Cultural Exchange Between Yangzhou And Nara And Sino - Japanese Relations

As an important part of Chinese diplomatic relations, Sino-Japanese relation isquite geo-politically complicated. On one hand, the two countries has a longcommunicative history, while on the other hand, the two countries has historicaldisputes as well as realistic confrontations. Historically speaking, China and Japan hasa very long communicative history, which has witnessed cooperation as well asdisputes. It can be traced back to Han Dynasty and flourished in Tang Dynasty. AfterSong and Yuan Dynasties till the present, i.e., from the military expedition of KublaiKhan to Anti-Japanese War, the diplomatic relations between the two countries hasgone to the other extreme. Premier Zhou Enlai has remarked that the diplomaticrelation between China and Japan can be summarized as a history with2000-yearfriendship and50-year war. In ancient times, there were much communication; whilein the present history, Japan invaded China. So, Sino-Japanese diplomatic relation ispossibly the most geo-political issue in the globe.Based on previous studies, the present paper combines historical survey withfield study. With the help of numerous materials, video and photos on China andJapan, it tries to explore further and the Buddhist cultural exchange between YangZhou, China and Nara, Japan to investigate the Buddhist cultural exchange betweenthe two cities as well as two countries. The present paper, through analyzing thefeatures of this Buddhist cultural exchange and its impact on Sino-Japanese political,economic, cultural and social communications, tries to put forth measures topromote the cultural exchange and advancement of the diplomatic relationsbetween the two countries, thus provide theoretical support for the Buddhistcultural exchange between Yang Zhou and Nara and on a macro level, for thedevelopment of relations between two countries.The friendly communicative relation between China and Japan is very long,among which, the Buddhist cultural exchange between the two countries is quitesignificant. In607, Prince Shotoku sent monks to China to learn Buddhist doctrines,which paved the way for the Buddhist cultural exchange between the two countries. Later, during the era of Asuka, Nara and Heian, schools or doctrines of ChineseBuddhism were introduced into Japan. The most impressive communication was theone between Yang Zhou and Nara, which was regarded as the most rewarding andinfluential one. During Tang Dynasty, invited by Japan, Master Jian Zhen from DamingTemple in Yang Zhou travelled to Japan for six times with much difficulty and risk.After arriving in Nara, he disseminated the essence of Chinese Buddhism and culture,which has not only improved the Buddhist, medical, architectural and sculpturalability of Japan, but also has greatly influenced the political, economic, cultural andsocial exchanges between the two countries and deepened the friendship betweenChina and Japan. He was highly praised as the “cultural benefactor” and “founder ofBuddhist doctrine” in Japan. In the meanwhile, Japanese Buddhism has selectivelychosen Chinese Buddhist principles and renovated them during its cultural exchangeand formed its own peculiar Buddhist cultural with Japanese national characteristics.“Jian Zhen Spirit”, which has promoted the cultural exchange and diplomaticrelations between the two countries, has been passed down by the people in twocountries. After the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, in thecomplex domestic and international situation, the Buddhist and cultural activists intwo countries have made continuous contribution for the maintenance anddevelopment of the friendship between the two countries, which has strengthenedthe Buddhist exchange and improved the diplomatic relations between the twocountries. Learning lessons from history, by building the bridge of Buddhist exchangebetween China and Japan, we should promote friendly communication and culturalexchange between China and Japan and play a positive role while providing newways of thought for the advancement of diplomatic relations between the twocountries.