天台和合博物馆一角
Hanshan and Shide, as a pair of unique characters in Tiantai Mountain in the seventh century, have received a lot of attention in history, and their poems have been praised by literati of all dynasties because of their clear and natural style. However, in the orthodox cultural history, they are barely mentioned. On the other hand, due to the respect and love for their friendship, Hanshan and Shide are widely regarded as the Gods of Hehe among the Chinese people. This also shows that Hehe is not only a cultural concept, but a spiritual belief, and it reflects the expectations of ordinary people for Hehe. In 1733, under the background of respecting the spirit of Hehe and advocating national unity and social harmony, Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735) conferred the title “Two Gods of Hehe” on Hanshan and Shides.
When speaking of Chinese culture, we cannot do without Confucianism. Although Tiantai Mountain is famous for its Buddhist and Taoist culture, the development of Confucianism in this area shows another unique feature of Hehe. Many residents in Taizhou had been migrants from the northern clans since the third century (especially in the twelfth century), and this characteristic strengthened the inexorable development of Hehe, or Confucian family traditions. The tradition of Hehe culture in Tiantai Mountain also had a crucial influence on the development of Confucianism. So Confucianism in Taizhou was highly inclusive, which is also a direct manifestation of Hehe at the level of Confucianism. This complementary and inclusive attitude has become a common phenomenon in Taizhou.
The Hehe culture in Tiantai Mountain not only played a very important role in history, but also provided a sample of harmony and coexistence for the first collision of Chinese and foreign cultures (that is, the emergence of the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism), hence a Taizhou model for the integration of the three teachings (Southern Taoism and Taizhou Confucianism are Hehe combined in this sense). More importantly, such a Hehe culture plays an active role in the practice of Taizhou today, and continuously provides the spiritual and cultural impetus for the Taizhou model of social development. Therefore, it is undoubtedly a kind of vivid cultural form that exists in the social reality of Taizhou.
隋代古刹——天台国清寺。王芯克/摄
Hehe culture, as a fine traditional Chinese culture, not only shaped and influenced historically the Chinese people’s way of thinking and life ideals, thus forming their unique spiritual realm, it has also influenced the cultural forms of Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States. In the global cultural development, it has deeply engraved its imprint. The influence of culture on a nation’s tradition is specific and detailed: the widespread and far-reaching influence of the Tiantai Sect, the deeply rooted Hehe spirit of Ji Gong (1130-1209) in the public, and international reach of Hanshan’s poetry are the best proofs.
As the first sect of Chinese Buddhism, the Tiantai Sect opened a new stage in the history of Buddhism in China. It spread to Japan with the famous monk Jianzhen (or Ganjin, 688-763), who had studied precepts and the Tiantai teachings from Master Hongjing (634-713). Jianzhen crossed the sea six times in 10 years. Among the various classics that he brought to Japan, there were major teachings of the Tiantai Sect, which piqued the interest of Japanese monks. After completing his studies in Tiantai, Saichō or Dengyō Daishi (767-822) returned home and officially founded the Japanese Tendai Sect at Enryakuji Temple in Mount Hiei, which has a profound influence on Japanese Buddhism, and is even called the “Mother of Japanese Culture”. The sects of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism are all derived from the Tendai Sect of Mount Hiei, such as the the Pure Land Sect, the Rinzai Sect and the Nichiren Sect, since all their founders learned the teachings of the Tendai Sect in Mount Hiei before they established their own. In this sense, Japanese Tendai Sect was the “mother” of Japanese Buddhism.
2018年11月18日，加拿大中国（友好）和平统一促进会会长王典奇一行考察和合文化。
The Tendai Sect not only engendered a strong Buddhism in Japan, but also deeply affected various aspects of Japanese people’s life through the development of Buddhism, such as tea ceremony, Noh drama, music, literature, thus enriching their life. Although the Tiantai Sect was introduced to the Korean Peninsula, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe and the United States, among other places, at different times, the principles of the sect have been widely known and accepted.
