The earliest documentary record of contact between Japan and China was a Qin navigator, Xu Fu(徐福). A Chinese legend of uncertain provenance states that Xu Fu(徐福), a Qin Dynasty court sorcerer, was sent by Qin Shi Huang(秦始皇) to Penglai Mountain (Mount Fuji) in 219 BC to retrieve an elixir of life. Unwilling to return without the elixir, the myth asserts that Xu instead chose to settle in Japan. It was believed that the fleet included 60 barques and around 5,000 crew members, 3,000 boys and girls, and craftsmen of different fields.
Xu Fu from China
Xu Fu was from the state of Qi(齊/齐). Qi was a state during Spring and Autumn Period(春秋时代)and Period of the Warring States(战国时代)in ancient China. In 221 BC, Qi was the last state of pre-Imperial China to be conquered by the State of Qin, the final obstacle which allowed the Qin Dynasty(under Qin Shi Huang)to consolidate the 6 kingdoms and found the first centralized and imperial empire over China. Xu Fu become people of Qin, with personal humiliation of destruction of his own home state by Qin.
His hometown is from Longkou city(龍口市),formerly Huang County (黄县). Longkou literally means dragon(龍)'s mouth(口). It is a port city in northeastern Shandong Province(山东省), on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Longkou, now a county-level city, is administered by the prefecture-level city of Yantai(烟台市). The total population of Longkou is 620,000. However there are other theory stated that he was born and growth up in Xu Fu village(徐福村,原名叫徐阜村),JinShan Zhen(金山镇),Ganyu County (赣榆县),a county of Jiangsu Province(江苏省), China, now under the administration of Lianyungang(连云港)city. This was also the port he departed to the east. The third opinion is that he was from Langya(琅琊), Jiaonan (胶南)which is now a county-level city of Qingdao sub-provincial city, Shandong Province, China. All these three places were in Qi state in ancient time. Ganyu county was under Langya Prefecture during Qin Dynasty period, that caused the confusion in history.
Also, if you want to know about the Suzhou culture in Japan, you can read:
Suzhou Culture in Japan--《Journal of Suzhou College of Education》2011年05期
Hi,
The link between Japan and China is not just historical, even the foundation of Modern China is linked with Japan.
Bro, there is remarkable link between China and Japan. This link is traced back to the legends of old of Xu Fu (Yuzuki no Kimi) , to King Taibo. Even in early modern period of Japan and China, the father of Modern China, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, was very good friends with a Japanese philosopher named 宮崎 滔天 Miyazaki Toten. They remained the best of friends throughout their lives. Miyazaki died in 1922 and Dr. Sun died in 1925.
Here's a picture of Dr. Sun Yat Sen in Tokyo with other Japanese friends. Dr. Sun Yat Sen is in the right, And Miyazaki Toten is in the center (the guy with the big bushy beard, lol):
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Do you know how Japan got its name? Japan's oldest name is 倭 (Wa, or Wo). The Chinese work known as Shan Hai Jing 山海經 (Classic of The Mountains and Seas) , there is a chapter there that describes the land of Wa , which is referring to Japan.
Incidentally this word "Wa" is progenitor of the YAMATO civilization of ancient Japan.
In fact, the oldest link we have that traces Chinese - Japanese relationship is the golden seal that the Chinese Empero Guangwu of the Han Dynasty gave to the Japanese Emperor back in 1st century CE.