Fusang

Fusang tree depicting a rubbing off of the reliefs at the Wu Liang Shrines , 2nd century

Fusang ( Chinese 扶桑 , Pinyin Fú Sāng ) is a mythological term in ancient Chinese literature . It designates different places, and partly also (life) trees. He often describes a mysterious country in the east.

In Shanhaijing and several contemporary texts, the term refers to a mythological tree of life , alternately identified with the mulberry or hibiscus tree . Its location is usually located far in the east of China, as well as partially in varying concrete areas east of China.

mythology

A country called Fusang was first described by the Buddhist missionary Hui Shen ( Chinese 慧深 , Pinyin Huì Shēn ) in AD 499. He states that it is a place "20,000 Chinese li east of Da-han" and thus east of China. Joseph Needham equates Da-han with what is now known as Buryatia in Siberia. Hui Shen took the ship to Fusang and on his return reported to the Chinese Emperor . His descriptions are written in Liang Shu , a text from the 7th century by Yao Silian . It describes a Bronze Age civilization. The fusang from this description has been located in various places, including a description of America , Sakhalin , the Kamchatka Peninsula or the Kuriles . The America Hypothesis became hotly debated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries after writings by Joseph de Guignes were reissued in the 18th century and distributed by Charles Godfrey Leland in 1875. Sinologists such as Emil Bretschneider , Berthold Laufer and Henri Cordier rejected the hypothesis, however, and the discussions about it were settled by the First World War .

Later Chinese scripts use the name "Fusang" for other, far less defined places.

Mythological representation

An early report tells that in 219 BC Emperor Qin Shihuangdi sent an expedition of 3,000 convicts to a place far to the east, across the ocean. This place was called Fusang and the convicts were supposed to be sacrifices to a volcanic god who had an elixir of life in his possession. There were actually two expeditions under Xu Fu , the court magician, in search of the elixir of eternal life . The first expedition returned around 210 BC and Xufu claimed a gigantic sea monster had blocked access. On the second expedition, numerous archers were sent to kill the monster, but no one heard from the crew. However, "... Notes in the book of history indicate that the expedition leader Xu Fu had long since returned to China and was hanging around Langya somewhere, spending the impressive budget."

Interpretations of the portrayal of Hui Shen

East Japan

One possible assignment for Fusang is Japan . Hui Shen's report distinguishes Fusang from the ancient Japanese kingdom of Wo , which was probably located in the regions of Kinki , Kyūshū , or the Ryūkyū Islands .

In Chinese mythology , Fusang refers to a divine tree and an island in the east, where the sun rises. A comparable tree, the " Ruomu " (若木), exists in the west and it was said that every morning the sun rose from the Fusang and fell into the Ruomu in the evening. Chinese legends tell that ten birds (typically ravens) lived in the tree and while nine were resting, the tenth would carry the sun on their journey. This legend contains echoes of the Chinese tale of the archer Houyi , who saved the world by shooting nine of the ten suns from the sky when one day all ten rose into the sky. Some scholars have also linked the bronze trees from the Sanxingdui archaeological site to the Fusang trees.

In Chinese poetry, Fusang later directly referred to "Japan", especially since the Japanese Nihon (日本) literally means "root [= source, place of birth, origin] of the sun" (Chinese rubbing ). Some Tang Dynasty poets believed Fusang "lies between the mainland and Japan". Wang Wei (王维) wrote a farewell poem in 753 when Abe no Nakamaro (Chinese: Zhao Heng 晁衡) returned to Japan, in which he wrote: "The trees of your home are beyond Fu-sang."

Fusang is pronounced "Fuso" (ふそう扶桑, from the classic Fusauふさう) in Japanese and is one of the ancient names of Japan. Several warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were named "Fusō" (for example the iron-armored Fusō and the ship Fusō, 1915 , World War II) and various companies ( Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation ) still bear the name today.

Gustaaf Schlegel located Fusang in Karafuto or Sakhalin . Joseph Needham added that "if Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands can also be considered, there is no better way of identifying with the present day".

In Japan itself there was an ancient province of Fusa-no kuni (Land of Fusa) to the east of Honshū , now the area of Chiba Prefecture and parts of southwestern Ibaraki .

