" Abbot, something is not good, there are many Japanese people outside the mountain gate! "
1938, in Longchang Temple in Jurong City, Jiangsu Province, a little shady monk ran into the Buddhist temple with a panic expression and shouted to the host elder Abbot Miaorou.
Longchang Temple
Abbot Miaorou is a Taoist monk and is not panicked after hearing the news. He looked at the disciples behind him. The monk's robes were covered with dust, but his expression was calm. They looked at the abbot and nodded slightly without notice. Abbot Miaorou understood it, waved his hand and took a few people to greet him.
At this time, more than a hundred Japanese soldiers had entered Longchang Temple. They were all fierce and evil, and the officer in the lead was even more vicious. He asked the translator to tell Abbot Miaorou: " If I don't hand over the wounded members of the New Fourth Army, I will burn this thousand-year-old temple in one go! "
, while Abbot Miaorou was calm. He chanted the Buddha's name and inadvertently pointed at the bronze bell next to him. The Japanese officer followed his hand and immediately changed his expression and he couldn't help but kneel on the ground. A few minutes later, he took the Japanese soldiers to retreat outside the temple, and kept bowing and saying sorry to the monks in the temple. What exactly is it that makes this bad-tempered Japanese become so humble?
Monks during the Anti-Japanese War
Longchang Temple has a very unique position in China's history. This temple is located in the hinterland of Baohua Mountain in Jurong City, and forms a lotus-like situation with the surrounding mountains. On weekdays, Baohua Mountain is picturesque, while Longxing Temple is like the finishing touch of a landscape painting, adding a solemnity to the natural scenery.
Longchang Temple was built in during the period of Emperor Wu of Liang and has a history of more than 1,400 years. According to legend, the prototype of "Jigong" , Baozhi monk , once preached the Dharma here and obtained the name of "Divine Monk". After that, Central Plains Buddhism became the world of Zen Buddhism, while Longchang Temple emerged as a rare temple in the Vinaya. The Vinaya School has a very transcendent status in Buddhism, so the status of Longchang Temple naturally becomes very high. The monks who came out of here could receive very warm reception at other Han Chinese temples as long as they held relevant documents.
China's Song Dynasty was a Taoist era, and Yuan Dynasty was the era of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Although Longchang Temple did not develop more greatly in these two dynasties, it also maintained its true nature and survival. By , the Ming Dynasty , Longchang Temple flourished again. With the development of the times, Longchang Temple has become famous at home and abroad. Monks from Japan, Thailand, North Korea and other countries have visited it.
In 1928, Emperor Hirohito ascended the throne. In order to reflect his admiration for Buddhism and to restore the relationship between China and Japan, he once forged a bell and gave it to Longxing Temple. This is a large iron bell, engraved with inscriptions mixed with Chinese and Japanese. This is also one of the rare cultural relics in that era that symbolizes the friendship between China and Japan. However, from the current perspective, this big bell is full of deception, because in 1931, Japan began to invade Northeast China.
Longchang Temple Iron Bell
By 1937, Anti-Japanese War officially broke out, and the Japanese fangs were completely lit up. On December 13 of this year, the 6th Division of Japan entered Nanjing under the leadership of the division commander Tani Suo , and then launched a tragic massacre. In more than 40 days, more than 300,000 Chinese compatriots died tragically at the hands of their enemies. Most of them are unarmed ordinary people, and some are women and children who are even less capable of resisting.
At the beginning of this massacre, the Japanese were quite polite to the monks in the temple. Many people may not have imagined that Japan is actually a country that highly advocates Buddhism. Buddhist sects such as Tiantai Sect, Zen Sect, Pure Land True Sect, etc. have even developed more vigorously in Japan than in China. So although he has become an invader now, the Japanese still respect the monks.Some Chinese soldiers even disguised themselves as monks and eventually escaped. Things quickly changed, though.
