Bright Era of China Entertainment

Chapter 834 A spontaneous trip (Part )
After finding a hotel and booking a room to rest, the couple immediately started looking for travel guides for Hangzhou on the hotel computer.

But maybe it was infected by Chu Xuan, but Liu Yifei, who had always been very clear-headed when it came to choice issues, now suffered from the same difficulty in making decisions as Chu Xuan.

"There are so many fun things to do. Where are we going? I want to go to all of them."

Once people find it difficult to make choices, they will fall into endless repetitions.

It was not until Hu Yanbin called and invited them to dinner at dinner time that the couple made a decision. They randomly picked a travel guide and visited the attractions one by one according to the guide, avoiding the hassle of thinking too much.

Hu Yanbin was very polite and ordered a large table of dishes for the three of them. His career had taken off due to "The Legend of Red Flame" and he had thanked director Kong Shengle during the Chinese New Year. Now, it was a chance encounter that made him thank the couple.

The couple responded politely. All this was due to Hu Yanbin's own ability, and both parties achieved mutual success.

After a harmonious and friendly dinner, the two sides parted ways.

Through this meeting, the friendship between the two sides was enhanced.

Hu Yanbin rushed back to the studio the next day to work on his career, and was looking forward to the possibility that both parties could participate in a traditional Chinese singing and dancing variety show so that they could get together and have fun again.

The couple happily replied "OK", said goodbye to him over the phone, and then continued their travel world for two...

Lingyin Temple, with its back against Beigao Peak and facing Feilai Peak, is located between two steep peaks and is not easily seen by the world. It is indeed a great place for hermits to meditate in seclusion, and is also a famous domestic tourist attraction.

It was neither a weekend nor a holiday, and there were few people hiking under the scorching sun, but this just happened to suit the couple's desire for a leisurely environment for hiking.

Liu Yifei was carrying a small white backpack and Chu Xuan was carrying a black travel bag. They each wore a baseball cap and sunglasses. They walked along the narrow mountain path, enjoying the green shade of the nearby trees and lingering around the mountains and rivers on both sides. It was so pleasant.

"Lingyin Temple, I've never heard of it before. This name sounds very spiritual. It doesn't sound as majestic as Songshan Mountain. It sounds more like a Taoist hermit living in seclusion in the wild."

"This temple was very famous in ancient times and has many interesting historical origins."

"Really, Mr. Chu, tell me a story."

Liu Yifei took Chu Xuan's hand and shook it, then jumped forward one step, turned around and walked backwards, facing Chu Xuan with an interested look, wanting Chu Xuan to tell her the story about this temple.

"Don't walk like this on the mountain path. What if you miss a step and fall down?" Chu Xuan saw that his wife was in a good mood because of the trip. Because it was really dangerous to walk backwards on the mountain path, he tried to persuade her.

"I'm not afraid with you here." Liu Yifei shook her head mischievously, revealing her 100% trust in Chu Xuan, which gave her a sense of security.

"Tsk, come back and be obedient." Chu Xuan didn't agree with her. Playing is fine, but safety cannot be joked about.

Seeing Chu Xuan's serious expression, Liu Yifei snorted, then jumped back to Chu Xuan and walked normally.

Seeing Liu Yifei's unwilling and submissive look, Chu Xuan joked: "Really, sometimes I don't understand you. You are mature, and you do have a mature side. When you are mature, you don't look like a 21-year-old girl at all. But sometimes you are very childish, just like a seven or eight-year-old girl. Are you a changeable little witch?"

Liu Yifei chuckled and winked at Chu Xuan: "Which one do you like, the mature me or the childish me?"

"I like them all, as long as it's you." Chu Xuan said without hesitation.

Concubine Liu Yi hummed, very satisfied with Chu Xuan's answer, and took his arm and said, "Tell me the story quickly, what is the historical origin of this Lingyin Temple."

"This is a long story. Let me sort it out." Chu Xuan sorted out his thoughts and filled in the clues of the story from the books he had read in the past.

After a while, he told the story.

"There is a race in the Western Regions called the Yue (Rou) people, whose earliest traces can be traced back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

There was a feudal system in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The ancestors of the Qin Dynasty, the Qin people, originally raised horses for the powerful people of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Because of their merits in horse breeding, they were granted the Qin land by the Eastern Zhou court, which is now the Gansu area.

The area west of Qin at that time was collectively called the land of barbarians, and it was also a large area of ​​the Western Regions planned during the Han Dynasty.

