient in traditional Chinese medicine, has volunteered to see believers for many years.
After arriving in Japan, Master Jian Zhen still treated ordinary Japanese Buddhist believers as in China. Before coming to Japan, Master Jian Zhen had already carried a large amount of Chinese medicine.
At that time, the status of the Japanese people, especially the peasants, was very low, and they could only wait for death or pray to God when they fell ill.
Master Jian Zhen's traditional Chinese medicine has brought great hope to the Japanese people and has a great impact.
The level of Chinese medicine of Master Jian Zhen is very high.
He was blind in both eyes, and just by virtue of his sense of touch, smell, and taste, he could clearly know what kind of Chinese medicine this was, and there was no mistake.
According to Japanese historical records, Jian Zhen once guided the medicine donation work of the Empress Dowager Guangming, and sorted out the medicines in Shosoin (the warehouse where the japanese imperial and large temples stored medicines) in detail, and revised them according to the Chinese medicine texts. According to relevant historical records, there are 21 cabinets of traditional Chinese medicine and 60 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine in shosoin, such as Aoki incense, cloves, ginseng, guixin, licorice, rhubarb, keel, walnut kernel, talc and so on. Jian Zhen relies on hand touch, nose sniffing, and oral taste to sort out these drugs, and the difficulty can be imagined. At that time, the Japanese people lacked experience in the identification, storage, and preparation of Traditional Chinese medicine, and Jian Zhen passed on all this knowledge to his Japanese disciples.
Master Jian Zhen is highly skilled, and the whole of Japan knows it.
According to the "Continuation of the Chronicle of Japan", the Empress Dowager Guangming was ill and asked Jian Zhen to diagnose and treat the disease, which was quite effective; when Emperor Shengwu was ill, Jian Zhen also personally conditioned her body.
Jian Zhen is the author of a volume of "The Secret Recipe of Jian Shangren" in Japan, and the Japanese respect him as the originator of Japanese traditional Chinese medicine.
Until the Time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japanese Kampo medicine bags were plastered with portraits of Kanshin.
Second, tofu
The ancient people of Japan were basically vegetarian, and ordinary farmers rarely ate meat.
In this case, protein-rich soy products are very important.
Long-term vegetarian diet can not get enough protein, it will seriously affect the health of the body.
For so many years, Japan has been using tofu as its main source of protein.
It can be said that tofu is extremely important for the Japanese diet and greatly enhances the physique of the Japanese people.
And tofu was passed down to Japan by the master of authenticity.
As a monk, Master Jian Zhen naturally also consumes tofu for a long time. After arriving in Japan, master Kanzen used Japanese soybeans and his own technology to quickly make tofu.
At first, tofu was only the food of the monks, and later spread throughout Japan, from the emperor down to ordinary farmers, no one could leave tofu.
To this day, tofu is still the main staple food of the Japanese.
Third, miso
Miso is actually a kind of bean paste.
From ancient times to the present day in Japan, miso is the most popular seasoning. It can make soup, it can cook vegetables, it can make hot pot, it can do almost anything.
The Japanese are inseparable from Miso.
The Japanese themselves say it well: the Japanese love miso to the point of fascination, and without miso, the flavor of Japanese cuisine will be much inferior. For example, Japanese noodles (including restaurant meals and instant noodles) sell more than 10 billion servings a year, and 50% of them are miso flavors.
This miso was also brought to Japan by the Master of Authenticity.
As a vegetarian food for tang monks, douban sauce is also a common thing, which is nothing.
Fourth, tea
In the Tang Dynasty, tea was also something that was closely inseparable from Buddhism.
When Master Kanzen arrived in Japan, he brought with him a lot of tea leaves.
As a result, the Japanese Buddhist community and aristocratic society have spread a wave of tea drinking.
However, Master Kanzen did not bring tea to Japan.
Japanese tea relies on imports through the Korean Peninsula or by sea, which is extremely expensive and can only be popular in small circles.
50 years later, in 805, the Japanese monks Nai Cheng and Haikong brought back tea seeds and planted them in the Omi Tailu Mountain area of Japan.
Subsequently, the Japanese tea ceremony gradually flourished and became an important part of Japanese culture.
Until World War II, ordinary Japanese soldiers had tea rations.
It can be seen that the importance of tea drinking for Japanese people.
In addition to the above 4, the master of authenticity also brought a lot of things, such as calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, painting and so on.
It can be said that the master of authenticity alone decided: Japan's admiration for Chinese culture for 1,000 years.
However, thirty years of Hedong and thirty years of Hexi, the level of Japanese Chinese medicine today far exceeds ours, and we can be our teachers.