Of course, apart from his contribution to Buddhism and his translation of Buddhist scriptures, our understanding of Kumarajiva's description of Kumarajiva in some popular novels is more in line with the public's imagination of Kumarajiva, a monk who values feelings and values righteousness and practices Buddhism.
However, whether he is the first monk in the history of Buddhism in China or a monk in the world of mortals, he is indeed a witness to the history of the sixteen countries in China, and also a witness to the rise and fall of the post-Liang and post-Qin regimes.
From Kumarajiva's experience, let's learn about the history of the sixteen countries:
In 344 AD, Kumarajiva was born in Qiuci, a western region. This year is the second year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Emperor Jin Kang died of illness and Jin Mu Sima Dan succeeded him. After that, the Eastern Jin Dynasty experienced He Chong and Sima Yu's coming to power, and then went to the Huanjia Northern Expedition in Huan Wen, which can be said to be a stage of strong strength development in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Correspondingly, the northern part of China experienced regime change from post-Zhao to pre-Qin.
First, the late usurped Hu's throne in 334 AD, until 349 AD, when Hu proclaimed himself emperor. During this period, after the death of Schleswig-Holstein, the post-Zhao regime was still the dominant power in the north, and made many expeditions to the east against Qianliang in the northwest and Qianyan in the northeast, but the results were not remarkable, and the post-Zhao regime gradually declined because of Shi Hu's belligerence.
After Shi Hu's death, the internal chaos in the post-Zhao dynasty collapsed, and then the north fell into chaos again, which was followed by the establishment of the pre-Qin regime in Guanzhong, but the pre-Qin regime at this time was not the protagonist of the north at that time. At that time, among the northern Hu, the most powerful was the Xianbei regime from Liao.
Ran Min used the internal chaos of the post-Zhao Dynasty to establish the Wei Ran regime, which was also destroyed by the former Yan regime. Mr. Murong went south and occupied a large area of land in Kanto. However, after Murong Mu and Murong Ke died one after another, Qian Yan was tried by Murong and took power by the mixed family, and then began to decline gradually. After driving away the famous Qian Yan, Fu Jian sent Wang Meng to lead an army to overthrow the Qian Yan regime, thus opening the hegemony of the former Qin Dynasty in the north.
From the death of Shi Hu to the prosperity of Yan Qian and the former Qin Dynasty, the southern part of the Eastern Jin Dynasty also made many northern expeditions. Chu Taizu, Yin Hao and Huan Wen all led the Northern Expedition. In the year before the Qin Dynasty launched the Yan-extermination war, Huan Wen led a northern expedition to Yecheng, the capital, but was defeated at Fangtou.
In 370 AD, the former Qin Dynasty destroyed the former Yan, and the famous monks in the Western Regions were already there. His Buddhist attainments are extraordinary, and his reputation is spread far and wide in the western countries. The regime change in the Central Plains did not affect the rich western regions, and Kumarajiva's Buddhist attainments became increasingly profound.
And this stable situation changed until a person appeared.
After the downfall of Yan Qian in the former Qin Dynasty, the forces of Qiu Chi, Liang Qian and Daiguo were overthrown one after another. In 382 AD, Fu Jian had the intention of governing the rich western regions, so he appointed Lv Guang as his special envoy to celebrate the festival. The viceroy conquered the military forces in the western regions, General Anxi and a captain in the western regions, and prepared to conquer the western regions with 100,000 troops. On the eve of the Battle of Fu Jian in the Eastern Qin Dynasty, in October 65438+383, Lv Guang set out from Chang 'an and went to the Western Regions.
Lv Guang's arrival changed Kumarajiva's life.
In February 65438+383, Lv Guang arrived in Yanqi, a western region, and Yanqi and its subordinate countries surrendered one after another. However, at that time, Qiuci, where Kumarajiva was located, was located in the Qaidam Basin and was one of the most powerful countries in the Western Region. Qiuci didn't want to surrender to Lv Guang easily, so he resisted Lv Guang's army according to the city. At that time, the tribes of the Western Regions, such as Tiger and Wensu, joined forces with Qiuci to resist Lv Guang.
