In the Biography of Funan in the Southern Qi Dynasty, the history and culture of Funan and Funan, as well as the production and life of Funan people are described in a long way. It said in detail and specifically: "The south of the house is in the west bay of the south, with a width of more than 3,000 miles (referring to the length of east and west) and a big river flowing west. The first woman was a king, named Liu Ye ... A big leaf (such as a leaf, eight or nine feet long) was born by the sea, and its leaves were woven together to build a house. People also have pavilions ... kings can ride elephants, and women can ride elephants ... There are sugar cane, sugar cane, pomegranate and orange, many betel nuts, and birds and animals like China. Human nature is good, it is not convenient to fight, and it is often attacked by Lin Bu (that is, occupying the city), and it is not allowed to communicate with Jiaozhou, so it is rare (h m: n, rare). "
Fujian, an ancient country founded in 1 century, has been friendly with China from the beginning. During the Three Kingdoms period, King Funan sent envoys to make friends with Wu Dong three times. Sun Quan, Emperor of Soochow, also sent Athena Chu and Kangtai as official envoys to visit southern Fujian and other countries. At that time, the southern power of the government was strong, and its influence has extended to Thailand, Myanmar and Malay Peninsula today, controlling the hub of east-west maritime transportation. At the same time, it is the intermediate station of Buddhism spreading eastward and the gateway of China to India. Persia, Daqin and Southeast Asia are the centers of mutual trade, and their status is as important as Khotan and Qiuci in the western regions.
In order to explore the trade route to Daqin, Athena Chu and Kangtai lived in southern Fujian for many years, and recorded the details of their places and rumored countries. Zhu Ying's Fu Nan Wai Ji and Kang Tai's Wu Waiguo Biography are precious historical materials to study the ancient history of Southeast Asia and the traffic between China and the South China Sea, and even more precious documents to study the ancient history of Cambodia. Unfortunately, these two books have been lost. Today, only fragments can be found in books such as Zhu, Tai Lan, and Tong Dian.
According to relevant records, China silk had already spread to Fujian, but when Athena Chu and Kangtai arrived in Fujian, the local men were still naked. King Funan accepted Zhu Hekang's suggestion and made sarong (tube skirt) with China silk and cloth, which changed the custom of male nudity.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism spread widely in China. Buddhists in China and India have frequent exchanges, and the routes they take are nothing more than land and sea. At that time, most foreign monks who translated scriptures in Guangzhou and Jiankang (now Nanjing) came to China by sea. Minnan, located between China and India, has become an important medium for the mutual spread of Chinese and Indian cultures. Superior natural conditions, rich products and the famous "Minnan Great Ship" are not only the reasons for the prosperity of Minnan Kingdom, but also the material basis for Minnan to occupy a decisive position in the South China Sea traffic and master maritime hegemony.
In southern Fujian (including its affiliated countries), almost all the important traffic lines in the South China Sea have gathered, forming a series of pearl-like prosperous ports or trading cities. These ports and cities constitute a powerful transportation network in the South China Sea, which has written a brilliant page in the history of human navigation, trade and culture.
According to the reflection and Wu Shu, in December of the sixth year of Wu Chiwu (AD 243), "Fu Fanfang (zhān) sent an envoy to offer people and things". Perhaps because of the unique strength of Minnan music, Wu Dong once established the Minnan Music Department to teach court exercises. It is recorded in Sui Shu Yueji that Emperor Wendi ordered the establishment of musicians: "At the beginning of the emperor's order, seven kinds of musicians were set up: one day as a Buddhist, two days as a Qing Dynasty musician, three days as a Korean musician, four days as a Tianzhu musician, five days as an ambassador to China, six days as a Ju Chi musician and seven days as a Wenkang musician. There are Shule, Funan, Guo Kang, Baekje, Turkic, Silla and Japan. " At that time, Minnan musicians were employed by the imperial court to play music with Indian instruments. This is because Fu Nan accepted the influence of Indian culture very early, and musicians are also very skilled in playing Indian musical instruments.
Fu Nan's music is also recorded in Old Tang Shu and New Tang Shu. Volume 22 of New Tang Book describes Fu Nan's music like this: "Fu Nan's music consists of two dancers, wearing the morning glow and red shoes." The beautiful melody of Minnan music echoed in the Yuefu of Jianye in Wudu and the court of Chang 'an in Tang Dou, which not only brought artistic enjoyment to people at that time, but also added new content to China music.
In addition to Fu Nan's music, many ancient books in China recorded "Fu Nan's Great Wheel". Fu Nan has "different trees on the mountain". This "different tree" is a particularly excellent wood, much like teak. Cell fibers contain fatty liquid, which is strong in water resistance and can prevent termites from eating. It is an ideal wood for making boats and furniture. Minnan people are good at building big ships, as written in Biography of Fu Yinan in Southeast Shu Qi: Minnan people are "eight or nine feet high, six or seven feet wide, and their heads and tails are like fish". At that time, the 890-foot-long ship should not be small, but the "fish head and fish tail" shows that Minnan people imitated fish-shaped shipbuilding in order to achieve the effect of sailing freely on the water. The "Minnan Ship" in China ancient books is the crystallization of Minnan people's wisdom, with large volume, heavy load, firm structure and free operation.
