Marine Culture in Qin and Han Dynasties

The National Social Science Fund project "Marine Exploration and Early Oceanography in the Qin and Han Dynasties" (13AZS005), presided over and completed by Wang Zijin of Renmin University of China, has the final result of the monograph "Marine Culture in the Qin and Han Dynasties".

Sea border issues, sea power issues, as well as marine transportation security, marine resources development, marine ecological protection and other issues, are receiving more and more attention from people of different countries and nationalities. Despite different social systems and cultural origins, people's deep concern about the sea is roughly the same.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, in the social and political viewpoints, cultural concepts and geographical knowledge system, "the world" and "the sea" were often said together, reflecting the awakening of marine consciousness. To investigate the ocean view of ancient Chinese society, we should get rid of the stereotype that China is a country with inland as its development focus and that Chinese culture is a culture with inward orientation as its basic feature. Through careful investigation and research, we can understand the rich connotation of marine culture in Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, the worship of marine magic, the exploration of marine mysteries, the development of marine resources, and the accumulation of marine knowledge were all historical and cultural phenomena that showed distinctive characteristics of the times and deserved special attention.

This achievement is the first academic monograph to study historical and cultural issues related to oceans in the Qin and Han Dynasties. For the academic progress in the study of ancient Chinese marine history, the investigation of the Qin and Han Dynasties, an important historical stage, should have a certain role in prompting. The research experience provided by Ocean Culture of Qin and Han Dynasties can also positively promote the summary of the history of Chinese ancient oceanography.

Yu Gong said that "sea things" are of significance to local economic life. The utilization of marine resources has long been an important condition for economic progress. The economic thought of the Pre Qin Dynasty had a wise idea of attaching importance to the "benefit of fish and salt". The formation of the unified political pattern of the Qin and Han dynasties expanded the areas benefiting from the development of marine resources. The proportion of marine "fish salt" and other factors in the total social and economic creation has increased. The growing demand of social life for "marine objects" further affects the development of marine resources. In addition to "fish salt", the prosperity of production of "Abas" and "turtle" has also affected social and economic life. The names of "Zhuya" and "Zhuya" and the setting of "Zhuguan" in Hepu illustrate the regional center of gravity of pearl production. But there are also signs that there is information about pearl production in the North China Sea.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, both offshore shipping and overseas transportation made important historical progress. Among the academic themes of the research on the history of ancient Chinese marine shipping, marine shipping in the Qin and Han dynasties deserves special attention. The opening of the "Haibei" Korean route, the advantages of Fujian Vietnam and South Vietnam shipping, and the progress of Oriental shipping and Nanyang shipping show the historic progress of marine shipping. The activity of "barbarians" in Nanyang shows that sailors who were not born in the Central Plains played a special role on the Nanyang route. The historical records of the war practice of the "Lou Chuan Army" in military life depict the glorious page of marine history.

It is close to "the north", "the west" and "the south". In the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was said that it was "close to the sea". Later generations' interpretation of "the edge of the sea" can be roughly paralleled with "the north", "the west" and "the south". It is obviously necessary to investigate the cultural connections and cultural commonalities in this region for understanding the marine exploration and development in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The scale of Qin's unification was not limited to the annexation of the six countries. The territory of the Qin Empire in the south exceeded the original territory of the Chu State, and the Lingnan region has since merged into the cultural circle of the Central Plains. As a result, the coastline controlled by the Central Plains regime has been extended unprecedentedly. The establishment of a prefecture in the South China Sea by the First Emperor of Qin is of great significance to the history of China's coastal areas, the history of the development of resources in the South China Sea and the history of marine transportation. The first emperor of Qin, the second emperor of Qin, and the emperor of Wu of Han all went to the sea together. At that time, the construction of Chidao, which is "the view of the sea is complete", created a coastal and sea lane. After the establishment of the unified regime of Qin and Han Dynasties, the administrative tasks faced by the central governing body included the control of the long coast. When Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty cut the vassals, he first captured the coastal counties, that is, the so-called "cut Kuaiji" and "seize the East China Sea". Chen Yinque once pointed out that the Tianshi Taoism is closely related to the coastal region. The Yellow Scarf Uprising and other rebellions can be "explained by the consistent concept of the coastal region". "Nine tenths of the people who believe in the Tianshi Taoism are related to the coastal region." It can be seen that the common cultural characteristics of the coastal region have gradually taken shape.

Through the mastery of geographical knowledge related to the "sea", the Qin and Han people formed a cognition of the world. "Zhongtu" and "Sihai", "Tianxia" and "Hainei", "Hainei" and "Haiwai", these concepts reflect the sense of space, which makes the "sea" significant in the construction of the world outlook of Qin and Han people. The unearthed Han brocade can be seen "climbing high and looking at the world". The open mind revealed therein reflects the spirit of the times. During this period, Han culture's broad mind and aggressive intention to face the world were also vividly reflected. The text involves people's understanding of the "sea" at that time, which also deserves our attention. The relationship between "sea" and "hui", "four seas" and "four hui" is also worth pondering.