When Lv Guang and Qiuci were in a fierce battle, Fu Jian lost in the battle of Feishui. After returning to the north, various forces rebelled in succession, causing chaos in Guanzhong. However, at this time, Lv Guang did not know the changes in the East and was making every effort to fight the allies in the west. Finally, he defeated the western allied forces and used tactics to break the capital of Qiuci. Since then, all countries in the western region have fully joined Lv Guang.
At that time, Lv Guang pacified the Western Regions and was full of ambitions, while the Western Regions were rich and far away from the Central Plains of Wan Li, so Lu Guang had the ambition to separate the Western Regions. However, Kumarajiva, who had become a monk in the Western Regions, was in the Lv Guang army. Knowing Lv Guang's ambition, he suggested that Lv Guang return to the East. Lv Guang hosted a banquet for the soldiers, who wanted to go home, so Lu Guang returned to the Central Plains with a large number of rare horses.
Of course, when Lu Guangdong returned to China, he did not forget it, so his life took a turning point at this time.
When Lv Guang led a great army to travel long distances back to Liangzhou, Yao Chang of Qiang nationality killed Fu Jian, and the former Qin regime had existed in name only. At that time, he killed Liangzhou secretariat Liang and entered the ancient Shu, becoming Liangzhou secretariat and protecting Qiang as a captain. Later, when Lv Guang learned that Fu Jian had been killed, he ordered the three armies to mourn and named Fu Jian Emperor Zhao Wen. Subsequently, Lv Guang called himself Liangzhou Pastoral,
After many rebellions in Liangzhou were quelled and the situation in Liangzhou was stabilized, in 389 AD, Lv Guang claimed to be the king of the Three Rivers, and in 396 AD, Lv Guang was also known as the King of Heaven, and established the name of Daliang, known as Hou Liang in history. At this time, the national strength of Houliang regime reached its peak.
But at that time, the Qiang people occupied the land of Guanzhong, and Yao Chang proclaimed himself emperor in Chang 'an in 386 AD, established the post-Qin regime, and set his eyes on Liangzhou and Kanto. It was only at that time that the post-Qin dynasty was bent on removing the remnants of the pre-Qin dynasty, plotting the northern Hedong and other places, and had no time to look west. However, this does not mean that Hou Liang can develop steadily in Liangzhou. Under the turbulent wave of the Sixteen Countries, there was chaos in Hou Liang.
First, Lv Guang sent Xiping satrap Luo Qiu and Ju Qu Zhou to protect Lv Zuan and Yan Lu from the failure of the Western Qin Dynasty. Lv Guang killed Luo Qiu and Ju Qu Zhou, and Ju Qu Luo Qiu's nephew Ju Qu Meng Xun rose to keep out the cold. Together with his cousin Ju Qu Cheng Nan, he elected Duan Ye as the leader and established the regime of Beiliang. Later, there were frequent internal rebellions in Liangliang, and Guo Kun, Yang Gui and others attacked Liangliang one after another. The bare and lonely Xianbei people also established the Nanliang regime.
So Hou Liang was caught in the confrontation between Northern Liang and Southern Liang and Western Qin and Later Qin in Guanzhong. In 399 AD, Lv Guang was seriously ill and passed it on to Prince Lu Shao, claiming to be the emperor's father, and died soon after. However, after Lv Guang's death, there was a rebellion in Hou Liang. Lv Zuan killed Lv Shao to usurp the throne, and was later killed by Lv Chao. Later, Lv Chao took Lu Long as the throne. However, Lu Long is not as bloody as Lv Guang and Lv Zuan. Facing the crusade of Qin Dynasty 40 1 year later, Lu Long surrendered and Hou Liang perished.
During the past eighteen or ten years, Hou Liang, Beiliang, Nanliang, Xiqin and Houqin regimes fought many times in the northwest, from independence in 386 AD to the demise of Houliang after Lulong surrendered in 403 AD. During this decade, Kumarajiva, who was brought to Liangzhou by Lv Guang, has been stranded in Liangzhou.