Cambodia is deeply influenced by Indian culture, and Buddhist studies and plastic arts have reached a high level in history. At that time, Fu Nan's religious position in Southeast Asia was quite similar to that of Yuchang in the Western Regions, and it was "a big stop for Buddhism in the East".
During the reign of Liang Wudi Xiao Yan in the Southern Dynasty (502-549 AD), Buddhism flourished in China. Liang Wudi believes in Buddhism and is almost fanatical. He often goes to the pulpit to express his views, and he also writes and explains Buddhist scriptures himself. In the meantime, he hired a monk from Funan by imperial edict and built Funan Pavilion Dojo in Taicheng (the site is behind Jiming Temple in Nanjing today).
In the second year of Tian Liang's imprisonment (AD 503), Fu Nan sent an envoy to Jinling to send a coral Buddha statue and a gift. In the same year, Datuk, a monk from Funan, also brought Brahma Buddhism as a sacrifice. After accepting the sacrifice, Liang Wudi gave him a generous gift, and awarded Ye Ba Maw the honorary title of "General Annan, King of Southern Fujian". Since then, Ye Bamo's successors have also sent envoys to Liang many times.
During the period of Liang and Chen, four eminent monks from southern Fujian successively came to China to preach, which made great contributions to the Buddhist cause in China. The four great monks are: Sangha Brahma, Datura, Bodhi and Truth. Their achievements have left a glorious page in the history of Buddhism in China.
Sinhala, also known as Monk Jia, is a disciple of bhadra, an Indian monk. He has extensive knowledge of dharma collection, profound Buddhist attainments and can understand several languages. I heard that China believed in Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties, and he went to Jinling by boat. Entrusted by the Liang government, he translated the classics of Shouguang Hall, Hualin Garden, Zhengguan Temple, Zhan Yunting and Funan Pavilion in Jinling. It took him 65,438+07 years to translate 65,438+065,438+0 and 48 volumes, such as Ashoka Sutra and Emancipation, which won the appreciation of Liang Wudi.
Datura, also known as Datura Fairy. He arrived in Jinling in 503 AD and translated three important Buddhist scriptures, such as Manjusri Prajna Paramita Sutra, together with the Sangha-gita.
Subhuti is also famous for its mountains and scenic spots. He accepted the invitation of the Chen government and translated the Mahayana Baoyun Sutra and other classics in Yangzhou Zhijing Temple.
The real meaning, also called pro-leaning (transliteration "Boluo Floating Road", free translation "pro-leaning"), was originally a Tianzhu person. In the first year of Datong in Liang Dynasty (A.D. 546), he came to Nanhai, China with scriptures. "I stopped for two years along the way." In 548, he arrived in Jinling, where he was warmly received by Liang Wudi. Due to the turmoil of the times, the true meaning once spread to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places, and finally to Guangzhou, where I devoted myself to translating Buddhist scriptures. By the time Chen arrived, I had translated more than 200 famous books. His translation of Mahayana theory (three volumes) has a great influence on China's Buddhist thought. True meaning is an important figure in the history of Buddhism in China. 384-4 17), Kumarajiva, a monk, and Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty were called the "three great translators" of Buddhism in China (there were also "four great translators" in the history of Buddhism in China, in addition to the above three people, there were also Buddhist tantric monks in the Tang Dynasty. The Buddhist books they translated greatly enriched the treasure house of Buddhist culture in China.
Zhen Zhen has lived in China for more than 20 years, while translating classics and preaching Buddhism, and devoted the rest of her life to Buddhism in China. His rigorous academic attitude and profound Buddhist attainments are highly respected by the world. In the first year of Chen Dajian (AD 569), Truth died in China. His theory was spread by disciples in Jianye, Jiujiang, Jiangdu (now Yangzhou), Zhou Xun (now Longchuan County, Guangdong Province), Guangzhou, Pengcheng (now Xuzhou), Chang 'an and other places, almost all over China.
A.D. 1296, that is, after Athena Chu and Kangtai went to southern Fujian 1000 years, that is, in the second year of Yuan Chengzong, Zhou Daguan, a native of Yongjia, Zhejiang Province, was ordered to visit Cambodia with the delegation. The mission left Mingzhou in February; (now Ningbo), set off from Wenzhou Port by boat and arrived in Zhancheng in March. Due to the headwind, the trip was blocked and it was not until August that we reached Angkor Wat. Zhou Daguan stayed there for nearly a year. I set foot on my return trip in June of the following year and returned to Ningbo in August.
In Cambodia, Zhou Daguan worked tirelessly to conduct extensive and in-depth investigations on local customs and accumulated a large number of first-hand materials. After returning home, he wrote what he saw, heard and felt in the book True Wax, which left a true record for the Angkor culture in Cambodia in its heyday and became the most reliable and important document for studying the history of Angkor Dynasty.
