History of Zhongshan state

Also known as Ryukyu Kingdom in history, it is an archipelago east of Chinese mainland (northeast of Taiwan Province Island) and southwest of Kyushu Island. Like ancient Japan, the earliest written records about its country can be found in the ancient history of China. There is a biography of Ryukyu in Sui Shu. According to 1650, Zhongshan Shi Jian, the first national history written in Chinese, records: "When we established our dynasty, God scoured for a long time." "At the beginning, there was no name Ryukyu. Tens of thousands of years later, the emperor ordered Yu to ride Wei Zhukuan to visit different customs and set out from this country. Looking at Wan Tao from a distance, it twists and turns. If you float in the water, it is also called Ryukyu. " That is to say, during the Sui Dynasty in China (58 1 ~ 6 17), this country was called Ryukyu and Qiu. According to China's classic, autumn is a kind of dragon. As for the Ryukyu Islands scattered in the ocean, it is very vivid to call it Ryukyu. But perhaps because ancient China regarded the dragon as a symbol of the emperor of China, historians were taboo in writing history, so "Sui Shu" changed it to the homonym "Autumn in Ryukyu".

In the fifth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1372), Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty, sent an envoy Yang Zai to Ryukyu with letters, which he called Ryukyu. Since then, it has become an official name. It can be seen that even the name of Ryukyu Kingdom was taken by China. According to "Special Records", the imperial edict said: "I was promoted to be a minister, and when I became emperor, I must have the title of Daming and Jianyuan Hongwu. Is to send envoys abroad, tell me what I want, envoys will come, barbarian leaders will pay tribute. However, Ryukyu is located in the southeast of China, far from overseas, and has not been reported. I'm sending you a message, you know. " This imperial edict is a kind of peaceful diplomacy, without any threat or intimidation, but it pretends to be the center of China and uses the word "barbarian" used by Chinese emperors. Therefore, King Chadu of Zhongshan in Ryukyu Kingdom first received the imperial edict and immediately sent Wang Ditai to China with Yang Zai as a bannerman. "Therefore, Ryukyu began to open the foundation of humanistic reform through China." (See1The Second Official History of Zhongshan written by Ryukyu Kingdom in Chinese in 725. ) After the Empress Zhongshan, King Cheng Chadu of Ryukyu Mountain South and King Banizi of Ryukyu Mountain North, they also paid tribute to Emperor China the following year. At that time, Ryukyu was "separated by three mountains" and the soldiers met each other. When Ming Taizu learned of this, he went to see Zhao Yun: "The emissary came back from the sea and said that the three kings of Ryukyu were fighting with each other, abandoning agriculture and hurting the people. I can't bear to smell it. " Therefore, they are required to "express their feelings, stop their soldiers, support their people and prosper their country." Finally, the three kings really stopped fighting, stopped fighting. It serves to show that Emperor China enjoyed a high degree of political authority in Ryukyu at this time, when Ryukyu was actually a vassal state of China.

According to the History of Ryukyu Kingdom and various historical records, since the 16th year of Hongwu (1383), all the kings of Ryukyu Kingdom have conferred titles on Emperor China, officially confirming the relationship between monarch and minister. This relationship lasted for five centuries. Even in the 14th anniversary of Japan (1609), Japan's Satsuma (now Kagoshima Prefecture) invaded Ryukyu, and the Ryukyu Kingdom remained unchanged under the restriction of Satsuma. In the 25th year of Hongwu (1392), Zhu Yuanzhang "gave Fujian people thirty-six surnames" to Ryukyu. These immigrants from China mainly taught Ryukyu China's advanced production technology and culture. The Ryukyu Kingdom also offered gifts. For example, in 1606, when King Shang Ning was posthumously sealed, he asked the Ming people to be naturalized. For example, Chua Meier from China is a descendant of Cai Xiang, while Lin is a descendant of the family. At the same time, the king of Ryukyu often sends his children to study in China.

