A word from me.
I asked the AI about the description of Japan in the Geographical Zhi in the Han Shu, but it was inaccurate, so I decided to look it up myself on the internet, with the help of the AI.
The Book of Han (漢書)
Title: Han Shu,
Geography Period: 1st century BC (describes the Western Han period from 206 BC to 8 AD)
Description.
“樂浪海中有倭人 分爲百餘國 以歳時來獻見云”
(There are Japanese people in the Rakuro Sea. They were divided into more than a hundred countries. They are said to come and see them at certain times of the year.)
Content Description.
This description is extremely important as it is the earliest written source of information on the state of Japan around the 1st century BC (mid-Yayoi period).
From this description, we can learn the following about Japan (Wa koku) at that time.
The Japanese lived beyond the sea in the county of Rakuro (a Chinese territory in what is now northern Korea, around Pyongyang).
The Japanese were divided into more than 100 smaller states.
The Japanese regularly came to Raknami-gun to offer tribute.
This brief description is a valuable source of information on the political situation in Japan during the Yayoi period and some aspects of its diplomatic relations with China (Han). In other words, it confirms that Japan at that time had a decentralised political system and that there were exchanges with Rakuro-gun on the Korean peninsula. This description is an important historical source for understanding Japan’s ancient history.
Conclusion.
The descriptions in the Geographical Description of the Han Book (Han shu) capture the situation of the Japanese archipelago from a Chinese perspective, but a more three-dimensional image of ancient Japan will emerge through comparison with the Japanese history book Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan) and other works.
In this way, studying Chinese authentic history in combination with Japanese historical books will lead to an understanding of ancient Japanese history. We hope you will make use of these historical documents to explore the history of ancient Japan.
NB.
This text is based on asking the AI; the AI’s answers may not always be correct. Important information should be checked.
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