Xu Fu (Ancient China)

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Statue of Xu Fu in Weihai , Shandong

Xu Fu (also Hsu Fu , Chinese: 徐福 or 徐 巿, pinyin: Xú Fú; Japanese: 徐福Jofuku or 徐 巿Jofutsu ) was a Han Chinese explorer, scholar and magician at the Chinese imperial court under the rule of Qin Shihuangdi . He was born in the year 255 BC. In the ancient state of Qi .

Life

Not much is known about his early life. He later worked at the imperial court as a court magician and philosopher. The then emperor Qin Shihuangdi feared death and the loss of his power and therefore looked for the philosopher's stone (elixir of eternal life). In 219 BC He asked Xu Fu to look for it. Xu sailed for a few years and discovered the legendary mountain Penglai (mostly identified as Mt. Fuji ) and the mighty magician Anqi Sheng , who should be over 1000 years old.

Xu Fu's expedition to Japan in search of the Philosopher's Stone by Utagawa Kuniyoshi .
Xu Fu (Jofuku) statue in Jofuku Park in Japan.

Anqi Sheng refused to divulge his secret, and Xu Fu returned unsuccessfully. Knowing that without the Philosopher's Stone he would face the death penalty, he invented a giant sea creature that blocked his way and convinced Emperor Qin Shihuangdi to provide him with a team of over 3,000 men and women and 1,500 soldiers. to defeat the creature. (According to other claims, the crew consisted of 5,000 adults and 3,000 girls and boys.) The emperor, willing to pay any price for eternal life, consented, and Xu Fu stabbed 210 BC. Again at sea.

Xu Fu never returned. It is believed that he settled in Japan and crowned himself king (emperor) there. After his landing, the Yayoi period began in Japan .

The Chinese chronicles ( Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms and Hou Hanshu ) all claimed that Xu Fu was crowned Emperor of Japan in Japan. About 1100 years later, a wandering monk (yichu) confirmed Xu Fu's landing in Japan. Many Japanese legends and Shinto shrines are dedicated to Xu Fu in Japan. Its landing has since been considered a historical fact.

Xu Fu as the first Japanese emperor Jimmu

Many ancient Chinese historians already assumed that Xu Fu was proclaimed the first Japanese emperor. Together with his followers he founded the house of the Yamato (Wa).

The Japanese historian Ino Okifu claims that Jimmu and Xu Fu were one and the same person. Further indications for this are the construction of the first capital of Japan ( Nara ). The ancient city of Nara was built as an exact copy of the then Chinese capital under Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. Furthermore, the imperial court language of Japan was until the late Heian period , the ancient Chinese .

legacy

In addition to the likelihood of the establishment of the Japanese imperial family , Xu Fu is worshiped in many shrines in Japan as the god of medicine, the god of rice growing or the god of silk.

Jofuku Park in Shingū (Wakayama) is dedicated to Xu Fu.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lee, Khoon Choy Lee. Choy, Lee K. [1995] (1995). Japan - between Myth and Reality: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific publishing. ISBN 981-02-1865-6 , ISBN 978-981-02-1865-2 .
  2. ↑ Liu, Hong. The Chinese Overseas: Routledge Library of Modern China. Published by Taylor & Francis, [2006] (2006). ISBN 0-415-33859-X .
  3. ↑ Lee, Khoon Choy Lee. Choy, Lee K. [1995] (1995). Japan - between Myth and Reality: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific publishing. ISBN 981-02-1865-6 .
  4. ↑ Lee, Khoon Choy Lee. Choy, Lee K. [1995] (1995). Japan - between Myth and Reality: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific publishing. ISBN 981-02-1865-6 .
  5. ↑ Liu, Hong. The Chinese Overseas: Routledge Library of Modern China. Published by Taylor & Francis, [2006] (2006). ISBN 0-415-33859-X .
  6. ^ Ellington, Lucien (2009). Japan . Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-59884-162-6 .
  7. ↑ What is Japan's First Emperor a Chinese Refugee? In: The Daily Beagle. March 30, 2014
  8. ↑ Lee, Khoon Choy Lee. Choy, Lee K. [1995] (1995). Japan - between Myth and Reality: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific publishing. ISBN 981-02-1865-6 .
personal data
SURNAME Xu Fu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hsu fu; 徐福 (Chinese); 徐 巿 (Chinese); Xú Fú (pinyin); 徐福 (Japanese); Jofuku; 徐 巿 (Japanese); Jofutsu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese explorer, scholar and magician at the Chinese imperial court
DATE OF BIRTH 255 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Qi
DATE OF DEATH after 210 BC Chr.