The second act that went down in history during the reign of King Shang Tai Jiu was to cast the Wanguojin Liang Bell, leaving an inscription that still resoundingly passed down to future generations during the death of the country.
After eliminating the two powerful men of the northern secession, Shoyasu completely completed the unification of the Ryukyus. Looking around, from China in the west, to Japan and Korea in the north, and to Southeast Asia in the south, the Ryukyus are the center of this East Asian system. The port of Naha was crowded with merchant ships, and Shuri Castle prospered.
King Shang Tai Jiu is full of confidence.
In the second year of Tianshun (1458), he cast a high 154 for the main hall of Shuri Castle9 cm, diameter 931 cm, weighing 721 kg of bells. For this reason, he found someone to carefully write the text of the most glorious time of the Ryukyus: "The Ryukyu country, the South China Sea resort and Zhong Sanhan's show, with the Ming Dynasty as the auxiliary car, and the Japanese domain as the lips and teeth, the Penglai Island that gushes out in the middle of the two." With the boat as the beam of the capital of all countries, the treasure of different productions, full of ten square brakes (ten square land), earth spirit characters, far fans and summer benevolent wind. Therefore, the great lord of my king, Geng Yin, celebrates his birthday and is still Taijiu, and the treasure is located in the high heavens, and the people are born in the thick land, and they are the three treasures of Xinglong, and the reward is four graces, and the new giant bell is cast to hang it in front of the palace of the king of Zhongshan on the island of Honshu. The charter was set after three generations, before the hundred kings, the three realms of the three realms of the lower Ji, the long live throne, the abbot of the Xiangguo Xiyin An Qiansu begged for the inscription, the inscription said: Sumeru south bank, the world Honghong, my king appeared, help all living beings, intercept the jade elephant, roar the moon whale, overflow the four seas, shock the sound of the Sanskrit, feel the long night dream, lose the sense of Tiancheng, Yao Feng Yongfan, Shun is getting brighter.
Wuyin, June 19, Xinhai. Daiko Fujiwara Kunizen Sumiko Kuniyu Xiangkoku Creek Hidden Zhiyuki.
This inscription is from the hand of the monk Xiyin Anqian, the presiding monk of the Heavenly Realm Temple. The monk Xiyin Anqian was born under the Japanese monk, and this inscription has a little more astringent style and characteristics of Japanese Chinese. Despite this, the inscription still shows the monk's extraordinary vision, and the choice of words and sentences shows that Xiyin's latent Sinology and Buddhism skills are good. The article is quite literary and imposing, and can be immortalized.
Some Japanese experts believe that this inscription can be regarded as a declaration of the founding of the Ryukyus**. The word "Wankokutsu Liang" in the inscription has also become synonymous with Ryukyu.
We can read a lot of information from this text.
First of all, Ryukyu felt good about itself at that time: the South China Sea resort, the sea Penglai, Wanguo Jinliang, the earth spirit figures, the treasures are abundant, and the Japanese and Chinese are blended. The spoiler of East Asia!
The second is that Shang Taijiu, as a generation of kings, is ambitious and ambitious. The inscription writes Shang Taijiu as a king who was ordered by heaven to help sentient beings and practice the virtues of Yao Shun. The beautiful words in the inscription are, of course, flattery and flattery to the monk, but they also reflect some of Shang Taijiu's self-feelings at that time, which can be confirmed by his self-proclaimed king.
Shang Taijiu's third major work was to promote religion, especially Buddhism.
The inscription praises Shang Taijiu for his enthusiasm for the Buddha, profound enlightenment, the so-called long night dream, the loss of heavenly sincerity, the long night dream awakening, and the deep knowledge of the spirit of Buddhism. And his enlightenment of Buddhism, like an incense elephant crossing a river, intercepts the stream, is profound and broad, overflowing the four seas. It can also combine the worship of Buddhism and the promotion of Buddhism with the governance of the country, shake the sound of Sanskrit, help the people to govern the country, Yao Feng Yongfan, and Shun is becoming more and more clear.
The words and sentences of the inscription are quite exquisite, and the sycophants are very high-grade and quite high. But this pair of a new enthronement.
For a three- or four-year-old king, it is inevitably a bit excessive. Even his heroic and outstanding Shang Bazhi does not seem to dare to position himself like this.
Shang Taijiu showed an extraordinary enthusiasm for religion, especially Buddhism. Why Shang Taijiu is keen on religion, especially Buddhism, is because of his bloody repentance in just a few years before and after his accession to the throne, or whether he discovered the value of Buddhism in governing and rejuvenating the country.
There are many similarities in history. Shoyahisa's passion for religion reminds us of Prince Shotoku, a statesman from the Asuka period (592-710) in Japan. At that time, Prince Shotoku's reform was to call for "reverence for the Three Jewels" (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), advocating Buddhism, and building many temples throughout the country, so as to achieve his goal of adhering to the idea of China's great unification and establishing a centralized system centered on the emperor. Shang Taijiu admired Buddhism, and probably followed the advice of the Zhiri sect's advisors, that is, through the Three Jewels of Xinglong (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) and the reward of the Four Graces (Heaven and Earth Monarchs), in order to establish social procedures and strengthen and consolidate the centralization of power.
The traditional Ryukyu religion is Shinto. At the heart of Shinto is the belief in ancestral spirits, which is mixed with the belief in visiting gods and the Eastern (sun) belief to form the Ryukyu Shinto faith. Buddhism was introduced to the Ryukyus as early as the reign of King Yingjo of the Ryukyus during the reign of Yuan Xianchun (1267-1274). At that time, Kek Lok Temple was founded in Urasoe, and a monk named Zen Kan became the founder of the mountain. But whether this Zen is Chinese or Japanese or Korean is still unclear.
In the Shangbazhi era, in the fifth year of Xuande (1430), the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, Shibayama, once paid out of his own pocket to build a Buddhist temple in Ryukyu, Da'an Temple. I don't know if it was because of the problem of traditional beliefs or the relationship between the country and Taoism, Shang Bazhi did not seem to be interested in Buddhism. In the third year of orthodoxy (1438), Shang Bazhi also accepted the talisman and urn issued by the Heavenly Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi Province and became a believer in Taoism.
The third major deed was the construction of temples and shrines.
Shang Taijiu advocated Buddhism. Economic development, the treasury is full, and Shang Taijiu is generous. During the seven years of his reign, Ryukyu built many temples and shrines, the most of any king.
Buddhist temples include Guangyan Temple, Pumen Temple, Tianlong Temple, Tianjie Temple, Anguo Temple, Wanshou Temple, etc. In addition, there are shrines and Taoist temples such as Sueyoshiyama Kumanoquan Shrine, Hakami Shrine, Oki Shrine, Shikina Shrine, Futenmangu Shrine, and Kinmu Shrine. He also learned the Chinese habit of "all temples in the world, all bells". When the temple is built, the bell must be cast and the inscription will be engraved. According to statistics, a total of 23 bells were cast at that time. The vicissitudes of life, the temple was destroyed and the bell was lost, and it was the 11 inscriptions that were handed down that left a precious record at that time. Until the middle of the 17th century, Cai Wen wrote: "Even now, all the giant bells in the forbidden middle or temple, are cast by King Jingtai, Tianshun, and King Shangtaijiu." ”
Shang Taijiu tossed and turned, and the spread and influence of Buddhism in the Ryukyus quickly expanded. According to historical records, at that time, "the king of the Ryukyus was taught by him and treated him very well, and the people of the country respected the Buddha and the monks." ”