Ambassadors from the Islands of Immortals: China-Japan Relations in the Han-Tang Period (review)

Wang Zhenping has written a valuable book on an important topic, early Sino-Japanese relations. Even a casual observer will notice that Japanese continue to eat with chopsticks and write with kanji, thereby demonstrating that China had a pervasive impact on Japan's traditional culture at all levels, from common mealtime customs to the most sophisticated forms of writing. As Joshua Fogel notes in his introduction to this book, however, specialists rarely dwell on the obvious cultural ties between the two nations. In part, this may be the result of lingering prejudices. In reaction to the old saw that the Japanese are a nation of imitators, we focus on the distinctive aspects of their culture to prove that they too were a creative people with their own history, worthy of attention in its own right. This problem may be behind us, as the combined forces of Sony and Toyota, anime and manga have challenged the viability of the cliché more effectively than could any study of Zeami's dramatic theories. In fact, as readers of this journal will know, for some time now, a few scholars writing in English and French have been attempting to put traditional Japan into a more cosmopolitan context. The quantity of this work, however, remains modest, certainly so when compared to the contributions by our Japanese colleagues who write on similar topics. One reason is surely linguistic, as the need to acquire at least a reading knowledge of classical Chinese, in addition to Japanese, is daunting to most of us. Some do try, but at least in my own case the results are less than fully satisfactory. Even though I may struggle with Chinese texts, victory is not always mine. Perhaps others are more successful.

Fortunately, in recent years, a number of Chinese scholars have begun to contribute to this area of research. We should be grateful for their efforts because surely they had to brush aside persistent prejudices in their own country when they decided to study Japanese culture. They bring to the subject a familiarity with Chinese to which most of us can only aspire. The language in question is classical Chinese, which they too have to learn in school. They do not work on the subject simply because it is easy for them. The names of these scholars, at least those working on the earlier periods, can be found in Wang's bibliography, where we also discover that they usually publish in Chinese, or occasionally in Japanese. Wang is among the few who also work with Western-language scholarship and publish in English. He puts together a fascinating account of China's relations with Japan starting from the Han dynasty, when Japan existed only as a geographic entity, not a state with that name, until the fall of the Tang, when Japan not only existed as a state but boasted its own high culture and claimed a sort of diplomatic equality with China. His key point, an important one, is that the traditional Chinese approach to foreign relations was more flexible than typical English-language introductions to the subject suggest, and all participants found ways to benefit from their diplomatic exchanges.

He starts at the beginning—or, some might argue, somewhat before the beginning—when ancient Chinese legends treated Japan as the islands of immortals. The opening pages present these legends in a manner that does not merely summarize but rather conveys something of their magical quality. The ample footnotes demonstrate that Wang is working directly from primary sources, while also acknowledging relevant secondary materials. Furthermore, he has a good eye for colorful details that bring his story to life. These are two of his impressive strengths. Soon, he works his way into more mundane affairs such as the familiar story of Himiko and her envoys to China. Although relevant sources have long been available in English translations, Wang helps...