1. 『旧唐書』倭国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Wo Country
2. 『旧唐書』日本国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Japan Country
This is the section regarding the "Wo country" in the (Old) Book of Tang, the next official Chinese history after the Book of Sui.
『旧唐書』倭国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Wo Country
倭國者、古倭奴國也。去京師一萬四千里、在新羅東南大海中、依山島而居。東西五月行、南北三月行。世與中國通。其國、居無城郭、以木為柵、以草為屋。四面小島五十餘國、皆附屬焉。其王姓阿毎氏、置一大率、檢察諸國、皆畏附之。設官有十二等。
That
which is called Wo country is the Wonu country of ancient times. 14,000
li from the capital, it lies in the great sea southeast of Silla,
resting upon island(s). It is five months’ travel east-west, and three
months’ travel north-south. Generation after generation, they have been
in communication with the Middle Kingdom. In their country, residences
do not have city/castle walls; they make fences of wood and roofs of
grass. The small islands and over fifty states that surround Wo on four
sides are all subsidiary to it. Their sovereign is surnamed Mr. Amei.
He has appointed a Great Leader who scrutinizes the various states, and
they all subordinate themselves to this in fear. They have established a
bureaucracy having twelve ranks.
其訴訟者、匍匐而前。地多女少男。頗有文字、俗敬佛法。並皆跣足、以幅布蔽其前後。貴人戴錦帽、百姓皆椎髻、無冠帶。婦人衣純色裙、長腰襦、束髮於後、佩銀花、長八寸、左右各數枝、以明貴賤等級。衣服之制、頗類新羅。
Those
among them who would make suit prostrate themselves and crawl forward.
The land produces many females and few males. They have some written
letters, and their common folk respect the law of the Buddha. Also, they
all go barefoot, and use a breadth of cloth to cover the front and back
(i.e. their private parts). Noble persons wear on their heads a hat
made of silk brocade. Commoners all (do their hair up into) a
mallet-shaped topknot, and wear neither a hat nor a belt. Married women
wear a pure-colored skirt and a long waistcoat, bundle their hair at the
back, and wear silver flowers (on the waist), about eight cùn (Chinese
inches) in length, several sprigs on the left and/or the right, which
they use to distinguish the noble and the lowly ranks. The make (or
system/rules) of their clothing is rather similar to that of Silla.
貞觀五年、遣使獻方物。太宗矜其道遠、敕所司無令歳貢、又遣新州刺史高表仁持節往撫之。表仁無綏遠之才、與王子爭禮、不宣朝命而還。至二十二年、又附新羅奉表、以通起居。
In
the fifth year of Zhēnguān (631 CE), they sent an embassy to present
local products. Taizong, taking pity on them for the distance of their
journey, told an official not to cause them to bring annual tribute, and
he dispatched the Governor of Xinzhou, Gao Biaoren, to go there,
bearing his official insignia, and “comfort” them. Biaoren, lacking
talent for pacifying distant places, argued about courtesy with the
prince (or princes, noblemen’s sons), and he came back without
announcing the imperial order. In the 22nd year (of Zhēnguān, i.e. 648
CE, the year before Taizong’s death), they accompanied Silla to pay
their respects (to the imperial court), conveying the mundane
occurrences (in their respective countries).
『旧唐書』日本国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Japan Country
(There
have been innumerable speculations, both past and present, regarding
the reasons for the change of the country's name from "Wo" to "Japan." Old Book of Tang
is unusual in that it contains two sections regarding the country, the
first labeled "Tales of (or 'Communications with') Wo Country" and the
second labeled "Tales of (or 'Communications with') Japan Country."
Personally, I think this is not such an important "discrepancy" as some
people have portrayed it to be; the "Tales of Wo" only contains
references to a couple events of the seventh century CE, whereas "Tales
of Japan" only contains references to events of the eighth and early
ninth centuries CE. The Tang Dynasty lasted for a very long time, nearly
three full centuries, so it is not unthinkable that the official name
of a certain single country may have been changed from "Wo" to "Japan"
at some time when the Tang Dynasty ruled in China, probably close to the
beginning of that timespan, and therefore the references to that
country in the Chinese official history have been split in two,
retaining the name "Wo" for diplomatic events that occurred prior to the
name change, and placing events that occurred after the name change
into a new section for "Japan.")
日本國者、倭國之別種也。以其國在日邊、故以日本為名。或曰：倭國自惡其名不雅、改為日本。或云：日本舊小國、併倭國之地。其人入朝者、多自矜大、不以實對、故中國疑焉。又云：其國界東西南北各數千里、西界、南界咸至大海、東界、北界有大山為限、山外即毛人之國。
That
which is called Japan country is a branch of the Wo country.
Considering the country to be located at the side of the sun (“side of
the sun” in Chinese is also a metaphorical way of referring to a place
near the imperial capital or at the side of the emperor), they therefore
have made “Japan” (“sun-origin, sun-base”) its name. Or some say that
the Wo country itself detested that its name was not elegant (or “not in
good taste”), and changed it to be Japan. Or some say that Japan was
formerly a small country, and it annexed the territory of Wo country.
