She is a small island country between China and Japan, but it has attracted thousands of attention. Her position is really "the bridge of all nations", and it is also a bridge to the world. She has a clear boundary with the Diaoyu Islands, but they are deliberately confused. Shen Fu's record is 76 years earlier than the record of the Diaoyu Islands by the Japanese Koga Tatsushiro. She is separated from China by sea and sky, but she has the same cultural pursuit and folk customs. The Ryukyu people get married just like the Chinese, they play drums on the sedan chair. Today, there is a bronze bell displayed in the Okinawa County Museum in Japan. The name of this ancient bell is "Wan Guo Jin Liang Bell", and the following lines of Chinese characters are cast on it: "The Ryukyu country is also a resort in the South China Sea. The beauty of Zhong Sanhan, with the Ming Dynasty as the center The auxiliary vehicle, with the Japanese region as its lips and teeth, is the Penglai Island that emerges from the middle of the two. The boats are the bridge of the world, and the treasures of different productions are full of ten square brakes..." "Ryukyu", I believe many people know this name, But she is not the glass ball we played when we were young, but a mysterious kingdom.This "Wan Guo Jin Liang Bell" originally belonged to this mysterious kingdom, but why is it hung in a museum in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan today?What are the mysterious stories behind this ancient clock?

"Smooth government and harmonious people" is the goal pursued by every country, but sometimes having an excellent geographical location is a prerequisite for harmonious people.On the turbulent sea, it is precisely because of its permanent geographical advantages that Ryukyu has maintained trade exchanges with China, Japan, North Korea and other countries, thus establishing its own cultural status. Let us first interpret the meaning of the word "Wan Guo Jin Liang Zhong". "Wan Guo Jin Liang" means the bridge of 10,000 countries, that is, the bridge of the world. This bridge refers to the owner of this ancient clock-the Kingdom of Ryukyu.In the past, the Ryukyu Kingdom was scattered on the Ryukyu Islands between the northeast of China's Taiwan and the southwest of Japan's Kyushu Island. The Ryukyu Islands are located in the sea traffic arteries of East Asia, connecting the Japanese Islands to the north, facing China across the sea, and 1,340 kilometers away from Hong Kong, China , 710 kilometers away from mainland China and 660 kilometers away from Chinese Taipei, has a unique geographical location and very important strategic value.Speaking of this, we know that this position is really "the bridge of all nations", that is, the bridge of the world.

The Ryukyu Islands are composed of more than 100 islands in the three major island groups of North, Central and South.The northern island group includes the Tukara Islands, the Amami Islands, also known as the Sanan Islands; the central part is the Great Ryukyu Islands (that is, the Okinawa Islands); the southern part is the Miyako Islands and the Sakishima Islands, with a total area of ​​more than 4,600 square kilometers.In the sea to the north of the Sakishima Islands, there is also the Diaoyu Islands (called "Senkaku Islands" in Japan) consisting of Diaoyu Island, Beixiao Island, Nanxiao Island, Huangwei Islet, and Chiwei Islet.

The Ryukyu Kingdom includes the Sakishima Islands, Okinawa Islands, and Amami Islands in the Ryukyu Islands, with a total area of ​​3,500 square kilometers. Its west side is the East China Sea and its east side is the Pacific Ocean.The largest island is Okinawa Island (Great Ryukyu Island) among the Okinawa Islands, with an area of ​​1,210 square kilometers; followed by Amami Oshima, with an area of ​​730 square kilometers.Yonaguni Island, the southernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, is only 110 kilometers away from Taiwan, China, and only 170 kilometers away from the Diaoyu Islands.Okinawa is 970 miles away from Tokyo, 410 miles away from Chinese Taipei, 440 miles away from the coast of mainland China, 830 miles away from Hong Kong, China, and 900 miles away from Manila.

