Author(s)

Jianchun Shao, Hongyun Wu

Corresponding Author

Hongyun Wu

Abstract

Yang Lianzhenjia was born in Western Xia Dynasty. He was a monk of the Tibetan Buddhism. At the beginning of the pacification of South China, he was trusted by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, and was appointed president of South China in charge of Buddhist affairs. During his time as a senior monk official in Hangzhou, President Yang relied on Samgha, a powerful official, to uphold Kublai Khan's orders, to worship Buddhism and suppress Taoism, to suppress Zen Buddhism.He built pagodas and temples, and he excavated stone statues of Piraebong to spread propaganda and promote Tibetan Buddhism, and to maintain the dominance of the yuan dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. In character evaluation, Yang Lianzhenjia's contribution to the mission of spreading Buddhism in Hangzhou should not be denied although he excavated the tombs of the song emperors.

Keywords

Monk Official, Yang Lianzhenjia, Tibetan Buddhism, Worshiping Buddhism and Suppressing Taoism, Disparaging Zen