Many among (or “most of”) their people who have visited the imperial
court have boasted about their greatness (or “how big they are”), and do
not respond (or “treat us”) with sincerity, therefore the Middle
Kingdom has doubts about this. They also said that the boundaries of
their country extended several thousand li toward the east,
west, south, and north, with the western boundary and the southern
boundary both reaching the great sea, and the eastern boundary and
northern boundary being delimited by great mountains, beyond which lay
the country of hairy people (perhaps 毛國 Keno(-no) kuni of the northern Kanto region, which lay east and north of the so-called “Japanese Alps”).
長安三年、其大臣朝臣真人來貢方物、朝臣真人者、猶中國戸部尚書、冠進德冠、其頂為花、分而四散、身服紫袍、以帛為腰帶。真人好讀經史、解屬文、容止温雅。則天宴之於麟德殿、授司膳卿、放還本國。
In
the third year of Chang’an (703 CE), their minister, the Chaochen
Zhenren (Asomi no Mahito?), came to present tribute of local products.
That which is called Chaochen Zhenren is like the Middle Kingdom’s
Chancellor of the Board of Revenue and Population. On his head he wore a
Crown for the Promotion of Virtue (a kind of headwear granted by the
Tang emperors to their favorites), its top being made of flowers that
branched and spread apart in all directions. On his body he wore a
purple robe (the court dress of the highest officials in feudal China)
and a waistband made of (pure and white) silk. Zhenren was well-versed
in the classics and history, he was an expert copyist, and his looks and
bearing were warm (=gentle) and refined. (Empress) Zetian fêted him at
the Líndédiàn (Palace of the Female Unicorn’s Virtue), where she
bestowed upon him the title of Lord Master of the Board, and gave him
leave to return to his own country.
開元初、又遣使來朝、因請儒士授經、詔四門助教趙玄默就鴻
臚寺教之、乃遺玄默闊幅布以為束修之禮、題云「白龜元年調布」。人亦疑其偽。所得錫賚、盡市文籍、泛海而還。其偏使朝臣仲滿、慕中國之風、因留不去、改姓
名為朝衡、仕歴左補闕、儀王友。衡留京師五十年、好書籍、放歸郷、逗留不去。
Around the beginning of Kaiyuan
(713 – 741 CE), they again sent an embassy to come to court, and they
requested a Confucian scholar to lecture them on the classics. (The
Emperor) decreed that an assistant professor at the School of the Four
Gates (Sìménxué), Zhào Xuánmò, should assume a post at the Department of
Ceremonies and Foreign Affairs and teach them. Therefore (or “Then” or
“As it turned out”), they left Xuánmò a broad tapestry as a gift in
return for his teaching. It is titled “Tax of the First Year of White
Turtle” (“White Turtle” is probably a reference to the Japanese
calendrical era name of 霊亀 Reiki “Spiritually Potent/Magical
Turtle,” i.e. 715 – 717 CE, which commemorates the gifting of an
auspicious turtle to Empress Genshō of Japan on the occasion of her
accession to the throne, or 神亀 Jinki “Divine Turtle,” i.e. 724 –
729 CE, which commemorates the gifting or appearance of a white turtle
at the time of accession of the next emperor, Shōmu. Note that turtles
have in some eras been something like a symbol of the “divine right of
kings” in East Asia.). People also suspected that it might be
counterfeit (or “People doubted its authenticity, too”). … Another
emissary of theirs, Chaochen Zhongman (Abe no Nakamaro?), fell in love
with the air (i.e. manners, atmosphere, style) of the Middle
Kingdom, so he stayed and did not leave. He changed his surname and
given name to Chao Heng, and went through service in various posts, such
as Left Imperial Assistant and Ceremonial Royal Friend. Heng remained
in the capital for fifty years. He was fond of books, (and although the
Emperor) gave him leave to return to his hometown, he stayed and did not
go away.
天寶十二年、又遣使貢。上元中、擢衡為左散騎常侍、鎮南都護。
貞元二十年、遣使來朝、留學生橘逸勢、學問僧空海。
元和元年、日本國使判官高階真人上言：「前件學生、藝業稍成、願歸本國、便請與臣同歸。」從之。開成四年、又遣使朝貢。
In
the twelfth year of Tianbao (753 CE), they again sent an embassy to
present tribute. During Shangyuan (760－761 CE), (the Emperor) selected
Heng to be Left Currier and Constant Attendant (of the Emperor) and Dūhù
(the title of the highest commanding administrative officer in a
Chinese colony or border area) Who Pacifies the South (“Pacify/Settle
the South” is the way the Chinese described their territory in and
around what is now northern Vietnam, i.e. Annam). In the twentieth year
of Zhenyuan (804 CE), they sent an embassy to come to court, (including)
international student, Ju Yishi (Tachibana Hayanari), and scholar monk,
Konghai (Kuukai). In the first year of Yuanhe (806 CE), an official of
the Japanese embassy, Gaojie (“High Level, High Class”) Zhenren, said to
the Emperor (in regard to) the aforementioned student: “He has had a
bit of success in his endeavor, and he wishes to return to his home
country, so I humbly ask that he (be allowed to) return together with
me.” He went along with this (i.e. Tachibana accompanied this official
back to Japan? Or the Emperor acquiesced?). In the fourth year of
Kaicheng (839 CE), they again sent an embassy to present tribute to the
court.
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