The History of Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange

Jun Teng

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351269100
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Weltgeschichte

This book traces back to the history of Japanese civilization, clarifies the unique thinking mode of Japanese nation, analyses the unique aesthetic viewpoints. It also describes the communication history of culture between China and Japan from BC 3rd century to the Late Qing Dynasty. Taking the communication of culture and arts as main line, taking the field visits as backgrounds, the author shows the colourful communication history between China and Japan.

In the process of absorbing each other's culture, China and Japan show different acceptance modes, as well as different characteristics. These characteristics can help us understand the essence of Japanese culture. As the author widely investigated the important historical relics, there are many unique viewpoints and thinking in this book.

1 Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the Qin, Han, and Six Dynasties

A general introduction to the historical background

It was from the Qin Dynasty that the Sino-Japanese cultural exchange was recorded in history. Japan as an island country that had been relying on the gathering and hunting economy for 9,000 years started to be influenced by the well-developed Chinese civilization. The techniques of rice growing, iron smelting, bronze casting, and weaving promoted the formation of early Japanese tribes; the introduction of Chinese characters, bronze mirrors, bells, and swords inaugurated the Japanese civilization. As China was far more civilized than the Japanese archipelago, many emerging kingdoms in Japan paid tribute to China one after another in order to become its vassal states. Such a tributary system between Japan and China reached its peak in the Six Dynasties. Compared with those during other dynasties, the Sino-Japanese cultural exchange in this period shows the following characteristics: there was a great disparity in strength between the two countries; a large number of Chinese material and cultural achievements were absorbed by Japan; Chinese bronzes were worshipped by Japanese as sacrificial objects; Japanese kings were completely subject to the Chinese imperial power.

Japanese sea current: a conveyor of Asian continental civilization

In ancient times, when seafaring technologies were extremely undeveloped, the earliest exchange between China and Japan was initiated by an ocean current in the Sea of Japan. It was a natural exchange through a left lateral current. Originating from Tatar Strait, the left lateral current was a southward cold current known as Liman Current. It moved southward along the Korean Peninsula after washing the west bank of the Japan Sea and met the northward Tsushima Current at the north edge of Korea Strait, one part of which continuing to move southward to flow into the East China Sea and another part joining the Tsushima Current as the left lateral current of the Japan Sea, turning first east and then north along the west side of Honshu to Tsugaru Strait before declining and finally disappearing at Soya Strait. Another warm current that was formed in the sea near the Philippines was called Kuroshio Current. When Kuroshio Current flew northward to the northwest of Amami Ōshima, a branch known as Tsushima Current was formed (another branch flew in the direction of the Pacific Ocean in Japan) and moved northward to the Tsushima Strait and joined the left lateral current in the Sea of Japan. As Tsushima Current was warm and powerful, it carried along Riemann’s Current, a cold current, northward and then disappeared together somewhere near Soya Strait.

It was through such a left lateral current of the Japan Sea that the most primitive and natural exchange between China and Japan started. Such communication, however, seemed to be unidirectional. It seemed that only people and materials were brought from the Asian continent to Japan but not vice versa. This can be proved by the fact that no relics of the Japanese Jomon period were discovered in either China or North Korea. Thus, it can’t be said that anyone ever reached the Asian continent by contrary current or monsoon. In contrast, many relics from the Asian continent were discovered in Japan.

Take bronze bells for example. Many bronze bells were unearthed by archaeologists in the regions of Sanin and Hokuriku near the Sea of Japan. Such bells are round at the top and flat at the bottom. More than 35 bells, 9–14 centimetres in height, were found at 11 sites in the area of Pyongyang, North Korea. In 1977, such Korean-style bells were also discovered in Japan. In mainland Asia, such bells were hung around oxen’s necks as ornaments. They originated from the Korean Peninsula and even China. This can be proved by the similarity in casting technology and pattern of the bells from the above-mentioned two places. Such bronze bells were believed to have been carried to Sanin and Hokuriku by the left lateral current of the Japan Sea. There are also possibilities that they were taken there by wrecked ships or immigrants from the Asian continent.