Nanjing Massacre
A massacre against monks begins with the disaster-removing temple in Nanjing city. In addition to dozens of people and nuns being killed, although the abbot Huiding survived, he suffered gunshot wounds on his legs and abdomen; 17 monks were massacred in Zhengjue Temple in Wudingmen in ; 19 monks were killed in Changsheng Temple; 100 monks were killed in Tianjie Temple; 20 monks were killed in the abbot Puxing and the entire temple in the entire temple; Qixia Temple , dozens of monks were killed by Japanese soldiers with bayonets. In addition, the Japanese army destroyed more than 600 religious buildings and robbed many temples. For a time, all monks in Jiangsu Province were almost massacred. Except for a few famous temples such as Longchang Temple, most of the ancient temples have been ruined.
The Japanese army's cruel suppression of temples and Taoist temples made monks who were originally indifferent to the world have to take up the weapons at hand and give them a way out for themselves, and at the same time, they also strive for a way out for the country and the nation. The first thing to take action was Taoist near Maoshan . Among these Taoist priests, there are many people with martial arts. They often attack the Japanese when they are alone, which has a good deterrent effect. One of them, the Taoist priest named Gan Shengrong, had a spiritual monkey, attacked the Japanese army many times and wrote a legend.
Taoist priest Gan Shengrong
However, the Taoist priests' struggle did not have a unified action command. Although it sounds quite powerful, it does not cause much damage to the enemy. The Japanese army's attack on monks and Taoist priests is still continuing. But with the arrival of the New Fourth Army, everything has undergone fundamental changes.
The New Fourth Army officially formed an army on December 25, 1937. Its backbone was the guerrillas who continued to fight in the Soviet area after the Long March of the Central Red Army. They are all veterans with great battles and a firm will. Although they are backward and short of weapons, their tactics are advanced and flexible. They rely on unified thoughts and unified command, so they quickly opened up the situation in Jiangxi and Jiangsu areas.
New Fourth Army
In February 1938, according to the order of the Party Central Committee, the New Fourth Army entered the Maoshan area of Jiangsu Province and established an anti-Japanese base with Liyang and Lishui as the center. Although the New Fourth Army was still very weak at this time, it was able to pose a certain deterrence to the Japanese army in Zhenjiang , Danyang , Jintan, Yixing and other places. Even the Japanese army in Nanjing had to restrain themselves and could no longer massacre without restraint. The life safety of monks is therefore guaranteed. Some brave monks and Taoist priests also joined the New Fourth Army to fight against the invaders with practical actions.
However, large temples like Longchang Temple always maintain a feeling of "transcendence". Longchang Temple is a rare temple that can be persisted under the iron hooves of the Japanese invaders. Chinese Buddhism The reputation of the ancestral temple of the Vinaya School still makes the invaders a little afraid. Master Miaorou, the abbot of the temple, is generous and uncontested. He originally wanted to seek peace in troubled times. However, the occurrence of something gave this Taoist monk a qualitative change.
Longchang Temple
In March and April 1938, the New Fourth Army had entered the Maoshan area for some time. They fought several battles with the Japanese. Although the scale was not large, they had already declared their existence. Almost every day, monks in Longchang Temple will tell the story of the New Fourth Army's anti-Japanese war. Although Master Miaorou is calm, he is born with the same roots as the New Fourth Army and is still very happy every time he hears the news of victory.
But one morning, when the monks in Longchang Temple were doing morning classes, a little novice monk suddenly entered the Buddhist temple to report: On the back mountain, four blood-covered people were lying there, unconscious!
Master Miaorou immediately realized that these four people might be the injured New Fourth Army. He led a few people to the Hetang and found four people wearing the New Fourth Army blue cloth uniforms lying there. He had more than one gunshot wound on his body, and blood was flowing out.
Monk
during the Anti-Japanese War
" Abbot, what should I do? " asked the little novice monk.
" Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. As a monk, do you still need to ask? Come on, carry them all back. " said Master Miaorou.
" Abbot, if you save them, will you attract the Japanese? " asked the little novice monk, obviously a little scared.
" These New Fourth Army soldiers are also for the country and the people. Without their fighting in the world, where can we practice the cultivation in the temple? Don’t say it, save them first. ” Master Miaorou’s answer was very firm, which shows that he was also very supportive of the anti-Japanese war.
