"Haike talks about Yingzhou, and the smoke is vague and difficult to find."
Yingzhou, Penglai, abbot, legendary three immortal mountains located above the East China Sea.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas has clouds: "Penglai Mountain is in the sea, and the city of the adults is in the sea"; according to the "Ten Continents", "Yingzhou, jade paste is like wine, the name is jade wine, drinking several liters of drunkenness, making people live forever." ”
Legend has it that there are immortals living on the Immortal Mountain, and there are immortal medicines that make people immortal.
The legendary Penglai Wonderland
It is said that during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, because he was obsessed with the way of immortality, he sent his subordinate Xu Fu to carry three thousand boys, girls and hundreds of workers to cross the sea to find the legendary three immortal mountains of Penglai, Yingzhou and Abbot, in order to obtain the medicine of immortality. As a result, the fleet disappeared above the vast sea, and its whereabouts were unknown.
Why did Xu Fu's fleet disappear? Where did the people on board go? Why is it rumored that Xu Fudong crossed to Japan and became the ancestor of the Japanese people? It all has to start all over again.
The ancients believed in the theory of ghosts and gods and pursued the way of immortality. Throughout the dynasties, there have been many people who have hoped to seek immortality and seek immortality, especially the emperor who is high up in power and wealth. They seek immortality, either to get rid of the regrettable fate of "hegemony before death", or to continue the imperial dream of "sitting on the beauty of the country".
There is no doubt that Qin Shi Huang was also one of them. For the sake of his own ambitions and desires, he gathered folk talents and strangers everywhere to search for the secret recipes of immortality, and even poured a lot of manpower and material resources into this regard.
At that time, Qin Shi Huang had a powerful alchemist under him, named Xu Fu. According to legend, Xu Fu was a closed disciple of Oniguzi, who was knowledgeable, knowledgeable about astronomy and geography, and had a high reputation among the people and the trust of Qin Shi Huang.
One day, Xu Fu wrote to Qin Shi Huang, claiming that there were three sacred mountains in the East China Sea, namely Penglai, Abbot and Yingzhou, and that the immortal medicine for immortality could be sought on the mountain. After hearing this, Qin Shi Huang was moved, so he ordered Xu Fu to take people out to sea by boat to find the legendary sacred mountain and immortal medicine.
Xu Fu
In 219 BC, Xu Fu set out from Langya under the orders of Qin Shi Huang and went to the sea to seek medicine. Unfortunately, after years of unsuccessful searching, it was finally fruitless.
After returning to China, Xu Fu has been terrified. He knew very well that with Qin Shi Huang's cruel and tyrannical nature, once he learned the news that he had unsuccessfully sought medicine, he would definitely be severely condemned to him, and it was probably not too much to divide the body of five horses. Therefore, before entering the palace, he had already thought of a way to deal with it.
Sure enough, Qin Shi Huang, who learned the truth, was furious. In order to save his life, Xu Fu hurriedly lied that he had found the legendary Immortal Mountain, but there were mackerels guarding it, and the ship could not get close to half a point, so he climbed the mountain to seek medicine. There need to be enough archers and soldiers to escort them, and five hundred virgins and girls are sacrificed to the local gods to successfully obtain the elixir of immortality.
Xu Fu spoke earnestly, looking like he was worried about it, and Qin Shi Huang, who was eager for medicine, believed it to be true, so he sent Xu Fu to go to sea again, and sent a total of three thousand boys, girls, and hundreds of workers to accompany him, far exceeding the number needed for the plan. The implication is that if everything is ready and Xu Fu is still unsuccessful, there is only one way to die for him.
Xu Fu pretended to admit it on the surface, but in fact, he already had his own calculations in his heart. He knew that there was little hope of truly finding the elixir, and it might even not exist at all, and he would eventually die. Instead of repeating the mistakes of the past and casting a net, it is better to give it a go, take the opportunity to stay away from the land of right and wrong, and find another place to settle down. Anyway, Emperor Shan Gao was far away, even if Qin Shi Huang wanted to surrender to him, there was nothing he could do.
Xu Fudongdu
In 210 BC, under the instructions of Qin Shi Huang, Xu Fu led three thousand virgin boys and girls, as well as hundreds of warriors and archers, loaded with grain seeds, dry food, utensils, etc., from the port and once again crossed the sea to the east, looking for the elixir of immortality. However, this time, Xu Fu and his party never returned, and they have not heard from them since.
Regarding the whereabouts of Xu Fu and others, there are many speculations and opinions in later generations. Some people think that Xu Fu has been buried in the sea, but the more mainstream folk saying is that Xu Fudong crossed to Japan and settled in Japan. Some people even boldly speculate that the Japanese dynasty was established after Xu Fu arrived in Japan, and the Japanese are the descendants of the virgin boys and girls brought by Xu Fu.
So did Xu Fudongdu really go to Japan? Are the Japanese descendants of the Qin Dynasty? Let's find out!
Xu Fudongdu
Regarding Xu Fudong's trip to Japan, as far as the current historical data are concerned, the possibility is very high.
