Chapter 11 Section 4 The grand occasion of cultural exchanges between China and the West in the Tang Dynasty

Due to the unprecedented development of sea and land transportation, the government of the Tang Dynasty adopted an open-minded and inclusive attitude towards foreign cultures with a magnificent bearing, which greatly stimulated exchanges and exchanges between China and people of various ethnic groups in the West.At the same time, the Arab Empire, which was in full swing, was also fascinated by Chinese culture and adopted an attitude of actively absorbing it.It is said that the founder of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad himself said: "Although learning is far away in China, we should seek it." When the Abbasid Caliph Mansur decided to establish a new capital in Baghdad, he also said: "There are The Tigris River can connect us with distant China."

In this way, many Chinese merchants and envoys, as well as Western merchants and envoys from the Muslim world and even further afield, traveled on land and sea Silk Roads on huge ships or on camels, the "ships of the desert". Back and forth, looking at the road. Personnel exchanges are an important prerequisite for exchanges between two civilizations or cultures.In the Tang Dynasty, there were a large number of people from all ethnic groups in the West who came to China on an unprecedented scale.Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Empire, was inhabited by expatriates from all over Europe and Asia, and became an ancient world metropolis.The enlightened social atmosphere made the costumes of Chang'an people influenced by the West at that time.Women often wear shawls imitated from Central India, and Bu Yao (a kind of earrings popular in Sasanian Persia) on their heads. It is even more common for men to wear bearded hats.In some coastal and inland cities, more and more businessmen from the West are living together.

After the middle of the 8th century, the importance of sea routes gradually surpassed that of land routes.Most of the Arabs and Persians who came to China gathered in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and the coastal ports of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.In addition, many Arab and Persian expatriates can also be seen in Hongzhou and other places where the coastal commercial ports lead to Luoyang and Chang'an.Due to various favorable conditions, the number of Arabs and Persians who lived abroad or even settled in various parts of China was often in the tens of thousands.In 760 AD, in an incident in Yangzhou, thousands of Dashi and Persian merchants were killed; the Huangchao rebel army captured Guangzhou, and 120,000 people were killed by Dashiren, Persians, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians , up to 200,000 people.Although these figures may be exaggerated, they still reflect the large number of foreign businessmen coming to China.Among the foreigners who came to China from the West, merchants were naturally the main ones, such as Abu Ubaida who came to China to engage in the agarwood trade around the middle of the 8th century, and Nazar Ben who came to China as a middleman at the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. Mai Yimeng and so on were famous foreign businessmen at that time.In 915 A.D., Abu Zaid, the wife of Sira who settled in Basra, compiled a book of observations, which specifically recorded the experience of a person named Ibn Wahab Basri.This Ibn Wahab al-Basri set off from his hometown of Basra in 870 AD, arrived in Guangzhou by sea, and then went to Chang'an, where he introduced the situation in Arabia to Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty, and brought back information about Chang'an and China.Some scholars and religious figures came to China at the same time as the businessmen.For example, the caliph Wasig of the Abbasid dynasty sent the translator Salam and the famous scholar Muhammad al-Khwarizmi; Wan Gesi or Wan Gesi) was also sent to China by the order of the Prophet Muhammad, and was buried in Guangzhou after his death; for another example, there were four sages among the disciples of the Prophet. One sage preached Guangzhou, two sages preached Yangzhou, three sages and four sages preached Quanzhou.Today, in the "Holy Tomb" of Lingshan Mountain in the southeastern suburb of Quanzhou, the three sages and four sages were buried.The visit of these people with high cultural literacy to China is undoubtedly a very positive factor for the cultural exchanges between China and the West.

