Silent witnesses to emergence of Maritime Silk Road
- By staff reporter Dang Xiaofei
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Communication with Northeast Asia
Xu Fu not only took the techniques of agriculture, sericulture and medicine to Japan and Korea, but also inaugurated new shipping routes, unlocking the channels for cultural exchanges with countries along the way, and even with the Arab world.
During the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the flames of war hampered the overland Silk Road. However, the adverse circumstances in the west helped the Maritime Silk Road to thrive in the southeast. Lianyungang so became an important center for exchanges with Silla (a country in the southeast of the Korean Peninsula) and Japan.
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Visitors come to the Kongwang Hill. Photos by Yu Jie |
Japan sent numerous diplomats and scholars to Tang Dynasty China to learn about its experiences. One of the most prominent was the monk Ennin. Having fulfilled his mission, Ennin decided that Haizhou (Lianyungang) would be the starting point to return to his homeland. Abe no Nakamaro was another well-known character. As a member of the ninth Japanese delegation sent to China, he arrived in the Tang realm during the fifth year of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan Reign. Known in Chinese as Chao Heng, Abe no Nakamaro forged a friendship with the great poet Li Bai. When he decided it was time to return to Japan, Li Bai traveled to Lianyungang to bid farewell to his friend. Because the departure of Abe no Nakamaro coincided with a great storm, Li Bai thought his friend had died in the disaster. He then wrote a poem in his memory: "Sad clouds settle over Cangwu ..." (Cangwu referring to Lianyungang).
In addition to officials and scholars, Lianyungang also attracted ordinary people from Japan and Korea, living in harmony with the local population. Because many people from Silla wanted to settle in Lianyungang, a "consulate" was opened in Sucheng Town of Lianyun District. In addition to registering as citizens of Haizhou, many migrants took their relatives with them, who performed official work, carried out business, converted to Buddhism or married, and lived by farming. With such a notable population of people coming from Silla, a Silla Village was formed.
In July 1990, a small team of four Korean professors traveled to Lianyungang to conduct an inquiry into the old site of the Silla Village. At the end of their research they erected a tombstone in the north of the Baojia Mountain, which reads: "Ruins of Ancient Silla Houses in Sucheng." It is another monument commemorating cultural exchanges between China and Korea.
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