In the primitive Japanese society, such ringing bronze bells must have greatly attracted the native people and later became what they worshipped. From the 2nd to the 4th century, the production of bronze bells became popular in Japan, and the bells were used as sacrificial utensils. The bronze bells produced were made bigger and bigger for a better sacrificial effect, some being as high as 140 centimetres. The inside clapper was also removed, and the bells therefore completely lost their practical use. Research also indicated that the bronze bells discovered in the areas of Sanin and Hokuriku are small, rough, and old, while those unearthed from the inland areas in Honshu are big, beautiful, and new. This reflects the acceptance and evolution of bronze bells as a cultural phenomenon and the historical role of the left lateral current of the Japanese Sea.

The actual existence of the left lateral current of the Japan Sea can be further proved by the following historical fact. According to the research made by Kimiya Yasuhiko, in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Russians laid 313 mines in Vladivostok (originally known as Haishenwai). After the war, the mines weren’t removed in time and were therefore driven about by the left lateral current. Totally 257 mines were recovered, 59 ones being discovered at the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and Ulleungdo and the other 198 ones being found on one side of the coast of the Honshu Island. This demonstrates the power and function of the left lateral current.¹

Around the 3rd century B.C., with the development of human civilization and seafaring technology, human-related exchanges between China and Japan gradually evolved through the land route of Korean Peninsula and many islands on Korea Strait.² As a communications centre connecting the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, Korea Strait flowed with rapid currents of 42 miles per day, and it was hard for small boats to sail through. The people from the Asian continent, however, would run such a risk to cross the sea eastward to Japan to get fertile farmlands, find the elixir, or escape from shipwrecks. They sailed from what is now known as Ulsan, South Korea, about 50 kilometres and went to Tsushima Island after crossing Korea Strait. After sailing another 46 kilometres and crossing Tsushima Strait, they arrived at Iki-shima. Then they passed through some other small islands and finally reached the Fukuoka area. These people settled down in Kyushu as new residents where they spread farming civilization and multiplied.

In Fukuoka, Japanese archaeologists unearthed bronze swords and spears produced more than 2,000 years ago. They are of moderate size and sharp, exactly the same as those excavated on the Korean Peninsula. Such a discovery proves the historical fact that the people from mainland Asia did cross Tsushima Strait in prehistoric times. It is worth noting that the bronze swords and spears unearthed from the areas farther from Fukuoka are wide, big, and thin, some of which being more than 40 centimetres in height and having no practical use at all. According to research, such bronze swords and spears were once used as sacrificial objects. This proves how Japanese absorbed and changed Chinese culture and made it a part of their own.

As the mainland Asians started to sail across Korea Strait to interact with the residents on the Japanese islands, the local Japanese inhabitants were probably trying to cross the sea to the continent, too. Their success, however, was probably postponed by their westward sea-crossing against the current and undeveloped transport. The historical fact of prehistoric Japanese crossing the sea can be found in a myth included in Kojiki.

As recorded in the book³ (712), Okami Amaterasu sent his younger brother Susanoo to conquer the Western Kingdom. Okami Amaterasu created three goddesses by biting his brother’s sword into pieces and then spitting them out to protect his brother. The three goddesses were ordered to guard Munakata, Ōshima, and Okino-shima, respectively. It can be inferred from the geographical location of such islands that Susanoo’s destination was Byeonhan, which was called Umikita in history and is now known as Ulsan. This sea route was mentioned in Nihon Shoki⁴ (720) as “umikita nomichinaka” or “nomichinaka”. Such a record shows how the ancient Japanese crossed the sea against the current bravely to pursue a more developed civilization at the risk of losing their lives.

