There were many foreigners in the Tang Dynasty. Where did they all come from?

While fighting the epidemic, a topic has attracted people's attention, that is, foreigners come to China to live and settle down (without changing their nationality). The attitude of most people is against it. The reason for opposition is that China has a small land and a large population, with a population base of 654.38+0.4 billion. What kind of talents are there? At present, the focus is on retaining talents who have successfully studied in China, rather than letting more foreigners in. China is not an immigrant country, nor does it have the objective conditions to accommodate immigrants like the United States.

Why were there so many foreigners in China during the Tang Dynasty? Where did they come from?

In fact, accepting foreigners is the embodiment of a country's broad mind, rather than blindly closing the door. Besides, now is the era of globalization, who can leave who? The biggest problem is the limited quantity. What we want is a large number of high-tech talents who can contribute to the development of the country, not a large number of people who come to grab jobs or even wives.

In the history of our country, there was a time when many foreigners came to China, that is, in the Tang Dynasty, all ethnic groups came to North Korea. Some people say that the social development of the Tang Dynasty was not as prosperous as that of the Song Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty inherited the social development achievements of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Should it not be more prosperous? Compared with the Song Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty was magnificent and exquisite. However, one of the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty is that it is very tolerant of the outside world, which is unmatched by the Song Dynasty. Foreigners coming to the Tang Dynasty mainly refer to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Arabs and even Africans.

There were Africans in the Tang Dynasty? This is still controversial in academic circles, but black people did appear in the Tang Dynasty, and they were called Kunlun slaves at that time. The man in black appeared more than 200 years before the Tang Dynasty, and was still a woman, Li Lingrong, the mother of Sima Yao, Emperor Xiao of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Li Lingrong was a textile worker at Sima Yu Palace in Huiji. He is tall and dark, and he doesn't look like a Zhongyuan person at all. In the Tang Dynasty, there were more and more Kunlun Mountains in the society. Where did these people come from? According to "Biography of Lin Bu in Old Tang Dynasty", people in the south of Linyi are called Kunlun with curly hair and dark skin. Where is Lin Yi? Located in the middle of Vietnam, a Southeast Asian country. If so, Li Lingrong may come from Southeast Asia.

This black man named Kunlun is found in many places in Southeast Asia, such as Sumatra Island in Indonesia. There is also a saying that black people in East Africa may cross the sea to Southeast Asia through various channels and then enter China. How did it come from? Most likely, there is a "snakehead" selling Africans across the Indian Ocean.

Let's look at the map. East Africa and Southeast Asia are separated by the Indian Ocean. If there is a boat, this distance should not be difficult to cross. Across the sea from Southeast Asia is the Arabian Peninsula. Many Arabs set sail from here, crossed the Straits of Malacca, and went north to the southeast coastal areas of China, such as two international ports at that time, Guangzhou and Quanzhou. As an international power, the Tang Dynasty naturally would not refuse foreigners to come to China. In order to manage these people, the Tang Dynasty set up Fanfang in Guangzhou and Quanzhou, which was managed by idle people recommended by foreigners themselves.

During the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms, the Southern Han State was established in Guangdong and Guangxi, and Liu, the Lord of the State, called himself. Some scholars believe that the Liu family in the Southern Dynasties may be descended from Arabs in the Tang Dynasty, such as Japanese scholars. The evidence is that there is a sentence in "North Dream" that evaluates Liu Qian, the father of Ada, the great ancestor of the Southern Han Dynasty: "(Lingnan made Wei Zhou marry his niece Liu Qian, and his wife objected, saying) If it is not my family, his heart will be different." Some people say that this "clan" refers to the gentry, which does not necessarily mean that Liu Qian is an Arab.

Due to geographical reasons, the Tang Dynasty had close ties with Japan and the Korean Peninsula. The Tang Dynasty was one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time, comparable to the United States today. In order to learn advanced management mode and culture from the Tang Dynasty, Japan often sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty, and hundreds of Japanese came to the Tang Dynasty every time. In fact, before the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese had sent Sui envoys, such as the famous sister Xiao Ye. One of the most famous Japanese who came to the Tang Dynasty was Abe Ma Zhong Road, Li Bai's best friend. His Chinese name is Chao Heng. Chao Heng returned to Japan, but unfortunately she capsized at sea. The news of Chao Heng drowning reached the Tang Dynasty, and Li Bai wept bitterly. To this end, Li Bai wrote the famous "Crying in Qingheng" and "Japan mourns in Qingheng" and set sail around Penghu. The bright moon does not return to the blue sea, and the white clouds are full of green. "In fact, Chao Heng is not dead.

