Qin Shi Huang wished to live forever, and Xu Fu said there was an immortal mountain in the sea. So Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu with thousands of boys and girls into the sea to seek immortality. But Xu Fu was gone as soon as he sang his song.
There are several theories about the whereabouts of Xu Fu:
Came to Japan for Emperor Shenwu, and there is a tomb of Xu Fu in Japan
To the Ryukyu Islands
Only to a small island in the Bohai Bay
Xu Fu, i.e., Xu Shi, the word is Junfang, a native of Langya, Qi Province (present-day Ganyu, Jiangsu Province), was a famous magician of the Qin Dynasty. He was a learned man with knowledge of medicine, astronomy and navigation, and was sympathetic to the people and willing to help them, so he had a high reputation among the people along the coast.
The twenty-eighth year of Emperor Shihuang (219 years ago), Qin Shihuang's first tour of the East, climbed Mount Tai to celebrate the virtue of the stone. Then by Huang County, (Yuezhui) County, climbed into the mountains, climbed Zhifu (now Yantai) Mountain, south to Langya Terrace, stayed for three months. During this period, Emperor Qin Shi Huang saw a mirage in Haizhou Bay and thought that it was a manifestation of the immortals, so he sent Xu Fu to take the boys and girls into the sea by a building ship to seek the medicine of immortality. Xu Fu went into the sea for several years and failed to find the medicine.
Nine years later (210 years ago), Emperor Qin Shi Huang once again came to Xu Fu on his eastward tour, and Xu Fu, fearing that Emperor Qin Shi Huang would be blamed, fraudulently claimed that the large sharks in the sea were very powerful, and that it was difficult for the ships to approach the mountain to get the medicine, and that they had to send good shooters to go with them to shoot the sharks, so that they could go to the shore to seek the medicine. Emperor Taishihuang again sent Xu Fu with more than 500 boys and girls, as well as a hundred craftsmen, warriors, and archers, loaded with seeds of grains, food, utensils, fresh water, etc., and went into the sea to seek medicine from the Immortal Mountain. Xufu did not obtain the "immortality pill", but after landing at Kumanoura, he found "Plain Hirosawa" (i.e. Kyushu, Japan). Not having found the elixir of immortality and fearing that he would be killed if he returned, Xufu stayed there for a long time and never came back. Xu Fu and others spread the knowledge of farming and the techniques of fishing, forging, metallurgy and salt production to the Japanese indigenous people on the island of Kyushu, and also taught the Japanese people medical techniques and other advanced cultures of the Qin Dynasty, which contributed to the development of the society and was highly respected by the Japanese people. Japan honors Xufu as the god of agriculture and farming and the god of medicine. In Wakayama Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, and Mount Fuji, there are relics of Xufu's activities. Shinto shrines in Saga and Shingu enshrine Xufu as a god, and a large-scale festival is held every year. In order to promote the spirit of Xufu, the National Xufu Association has been established in China and Japan, and Xufu Associations have also been established in Lianyungang, Longkou, Jiaonan, Cangzhou, Suzhou, Cixi, and Shingu, Saga, Osaka, Fujiyoshida, Kagoshima, and Tokyo. In recent years, treatises and literary works on Xufu have been published, and plays about Xufu have been put on stage.
Hachijo Island is located in the sea 300 kilometers south of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Influenced by the warm currents that flow northward from the Pacific Ocean, Hachijo Island enjoys a very warm climate and is known as the "Hawaii closest to Tokyo.
At present, it takes 10 hours to travel from Tokyo to Hachijo Island by boat, but not even an hour by airplane. Every year, more than 160,000 tourists visit Hachijo Island, which has a population of only 10,000 people.
Standing on the Minamihara coast of Hachijo Island, looking out over the green sea, and reading a little bit about the history of Hachijo Island, you will be surprised at the strong foreign influence on this "isolated island". For example, the existence of Ichihwang Hachijo, the highest grade of silk weaving, which was offered as tribute in the 12th century, and the legend of Seo Bok, which has been passed down in folklore since ancient times, are just a few examples. Who actually taught the inhabitants of the isolated island the method of weaving and dyeing silk? When I think of this, the group of ancient Asians who sailed freely on the sea appeared in front of my eyes.
In the ancient history of Japan, especially from the 10th century onward, there were two groups of warriors, the Taira clan, who wielded the white flag, and the Minamoto clan, who wielded the red flag. These two powerful warrior groups had played a great role in the history of Japan. They replaced the aristocratic politics of the time and became the center of martial politics.
In the mid-12th century, when the Taira clan was still very powerful, the Minamoto clan lost a war between the Taira clan, and a young 17-year-old general, Minamoto no Mamoru, fell victim to the sword. However, perhaps because of the "samurai's respect for the samurai," the Taira clan loved talent, and instead of killing Minamoto no Misao, who was known for his large stature and ability to draw a powerful bow, they exiled him. Instead, he exiled him to the Izu Islands, including the present-day Hachijo Island.
