When it comes to sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty, people may wonder if the relationship between China and Japan was so close when they first met, is it a bit hasty? In fact, little Japan is not a good stubble, they promise you personally, they just want to use your strength to seek some benefits.
And although the Chinese are smart, in this case, they are often blinded by other people's words and easily meet their requirements. In 630 A.D., Japan sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty for the first time, and the chief ambassador was named Inugami Mita Yun, who was warmly welcomed by Li Shimin at once.
Under his persuasion, Li Shimin opened the door of the Tang Dynasty, from politics and economy to culture and folk customs, he talked about everything without reservation. In 632, Inugami Mita returned to Japan, and he took Li Shimin's reward and prepared to give it to the Emperor of Japan.
Li Shimin also specially dispatched Gao Biaoren to accompany Mita Inoue to express the friendship between the two countries. Gao Biaoren is not an ordinary person, he is the son of Gao Gong, the prime minister of the Great Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin sent him, naturally because he took a fancy to his family background, after all, in diplomatic occasions, rules and face are very important.
On October 4, Gao and his entourage arrived in Nambatsu, Japan, which is today's Osaka. Long before the arrival of the Tang envoys, Emperor Shumei of Japan had already learned of this incident and was full of expectations for this visit.
When Gao and his entourage arrived, the Emperor of Japan treated them with the same deference that Emperor Hirohito did with MacArthur after World War II. The Japanese obviously knew who was important to them, so as soon as they came ashore, they were greeted with the most solemn ceremony, with 32 ceremonial boats lined up, flying colorful flags and drums to the sound of drums, which even surprised Takaomoto to express his surprise.
After that, the two Japanese ** personally greeted Gao Biaoren and his entourage, and escorted them to the door of the embassy in a police car. When they arrived at the door, two higher-level ** personally led Gao Biaoren into the embassy hall.
Gao Biaoren was a little puzzled by this, and thought: This "small foreign country" is so polite, it seems that we can't underestimate them. Therefore, Gao Biaoren decided to treat them according to the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, instead of taking them lightly.
So, what is the etiquette of Datang? Stay tuned for further developments.
Gao Biaoren visited Japan for the first time and met Empress Shu Mingming, who asked, "Does Emperor Taizong of your country have a letter of state?" Gao Biaoren thought, little Japan is not stupid, as soon as they meet, they have to read the national letter.
So, he replied, "Of course." However, according to the etiquette of our Tang Dynasty, His Majesty should stand up and face north to accept the credentials. China used to do this to small vassal states, I am the ** kingdom, you are a small vassal state, you should meet each other with this kind of courtesy.
But Emperor Shu Ming was unwilling to do so, believing that he and the Tang Emperor were equal and should not be required to "face the king from the north". Gao Biaoren looked at it, this is not to "face the north of the king", it is too insincere, since this is the case, then don't look at it, Lao Tzu will go back!
In this way, China's first visit to Japan ended in a very unhappy ending, and there was no contact for more than 20 years. However, after Ambassador Gao returned to China, Li Shimin, who did not know the truth, was very angry and thought that it was his fault, so he dismissed him from his official position and fined him for two years.