The Qin people's fiefdom was closest to the Western Regions, and at that time there were many invasions and harassment by foreign tribes, including the Yuezhi.

As a result, the wars and conflicts between the Qin people and the Yi people continued for hundreds of years.

During this period, the Qin's fiefdom became larger and larger, and the Yi people, including the Yuezhi, were driven into Xinjiang.

Even so, the Yi people continued to fight despite repeated defeats, simply because they did not know how to produce and only knew how to plunder for a living.

It was not until Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and built various passes and garrisons that the Yi people's eastward expedition was basically disrupted.

Those Yi people were not fools. If they tried to attack the pass by force, they would be seeking death. Therefore, a group of tribes completely gave up their intrusion on China, including the Yuezhi.

The Yuezhi people were very lucky. They took the right route of invasion, heading west and south, and plundered Tajikistan, Pakistan, and then India along the way.

After invading India, the Yuezhi people stopped and woke up. They felt that relying on looting was not enough and that being self-sufficient like the Chinese was the right way to go.

So in the first century AD, the Yuezhi people established a country in India called the Kushan Empire. "

"Wow." Concubine Liu Yi was surprised. "Is this how the legendary Kushan Empire came about? Didn't the Indians at that time resist? Aren't there a lot of people in India? The Yuezhi people are just a tribe. How did they win?"

Chu Xuan smiled and continued.

“This is where it gets interesting.

Around 600 BC, Sakyamuni was born in Nepal. He was moved by the poverty of all living beings and knew that the powerful would always enslave the weak to do their work. Thus, the Buddhist idea of ​​equality of all living beings came into being.

At that time, people with ideas were all gods, whether it was Confucius or Mencius.

It was the same with Sakyamuni, who had independent thoughts. Once he started preaching, he gained a large number of believers and then embarked on his own career.

But to the north of Nepal are the Himalayas, which modern people cannot cross, and ancient people could not cross this mountain even more.

So, Sakyamuni went south and entered India to preach. India was also the first race to accept Buddhism.

The idea of ​​equality of all beings is very noble, but for India, where agricultural production was still very weak at the time, outstanding people could not display their talents, otherwise they would be unequal to those without talent.

Therefore, this kind of thinking at that time was equivalent to giving up.

It was this kind of cultural environment that had been in a state of disarray for hundreds of years that was violently crushed by the barbaric Yuezhi people in the first century AD, and the Kushan Empire was easily established. "

"I see." Concubine Liu Yi was very excited, and she gained a lot of knowledge. She asked with great interest: "What happened next? What does this have to do with Lingyin Temple?"

Chu Xuan picked up the mineral water in his hand, took a sip, and continued.

“Because all sentient beings suffer, Buddhism is the most down-to-earth and has been the easiest to accept since ancient times.

Or to put it bluntly, the doctrine that is easiest to brainwash people is Buddhism, because its teachings are all aimed at human suffering and are easy to resonate with.

Because of this, the Yuezhi people who ruled the Kushan Empire were also brainwashed and believed in their evil "equality of all beings". Since they are equal, there is no distinction between the powerful and the common people, and no distinction between superiors and subordinates.

Without this distinction, problems arose in all aspects, and finally the indigenous people took advantage of the situation and overthrew the Kushan Empire. This country only existed for 200 years.

In the 3rd century AD, the Kushan Empire fell and power struggles began. Wars broke out everywhere and those who could not survive began to flee.

Among them was an Indian monk who, having spread the news of China’s power and wealth when the Kushan Empire of the Yuezhi people ruled this area, led a large number of temple believers northwards and luckily found the country on the Silk Road.

After asking for directions along the way, they finally arrived at the land of China from the Western Regions.

Unexpectedly, due to the influence of the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China, the Chinese land became a situation of Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the north controlled by foreign ethnic groups such as the Xianbei, and the south controlled by the Han people.

This Indian monk was devoted to China and traveled thousands of miles before finally arriving in Nanjing, where he met the ruler of the Chen Dynasty at that time.

When the king of the Chen Dynasty heard that this man came from thousands of miles away and lost many believers along the way, he was naturally very happy, as if he was on a pilgrimage. So he donated money and effort to build a temple for this Indian monk and revive Buddhism.

Because this Indian monk had the courage and determination to travel thousands of miles, people believed that he must be very wise, so they gave him the word "hui".

This Indian monk passed by the Northern Dynasty but disdained the land of the Northern Dynasty and insisted on coming to the Han territory of the Southern Dynasty. The Han people thought that this Indian monk was very sensible and reasonable, so they gave him the word "reason".

