Liu Min thought about Mi Fu's strange story, and continued to move forward, only to see the two corridors of the Buddha Hall of the Great Xiangguo Temple are all temples and aunts selling embroidery, collar wipes, flowers, pearls, heads, color and gold patterns, heads, hats, special bun crowns, silk threads and other things, as well as handmade handicrafts of the temple nuns.

Monks and monks worked as cooks to open restaurants, and nuns made trinkets, clothes and hats for sale, a phenomenon that probably only existed in the Song Dynasty.

Liu Min thought silently, and was a little excited; When he was still in later generations, he thought that the land area of the Northern Song Dynasty was 2.8 million square kilometers, which was one-ninth of the 25 million square kilometers of the Han Dynasty and one-fifth of the 15 million square kilometers of the Tang Dynasty.

The population of the Northern Song Dynasty exceeded 100 million, and the population of Bianliang City alone was 1.5 million; At the time, no other country could match it.

The economic aggregate of the Northern Song Dynasty was prosperous, and the level of science and technology was superb; can throw Dahan and Datang down several streets.

The reason for this is the development of the service industry, which is what modern people call the tertiary industry; The vigorous development of the tertiary industry has contributed to the business boom of entrepreneurship; It seems to be normal for monks, Taoist priests, and nuns to be integrated into it.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, the city implemented a closed market system, where citizens lived in the square, shops were concentrated in the city, walls were built around the square and the city, and transactions were time-limited.

After the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, with the improvement of agricultural production tools, the development of farmland and water conservancy construction, especially the development of Jiangnan and other regions; The whole socio-economic situation is showing a prosperous picture.

In this way, it provides material and productive preparations for the development and prosperity of the city's economy and breaks the original barriers of the city.

With the gradual development of the commodity economy, the fang market system has lost its foundation; As a result, the traditional Chinese cities have entered a stage of open development.

With the devastating destruction of the fang wall since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the tide of commerce also broke the city wall, and the end of the fang market system freed commercial activities from the limitations of time and space.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo basically retained the two major business districts of East City and West City; However, with the rapid development of commercial trade and the increasing population, commercial activities are no longer limited to the eastern and western cities.

While the high-walled city gates and drumming locks and keys were turned into rubble and scrap metal, many residents converted their houses into shops and started businesses, and rows of restaurants, tea shops and shops selling daily necessities were constantly being built.

In particular, shops can be set up both inside and outside the city, and shops in the same industry are often clustered together, and hawkers are very common.

The main street of Bianliang in Tokyo is the main street leading to the various city gates, from Xuandeok Gate to Nanxun Gate, from Xuande Gate to the east to Tushizi, and then to the north through Fengqiu Gate to Yongtai Gate, from Zhou Bridge to the east through Lijingmen to Yangmen, from Zhou Bridge to the west through Yiqiu Gate to Shuntianmen.

These four streets are called "Imperial Roads", that is, the emperor's access roads.

Twenty years after the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, in the fifth year of the Taiping Rejuvenation of the Kingdom, that is, in 980 AD, the main street of Tokyo, Jingyangmen Street, there was a phenomenon of commercial market "encroachment".

Soon, even the "Imperial Road", which the emperor frequented, also had the phenomenon of "encroachment" in the commercial market.

The market system began to collapse and disintegrate, and the business boom of "mass entrepreneurship" rolled in; A bustling commercial street with shops in Bianliang, Tokyo, came into being.

Bianliang in Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty was already a large metropolis with a population of more than one million at that time, due to the large population, strong consumption, after the gradual collapse of the fang market system, whether it is a market in the city or a market on the outskirts of the city, it is a prosperous scene where merchants gather and trade is booming.

At this time, Tokyo Bianliang has expanded its commodity trading operations to all corners of the city's streets and alleys, Qiaotou and alleys, forming a huge prosperous market in "Nanhebei City".

