As the main traffic artery of ancient China, the opening and renovation of the Grand Canal not only directly enlivened the logistics and interpersonal exchanges between China's regions, but also affected the diplomatic exchanges between ancient China and the world.
Most of the ancient overseas countries came to China by water, the Grand Canal became an integral part of the main international transportation routes in the ancient eastern world, the easternmost end of the Grand Canal from Mingzhou Port (Ningbo) through the Maritime Silk Road to connect overseas countries, the westernmost end from Luoyang west to connect the trans-Asian inland Land Silk Road, the Grand Canal has become the connection line of the land and sea Silk Road, but also become the necessary link between Chinese civilization and foreign civilizations to exchange and learn from each other. This issue of "History Theory" invites Jiang Shili, author of the book "Legendary China: The Grand Canal" and researcher of the China Grand Canal Research Institute of Yangzhou University, to tell us the story of the Grand Canal and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
They came from the canal
On the second day of the first month of August in the twenty-sixth year of Ming Hongwu (1389), the Goryeo envoys passed by the Cheonghe Station on the side of the Grand Canal and saw the majestic scene of the confluence of the Huang, Huai, and Yun rivers in the northwest of Huai'an, and could not help but be dazzled:
Haohao Sanhekou, the wind and waves beat the sky angrily.
The lone tree is in danger, and the light cable is weak and difficult to pull.
Don't want to linger on the waves, only think of the shore.
The current is still not easy, and the eyes are blank.
The angry waves are beating the sky, the lonely boat is in danger, it is difficult to go up against the current, and it is not easy to go down the river. The purpose of Quan's visit was to pay tribute to the Zhu Ming Dynasty. From Goryeo, he traveled overland to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and then traveled south along the canal to the capital Nanjing. For The Koreans of the time, this was a classic route into Beijing.
Choe Ji-won, a Silla (North Korean) man who lived nearly 500 years before Quan, also drifted on the Grand Canal. In the ninth year of Xiantong (868 AD), the 12-year-old Cui Zhiyuan came to Luoyang, Chang'an and other places in the late Tang Dynasty to study, and at the age of 18, after traveling for two years in the eastern capital of Luoyang, he came along the Grand Canal to Jiangnan, where he served as a lieutenant of Lishui County for 3 years and spent 5 years in the famous canal city of Yangzhou. In the fourth year of Zhonghe (884 AD), the 28-year-old Cui Zhiyuan set off from Yangzhou to return to China. The poems in his work "Guiyuan Pen Cultivation" were all composed during his life in China, and there is no lack of water and rural rhyme between the lines.
Japan and China have exchanges as early as the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Japan sent emissaries to China many times to learn advanced culture. At that time, there were three routes for Japan to come to Tang:
The North Road is a west crossing of the Yellow Sea through the Korean Peninsula to dengzhou, and then from Qingzhou, Jizhou to Luoyang and Chang'an;
The Middle Road is a direct westward crossing of the sea by Japan, to the Yangtze River port and the coastal area of northern Jiangsu, into Yangzhou and Chuzhou, through the Hangou and Tongji Canal to continue the boat, through Bianzhou, Luoyang Xida Chang'an;
The South Road crossed the East China Sea from Japan, landed south of Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo) and the coast of Zhejiang, traced the Qiantang River or the Zhejiang East Canal through Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing) to Hangzhou, and then went to Yangzhou via the Jiangnan Canal, and then followed the Hangou and Tongji Canals to Chang'an.
Both the Middle Road and the South Road pass through the Grand Canal, and after the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese came to China by taking the Middle Road or the South Road, and along the Grand Canal into Chinese mainland and Beijing.
The Japanese mission to the Tang Dynasty was well organized, reaching more than 550 people at a time. In addition to officials, there are also doctors, painters, historians, casting students, and meticulous workers, as well as many international students and scholars. They brought valuable gifts such as pearl silk and amber to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang government returned some high-grade silk fabrics, porcelain, musical instruments, cultural classics, and so on. International students studying in China are assigned to the Chang'an Guozijian to learn various professional knowledge. For example, Abe Zhongmalu (Han name Chao Heng) stayed in China for a long time, was good at poetry, and served in the Tang Dynasty as Guanglu Doctor, Yushi Zhongcheng, Secretary Supervisor and other positions, and with famous poets Li Bai and Wang Wei, he often gave poetry to rewards. Chao Heng also assisted Jian Zhen in crossing to Japan in the east, encountering risks on the way and drowning by misinformation, for which Li Bai wrote a eulogy poem of "Crying Chao QingHeng", expressing the deep friendship between the two peoples. Later, Chao Heng returned to Chang'an after all the hardships and continued to serve, eventually dying of illness in Chang'an.
