Furthermore, it can be said that the spread of Chinese Zhu Xi's studies to the East stimulated the ideological shock in the world of Zen Buddhism in Japan's Five Mountains. Many Zen monks who were enamored of Chinese culture and enthusiastically embraced Zhu Xi's studies gave up

"Leaving Buddhism and entering Confucianism" in the history of Japanese Buddhism

The historical process of Japanese Zen monks "leaving Buddhism and entering Confucianism" has gone through a long historical period of ideological transformation from Buddhism in the middle ages to the Confucianism-based Tokugawa Shogunate dominated by the public, samurai, and monk-advocating classes in the Middle Ages. This process is not only the "Japanization" of Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism, but also a process in which Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Confucianism, and even the entire history, ideology and culture of China and Japan have highlighted differences and taken different paths.

It can be seen from historical facts that Japan’s ideological transformation from Buddhism and Confucianism in the Middle Ages to modern times was not only the result of Japan’s own historical and cultural evolution, but was also supported by a grand “East Asian” background that transcended the narrative of a single nation state.

Furthermore, it can be said that the eastward spread of Zhu Xiology from China inspired an ideological shock in the world of Zen Buddhism in the Five Mountains of Japan. Many Zen monks who were enamored with Chinese culture and enthusiastically embraced Zhu Xiology gave up their Buddhist beliefs and turned to respect Zhu Xiology.

Entering Chinese Monks and the Eastern Transmission of Confucian Classics

In the pre-modern East Asian world, whether it was the Japanese monks sent to China by the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, or the Ming Dynasty, or the Japanese monks who spread Buddhism from China or traveled to Japan throughout the dynasties, they made great contributions to promoting the political, economic, and cultural exchanges between China and Japan. Therefore, the East Asian waters from the 13th to the 17th century were known as the "Age of Zen Monks." In a sense, Zen monks contributed to the formation of the East Asian world. And built another East Asian world system with Buddhism and Zen monks as the medium. From the perspective of cultural communication, the people and things among them, namely the Zen monks traveling between China and Japan and the many Chinese books they brought back to Japan, are undoubtedly the most important communication media.

At least before the 19th century, the splendid Chinese culture and the land of China have always been the "holy land" that intellectuals around East Asia aspire to. Those Zen monks who are passionate about Chinese culture are willing to risk being swallowed by huge waves and go to China to study in order to learn from Buddhist scriptures and seek Dharma. According to incomplete statistics, from 1167 to 1275, there were 57 recorded monks studying in China; and from 1191 to 1620, among the 699 active and well-known Zen monks at that time, 188 Zen monks had studied in China.

An obvious fact is that most of the Zen! monks who have made considerable academic achievements in Wushan Zen Forest, such as Huguan Shilian, Zhongyan Yuanyue, Yuaner Bianyuan, Nanpu Ming, Wuguan Pumen, Xuecun Youmei, Zhongjin Juehai, etc., have studied abroad in China. These monks advocated studying in China. In addition to making friends with famous monks and Confucian scholars at that time, their greatest contribution to cultural exchanges was to bring Confucian classics back to Japan, which in turn inspired ideological innovation in the Buddhist-dominated intellectual circles of medieval Japan. Some scholars refer to this as the "Road of Books" between China and Japan, and there is some truth to it.

There are two ways for the Zen monks of Gozan in Japan to obtain and study Chinese books: one is to obtain them directly from China, and the other is to borrow them from local libraries. Purchasing Han nationality from China was mainly done by Chinese monks who were sent to China as envoys, or purchased through tribute trade or as gifts from friends. Yi Di Zhi Ji'an's "Han Xue Ji Yuan" records that Mingji Junyao "purchased 256 volumes of Confucian books and brought them back to our dynasty. According to this observation, the four books are like people's own country. They should be the Confucian books brought back by Shi Ping Junfang. The books are also knowledgeable."

