The sitting statue of Jian Zhen in Japan's Toshodai Temple

During the golden years (between the 7th-8th centuries) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), China's economy and national power reached a new high, which led to unprecedented prosperity in the friendly relations and cultural exchanges between China and Japan.

In order to learn of the political system and the profound culture of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent various envoys -- including students, monks, and scholars as well as knowledgeable intellectuals -- to China by sea many times.

Chinese envoys also sailed to Japan for cultural exchanges, among whom Monk Jian Zhen made the most significant contributions in the history of Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.

Surnamed Chunyu, Jian Zhen was born in 688 in today's Yangzhou City of East China's Jiangsu Province. He began to study Buddhism at age 14 in Yangzhou's Dayun Temple. Under the guidance of his teacher, Jian Zhen became well versed not only in Buddhism, but also in literature, art, medicine, and architecture.

In 713, Jian Zhen, who by that time had become a renowned Buddhism master, went back to Yangzhou to preach Buddhism, attracting a following of around 40,000. Besides, he also organized the transcription of over 33,000 rolls of scriptures, and designed more than 80 temples and monasteries. Many Japanese monks studying Buddhism in China highly admired him.

In 742，two Japanese monks studying Buddhism in China made a special trip to Yangzhou to invite Jian Zhen to do missionary work in Japan, which was also the wish of the Japanese Government．The next year, Jian Zhen, then 55, together with some of his disciples and some artisans, started off for Japan by sea。

During the next ten or so years, they made six attempts to cross the sea，but almost all ended in failure due either to governmental interference or natural disasters.

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