New Fourth Army wounded
Soon, four soldiers were carried into Longchang Temple. Master Miaorou asked someone to cook needles and thread and some soft cloth to wipe the wounds on the four New Fourth Army soldiers and sew the wounds without any regard for blood. He knows some medical knowledge, so he is not panicked when doing these things, and is not at all worse than the surgeons in the hospital.
After a break, the four New Fourth Army soldiers slowly woke up. Master Miaorou chatted with them for a few words, and after asking, he found that they were indeed from the New Fourth Army. Two days ago, the New Fourth Army ambushed the enemy's transport team, but when retreating, four people fell behind due to injuries. They supported each other, and when they passed by the Lotus Pond of Longchang Temple, they couldn't support it, so they fainted one after another. Now that the injury has been treated, they want to leave quickly so as not to attract the Japanese and cause disaster to the temple.
New Fourth Army ambush
Master Miaorou disagreed, and said, " No matter how you say it is, it is because of the injury of the country. Although we monks cannot go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, we cannot do it if we don't help them. Behind Longchang Temple, there is a cellar with miscellaneous things. You might as well go there first to feel wronged. If the Japanese come, I have my own way to deal with it. "
The four New Fourth Army soldiers were indeed inconvenient to move at this time, so after thanking Abbot Miaorou, they hid in the cellar. Abbot Miaorou immediately ordered a few little monks to clean up the blood along the way and try not to leave any traces. At the same time, he also asked the two of them to guard outside the mountain gate, and immediately report to himself if there is any movement.
A few hours later, a noise came from the foot of Baohua Mountain. A total of more than 500 Japanese soldiers came straight to the gate of Longchang Temple with murderous intent. The mountain gate of Longchang Temple underwent a major change during the Ming Dynasty, and the overall scale was reduced to a very small size. Now dozens of Japanese people block the small mountain gate. Just on both sides of the mountain gate, two mortars and two mortars and two mortars and were installed, which was very scary. The little novice monk who was looking at the mountain gate was frightened and hurried back to report to the abbot.
Longchang Temple Mountain Gate
Immediately afterwards, the scene at the beginning of this article happened: a Japanese officer broke into Longchang Temple with dozens of Japanese soldiers, threatening Abbot Miaorou to hand over the New Fourth Army. Otherwise, they will not only slaughter all the monks in the temple, but also set fire to the thousand-year-old temple!
Abbot Miaorou was not in a hurry. He proclaimed the Buddha's name and pointed his finger at the mouth of the mouth the big iron bell given by the Japanese Emperor .
From 1928 to 1938, in just ten years, China and Japan have gone from "friendly neighbors" to war. In the past decade, China has never done anything to invade Japan, but Japan is moving further and further on the road to invading China. This made this big iron bell look like a joke of history.
Longchang Temple Iron Bell
But no matter whether you joke or not, the Japanese officer will not feel any guilt because of his invasion. However, when he saw the big iron clock, he was still shocked. These officers were fierce when facing the Chinese, but when they saw the four words "Japan Emperor", they seemed to be struck by lightning and instantly became soft-legged shrimps. Due to the conditioned reflex that had been formed over the years, he immediately knelt down and treated his respectfully. Master Miaorou looked at them, and a smug smile could not help but pass through his face.
knelt down and his head was knocked down. The Japanese soldiers suddenly became a deflated ball and did not dare to continue searching the temple. As for the soldiers on the periphery and the artillery , of course, they were all withdrawn. Before leaving, the officer bowed respectfully to Abbot Miaorou, looking quite funny.
This incident made Master Miaorou and the monks of Longchang Temple understand one thing: the Japanese Emperor's big iron bell can maintain temporary peace, but not peace for a lifetime. If you continue to live under the iron hooves of the Japanese, you will sooner or later have a dangerous day. Since this is the case, it is better to participate directly in the anti-Japanese war. Therefore, Longchang Temple quickly established contact with the New Fourth Army and became a small "base" for the New Fourth Army to store ammunition and place wounded, making its own contribution to the Anti-Japanese War. However, it is a pity that the big bell was damaged in the subsequent historical changes.