For Jiangsu, people's exchanges with foreign countries have a long history. The excavation of the Grand Canal has facilitated foreigners to travel throughout Jiangsu. In 1074, the Japanese monk Chengxun arrived in Suzhou by boat, and the local monks went to the canal to greet him. The Japanese Tendai monk Yuanren wrote the "Record of entering the Tang Dynasty and Seeking the Law", which clearly records the travel process of the Grand Canal:
“...... The digging ditch (referring to the artificially excavated Grand Canal) is more than two meters wide and has no curved DC, which is what the Sui Emperor dug..." "DC without curve" is exactly the requirement of the Sui Emperor to "widen and straighten".
Choe Pu, a courtier of the Joseon Dynasty, landed on the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang province in 1488 with 42 men in a boat. They arrived in Ningbo and Hangzhou, followed the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to Beijing, and then crossed the Yalu River to return to China. His "Drifting Sea Record" contains a complete record of travels in the Jiangsu section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Communication is a two-way street. In ancient times, Chinese wanted to go along the Silk Road to other countries, and they also chose to enter the Yangtze River from Yangzhou by the Grand Canal, or from the Zhejiang East Canal to Ningbo into the sea. For example, the monk Jian Zhen, who was invited by Emperor Shengmu of Japan to travel east to Japan, went through six east crossings, and finally arrived in Japan in the thirteenth year of Tempo (754 AD). Almost all of these 6 east crossings departed from Yangzhou by the Grand Canal. He introduced the Vinaya to Japan and brought Buddhist temple architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts to Japan.
Exotic knowledge spreads along the canal
"Our sailboat went into the Royal Grand Canal, which is the oldest canal in the world. It flows through the mountains, through the valleys, and intersects with numerous rivers and lakes." On October 7, 1793, the British delegation boarded a ship from Tongzhou, Beijing, and began a 33-day tour of the canal. In the Book of Conduct, Macartney and his retinue describe the Grand Canal in this way. They were the first foreign mission to fully tour the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
"We dropped anchor near a big city (Huai'an) and were greeted with firing cannons, with countless sailing boats moored at the dock. Which city is this? ”
"The waves on the (Zhenjiang) river are like the waves of the sea, and we also saw the porpoise."
"[Jinshan Jiaoshan] is like a fascinating building that a wizard has concocted on the surface of the river through magic."
"Countless residents in and around Suzhou are better dressed and look more contented and pleasant than we have seen elsewhere." Almost all of them wore silk. ”
The Grand Canal and the cityscape along the canal make them feel different "exotic". In fact, it spread in Europe 500 years before they did. Marco Polo was born into a merchant family in Venice, Italy. In the twelfth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1275), Marco Polo followed his father and uncle along the Silk Road to China. He served as an official in Yangzhou for 3 years. The cities along the canal became an important part of his later travelogues due to their abundant products, such as Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Linqing, which were described in detail in his later travelogues.
In addition to the Travels of Marco Polo, the Italian traveler Odoric, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, and so on, also spread the geography and culture of the Grand Canal to foreign countries through writing. The former set out from Venice in 1314 and took the sea route to Guangzhou, from Quanzhou to Fuzhou, then through Xianxialing, down the Qiantang River into Hangzhou to Jinling, and later Yangzhou along the canal to the capital of Yuan, while Matteo Ricci arrived in China in 1582, and his canal journey began in Yangzhou. After arriving in Beijing, he said: The Grand Canal is really beautiful and a miracle of the world!