According to the "History of Qin Shi Huang Benji", "The Qi people Xu Wei and others wrote that there were three sacred mountains in the sea of words, named Penglai, Abbot, Yingzhou, and immortals living in it. Fast and ask for it with the virgins. Therefore, thousands of virgins were sent to Xu City to go into the sea to seek immortals", which proved that there was indeed a case in history in which Xu Fu took the virgin boy and girl Dongdu to ask for immortals to ask for medicine, and as for what happened afterwards, this ji did not elaborate.
In the "Biography of Hengshan in Huainan", the deeds of Xu Fudongdu are also recorded, which is much the same as the statement of this era, but further adds the ending of "Xu Fude Plain Guangze, stop the king from coming", which means that xu Fudongdu stopped at "Plain Guangze", then settled in the local area, and when the king no longer returned to Qin. It is a formal explanation of where Xu Fudongdu went.
So will the so-called "Hirahara Hirosei" refer to Japan?
Judging from the destination of Xu Fu's voyage, we all know that he went to find the Three Immortal Mountains on the orders of Qin Shi Huang in order to obtain the elixir of immortality. Legend has it that Penglai, Abbot and Yingzhou are located above the East China Sea, that is, the sea east of the mainland, including present-day Taiwan Island, Zhoushan Island, Japanese Archipelago and Luzon Island. However, which island Xu Fu specifically went to, Sima Qian, the author of the "History", is also unknown.
On this point, clues are given in the later Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, The Biography of Wu, and the Later Han Dynasty, The Biography of Dongyi. Although there is a large gap in the records of the three kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is agreed that Xu Fu's quest for medicine in the East Crossing of the Two Books unanimously states that Xu Fu finally remained in Qizhou on the Huiji Sea.
Where is Qizhou? Academics have different opinions so far, but it is generally believed that Japan is more likely. The Frenchman Sigler's book "Examination of the Unknown Countries in the History of China" also pointed out that Qizhou is the island of Japan.
The first person to explicitly describe Xu Fudongdu's arrival in Japan was the Yichu monk of the Zhou Dynasty five generations later.
In the 10th century, the Japanese Buddhist master Hongshun came to China and became acquainted with the Yichu monk of Kaiyuan Temple. The two became close friends, and Master Hongshun also told the story of Xu Fudong's crossing to Japan to the Yichu monk. The Yichu monk recorded it and wrote it into his own compilation of the Six Theses of Yichu. The book says:
"The kingdom of Japan, also known as the Kingdom of Japan, is in the Middle East China Sea. During the Qin Dynasty, Xu Fu stopped five hundred virgin boys and five hundred virgin girls in this country, and the characters are the same today
Changan...... More than a thousand miles to the northeast, there is a mountain named Fuji, also known as Penglai... Xu Fu has been called Penglai until now, and his descendants are known as the Qin clan. ”
This means that when Xu Fu and his party stopped in Japan, they recognized Mt. Fuji as Mount Penglai, and then settled down in the local area to reproduce their descendants. This statement coincides with Xu Fu's destination this time.
Statue of Xu Fu in Japan
Further evidence is that Xu Fudongdu arrived in Japan with relevant historical documents and relics from the Japanese mainland.
The "Chronicle of the Kingdom of Japan" mentions: "In the seventy-second year of Emperor Xiaoling, Xu Fulai of the Qin Dynasty" said. The "Orthodox Records of the Divine Emperor" not only records the emigration of the Qin Dynasty to Japan, but also points out that the place where Xu Fu's fleet moored was in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.
In addition, there are still many tombstones, ancestral halls, shrines, temples, etc. related to Xu Fu in Japan, such as the tomb of Xu Fu in The New Palace Xu Fu Park in Sange Prefecture, and the local people also hold activities to worship Xu Fu every November 28.
With the above historical evidence, Xu Fudong's crossing to Japan can be said to be basically qualitative.
Tombstone of Xufu Park
As for whether the Japanese are the descendants of the virgin boys and girls brought by Xu Fu? This is another controversial issue.
The origins of Japan are still hotly debated. Not only China, but even North Korea has raised the possibility that the Japanese are their own descendants.
In historical documents such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, Emperor Shinmu is the first emperor of Japan in mythology, the founding father of the Japanese dynasty.
In 1950, the Chinese scholar Wei Tingsheng proposed in his book "Xu Fu Entering japan's Founding Examination" that Xu Fu was the founding monarch of Japan, that is, the legendary Emperor Shenwu.
In the book, Wei Tingsheng first came to the conclusion that Xu Fudongdu successfully arrived in Japan and created the Japanese dynasty through a comprehensive examination of the relevant historical materials between China and Japan. On this basis, he also started from the ten aspects of geography, era, boat master, personnel, artifacts, policies, systems, chronology, cultural relics, and myths, pointed out the consistency between Xu Fu's establishment of the dynasty and the ascension of Emperor Shenwu to the throne, and argued that Xu Fu was the Japanese Emperor Shenwu.
As soon as this book came out, it caused quite a stir in society. There are those who are believed to be the truth and are convinced, and those who are regarded as talkative and irrelevant, while scholars in academia mostly hold a wait-and-see attitude and question.