There are very few historical records about the situation of Chinese people going to the West and living in foreign countries in the Tang Dynasty.Only one exception was recorded.This is the Battle of Talas in 751 AD.Abu Muslim, governor of Khorasan (now eastern Iran) of the Abbasid dynasty, and Gao Xianzhi, the envoy of the four towns of Anxi in China, respectively sent troops to Taluosi at the request of the local princes in Central Asia. defeated.After the war, a large number of captured soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were sent to Arabia, many of them were skilled craftsmen, such as painters Fan Shu and Liu Wei from Jingzhao, weavers Le Kuma and Lu Li from Hedong, etc. .These people live in Arabia, and even marry wives and have children, becoming a special form of forced immigration.Among the prisoners of war was a young man named Du Huan. By chance, he traveled to West Asia and North Africa, and finally returned to his hometown, and wrote a book "Jing Xing Ji".It is a pity that this work has been lost, and only a small part was compiled into "Tong Dian" by his uncle, Du You, a famous scholar in ancient my country, and it has become a precious material for ancient Chinese people to experience West Asia and North Africa.

The Battle of Talas was just an episode in the history of China-Arab relations.After the war, the two sides quickly resumed peaceful and friendly exchanges.The record of the Tang Dynasty receiving Arab envoys lasted until the end of the 8th century, when the Tang Empire turned from its peak to its decline. The exchanges of a large number of people, busy economic exchanges, convenient transportation conditions, and bilateral enlightened policies have finally pushed the cultural exchanges between China and the West to an unprecedented height. Among the Chinese goods going west along the Silk Road, silk fabrics naturally still played an important role.The silk weaving technology in the Tang Dynasty was very superb, and there were many kinds of products.Brocade, embroidery, damask, 絁〔shi Shi〕, silk, silk and other fabrics have gorgeous patterns and complicated weavers.At the same time, new printing and dyeing techniques such as wax valerian [xiexie], clamping valerian, twisting valerian and rubbing were developed, which opened up a new world in printing and dyeing.On the one hand, high-quality silk products such as gauze, silk, satin, and silk flowed to the West through official economic exchanges between China and Baghdad.At the same time, some silk products were directly transported from China to Baghdad and other places by Chinese overseas traders and Arab merchants, and then spread to the West.However, since the Tang Dynasty, the spread of Chinese silk culture to the west is more manifested in the westward spread of silk weaving technology.As early as the 6th century, Chinese silk weaving technology was introduced to the Byzantine Empire and from there to the Peloponnese.After the Battle of Talas, the silksmiths and cotters among the captured soldiers of the Tang Army were sent to the Arab region, which further promoted the improvement of silk weaving skills there.The handicraft industry for making brocade and other high-grade silk products developed rapidly in West Asia.In many cities in Syria, Iraq and other places today, workshops with superb craftsmanship have been set up to weave brightly colored brocades and tapestries, etc.Silk fabrics in the Arab region almost monopolized the European market after the 9th century, so that Europeans called the silk embroidered with gold thread from Damascus "Damasque", and the striped silk produced in the Atab district of Baghdad called "Damasque". Atabi".Since then, silk weaving technology was also introduced to Spain and Sicily by the Arabs, and spread from Sicily to all parts of Europe.

