Liang Wu Di

Liang Wu Di

Liang Wu Di ( Chinese  梁武帝 , Pinyin Liáng Wǔ Dì , actually Chinese  蕭衍 , Pinyin Xiāo Yǎn , * 464 ; † 549 ) was emperor of the Liang Dynasty in China from 502 to 549 , the most important promoter of Buddhism in China . In Zen literature he is known from the legend of the dialogue with Bodhidharma , as described in the first example of Biyan Lu . ("Open space - nothing sacred!")

Life

Immediately after taking office, the emperor preferred Buddhism to Confucianism and Daoism and described them as "erroneous, external teachings", but retained them in the interests of the state. He banned animal sacrifices and spoke out against the death penalty. He also wrote comments on Buddhist scriptures himself and organized religious events with almost 50,000 people. He was well-read and also worked as a poet. Good officers avoided him and went to his rivals.

It also became important through the establishment of universities and the expansion of the examination system for civil servants. He made the study of the works of Confucius compulsory for the sons of the Chinese nobility . At that time the nobility competed in the cultivation of the fine arts, so that this time is considered the golden age of aristocratic culture.

During the time of his reign, there were intensified attacks by the Northern Wei Dynasty of the Tuoba as well as internal unrest in his own empire: General Hou Jing rose in 548 and besieged the capital, which fell in the summer of 549 . The emperor died at the age of 85 as a result of the siege or was starved to death. He was replaced by Liang Jianwen Di .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ This meeting cannot have taken place, as can be shown from other historically verifiable events. See: John McRae: Seeing through Zen; . Berkeley, 2003, ISBN 0-520-23797-8 , p. 24-