In ancient Chinese historical documents, there are some fragmentary records of Sino-Japanese exchanges during the pre-Qin period. According to the record in the 12th chapter of The Classic of Mountains and Rivers, “The Kae Kingdom is to the south of Gigantic Yan; the Kingdom of Wa, a vassal state of Yan, is to its north”. The Kae Kingdom, the predecessor of Xuantu Prefecture (an administrative region of the Han Dynasty on the Korean Peninsula), was east of the Kaema Highlands; “Gigantic Yan”, also known as “Great Yan”, refers to the State of Yan; “the Kingdom of Wa” is the ancient name of Japan. Such a historical record indicates that the pre-Qin Chinese already knew that Japan was south of Korea as a part of the Yan State. It also shows that there were close exchanges between the Yan State and the Kingdom of Wa. People travelled between the two states and then came back with local stories. Perhaps, the above-mentioned legend of three goddesses was created by someone who had come back from Japan. If the recorded exchanges between Yan and Wa were taken into account, the people of the two states at that time must have travelled frequently back and forth via Korea Strait.

The exchanges between China and Japan during the Zhou Dynasty were recorded by Wang Chong in his book On Balance. As recorded in “Exaggeration in Confucianism”, “The Zhou Dynasty enjoyed peace and prosperity. A southern small kingdom called Yueshang presented white pheasants and the Wa Kingdom gave a kind of grass called Chang as gifts”. The same historical fact was also mentioned in “The Grand Han Dynasty”, another article included in Wang’s book. White pheasant was a rare bird and Chang was a beautiful herb. The 10th century B.C. saw the reign of Emperor Cheng of Zhou. The remote kingdoms and tribes came a long way to pay tribute to the Zhou Emperor. This demonstrated the power and influence of the Zhou Dynasty. As a record of the history over a thousand years before the Han Dynasty, On Balance is too ornate in words and there are no other documents to support its records. Therefore, the above-mentioned historical fact is seldom regarded as the earliest written record of the cultural exchange between China and Japan. However, it is still considered a historical document reflecting the early Sino-Japanese communication.⁵

During the pre-Qin period, especially in the Warring States period, the residents of the northern Chinese states like Qi, Yan, and Zhao fled to North Korea to avoid the war. Some of them crossed Korea Strait via the Korean Peninsula and then crossed the sea to Japan where they settled down and multiplied. They became the first “ambassadors of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange” in history.

A field visit to Tsushima Island and Iki-shima

Tsushima and Iki-shima are two big islands on Korea Strait that connect the Asian continent and the Japanese archipelago.

Tsushima Island is closer to the Korean Peninsula, only 49.5 kilometres away from Busan, South Korea. From the island, the lights of Busan can be seen on a clear night. It takes only an hour to travel from Tsushima Island to Busan by ship. Tsushima Island was the first place in Japan where the Asian continent culture was introduced. It is known for the oldest Japanese stone and bronze culture and a large number of unearthed cultural relics. In the 3rd century, a Chinese envoy from the State of Wei passed through Tsushima and later described the island in The Wa People, Records of the Wei State as a place “with steep mountains, deep forests and bird and animal paths”. In fact, Tsushima Island is of typical Lias coastal landform. The local economic condition was described in Records of the Wei State as where “a thousand households live on seafood, for there are no fertile fields; people travel from south to north to buy in grain by boat”. Even today, Tsushima Island has little arable land due to its steep terrain and therefore cannot be self-sufficient in grain. But it has a developed fishery industry and abounds with squids and different sorts of seaweed.

Between 607 and 615, Onono Imoko was sent by the Japanese imperial government as an envoy to Chang’an four times. Every time he went, he set out from Tsushima Island to the Yellow Sea and finally arrived in China. Between 630 and 669, other Japanese envoys also went to Chang’an by the same route six times. With a current population of more than 40,000, Tsushima Island is 82 kilometres from south to north and 18 kilometres from east to west. The bronze swords, arrows, and mirrors of prehistoric period are important cultural relics of the island.

Iki-shima is 60 kilometers away east from Tsushima Island by ship. Another 26 kilometers east from Iki-shima is Fukuoka. Compared with Tsushima, Iki-shima was closer to the central Japanese power and therefore more developed in social organization. Recently, archaeologists excavated Harunotsuji Site which had been the capital city of Iki-shima Kingdom. At such a historical site of the 3rd century B.C. surrounded by fortified trenches, neatly leveled paddy fields, a quite large port and stilt-styled sacrificial buildings were discovered. At the same time, ancient Chinese and Japanese coins were also unearthed.