At the same time as breaking the market system and opening up shops along the street to do business, Tokyo Bianliang also canceled the thousand-year-old curfew system and relaxed the business hours.

The gates were closed late and opened early. According to the record of "Song Hui to Compile Manuscripts and Food": On April 12 of the third year of Taizu Qiande, the edict of Kaifeng Mansion ordered the night market in Beijing to come to Sangu, and it should not be banned.

The promulgation of this edict clearly announced the legalization of the night market before Sangu. As a result, Tokyo's Bianliang began to have a bustling night market with brilliant lights.

By the time of Huizong, the commerce of Bianliang in Tokyo had reached its heyday; The night market is even more pompous.

There are no restrictions on business hours and business locations, the night market is open, the morning market is open, there are ghost markets, and there is even a flea market, and Tokyo Bianliang has become a city that never sleeps.

At that time, the night market often ended until dawn, and the market transactions were often tens of millions, which could not but be amazing.

The liveliest spot in Bianliang, Tokyo is the Mahang Street Night Market. This street is more than ten miles long, and the street is full of shops and official residences, thus forming a new pattern of organic combination of fangxiang and market; So much so that in the night market on Mahang Street, the cars and horses are crowded, and pedestrians can't stop.

Its prosperity and liveliness can be imagined: "The silkworm market is not the homeland, and the lights of the horse line are remembered." "It's no wonder that the poets who once visited the Mahang Street Night Market missed it so much.

The restaurant tea shop in Bianliang Night Market is a major feature, and the restaurant is brightly lit every night, and it is very lively all night.

There are 72 large restaurants in Bianliang City, most of which use the beauty of prostitutes to increase their turnover; There is no such thing as letting prostitutes accompany their customers to drink.

Especially at night, the lights are bright and the business is booming. There is such a record in "Tokyo Menghualu": "Fanjingshi Restaurant...... The two corridors of the north and south courtyards are small pavilions, the evening lights and candles are shining, the top and bottom are photographed, and hundreds of prostitutes are decorated, gathered on the main corridor, waiting for the drinkers to call, looking at it like an immortal. ”

In order to strengthen the security management of the night market, the government has dispatched a large number of public security patrol police. Especially on the royal street, there are many patrols.

According to historical records, at that time, a military patrol shop was set up every two or three hundred steps on the royal street, and the public security patrol police in the shop maintained traffic order during the day and diverted the flow of people and vehicles; Defend commercial houses and shops at night to prevent theft, robbery, and accidents.

The military patrol shop in Bianliang may be the earliest city patrol in history, and at the same time, the fire fighting work in Bianliang is also very good.

At that time, the capital "300 steps per lane, there was a military patrol shop, five soldiers, and the night patrol police received official business. He also built a brick tower on a high place, and there were people on the upper floor. Whenever there is a fire, there is a horse army to report. The army lord Ma Bujun, the three yamen in front of the palace, and the leading troops of Kaifeng Mansion were extinguished in time, and the people were not bothered. ”

These very effective public security and fire management measures have brought good order and a stable environment to the night market, making it possible for the night market to prosper.

In addition to the night market, there is also a morning market. The morning market in Bianliang starts every day on Friday. In addition, there are regular markets, seasonal markets, and fairs in the same industry, as well as tile markets and grass markets on the outskirts of Beijing.

The city's commercial layout with the integration of fangs and markets, and the rapid formation of night markets, tile markets and regular market trade have become the significant features of the breakthrough development of Bianliang's commodity economy.

The morning and night markets in Bianliang are the most prosperous in the catering industry, and there are not only a variety of local restaurants, such as North Restaurant, South Restaurant, Sichuan Restaurant, but also a variety of categorical restaurants.