The famous navigator Zheng He had a famous saying: "If a country wants to be rich and strong, it should not ignore the sea. Wealth is obtained from the sea, and danger also comes from the sea." The prosperity of the Dutch overseas trade in the 17th century came at a huge price.It is undeniable that sailing on rough seas often takes more time and faces more difficulties and obstacles than on land, but Ryukyu's overseas trade is mostly smooth sailing and returns with full rewards.What is the reason? Due to its small territory, Ryukyu could not establish an economy based on agriculture, so it relied on its special geographical location to gain wealth by developing overseas trade.Ryukyu ships travel between Naha and Fuzhou, and also go north to Japan and Korea, and go south to Annan, Luzon, Siam, Aceh, Java, Malacca, etc., all over the entire Nanyang Islands.Ryukyu became rich from such "entrepot trade".According to the rough statistics of an article "Ryukyu in the Age of Great Navigation" published by Japanese scholar Akamine Makoto in the "Okinawa Times" in 1988, Ryukyu was sent to Siam (now Thailand) and Manchuria only in the decades from Yongle to Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. There were 101 trading ships from Raja (present-day Malaysia), Sumatra, Java and other countries, and the number of personnel reached 11,233.Because of this, German scholar Dr. Li Si said: "Before the Portuguese came to the Strait of Malacca, the Ryukyu people monopolized the trade between China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and Naha was one of the largest markets for East Asian trade." Much earlier than the Netherlands, this is the earliest "sea coachman".

Speaking of "sea coachmen", I want to tell the truth that China played a very important role in making them the earliest "sea coachmen" in the world.If you don't believe me, let me give you a very real example.It is said that in 1404, that is, the second year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty, a foreign ship encountered a typhoon and drifted downstream to Fuzhou. At that time, the local officials in Fuzhou found out that the merchant ship came from Siam, that is, Thailand after inquiring.Where is this ship from Thailand going?It goes to Ryukyu trade.The Chief Secretary of Fujian reported this situation to Emperor Yongle, and Emperor Zhu Di of Yongle sent an envoy to the Chief Secretary of Fujian, Li Zhigang, Minister of Rites, and sent him to Fuzhou to convey his imperial edict.The imperial decree said that "reconciliation between Siam and Ryukyu is a beautiful thing for the country." Unfortunately, when a storm comes to us, we should help.How to help?This is the original text of Emperor Yongle: "If the boat is broken, repair it. If the people are hungry, give the corn and wait for the wind. If the person wants to return or go to Ryukyu, guide him." The boat is broken, we give people Xiu (no money required); if he is hungry, we will bring him delicious food and drink; when the weather calms down, if he wants to go home or continue to Ryukyu, we will send a boat to guide him on the right path.Without the support of such an emperor, without such a country to escort people from south to north, how long can the Ryukyu trade last?

As the saying goes: "One fence has three stakes, and one hero has three gangs." Ryukyu has become the "sea coachman", and China has also played a great role. Such a small incident can fully illustrate this point. Because of this special position, Ryukyu has become an important hub of trade among China, Japan, North Korea and Southeast Asian countries. The bronze bell is named "Wan Guo Jin Liang".Speaking of Shang Taijiu, the "Shang" surname has a direct relationship with China, which we will talk about later. The bulk of Ryukyu’s overseas trade is to sell Japanese silver, lacquerware, swords, screens and fans to China, resell medicinal materials, porcelain, silk, and copper coins produced in China to Japan and North Korea, and sell gold produced in Southeast Asia, India and the Arabian Peninsula. Rhino horn, sumac, spices, tin, sugar, ivory, frankincense, and ambergris were sold to China, Japan, and Korea.

Fuzhou is the main trading port of Ryukyu in China. Ryukyu merchants traded a wide variety of goods in Fuzhou, including various handicrafts, medicines, spices, minerals, seafood, textiles and other rare goods.There are also people in Fuzhou who "sell golf merchants' goods on behalf of them".The goods that the Ryukyu merchants took away from Fujian were mainly ceramics, lacquerware and silk. The tribute trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China was very developed in the early years of Kangxi.The goods brought to China include gold and silver pots, gold and silver powder boxes, gold jars and wine seas, painted screens, painted fans, clay silver fans, painted fans, banana cloth, ramie cloth, safflower, pepper, sumac, and waist knives. , fire knives, guns, armor, horses, saddles, silk, cotton, compass, there is no quota for additional tribute items.In the 19th year of Kangxi, Ryukyu paid tribute again, and the emperor exempted some luxury goods.In the subsequent tributes, only the entrepot trade to Nanyang through Ryukyu developed, importing medicines, spices and luxury goods such as pearls, tortoise shells, and corals from Nanyang.Ryukyu trade ships sailing exclusively to North Korea appeared in Shurijo Castle, the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom (called "Haipu" in North Korea).The political and economic relations between Ryukyu and North Korea have developed, but the economic role is greater than the political role, because they both belong to the vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

The economic relations between Ryukyu and Southeast Asia are complementary. In the 16th century, the influence of the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and other countries had entered Southeast Asia, and their products were sold to Korea and Japan through the Ryukyu transit station, earning huge profits. From ancient times to the present, names have been of particular importance to every place and every country.It is not only a symbol of status, but also an expression of meaning.Norway means "the way to live in the north"; Portugal means "warm port".So what is the meaning of the name "Ryukyu"?

