On this day, 45 years ago, on April 14, 1980 (February 29, 1980, the statue of Master Jianzhen returned to his hometown, Yangzhou, for display. On April 14, 1980, the people of Yangzhou cordially received the statue of Master Jianzhen for "Visiting the Interior". The special car with a chrysanthemum-yellow front carriage carrying the statue of Jianzhen from Shanghai is slowly moving on the road with swaying willow branches. The ten big characters on the milky yellow carriage read "Friendship between the Chinese and Japanese People from Generation to Generation" are particularly eye-catching. It passes through Changzhou, passes through Zhenjiang, crosses the Yangtze River, and reaches Yangzhou, where it is warmly welcomed all the way. At the Guazhou Ferry, which Jianzhen passed three times when he crossed eastward, people waved the national flags, slogans, bouquets, and ribbons of the two countries. In the downtown area of Yangzhou, tens of thousands of people warmly welcomed him. When the special car arrived at Daming Temple, Jianzhen's former residence, there were people standing on the mountain and foot. People chanted rhythmically amid the sound of gongs and drums: "Welcome! Welcome! Warm welcome! "More than 1000 years ago, the master traveled eastward to Japan, bringing the advanced culture of the Tang Dynasty to the Japanese people and making brilliant contributions to cultural exchanges between China and Japan. Today, his statue "returned to his hometown to visit relatives" and was received as if Master Jianzhen had returned personally. Morimoto, the elder of the Tang Zhaoti Temple in Nara who escorted Master Jianzhen back to his hometown, could no longer contain the tears in his eyes and repeatedly thanked the people of Yangzhou for their deep kindness. He said excitedly: "Monk Jianzhen returned to China yesterday. A spring rain washed away the dust for him. Today, he came to his hometown and met with sunny days. This is a way for him to have a good look at his hometown more than a thousand years later! "Zhao Puchu, director of the National Committee to Welcome the Statue of Master Jianzhen, who made a special trip to Shanghai to welcome the statue of Jianzhen back home, said humorously: This is" God obeys the will of people "! Liao Chengzhi wrote "Welcome to the Return of Monk Jianzhen's True Appearance" for the tour of the statue of Master Jianzhen back to China. Elder Morimoto has been the abbot for 34 years and is the 81st elder of Tang Zhaoti Temple, with Master Jianzhen as the founding ancestor. For more than 30 years, he has worked hard all day long to restore the once-deserted Tang Zhaoti Temple after the war. The Donghua Garden in the temple is filled with China ancient lotus, Qionghua, peony, purple bamboo, etc. He always worships Jianzhen with China flowers and fruits. Elder Morimoto told reporters: "The year before last, Vice Premier Deng fulfilled my wish and asked me to accompany Monk Jianzhen back to China to visit relatives. I was a little panicked afterwards and didn't know what gift to bring to repay the China people." The elders decided to present cherry blossoms saplings and stone lanterns. The elder pointed to the stone lantern that had just been erected in front of the memorial hall and said: "This is the best material of the nunzhi stone. It is made according to the lantern style of the Tianping era in the eighth century, which is most influenced by China culture. It was worked three times during the processing process." Elder Morimoto said: "The stone lantern is a symbol of Japan-China friendship. I hope that the lantern lights will never go out. Jianzhen was born in Yangzhou in 688. died in 763. Born at the age of 14. Later, at the invitation of a Japanese eminent monk, he traveled eastward to Japan. After many setbacks and hardships, he finally arrived in Kyushu, Japan in the twelfth year of Tianbao (754). Monk Jianzhen not only promoted Buddhism in Japan, but also made many contributions in communicating the cultures of China and Japan.