According to the "Catalogue of Pumenyuan Sutras, Chapters, Sayings, Quotations, Occasions, etc.", the eight classics brought by Yuan'er Benyuan alone from China amounted to 227 The volume is huge, Confucian classics totaling 54 volumes. In addition, many classics and commentaries were also brought back. Even the stereotyped Zhu Jia's "Hui'an Collection of Commentaries on Mencius", "Hui'an University", "Hui'an Zhongyong" and so on were not left behind.

The likes, dislikes and pursuit of book types by Zen monks who entered China

Scholar Zheng Ruo of the Ming Dynasty once noticed that Japanese Zen monks focused on "the Five Classics of Ancient Books" and "Books" and "Li", but ignored "Yi" and "Poetry" and Spring and Autumn Period.If you buy ancient medical books every time you see them, you must pay attention to medicine."

Another scholar Zheng Shungong also discovered that "Chinese books are widely collected in mountain cities, and Yamato Shimowen The library and the Sagami Kanazawa Bunko are regarded as the source of books." The circulation of Chinese books and the reading of Chinese books by Zen monks provided a non-Buddhist Confucian intellectual and cultural space for Zen monks. Under the subtle influence and nourishment of Chinese and Confucian classics that are different from Buddhist classics, Zen Zen The monks' acceptance of Confucian classics and even the knowledge system centered on Confucianism has begun to show clues.

The "Confucian" cognition of the world of Wushan Zen Forest

The Wushan Zen monks' study and understanding of Confucian classics showed an extremely good level of cognition, and gradually showed a "Confucian" ideological tendency. In this regard, Taro Sakamoto believes: “The monks of the Five Mountains not only dominated the world of Confucianism, but also controlled the world of Chinese literature. Because he devoted his attention to poetry, he changed from a religious person to a scholar. "In fact, whether it is the role of Wushan Zen Monk as an "introducer of mainland culture" and the "disseminator of Song Dynasty" in China, or his acceptance of occasional studies and his inclusion as "a link of Zen culture".

reflects the ideological tense and historical influence of Wushan Zen Monk's "Practice of Confucianism". Specifically, , the Wushan Zen monks’ behavior of “learning from Confucianism” has contributed to the internal ideological differentiation and the behavior of some Zen monks to “deviate from Buddhism and adopt Confucianism”. Due to the obvious individual differences in Wushan Zen monks’ understanding, acceptance and historical influence, more and more specific case studies are needed while understanding their ideological tendencies as a whole.

What is particularly typical is that although Nakaiwa Engetsu, who was born in Jufukuji Temple in Kamakura, based himself on the practice of Tantra and Zen Buddhism, his acceptance and study of Confucianism continued throughout his life. It can be seen from the preface of his chronology that Zhongyan Yuanyue studied "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Classic of Filial Piety" with the monk Daohui when he was young; he went to China and came into contact with famous monks such as Lingshi Zhi, Gu Linmao, Jichuan Ji, Jueji Zhong, Xueyen Zhong, Dongyang Hui, Zhuo Yikuo, Zhu Tianxin, etc. Most of these eminent monks had high Confucian cultivation - in the first year of Zhishun (1330), he met the great scholar Zhang Guanlan. We had in-depth exchanges on Zhu Xi’s Tai Chi and Wuji.”

From the discussion between Zhongyan Yuanyue and Zhang Guanlan, it can be seen that Zhongyan Yuanyue had a considerable degree of understanding and understanding of the thoughts of Zhu Xixue, which was popular at that time. As for the entire history of Confucianism and its representative figures in each stage, Zhongyan Yuanyue has some comments. He believes that Zisi Chengming and Mencius are both benevolent and righteous, and both are Confucian "Tao" and "mellow" people, while Xunzi is "mellow" but also has "little li". In his view, it was a mistake for Mencius, Xunzi and Yang Xiong to deviate from the ideological lines of Confucius and Zisi : Compared with Meng, He and Yang Xiong, Han Yu who emphasized the orthodoxy of Confucianism was far away from the Tao taught by Confucius and Zisi: "It is just as far from the Tao of Confucius and Zisi, that's all."