Having said that, as long as we have a name and a vocabulary, we have to explain it.Is the word "Ryukyu" given by gods?of course not.The person who took these two words and named this fairy mountain island in the sea is not a fairy, but he is also a person who really wants to be a fairy.Who could he be?Of course it was Emperor Sui Yang of China. As early as the early years of the Tang Dynasty, that is, in the "Sui Shu" in the early 7th century AD, there was a special section called "Liu Qiu Chuan".The more credible and well-documented first exploration trip to the Ryukyu Islands took place during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, that is, in AD 607.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was not afraid of the dangers and dangers of the waves, so he ordered Zhu Kuan, the captain of the feather cavalry, to search for exotic customs overseas. Today, the journey starts from Amami Oshima in the north and ends in Yonaguni Island in the south. Yonaguni Island is 170 kilometers southwest of today's Diaoyu Islands.Traveling to this piece of sea, a pearl-like island floats in the sea, "if a horned dragon floats on the water", winding like a long snake, and shaped like a horned dragon, so he named this island, called "Liulong". dragon".The left side of the word "Qiu" is the side of the word worm, and a vertical hook is placed on the right side. "Qiu" means dragon. When the Tang Dynasty compiled the "Book of Sui", in order to avoid the taboo of the emperor, the emperor is a dragon. In order to avoid the taboo of the emperor's dragon, the place was renamed Liuqiu. This "qiu" means " The "begging" of "begging for help".In this way, of course, some people wrote it as "Liu Qiu", "Ru Qiu", "Liu Gui" and so on. In the period of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, they finally gave this land a very beautiful name.This is the origin of the word "Ryukyu" we use today.

In the "Zhongshan Shijian" which records the history of Ryukyu, compiled by Xiang Xian in 1650, there is the following narrative, which tells the origin of the name of Ryukyu: "At the beginning, there was no (has) the name of Ryukyu. After Long Live, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered Zhu Kuan, the captain of Yuqi, to visit this country to seek exotic customs. The land is bounded by waves, and when viewed from a distance, it twists and turns, as if floating in water, so it is also known as a celebrity." In another book "Zhongshan Shipu" (written in 1725) that records the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, there are similar words: "Dingmao in the third year of Sui Daye (607), Emperor Yang ordered Zhu Kuan and He Man to come to the country and watch from a distance. The boundary of the land is between the waves, winding and winding, its shape is like a qiu floating in the water, it was named Riliuqiu, and later changed its name to Liuqiu." From the above records, we can know that the title of "Liuqiu" did not appear until as late as the Sui Dynasty in China in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, and this name was also named by the Chinese."虬" in Chinese characters is a kind of dragon, and the Ryukyu Islands are called "Liuqiu", which is obviously named from the geographical situation.However, in the "Sui Shu", which was written in the early 7th century AD, "Liuqiu" was written as "Liuqiu".In ancient China, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor, and the words related to the dragon should not be used indiscriminately, so the homonym "qiu" was used instead of "qiu".Later, in the history books of our country, this appellation has been inherited, although there are some discrepancies in the use of words, or it is "Liu Qiu" ("Song History·Foreign Biography·Liu Qiu Guo"), or it is "气求". ("Yuan History · Foreign Yi Biography · Diqiu").It was not until the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372) that the word "Ryukyu" was officially determined, and it has been used to this day.Overseas, based on their "old relationship with China", are "generally called Liuchiu, Luchu, Loochoo, Lewchew or Liukiu", which actually shows the long history of traditional historical relations between China and Ryukyu. Another close neighbor of Ryukyu, Japan, what does Ryukyu call it?The Japanese call it "Riukiu" or "Ryukyu".However, the common name for Ryukyu in Japan is "Ryukyu". "Ryukyu" is derived from the Chinese "Liuchiu" due to the lack of "L" in the Japanese pronunciation, which means "floating jewel in the sky".According to Chinese scholar He Ciyi's point of view, in 835 AD, Shinji, a disciple of the Japanese monk Kukai, began to call it "Liuqiu" and read it as "Ryukyu" in his "Xing Ling Ji".Since Japan joined the canonization system of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, the name "Ryukyu" has been fixed in Japan.Regarding the title of "Okinawa", the earliest existing Japanese historical data is "Tang Dahe Shangdong Expedition Biography": In 753, Jianzhen crossed to the "Aer Naibo" island, which is pronounced "Okinawa" in Japanese, which is