America

Map by the French cartographer Philippe Buache (1753). Fusang ("Fou-sang des Chinois", 'Fusang of the Chinese') north of California , in the British Columbia area .

Some historians such as Charles Godfrey Leland and Joseph de Guignes ( Le Fou-Sang des Chinois est-il l'Amérique? Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, t. 28, Paris 1761) assume that the distances are from Hui Shen (20,000 Chin. Li ) would relocate Fusang to the west coast of the American continent, assuming the definition of li at the time of the Han Dynasty . Some eighteenth-century European maps locate Fusang north of California , in what is now British Columbia . However, a location in America cannot be matched with the statement that there were horses (which were not available in North or South America at the time) or the domestication and milking of deer.

Descriptions of Fusang

Mention of Fusang (Fousang des Chinois) on a French map from 1792, in what is now British Columbia.

According to the report by Hui Shen during his visit to China, in the version of Liang Shu :

"Fusang is 20,000 li in the east of the country Dàhàn ('Great Han'), and is in the east of Zhong Guo (Kingdom of the Middle = China)." "There are many Fusang plants ( red mulberry ?) In this country oval leaves, similar to the paulownia, and edible purple-red fruits such as pears. There was plenty of copper and traces of gold and silver there, but no iron. The indigenous tribes in Fusang were civilized and lived in well-organized communities. They made paper from the bark of the Fusang plants for writing and used the bark fibers to make clothes that they used for robes or fillers. Their houses or huts were made from the wood of the red mulberry tree. Fruits and young shoots of the plants were used as food. They also kept deer for meat and milk, just as the Chinese kept cattle at home, and made cheese from the deer milk. They traveled on horses and transported their goods with carts or bows that were pulled by horses, buffalo or deer. "

About the government of the country: “An emperor, or an upper chief, with the help of several officials, ruled the country. The majority of the people were righteous citizens. The country had no army or military defense other than two prisons, one in the north and one in the south of the country. Those who committed serious crimes were sent to the north and the others to the south of the country for the rest of their lives. However, these convicts could marry. When they got married and had children, their sons became slaves and their daughters remained maids. "

About the Morals: “Getting married was relatively easy. If a boy wanted to marry a girl, he had to build a hut next to the bride's house and stay there for a year. If the girl liked him, then they got married, otherwise he was asked to go away. ... When a person died in the community, their body was burned. The period of mourning varied from seven days for the death of a parent to five days for a grandparent and three days for a brother or sister. They were not allowed to eat any food during their mourning period, only water. They had no religious cult. "

The Liang Shu also describes the conversion of Fusang to Buddhism by five Buddhist monks from Gandhara :

“In earlier times, the people of Fusang knew nothing about Buddhism, but in the second year of the Ming Emperor ((劉) 宋明帝) of the Liu Song Dynasty (485 AD), five monks traveled from Kipin (the region of Kabul in Gandhara) to this country by ship. They spread Buddhist teachings, distributed writings and drawings, and exhorted people to break away from worldly ties. As a result, customs changed in Fusang. "

