The gray-black soil was cleared, revealing a small earth-colored ball. It’s a peach pit, a pile of peach pits. Then came the pottery pots with patterns, animal bones, and then the remaining foundations of fences and buildings.
This is the relic of Tang Xiang, 15 kilometers away from Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. On September 20th, the excavation of this relic for more than 30 years yielded new results. The academic community believes that the new discoveries will provide new clues for exploring the origin of Japan.
All the fragments and relics point to an ancient kingdom that has disappeared-the Kingdom of Eimatai. The name of this country once appeared in the Chinese history books “The History of the Later Han Dynasty” and “The History of the Three Kingdoms”. According to these historical records, it had close contacts with the Central Empire across the sea.
County party with guests from
the year 238 BC, belong to the era of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, the older generation has dignity in the past, sitting on the throne of Wei Cao Cao’s grandson, Emperor Ming Cao Rui. In June of this year, Sima Yi led 60,000 soldiers on an expedition to Gongsunyuan, who was the king of Yan in Liaodong. He defeated his generals, Bei Yan and Yang Zuo, and completely defeated the elites of Liaodong.
In Daifang County, southeast of Liaoning, the prefect Liu Xia received a report that envoys from overseas countries were coming by boat.
This is not particularly unusual. The Daifang County under the command of Liu Xia was newly established 33 years ago by Gongsunyuan’s father and the prefect of Liaodong Gongsun Kang. It is a full-time management of communication with the Japanese. The officials of the county and the Japanese messengers often communicate with each other. Officials and residents here know that the Japanese live in the southeast sea, and build towns and countries on mountain islands. The most remote belt of China is also 12,000 miles away. Legend has it that there are more than 30 countries on that island. If you are a Confucian student who has read history books, you still know that more than a hundred years ago, when the former Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu was reigning, the envoy of the Japanese professed doctor came to China, and the emperor gave them a golden seal and engraved it. “King of Hanwo Nu”.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty when Huan and Ling Emperor were reigning, that is, from 167 to 168 AD, a great war broke out between the Japanese people, and the last kingdom called Xie Matai achieved the ultimate victory. This was the most powerful country on the Japanese islands at that time, with a population of more than 70,000 households. The small countries chose to surrender one after another, and the king of Liye Matai was the common leader.
Before 238, the Japanese Kingdom and the Gongsun family of Liaodong maintained contacts. They bought food and ironware from the Korean Peninsula, and then crossed the sea back to Japan. Now, they finally have to deal with the emperor of China, even though there are still Shuhan and Dongwu in the south.
Tribute and reward
Liu Xia know that this time the Japanese who came because Wei’s army wiped away Liaodong, information accessible to the Japanese who want a good show great powers, establish tributary relations.
The history books did not record the details of the meeting. The messenger from Haidong told Liu Xia that his name was “Nan Sheng Rice”, he was a doctor from the Japanese Kingdom and was sent by the King Yimatai to make an offering to the emperor of the Central Empire. The king was a woman named “Meihu”. In their country, men have tattoos on their faces, and they only use a piece of cloth to wrap their clothes. Women’s clothes only wear a hole in the middle of the cloth and wrap them over their heads. People grow rice, barbecue bones for divination, and have a strict hierarchy.
Liu Xia sent messengers to Luoyang, the capital. Ming Emperor Cao Rui accepted the gifts brought by Nan Shengmi and his deputy, including four male slaves and six female slaves, and two sheets of cloth with patterns. Taking slaves as gifts is no longer a custom in the Central Plains Empire. The taxes and labor provided by farmers are more important to the country. In the eyes of the Central Plains, only the foreign states retain the barbarism of slavery.
Although these gifts were meager, the respect of the Queen of the Kingdom of Wei was very useful to Emperor Wei Ming. In addition, the joy of winning the battle has not dissipated. Therefore, Cao Rui wrote a lenient edict to the queen. He said: “You are where you are. Fang is very far away. This is your heart of loyalty and filial piety, and I am very touched. Now, I can make you a pro-Weiwa king, give you the golden seal and purple ribbon, and let the prefect of the party pass it on You.”
He gave me a gift in return, including 150 pieces of various silks and satin, 8 taels of gold, two five-foot long knives, and hundreds of bronze mirrors. I am grateful and pity you, and solemnly give you good things.”
However, the following year Cao Rui died of illness, these gifts were delayed until the new emperor succeeded, that is, when Cao Fang changed the Yuan Zhengshi, the new leader Gong Zuncai sent envoys with edicts. He Yinshou went to the Kingdom of Haidong and accepted the form of gratitude that Heymi called to Emperor Wei.
Three years later, King Wa sent eight envoys to China. This time, besides slaves, the gifts they brought with them were silk, satin and silk fabrics they produced.
From 239 to 248 AD, Eimatai Kingdom and Cao Wei sent envoys to each other many times, and silk weaving technology and Chinese characters began to be introduced to Japan.
In 247, Queen Himihu died when she was over 90 years old. Yamatai Kingdom built a huge tomb for her, which was more than a hundred steps long and wide, and was buried with hundreds of slaves and maidservants. The new king was male, and the middle school refused to accept it. A civil turmoil occurred in which thousands of people died. The last to be supported was the daughter of Himiho, who was thirteen years old. She once again sent envoys who contributed to Cao Wei. However, at this time, it was the last time that the Yimatai Kingdom had contact with the Central Plains Dynasty in Chinese history.
Since then, Yamadai country has disappeared from Chinese historical books, and Japan’s own historical books were compiled by the historian Taian Maro in 712, and they were called “Ancient History” in the Nara period. In this book, there are no traces of Yamatai and Himihu Queen.
In 1978, a building relic was discovered in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. In many subsequent extended excavations, archaeologists discovered that the time of this relic was consistent with the Yamatai Kingdom recorded in Chinese historical records. The relics unearthed around the ancient tomb in the ruins show that the tomb was built in the middle of the third century AD, when Queen Himiko died. The large number of peach pits unearthed in the ruins are the remnants of peaches as sacrifices at that time.
These evidences convinced the scholars that they found the disappeared Eimatai Kingdom. The relic of Tang Xiang is the center of the kingship of this country. 17 centuries ago, Tang Xiang Ruins were the largest architectural complex in Japan. In November last year, a building unearthed here was nearly 20 meters long from north to south, more than 6 meters wide from east to west, and had beams and columns of 32 cm in diameter. It was the largest house in Japan at that time.
At that time, in the city of Chang’an of the Central Plains Dynasty in the west, the grand Weiyang Palace was more than two kilometers long and wide. The front hall alone was 200 meters wide and 350 meters long from north to south. The building remained until the Sui Dynasty before it was destroyed by war. The emperor of the Tang empire built a new palace, where he frequently greeted the Japanese envoys sent to Tang in the Nara period. This has been behind Yamatai and its queen for more than 400 years.
