Why did the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty show their power in the East and be admired and respected by all countries?

The Qin and Han dynasties were a period of great development in ancient my country's external relations. It was precisely because of this pursuit of continuous pioneering and enterprising that the image of the prosperous age of the Chinese Empire spread from east to west. During this period, Japan, Korea, and some countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia began or continued to maintain friendly economic and cultural exchanges with the Qin and Han Empires. After Zhang Qian and Ban Chao were envoys to foreign lands, the Han Empire ushered in a new upsurge of friendly exchanges. This exchange of knowledge promoted the development and prosperity of the empire.

China’s eastern neighbors are North Korea and Japan. China and North Korea have always been close and friendly neighbors. They have had close ties as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. King Wu of Zhou once ordered Jizi to enter North Korea. Jizi taught the local residents how to restrain the Eight Principles of Etiquette. During the Warring States Period, Yan, Qi and other countries It is adjacent to North Korea and has frequent economic and cultural exchanges with North Korea. 4,694 Ming Dao coins of the Yan Kingdom were unearthed from six counties in North Korea, including Yuyuan County, Jiangjie County, Changcheng County, Ningbyian County, and Ningyuan County. This area is evidence that Chinese culture has been widely stored in North Korea.

At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, tens of thousands of people from Yan, Qi, Zhao and other places fled to Korea. When Lu Shao fled to the Huns, the Yan people Wei Man also led thousands of people. They set off from Yan and marched eastward. They crossed the Qingchuan River in Korea and entered the belly of Korea and soon became king. The capital was Wangxian (today's Pingpo), which was the so-called Wei Dynasty Korea in history.

The cultural flow of ancient times is just a cheerful note in the symphony of history. But its creation is often accompanied by blood and fire. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty sent troops to conquer ancient Korea. The Youliang regime established four counties: Lelang, Lintun, Zhenfan, and Xuantu. From then on, the economy and culture of the Western Han Dynasty continued to spread eastward.

The torrent of history rolls forward, leaving many traces wherever it passes. Exquisite lacquer ear cups, lacquer plates, etc. have been unearthed in Pyongyang, which are products of the official handicraft industry of the Western Han Dynasty. What is even more noteworthy is that before liberation, the Japanese discovered a lot of lacquerware in North Korea's Lelang County. The bold and flowing figure paintings are in line with the romantic tradition of Chu culture.

Due to the economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, the ancient Koreans had already begun to use Chinese characters. According to Korean historical records, at the beginning of the first century AD, many Koreans could skillfully recite Chinese classics such as the Book of Songs and the Spring and Autumn Annals. The sad and desolate sound of "Cushion to Zhenyin" (also known as "Gongwu Crossing the River") written by Horizi Gaoqi Liyu, a guard at the ferry in Korea, has spanned thousands of years and became one of the "Six Introductions of Xianghe" of the Han Dynasty Yuefu It is still preserved in the notes of Cui Bao from Jin Dynasty, "Gujin Notes", and has become the only literary work handed down by the ancient Koreans.

Of course, the Korean Peninsula is also an important bridge for the economic, cultural and cultural exchanges between China and Japan. At that time, although China and Japan were separated by the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of ??Japan, it seemed endless. However, as maritime transportation became increasingly developed, the people of the two places traveled across the ocean via Korea and traveled between the Japanese archipelago and the mainland. It carries the seeds of friendship and conveys economic and cultural information.

As we all know, in the twenty-eighth year of the First Emperor of Qin (219 BC), Xu Fu from Qi led three thousand boys and girls into the sea to seek immortality and collect the elixir of immortality. Legend has it that Xu Fudong went to Japan and landed near Shingu City in Kumanogura, where they overcame thorns and thorny obstacles. Today, there are still Xu Fu's tombs and monuments in Kumano Mountain, Japan. If it is difficult to believe that Xu Fu's eastward journey is just a magical and romantic legend, then it is an undeniable fact that Chinese residents immigrated to Japan during the Qin and Han Dynasties.