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "if Kamchatka and the Kuriles may also be considered there is no better means of identifying it at the present day." Joseph Needham , Ling Wang, Gwei-Djen: Science and civilization in China. vol. 4, Physics and physical technology. pt. 3, Civil engineering and nautics. Cambridge University Press 1971: pp. 540-542. ISBN 978-0-521-07060-7
^ Joseph Needham: Science and civilization in China, vol. 5: Chemistry and chemical technology. pt. 3, Spagyrical discovery and invention: historical survey, from cinnabar elixirs to synthetic insulin . Cambridge University Press, 1976, ISBN 978-0-521-21028-7 , p. 19.
↑ 《梁書 • 諸夷列傳》 (Collective Biographies of Foreign Countries, Book of Liang ): 扶桑國者，齊永元元年，其國有沙門慧深來至荊州，说云： “扶桑在大漢國東二萬餘里 ”（The country of Fusang, in the year Yong-yuan 1 of the Qi Dynasty, a Shramana monk from there called Hui Shen came to Jingzhou, and said:" Fusang is 20,000 li to the East of the country of Dàhàn "
↑ "... asides in the Record of the Historian imply that its leader Xu Fu had returned to China long ago and was lurking somewhere near Langya, frittering away the expedition's impressive budget." Jonathan Clements : The First Emperor of China . Sutton Publishing 2007: p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7509-3960-7
↑ Tsunoda Ryusaku: Japan in the Chinese Dynastic Histories: Later Han Through Ming Dynasties. ed. by Carrington C. Goodrich, tr., South Pasadena: PD and Ione Perkins, 1951: p. 5.
^ Lay between the mainland and Japan.
^ Edward H. Schafer: Fusang and Beyond: The Haunted Seas to Japan. In: Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1989, 109.3: pp. 379, 394.
↑ "the long island of Karafuto or Sakhalin"
↑ Kenneth L. Feder : Encyclopedia of Dubious Archeology: From Atlantis To The Walam Olum. Greenwood 2010: p. 117. ISBN 978-0-313-37919-2
↑ Fusang is 20,000 li to the East of the country of Dàhàn (lit. 'Great Han'), and located to the east of China (lit. 'Middle Kingdom'). On that land, there are many Fusang plants (perhaps red mulberry ) that produce oval-shaped leaves similar to paulownia and edible purplish-red fruits like pears. The place was rich in copper and traces of gold and silver but no iron. The native tribes in Fusang were civilized, living in well-organized communities. They produced paper from the bark of the Fusang plants for writing and produced cloth from the fibers of the bark, which they used for robes or wadding. Their houses or cabins were constructed with red mulberry wood. The fruits and young shoots of the plants were one of their food sources. They raised deer for meat and milk, just as the Chinese raised cattle at home, and produced cheese with deer milk. They traveled on horseback and transported their goods with carts or sledges pulled by horses, buffalo, or deer. An emperor, or a main chief, with the help of several officials, governed the country. The majority of people were law-abiding citizens. The country had no army or military defense but two jails, one in the north and the other in the south of the country. Those who had committed serious crimes were sent to the north and they stayed there for their entire lives. These inmates, however, could get married. If they got married and produced children, their sons became slaves and their daughters remained as maids. The marriage arrangement was relatively simple. If a boy wanted to marry a girl, he had to build a cabin next to the home of the girl and stay there for a year. If the girl liked him they would get married; otherwise he would be asked to go away ... When a person died in the community his body would be cremated. The mourning period varied from seven days for the death of a parent to five days for a grandparent and three days for a brother or sister. During their mourning period they were not supposed to consume food, only water. They had no religion. Lily Chow: Liang Shu In: Chasing Their Dreams. Chinese Settlement in the Northwest Region of British Columbia. Caitlin 2001. ISBN 978-0-920576-83-0 .
↑ In former times, the people of Fusang knew nothing of the Buddhist religion, but in the second year of Da Ming of the Liu Song dynasty (485 AD), five monks from Kipin ( Kabul region of Gandhara) traveled by ship to that country . They propagated Buddhist doctrine, circulated scriptures and drawings, and advised the people to relinquish worldly attachments. As a result, the customs of Fusang changed ".

literature

Charles Godfrey Leylamd: Fusang; Or, The Discovery of America by Chinese Buddhist Priests in the Fifth Century , New York: Barnes & Noble (1875) 1973. Reprint: Forgotten Books 2010. ISBN 978-1-4400-7044-0
Edward P. Vining: Inglorious Columbus; or, Evidence that Hwui Shan and a Party of Buddhist Monks from Afghanistan Discovered America in the Fifth Century, AD New York: D. Appleton and Company 1885. ISBN 978-0-217-68056-1
S. Wells Williams: Notices of Fu-sang, and Other Countries Lying East of China, in the Pacific Ocean. Translated from the Antiquarian Researches of Ma Twan-Lin, with Notes. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, New Haven 1881. archive.org

Web links

www.uh.edu/
Description of Fusang in ancient Chinese literature 《梁書 • 五十四 • 列傳四十八》
Article at CRIENGLISH.com on Xu Fu's expedition to Japan
Stan Steiner (1979): Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America .
Charles Godfrey Leland: Fusang: The Discovery of America by Chinese Buddhist Monks in the Fifth Century 1875. Also full view at Google Books.