Therefore, this Indian monk's Dharma name is "Hui Li", and historical records only record his Dharma name, not his real name.

Eventually, Abbot Huili established Lingyin Temple at Feilai Peak in Hangzhou.

It was built here because of a sentence recorded in history books that Abbot Huili said, "The root of chaos lies in people, regardless of the level of civilization. Now the land of the Han people is not stable, so it is best for us monks to avoid it."

Sure enough, the Chen Dynasty collapsed within a few years, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in constant conflict. Dozens of dynasties changed over the course of a hundred years. However, no matter how the dynasties changed, the steep location of Lingyin Temple was never affected and it has survived to this day.”

"Wow, this is really great wisdom." Liu Yifei was a little impressed by this ancient man. He was so wise that he allowed the Lingyin Temple to exist for more than 1600 years.

Chu Xuan took another sip of the mineral water and said as he tightened the bottle cap.

"More than 600 years ago, during the reign of Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Yi from Henan, also known as Xuanzang, came to Lingyin Temple to discuss Buddhism and learned about the history of Abbot Huili, which inspired Xuanzang's ambition to 'seek Buddhist scriptures from the West'.

If you can spread Indian Buddhism to the east across thousands of miles, then I can also spread Chinese Buddhism to the west across thousands of miles.

With such aspiration, Tang Xuanzang came to India to seek Buddhist scriptures, and single-handedly defeated thousands of Indian temples through a war of words.

"War of words..." Liu Yifei was amused.

Chu Xuan also smiled slightly and continued.

“Although Buddhism comes from Sakyamuni, our Chinese civilization is profound. Tang Xuanzang added a lot of Chinese elements to the core ideas of Sakyamuni’s Buddhism, combining the strengths of Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Yin-Yang School and other schools.

Tell me, how could those Indian monks be better than Tang Xuanzang?

They only understood Buddhism, while Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty understood the teachings of various schools of thought, but he simply packaged them as Buddhism.

It was because of this move that all the monks in India were amazed by Xuanzang, and the Tang Dynasty in the East became a holy land for monks.

Therefore, it was during the reign of Emperor Li Shimin that the flourishing era of the spread of Buddhism to the East, initiated by Emperor Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty, began, adding a richer cultural and civilizational touch to the Zhenguan Reign.

"It's so brilliant just thinking about it." Liu Yifei imagined the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. The brilliant civilization of China really made her want to travel back in time to take a look. It must have been magnificent and spectacular.

At this time, Chu Xuan changed the subject again.

“But success is due to the Dharma, and failure is also due to the Dharma.

Because Li Shimin, Wu Zetian and others promoted Buddhism, a large number of temples occupied a large amount of land, and these lands were not taxed.

As a result, the country naturally declined gradually. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, it could not even pay the military salaries, and a large amount of wealth was concentrated in the hands of thousands of temples across the country.

This was also one of the root causes of the fall of the Tang Dynasty and one of the reasons for the An-Shi Rebellion. It was also the rebellion strategy of An Lushan and Shi Siming, the initiators of the An-Shi Rebellion, to "first destroy the temples and then overthrow the Tang Dynasty."

The money is all in the hands of the temples, so simply destroying the temples and robbing their money will give you money, food, and armaments, and then using this money and food to overthrow the Tang Dynasty, which is equivalent to the Tang Dynasty asking for its own demise.

It is also quite interesting to interpret the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty from this perspective.”

Liu Yifei looked at Chu Xuan with admiration, and said with stars in her eyes like a true fan: "Teacher Chu, you are amazing. I think you can be a history teacher. Not only are you clear and thorough, but you are also very interesting. You made me very interested in history."

"Bo~" She couldn't help but kiss Chu Xuan on the face. She was conquered by Chu Xuan's talent and praised him again: "Great! I've decided to tell me a story like this before going to bed!"

She was somewhat interested in history, but history seemed to be a very serious thing, and it was boring because of its rigidity, so she had never taken the initiative to learn about history, and only learned a thing or two from Chu Xuan occasionally.

And now was the first time she heard Chu Xuan talk about history in such detail. She also realized that a simple Lingyin Temple could trigger a thousand years of civilization changes from BC to AD. This completely broke her cognitive scope.

How can the Lingyin Temple, which was established in the 3rd century AD, be related to the Yuezhi people of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period BC?

How can the Yuezhi people of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period be related to the Qin people of the time?

It was passed down from the Qin people to the Han people, and can it also be related to the Protectorate of the Western Regions?

