Emperor Taizong gave the Tang Priest a customs clearance document, and no king dared to slack off. What did he write?

The story of Tang Taizong's rescue for Tang Priest is described in the novel The Journey to the West. In real history, Emperor Taizong did not even allow Xuanzang to go to India to find Buddhist scriptures. The specific analysis is as follows:

1. In The Journey to the West, before he left, Emperor Taizong gave Tang Priest a document to help him clear customs. In the well-known film and television drama The Journey to the West, whenever the four masters and apprentices of the Tang Dynasty went to a country, Taoist Tang would say that he was a member of the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, go to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures, and take out a customs clearance document to the supreme rulers of various countries, asking for release. After 1 10 many countries, we finally succeeded in obtaining the true sutra. What exactly is written in this customs clearance document, which makes everyone awe after seeing it, and is willing to stamp the document and let the Tang Priest and his disciples leave, is a problem that many people pay attention to.

According to The Journey to the West's introduction, the customs clearance document was written by Emperor Taizong, which mainly recorded the identity of Tang Priest and some deeds of Emperor Taizong himself. The purpose is to let the Tang dynasty take care of all countries and facilitate their passage on the way to learn from the scriptures. It contains the following meanings. First, after Emperor Taizong proclaimed himself emperor, he praised his dedication to the country and the people. He also told a story about the Dragon King who cut off the Jinghe River, saying that he was caught by Yan and released from the underworld, and asked him to build his own Dojo.

The second is the display of Guanyin Bodhisattva, which happens to help the poor, suggesting that there are Mahayana Buddhist scriptures in the west that can help all beings. Third, I'm here to send Master Xuanzang to the Western Heaven for Buddhist scriptures. I hope you can read this document and give it a free pass. From this point of view, this customs clearance document is not simple. First of all, it was written by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, which is of great significance. Faced with the powerful eastern land of the Tang Dynasty, many countries dare not offend at will. Secondly, with the help of the power of Guanyin Bodhisattva admired by thousands of people, others dare not stop it.

2. The role of customs clearance documents also shows the great influence of the Tang Dynasty at that time. On the other hand, the convenience brought by customs clearance documents to Tang Priest's apprentices just reflects the reverence of other countries for the Tang Dynasty. In the era of Emperor Taizong, the Tang Dynasty was the overlord in terms of economic level, military strength and cultural influence. Countries frequently visited Chang 'an and presented treasures to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The strength of the Tang Dynasty is obvious to all. Therefore, after hearing that Tang Priest and others came from the Eastern Tang Dynasty and held customs clearance documents written by the emperor, people would respect them so much and give them higher courtesy. In their view, pleasing and serving the distinguished guests from Datang is also beneficial to their country.

There is no official document about customs clearance in real history. Xuanzang went to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures by his own perseverance. But in real history, the truth of the matter is quite different from that in the novel. According to historical records, the Tang Priest was originally named Chen Yi, also known as Master Xuanzang. After his father died, he entered the temple with his brother who was already a master. After becoming a master of Xuanzang, in order to explore the source of Buddhist scriptures and promote Buddhist culture in the Central Plains, Xuanzang asked Emperor Taizong to go to Tianzhu to learn from them.

However, at that time, this request did not receive a response from Emperor Taizong. First, during the period of Emperor Taizong, Buddhism was not the mainstream, and Taoism had a higher status than it. Second, the Tang Dynasty was at war with the western Turks, fearing that Xuanzang would take the opportunity to reveal the secrets of the Tang Dynasty to the western Turks.

So to some extent, Xuanzang's trip to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures was his private act, that is, he went secretly without telling Emperor Taizong in advance. Later generations also recorded that Master Xuanzang came back from India to learn Buddhist scriptures, and Emperor Taizong greeted him and asked him why he didn't inform him of this embarrassing incident before he left.