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Memorial Hall of
Mork Jian Zhen
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Monk Jian Zhen (688—763)Of the Tang dynasty
was from Yangzhou，He Was well versed in literature,art，medicine
and architecture。 After middle age he was the abbot of Daming
Temple。
In 743，two，Japanese monkS studying Buddhism in China made
a special trip to Yangzhou to invite Jian Zhen to dO missionary
wotk in Japan as it was also the Wish of the Japanese Government．After
some preparation，Jian Zhen，together With his disciples and some
rtisans started off for Japan by sea。They made six attempts
to cross the sea in ten years，but all failed。 In the fifth attempt,the
fatigue and hardship endured during the long journey 0n land
and sea inflicted a heavy toII on them．Jian Zhen became blind
and Eiei，one of the Japanese monkS accompanying him，died of
disease．However,JianZhen's determination to go to Japan was
not shaken by all these misfortunes．In 753，at the age Of 66，he
made the sixth attempt and finally succeeded．HiS dream to pteach
Buddhism in Japan came true．
Jian Zhen lived in Japan for ten years until his death at the
age of 76 in Nara，Japan． During the ten years of Stay in Japan,he
not only preached Buddhism but also imparted his knoWledge about
Chinese medicine，language，literature， architecture，sculpture,
calligraphy and printing to tbe Japanese people． What he did
contributed greatly to the cultural exchange and development
of the traditonal friendship between the Chinese and Japanese
peoples．
On the 1,200 anniversary Of Jian Zhen's death in 1963，Buddhists
and personages from the cultural circles of both China and Japan
held commemoratire activitieS in Yangzhou and decided on that
occasion to have a hall built to honour the memory of Monk Jian
Zhen. The memorial hall was built in the Tang style and completed
in l973．The main hall was designed by Mr．Liang Sicheng，a Chinese
architect of traditional style，On the mode of the Golden Hall
of To Sho DaiJi(Sho Dai Temple of the Tang dynasty)in Japan．
A gauze-and-Iacquer statue*of Jian Zhen in a sittmg possition
is placed in the main hall．It is akin to the national treasure
of Japan．
When Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visited To Sho Dai Ji during
his Visit in Japan in tbe autumn of l978，Abbot Kyojun Morimoto
proposed that the statue of Jian Zhen be allowed to visit his
hometown Yangzhou and be presented in Beijing．VicePremier Deng
agreed．
On April 13，1980，the statue arrived in Shanghai by a Japanese
special plane．It was escorted by Zhao Puchu,Chairman of the
Chinese Buddhist Association，and Kyojun MOrimoto in a specially
made Japanese automobile，It travelled overnight and arrived
in Daming Temple Of Yangzhou the next afternoon．It was presented
to the public for seven days in Yangzhou and then in Beijing
Until May 24. |
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