特辑：遣唐使
Definition: Envoys to the Tang Dynasty
古代中国一直是东亚文明的中心，邻国日本曾长期致力于学习中国文化。早在隋朝，日本朝廷就派遣使节来到中国。从7世纪初到9世纪末，日本先后大规模地向唐朝派出了十多批使节，他们被称为“遣唐使”。遣唐使的人数，少者200多人，多者500多人。他们乘坐专用船只，战鲸波斗恶浪，历经风险来到中国。早期遣唐使主要在登州上岸，后来又分别在扬州、宁波等地登陆。遣唐使、学问生、学问僧努力地将中国文化全面地引进、移植到日本，从而使日本文化深深地打上了中华文明的烙印。遣唐使是“海上丝绸之路”上的先行者，为中日文化交流作出了巨大的贡献。
Ancient China had always been the center of East Asian Culture. The neighboring country Japan used to commit itself to learning from Chinese culture for ages. As early as in the Sui Dynasty, the Japanese royal court already assigned envoys to China. From early 7th century till the end of 9th century, Japan successively assigned a dozen of batches of envoys to the Tang Dynasty on a large scale. The number of envoys varied from around 200 to 500. They travelled by special boats and overcame threatening situations at sea before finally arriving in China. In early times, the envoys to Tang Dynasty disembarked mainly in Dengzhou. Later, they disembarked respectively in cities like Yangzhou, Ningbo, etc. The envoys, visiting students and visiting monks strived to introduce and explants Chinese culture to Japan across the border so as to make Japanese culture deeply branded with the Chinese civilization. The envoys to the Tang Dynasty were pioneers on the “Maritime Silk Road” who made great contributions to the cultural exchanges between China and Japan.
【图版】日本遣唐使航线图
【图版】日本遣唐使简表