In the Tang Dynasty, many people from the Korean Peninsula came to study and live, and even became officials. For example, in the late Tang Dynasty, there was a Silla Cui Zhiyuan on the peninsula, and there were many people like him in the Tang Dynasty. In order to facilitate people from the Korean Peninsula or Bohai countries in Northeast China to come to the Tang Dynasty, Bohai Pavilion and Silla Pavilion were opened in Dengzhou (Penglai, Yantai City, Shandong Province). Chang 'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was the largest city in the world at that time, with a population of 2 million, including many foreign businessmen doing various businesses in Chang 'an.

First of all, an interesting concept, the word "international students", appeared in the Tang Dynasty in China.

Of course, its inventor was the Japanese government at that time. The Japanese government divides the international students who come to China with Tang envoys into two categories. One is to follow Tang envoys to China, and then return home with them. Such students are called "international students". There is another kind of person who stays in China for a long time after arriving in China. Such people are called "international students".

Chang 'an is not only the political and economic center of China, but also the center of cultural and educational exchanges among Asian countries. Japan, Silla, South Korea, Baekje, that is, today's South Korea, including today's Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Java, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, have a large number of international students studying in Chang 'an.

The Tang Dynasty claimed tens of thousands of overseas students. Where did they all come from? How do I get into this country?

Among all the countries that send international students, Japan sends the largest number of international students to China. As early as the Sui Dynasty, Japan filmed two groups of overseas students and former escort groups. After the Tang Dynasty, Japan officially sent Tang Dynasty envoys to 13 groups of overseas students, some of whom even wanted to study abroad for twenty or thirty years, such as Kibi No Asomi Makibi and Abe Ma Zhong Road.

Among them, Abe Ma Zhong's Chinese name is Chao Heng, and he stayed in Chang 'an after finishing his studies. He lived in China for 54 years and even died in China. When he was in China, he also forged a deep friendship with the great poet Li Bai. There is another rumor that Chao Heng was killed. Li Bai wrote a poem in memory of his good friend, which turned out to be an own goal.

At the peak of the Tang Dynasty, Chang 'an was the largest international city in the world, with a population of one million. At that time, there were thousands of foreigners living in Chang 'an, so there were hundreds of international students studying in imperial academy. Therefore, the so-called 654.38 million international students mentioned in the title is definitely inaccurate.

Then, let me introduce the management system of international students at that time.

Who is in charge of international students and the Red Temple? What is the equivalent of the Red Temple? It is equivalent to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Tang Dynasty. It is not only a transactional foreign affairs department, but also an international student management institution. Foreign students studying in the Tang Dynasty must register at Honghong Temple. According to the regulations, the Tang Dynasty will provide students with daily necessities and contact with the class.

The Red Temple is the management institution for international students, so imperial academy is the educational institution for international students.

International students are usually arranged to study in imperial academy. Because Chinese is not good, these new students sent some tutors. There are three kinds of international students: learners, beneficiaries and returnees. Those who want to study abroad for a long time are called scholars; Before coming to China, I had some research and achievements. Please let me know if you come to study. There is another way to go back with special envoy Tang, called overseas students. In addition to studying traditional classics, literature, law and other subjects, some foreign students also specialize in China arts and crafts. For example, Japanese people come to learn Chinese painting, calligraphy and Chinese medicine. After these advanced cultures and skills of the Tang Dynasty were brought back to China, they also promoted the development of these related industries and fields in various countries.

Last question, where did these people come from and what means of transportation did they use?

During the Tang Dynasty, land and sea extended in all directions. There are many routes to the Korean Peninsula and Japan in the northeast, the expansion of the Silk Road in the west and the rise of the Maritime Silk Road, which can reach Central Asia, Arabia and the Red Sea, and the Nanyang Islands in the south.