In 389 AD, Lv Guang named Kumarajiva as a Buddhist in Liangguo after the heavenly king. Lv Guang also ordered skilled craftsmen to build a magnificent temple in Guzhu, named Kumarajiva Temple, for Kumarajiva to preach and teach here. So, in the following ten years, despite the constant wars in the outside world, Kumarajiva practiced dharma in the temple with peace of mind, until the invasion of Gu Shucheng by the late Qin Dynasty and Kumarajiva practiced in Liangzhou with peace of mind.
Since then, great changes have taken place in Kumarajiva's life.
At the beginning, after Yao Chang's death, Yao Xing, his son, was not in a hurry to send out obituary, but reorganized the army to attack Qin Maodeng of the previous dynasty, and finally defeated the army in the abandoned bridge. Later, Yao Xingcai mourned for Yao Chang, and he officially succeeded to the throne as emperor. Yao Xing's forbearance seems to indicate his future achievements.
After that, Yao Xing defeated Mao Deng, occupied Longdong and Hedong successively, and the State of Qin rose rapidly. In 399 AD, Yao Xing took advantage of Sima Daozi and his son in the Eastern Jin Dynasty to take power, and internal disputes in Jiangzuo continued, sending troops to capture Luoyang. So far, a lot of land north of Huaihe River and Hanshui River has been occupied by the late Qin Dynasty, and the situation in the country in the later period is no different.
After that, Yao Xing set his sights on the land west of Guanlong River, so he sent his troops to the west. First of all, he defeated the Western Qin who asked for help and forced the latter Qin to surrender. Then the latter Qin army crossed the Yellow River and easily breached the capital Hou Liang. Later, Nanliang, Beiliang and Xiliang were forced to surrender, and the post-Qin became a powerful force against the post-Yan regime in Kanto.
In 40 1 year, when the army attacked Hou Liang in the late Qin dynasty, Kumarajiva's personal trajectory changed again.
After Lu Long, the monarch of Hou Liang, surrendered, Kumarajiva, who had been staying in Kumarajiva Temple for more than ten years, was welcomed to Chang 'an, and was allowed to live in Xiaoyao Garden in the southwest of Chang 'an, and named Caotang Temple as the translated name. Since then, Kumarajiva has led many monks to translate scriptures in Caotang Temple. Yao Xing regarded Kumarajiva as a Buddhist, while Kumarajiva hosted a large-scale translation activity in Chang 'an for more than ten years, during which he completed many Buddhist scriptures translated by Kumarajiva.
However, contrary to Kumarajiva's concentrated translation of classics in Chang 'an, the post-Qin regime is being monitored by powerful enemies from all directions. After experiencing the peak, the post-Qin regime began to decline gradually in the confrontation with the powerful enemies around it.
First, the relationship between the post-Qin Dynasty and Xianbei Northern Wei regime broke down, and Tuoba GUI sent troops to invade the land of the post-Qin Dynasty. Later, Yao Xing led an army to attack the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the result was a fiasco. Yao Xing failed to make peace. Fortunately, at that time, he bravely attacked the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Tuoba GUI led the troops back to defense, giving Yao Xing a breathing space. Moving eastward and northward into frustrated Yao Xing, Jiang Zuo took advantage of the rebellion in Huan Xuan to send troops to capture a large area of land in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It also dealt a heavy blow to the Qiu Chi regime, and the post-Qin national strength was supplemented to some extent.
In 406 AD, Yao Xing transferred the secretariat of Liangzhou back to Chang 'an, and appointed Bald Tan as the Southern Liang King. After the bald sandalwood occupied Liangzhou, it drove away the army of the late Qin Dynasty, and the latter Qin Dynasty lost control of Liangzhou. Moreover, when Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty destroyed Huan Xuan, he also sent messengers to the later Qin Dynasty to ask Yao Xing to return the land of the twelve counties in the Eastern Jin Dynasty that he had occupied before. Yao Xing was worried that the war would be unfavorable in many ways and didn't want to be an enemy of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so he returned the land of twelve counties. In this way, the national strength of the post-Qin Dynasty was greatly weakened.
