The sea route taken by Jian Zhen

In the fifth attempt in 748, the fatigue and hardship endured during the long journey on land and at sea inflicted a heavy toll on them．Jian Zhen became blind after this trip, while Eiei，one of the Japanese monks accompanying him，died of disease．Still, JianZhen's determination to go to Japan remained firm．

Undeterred by his blindness, Jian Zhen made the sixth attempt five years later at the age of 66. On October 19, 753, he left from Longxing Temple in Yangzhou and started off for Japan from Huangsipu in Suzhou (in East China's Jiangsu Province) on a ship of the Japanese envoys to China. On December 20, the determined blind monk finally set his foot on Japan's land, despite having experienced enormous hardship, hence at last achieving his dream of preaching Buddhism in Japan．

Forty days later, Jian Zhen and his entourage arrived in Nara, the then capital of Japan, and were welcomed by the whole country headed by the Japanese Emperor.

Jian Zhen lived in Japan for ten years until his death in 763 at the age of 76 in Nara，Japan．Jian Zhen passed away in Japan's Toshodai Temple, where a sitting statue of him is still well kept.

During his ten-year stay in Japan, he not only preached Buddhism but also imparted his knowledge about Chinese medicine，language，literature，architecture，sculpture, calligraphy, and printing to the Japanese people, thereby contributing greatly to the cultural exchanges and development between China and Japan．

Entrusted by Jian Zhen's disciples, a famous writer of the Nara Era (710-784) wrote a book, which recorded the hardships of Jian Zhen's six attempts to cross the sea, enabling later generations to understand both China and Japan's shipbuilding and navigation technologies during the Tang Dynasty.

Author: Jessie