[Needham43-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "if Kamchatka and the Kuriles may also be considered there is no better means of identifying it at the present day." Joseph Needham , Ling Wang, Gwei-Djen: Science and civilization in China. vol. 4, Physics and physical technology. pt. 3, Civil engineering and nautics. Cambridge University Press 1971: pp. 540-542. ISBN 978-0-521-07060-7

[Needham53-2] Joseph Needham: Science and civilization in China, vol. 5: Chemistry and chemical technology. pt. 3, Spagyrical discovery and invention: historical survey, from cinnabar elixirs to synthetic insulin . Cambridge University Press, 1976, ISBN 978-0-521-21028-7 , p. 19.

[3] 《梁書 • 諸夷列傳》 (Collective Biographies of Foreign Countries, Book of Liang ): 扶桑國者，齊永元元年，其國有沙門慧深來至荊州，说云： “扶桑在大漢國東二萬餘里 ”（The country of Fusang, in the year Yong-yuan 1 of the Qi Dynasty, a Shramana monk from there called Hui Shen came to Jingzhou, and said:" Fusang is 20,000 li to the East of the country of Dàhàn "

[4] "... asides in the Record of the Historian imply that its leader Xu Fu had returned to China long ago and was lurking somewhere near Langya, frittering away the expedition's impressive budget." Jonathan Clements : The First Emperor of China . Sutton Publishing 2007: p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7509-3960-7

[5] Tsunoda Ryusaku: Japan in the Chinese Dynastic Histories: Later Han Through Ming Dynasties. ed. by Carrington C. Goodrich, tr., South Pasadena: PD and Ione Perkins, 1951: p. 5.

[6] Lay between the mainland and Japan.

[7] Edward H. Schafer: Fusang and Beyond: The Haunted Seas to Japan. In: Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1989, 109.3: pp. 379, 394.

[8] "the long island of Karafuto or Sakhalin"

[9] Kenneth L. Feder : Encyclopedia of Dubious Archeology: From Atlantis To The Walam Olum. Greenwood 2010: p. 117. ISBN 978-0-313-37919-2

[10] Fusang is 20,000 li to the East of the country of Dàhàn (lit. 'Great Han'), and located to the east of China (lit. 'Middle Kingdom'). On that land, there are many Fusang plants (perhaps red mulberry ) that produce oval-shaped leaves similar to paulownia and edible purplish-red fruits like pears. The place was rich in copper and traces of gold and silver but no iron. The native tribes in Fusang were civilized, living in well-organized communities. They produced paper from the bark of the Fusang plants for writing and produced cloth from the fibers of the bark, which they used for robes or wadding. Their houses or cabins were constructed with red mulberry wood. The fruits and young shoots of the plants were one of their food sources. They raised deer for meat and milk, just as the Chinese raised cattle at home, and produced cheese with deer milk. They traveled on horseback and transported their goods with carts or sledges pulled by horses, buffalo, or deer. An emperor, or a main chief, with the help of several officials, governed the country. The majority of people were law-abiding citizens. The country had no army or military defense but two jails, one in the north and the other in the south of the country. Those who had committed serious crimes were sent to the north and they stayed there for their entire lives. These inmates, however, could get married. If they got married and produced children, their sons became slaves and their daughters remained as maids. The marriage arrangement was relatively simple. If a boy wanted to marry a girl, he had to build a cabin next to the home of the girl and stay there for a year. If the girl liked him they would get married; otherwise he would be asked to go away ... When a person died in the community his body would be cremated. The mourning period varied from seven days for the death of a parent to five days for a grandparent and three days for a brother or sister. During their mourning period they were not supposed to consume food, only water. They had no religion. Lily Chow: Liang Shu In: Chasing Their Dreams. Chinese Settlement in the Northwest Region of British Columbia. Caitlin 2001. ISBN 978-0-920576-83-0 .

[11] In former times, the people of Fusang knew nothing of the Buddhist religion, but in the second year of Da Ming of the Liu Song dynasty (485 AD), five monks from Kipin ( Kabul region of Gandhara) traveled by ship to that country . They propagated Buddhist doctrine, circulated scriptures and drawings, and advised the people to relinquish worldly attachments. As a result, the customs of Fusang changed ".