Was it because of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism or other reasons that Taizu destroyed Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty?

Buddhism is not a native religion in China. It originated in India and was introduced to China through the Silk Road in the late Western Han Dynasty around 30 AD. In order to adapt to China's national conditions and gain a foothold in China, China has gradually developed into? China Buddhism? Like Taoism and Confucianism, it has become an important part of China's traditional culture. At first, in the process of spreading Buddhism, it was severely resisted by China's Confucianism and Taoism culture, so its development was not fast.

Throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism first spread only because of the admiration of several emperors. Then it went through the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. At this time, China was in turmoil, with little time for national reunification and long-term division. Especially in the sixteen countries of Wuhu, the invasion of foreign ethnic minorities greatly threatened the survival of the Central Plains ethnic groups. The gentry moved south one after another, and the people were displaced. In this extremely chaotic background, the spiritual concept of universality and suffering of Buddhism has been carried forward as never before. Both the gentry and the people fell at the Buddha's feet for spiritual comfort and sustenance.

Reasons for destroying Buddha

economic factor

With the prevalence of Buddhism, there is a tendency to subdue local Confucianism and Taoism into the first national religion. However, this is not the key reason for the demise of Buddhism. The number of monks in temples has increased greatly, and the fields and handmaiden occupied by temples have seriously affected the operation of the country.

In the history of Buddhism in China? The case of the three armed forces? Four times? Difficult way? Both happened in the Northern Dynasties. It was the first time that Emperor Tuoba Tao of the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Buddha, and it was also the most severe and cruel one. A bloody disaster .

The prosperity of Buddhism brought luxurious temples and a large number of monks. According to records, a temple in the Eastern Jin Dynasty covers an area of hundreds of acres, and the ever-burning lamp dedicated to the Buddha in the temple is miles away along the corridor. The young monk who lights the lamp in the morning needs to ride a horse to light the lamp, and there is an endless stream of worshippers from morning till night.

The increase of monks has brought about an increase in serving handmaiden, and many civilians also chose to flee to temples to become tenants because of the war. These monks have been studying Buddhism, but they have already become landlords of monks and do not need to pay taxes to the state. Many criminals ran to the temple, and the government had to arrest them without notice, so the temple became a place of extra-justice.

Tuoba Tao, the Great Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was the first emperor to destroy Buddha in the history of China and the third emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In fact, Emperor Tuoba Tao did not hate Buddhism. It was only because the monk could not contribute to him and affected his interests that he ruined Buddhism.

Due to the growing influence of Buddhism, it not only robbed the country's population and land, but also trained the army, harbored traitors and controlled the political situation. In addition, some monks are no longer pure Buddhist children. Except for shaving your head, the rest are no different from ordinary people. They have to eat, sleep, and a large number of handmaiden servants, and even get married and have children.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wars were frequent, and the Northern Wei Emperor Tuoba Tao wanted to unify the north, so all the people were soldiers. Since ancient times, Buddhist monks have always been exempt from taxes and corvees, not to mention being a soldier or farming, which made Emperor Taizu very dissatisfied.

According to statistics, during the Taizu period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, only monks and their domestic slaves accounted for one-tenth of the national population. Buddhism has seriously affected the ruling foundation of the country and directly threatened the ruling foundation of the rulers. In this case, the rulers who made a difference took the most direct measures to thoroughly crack down on Buddhism.

Thus, in the fourth year of Taiyan (AD 438), Emperor Taizu issued an imperial edict that all Samoans (monks) under the age of 50 should perform military service in a secular way.

Emperor Taizu Tuoba-tao thinks that you monks don't serve as soldiers, don't farm land, and don't increase labor and cannon fodder for my childbearing population. What's the use of asking you Is it necessary to survive without serving me? Everything is secular. Fight for me.

Ho Choi, the most trusted minister of Tuoba Tao, believed in Taoism and spoke ill of Buddhism. At the suggestion of Ho Choi, Tuoba Tao began to alienate Buddhism. He also changed his title to Taiping Zhenjun. Converting to Kou Tianshi's Taoism is not only a rejection of Buddhism, but also a planned large-scale action to destroy Buddhism.

Emperor Mao needed a population to fight. He lost many people because of the war, so in his view, monks must fight for him and act as cannon fodder.

Taizu's action to destroy the Buddha began in the fifth year of Taiping Zhenjun (444). He not only secularized the monks, but also ordered that all private shamans (monks) from princes to Shu Ren be banned and handed over within a time limit. If there is any hiding, the whole gate will be destroyed.