There is a proper term in Japanese anthropology archeology called "naturalized people". They called the residents who immigrated to the Japanese archipelago from the East Asian continent or Nanyang Islands before the 3rd century AD as "Qin and Han naturalized people" to distinguish them from the original Japanese residents.

In 1958, Japanese archaeologist Kinseki's husband discovered a batch of funerary objects on Tanegashima Island in the southeast of Kyushu Island, Japan. They unearthed "beza" (shell-shaped objects used as funerary objects), There are several pieces of "wrist rings" (bracelets) with "Han Li characters" written on the "beza" and "reptile" patterns engraved on the "wrist rings". They are naturalized people who immigrated to the Japanese islands from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty. ?Message left for us.

At that time, the Japanese archipelago was in a state of division and there were many small countries. The Han Empire, which unified China, shocked its neighbors and showed its prestige in the east, was very attractive to these short Japanese people who loved singing and dancing and whose customs and habits were basically the same as those of the Baiyue people on the southeast coast of China. In order to absorb the culture of the Han Dynasty, more than thirty small countries in the Japanese archipelago sent envoys to risk their lives and rushed to the west across the vast waves. They passed through Korea, Lelang, and then through Liaodong to establish contact with the Han Dynasty. They used the natural sea breeze to establish contact with the Han Dynasty. Arriving at the location of the governor of Lelang County near Pyongyang, he presented gifts in exchange for rare items given by China and North Korea. Among the remains of Japan's Yayoi culture, there are bronze mirrors, bis and jade from the Han Dynasty, and Wang Mang's currency. This is strong proof. The economic and cultural exchanges between China and Japan took the Korean Peninsula as the stage and opened the prelude to a history of more than 2,000 years.

With the resurgence of Han Guangwu, the economic, cultural and cultural exchanges between China and Japan were further developed. At this time, the Japanese went not only to Lelang, but also to the capital, Luoyang. Historical records at that time said that Japan once sent people to pay tribute, and Emperor Guangwu kicked Yinxian. There has been no strong evidence for the few words recorded in history books, and many people doubt its authenticity. However, in 1784, a gold seal was discovered on Shiga Island, Higashi District, Fukuoka City, Japan. On it was clearly engraved with the five Chinese characters of "King of Han Wen Slave", clearing up the fog of that period of history.

Many bronze mirrors and swords from the Han Dynasty were also found here, indicating that this was the center of cultural exchanges between Japan and China. The words engraved on the gold seal coincided exactly with the records in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", indicating that this gold seal was a light. Emperor Wu kicked the golden seal given to the envoy of the Wonu Kingdom.

Friendly exchanges with Japan, North Korea and other eastern neighbors are a glorious page in the history of ancient Chinese and Western literature. Southeast Asia and South Asia during the Qin and Han Dynasties, like Japan, were all in an era of numerous small countries. At that time, China established economic and cultural ties with these regions. China and Vietnam have had close economic and cultural ties since ancient times. Emperors of Qin and Han Dynasties once conquered this place and spread etiquette and enlightenment in these hot and humid lands. Chinese culture, customs and iron farm tools continued to enter the country. Vietnam is a prosperous country, and its local specialties such as jade, rhinoceros horn, and pearls have attracted many merchants from the Central Plains, thus enriching each other's economic and cultural life.

If the economic, cultural and cultural exchanges between China and Vietnam during the Western Han Dynasty were mainly economic, then in the Eastern Han Dynasty, cultural exchanges became the main theme at that time. Han culture took root here, and its influence became increasingly evident. Since the beginning of the Guangwu Renaissance, the wise governors of Jiaozhi, Xiguang, and Jiuzhen, Ren Yan, taught the Vietnamese people farming techniques, established marriage rituals, and founded schools. Introducing etiquette and spreading advanced Han culture played a great role in changing the backwardness of the local area. By the end of the Han Dynasty, the warlords in the Central Plains were separatist and civil war continued. Many scholars traveled by sea or land and ran south to Jiaozhi to avoid the chaos.