Restaurants are dotted and food stalls abound; The largest "alum building" in Bianliang City, later changed to Fengle Building, in the Xuanhe years, more three floors high, five floors facing each other, each has a flying bridge railing, light and dark communication. The bead curtain is embroidered, the lamp and candle are shining, it is open for a few days, the first to arrive is the bounty flag, after one or two nights, it has been the first night, then the gold is a tile in the dragon are placed in the lotus lamp. "There are thousands of people who drink and eat in it every day.

The convenience of water and land transportation has brought unique conditions and advantages to the prosperity of the commercial market in Beijing.

Bianliang takes advantage of this advantage not only to rapidly develop the commodity economy in the inner city, but also to vigorously develop the commercial market in the outer city and on both sides of the Bianhe River, and to create a "smooth flow of goods" in the capital business circle.

The Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan's work "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" depicts the bustling and lively scene of the commercial markets on both sides of the Bianliang River and the Bianhe River in Tokyo during the Qingming Dynasty, as well as the beautiful natural scenery on the outskirts of the city.

The rise of the capital's business district has greatly contributed to the prosperity of the commodity economy of the entire city of Bianliang, Tokyo. "Tokyo Menghualu Preface" said: "The peace is long, and the characters are complicated. The child with drooping hair, but Xi inspires; The white old man doesn't know how to fight. The seasons are alternate, and each has its own viewing. The lantern night and the moon, when the snow is flowering, begging to climb high, teaching the pond and amusement garden. Raise your eyes to the green building painting pavilion, embroidered household bead curtain. The carved cars compete in the heavenly street, the BMW races on the royal road, the golden green shines brightly, and Luo Qi is fragrant. The new voice laughed at Liu Mo Huaqu, and tuned the strings according to the orchestra in the teahouse restaurant. Eight wildernesses contend, and all countries are salty. A collection of curiosities from all over the world, all of which are easy to return to the market; The peculiar smell of the Huihuan area is all in the kitchen. The road is full of flowers, what is the limit of spring outing, the drums are noisy, and there are several night banquets. Ingenuity is amazing, luxury is spiritual. This is undoubtedly a general summary and true portrayal of the prosperity of business and humanity in Bianliang, Tokyo at that time.

Liu Min watched the flourishing of the daytime commodities of Daxiangguo Temple, and sighed for a while: it is better to see than to see, and it is better to see than to hear; The self-reliance of monks and nuns gave Liu Min a new understanding of the harmonious coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in China.

The monks and nuns of the Song Dynasty not only supported themselves, but also frequently plunged into the tide of the commodity economy; This is historically rare.

Liu Min remembered that the ban on Buddhism in Chinese history seemed to be caused by monks who were lazy and lazy and ate without work.

The four "forbidden Buddha" events in history occurred in 444 A.D. when Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty banned the Buddha; In 574 A.D., Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty Yuwen Yong banned the Buddha, and in 841 A.D., Li Yan of the Tang Dynasty banned the Buddha; After 955 A.D., Zhou Zhou Shizong Chai Rong banned the Buddha.

These four incidents of banning the Buddha were collectively referred to as the "Three Martial Arts and One Sect" and the four "Extinction of Buddhas" by later generations.

There is a theory that the "three martial arts and one sect" have "destroyed the Buddha" four times, and it is believed that it is because of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism. This statement is too narrow-minded, and there have indeed been disputes between certain figures of Buddhism and Taoism in several incidents of banning Buddhism; They are jealous in front of the emperor, and they are concerned about some practical interests.

However, using this theory to explain the reason for the ban on Buddhism would only distort the original meaning of the religion. Whether it is the Buddha or the Tao, it requires to stay away from the world and return to the plain. Fighting for a place in secular society is not in keeping with the true spirit of religion.

Therefore, the people involved in the dispute between Buddhism and the Tao are obviously not the true Buddha and the true way, but the false Buddha and the false path.

Therefore, if the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism is the cause of the ban on Buddhas, then these false Buddhas and false paths should indeed be banned.

For example, when Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty banned Buddhism for the first time, he found that the temple hid a large number of weapons and was suspected of rebellion.