Since the Tang Dynasty, porcelain has gradually become a bulk commodity in China's export.The spread of ceramic culture to the west is also playing an increasingly important role.Arabs are very fond of Chinese porcelain. In 851, the Arab businessman Suleiman Tangier recorded in his book "China and India Travel Notes" that he saw a large amount of porcelain waiting to be shipped in Guangzhou, which was going to be shipped to countries in the Indian Ocean.He praised the thin and glazed Chinese porcelain and said: "Chinese people can use clay to make utensils, which are as transparent as glass. Wine is poured inside, and it can be seen from the outside." Suleiman not only admired the exquisiteness of Chinese porcelain, but also noticed that How porcelain is made.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road has added new content, and it has actually become the Maritime Silk Road.This sea trade route starts from Yangzhou, Mingzhou and Guangzhou in China, crosses the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to the west, reaches the coastal city-states of East Africa and Alexandria in North Africa, Egypt, and enters the Mediterranean region from there. The celadon, white porcelain and painted porcelain of the Tang Dynasty were exported to Western Arabia and even the Mediterranean world.Celadon wares are mainly produced in Yuezhou (now Yuyao) of Zhejiang Province, yellow-brown glazed wares are mainly produced in Hongzhou (now Nanchang, Jiangxi Province), and Changsha Tongguan Kiln is unique in its mottled colors.All these porcelains were very popular in the process of spreading westward.For example, during the reign of Caliph Harun Rashid, who reigned from 786 to 806 AD, the tyrannical governor of Khorasan, Ali ibn Aishel, tried his best to collect money.Among the various gold and silver treasures he contributed to the Caliph, in addition to 2,000 pieces of exquisite porcelain, there are also 20 pieces (some say 200 pieces) of "Porcelain for the Emperor of China" that have never been seen in the Caliph's court, such as bowls, Cups, cups, etc.The Persians called kaolin, the raw material of porcelain, Chinese soil, and the porcelain was called "Tianchao", and later simply called "China".This term was imported into Egypt along with a large number of Chinese porcelain in the late Tang Dynasty, and became a common term in Arabic.

In particular, it should be pointed out that the spread of my country's paper and papermaking technology to the west.Paper is one of the great inventions of China.At the beginning of the 5th century AD, it had spread westward along the ancient silk road to Xinjiang.At the latest in the 6th century, Xinjiang already had local self-made paper.Around the 7th century, papermaking had spread from Xinjiang to Samarkand in Central Asia.Also after the Battle of Talas, paper-making artisans among Chinese prisoners of war established the first paper-making workshop in the Muslim world in Samarkand.With the economic prosperity and political prosperity of the Arab Empire, cultural undertakings also developed. Therefore, during the Abbasid dynasty, the use and production of paper was greatly promoted.In 794 AD, a paper factory was opened in Baghdad, the capital of the empire, on the model of Samarkand.Since then, paper workshops have been set up in Damascus, Yemen and many other places.Damascus was the main source of paper supply to Europe for hundreds of years thereafter.Papermaking was introduced to Egypt around the end of the 9th century.By the end of the 10th century, paper produced by local Egyptian paper mills had replaced the papyrus traditionally used by Egyptians for thousands of years.A letter written in Egypt at the end of the 9th century has a special note at the end: "Written on papyrus, please forgive me." In fact, this letter was written on a piece of papyrus with the best texture, and the author of the letter People are still apologizing specifically for not writing on paper.This shows that paper had become a fashionable book material at that time.In 1040, a Persian traveler was very surprised to record what he saw in Egypt. In Cairo, "the peddlers who sell vegetables and coriander all bring paper with them, and wrap everything they sell with paper."It can be seen that due to the huge amount of production, paper has not only become a common writing material for the Egyptian people, but also has become an indispensable item in people's life with various use values.In the 12th century AD, papermaking was spread from Egypt to Morocco, and from there to Spain, Italy and other European countries.