Later, Helian Bobo, the greatest enemy of the late Qin Dynasty, rose. Helian Bobo betrayed the post-Qin Dynasty to establish the Daxia regime, became the northern enemy of the post-Qin Dynasty, and defeated the post-Qin army one after another. But at that time, Yao Xing felt that he could take advantage of the opportunity of Liangzhou Tutan being defeated by Helian Bobo to send troops to recover Hexi, and did not fully respond to Helian Bobo. However, the post-Qin wars in Hexi suffered serious losses in succession, and the wars in the north and Helian Bobo also caused serious losses, which led many forces that had surrendered to the post-Qin dynasty to turn to Helian Bobo.
In the next few years, the war between Daxia and the late Qin Dynasty lasted for several years, and the latter Qin Dynasty was not dominant, resulting in the loss of a large area of land in the north. Moreover, Emperor Wu of Song northern expedition to Southern Yan, Southern Yan turned to the later Qin Dynasty for help, and Yao Xing sent troops to rescue Southern Yan. Faced with Helian Bobo's threats, Yao Xing had to order reinforcements to return. Later, the regime of Emperor Wu of Southern Yan was overthrown, which also made the later Qin Dynasty face the threat of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later, he rebelled, and later Qin sent troops to crusade and was defeated. This undoubtedly confirmed the decline of the late Qin Dynasty.
In 4 13 AD, Kumarajiva passed away, ending his decades-long journey from the western regions to Liangzhou and then to Chang 'an. Kumarajiva left a large number of Buddhist scriptures translated into Chinese for later generations, which played a very important role in the spread of Buddhism in China.
After Kumarajiva's death, the post-Qin regime also ushered in the final demise.
In 4 14 AD, Yao Xing, the master of the late Qin Dynasty, was seriously ill. Prince Yao Hong and Prince Yao Bi had a power struggle for the throne, which affected the internal consolidation of the late Qin Dynasty and was taken by Helian Bobo. When Yao Hong ascended the throne, Emperor Wudi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty led an army to the Northern Expedition. At that time, there was chaos in Guanzhong, which could not resist the army of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Coupled with the threat of the Western Qin Dynasty and the Fox Xia regime, the Northern Wei Dynasty had no intention to help the later Qin Dynasty rashly, so the capital Chang 'an was broken and the latter Qin Dynasty was destroyed.
As "the closest monk to the world of mortals", Kumarajiva made great contributions to the development of Buddhism in China, and was also a witness to the history of the Sixteen Countries. He experienced the rise and fall of the post-cool and post-Qin regimes.
Kumarajiva, who was already a monk in the Western Regions, went to Liangzhou with Lv Gong and lectured in Liangzhou for more than ten years, which also witnessed the whole process from the establishment to the decline of the Hou Liang regime. Wait until Yao Xing invades Gu Shucheng, and then welcome Buddhist Hou Liang into Chang 'an. At this time, it was the decline of Hou Liang and the heyday of the post-Qin regime. In the following ten years, Kumarajiva devoted himself to translating classics in Chang 'an, but the post-Qin regime gradually declined.
Yao Xing has great respect for Kumarajiva. He not only provided him with a special place to translate the Scriptures, but also led ministers to attend Kumarajiva's lectures and made every effort to facilitate Kumarajiva's translation of the Scriptures. However, with Yao Xing's excessive worship of Buddhism, the worship of Buddhism in the ruling and opposition circles in the late Qin Dynasty consumed a lot of financial resources and manpower, which led to the suffering of the people in the late Qin Dynasty, affected the normal production of the late Qin Dynasty, and further led to the decline of the national strength of the late Qin Dynasty. Coupled with the powerful external enemies fighting for years, it eventually led to the demise of the late Qin Dynasty.
In Chang 'an, Kumarajiva, who translated the scripture "Can Bear hardships", may have been worried about the war years outside. It's just that Lv Guang and Yao Xing probably didn't notice the "warning" that "color is the same, space is the same, color is empty, and space is color".
(The picture in the article is from the network and has been deleted.)