now Okinawa . Speaking of Ryukyu, there is another problem.Taiwan Island of China was also called Ryukyu in the past, so there is a problem.How to distinguish the Ryukyu of Taiwan Island from the Ryukyu of the Ryukyu Islands?Let me tell you, whether it is Liuqiu or Ryukyu, they are the general name we Chinese refer to all the islands in that area.How to distinguish?The Greater Liuqiu is Taiwan, and the Little Liuqiu is the Ryukyu Islands. This is a distinction. Every country has its own historical records, and every nation has its own imprint of civilization. "Historical Records", "Hanshu", "Later Hanshu" and "Three Kingdoms", the 5,000-year civilization of the Chinese nation is inherited and carried forward in a series of historical books .So, what are the precious history books of the ancient Ryukyu country, which is deeply influenced by Chinese culture?Which Ryukyu ethnic groups are recorded in their history? When was the Ryukyu Kingdom with the bell of "Wan Guo Jin Liang" established?It’s too early, but when it comes to this, we can always learn from history, and I can’t make up stories. I recommend three history books about the Ryukyu Kingdom. History books such as "Book" and "Three Kingdoms", the first is called "Zhongshan Shijian", the second is called "Zhongshan Shijian", and the third is called "Qiuyang". These three books all record the history of the founding of Ryukyu. The following myths and legends: In the past, in the Celestial City, there was a god named Amo Meijiu.The Emperor of Heaven summoned and told him: Under the Heavenly City, there is a spiritual place where gods can go and live, but it has not yet become an island, so you can descend to make it an island... Soon, Amomeijiu went to heaven to ask to be an island.The Emperor of Heaven bestowed earth, rocks, vegetation, and Amomi used them to build several islands... However, tens of thousands of years later, there are still no human beings, and there is no way to show the power of the gods.Therefore, Amomeijiufu went to heaven again to beg for human beings... and then gave them to the emperor's royal son, a man and a woman.Although there is no yin and yang harmony between these two people, they live side by side, and because of the wind from the past, they have three males and two females.The eldest son, the beginning of the king.It is the Tiansun family.Two men, the beginning of the princes.Three men, the beginning of the common people.A female, the beginning of Junjun (the head of the witch).The second daughter, I wish the beginning of all the witches.Since then, there has been a ritual of marriage between husband and wife.The eldest son Tiansun established the "Tiansun Dynasty".According to the records of "Zhongshan Shijian", the Tiansun Dynasty was followed by the Shuntian Dynasty, which lasted for three generations and 70 years. "Zhongshan Shijian" calls Shuntian King "Yuan Zun Dun" the son of "the fifty-sixth generation of the Japanese king, the grandson of the Emperor Qinghe... (source) is Chao Gong". "Zhongshan Shijian" said that the three kings of the Shuntian Dynasty were Shuntian, Shunma Shunxi and Yiben King.King Yiben "claimed to be immoral" and gave way to King Yingzu, the ancestor of Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom. The founding history of the Ryukyu Kingdom has undergone further changes in "Zhongshan Shijian" and "Qiuyang" compiled by Zheng Bingzhe and others in 1745. Compared with "Zhongshan Shijian", the above records The mythological element has been weakened, implying the possibility that someone from the outside world drifted to the main island of Ryukyu. At the beginning of our country's development, the waves were flooding and there was not enough housing.At that time, there was a man and a woman who were born in the wilderness. The male name was Zhiren Lijiu, and the female name was Amo Migu.And Yue Sen started.Yue Sen is accomplished, and there are many characters.However, the custom at that time was to live in caves in the wild and make friends with things, so there was no price to hurt the heart.As the years have passed, the people have been resourceful, and things have become enemies.Therefore, there was another person, who was the first to divide into groups and settle down, and he was called the son of the emperor of heaven.The son of the emperor of heaven gave birth to three sons and two daughters, and the eldest son was the Tiansun family, who was the first king of the country.The second male is the beginning of the department (princess), and the third male is the beginning of the common people.The eldest daughter is the beginning of the monarch, the second daughter is the beginning of blessings, and the end of morality. Like China, where should one start when talking about the 5,000-year Chinese civilization?That has to start with the Yellow Emperor Yao, Shun and Yu.Every nation has its own legends of heroes.It is said that a long time ago, there was a place called Tiancheng. In this Tiancheng, there was a god named Amo Meijiu. She is not the highest god in the world. The greatest and tallest