I've heard a fair bit about Fusang which supposidly was America, and I'm interested in what the primary Chinese sources are of Fusang and what translations exist of such sources.
Any help would be appreciated.
Pierre
Full Version: Fusang 扶桑
QUOTE (Pacal @ Jun 8 2008, 01:52 AM) 
I've heard a fair bit about Fusang which supposidly was America, and I'm interested in what the primary Chinese sources are of Fusang and what translations exist of such sources.
Any help would be appreciated.
Pierre
Any help would be appreciated.
Pierre
For info about Fusang 扶桑, refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusang . Some scholars mentioned Fusang as Japan while others mentioned it as America.
The primary chinese source is "Book of Liang" (《梁书》- 列传，卷四一至五十）dated from 7th century. For the original chinese source, refer to http://ms.chgsh.chc.edu.tw/~chi/chi_ebook/lian6.htm
There are currently NO english translation for this chinese source.
See this thread for lots of details: http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9554
The identification of Fusang with Japan is relatively late, and is not supported by any early source. The Liang Shu (Book of Liang) description of Fusang clearly states that Fusang (if it even existed in reality) was much further east of China than Japan was. But Chinese poets eventually took to using 'Fusang' as a more literary name for Japan, and even the Japanese adopted this practice, naming two of their imperial navy's warships Fusō (the Japanese pronunciation of Fusang) in 1878 and 1915.
QUOTE
Some scholars mentioned Fusang as Japan while others mentioned it as America.
The identification of Fusang with Japan is relatively late, and is not supported by any early source. The Liang Shu (Book of Liang) description of Fusang clearly states that Fusang (if it even existed in reality) was much further east of China than Japan was. But Chinese poets eventually took to using 'Fusang' as a more literary name for Japan, and even the Japanese adopted this practice, naming two of their imperial navy's warships Fusō (the Japanese pronunciation of Fusang) in 1878 and 1915.
i think Shan Hai Jing(山海经) also mentioned Fusang
QUOTE
i think Shan Hai Jing(山海经) also mentioned Fusang
It mentions a tree called Fusang, not a country called Fusang. As I once wrote in 2006:
QUOTE
The name 'Fusang' 扶桑 first appears in the Shanhai Jing 《山海经》, a compilation of mythological accounts of strange lands and creatures edited by Liu Xin 刘歆 of the late Western Han and Xin dynasties. It is stated there that in the 'Black-tooth Country' (Heichi Guo 黑齿国), in the Eastern Sea, the people are black-skinned and eat rice and snakes. They always have one red snake and one green snake at their side. Another version of the tale is that the people there keep tame pet snakes, one of which is always red. In the north of this country there is a valley called Hot Spring Valley (Tang Gu 汤谷), where a tree called the Fusang grows. The ten suns (this is from the legend of Hou Yi who shot down nine of the suns) bathe there. The Fusang tree grows in the water of Hot Spring Valley, and is very tall. When the ten suns are bathing, nine of them sit on branches that are underwater (i.e. in the hot spring water), and one of them sits on a branch above water.
QUOTE (Yun @ Jun 8 2008, 05:41 AM)
It mentions a tree called Fusang, not a country called Fusang. As I once wrote in 2006:
I have read in another version of HouYi and the 10 ravens that the birds lived in sacred Mulberry trees.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.