Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian had many ideas about religion and had already begun preparations. He said to Qian Qianyi:

"I previously ordered the Buddhist and Taoist religions to establish the system of immortals and to compile and spread the 'Romance of the Primordial Era'."

"This book, along with the three mythological novels 'Investiture of the Gods' and 'Journey to the West,' will serve as a vehicle for spreading the new pantheon of deities."

"Sir, you are a literary master of the world, and your literary talent is admired by all. You must pay close attention to these three novels and revise and correct them carefully."

"Strive to ensure that the system of gods in the book is free of errors and consistent throughout."

These compliments delighted Qian Qianyi, and he readily agreed.

He knew that given the emperor's high regard for the three novels, they would surely become widely popular. By becoming the editor-in-chief, his name would be passed down through generations.

He certainly wouldn't refuse such a good opportunity and promised to revise it carefully.

Zhu Youjian, however, did not rely entirely on him, and gave further instructions:

“Those who are interested in the Hanlin Academy and other universities can also participate in the revision.”

"My requirement is that the main characters in the book should have their own biographies, and their images should be consistent throughout the book."

“For example, the stories of Nuwa creating humans and Nuwa mending the sky can be compiled into a ‘Biography of Nuwa’ as a derivative work.”

"The Royal Orchestra will use this as a basis to create plays and perform them for the world."

"There are also some more exciting plots, such as 'Pigsy's Wedding' and 'Three Battles with the White Bone Demon,' which also require theatrical rehearsals."

Some of these plays have already appeared. For example, the Yuan Dynasty zaju play "Journey to the West" contains many plot points from the current "Journey to the West".

Zhu Youjian hoped that after the new pantheon was perfected, new myths and legends would replace the original dramas. He also wanted the royal orchestra to choreograph mythological dramas that would be popular with the people, in addition to historical dramas.

After driving out the Jurchens, his tense nerves relaxed considerably, and he no longer devoted all his resources to the war effort.

They hope to leverage the harmonizing power of music to alleviate worldly conflicts.

Qian Qianyi's proposal to reform religion was timely, as he had already decided to devote his energy to this area.
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Listening to the emperor's continuous arrangements, Qian Qianyi was even more glad that he had taken the initiative to bring it up.

Otherwise, he would have been nothing more than a tool at the emperor's beck and call, unlike now where he still has some initiative.

To show that he wasn't just occupying a position without doing any work, Qian Qianyi said:
"His Majesty previously designated the Jingjiao deity as Dousi Tianzun, who is also known as the Lord of Heaven."

"I believe that his esteemed position in the new pantheon should be on par with that of the Lord of Mount Ling, both of whom are heretical deities."

"This deity originates from beyond the realm and should not be regarded as a true god."

This treats Buddhism as a foreign religion, classifying it alongside Nestorianism as a heretical sect.

Zhu Youjian immediately realized that Qian Qianyi wanted to exclude Nestorianism, and Buddhism was also implicated as a result.

He asked Qian Qianyi:

"Does the gentleman intend to use the 'Discourse on the Barbarians and the Chinese' to govern religion?"

"How can we talk about the three religions being one family?"

Gu Huan, a Daoist of the Shangqing School during the Southern Dynasties, once wrote a treatise called "On the Barbarians and the Chinese," which, based on the Confucian distinction between Chinese and barbarians, advocated respecting Daoism and suppressing Buddhism. He proposed that "Buddhism is not the way of the Eastern China, and Daoism is not the law of the Western barbarians," thus venerating Daoism and belittling Buddhism, which sparked a large-scale debate between Buddhism and Daoism.

The result was obvious: it failed to stop the continued spread of Buddhism, which even reached its peak.

Using this theory now would have unpredictable consequences.

In the process of promoting the distinction between Chinese and barbarians, Zhu Youjian had already realized that many people in the Ming Dynasty did not attach much importance to the distinction between Chinese and barbarians.

Nationalism in the Ming Dynasty was only in its infancy and was not enough to rival religion.

He couldn't possibly point to Buddhist deities and say they were barbarian deities and expect believers to change their minds.

Qian Qianyi was on good terms with many monks, so he naturally did not intend to label all of Buddhism as heretical. He said:
"Although Buddhism originated from abroad, after it was introduced to China, it already had many Chinese deities."