Everywhere in Japan has its own folklore. In Hokkaido, there is the "Ranma Odori," in Niigata Prefecture there is the "Sado Odori," and in Hachijo Island there is the "Sokume Odori." There is something remarkable in the lyrics of this Sokume Kodo.
"The south wind is blowing! Everyone come out yo!"
"Welcome grass clogs tied with red rope flowers yo!"
To understand the meaning of these lyrics, you must first know the folklore that has been passed down on Hachijo Island.
"It was a long, long time ago. Minamoto waicho lost a battle during the Hogen Rebellion and was exiled to Izu Oshima Island, where he quickly subdued the Izu islands with his martial valor. ......" (At that time, Minamoto waicho had already subjugated Miyakejima Island, and when he wanted to move south, the island's chief deceived him by saying that there were no other islands left in Izu. Seeing that Minamoto no Masahiro was blinking in his words, he proceeded to sail south).
They broke through the rapids of the Kurose River (the Kurose River is not a river, but a sea current) and reached a small island. When they disembarked at the beach, they were shocked to see many pairs of straw clogs with red rope and flowers knotted on them! They were all women's clogs. I was told that the island was called "Nagojima". Genpai was puzzled. A young, intelligent woman answered his question.
"Since ancient times, people here have said that if men and women live on the same island, the god of the sea will come out to haunt them, so we can't live with the men of the men's island, which is 20 miles away from here.
"Minamoto no Sato learns that the women of the women's island and the men of the men's island meet only once a year, at a time when the sea is blowing south. The men met only once a year on a day when the wind was blowing from the south. He said to the young woman, "That's a superstition. In order to get rid of this island's superstition, I'll marry you so that the women on the island will know that there will be no evil spirits, what do you think?
The young woman could not help but turn red when she heard this, but she agreed. The two of them had twin boys, and nothing haunted them. Since then, the woman from the female guardian island and the man from the male island have lived together."
This quote is a bit long. It is said that the legendary woman island is the current Bajo Island, and the man island is the neighboring Qingdao. It is often said that "heroes are good at sex", and it seems that Minamoto no Asahi's behavior at that time was also quite daring. Minamoto no Asahi was a "tragic hero" that the Japanese loved, so it was easy for people to accept these literary embellishments.
In fact, the intriguing legend of Hachijo Island has its own background. That is the Edo period novel "Tsubaki no Bowarazuki" (Tsubaki says Bowarazuki). The author, Takizawa Machin, came from a samurai family, and at the age of 24, he devoted himself to literature.
In the first half of the Edo period, publishing was centered in Kyoto and Osaka, and in the second half, Edo's publishing industry flourished. The authors also developed from amateur writers into authentic professional writers. This was a great opportunity for Takizawa Machin, who had a strong personality.
Back to the main story, the appearance of Hachijojima Seofuku is in the part of the conversation between Minamoto no Asa and the young woman who protects the island, which is written by Makin. It's slightly convoluted because it's in Edo period Japanese. The dialog is as follows:
"(In answer to Fumiaki's question) There is no clear record as to when this island was first inhabited. According to the oral tradition of our ancestors from generation to generation, in ancient times, a foreign country, Qin Shi Huangdi, came to look for the elixir of immortality ......"
"Qin Shi Huangdi summoned Xu Fu, and according to his request, he constructed ten large ships, and asked him to bring with him 500 boys and girls, gold, silver, and jewelry, and five grains of equipment. Xu Fu's ships came to a Japanese sea called Kumano. He stayed at Kumano and left the girls who came with him on this island and the boys on Shimayama, 30 miles away. ......"
So the people who stayed on the female and male islands were the descendants of the Qin people who came to the East China Sea on the ship with Xu Fu. They are the descendants of the boys and girls who participated in the sacred cause of finding the elixir of immortality for the First Emperor. At least that's how it's written in Takizawa Machin's literature. Rather, "they raised wild silkworms and sang while spinning silk."
By the way, while in the Edo period it was considered rare for anyone to live to 60, Makin lived to 82 and Hokusai to 90, and they left a great deal of work for future generations.
There used to be a Silk Road that traveled westward from Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, leading to ancient Rome. However, it seems that even before that, in BC, there was a maritime Silk Road that started from mainland China and traveled eastward through Korea to Japan. The Kurose River, which was mentioned in the legend of Hachijo Island, was a warm current that flowed northward along the Pacific Ocean, and people took advantage of the sea currents and seasonal winds to bring advanced culture and various technologies to the country of Fuso.
The legend of Hachijojima's Seo Fuku is only a part of the legend of Seo Fuku that has been passed down in various parts of Japan, and it gives us a glimpse of the spectacular exchanges that took place in ancient times.
Lastly, in order to enhance the reputation of Hachijojima, I would like to briefly introduce Hamagusa. Saltgrass is a perennial grass of the umbelliferae family, self-sustaining on the warm Japanese coast. Its leaves are glossy and both stems and leaves are edible. New leaves grow immediately after the leaves are removed, hence its Japanese name, "mingaiba". It is so tasty and nutritious that the people of Hachijo Island say, "It is actually what Xu Fu came to look for."