According to Wei Tingsheng's point of view, since Xu Fudong established the Japanese dynasty after he crossed japan, the statement that "the Japanese are the descendants of the virgin boys and girls brought by Xu Fu" is established. In 1994, former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Haneda also publicly admitted that he was the descendant of three thousand boys and girls.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Takashi Haneda (1 on the right)
Of course, many scholars have refuted this.
After all, from a realistic point of view, with the shipbuilding technology and navigation technology of the Qin Dynasty at that time, it was almost impossible for Xu Fu to lead such a large fleet of ships to face the unknown winds and waves at sea and reach Japan thousands of miles away safely and in good condition.
Rao was a thousand years later, the Shipbuilding and Navigation Technology was more advanced and developed in the Tang Dynasty, Jian Zhen also experienced hardships during the Eastern Crossing, and almost died many times, until the sixth difficulty to reach Japan. Even if Xu Fu and others were really lucky enough to arrive in Japan, there would be wear and tear on the way, and it is still unknown how many of the so-called three thousand boys, girls, and boys remained when they arrived, and whether they would be able to reproduce to a scale consistent with the number of people recorded in later history.
Tang Dynasty Jian Zhen Dongdu
Thus the question of whether the Japanese are the descendants of three thousand boys and girls is even more puzzling. It was only in recent years, when experts discovered new historical materials in Japanese archaeology, that the matter was finally conclusive.
In 2003, scholars discovered a collection of books called "Miyashita Fuji Ancient Texts" at the home of Mr. Miyashita Yoshitaka in Fujijida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The whole book consists of more than 200,000 words, all of which are transcribed on rice paper with Chinese character brushes. Legend has it that the book was completed 800 years ago, some of the original articles are gone, and the existing text was rewritten by Miyashita's ancestors, and has always been regarded as a family treasure by the Miyashita family.
After investigation, it was found that the book had a detailed account of Xu Fu's family lineage, not only clearly explaining the whereabouts of Xu Fu and the boys and girls in those years, but also recording the situation of Xu Fu's family descendants after settling in Japan.
It describes how Xu Fu and others integrated into local life after they arrived in Japan, and taught some grain, writing, production technology, etc. to the local residents, pointing out that before Xu Fudong crossed to Japan, there were already more than 500,000 indigenous people living in Japan. While corroborating that Xu Fu did indeed cross to Japan in that year, he also overturned the view that the Japanese were the descendants of three thousand boys, girls, and boys.
At the same time, the book also mentions that Xu Fu called himself Xu Fu of Qin after settling in Japan, and also changed the surnames of his seven sons to Japanese surnames such as Fukuoka, Fukushima, and Fukuda, which also confirms the fact that Japan originally had its own residents and cultural existence.
Xufu Ruins
Therefore, we can say that there are indeed three thousand descendants of boys and girls brought by Xu Fudongdu among the Japanese in later generations, and the statements such as "the Japanese are the descendants of the virgin boys and girls brought by Xu Fu", "the Japanese were originally evolved by the Qin Dynasty", "Xu Fu is the ancestor of the Japanese", and so on are actually incorrect.
It seems that China and Japan have had deep roots since ancient times. In addition to Xu Fu, there are many celebrities in Chinese history who originally "disappeared" or "died" and are said to have arrived in Japan, such as Su Daji and Yang Guifei.
Legend has it that Su Da, the favorite concubine of the King of Shang, was incarnated by the nine-tailed fox, who charmed the monarch and brought calamity to the country and the people, and was seriously injured by Jiang Ziya and others. Luckily, Su Daji smuggled himself into Japan and entered the palace under the pseudonym Tamamo Mae, where he was deeply favored by Emperor Toba for his stunning beauty and charming means.
Unfortunately, Su Da's own nature is difficult to change, not only seducing the emperor for fun every day, but also making the emperor addicted to beauty and having no intention of ruling the country. He also inhaled the essence of the other party for a long time, causing the emperor to lie ill. Later, the truth was revealed, Su Daji was forced out of the fox's real body by the Yin and Yang Master, and was completely killed after several rounds of fighting with the other party, and the end can be said to be very tragic.
If this is just a fictional myth, then the mystery of the whereabouts of Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty is a real historical controversy.
Death of Yang Guifei
According to the zhengshi records, Yang Guifei died tragically in Ma Songpo due to the Anshi Rebellion. But later there are wild histories and folklore that Yang Guifei did not actually die, but fled to Japan with the help of the Envoys of the Tang Dynasty, and later fell ill and died in another country. This view is also supported by contemporary Chinese scholars such as Yu Pingbo.
Of course, this is not out of thin air, because people have searched for the statue and tomb of Yang Guifei in Japan; many Japanese literary works have appeared about Yang Guifei's eastward crossing to Japan; even the famous Japanese actress Yamaguchi Momoe has publicly claimed that she is a descendant of Yang Guifei.
In Japan, there are still people who regularly worship the statue of Yang Guifei, and their love for Yang Guifei is even to the point of worship.
What are the facts, and are there any earlier origins between us and Japan? We still don't know. But I believe that one day, all the truth will be like the Xufu Dongdu incident, with people's continuous study and excavation of history, re-revealed in front of the eyes of the world.