During the Qin Dynasty , there was a famous alchemist Xu Fu . According to legend, he was the closed disciple of Guiguzi , and Qin Shihuang values him very much.
After unifying the six kingdoms, Qin Shihuang began to study the art of immortality. In order to please Qin Shihuang, Xu Fu proposed to say that there were immortal mountains on the sea where there was an elixir of immortality controlled by gods.
When Qin Shihuang was excited, he immediately sent Xu Fu to sea to find the elixir for him.
But Xu Fu never came back after going out. Judging from the existing folk information in Japan, Xu Fu went to in Japan and opened up a world that belonged to him, and was very worshipped by the Japanese.
So does he have anything to do with the emperor of Japan? Or maybe he is the first generation of Emperor Shenwu in Japan?
can't be lying and forced to go out to sea
Xu Fu told Qin Shihuang that there are three fairy mountains in the sea, namely Penglai, Fang Zhou and Yingzhou . Qin Shihuang prepared supplies for him for three years and asked him to go out to sea to find immortals.
in 219 BC, Xu Fu went to sea for the first time, but he found nothing. When Qin Shihuang asked, Xu Fu refused and said that there were huge shark fish in the sea, and this kind of sea monster was difficult to deal with.
Qin Shihuang sent him an archer to travel. As a result, Qin Shihuang failed to persevere until Xu Fu came back and died.
Of course, even if Qin Shihuang lived for a few more years, he would not be able to wait for Xu Fu to come back. The last time he went out to sea, Xu Fu lied and could not find an excuse this time.
Xu Fu ran away. He took the three thousand boys and girls given to him by Qin Shihuang, and various farming tools and crop seeds to the east. He landed in the plain Hirozei , which was later considered to be Kyushu Island, Japan.
After going to the island, Xu Fu felt that the climate of this place was warm and pleasant, the scenery was good, the indigenous people were simple and friendly, and it was a livable place, so he lived there and established himself as king.
He will teach the tools and seeds he brings to the locals, live happily with them, and never have the idea of returning to Qin.
Xu Fu crosses the eastward
Regarding Xu Fu crossing the eastward, the "Records of the Grand Historian" records this. If this is true, Xu Fu is indeed likely to carry forward his family and become the king of Japan.
However, Xu Fu people were already in Japan, and there was no wireless communication at that time. was separated by the vast sea, and Xu Fu never sent a letter back to Qin. can be said to have no news after leaving.
Then Sima Qian How did he know that he was at Kyushu Island and he also established himself as the king, teaching Japanese farming and fishing? The incident of Xu Fu's Eastward Pass was also mentioned in
" Three Kingdoms " and " Later Han Book " . As an official recognized official history, both books belong to the Twenty-Four Histories of our country and have high credibility. The Xu Fu crossed the eastward journey, where they went was Chenzhou . Chenzhou was in East China Sea , which was in line with the direction of the eastward journey.
According to the Japanese biography of the Three Kingdoms records, Japanese is located in the east of Kuaiji County . Xu Fu's second time was from Langya , which is now Shandong Linyi .
, and Chanzhou is far away from Linyi . Based on the general inference, the ancients said Chanzhou should be Japan today.
Chinese and Japanese communication history
So when did Japan start to have contacts with China? "Han Shu " also mentioned that when Emperor Wu of Han was reigned, the Japanese came to pay their respects.
The reign of Emperor Wu of Han was from 141 BC to 87 BC. Let’s look at Sima Qian’s birth and death. His death was unknown. His birth time was about 145 BC, just in time, which happened to catch up with the Japanese to pay homage to the Han emperor.
So, Xu Fu, written in "Records of the Grand Historian", came to Japan, which was credible.
To sum up, Xu Fu really arrived in Japan, but we don’t know what he did after he arrived in Japan. Fortunately, Japanese historical materials have filled the gap.
Japan's "Orthodox Records of the God Emperor" is a book born in the 8th century. It mentions Qin people to Japan, but it does not say that this person is Xu Fu.
may just be the legend
However, there are other folk records about Xu Fu in Japan. In Shinguchi City, Wakayama Prefecture, there are Xu Fu Tomb and a shrine specially built for Xu Fu. On November 28th every year, it is the day for local sacrifices to Xu Fu, which shows Xu Fu's prestige in the hearts of the Japanese.
In addition, the Japanese also respected Xu Fu as the God of Farming and Medicine, proving that the statement in "Records of the Grand Historian" is true.
Is Xu Fu the Emperor of Shenwu in Japan? After all, the recorded location of sun goddess Xihe in Chinese mythology in Shanhai Jing is also outside the East China Sea. The ruins of Xihe tribe are also located in , Shandong , which is a bit similar to the sun goddess sun god , which is believed in Japan.
However, neither the Japanese official nor the people have ever admitted that Xu Fu has any connection with Shenwu Emperor . Moreover, there were more than Xu Fu, the alchemist who went to sea to find immortal medicine in ancient , and it is unknown which alchemist who finally arrived in Japan.
There are so many talismans, may not necessarily arrive in Japan, but it may also be on the Korean Peninsula.
From genetic studies, there is more or less connection between these races. Before Chinese , Sui and Tang , Japan had no habit of recording history, and later summarized various information and compiled historical materials.
It was more than 800 years since Xu Fu left Langya. Most of the records were taken from folk legends, and the accuracy was worrying.
Also, the ancient Japanese took the initiative to admit that Xu Fu came to in Japan, in fact, in order to get support from Chinese emperors to Japan, and to place the three fairy mountains of mentioned by Xu Fu into his own soil.
So, whether Xu Fu created Japan and became the Emperor of Shenwu with a strong mythological color depends on how the Japanese modified history.