Since the fifth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1372), Ryukyu Kingdom has been using the year number of China, and has been adhering to Zhengshuo in China. (Until the fifth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1879), Japan forcibly "abolished Ryukyu and set up a county") The official documents, diplomatic treaties and official history of Ryukyu Kingdom were written in Chinese. Even the palace in Ryukyu Village, the capital, faces west instead of south, which fully expresses the admiration for China. Ryukyu people also do business with the Japanese, but whenever China sends a special envoy to Ryukyu, pseudonyms, harmony songs and leniency will be banned, and they will wear Tang costumes instead. Ryukyu also cooperated with China to fight against Japanese invaders, which was recorded in Ming history, such as the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing (1557). "First, the Japanese invaders were defeated from Zhejiang and arrived in Ryukyu. Prince Shang Yuan sent troops to attack and wiped him out. Six people who were plundered in China were returned. "

1609, Samak "invaded his country with 3,000 soldiers, captured his king, moved his weapons and plundered his weapons" (Ming History). At that time, the Diary of Xi 'an, written by the attendants of Ryukyu King, recorded: "It is like a diary of every family, passed down from generation to generation, and all seven treasures are lost!" Sa army captured more than 0/00 people, such as Ryukyu kingdom Wang Shangning, to Kagoshima for three years and five months, forcing King Shangning to acknowledge "tribute" in humiliation. At the same time, it also forcibly occupied five islands in the north of Ryukyu. But even so, it did not change the relationship between China and Ryukyu. For example, according to the Ming History, in the fourteenth year of Wanli (16 16), "Japan had a plan to take Jilong Mountain (whose place name was Taiwan Province)", and the humiliated King of Shang Ning still did not forget to "send an envoy to listen" and informed China to guard against Japanese aggression. After the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, the relationship between China and Ryukyu was maintained, and trade and cultural exchanges were further expanded.

However, after the Meiji Restoration, Japan quickly embarked on the militaristic road of foreign aggression and expansion. It turned out that Shama's invasion and plunder of Ryukyu was only a robbery of an island in southwest Japan. Now, Japan wants to invade and expand the whole imperialist country. In the early years of Meiji, it was mentioned in the "On Korea" that Ryukyu should be occupied. In the fifth year of Meiji (1872), when Japanese Ryukyu emissaries visited China, they suddenly forced the Ryukyu King to be the captaincy and listed him as a so-called "Japanese citizen". This is the first step for Meiji government to forcibly change the relationship between Japan and Ryukyu. And these behaviors, at that time, were carried out in secret, without telling China. Since then, Ryukyu has become the so-called "two genera of Japan and Qing Dynasty". Then, the Japanese government constantly exerted political and military pressure to further coerce Ryukyu to sever its affiliation with China, but it was rejected every time. For example, on August 5th, 875,/kloc-0, Wang Shangtai of Ryukyu replied to the Japanese letter, saying that he could not "forget China's eternal kindness and break his promise to others". He also mentioned the so-called "belonging to the two countries", saying that "China used to be hidden, so please explain it to China and take clear measures" and said that "I am willing to work for the two countries and be diligent forever". But Japan still refuses to give up.

Faced with all kinds of persecution by the Japanese government, Ryukyu countries kept petitioning Japan, demanding that China-Ryukyu relations be maintained and the Ryukyu national system remain unchanged. At the same time, they also sent letters of diplomatic assistance to ministers of western countries. Japan became angry from embarrassment. June1879 65438+1October 10 Japan's ruling and opposition news actually said that "Ryukyu slaves despised my Japanese empire"! Therefore, Japan decided to speed up the annexation of Ryukyu regardless of public international law and the wishes of Ryukyu subjects. 1In March of 879, the Japanese army secretly sent military and police personnel to Ryukyu, and took a sudden action to order Prince Imagi, the agent of Ryukyu King, to hand over power in Ryukyu Village. On April 4, Japan brazenly announced that it would "abandon Ryukyu and establish a county", that is, change Ryukyu to Okinawa. Immediately, they plundered the documents, cultural relics and precious seals between China and Ryukyu, as well as the government archives of Ryukyu, in an attempt to destroy and conceal historical witnesses. And forced Shangtaiwang and others to go to Japan. At this time, the Ryukyu Kingdom still fought to the death, protesting with blood and tears, and secretly sent officials to Tianjin to Li See Hongzhang, demanding that China "leave the country every day". The Qing government also had a dispute with Japan, but failed to send troops to help Ryukyu. Of course, this is also related to the corruption and strength decline of the Qing government. At that time, Ryukyu official Lin Shigong committed suicide heroically in Beijing, protesting Japanese aggression with his death and demanding China to send troops with his death. However, Ryukyu, the "country for oneself", was extinct by Japan! However, the resistance movement continued until the end of the Sino-Japanese War.