Xu Fu
As early as 219 BC, Xu Fu was entrusted by Qin Shihuang to prepare for the Hainan Operation. According to the "Historical Records: The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang", in the 28th year of Qin Shi Huang (219 BC), Xu Fu was ordered by Qin Shi Huang to lead 3,000 boys and girls eastward to Yingzhou to search for the elixir of immortality for the emperor. According to "A Brief History of Japan": "In the 72nd year of Emperor Xiaorei, Xu Fulai from Qin came." In a certain sense, Xu Fu was not only the first person in the history of mankind to control the ocean, but also opened the history of Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges. The first person in the Qin Dynasty, Xu Fu, whose courtesy name was Junfang, was from Langya County, Qidi (now Xufu Village, Jinshan Town, Ganyu District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province). He was a famous alchemist in the Qin Dynasty. According to legend, he was also a close disciple of Mr. Guiguzi. He was erudite and proficient in medicine, astronomy, and navigation, and he had a high reputation among the people along the coast.
The impact of Xu Fu’s cultural achievements can be divided into two aspects, cultural and historical. In terms of culture: Xu Fu was a famous alchemist, famous navigator and outstanding envoy of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the Qin Dynasty. He was born in Qi State during the Warring States Period (according to research, it is today's Longkou City). During the Qin Shihuang period, Xu Fu led 3,000 boys and girls to cross eastward from the coast of Shandong and traveled all over southern Korea and Japan. It became a good story in the cultural exchanges between China, Japan and Korea in history. It has been a hot topic of research and discussion for thousands of years, and it has been a hot topic for people to study and discuss for thousands of years. It has become a comprehensive multi-disciplinary study of pre-Qin history, Qin and Han history, history of Sino-foreign relations, navigation history, folklore, religion, archaeology, etc., and has extremely important academic value. At the same time, the study of Xu Fu and his group's eastward journey has extremely important practical significance for expanding opening to the outside world, developing friendship between the two peoples, and accelerating Shandong's economic and cultural construction and tourism development.
Historically: Many works describe Xu Fu with a strong mythological flavor, but this is an important part of Xu Fu’s culture. However, in the past, we used it because it was literature and legend, not historical fact. If it is ignored, it means that only some supporting materials are quoted, and it is not possible to study it in a concentrated, in-depth, and multi-angle manner to discover its deeper connotation. China and Japan are separated by a strip of water and are closely related to each other. Historically, various ethnic groups have communicated and blended with each other through various forms, forming complex political and cultural alliances. The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the first peak period of exchanges between Japan and my country. Japan sent more than 20 batches of envoys to the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty to my country. my country also sent a large number of envoys to welcome and see off. Among the friends, monks and scholars of the two countries, In their exchanges, Xu Fu culture is often used as a symbol of friendship to praise and appreciate each other. Master Hongshun of Japan and Monk Yichu of my country praised the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people by talking about the legend of Xu Fu; Enzai, a Japanese monk from the Tiantai Sect, returned to China after studying in China for about 40 years. His friend Pi Rixiu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, was He once wrote a farewell poem "Send off the Master Yuanzai to Japan again", which includes: "The infinite city is the naked country, and the dividing line is Chanzhou". Xu Fu's quest for immortality is also used to reveal the traditional friendship between the two peoples.