god in the world is called Tiandi.One day the Emperor of Heaven told Amo Meijiu that there is a magical place under the Heavenly City where you can live.Then Amo Mijiu came to the ocean below with mountains, rocks, vegetation, and began to build islands, gradually forming the more than one hundred islands we mentioned above.But after it was built, tens of thousands of years have passed on these islands, and there are still no people living on them.If you have no one to live in, the divine power of God cannot be manifested that day.You become a fly today, a mosquito tomorrow, and a cockroach later, so no one can see it?So you have changed for a long time, what is the use of your Monkey King 72 change, who are you showing off to?At this time, Amo Meijiu felt lonely, and came to the heaven again, and said to the god, God, please lend me some human seeds.Therefore, the gods sent two men and women to follow Amo Mijiu to the place in the world where Amo Mijiu lived. This man and a woman are not two children born of our usual love marriage, but the gods. I pinched it myself.What did you pinch it?It is not mentioned in the story, but after these two people came to this area, they married and gave birth because of love, and gave birth to a lot of children, three sons, two girls, the eldest son is this island The king of the earliest Tiansun Dynasty in the world, his son, that is, the eldest son after the eldest son, has been the king for generations. His second son is the earliest prince under the Tiansun Dynasty, and the third son is this The earliest commoners of the Tiansun Dynasty, the eldest daughter was the first maiden called Junjun, who was also called the leader of the witches, and the second daughter was the witches called Zhuzhu, that is, the witches. After that, we know This island has really started the process of couples getting married like in the world. These are of course legends.Of course the earliest humans here were not born of God, so where did they come from? There are many theories about the origin of the Ryukyu race and culture. The more common theory is that the people of the same culture as the Jomon period in Japan came from the central and southern coastal areas of China between the 10th century BC and the 3rd century BC. Southwestern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands, and spread from west to east.It is also said that the ancient Ryukyu culture is part of the Baiyue culture.Another common theory is that the ancient Ryukyu residents came from the Indonesian and Australasian island chains and belonged to the Malays.Let's not say where the earliest residents of Ryukyu came from, but there is a mysterious ethnic group that does exist. On the mottled historical negatives of the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom, there was once a mysterious ethnic group-"Thirty-six surnames of Fujian people".The legends about this special group are sometimes involved in various writings but are vague and full of mystery.However, in the turbulent history of East Asian oceans, this mysterious ethnic group appears and disappears from time to time, and gathers and falls with the turbulent waves of history. The journey is very tragic. The "Thirty-six surnames of Fujian people" are highly valued and preferentially treated by the Ryukyu Kingdom.After they came to the Ryukyu Kingdom, they were greatly respected by the royal family and the people, and became a group enjoying special treatment in the Ryukyu Kingdom. Most of them were entrusted with important tasks, participated in important political, economic and cultural activities of the country, and enjoyed high-ranking officials for generations. Houlu, and even the official worship of Xiangguo, became the most influential and famous family in the Ryukyu Kingdom.The place where they live together is called "Tang Ying" - the area inhabited by Tang people.Later it was called "Kume".There are two big temples in Jiumi Village, one is Confucius Temple, and the other is Tianhou Temple and Guandi Temple.The Confucius Temple is very large, called "Tang Sanying". Confucius is worshiped in the middle, and his two subordinates are worshiped on both sides, holding "Yi", "Poem" and "Spring and Autumn" respectively.Tianhou Temple and Guandi Temple also have a three-column pattern, with Tianhou in the middle and Guan Yu in the west, and Tianhou is Tianfei. According to historians' textual research, "Kume" means "enjoying salary forever".It is still an ancient place name exuding noble atmosphere. Kume Village, where the "Thirty-six Surnames of Fujian people" have lived together for generations, is located in Shuri Castle, the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It is directly under the jurisdiction of the King of Ryukyu. One, and a noble community of laurels.These Ryukyu scholar-bureaucrats who are descendants of Fujian people seem to have a rich and prosperous family life. Every family has a well-built garden courtyard with exotic flowers and plants, and there are also "rock gardens with hills and valleys for people to visit." According