Although the book True Wax and Local Customs is less than 10,000 words, it covers Cambodia's history, architecture, language, writing, religion, products, people's life, customs, labor, clothing and other aspects. After the "general introduction" at the beginning of the volume, it is divided into 40 items (that is, 40 small topics) to be described. The book is clear in context, concise and simple in writing, accurate and reliable in content. It is not only a precious historical document, but also an exquisite tourism document.
Angkor Wat is a historical treasure of Cambodia and a bright pearl in the treasure house of human culture. In his book, Zhou Daguan put Angkor in a very prominent position and gave a vivid description of the whole picture of this art hall. Immediately after the "general narrative", is the "musquash" section:
There may be 20 miles around, and there are five doors. Each door has two doors, but two doors open to the east and one opens to the other. There is a huge city outside the city with a thoroughfare bridge on it. On both sides of the bridge, there are 54 stone gods, like stone generals. They are big and ugly, and all five doors are similar. The diaphragm of the bridge is made of stone, the chisel is serpentine, and the snake has nine heads. Fifty-four God pulled out the snake with his hand, which was likely to prevent it from escaping. There is a big stone Buddha's head above the city gate, facing west. Put one in the middle and decorate it with gold. On both sides of the door, the carved stones are pictographic. The city is full of stones, which may be as high as two feet. The stone is very thin and strong, there is no grass, but there is no female wall ... The city is very square, and there is a stone tower in every direction.
/kloc-at the end of 0/5, after the ancient city of Angkor was abandoned, the magnificent palaces and temples disappeared into the tropical jungle with giant vines, and no one knew it anymore.
At the beginning of the 9th century, The Story of Real Wax was translated into French and published. At that time, no one believed the description in the book, and no one believed that the "castle" really existed. But it is precisely because of this travel book that the French who ruled Cambodia at that time came up with the idea of looking for this ruin and used it as a guide to search and explore. 1850 someone found a corner of the ruins in the dense forest, causing a sensation; Then, the monuments of Angkor were excavated and rediscovered, which became the greatest archaeological miracle of mankind in the19th century. This is quite similar to Xuanzang's The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang: The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang led the British and Indians to successfully excavate the ruins of Nalanduo Temple.
When Zhou Daguan visited Cambodia, he also brought litchi seeds from China and planted them on a mountain. All kinds of tropical fruits can grow in Cambodia, but it is said that litchi can only survive on this mountain, so people call this mountain "Litchi Mountain in China". For hundreds of years, Cambodian people have deeply missed the goodwill envoy of China people, Zhou Daguan, and sculptors carved a statue for him in Angkor.
Zhou Daguan had many adventures in Angkor, the capital of Zhenla. For example, there is a description in the travel notes: On the streets of Angkor, Cambodian women dressed in costumes sometimes come to flatter, and it is too late to escape. According to overseas Chinese, there are more than a dozen such people traveling in groups, and they like "Tang people" (overseas Chinese) best. Their original intention is not to ask the Tang people for money, but to be loved by the Tang people, to be proud of it and to give back.
Zhou Daguan heard that the local natives had a strange custom of hunting people's internal organs. He was very worried and asked the old overseas Chinese about it. The old overseas Chinese told him: "There is indeed this custom. People who hunt people's guts often attack loners at night, first covering their heads with a net bag, and then taking their guts with a sharp knife under their right ribs. Every year, more than 1,000 pieces are hunted and put in an urn (wèng, pot-bellied pottery) for the city king. " Zhou Daguan really shivered (1 √, trembling). But the old overseas Chinese told him: "Scholars have special respect for the Tang people and will not hunt for their courage. Don't worry. "
Cambodians do have special respect for the Tang people, which is well understood by Zhou Daguan. Since ancient times, ships from China have come here for trade, bringing goods and China culture that Cambodians urgently need. For this reason, in Cambodia, the influence of China culture can be seen at any time: for example, 12 zodiac, such as abandoning bird burial and cremation, such as imitating the custom of lying in bed instead of lying on the floor in the Tang Dynasty, and so on.
There are also many records about overseas Chinese in The Record of True Wax. In ancient times, because of its easy access to rice and food, easy demand for women, easy construction, easy equipment and easy business, China people who arrived in Cambodia often stayed there, got married and had children, and settled for a long time. Zhou Daguan wrote in his book: "(True wax) China people can trade with women. When all Tang people get there, they must bring a woman first, which will also help to buy and sell old things. " In the relief of the Cambodian bayon temple, there are scenes where overseas Chinese live with their local wives.
Overseas Chinese brought gold, silver, silk, porcelain, mercury, sulfur, glutinous rice (Shū, a general term for beans) and various daily necessities to Cambodia, such as iron pots, copper plates, umbrellas, mats, wooden combs, needlework and so on. In exchange for local specialties such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, yellow wax, cardamom and pepper. Overseas Chinese have played an irreplaceable role in the trade complementarity between China and Cambodia and become an important link in the friendly relations between the two countries.