According to historical records such as "Three Kingdoms", Huanhua of Pei State, Xue Zong of Peijun, Xu Jing of Runan, Cheng Bing, a disciple of Zheng Xuan, Mou Zi of Cangwu, etc. successively ran south to avoid the chaos in Jiaozhi. Shi Xie, the prefect of Jiaozhi, was also willing to recruit scholars. Cheng Bing and Xue Zong studied from the famous Confucian Liu Xi, examined the great righteousness, and had extensive knowledge of the Five Classics; Mouzi was inclusive here and absorbed the nutrients of paganism. Citing "Laozi" and writing "Theory of Reason" to defend Buddhism. On this occasion, the glory of Han culture not only illuminates Wuling, but also shines in Jiaozhi through the valley of Wuling. Therefore, in the turbulent autumn of the late Han Dynasty, Jiaozhi once became one of the centers for maritime cultural exchanges between China and Vietnam, and China and the West. Envoys from the West and the South China Sea, as well as profit-seeking merchants, often passed through this place when traveling eastward, and then entered various parts of the south.

At that time, the Qin and Han Dynasties had interactions with Southeast Asia, South Asia and other places on both land and water lines. Travelers by land could reach Myanmar from Sichuan via Yunnan. At that time, China's Shu cloth and Deng bamboo sticks were transported to Shendu, Daxia and other countries through this route. At the same time, maritime transportation has also been opened up. You can take a boat from Hepu or Xuwen County in Guangxi to Myanmar. Therefore, the relationship between the Han Dynasty and Myanmar became increasingly close.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Shan Kingdom (now Myanmar) often presented treasures to the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty gave gold seals, clothes and crowns in return. It should be pointed out that on the road of friendly exchanges between the peoples of China and Myanmar, the footprints of the West Asian countries or the people of Bactria have often been left behind. They came east across the sea. Crossing vast tracts of waves, sailing into the Bay of Bengal, landing in Myanmar, and walking along the high mountains. Entered Yongchang County in Yizhou during the Han Dynasty (now northeast of Baoshan County, Yunnan). Therefore, Shan State is also a transit point for maritime traffic between China and the West.

At that time, the Han Dynasty also had conflicts with the Kingdom of Jiubushi in present-day Cambodia, the Kingdom of Ye Tiao in Indonesia, the Kingdom of Tuyuan on the Malay Peninsula, and the Kingdom of Fugandulu and Elumet in present-day Myanmar. Waiting for economic and cultural exchanges. After all, the country once sent envoys to the north and came all the way to China to present rare animals such as rhinoceros. During the reign of Emperor Shun, Ye Tiaoguo sent envoys to Luoyang with gifts, and the Han government returned gold seals and crowns, thus unveiling the This marked the beginning of economic and cultural exchanges between China and India. To this day, the green-glazed pottery and black-glazed pottery of the Han Dynasty unearthed from Java and Sumatra are still lying quietly in the museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The pottery of the Han Dynasty has been found in Gotha and other places along the Johor River at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. Movies are commonplace.

At that time, maritime transportation became increasingly developed, economic and cultural exchanges became increasingly complex, and there was an endless stream of envoys and business travelers traveling on the sea. According to historical records, at that time the ship set out from Hepu or Xuwen and traveled for five months to Duyuan State; continued for four months and arrived at Yilumo State; then sailed for more than 20 days to Zhanli State; and then abandoned the ship. After walking for more than ten days, we reached the country of Fuganduulu; from Fuganduulu, we sailed by boat and finally arrived at the Huangzhi country; to the south of the Huangzhi country was the country that had already reached the end of the journey, which is now Sri Lanka.

If you move your eyes to the vast sea two thousand years ago, you will definitely see a magnificent picture of countless boats. The countless sails of the Han people are facing the sun and sailing to the ends of the earth in the sea breeze; foreign countries Merchant ships are setting sail and heading to Guangzhou from all directions. It can be said that it was very prosperous for a while.