to the Ryukyu official system, the seven major surnames of the royal family, such as Shang and Xiang, who live in Shuli, the capital of the kingdom, have been married to the royal family for generations.And Cai Wen, who is well known to all Ryukyu people to this day, was exceptionally promoted by the Ryukyu king to be a judge in his early years because of his excellent academic performance, and became a famous figure in the history of Ryukyu Kingdom.Cai Wen studied in Fuzhou for three years as an officer of a tribute ship in the forty-sixth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. He studied with Liu Xikai, a native of Changle, and specialized in astronomy, meteorology and geography.Because of his diligence and studious, Liu was very moved.After Cai returned, he served as a national teacher, and in the sixth year of Emperor Yongzheng (1728) of the Qing Dynasty, he became the first-rank "legislator" of the Ryukyu Kingdom.In order to manage the mountains, rivers and farmland, he worked tirelessly to inspect various places and put forward the plan of "destroying rivers according to law and repairing civilian fields"; he also vigorously publicized the "Mountain Forest Law" and "Farmland Economic Boundary Law" formulated by him to protect the ecological environment of Ryukyu It has made a significant contribution to the development of agricultural production. "Thirty-six surnames of Fujian people" is known as the ethnic group with the most reputation for cultural relics in the Ryukyu Kingdom. As for whether the 36 surnames are real numbers or imaginary numbers, and which 36 surnames are composed of them, there are different opinions, and there is no unified conclusion. The surnames of "Thirty-six Fujian People" displayed at the Fuzhou Ryukyu Pavilion read: Cai, Zheng, Jin, Lin, Chen, Mao, Wang, Liang, Ruan, Sun, Zeng, Wei, Cheng, Hong, Zhou, Li, Gao, Wu, Shen, Tian, ​​Ma, Qian, Zong, Ye, Fan, Yang, Guo, Weng, Yu, Han, Jia, Yu, Tao, Wu, Jiang.However, according to the textual research of Professor Xie Bizhen, who studied overseas trade in Fujian in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, from the Department of History of Fujian Normal University: Among the above-mentioned 36 surnames, only Cai, Zheng, Jin, Lin, Chen, Mao, Wang, and Liang belong to the ranks of the "Thirty-six surnames of Fujian people". , Ruan, Sun, Zeng, Wei, Cheng, Hong, Zhou, Li, Gao, Wu, Shen, Tian, ​​Ma, Qian, Zong, Ye, Fan, Pan and other 26 surnames, the remaining surnames are yet to be confirmed. There is a saying in "Thirty-six Heavenly Gangs and Seventy-two Dishas", and there are also thirty-six changes in Zhu Bajie. Here again, "Thirty-six surnames of Fujian people" appeared. What happened?They were not changed by Zhu Bajie, nor were they sent from heaven to the world, but were sent to Ryukyu by the son of heaven, that is, sent by the emperor.Which emperor?Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.These thirty-six surnames are incredible, not ordinary people. Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Give Fujian people thirty-six surnames who are good at boating, and make them come and go to pay tribute." These people were carefully selected by the emperor.They are professionals and an elite group who are proficient in shipbuilding, astronomy, meteorology, and Confucius and Mencius theory. They are not selected by ordinary people. At that time, the auditions were much stricter than the current auditions. Scientists are auditioned. Which TV station in China did you see?Even our Shandong Satellite TV didn't dare to open it, let alone others.There is such a story, it is said that in order to be selected, a person also spent money to entrust relationships, who did he entrust?The great navigator Zheng He.Zheng He not only recommended people to Ryukyu, but also gave them gifts. There are many special fruits in Taiwan and Ryukyu, which are very expensive.There is also a special product called "Sambo Ginger", which is actually ginger.There was no ginger in Taiwan and Ryukyu.In 1424 AD, Zheng He, the "Sambo Eunuch" led a huge fleet to visit Southeast Asian countries for the sixth time. The fleet was welcomed by the aborigines of Taiwan (that is, compatriots of the Gaoshan nationality), and the compatriots of the Gaoshan nationality gave Zheng He great support in terms of life and route identification. The fleet helps a lot.He found that many Gaoshan compatriots lived in places with high mountains and cold water, and were prone to illness, so he ordered the ginger that was carried on board to be given to them, and told the locals that ginger can drive away cold and dampness, and avoid fishy food.Zheng He and his crew also taught them how to use ginger to cure diseases, prevent diseases and seasoning, and planted some ginger on the local land with their own hands.Since then, ginger began to take root in Taiwan Island.In order to commemorate Zheng He, they called ginger "Sanbao Jiang".why?Because Zheng He is also known as the "Three Treasures Eunuch". The "Thirty-six Surnames of Fujianese" in Ryukyu is a