In contrast, the British missionary and sinologist Richards studied and disseminated Chinese culture more profoundly. When Jacob visited Chinese mainland in 1873, he traveled from Shanghai to Beijing and from Beijing to Shanghai, and he walked back and forth from the Grand Canal. Richard Not only translated Chinese classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics into English, but also wrote books and lectures on Confucius, Mencius, and Chinese literature and religion.
Chinese culture goes out through the Grand Canal, and Western culture also enters through the Grand Canal. In 1615, Matteo Ricci's Notes on China was published in Germany, setting off a "Chinese fever". A large number of young missionaries applied to come to China, and John Tang was one of them. He not only brought the Western calendar into China, but also disseminated the knowledge of artillery manufacturing and mining and metallurgy in Europe in the 16th century.
The Frenchman Kinnige, carrying 7,000 books and instruments collected from European countries, arrived in Beijing from Hangzhou along the Grand Canal and established China's first foreign library. He was determined to translate these 7,000 Western books into Chinese and introduce them to Chinese readers.
In addition, Arabic astronomy, mathematics and medicine, Koryo music, and India's new sugar-making process all entered China along the Silk Road and spread along the Grand Canal, changing the way of life of the city dwellers along the canal.
The king of Sulu is buried on the banks of the Grand Canal
For hundreds of years, the Grand Canal has carried the important mission of international cultural exchange. Imported materials such as spices and jewelry were transported to all parts of the country through it, and domestic silk fabrics, porcelain and tea were also transported to the Silk Road through it. With the Grand Canal, Chang'an can become Chang'an, and Sheng Tang can become Sheng Tang. At that time, maritime ties with Japan, Korea, India, Iran, and Arab countries were increasing, and there were more than 5,000 Arab and other foreign merchants living in Yangzhou alone.
And in the crowd of people coming and going, the king of Sulu may be a more special one.
The Sulu State was located in the southern part of today's Philippine Archipelago. In the fifteenth year of Ming Yongle (1417 AD), the three kings of the Sulu Islands, the Eastern King Batu Ge Hara, the Western King Maha La Ling Ge La Ma Ding, and the wife of the King of Gong, Tooku Ge Ba Labu, led more than 340 family members and officials to visit the Ming Empire, and went north along the Grand Canal to Beijing via Hangzhou and Yangzhou.
After a 27-day visit to China, the Three Kings resigned, and Ming Chengzu Zhu Di sent someone to escort them. In early September, when traveling along the canal to Texas, the Eastern King Badu Ge Hara died in Texas on September 13 due to the dissatisfaction of water and soil, coupled with the fatigue of the journey, and became seriously ill. Zhu Di immediately sent Chen Shiqi, the rebbe, to pay homage to the sacrifice and comfort his family. Zhu Di also wrote a eulogy for the King of Sulu Dong, posthumously honoring him as "King Gongding", and buried the King of Sulu East in Texas according to the royal ceremony.
After the eastern king was buried, his eldest son Du Mahan returned to China with the western king, the king of the valley and others to inherit the throne. According to Chinese etiquette, Cheng Zu asked Princess Ge Muning, second son Wen Ha La, third son Andulu and more than ten attendants to stay in Texas to guard the tomb for 3 years and return. The Ming Dynasty took great care of the descendants of the Eastern King who guarded the tomb, not only granting the land tax exemption, but also providing one stone of rations per person per month. The imperial court also sent 3 households from Licheng County, Shandong Province, to serve as envoys for the descendants of the Eastern King's tomb.
After the completion of the three-year mourning period, the second son of the Eastern King, Andulu, and the third son, Wen Ha La, did not want to return to the Sulu Kingdom, and they changed their surnames to An and Wen according to the Chinese surname customs. In the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424 AD), the Ming government sent someone to escort Princess Ge Muning back to China, and because of her attachment to the Eastern King, she returned to Dezhou again the following year and never left again. To the southeast of the tomb of the king of Sulu, there are three mounds slightly smaller than the tomb of the king, which are the tombs of the princess and the prince. After several generations of reproduction, by the time of the Ming Dynasty, and the descendants of Andulu had reached more than 70 people. To this day, the King of Sulu has been buried in the land of China for more than 600 years, and his descendants An and Wen have been passed down to the 20th generation, counting more than 500 people.
Contributing writer Jiang Shili
Source: Purple Cow News