On the outskirts of Yecheng, in the manor next to the King of Shu, Empress Yuchi Chifan and Shufei Yuchi Mingyue were visiting relatives, talking to her parents, chatting with the two elders to relieve their boredom.

Because of newspaper reasons, Yuchi Shun and Wang, who were guarding the tombs of the King of Shu, knew many current events and did not live a life of isolation. When chatting with their daughter, the topics were very "fashionable".

First of all, there is the railway. Yuchi Shun already knew the news that "the construction plan of Chang'an Railway Station is confirmed". He could not imagine what the arrival of "train" and "railway" would make the world look like.

The appearance and promotion of the steamships back then made Yuchi Shun feel unbelievable. With the telegram and train, he was really curious, curious about what strange things his son-in-law had to make.

Yuchi Shun held yesterday's newspaper, pointed to the title of the first page, and asked his daughter: "His Majesty has let Buddhism go?"

Yuchi Chifan nodded: "Well, it's just to strengthen management."

"Then, what is the 'Five Mountains and Ten Shadows'?"

"This is a long story. Father, let me listen to my daughter's detailed explanation." After Yuchi Chifan finished speaking, he took out a schematic diagram and helped his parents with his younger sister Yuchi Mingyue.

Previously, the dispute over the dismissal of Buddhism that broke out in the Taiqing period of Liang State was now over. The court began to strengthen the management of various Buddhist sects. Yecheng newspapers made "follow-up reports" on this. Yuchishun and his family believed in Buddhism, so they were very concerned about the development of things.

"The court has now decided to classify the Buddhist temples, which is the "Five Mountains and Ten Temples."

Yuchi Chifan began to elaborate on the court's policies: "Since Buddhism entered the Central Plains, monks in the Central Plains divided the views of the north and south on the way of practice. The south emphasizes righteousness and wisdom; the north emphasizes cessation and meditation."

"So, according to two views, the court now divides Buddhism into Yisect and Zen, that is, the north and south sects, each temple has five mountains, ten temples and Jia temples..."

One of the Buddhist management systems that the imperial court is now planning is to determine the grade of Buddhist temples like official ranks, that is, to classify them.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, all Buddhist temples must be under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Some of the "authentic" temples will become "official temples" recognized by the government. This system has been formed before, so the imperial court plans to divide the official temples into three levels on this basis.

The first level is set up with the Five Mountains according to the Five Mountains, which are the five top Buddhist temples.

The second level is "Ten Shadows", which are ten Buddhist temples at the second level.

The third level is "A Temple", which is an ordinary Buddhist temple at the third level, with a total of thirty-six.

There are 51 temples in three levels, and 100 temples in the north and south sects in total. This is the number of official temples under the management of the court. According to the level, the size of the temple, the size of the monks, the money and grain allocated by the government (also known as "monetary gifts") and preferential treatment (such as the degree of rent reduction and exemption) are different.

In every temple, there will be monks appointed by the court to manage it, and monks as "abbots" who preside over the daily affairs of the temple. The temple's account books are also under the management of local governments.

The monks who serve as presidency generally start from the Jiasha Temple and rise step by step, just like the promotion of officials.

When Wang heard this, he was a little worried: "There are only 102 official temples, which is too few... There were more than 100 Buddhist temples in Chang'an City back then..."

"Mother, this is the 'backbone' official temple organized by the imperial court... In fact, there are more than these temples." Yuchi Chifan took out another diagram to explain to his parents what "organization" was.

The court should strengthen the management of Buddhism and set a total of 100 "backbone" official temples in northern and southern sects. According to the temple level, there will be different degrees of treatment, such as the size of the temple, the number of monks and nuns, the number of temple fields, and the quota of "monetary gifts".

The so-called "monetary money" is the money, grain, cloth and silk distributed regularly by the court. Just like the salary of officials, it can allow the temple to have sufficient funds (relatively) maintain daily expenses.

Of course, the money is not given for free. The monks and nuns in the official temple have to bear certain obligations, such as adopting orphans (daughters), participating in various rituals presided over by the government, and releasing the fallen soldiers every year.

At the same time, in order to give Guanshi a certain self-sufficiency, in addition to having a certain amount of land according to regulations, Guanshi can operate food (vegetarian food), accommodation (hotel), orchards, and sell various Buddhist supplies.

Temples are also allowed to deposit funds into the cabinet shop for various financial management activities, but temples are never allowed to lend money, operate quality warehouses, and cabinet shops.

The relevant regulations will be gradually refined to form a strict system, and of course there are more than one hundred and two Buddhist temples in the world.

This hundred and two Buddhist temples can actually have a "semicon", that is, a separate temple.