process of gradual integration of the Chinese nation and the Ryukyu nation. Some of the "Thirty-Six Surnames of the Fujian People" were in the process of completing their voyage and tribute missions. Some drowned during the voyage, and some "returned to the country when they were old, or stayed without heirs" because of the difficult environment and their own diseases. .Even so, during this period, the "Thirty-six Surnames of the Fujian People" could still absorb and supplement from the Fujian merchants who traded in Ryukyu or drifted to Ryukyu due to typhoon and other shipwrecks. Although the reproduction of the "Thirty-six Surnames of Fujian people" in Ryukyu has "fictitious blood relationship" (fictitious blood relationship refers to those who have no blood relationship or direct blood relationship, but are legally determined to have the same status as blood relatives Relatives) phenomenon, but the emergence of these phenomena is based on the identity of the blood in the country of residence, the recognition of the Chinese blood, the Chinese language, and the recognition of the Chinese culture. social psychology. So, when did the first country appear on this land?This has to be said from the 12th century AD, that is, when the Song Dynasty alternated.At that time, there were three countries on Ryukyu Island: Beishan, Zhongshan and Nanshan.These are three independent kingdoms, called Shanbei Kingdom, Zhongshan Kingdom, and Shannan Kingdom.After these countries existed for more than 200 years, it was 1406 in a blink of an eye, which is the Yongli period of our Ming Dynasty.A man named Shang Bazhi rose up and defeated King Wuning of Zhongshan in one fell swoop, and seized the throne of Zhongshan, but he himself did not take the throne.why?He has an old father, who made his father the nominal King of Zhongshan, and he is in charge of state affairs by himself.Ten years later, in 1416, he sent troops to destroy the Shanbei Kingdom; in 1422, his father finally died, and he himself became king; in 1429, he destroyed the Shannan Kingdom.This unified the Ryukyu Islands and began the First Shang Dynasty.So far, Ryukyu has become a unified kingdom. The "Tiansun Dynasty" established by the eldest son Tiansun in the above legend lasted for 25 generations.After the Tiansun Dynasty, it was the Shuntian Dynasty.This dynasty lasted for 73 years for three generations.The founder of the Shuntian Dynasty was surnamed Yuan, named Zundun, and reigned from 1187 to 1238.After two generations, in 1249, King Yiben succeeded to the throne. Eleven years later, King Yiben claimed to be "abandoned by the heavens, and the people were half lost". Because of "famine and epidemics", he abdicated to King Yingzu, a descendant of the Tiansun family, the ancestor of the Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom. King Yeongjo came to the throne in 1260.After King Yingzu, King Dacheng, King Yingci, and King Yucheng, "the world declined and the government was abolished, and it was the Warring States Period for decades. The legacy of the previous kings has changed, and the country is divided into three: Zhongshan King, Shannan King, and Shanbei King."It is known as the "Three Mountains Era" in history.The area covered by King Yucheng's decree is only Zhongshan Kingdom.According to "Zhongshan Shijian", "Zhongshan Shipu", "Qiuyang" and other books, the Zhongshan Kingdom is centered on Shuri Osato, the Shannan Kingdom is centered on Dali Osato, and the Shanbei Kingdom is centered on Nakijin Onsu.Among the three kingdoms, Zhongshan Kingdom is the strongest, while Shanbei Kingdom is the weakest.At that time, Shannan, Zhongshan, and Shanbei were located in the southern, central, and northern parts of Ryukyu Island (Okinawa), respectively, and their influence had not yet reached the Amami Islands in the north and the Sakishima Islands in the south.Because "the three mountains are constantly fighting for balance, the islands will never pay tribute to the court, and Zhongshan will decline more and more." In the melee of the "Three Mountains", Urasata, who finally won the victory, was revered as the King of Zhongshan after the death of King Xiwei in 1350. In 1405, the power of the Zhongshan Kingdom was transferred to the hands of Sashiki Shisho and his son Shohashi who were originally under the Shannan Kingdom. In 1406, Shang Bazhi defeated King Wu Ning of Zhongshan and seized the throne of Zhongshan. In 1416, Shanbei was destroyed. In 1422, his father died and officially succeeded him as king. In 1429, Shannan was destroyed, Ryukyu was unified, and the first Shang Dynasty was created.So far, Ryukyu has become a unified kingdom. This Ba Zhi, which unified Ryukyu, has some origins with China. In 1430, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty gave him the surname "Shang" and changed his name to Shang Bazhi.This is recorded in the "Zhongshan Shijian", the first in the history of the three major kingdoms of Ryukyu: After Shang Bazhi unified the three mountains, he "sent envoys to ask for canonization in Daming. Emperor Xuanzong pleased his sincerity, and