Since the Western Byzantine Empire, Sasanian Persia, and the Arab Empire were all countries with highly ancient civilizations, they were able to transport their colorful cultures to China along the ancient Silk Road when they communicated with China.For example, in terms of sculpture art, China has always been dominated by flat sculpture.Gradually learned the technique of relief sculpture in the communication with the West.The famous Tang Dynasty relief sculpture "Six Steeds of Zhaoling Mausoleum" was obviously influenced by Sasanian Persian relief sculpture.In terms of music and dance, Hu Yue and Hu Wu, which came along the Silk Road, were popular in Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty.Hu music includes Qiuci music and Tianzhu music, and pipa is the main instrument.The dances include the Fusu dance from Byzantium, the Zhezhi dance from the Stone Kingdom in Central Asia, and so on. "Women learn Hu make-up for Hu women, and make Hu Yin do Hu music." During the Kaiyuan Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, a social atmosphere had formed.Hu Xuanwu is also very popular, "Tianbao wants to change from year to year, and all the courtiers and concubines learn to circle".The so-called "Yuanzhuan" refers to Hu Xuanwu.Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, in his poem "Hu Xuannv", specifically described the superb and exquisite art of Persian dancers living in Chang'an: "Hu Xuannv, Hu Xuannv, the heart responds to the string, the hand responds to the drum, With the sound of string drums, both sleeves are raised, and the back snow flutters and dances. Turning left and right is tireless, and there is no end to thousands of turns. The world is incomparable. Open your mouth slightly" (Volume 426 of "Quan Tang Poetry", Bai Juyi 3).In terms of sports, the polo ball originated in ancient Iran, and was also spread to China, where it was popular in the court of the Tang Dynasty. "Polo" means stick in ancient Persian.Poloball is a sport game played with sticks, which gradually became known as "polo".In the tombs of the Tang Dynasty near Xi'an, there are also murals depicting polo ball games and figurines of male and female riders in various postures playing polo balls.The foundation stone inscription for the construction of the Polo Stadium in the palace was also found in Xi'an.

The Tang Empire adopted an inclusive attitude towards various foreign cultures, most notably in its attitude towards foreign religions.Along with the development of transportation and economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West, in addition to Buddhism introduced since the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Manichaeism, Jacko (xianjie) religion, Islam, and Nestorianism have successively flowed in from the West. Buddhism reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty in my country.With Buddhism as a link, China has close contacts with countries that believe in Buddhism, such as India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.The Tang monk in the famous classical novel is based on Xuanzang, the great mage of the Tang Dynasty.This eminent monk, commonly known as Chen Yi [yiyi], set foot on the Silk Road in the first year of Zhenguan (627 A.D.) of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty to study Buddhist scriptures in India.He visited the six holy places of Buddhism successively in India, traveled all over today's India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and became a master of Buddhism.In 642 AD, King Jieri specially held a large-scale academic debate conference for him in Qunu City. Xuanzang, who was the master of the conference, was not baffled by anyone and won a very high honor.After 18 years away from Chang'an, Xuanzang returned to his motherland from India with more than 650 Buddhist classics.Later, he translated 75 Buddhist scriptures, and also dictated a "Da Tang Western Regions" based on his travel experiences.It records the historical evolution, customs, religious beliefs, geographical location, urban population, mountains and rivers, and production conditions of more than 100 ancient countries including India.This work is regarded as a treasure by scholars who study Indian history and religion all over the world. It has been translated into many languages ​​and has become a world famous book.At that time, many Buddhist monks who came to China from India lived in Chang'an to translate scriptures.Although the rulers of the Tang Dynasty regarded Laozi (Li Er) as their ancestor and vigorously advocated Taoism, Buddhism was always far ahead and had a greater influence in Chinese society.

