Liu Ying's main deeds, Liu Ying's life and Liu Ying's brief introduction.

Time: Eastern Han Dynasty

Ethnic group: Han nationality

Occupation: King Chu, the first Buddhist believer in China.

Faith: Talking about Huang Lao's whispers, or Ren Temple in Pagoda.

Capital: Chu Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu)

Alias: Chu Wangying

Main achievements: Established the first Buddhist temple in China-Futu Temple; Established the first Buddhist group in China in Xuzhou; Spread Buddhism to Jiangnan and even the whole country

Liu Ying-Liu Ying is the earliest Buddhist believer in China, who was born between Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty and Xu Renmei. Later, he was deposed for attempting to replace Emperor Hanming and committed suicide. According to the records of the later Han Dynasty, Liu Ying was the earliest known Buddhist believer in China. According to the research of the Dutch sinologist Xu, during this period around 50 AD, Buddhism has penetrated into the vast areas bordering Huaibei, eastern Henan, southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. At that time, Pengcheng was a very prosperous and open city and an important commercial center in this area. At the same time, Pengcheng is also located on the road where the Silk Road extends from Luoyang to the southeast. This is the city. In the middle of 1 century, the residence of Liu Ying, the king of Chu, which was sealed here, was inhabited by two kinds of monks and laymen, and was the earliest monk group in the history of China.

In 65 AD, Emperor Hanming (the second emperor after Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty) wrote an imperial edict to his half-brother Liu Ying, the king of Chu, which was later included in Ye Fan's Biography of Ten Kings of Guangwu. Dozens of words seemingly inadvertently mentioned in imperial edicts caused a great sensation in the religious history of China, and became the earliest materials for later generations to study the origin of Buddhism in China. In any case, Emperor Hanming never imagined that a convenient mention in his imperial edict would open the official chapter of the spread of foreign religions in China, and through the official history, Liu Ying became the first Buddhist king in the vassal state.

Liu Ying, king of Chu, is the son of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty. Mother is a beautiful woman, because she is not deeply loved, so her status is low. However, Liu Ying was made King of Chu at an early age, and the country was sealed in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, where Liu Banghan, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, flourished. According to the Biography of Ten Kings of Guangwu in the Late Han Dynasty, Liu Ying was king in Jianwu for fifteen years and reigned in Jianwu for twenty-eight years. When he was young, Liu Ying liked to make friends with rangers and welcomed many guests. In his later years, he became more interested in understanding the situation. According to the research and interpretation of experts in Buddhist history, Buddhism was accepted by the people in the early days when it was introduced to China, mixed with immortal thoughts and sacrificial ceremonies. In addition, the theory of Huang Lao has always been a popular academic thought among the nobles in the Han Dynasty. Huai Nan Zi, written by Liu An, the king of Huainan (Liu Yingshi, whose country is close to Chu), mainly preaches the theory of Huang Lao. Now Liu Ying, the king of Chu, is developing here, and Huang Lao's studies have made new progress, which is linked to religious Buddhism. Liu Ying built shrines for pagodas, mostly for Laozi (this speculation was further confirmed when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the old Buddha shrine). Therefore, Liu Ying likes Huang Lao Xue, which laid an ideological foundation for him to accept and spread Buddhism.

On the ancient map of China, Xuzhou was an important commercial port connecting the north and the south and connecting the east and the west, with developed economy and active culture. It is also an important area where Taoist thoughts flourish and Taoism rises. After Emperor Han Ming became emperor, he wanted to rule the world with generosity, so he ordered people who committed capital crimes in various countries to pay raw silk for atonement. Liu Ying, the king of Chu, suddenly felt a little guilty because he didn't know what he had done. Without being pressed, he asked his men to prepare thirty pieces of yellow silk and white silk for Emperor Han Ming. Emperor Han Ming took the food and told me what to do. He wrote an imperial edict to Liu Ying, which read: "The King of Chu recited Huang Lao's quips, worshiped Futuren Temple, and swore an oath to God in March. Why should he doubt it? Why should he regret it? " It was redeemed to help the prosperity of Ipsen and Sang Men. Present this imperial edict to the officials of various vassal States.

Buddhism was introduced into China in a subtle way. It can be speculated that Buddhism had spread in Han Dynasty decades or even hundreds of years before Liu Ying, the king of Chu. However, because most of the original believers were foreign businessmen or folk people, the official history did not pay attention. Finally, because of the noble status of the king of Chu in Pengcheng, Futu appeared in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty. In the history of Buddhism spreading to the east, another event mentioned by Emperor Han Ming is more famous. It is said that Emperor Han Ming dreamed that there was a great western god with a halo on his head, so he sent his ministers to the west to invite God. Later, two monks from the Western Regions were invited to bring the White Horse of the Forty-two Chapters, and Emperor Han Ming built the earliest temple in China-the White Horse Temple. This is the famous story of "White Horse from the East". However, this record was first found in the Chinese version of Forty-two Chapters Classic, rather than the official record, so it is not as important as this letter from Emperor Han Ming to Liu Ying, the king of Chu.

Emperor Han Ming called it "kindness" in the imperial edict and said "swear by God", which shows that Buddhist temples only appeared as a kind of magic at that time. Therefore, it is not surprising that Liu Ying worships the gods in Huang Lao Xue and Buddhist idols together. Liu Ying, the king of Chu, believed in Buddhism and had no good end. Because he didn't study Confucian classics well at that time, he built temples with a group of foreign monks all day, which was really different. The more important reason is that Liu Ying made extensive friends with alchemists after the promulgation of Han Ming Emperor's letters, and also made a golden turtle and jade crane with the inscription Fu Rui, which made the court taboo. Therefore, in 70 AD, Wang Ping of Yan State and Xiangyang created divination and books, and there was a rebellion. The imperial court sent people to investigate, and the officials in charge participated in the illegal Liu Ying gathering people for treachery, creating false appearances, increasing or decreasing the rank without authorization, and establishing two thousand stones for princes. When they were arrogant, they asked the emperor to kill Liu Ying. Emperor Han Ming could not bear to kill him with a kiss, and wasted Liu Ying. In the second year, Liu Ying, king of Chu, went to Danyang County and committed suicide soon (similar to Liu An, king of Huainan). Chu lived for thirty-three years. The royal family sent Dr. Guanglu to pay tribute to Liu Ying, gave him a funeral object according to the legal system, and gave him a seal, which was buried in Jingxian County as a vassal gift. To the surprise of King King Liu of Chu and Emperor Han Ming, after 100 years, Buddhism and Taoism, a new religion, were packaged and sold all the way from other places to the court of Emperor Han Ming. Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty set up a shrine in the palace to worship Huang Lao and Buddha at the same time. It can be seen that Buddhism has penetrated into the royal family of the Han Dynasty at this time, and Huang Lao is no longer confined to books, but directly stepped onto the altar and became an idol worshipped by the emperor.