"This religion originated from the barbarians, but it has actually been integrated into Chinese culture, so it can be called half Chinese and half barbarian."

"I believe that we should further reform them and completely transform them from barbarians into Chinese." This statement made Zhu Youjian's eyes light up, and he truly began to look at Qian Qianyi with new respect.

From his own concept of a ruler who is both Chinese and foreign, and a country that is both Chinese and foreign, he deduced a religion that is both Chinese and foreign. Qian Qianyi's progress was truly remarkable, and he greatly admired it.

After seeing the emperor nod, Qian Qianyi continued:

"Nine Lotus Bodhisattva is the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Ming Dynasty."

"This is proof that she has been educated and has integrated into Chinese culture."

"I believe that such a deity should be worshipped and officially recognized as a god."

These words astutely grasped Zhu Youjian's thoughts, because he wanted to use the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva to replace Guanyin Bodhisattva.

As a descendant of Empress Dowager Xiaoding, he naturally wished to honor his great-grandmother, and nodded in approval upon hearing this.

"The Nine Lotus Bodhisattva is indeed an incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva."

"The fact that Guanyin Bodhisattva was reincarnated in the Ming Dynasty shows that she has accepted the teachings and is willing to become the goddess of China."

"Such a deity should be officially recognized as a principal deity and can be worshipped together with other deities."

“Other Buddhist deities who have been reincarnated in China, or who have relics or temples in China, can also be conferred the title of righteous deities.”

Instruct Qian Qianyi to conduct a thorough survey of Buddhist deities, select those with a large number of followers to be officially recognized as deities, and compile relevant scriptures.

Other Buddhist deities are considered non-Buddhist deities, and their deeds are not advocated or publicized.

If there are any forbidden passages in the scriptures, they will be identified as evil gods.

Each Buddhist sect must also be clearly defined, and its orthodox sects must be identified.

Zhu Youjian also had a plan to confer titles upon the founders of Buddhist schools such as Xuanzang, Bodhidharma, Shenxiu, and Huineng as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats.

The goal is to encourage Chinese Buddhist sects to worship these deities, rather than foreign gods.

He pondered and said:
In "Journey to the West", Tang Sanzang was conferred the title of Sandalwood Merit Buddha.

"What does 'sandalwood' mean? Could we remove those two characters and confer upon Xuanzang the title of 'Buddha of Merit'?"

Qian Qianyi was taken aback upon hearing this, not expecting the emperor to have such an idea. After thinking for a moment, he immediately agreed:
“Xuanzang’s merits and virtues are so great that he can naturally be conferred the title of Buddha of Merit.”

"As for sandalwood, it means sandalwood, which is a transliteration."

As he pondered the emperor's meaning, he added:

"I have studied Buddhist scriptures extensively and have discovered that many Buddhist translations still use transliteration."

"Without specialized research, one would not understand its meaning at all."

"I believe that these words should be retranslated and completely transformed into Chinese."

This matter requires careful consideration, because the principles for translating Buddhist scriptures were established by Master Xuanzang. Five principles were adopted for not translating Buddhist esoteric terms and polysemous words.

Some words have now been integrated into China and become part of Chinese culture. If they are changed arbitrarily, they will definitely cause controversy.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Youjian said to Qian Qianyi:
"Have the Translation Bureau and the Institute of Linguistics of the Hanlin Academy of Literature study this matter and see what the best translation would be."

"I have three requirements for translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and cultural accuracy."

"Faithfulness means being faithful to the original text, fluency means being clear and understandable, and Sinicization means adapting to Chinese culture."

"The highest level of translation is 'transformation,' reaching the realm of translation perfection. It is to transform foreign words into Chinese characters in a way that is neither awkward nor forced, while preserving the original flavor."

“For Buddhist terms that have been integrated into Chinese, such as ‘刹那’ (kāṣānà) and ‘般若’ (bānyòu), transliteration can be retained. However, terms that are difficult to understand, such as ‘揭谛揭谛’ (jiēdìjiēdì), ‘波罗揭谛’ (bōluójiēdì), ‘波罗僧揭谛’ (bōluósēngjiēdì), ‘菩提萨婆诃’ (pútí sàpóhē), need to be retranslated.”

"At the same time, some classic texts were corrected and revised during the translation process, and Chinese deities were incorporated to achieve the complete Sinicization of Buddhism." (End of Chapter)