Jacko religion, also known as fire jacket religion or Zoroastrian religion, was founded by the Persian Zoroastrian in the 6th century BC.It promotes the dualism of good and evil, and believes that fire, light, cleanliness, creation, and life are good; darkness, filth, destruction, and death are evil; when good and evil compete, light will surely defeat darkness.It advocates light, and because fire has light, it also worships fire.During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was introduced to China from Persia and Central Asia.In the Tang Dynasty, there were three Aojiao temples in the northwest of Chang’an City.Aojiao temples were also built in Luoyang, Liangzhou (to the east of Yongchang in today's Gansu and west of Tianzhu in Gansu), Shazhou (today's Dunhuang in Gansu) and other places. Manichaeism, also known as Mingjiao, was founded by the Persian Mani in the 3rd century AD.It absorbs the ideas of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Sun Godism, and also promotes the dualism of good and evil. It believes that in the universe, light and darkness are fighting each other, and people should rise up to help the light and the dark, and so on.From the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, the religion spread in North Africa and the Mediterranean coast.When Wu Zetian was in power, the Persian Manichaean scripture teacher Fu Duoyan and others came to China with the classic "Er Zong Jing".Since then, Manichaeism has become popular in China, and temples have been established in various places.Dayun Guangming Temple in Chang'an is a famous temple of Manichaeism.It is particularly noteworthy that Manichaeism had considerable appeal to the poor.In the late period of Chinese feudal society, some peasant uprisings were disguised as religion, using the Manichaeism theory of fighting between light and darkness to mobilize the masses.The famous Fangla uprising in the Song Dynasty used this religion to appeal to the people.Chinese folk secret religious organizations, such as Mingjiao and Bailianjiao, were all influenced by Manichaeism.The introduction of Manichaeism provided a spiritual weapon for the resistance struggle of the lower working people in China. Islam, commonly known as Islam.As a large number of Muslims came to China from all over West Asia and Central Asia, Islam became popular in our country.Mosques were built in Chang'an, Guangzhou and other Muslim-inhabited cities in the Tang Dynasty.According to legend, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad once brought it to China to preach, and was valued by Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, and a large mosque was established in Xi'an. Nestorianism, also known as "Great Qin Nestorianism" in the Tang Dynasty, is actually a branch of Christianity founded by the Syrian Nestorius.Nestorius believed that Jesus had both human and divine natures, which violated the orthodox teachings of Christianity, so he was denounced as heresy and exiled.At the end of the 5th century AD, the Nestorians formed an independent sect in Persia, established a general church, and spread to West Asia and Central Asia.The Turks played a role in the spread of Nestorianism to the East. At the end of the 6th century, Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) and the Persian king jointly suppressed the rebellion and once captured the Turkic people with the word "cross" tattooed on their foreheads.Nestorianism was first introduced into the interior of our country through the Turkic people in the north.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the "Great Qin Nestorian Popularity Chinese Stele" (now in the Xi'an Forest of Steles) was unearthed in 囩厔 [zhou zhi Zhouzhi], Shaanxi. In 1991, A Luoben, a Persian Nestorian monk, arrived in Chang'an with the scriptures. Taizong specially ordered Fang Xuanling, the prime minister, to welcome him into the palace in the western suburbs, where he translated the scriptures and preached.Then issued an imperial edict, allowing the establishment of churches and the spread of Nestorianism.By the time of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Nestorianism had been widely spread, and there was a grand occasion of "ten ways of Dharma flow" and "hundred temples filled with temples".Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty personally wrote a plaque for the church, and Emperor Dezong even erected a stele. "The Monument of the Popularity of Nestorianism in the Great Qin Dynasty in China" was written by Jing Jing, a monk of the Daqin Temple in the second year of Jianzhong (AD 781) of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty.When Nestorianism was first introduced to China, the churches were called Persian Temple, and later renamed Daqin Temple.In addition to Chang'an, there are churches in Luoyang, Lingwu, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Yangzhou and other places.Yisi, a Nestorian, also served as a counselor under Guo Ziyi, Shuofang Jiedu envoy of the Tang Dynasty. The names of Nestorian monks are listed on the left and right sides of the "Daqin Nestorian Popularity in China", a total of 70 people.According to research, most of them are foreign monks from Iran or Syria.In addition to preaching in China, these early Nestorian monks also carried out a lot of translation work.Among the classic manuscripts of Nestorianism in the Tang Dynasty discovered in the Mingshashan Grottoes in Dunhuang alone, there are six such as Nestorian Sanwei Mengduzan.It mentioned that there were as many as 35 Nestorian classics translated at that time. During Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was advocated and Buddhism was banned, and Nestorianism was also abolished.After this setback, the spread of Nestorianism in the mainland of my country has gradually weakened.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huangchao's rebel army broke through Guangzhou, and a large number of Nestorians were killed in the chaos after the city was broken.Since then, the Nestorian forces basically withdrew from the mainland, and only traces can be found in remote areas such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.