In addition, in the royal family, Prince Tuoba Huang believes in Buddhism. As the heir to the throne, Mao could not sharply oppose his own thoughts and beliefs. In order to change the belief of the prince, Taizu gradually began to use the imperial power to kill people. Destroy Buddha? This idea.

(2) Political factors

Since the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the unification of the North for more than 50 years, a large number of ethnic minorities have migrated inward, resulting in several waves of immigration. According to official records, there were more than 193 Hu surnames in the Northern Wei Dynasty during this period. Not all the surnames in China? . With the deepening of immigration, a series of social problems, such as the armed resistance of the former Han people, the rebellion led by the leader of the country, and the rebellion of monks, have intensified, endangering social stability.

For example, in 445, Xing Wu was uprising by the conference semifinals, with hundreds of thousands of people. The next year, Emperor Wu Tai personally fought back and found many weapons in a temple in Chang 'an. Therefore, he suspected that the shaman colluded with the thief and was furious, killing all the monks in the temple. Ho Choi always wanted to carry out the policy of sinicization in the north, so he took the opportunity to give an idea to destroy the Buddha, so the famous Emperor Mao destroyed the Buddha.

Cultural factor

After the Northern Wei Dynasty ruled the North, the regime needed a stable mainstream ideology. There is a strong demand for sinicization in the Northern Wei Dynasty, so it is particularly important to accept the study of Chinese culture and appoint Chinese officials. Confucian culture, as the mainstream culture of Han nationality, just meets the needs of rule. As a Confucian scholar, Ho Choi, a powerful minister relied on by Mao, tried to transform the politics of the Northern Wei Dynasty with Confucian culture, and combined Confucianism with Kou Qian's way? Tianshidao? It provided a very suitable ideological tool for Emperor Taizu. In order to ensure the unity of cultural thoughts during the reign, it is imperative to destroy the Buddha.

To sum up briefly, there are several ways for Mao to destroy Buddha:

1, the demand of the whole people as soldiers, which is very important;

2. Ho Choi pursued the policy of sinicization, which was needed by the mainstream of Confucianism and had to confront Hu Jiao;

3. Buddhism enjoyed too high privileges in the Northern Wei Dynasty, especially tax avoidance and doing nothing.

4. Samoan wealth

The influence of destroying Buddha

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, two vigorous games? Two five? The influence of the movement to destroy Buddha is fatal. Buddhism, which once flourished in the catastrophe, gradually declined, and finally completely withdrew from the political arena and became a folk religion in the following two campaigns to destroy Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty and the later Zhou Dynasty. Throughout the two campaigns to destroy Buddhism in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in the final analysis, it is still the contradiction between politics and culture, and the arrogance and extravagance of Buddhism itself in the development process are also reflected incisively and vividly. In history, some rulers once lamented the country: the house where the Buddha lived was bigger than my palace. Arrogant and unrestrained, people who practice Buddhism and cultivate their hearts covet worldly desires, and even there have been incidents of monks rebelling. No wonder they want to rebel.

Northern Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties twice? Destroy Buddha? Movement is based on its own ruling purpose, but the result is exactly the same. Although they destroyed some classic artistic achievements of Buddhism, they seriously damaged the lifeblood of Buddhism. However, a large number of monks and handmaids were forced to return to the secular world, which expanded the country's tax revenue and military resources and provided solid conditions for the rise of national strength. At the same time, Buddhism learned to integrate with the ruling national conditions in these two disasters, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties were regarded as an important turning point in the history of Buddhism in China.

Buddhism died out, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was full. Buddhism is immortal in the history of China, and will not be extinct because of the emperor's behavior. Even if it is fatally attacked, it will slowly recover. Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism, and Confucianism could not be destroyed. Emperor Mao could not destroy the Buddha. The emperor can't beat the destiny.

Buddhism was once suppressed after the destruction of Buddhism by Taizu in the Northern Wei Dynasty, but after Taizu's death, the succeeding Northern Wei emperors resumed their belief in Buddhism and Buddhism flourished again. After the split of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddhism developed in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Buddhism developed rapidly in Northern Zhou Dynasty and Northern Qi Dynasty before Emperor Wudi destroyed Buddhism, which was much more serious than before Emperor Wudi destroyed Buddhism.

Emperor Mao's desire for Buddhism was completely destroyed, which led to the large-scale development of Buddhism. Difficult way? To a certain extent, it has stimulated the development of rural Buddhism in the northern region, and the gap between North and South Buddhism has widened, which has had an important and far-reaching impact on the overall development pattern of Buddhism in China.