The free cultural policies in the Tang Dynasty promoted the thriving of Buddhism. The monks’ solid Confucianism basis,poetry talent and strong political influence,combined with the emerging imperial official selection system,made the communication and interaction between the monks and the candidates become a unique social and cultural phenomenon in the Tang Dynasty. There were two interactive modes: the first one was the mutual support and mutual benefit between them. The candidates took the monks as their teachers,seeking the success in imperial examinations by presenting their works to the monks,and the monks rendered their help to the candidates by sharing their learning skills,giving counsel and making a direct intervention. The second one was that Buddhist monks who were detached from this world resumed secular life and participated in the imperial examination,while the candidates who suffered several failures in the examination became increasingly depressed and turned to Buddhism. The interaction between them was a peculiar social and cultural phenomenon in ancient China,and it was the product of highly developed Buddhism getting combined with increasingly mature imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty.In other words,it is a special form of expression of the sinicization of Buddhism.