Can the establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate also be linked to the Yuezhi people's migration southwards?

When the Yuezhi people moved south to establish the Kushan Empire, did this involve Indian Buddhism?
Afterwards, the Kushan Empire was destroyed, and amid power struggles, Abbot Huili crossed the sea to China and established the Lingyin Temple.

This Lingyin Temple influenced the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years later, and paved the way for its demise...

It turns out that any insignificant little thing in the world can involve such grand and magnificent changes in the history of civilization. It really opened a window for her cognition and greatly sublimated her soul.

Whether looking at history or current affairs, tracing back from the results to the original roots and the essence of the process is the correct way to learn from history!

Then the country can more thoroughly understand how to avoid repeating the mistakes of history at the root, enterprises can understand how to develop more correctly, and we as ordinary people can establish a clearer cognitive perspective when looking at things.

Liu Yifei hugged Chu Xuan tightly, clinging to him like a fangirl. What does it mean to be well-read and elegant? My husband is the perfect interpretation of this sentence!

"Am I too charming?" Chu Xuan tilted his head to look at his wife's sudden clingy look and couldn't help but joked.

“Tsk!” Liu Yifei broke away from him, folded her arms, and made a proud expression, glancing at Chu Xuan and said, “I don’t care, you have to tell me a story before going to bed anyway.”

Chu Xuan shook his head: "There are not so many stories to tell. I am just a history enthusiast, not an expert. I will tell them when I am interested. I will get bored if I tell them every day."

"Hmm..." Liu Yifei continued to say "hmm". She felt that what Chu Xuan said made sense, so she nodded and said, "Okay, tell me the story if you are interested, but I decide when you are interested."

Chu Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "When did you decide what I was interested in? Don't you have the autonomy to decide my own interests?"

"Is it not possible?" Liu Yifei blinked. Beneath her innocent and cute appearance, there was a little witch hidden in her heart.

"Okay, okay, you are my boss, you have the final say." Chu Xuan indulged her, which was also a way of showing his love for her.

"Yeah!" Liu Yifei happily made a "Yeah" gesture and enjoyed Chu Xuan's tolerance.

There were not many monks gathered in Lingyin Temple, and there were only a few tourists under the scorching sun.

Coming here in broad daylight, the couple stopped their intimate actions and fell silent about flirting. Although they did not believe in Buddhism, they still had to show basic respect.

I walked around, donated some money, bought a few incense sticks, and just threw them into the incense burner without worshipping.

According to what Chu Xuan said, why worship it if you don’t believe in it? This is very hypocritical.

Facts have proven that no matter how great Buddhism is, it cannot affect the foundation of five thousand years of civilization.

The belief of our civilization is that man can conquer nature, and there is nothing that the Chinese cannot do.

However, what the Chinese people can do, the so-called Buddha cannot do. It is very clear which of the two has stronger faith.

After a day of sightseeing in Lingyin Temple and a good night's rest in the hotel, the couple continued to visit various scenic spots in Hangzhou according to the guide.

West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda, Songcheng, Qiantang River, Thousand Lakes Island... Unlike the self-compiled history and culture of tourist destinations in Western countries, most of the tourist attractions in our country have their own historical origins and allusions. This is the difference in civilizational heritage.

After several days in a row, Liu Yifei also found the correct way to travel with Chu Xuan, which was to tour and play while listening to Chu Xuan's interesting explanations of the stories behind each scenic spot.

Chu Xuan didn't know everything. If he met someone who knew something, he would talk in detail. If he met someone who only had a vague understanding, he could only pick out some convincing things to say. But anyway, it added a lot of color to the couple's journey in Hangzhou and enriched their emotional life.

While traveling in Hangzhou, it is impossible not to be discovered when traveling in public.

Therefore, the couple was photographed by passers-by at various tourist attractions and posted on the Internet for the amusement of fans.

"Report—Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei are in Leifeng Pagoda!"

"Report—Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei are in the coffee shop by the Qiantang River!"

"Report..."

The fans were also very funny, acting like ancient scouts, spreading the couple's whereabouts in the group and on Weiyu for fans to follow.

Many local fans in Hangzhou followed the information revealed by the "scout" and went offline to "capture" the couple.

Those who were able to “catch” the couple were of course very excited after getting a photo with them, while those fans who failed to “catch” them or missed out felt quite regretful.

Just when fans were guessing where the couple would go next and preparing to wait in advance, the couple changed routes and got on a nanny car to Jinhua, starting their next trip.

(End of this chapter)