"Nine days open the palace, and all the nations are crowned. This sentence comes from the poem Buddha Wang Wei, the poem depicts the solemn and magnificent palace and the supreme imperial power, and the worship of all countries in the latter sentence is to highlight the peak of national power during the Tang Dynasty, and the scene of cooking oil in the fire.
The Tang Dynasty was an unprecedentedly vast territory surrounded by many small states that admired and aspired to the prosperous and powerful Tang Dynasty and paid tribute to it in search of refuge.
The Tang Dynasty also showed an inclusive and open attitude, welcoming exchanges and learning in various aspects such as economy, society, culture, and art, showing a diversified development direction.
Japan was also one of the small countries that paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty at that time, but it is strange that the Tang Dynasty emperor ordered the princess to be kept in a cage the next day.
Tang Envoy Gao Xiangxuan Li
The identity of the Tang envoy must be familiar to everyone. Due to the unprecedented prosperity of the Tang Dynasty economy and developed science and technology, it attracted many countries to yearn for. In order to exchange and learn from the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent many missions to the Central Plains, and the Tang envoys were the names of these missions.
Many of the Tang Dynasty's laws and regulations, culture and art, science and technology, and customs were introduced to Japan through the Tang Dynasty's envoys, which had a significant impact on Japan's social development.
Among the envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty, there was a person named Gao Xiang Xuanli, who played an important role in this incident.
Gao Xiang Xuanli is a descendant of the naturalized Han Chinese, which is equivalent to the Japanese Chinese of modern people.
During the Sui Dynasty, there was a group of people who fled to Japan to escape the war, and his grandfather was one of them, and he became a farmer after coming to Japan. This group of people brought advanced technology to Japan, which was applied to various industries such as farming, water conservancy, and construction, and was highly respected and welcomed by the Japanese. These people are called "crossers".
Gao Xiangxuanli's grandfather completed the accumulation of wealth by virtue of the knowledge and technology he brought, and after two generations of operation, Gao Xiang's family became an aristocratic class.
Gao Xiang Xuanli also benefited from a solid family background, read poetry and books since he was a child, worked hard, and showed outstanding talents in diplomacy, so Japan decided to send him to the Central Plains for exchange and study.
In 608 AD, the timing of Gao Xiangxuanli's trip coincided with the change of the Sui and Tang dynasties. The scene of corpses all over the field and soldiers in trouble made him deeply feel the cruelty of the emperor's family.
In 645 AD, after returning to China, Gao Xiang Xuanli received great courtesy. In addition, as a doctor of the country, based on his experience as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, he proposed new systems and policies in the Dahua Reform initiated by the eldest brother and the prince, including the establishment of eight provinces, including the Ministry of War and the Ministry of War, and the establishment of an administrative organization centered on the Taizheng officials, which played a pivotal role in the Dahua Reform Movement.
The mission departs
In 649 AD, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi ascended the throne. Japan, as a vassal state, must send an envoy to the enthronement ceremony of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. Gao Xiangxuanli, who has experience as an envoy and has a wealth of knowledge, has become the best candidate.
In 654 AD, Gao Xiang Xuanli once again embarked on a journey to worship the Tang Dynasty as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. This time, in addition to the rare treasures he tributed, he also brought two Japanese princesses who were dedicated to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
In order to satisfy the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Japan made great efforts. Not only did he invite a Han aunt to teach the princess Tang Dynasty etiquette, but he also collected high-quality materials from all over the country to tailor their own cosmetics and clothes for the two princesses.
When Tang Gaozong saw such a moving and beautiful princess, the dragon's heart was overjoyed, and he immediately placed them in the exquisite courtyard, preparing for the night. But what was unexpected was that Tang Gaozong was almost frightened by the two well-dressed princesses at night.
Cultural differences
It turns out that the aesthetics of the native Japanese culture and the Tang Dynasty culture are very different. After Tang Gaozong pampered the princess, he woke up the next morning, but he was really startled to see two "female ghosts" with white faces, black teeth, no eyebrows and long hair.
Tang Gaozong was extremely angry after being frightened, and felt that Japan was fooling the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and letting the two princesses pretend to be female ghosts to intimidate him, so he ordered the two Japanese princesses to be locked in cages, and the entire Japanese mission was sentenced to death.
The wrath of the Son of Heaven ambushes millions of corpses. The Japanese mission knelt on the main hall, trembling and silent, hoping that the emperor's anger would be appeased. Fortunately, there was one person who stood up, and this person was Gao Xiang Xuanli.
After Gao Xiangxuanli understood from Tang Gaozong's mouth that this was an oolong caused by cultural differences, he explained to Tang Gaozong in detail why the two princesses were dressed like this.
It turned out that the Tang Dynasty was beautiful for its plump, rich and warm posture, and Japan's white face, black teeth, and long hair without eyebrows were also closely related to their culture.
The custom of eyebrow picking in Japan can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, when women in the Tang Dynasty "trimmed their eyebrows" were popular, and the Japanese evolved into eyebrow picking after learning it, and painted the original eyebrows in the position of the eyebrows that are more in line with their aesthetics.
Black tooth is a symbol of identity and status in Japan, and it is also a cultural inheritance.
Only women of the noble and royal families were allowed to have their teeth blackened, and the occasion for blackening their teeth was also very particular, and only major ceremonies were allowed to blacken their teeth.
White face, the Japanese believe that fair skin is beautiful, so they apply a heavy fat powder to the face to modify the makeup.
After Gao Xiangxuanli finished explaining to the emperor, he immediately leaned over and made a big salute, asking Tang Gaozong to forgive the two princesses for their offense, and they would definitely teach the two princesses well and not make mistakes again.
Tang Gaozong pondered for a moment, thinking that this was a good opportunity to show the magnanimity of a great power and show the tolerance and openness of the Tang Dynasty to other vassal states, so he forgave the two Japanese princesses and ordered the palace to entertain the Japanese mission.
Gao Xiang Xuanli led the Japanese mission to the Tang Dynasty emperor and retreated with great gratitude.
Gao Xiangxuanli was worthy of Japan's entrustment to him, resolved the danger without danger, and completed the mission. And in the midst of crisis, he stood up and was neither humble nor arrogant, and his image of being neither humble nor arrogant also deeply remained in everyone's hearts, and made indelible contributions to the friendly exchanges between China and Japan.
But it's a pity that in the same year that the incident occurred, Gao Xiang Xuanli was riddled with stubborn diseases, and there was no doctor for medicine, and he died in Chang'an.
The Tang Dynasty's economic and cultural prosperity and national strength are still talked about today. It's not just because we miss the "embroidered households gather red candle market at night, and the dancing clothes are sunny and the sky is blue." It is also because their tolerant and open foreign policy of peace has been adopted by the mainland to this day.
In the face of cultural differences between different countries and regions, the mainland has always adhered to the attitude of "seeking common ground while reserving differences", abandoning the hegemony of using force to unify culture, and supporting cultural diversity and economic globalization. Therefore, when the mainland is faced with foreign cultures, it can take its essence and eliminate its dross.