１２５０ｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｊｉａｎｚｈｅｎ’ｓ Ｓｕｃｃｅｓｓｆｕｌ Ｊｏｕｒｎｅｙ ｔｏ Ｊａｐａｎ Ｍａｒｋｅｄ ｉｎ Ｙａｎｇｚｈｏｕ

In golden October， the sun shone brightly and gentle breezes brought refreshing cool air to the ancient city of Yangzhou. From November 1 to 3， 2003 the city was splendidly decorated with colourful balloons， flags and fresh flowers for the festive occasion and the activities marking the 1250th anniversary of the successful journey by sea to Japan by Monk Jianzhen (Ganjin in Japanese) began. 218 Japanese friends and over 1，000 Chinese and foreign guests of various circles gathered together with the people of Yangzhou to commemorate Jianzhen， a Sino-Japanese friendship envoy and Buddhist monk of great repute of China's Tang Dynasty.

Sailing Eastward to Japan

1250 years ago， invited by the Japanese Buddhists， Jianzhen， then abbot of the Daming Temple in Yangzhou， led his disciples on a navigation to Japan. The repeated failures to reach Japan， the hardships endured and the loss of his eyesight never wavered his determination. After 10 years of repeated attempts he finally reached Nara， Japan in 753 A.D. During the 10 years of his stay in Japan， Jianzhen， without reservation， spread Buddhism and imparted his knowledge of Chinese architecture， sculpture， literature and medicine to the Japanese people， which gave great impetus to the development of the Japanese culture. The Toshodai-ji Temple， the construction of which he presided over， was something new in the history of Japanese architecture. He introduced the Ritsu Sect of Buddhism to Japan and is worshiped as the founder of the Ritsu Sect in Japan. He cured a strange disease suffered by the wife of Emperor Shomu and wrote a book making known his secret recipes for the treatment of various diseases. Thus， he is also respected as a great master of medicine by the Japanese medical circles. Today 1250 years later when the bell in the Daming Temple is ringing， people still seem to see through the morning mist over the Grand Canal the silhouettes of the ship that carried the Japanese diplomatic envoys heading west to China in the Tang Dynasty and the sails on Monk Jianzhen's ships leaving for Japan towards the east. The intercourse between our two peoples over the past more than 1，000 years has continued Sino-Japanese friendship.

The commemoration activities included a commemorative religious service， a commemorative meeting， a traditional Chinese and Japanese cultural and art performance and fireworks show， a photo exhibition， the first showing of a documentary and a seminar on Monk Jianzhen's journey to Japan， the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Jianzhen College， tree planting and a press briefing on business opportunities in Yangzhou.

Commemorating Friendship Envoy and Carrying Forward His Spirit

At 9 a.m. on November 2 in the solemn Daming Temple， more than 1，000 people including leaders of the departments concerned at the national and provincial levels， abbots of the monasteries that Jianzhen had stayed on his way to Japan or he had once lived and studied， friends from Japan， Europe， the United States， Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan and people of all walks of life in Yangzhou gathered at the Xiling Pagoda to commemorate Jianzhen---a respectful Buddhist monk， and recall his merits and virtues and his great spirit.

Present at the commemoration were Zhu Weiqun， deputy head of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， Ye Xiaowen， director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs， Wen Chi， vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Association， the Ven. Xuecheng， vice president of the Buddhist Association of China， He Quan， deputy governor of Jiangsu， Nobuyuki Sugimoto， Japanese consul general in Shanghai， the Ven. Kaihan Masuda， abbot of the Toshodai-ji Temple， the Ven. Xingyun， founder of the Fo Kuang Shan monastic order in Taiwan， and Prof. C. F. Lee， vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Ji Jianye， mayor of Yangzhou made a speech. He said， Jianzhen's journey by sea to Japan is a heroic undertaking in the history of Chinese Buddhists' effort to spread the religion to other countries and a magnificent feat in the history of the relations between China and Japan. His spirit of sailing eastward to Japan at that time means dedication to spreading civilization without the thought for one's own life， firm beliefs and determination， fearing neither difficulties nor setbacks， breaking away with secular ideas to forge ahead with an enterprising spirit， and working hard to publicize Buddhism so as to deliver all living creatures from torment. This spirit will inspire later generations to come.

