Ambassadors from the Islands of Immortals: China-Japan Relations in the Han-Tang PeriodUsing recent archaeological findings and little-known archival material, Wang Zhenping introduces readers to the world of ancient Japan as it was evolving toward a centralized state. Competing Japanese tribal leaders engaged in ambassador diplomacy and actively sought Chinese support and recognition to strengthen their positions at home and to exert military influence on southern Korea. Wang brings diplomatic history to life in his descriptions of the diplomats and their personalities and literary talents as well as their ambitions and frustrations. He explains in detail the rigorous criteria of the Chinese and Japanese courts in the selection of diplomats and how the two prepared for missions abroad. He journeys with a party of Japanese diplomats from their tearful farewell party to hardship on the high seas to their arrival amidst the splendors of Yangzhou and Changan and the Sui-Tang court. The depiction of these colorful events is combined with a sophisticated analysis of premodern diplomacy using the key concept of mutual self-interest and a discussion of two major modes of diplomatic communication: court reception and the exchange of state letters. accepting, or rejecting court ceremonial arrangements. |
Contents
The Islands of Immortals | 5 |
Chinese Insignia in East Asian Politics | 15 |
The Messenger of the Emperor | 31 |
The Voyage to China | 64 |
The Journey to Changan | 84 |
Diplomacy in the Tang Capital | 101 |
Weight and Nuances in State Letters | 137 |
Information Gathering | 178 |
A Chronology of ChinaJapan Relations from the First to the Ninth Centuries | 227 |
The Letter to the Surveillance Commissioner at Fuzhou Drafted for the Ambassador | 231 |
Components of Japanese State Letters | 235 |
Abbreviations | 237 |
Notes | 239 |
Glossary | 325 |
Bibliography | 341 |
Index | 373 |
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Common terms and phrases
Asian Bai Juyi barbarian Beijing Buddhist capital century Ceremonial CFYG Changan China mission Chinese court Chinese titles Chubanshe dispatched dynasty edict Ennin foreign ruler Fujiwara no Tokihira Fujiwara no Yoshifusa gifts Gu Tanglü shuyi guhō junrei kōki Himiko horses Ibid imperial Japan Japanese ambassador Japanese court Japanese diplomats Japanese state letter Jianzhen kenkyū king kodai Koguryo Korea Kūkai Kyūshū Luoyang military monks Nakamaro Nihon shoki Nittō guhō junrei Paekche palace Peng Dingqiu poem political prefecture present-day Quan Tang shi relations relay stations Ryō SBCK edition SBCK edn scholars Shanghai ship Shoku Nihon kōki Shoku Nihongi Silla Song SSJZS Sugano no Mamichi T'ang Code taikei Takamura Tang China Tang court Tang dynasty Tang emperor Tokyo Toneri Shinnō tsuite Tsunetsugu Twitchett vice-ambassador Wang Wei Zheng Xiao Yangzhou yanjiu Yoshikawa Kōbunkan Yuan Zhang Zhangsun Wuji Zhonghua Shuju Zhou ZZTJ