In 65 AD, Emperor Hanming (the second emperor after Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty) wrote an imperial edict to his half-brother Liu Ying, the king of Chu, which was later included in Ye Fan's Biography of Ten Kings of Guangwu. Dozens of words seemingly inadvertently mentioned in imperial edicts caused a great sensation in the religious history of China, and became the earliest materials for later generations to study the origin of Buddhism in China. In any case, Emperor Hanming never imagined that a convenient mention in his imperial edict would open the official chapter of the spread of foreign religions in China, and through the official history, Liu Ying became the first Buddhist king in the vassal state.
According to the Biography of Ten Kings of Guangwu in the Late Han Dynasty, Liu Ying was king in Jianwu for fifteen years and reigned in Jianwu for twenty-eight years. When he was young, Liu Ying liked to make friends with rangers and welcomed many guests. In his later years, he became more interested in understanding the situation. According to the research and interpretation of experts in Buddhist history, Buddhism was accepted by the people in the early days when it was introduced to China, mixed with immortal thoughts and sacrificial ceremonies. In addition, the theory of Huang Lao has always been a popular academic thought among the nobles in the Han Dynasty. Huai Nan Zi, written by Liu An, the king of Huainan (Liu Yingshi, Huainan is close to Chu), mainly promotes the theory of Huang Lao. Now Liu Ying, the king of Chu, is developing here, and Huang Lao's studies have made new progress, which is linked to religious Buddhism. Liu Ying built a shrine for the pagoda, mostly for Laozi. Therefore, Liu Ying likes Huang Lao Xue, which laid an ideological foundation for him to accept and spread Buddhism.
On the ancient map of China, Xuzhou was an important commercial port connecting the north and the south and connecting the east and the west, with developed economy and active culture. It is also an important area where Taoist thoughts flourish and Taoism rises. After Emperor Han Ming became emperor, he wanted to rule the world with generosity, so he ordered people who committed capital crimes in various countries to pay raw silk for atonement. Liu Ying, the king of Chu, suddenly felt a little guilty because he didn't know what he had done. Without being pressed, he asked his men to prepare thirty pieces of yellow silk and white silk for Emperor Han Ming. Emperor Han Ming took the food and told me what to do. He wrote an imperial edict to Liu Ying, which read: "The King of Chu recited Huang Lao's quips, worshiped Futuren Temple, and swore an oath to God in March. Why should he doubt it? Why should he regret it? " It was redeemed to help the prosperity of Ipsen and Sang Men. Present this imperial edict to the officials of various vassal States.
Pagoda is another transliteration of Buddha. "Sang Men" is a shaman, that is, "Misha" later, referring to the monks at home; "Ipsai" refers to Buddhists who practice at home. Emperor Han Ming said in the imperial edict that it was a good thing for the king of Chu to build a temple for the Buddha, fast and pray. What is there to be ashamed of? I'll give you back the raw silk you sent. You can use it to support monks and lay people. Buddhism was introduced into China in a subtle way. It can be speculated that Buddhism had spread in Han Dynasty decades or even hundreds of years before Liu Ying, the king of Chu. However, because most of the original believers were foreign businessmen or folk people, the official history did not pay attention. Finally, because of the noble status of the king of Chu in Pengcheng, Futu appeared in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty.
But Liu Ying, the king of Chu, believed in Buddhism, and it didn't end well. Because he didn't study Confucian classics well at that time, he built temples with a group of foreign monks all day, which was really different. The more important reason is that Liu Ying made extensive friends with alchemists after the promulgation of Han Ming Emperor's letters, and also made a golden turtle and jade crane with the inscription Fu Rui, which made the court taboo. Therefore, in 70 AD, Yan advertised that Chu and Wang Zhong made predictions and books, which was treason. The imperial court sent people to investigate, and the officials in charge participated in the illegal Liu Ying gathering people for treachery, creating false appearances, increasing or decreasing the rank without authorization, and establishing two thousand stones for princes. When they were arrogant, they asked the emperor to kill Liu Ying. Emperor Han Ming could not bear to kill him with a kiss, and wasted Liu Ying. In the second year, Liu Ying, king of Chu, went to Danyang County and committed suicide soon (similar to Liu An, king of Huainan). Chu lived for thirty-three years. The royal family sent Dr. Guanglu to pay tribute to Liu Ying, gave him a funeral object according to the legal system, and gave him a seal, which was buried in Jingxian County as a vassal gift. To the surprise of King King Liu of Chu and Emperor Han Ming, after 100 years, Buddhism and Taoism, a new religion, were packaged and sold all the way from other places to the court of Emperor Han Ming. Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty set up a shrine in the palace to worship Huang Lao and Buddha at the same time. It can be seen that Buddhism has penetrated into the royal family of the Han Dynasty at this time, and Huang Lao is no longer confined to books, but directly stepped onto the altar and became an idol worshipped by the emperor.
At present, there are Han tombs in Honglou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, tengxian, Shandong and Lucun, Jiaxiang County. Stone reliefs engraved with six-toothed white elephants have been unearthed in and around China. The stories of Buddhists and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism are often depicted in Han portraits. Vimalakīrti and Manjusri Bodhisattva sat opposite each other and discussed the scriptures on the Han stone reliefs unearthed in Shilipu, Xuzhou. In many places in Xuzhou Han Dynasty Stone Relief Art Museum, the top cover of the stone relief is engraved with patterns similar to lotus flowers, and some lotus flowers are surrounded by auspicious clouds, implying an extraordinary and incredible realm. There are always tall trees in front of pavilions on some stone reliefs collected by Xuzhou Han Painting Museum, which are on a par with houses. The crown of the tree twists and turns like a mountain, and monkeys climb on a few trees, which seems to be a kind of wisdom tree. When Buddhism first spread in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, some symbols were usually used to show respect for Buddhism, and the tree of wisdom was one of them.
In a word, Pengcheng in the Han Dynasty was the first vassal Wang Liuying who believed in and spread Buddhist thoughts and images vigorously. It was also the origin and one of the core towns of Taoism, immortals and health preservation thoughts. People, like transcendental gods who attach importance to folk beliefs, paint traces of Buddhism and various animals, plants and symbols of Buddhism, and bury them in their graves, an eternal underground world. Therefore, Xuzhou region has left a large number of folk art historical sites, precious video materials and heavy Buddhist ideological and cultural heritage that Buddhism developed and spread in early ancient China. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced into China from Tianzhu, which was a great event in the history of China civilization. This is the first integration of China civilization and foreign civilization. In this integration, history chose Xuzhou as the starting point of integration.