"The evaluation of Xuanzang should also adopt a realistic attitude. From China's point of view, Xuanzang is a key figure in the history of Buddhism in China. He is a devout religious scholar and a very capable political activist. His relationship with the rulers of the Tang Dynasty is a relationship of mutual use and a little mutual respect. "

"As for him personally, on the one hand, he is a devout Buddhist and a Taoist. On the other hand, he walked around among the emperor's ministers, singing hymns, sometimes being a bit vulgar, and attacking Indian monks in a factional way. "

"Therefore, I want to borrow a passage from Engels' comments on Hegel and Goethe to comment on Xuanzang:

Hegel is a German. Like Goethe of his time, he is a mediocre man with a braid. Goethe and Hegel are both Zeus on Mount Olympus in their respective fields, but neither of them completely got rid of the mediocrity of Germany. "

Xuanzang is Zeus in his own field. But aren't some of his behaviors a little mediocre? "

At this point, I vaguely feel the absurdity of the evaluation cycle and the significance of historical repetition and absurdity.

Everyone has left, either like a yellow crane or three times around the tree, which is embarrassing.

Right or wrong, who can jump to a conclusion?

Later, Mr. Ji said that "Xuanzang was a great man after all" and quoted Lu Xun as saying that Xuanzang was really "the backbone of China".

Master Xuanzang is a universally recognized Buddhist, philosopher, traveler and translator, an outstanding messenger of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and a world cultural celebrity, and is known as the "backbone of the nation". In September 2004, the State Council Information Office designated Confucius, Laozi, Sun Tzu, Qu Yuan and Xuanzang as the first batch of historical sages in China, and Xuanzang's contribution and value were increasingly recognized by people.

Tang Priest is a mythical figure in The Journey to the West, and is synonymous with Master Xuanzang. The Journey to the West, a classic, made Tang Priest a household name. Although the image of Tang's monk in the novel The Journey to the West retains the stern and picturesque appearance of Master Xuan Zang and the feat of crossing Qian Shan alone, which creates an incredible miracle, Tang's monk as a literary image is fundamentally different from Xuanzang as a historical figure. In his works, speeches, talks and poems, Mao Zedong, a great man of a generation, repeatedly quoted the real Xuanzang and the mythical figure Tang Yan in The Journey to the West as metaphors, leaving a little-known story for the world.

According to the literature, The Journey to the West is Mao Zedong's favorite China classic novel. As early as a teenager, Mao Zedong liked reading The Journey to the West. In his later years, there were five different versions of The Journey to the West in the living room of Zhongnanhai, that is, in his later years' study. He once said, "We should have children like Zhong Mou, friends like Lu Da, confidence like Tang Priest, and learn Four Great Classical Novels such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin, The Journey to the West and A Dream of Red Mansions."

196 1 year, after watching Monkey King Thrice Defeats the Skeleton Demon performed by Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe, Guo Moruo wrote "Seven Laws, Look!

1937165438+10, when Mao Zedong greeted Chen Yun and others who returned from the Soviet Union, he said humorously, "The Buddhist paradise where Tang Priest went was called Tianzhu Kingdom, which is now India, and he took Buddhist scriptures. We went to the western paradise to be the Soviet Union, and the classic we got was Marxism-Leninism. "

1April, 938, when faced with the speeches of the graduates of the third brigade, Mao Zedong quoted allusions and witticisms, skillfully used the characters in The Journey to the West, and expounded his firm and correct political direction, hard-working style and flexible strategy and tactics. He said: The Tang Priest went to the Western Heaven wholeheartedly and went through 81 difficulties. He never gives up, and his direction is unshakable.

1942, the Central Compilation Department was established. He wrote to He Kaifeng and said, "For the sake of the whole party, it is better to do local work in translation and learn from Tang Sanzang and Lu Xun. There is indeed infinite merit."

1945 at the seventh congress in the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mao Zedong said, "There were also translators in the history of China. For example, Tang Priest didn't come back until after 81 difficulties. Tang priest is a great translator. When he comes back from the scriptures, he will set up a translation hall to translate Buddhist scriptures. Tang Yan is not the first international student but also the second international student. "

1953 In February, Mao Zedong said at the fourth session of the first session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference: "Our nation has always accepted excellent foreign cultures. Our master Tang Sanzang, the Long March is much more difficult than later generations. He went to the West to learn from India. "

1957 10 When Mao Zedong talked about "Cheer up and study hard" at the Third Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee, he quoted seven Chinese and foreign historical figures, and Xuanzang was one of them. In March of the following year, he said at the Chengdu conference that people who have innovated ideas and established new schools since ancient times are all young people with insufficient knowledge. He cited the example of Xuanzang and others again.

1964, Mao Zedong said at the Spring Festival education forum: "There are so many Buddhist scriptures, who can read them all? The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra translated by Tang Xuanzang is less than 1000 words, which is relatively easy to read. The Diamond Sutra translated by Kumarajiva is too long to read. " It can be seen that Mao Zedong highly praised the translation level of Tang Priest.

Link, Mao Zedong's secretary, remembers that Mao Zedong once said that Xuanzang's trip to India in the Tang Dynasty was as difficult as the 25,000-mile Li Long Long March of the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants. He brought back the classics of Indian Buddhism, which had a great influence on the enrichment and development of Tang Wenhua.

Today, reviewing Mao Zedong's objective and fair evaluation of Xuanzang will help us to re-understand Master Xuanzang, carry forward Xuanzang's spirit and play its due role in building a harmonious society.