in the third year of Xuande (1428) sent the internal supervisor Chaishan , Ruan Ding, deputy envoy, sent an edict to Ryukyu, conferred the title of Zhongshan King of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and gave Wang Shang the surname." This is the origin of the Ryukyu "Shang Clan" Wangtong. The word "Shang", in ancient Chinese language, has the meaning of managing the affairs of the emperor.There are at least a hundred Chinese folk surnames.The emperor of the Ming Dynasty specifically gave Ba Zhi the surname "Shang" instead of other surnames, which obviously has a deep meaning. The Shang dynasty can be divided into the first Shang dynasty (1405-1469) and the second Shang dynasty (1469-1879) according to time.During the reign of Shang Hashi (1422-1439) of the first Shang Dynasty, the ruling foundation of the Ryukyu Kingdom had been initially laid.According to the research of Japanese scholars, the "King Castle" in Shuri, Naha City, Okinawa, was built around the time when Sho Hashi came to the throne.The architecture of Shurijo Castle is not "facing north and south", but facing east and west, facing China located in the west of Ryukyu.The west direction of Shuri Castle should be another symbol of the orientation or subjection of the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom.When Shangde, the seventh king, was in power, he conquered the Yisi forces on Qijie Island. In 1469, civil strife broke out in the Ryukyu Kingdom, King Shangde was killed, and the "First Shang Dynasty" perished. In 1470, the imperial lock side official (in charge of property) whose real name was Jinyuan (later renamed Shangyuan) was elected as the king by the ministers, and established the second Shang Dynasty in the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1472, envoys of the Ming Dynasty canonized Jinyuan (renamed Shangyuan) as king, known as the "Second Shang Dynasty" in history.The reign of King Shangzhen (1478-1525), the second king of the Second Shang Dynasty, was the golden age of Ryukyu, and successively conquered Yaeyama, Yonaguni and other islands.By 1522 (the first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty), after King Shangzhen put down the "Ghost Tiger Rebellion" on Yonaguni Island, the Ryukyu Kingdom finally expanded its power to the entire Ryukyu Islands, and determined that it would start from Kikai Island and Amami Oshima in the north, and end in Miyako in the south. , The boundary of the Yaeyama Islands, which is called "three provinces and thirty-six islands" in the Ryukyu history books.King Shangzhen established Ryukyu's official rank, court ceremony system, priest system, taxation system, and administrative division. The political and economic system of the Ryukyu Kingdom, after which Ryukyu entered a period of stable development. Japan has long coveted Ryukyu.In 698 A.D., Emperor Wenwu of Japan sent an expedition to Ryukyu and claimed it as part of Japan; in the 12th century, the ruler of Kyushu, Japan was crowned by the emperor with the title of "Lord of the Southern Islands"; in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, When Japan's Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea, he sent 3,000 troops from the Shimadzu family to conquer Ryukyu. After capturing King Shang Ning, he ordered him to send money and food to the Satsuma clan in Kyushu in southern Japan for military pay. In 1441, Japan's Satsuma Domain gained control of the northern islands of Ryukyu. In 1609, Satsuma lord Shimadzu Iehisa led his troops to invade Ryukyu, forced Ryukyu to pay tribute, and forcibly occupied the five northern Amami Islands as the direct jurisdiction of Satsuma.After the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government made external expansion a national policy and was eager to incorporate Ryukyu into its territory. In July 1871, the Meiji government "abolished the domain and established the prefecture", renamed the Satsuma domain to Kagoshima Prefecture, and unilaterally placed Ryukyu under the jurisdiction of Kagoshima Prefecture.In the second year, Japan forced Ryukyu to become the Ryukyu Domain, thus completely controlling Ryukyu. In April 1879, in order to completely bring Ryukyu under Japanese rule, Japan blatantly abolished the Ryukyu Domain, and placed all the Amami Islands and the islands to the north under the jurisdiction of Kagoshima Prefecture.At the same time, Japan classified the islands from the south of the Amami Islands to the north of my country's Taiwan as the 47th county, namely Okinawa County.The scope of Okinawa Prefecture includes the Okinawa Islands centered on Okinawa Main Island, the Miyako Islands centered on Miyako Island, the Yaeyama Islands centered on Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island, and the Daito Islands 400 kilometers east of Okinawa Main Island.Since then, Ryukyu has been divided into two by Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture, and the word "Okinawa" has replaced the original "Ryukyu" name. The reason why the "Wan Guo Jin Liang Bell" is now in the Okinawa County Museum.