Ye Xiaowen spoke on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Administration for Religious Affairs. He highly praised Monk Jianzhen as a \"memorable person forever\" in the history of humankind and a person of dedication who transcends time and space. His spirit will be passed on and on forever. In our times and amongst us， there are people with selfless dedication， people who work with perseverance for the great cause of reunification of China and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation， people who do their utmost for lasting friendship between China and Japan and for peace and tranquility of humanity.

In their speeches at the commemoration， the Japanese Consul General Nobuyuki Sugimoto， Abbot Masuda of the Toshodai-ji Temple， the Ven. Xuecheng， the Ven. Xingyun， Mr. Wen Chi and the Ven. Nengxiu profoundly cherished the memory of the Great Envoy Jianzhen and expressed that they would carry forward his spirit， tradition and civilization and enhance Sino-Japanese friendship so as to create a better future.

On the early morning of Nov. 2， a grand and solemn ceremony was held in front of the Memorial Hall of Monk Jianzhen to receive Buddhist relics from Japan. The three grains of Sarira Monk Jianzhen had taken with him to Japan 1，250 years ago were enshrined in Xiling Pagoda under the escort of Abbot Masuda and Akihiko Nishiyama of the Toshodai-ji Temple. According to Abbot Masuda， Jianzhen had brought 1，000 grains of Sarira to Japan， most of which have been lost now. These three grains of Sarira had been kept in the Toshodai-ji Temple. Today， by returning the Sarira left behind by Jianzhen to the Daming Temple， the Toshodai-ji Temple hoped to carry forward the spirit of Jianzhen， further promote Sino-Japanese friendship and express to the people of the world its wish for world peace.

Seminar Held to Promote Economic Development

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon， more than 20 Japanese and nearly 40 Chinese scholars got together for a seminar on Jianzhen's eastward journey to Japan at the International Conference Hall of Xi Yuan Hotel， Yangzhou. 18 papers had been submitted and 8 scholars spoke at the seminar， which was permeated with a warm atmosphere. The scholars had extensive and in-depth discussions on \"the modern interpretation of the significance of Jianzhen's navigation to Japan\"， \"Jianzhen and the culture of Yangzhou\"， \"Jianzhen's place and role in Japanese Buddhism in ancient times\"， etc.

The press briefing on business opportunities in Yangzhou was held at 4 p.m. Deputy Mayor Wang Rongping gave an introduction of Yangzhou's investment environment and its development of the areas along the Yangtze River to more than 90 personages of the Japanese economic circles and over 20 representatives of the Japanese investors in Yangzhou. Wang Rongping talked about the long history of Yangzhou and its tremendous development potential. He said， the profound historical culture has reflected the charm of Yangzhou civilization; the good geographic location has presented a bright prospect for development; the rich resources have held in store great development potential and the good industrial basis has demonstrated the unique economic advantages. Yangzhou is vigorously pressing ahead with the development of the areas along the Yangtze River with the emphasis on manufacture of automobiles and ships， chemical， textile and hi-tech industries， eco-agriculture and forestry， circulation of materials and tourism. The development along the Yangtze River has provided vast space for foreign investors. The representatives of the Japanese investors in Yangzhou talked about their personal experience at the seminar.

Chinese and Japanese Artists Performing on Same Stage

On the evening of Nov. 2， the 24-bridge scenic area of the Slender West Lake was decorated with blooming flowers and brightly lit by colourful lanterns and lights. On the stage over the rippling water， traditional Chinese and Japanese cultural and art items were performed. The 6 folk dancing and singing items performed by the Chinese artists and the 7 items by the Japanese artists won warm applause from the Chinese and foreign audience. Ryoko Nakano， famous Japanese film star， also went up the stage. The Chinese song Oh the Ocean， My Homeland she sang reminded people of the graceful Mayumi， the leading character she played in a film. The joyful evening party， which lasted 2 hours， reached its climax at 9:45 p.m. when fireworks display began. The fireworks shot up into the evening sky and bloomed in profusion over the lake. It was an unforgettable evening.

Monk Jianzhen's journey to Japan more than 1，000 years ago has opened a chapter in the annals of Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges and the return of the portrait of Monk Jianzhen to his hometown in the 1980s has given forceful impetus to the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Today， by holding activities commemorating the 1250th anniversary of Jianzhen's successful journey to Japan and through carrying forward the spirit of Jianzhen， the City of Yangzhou aims to strengthen its exchanges in various fields with Japan， enable Japan as well as the world to learn more about Yangzhou and about China so as to promote tourism development and economic takeoff of Yangzhou.