"Sea" occupies a certain position in the spiritual life of Qin and Han people, as well as in the belief world of Qin and Han people. At that time, the knowledge of the inland society about "sea" was quite limited. The vast, profound, supernatural and magnificent "sea" makes it easy for people to have a sense of awe when facing the "sea". The many features of the "sea" to be explored also often make people accustomed to linking the "sea" with some mysterious things. The legends of "sea" and "immortal", and the performance of "Huanggong in the East China Sea" all reflect the relationship between "sea" and the mysterious beliefs of Qin and Han people. The seafood as food unearthed from the pit outside the Yangling Cemetery of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty enriched our understanding of the food content of the upper class society at that time. The Western Han literature records suggest that the relationship between the consumption of clams and the pursuit of immortals was the focus of maritime alchemy culture at that time. The remains of seafood found in the Yangling Outer Pit can therefore be related to the investigation of the history of social consciousness and social spiritual life. Qin Fengni's "Huichi" and "every pool" are actually "Haichi". It is mysterious to build models of "sea pool" and "gradual platform" in the palaces of the Qin and Han Dynasties. The life of Wang Mang and the political history of the new dynasty ended in the "gradual stage", and the related stories can be understood from the perspective of marine culture.

The exploration and development of the ocean, the collection of experience and the accumulation of knowledge about the ocean have made the early oceanography of the Qin and Han Dynasties. The accumulation of marine knowledge in the Qin and Han dynasties involved marine biology, marine meteorology, marine hydrology, etc. Relevant contents have preserved precious records of marine history. The oceanography of the Qin and Han Dynasties played an important role in the history of Chinese oceanography. It can be seen from the Book of the Han Dynasty that the record of "big fish" in the Bohai Sea should be the earliest record of the phenomenon that whales often die on the beach. This record has a clear time, place and measurement scale of dead whales, which is of great value for the study of marine history. In the disaster history of the Qin and Han Dynasties, in addition to "whale death", we can see records of serious marine disasters. Such as "sea overflow" disaster. The book "Star in the Sea" is the achievement of early oceanography. Some people call it "sea people's occupation". Confirming such a judgment can correct Gu Yanwu's mistakes. In connection with this, the situation of determining the direction of navigation at sea by means of stars seen in Huainanzi and other documents can explain the progress of navigation technology in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Some knowledge about the history of astronomy and the history of navigation technology may therefore need to be updated.

The names of "Louchuan General", "Henghai General", and "Fubo General" indicate that the maritime military actions of the Han Dynasty once influenced or even dominated the war situation. The sea has become a transportation condition for the march, a direct battlefield, and a striking symbol of the times in the process of military history. This historical phenomenon is conditional on shipping capacity. Thus we read the maritime chapter of the military history of the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Tian Heng led more than 500 people to the sea and lived on the island. Liu Bang was worried that there might be "chaos". Tian Heng committed suicide because of Liu Bang's pursuit. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Langya Lvmu Uprising also took the "sea" as its activity base. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the anti government armed forces at sea have been generally called "pirates". With strong mobility, the "Pirates" have formed a serious threat and destruction to the normal administrative order of the "Rim Sea" counties, that is, coastal areas. The superior navigation ability makes the activity area of "Pirates" very wide. To discuss the activities and influences of "Pirates", we should pay special attention to the "Pirates in the Huaihe River" seen in Juyan Han bamboo slips.

The ocean view in the social consciousness of the Qin and Han Dynasties is the object that should be paid attention to when understanding the cultural form and style at that time. It is also meaningful to investigate the marine concepts of the Qin and Han Dynasties for understanding the history of marine culture in China's historical period. The understanding, attitude and emotion of the Qin and Han society towards the sea showed a tendency of active exploration. In the history of Chinese oceanography, this precious fragment is worth cherishing. In addition to the ocean consciousness of Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi, the ocean perspective of historiography and the sea chanting chapters and sentences of Han Fu are also valuable for analysis and research.

This achievement discusses the above issues respectively. The following three "appendixes" analyze the phenomena related to the social culture and marine history of the Qin and Han Dynasties, especially the historical influence seen after the Qin and Han Dynasties, which has also received attention. Namely: Appendix 1: The folk image of Fubo General Ma Yuan in the South; Appendix 2: "Hai" and "Haizi": "Beizhong" language phenomenon; Attachment 3: The discovery of "mud oil" in the South China Sea recorded in ancient Chinese literature. The first part analyzes the profound historical influence of Ma Yuan's expedition and Jiuzhen. The second conclusion summarizes the social influence of the "Four Seas" and "World" consciousness in the Qin and Han Dynasties, as well as the spatial orientation of the "North Sea" and the "West Sea", and also involves the historical and cultural information revealed by the emergence of the geographical symbol "Haizi". Although the third part of the appendix reveals the late discovery of offshore oil, that is, the technology of obtaining "fiery oil" and "mud oil", it traces the cultural origin of related inventions back to the Qin and Han dynasties with the section of "thinking in the history of technology: early attention to the 'seabed' can be traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties".

The innovation of this achievement is mainly reflected in the following aspects: ① Expand the academic horizon. In addition to relying mainly on Chinese local data, we also pay attention to relevant academic information on the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese archipelago and Southeast Asia. ② Update research methods. The main method of research will be the "double evidence method" combining documentary records with archaeological harvest, and attention will be paid to the theory and data of cultural anthropology. ③ Try to use a multidisciplinary academic approach to comprehensive investigation. In addition to the traditional way of history, the academic methods of archaeology, geography, marine hydrology, marine biology, and even psychology, military science, management science and other disciplines, which are mutually supported by historical means, are also tried.