Iki-shima was described in Records of the Wei State as follows:

The island is 150 square kilometers in area. There are lots of bamboo and wood forests and about 3,000 households. No enough food can be produced from the farmlands. The local people also travel from south to north to buy in grain.

Compared with Tsushima, Iki-shima was flatter in terrain and had more arable land. The agriculture there was developed earlier than in Tsushima. Among the bronze mirrors discovered on the island, many were imitations. This shows there was a relatively powerful political entity on the island in the 3rd century B.C.

As recorded in proved historical documents, in 239, Nashime, a Japanese envoy of the Yamatai Kingdom, passed through Iki-shima when going to the Wei State and the envoy of Wei also went to Japan via the island. After that, Japanese envoys also passed through the same place many times during the Sui and Tang dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, the inhabitants of Iki-shima were involved in the Japanese pirates’ smugglings. A jar produced by the Quanzhou Kilns during the 15th century was unearthed from the island, inside which 4,165 coins of the Ming Dynasty were found. With a current population of more than 35,000 people, the island is 17 kilometres from south to north and 14 kilometres from east to west. On the island, there are Harunotsuji Site, Fudoki Folk Village, ancient tombs, and other important cultural relics.

Xu Fu: an introducer of Chinese agricultural civilization

The Qin Dynasty is the earliest period with a written history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan. After the First Emperor of Qin unified China, the country gained an unprecedented development in politics, economy, and culture. At the same time, the Qin Dynasty started its boundary expansion on a large scale. The First Emperor of Qin went to the sea four times to inspect the harbours and seek immortality as well. As the Qin Empire intended to expand its powerful cultural influence overseas, some residents in the coastal areas took every possible chance to flee across the sea to escape from the tyranny of the Qin Empire. Those from the coastal areas of Hebei and Shandong, which were known for shipbuilding, took the lead in the flight. The event of “Xu Fu crossing the sea eastward” happened under such circumstances.

The earliest records of Xu Fu’s sea-crossing can be found in Records of the Historian by Sima Qian, which go briefly as follows:

As recorded in The First Emperor of Qin, Volume 6 of Records of the Historian, in the 28th year of the reign of the First Emperor of Qin (219 B.C.), someone named Xu Fu from Shandong Province submitted a report to the throne for permission to take some young boys and girls to go to the three island paradises called Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, the abodes of immortals, to find the elixir of life. Xu’s proposal was approved, and he was sent by the emperor to cross the sea with thousands of young boys and girls.

According to the record also in Volume 6 of Records of the Historian, in the 37th year of the reign of the First Emperor of Qin (212 B.C.), Xu Fu had been searching for the elixir for years but in vain. He was afraid of being punished, so he lied to the emperor, “The elixir can be gained, but a giant fish is in the way. I wonder if you could send some good archers with me to kill the fish”. The emperor ordered some archers to go with Xu, carrying fishing equipment with them. When they arrived at a place called Zhifu, they saw a huge fish and killed it. Then they landed somewhere west of the sea.

As recorded in The Princes of Huainan and Hengshan, the 118th volume of Records of the Historian, when the First Emperor of Qin asked Xu Fu about the elixir he had been looking for, Xu lied,

I did see the sea god. He asked me, ‘You are sent here by Emperor of Qin, aren’t you?’ I said ‘Yes.’ ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘I’m here for the elixir.’ The sea god said, ‘As you’ve brought too few presents, you are allowed only to see the elixir instead of taking it.’ I went to the southeast and stopped at Mount Penglai where I saw lots of ganoderma and majestic dragon-like golden-colored ministers. So I knelt down and asked again, ‘Wha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• 1. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the Qin, Han, and Six Dynasties: a general introduction to the historical background
• 2. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the Sui and Tang dynasties: a general introduction to the historical background
• 3. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the late Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song Dynasty
• 4. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties
• 5. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the Ming Dynasty
• 6. Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges in the early Qing Dynasty
• Index