Southwest road passes through Xichuan to Tubo and reaches Nepal and India; Or through Nanzhao and Myanmar to India. East to Hebei and Liaodong, to the Korean peninsula.
maritime traffic
In terms of shipping, there are three ways to go to Japan: one is from Dengzhou (Penglai, Shandong Province), crossing the Bohai Sea to Japan along the east coast of Liaodong Peninsula and the west coast of Korean Peninsula; the other is from Chuzhou (Huai 'an, Jiangsu Province), crossing the Yellow Sea to Japan along Shandong Peninsula; The third is to set sail from Yangzhou or Mingzhou and cross the East China Sea to Japan.
The sea route to South Asian countries runs from Guangzhou via the coast of Vietnam, through the Straits of Malacca at the southern tip of Malay Peninsula, to Sumatra, and then to Java, Sri Lanka and India in Indonesia. The sea route to West Asia mainly starts from Guangzhou, passes through Southeast Asia, crosses the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, and reaches the Persian Gulf coast.
During the Tang Dynasty, maritime traffic to Egypt and East Africa was initially opened. These traffic lines are constantly confirmed by unearthed cultural relics and sunken ships along the route. The above facts show that China in the Tang Dynasty was the center of economic and cultural exchanges between Asian and African countries.
Japan's "envoy to Tang Dynasty"
During the Tang Dynasty, the friendly exchanges and cultural exchanges between China and Japan reached an unprecedented period of prosperity. At this time, Japanese society was in the stage of the disintegration of slavery and the establishment and consolidation of feudalism, and greatly appreciated the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, a large number of envoys, overseas students and monks were sent to the Tang Dynasty.
In 63 1 year (the fifth year of Zhenguan), Japan sent the first "envoy to the Tang Dynasty" composed of foreign students and monks. By the end of 838 (three years after the opening of the port), Japan had sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty for thirteen times, as well as "welcoming envoys" and "seeing off guests" sent to the Tang Dynasty for three times. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent no more than 200 envoys to the Tang Dynasty. Since the beginning of the 8th century, the number of envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty has greatly increased. For example, in 7 17, 733 and 838, there were more than 550 people in the Tang Dynasty.
1970 The Japanese silver coins found in Xi 'an were probably brought by the envoys of the Tang Dynasty. Some precious cultural relics of the Tang Dynasty, such as musical instruments, screens, bronze mirrors, broadswords, etc. , stored in the Masakura Yard of Toda Temple in Nara, Japan, which was brought back by the envoys of the Tang Dynasty. In order to absorb the cultural achievements of China, many Japanese students were sent to study in the Tang Dynasty, and they were assigned to imperial academy in Chang 'an to learn all kinds of expertise. For example, Ma Lu (Chao Heng) of Abe has lived in China for a long time and is good at poetry. In the Tang Dynasty, he served as doctor and secretary supervisor of Guanglu. He has a deep friendship with famous poets such as Li Bai and Wang Wei, and often takes poetry as a gift. After returning to China, Japanese students have played a very important role in the spread of China culture.
Jian Zhen's Empty Sea and Monks
About 90 Japanese scholars are studying in China, the most famous of which is Konghai. In 804 (the twentieth year of Zhenyuan), he came to China to study Tantric Buddhism in Qingyuan Temple in Chang 'an, and when he returned home, he brought back more than 180 Buddhist scriptures and founded Tantric Buddhism in Japan. He also made an in-depth study of Japanese literature and writing, and made important contributions to the cultural exchange between China and Japan. Japanese monks also went to Japan to communicate with the cultures of China and China, among which Jian Zhen monks made the greatest contribution.
Jian Zhen, surnamed Chunyu, is from Yangzhou. He has a deep research on Legalism and taught in daming temple, Yangzhou. At the invitation of Emperor Shengwu, Japan, he traveled to Japan. After six efforts, he went through difficulties and obstacles and became blind. Finally, he arrived in Japan with his disciples in 754 (the thirteenth year of Tianbao), when he was nearly 70 years old. Jian Zhen introduced legalism to Japan, and at the same time, he also taught the Buddhist temple architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts to Japan. The existing Japanese Tang and Zhao Temple was built by Jian Zhen and his disciples, which has an important influence on Japanese architecture. Jian Zhen is proficient in medicine, especially pharmacology. Although he is blind, he can distinguish various drugs through his nose and sense of smell, which has contributed to the development of Japanese medicine.
Japanese politics and education
Politically, in 645 (the nineteenth year of Zhenguan), referring to the land equalization system and the tenancy system in Sui and Tang Dynasties, Japan implemented the rent ban system. Imitating the official system of Sui and Tang Dynasties, the official system from central to local governments was reformed. Referring to the laws of Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Dabao Law was formulated.
In education, a university was established in Kyoto during the reign of Emperor Tianzhi. After that, the academic system was gradually completed, and the contents of all subjects were basically similar to those of the Tang Dynasty.
Lang.
In terms of language and writing, before the 8th century, Japan used Chinese characters as a narrative tool. Kibi No Asomi Makibi, a foreign student, and Konghai, a monk, created Japanese kana letters on the basis of Japanese phonetic notation of Chinese characters in China, while Kibi No Asomi Makibi created italic katakana and cursive hiragana in Konghai. The invention of these new characters greatly promoted the development of Japanese culture. At the same time, Japanese vocabulary and grammar are also influenced by Chinese.