Yuchi Chifan pointed to the top pattern in the diagram and said: "There are ten first-class official temples (five mountain levels) in the north and south. The number remains unchanged and no branch temples are allowed."

"The ten temples each elected a monk as representative, and together with the three monks selected by the court, they formed a thirteen-person 'council' to handle internal affairs of Buddhism, which is equivalent to the highest management organization within Central Plains Buddhism."

"There are twenty second-class official temples in total (Ten Shah level), and they must be supervised and assessed by first-class official temples. These second-class official temples can open sub-sects, but at most six. Sub-sects must be managed by the main temple, such as personnel and finance."

"The branch temples also have to be managed by the court, but they will not obtain the "mona money" from the court. The daily funds are mainly obtained by the donor's alms, or by the income from operating the industry itself (food and boarding industries licensed by the court)."

"As for the seventy-two third-class official temples (A temple level), three sub-sands can be opened. The sub-sands must also be managed by the main temple, and there is no "monetary gift" from the court."

Wang Shixin calculated and sighed, "In this way, the number of official temples in the world is...346, but it's still a small number."

Yuchi Mingyue added: "Mother, in addition to these official temples, the imperial court allowed the establishment of 'official and privately run' Buddhist temples, mainly to facilitate wealthy families to worship Buddha and make a house for a temple."

To sacrifice houses as temples is a very popular trend in this era. Nobles, gentry, officials, and wealthy businessmen donated their homes to Buddhist temples to show their pious heart to worship Buddha and accumulate merits for themselves and their families.

A large number of Buddhist temples, which were formerly houses, are the important origins of temples in cities in various places today.

The imperial court allowed the house to be a temple, but such a Buddhist temple must be registered with the local government. The monks within it must have a certificate and accept assessment and supervision from the local government and the official temple (or the official temple in the neighboring area), including reviewing the contents of the scriptures.

There is no limit on the number of such Buddhist temples, but there are many restrictions. Once "established", there is basically no possibility of expansion.

The management is so strict that the protection of wealthy people donating a large amount of land and money will lead to the emergence of a wealthy Buddhist temple, which will also prevent the number of Buddhist temples from increasing dramatically, and the number of monks and nuns will surge.

As Yuchi Shun and Wang listened, they felt that their son-in-law had many tricks. In order to strengthen the management of Buddhism, they have been struggling for several months and have now introduced strengthened management systems, as if they have added a "tight ring" mentioned in the opera to Central Plains Buddhism.

One day I am unhappy and recite the curse of tightening the ring, the Buddhists are afraid that they will be troubled.

However, it is better for the court to choose to strengthen management than to stop the Buddha (destroy the Buddha). In this way, it can indeed prevent some scum from cheating everywhere and defaming the reputation of Buddhism.

During the conversation, Yuchi Shun and Wang began to remind their two daughters because they didn’t know when the next meeting was going to be.

Or, never see it again.

Last year, Yuwen Wen went on a tour through Xiangzhou and went to Shu Wang Tomb to worship. At that time, the sisters of Yuchi Chifan met with their parents who were guarding the tomb.

Later, the two sisters accompanied Yuwen Wen to Liaodong. The prince stayed in Yecheng to supervise the country and handled government affairs. He also came to the manor next to the Shu King's Tomb to talk to his grandfather, grandmother and uncle.

Yuwen Wen returned from Liaodong and celebrated the New Year in Yecheng. Sister Yuchi Chifan was able to accompany his parents to have a reunion year.

After this autumn, Yuwen Wen will return to Chang'an, so the two sisters will come to talk to their parents when they are still in Yecheng when they have time.

Yuchi Shun and his wife are both over 70 years old, with gray hair and gray body, and their health is naturally not as good as before. However, they are in good spirits. Yuchi Jiade and his concubine Su Mu gave birth to another son and a daughter, so the lives of the two old people are not lonely.

When Yuchi Shun and Wang saw their two daughters filial and their great-grandson was lively and had no worries in their hearts. Because after their daughter returned to Chang'an, they didn't know if they could meet again, so there was a lot to say.

As parents, of course, I hope that their children will be safe and sound. Yuchishun never forgot to instruct his daughter to take good care of his husband when he takes good care of himself. After all, his son-in-law is older and no longer young and cannot withstand the trouble.

"Sanniang, Siniang, Your Majesty is your heaven, the heavens cannot collapse."

"Daughter understands." Yuchi Chifan said, a little sad. She knew that her parents were old and might not meet again, but Geely words always have to say:

"Father, mother, in the future, when the railway is opened, you can take a train to Chang'an, look at the train station, and look at your daughter."
Chapter completed!